Chapter Twenty-One

Aiden

The last time my head exploded in pain, I almost wished Carter would kill me right then and there. That was over sixteen hours ago.

They locked me in my bedroom, back at AIR. Bedroom. That term is laughable. A bedroom implies a safe place, and this is nothing remotely close to safe.

It’s a holding cell. A death trap.

Since I’ve been gone, they changed the lock codes and disabled any access I once had—to anything. My room still looks the same. Untouched. Metallic and cold as ever.

What the hell is Carter waiting for? Why is he putting off what he clearly wants more than anything? I’m defenseless, drowning in hopelessness, and he knows that. Maybe that’s the reason for the delay. The longer I’m alive, the longer I can still feel.

The asshole is getting off on my misery.

I drag my hand slowly across the crumpled bedsheets, taking in the soft, warm texture. As simple as something like a comforter is, soon it will be a thing I’ll never get to experience again. I glance at the piano in the corner of the room. Soon enough I’ll never hear music again either. Never see another smile. Never feel another’s heartbeat.

Knowing I’m going to die when I’ve only just started to live is the worst kind of torture, so pure and unyielding.

I try not to imagine all the ways he could choose to end me and fail miserably. Will the last thing I see be Carter’s face? Will it be over quick, or—no, he’ll ensure my suffering is lengthened. When I die, they’ll probably tear my body apart like a broken toy beyond repair.

Pushing myself off the mattress, I try to stop thinking altogether. No luck there. When thoughts of dying finally float away, my mind fills with Elena’s face. At least she’s safe. That’s going to have to be enough to ease the mind of a man scheduled to die. But it’s not enough. It never will be. In just a couple days, she’d shown me things I didn’t understand before. Things that don’t exist inside AIR, like unadulterated joy and living in the moment. She’d given me hope, even if it was just the faintest glimmer. Yeah, I always doubted I’d make it out of this thing alive, but she never gave up. Her persistence lit up all the dark places inside me.

The memory of her blasts in my head like a beautiful broken record. Her warm, infectious laugh and the sound of my name coming from her lips. I hear it like she’s standing in this room with me.

But she’s not.

I’m in the exact same place I was just a few days ago. So much has happened, yet not a goddamned thing is different. I’m still AIR’s prisoner, Carter still wants me dead, and I would still do anything to change that if I had a prayer in the world—which I don’t.

I settle onto the bench in front of the piano I love, lowering my fingers to the keys. The familiar melody drifts through the room, shining a light in the middle of the unforgivable pitch-blackness. My eyes close and I continue to play from memory. It takes the edge off my anger. At this point, what more can I hope for? When the song ends, I hear a low, soft clapping behind me. My eyes fly open, and I whirl around.

Carter’s stare bores into me. His smug smile starts a slow burn deep in my gut—one that won’t stop until the flames engulf me.

“Lovely,” Carter says, his voice emotionless. “Who taught you to play?”

My eyes narrow, and I stay silent, refusing to participate in his game. He isn’t here for small talk.

“Well, Aiden,” he says when his attempts to break me fail. “I do hope you had fun on your little…escapade.” The burning sensation spreads through all of me as I meet his hardened glare. “If there had been any doubt in my mind before, you did a fantastic job at erasing it.” Carter takes a few steps, crossing his arms.

Like a fool, I can’t resist his bait. “Any doubt about what?”

His dark brows rise, and his lips twist in contempt. “That you shouldn’t exist.”

“Well,” I say, pushing against the metal floor to stand, “you’ve done a commendable job yourself.”

He chuckles and runs one hand over his chin. “If I ventured to guess, I’d say you’re not referring to how I found you, no?”

My jaw clenches tightly. “No.” Red flames of rage flicker, threatening to consume me.

“Now what were you saying?” Carter lifts one finger. “Oh yes, that I’ve done a commendable job. At what?”

“Proving that evil truly does exist.”

Aside from the momentary snarl he displays, he isn’t fazed by my statement. “Do you know why you’re here, Aiden—why you were created?”

Fuck. You.

I clench and unclench my jaw. “Do you?”

He angles his head, releasing a harsh, facetious laugh. “Of course.”

“Care to share?”

“My, my, haven’t you gotten fiery since the last time we spoke?” Carter strides forward, leaving only a foot between us. “You really haven’t figured it out yet, even with all that brain power at your command?”

“Does it matter now?”

“Oh, Aiden, it’s always the same questions with you. You should know by now that everything matters. Everything is important. Don’t you want to understand the reason you exist? Most people search their entire lives for the answer to that question, and here I am offering it to you. Free of charge.”

I snort, wrapping both hands around the bench seat. “Then fucking tell me.”

Carter’s lips twitch, and his arms fall to his sides. “When Dr. Niels was assigned to Project A.I.D.E.N., he had clear instructions. Very clear. His goal was to expand on the current capabilities of artificial intelligence. Dr. Niels is the best in his field, so of course he succeeded. But somewhere along the line, he took things too far. I still haven’t decided if that was his plan all along.” Carter rubs his jaw and tips his head to the side.

“What does that cryptic bullshit mean?”

“His assignment was to create an AI that would function like a human, take orders, and make strategic decisions.”

I blink. “So, a super-human?”

“No. You make it sound like something out of a science-fiction movie. You are no superhero. You were meant to be a super-maid.” He watches for my reaction, gets none, and laughs. “Or a butler, if you find that title more fitting. What could be better than a servant who is hardwired to obey any command but holds the capability of thinking like a human? A servant who will always obey, one who will never talk back, never say no. The Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Lab was this close to broadcasting our news to the world.” He pinches two fingers together. “Think of all the possibilities that would open if that level of AI could be replicated. It would be a revolutionary change.

“Being a pro when it comes to fighting and evading the law was not part of the plan I had for you—you took down two armed guards at our facilities and then proceeded to escape four armed and well-trained officers. If you want me to be honest with you, after our first encounter, I figured you would likely obey almost any order given to you. But that uncertainty, the idea that you might not follow orders, makes you no better than your average, hirable maid. No better than a human. Your ability to think and reason are spot on. I must praise Dr. Niels for that. It’s your most valuable asset. But your ability to feel?” His face distorts like he’s just sniffed rotten milk. “It’s a weakness. An error. And it makes you utterly useless.”

My rapid heartbeat is loud, but not loud enough to drown out Carter’s words. “You want to destroy me because…I’m too human for you? That makes you nothing more than a monster.”

“All of the money and time spent on this project,” he sighs, “it’s all been a waste.” Carter moves to my bed, picks up a pillow, and inspects it like he’s never seen one before. With a shake of his head, he tosses it back down. “You’re substandard at best. The only chance at salvaging any of the lost resources is to recycle and start again.”

“How? How can you think this way? Don’t you hear yourself? You talk about me like I’m a machine, but you’re standing here, having a fucking conversation about why you want to kill me.” I let out a quick, disgusted snort. His words are meant to wound me, and a few days ago, they might’ve. But now this narcissistic ass can say whatever the fuck he wants. His words don’t matter.

“You are a machine.” Carter’s nostrils flair. “You kidnapped my daughter and did God knows what to her.” His words are so sharp and bitter, I half expect him to kill me right now. “You deserve what’s coming to you.”

“I didn’t hurt Elena,” I say, the thought stabbing my gut like I swallowed a gallon of sharp razors. “I don’t hurt people, and I would never do anything to harm her.”

“You don’t hurt people? Please. We both know that’s not true.”

“All of that was in self-defense. It’s not the same.” I hate that I had to hurt anyone.

“Are you saying Elena went willingly with you?”

“No,” I say after a moment. “But what you think, what you—” I stop myself because I can’t tell him what happened without making things worse for Elena. I’ve hurt her enough.

Just like the first day I met this awful man, he appraises me with blatant judgment, but now I return the stare. There’s plenty to judge him for, too. His neck and shoulders tense. Seconds stretch into minutes, and then for all I know, years. I stand, inching closer to show him I’m not afraid. He swallows thickly, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession.

Holy hell—he is afraid of me.

“What are you waiting for?” I ask, grinding my teeth so hard my jaw aches. “You want me dead and gone, what are you doing still standing here?”

Conflicted emotions cross over his face: surprise, irritation, and wariness. “Don’t worry, Aiden. It will happen soon enough.” He starts slowly backing up toward the door. “You may as well enjoy this last bit of life.” Carter spreads his arms to encompass the entire room and everything in it.

His words extinguish the fire burning inside me, and I’m nothing but cold. Cold as a winter blizzard in Antarctica. “What about Dr. Niels?” I ask before he reaches the door.

“I’ve given him a choice. He won’t be suffering any legal consequences so long as he follows my orders.”

“Orders to what?”

“Like I said, he’s the best in his field. Like I also said, the project needs to be recycled. Dr. Niels is wiping your human tendencies clean. Your body, the wires, artificial bones, and circuits are salvageable. Aiden won’t exist anymore.”

My pulse pounds. My body slumps. Soon I will die, and the man who’s acted like a father to me will be the one ending my life.