Chapter Eighteen

September 20X6, Stanford

Of course, he’s with Nicki. Seeing them together is a reminder of just how skilled he is at worming his way into girls’ hearts. Making her fall for him was part of our heist. It’s all part of the bigger plan. He was only ever after her ring and now he’s just trying to get close to Simon. Just like he was only after the Warhol tape with me. He’s using both of us. Blood rushes in my ears and I cringe inwardly but don’t let my repulsion seep up to my face. I keep my lips parted in an expression of pleasant curiosity while I wait for Beau/Garrett to speak.

“The infamous twins.” Beau/Garrett extends his hand toward me. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

At the sound of his voice, Cara/Chloe turns around. “Oh, hi.” Breathless, and with zero regard for Nicki, she practically coos.

All the girlfriends you’ve screwed over in one place. Lucky you. For once, I’m glad he’s not my partner on this one.

Placing my fingers in Garrett’s palm, I will my features blank, hiding the direction of my thoughts, though the electric shock that runs up my arm when his hand closes around mine almost knocks me out of character. Almost.

“You have?” My accent flawlessly in place, I snatch my fingers back to prevent the buzzy fog that tends to hijack my brain when he’s around. “I’m not sure there’s anything special about us. We’re just two girls who love to pick apart brains.”

“Don’t underestimate yourselves.” He surveys our identical outfits, his eyes twinkling, though he gives no indication we have a past. He remains frustratingly Beau. “We pride ourselves on reading between the lines around here, on digging beneath the surface until the truth appears. We see what the common eye doesn’t.”

He knows who we are. There’s no doubt in my mind and honestly, it’s a relief.

“‘But don’t let pride be your downfall.’” I bat my eyelashes at him. “Where I come from, we have a saying: ‘If only you know, it’s enough.’”

“That’s cute.” He smiles. “Where I come from, if only you know, you don’t matter.”

“You must come from a fantasy land,” Nicki chimes in, a rosy glow prettily dotting her cheeks. Up close her skin is photo-filter flawless. I’d forgotten how beautiful she is. “It sounds kind of nice.”

“Dublin is lovely,” Cara/Chloe replies. Having eyes for only Beau/Garrett, she angles her body toward him and places a hand on her hip, accentuating the curve of her waist. “You should visit sometime.”

I elbow her in the side, a reprimand from Kerri.

Beau/Garrett remains unmoved.

“I’d love to. That’s one place I’ve never been.” Nicki twirls a strand of her long, buttery hair, apparently unbothered by Chloe’s advances toward her boyfriend. “At least not in person. My mom goes all over the world, but she never takes me. My avatar has been lots of places, but I still like to physically travel. Some things just need to be an in-body experience.”

“Totally.” I nod.

Nicki abruptly drops her hair and straightens, shaking her head like she’s chiding herself. “I’m Nicki, by the way. Simon’s my dad.” She thrusts her chin toward where Simon stands talking with Dr. Nasif and Dr. Schilling as she presents her hand. “And yes, he’s always a stick-in-the-mud.” She smiles, revealing a dimple in her cheek.

I laugh, remembering how much I like Nicki, how I’ve always thought we would have been friends under different circumstances, and shake her hand. “I’m Kerri. And this is my sister, Cara.” Holding my breath, I wait for recognition to light Nicki’s eyes, but she remains her usual breezy self.

“Nice to meet you both.” Beau/Garrett shakes hands with Cara/Chloe and I watch closely as his fingers close around her hand, wondering if his touch sends electricity through her, too.

“Tell me, what is it that makes us so interesting? Besides being twins. We’re used to that.” She licks her lips, an enticing glimmer in her stare, but Beau/Garrett doesn’t react. He just casually drops her hand and shoves it in his pocket. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe they don’t have a history.

“Well, for starters your brain scans show that you both have super-fast reaction time—you act before you think, overcome your thoughts at lightning speed—which is something we’re interested in testing.” His face lights up like he’s been dying to talk about brain science all day and is ecstatic someone finally asked him about it. “To see if that reaction has anything to do with free will or if it’s purely chemical.”

I know Allard planted that much, but curious if Beau/Garrett has more insight as to what they hope to glean from us, I chew the inside of my cheek.

“And the doctors have never seen two brains that are so similar.” He rocks back and forth on his heels like he did when Dr. Schilling first introduced him and I file the mannerism away as one of the things he does to define Beau’s character. “Environment, personal experiences, and personality change your DNA, even in identical twins. Like I can tell your sister blushes very easily, but you have nerves of steel, Cara.” He doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t have to.

As if on cue, heat swells in my cheeks and it’s all I can do not to glare at him. If I had a superpower it would be the ability to strangle people with my eyes.

“But it’s fascinating to find two brains that are replicated so exactly.” He finally deems me worthy of his attention but there is no hint of mischief behind his stare. He remains good old tranquil Beau and I’d believe he wasn’t trying to bait me if I didn’t know better.

“Hopefully, you’re not going to ask us to catch a bullet or anything.” I tip my face up to him, keeping my voice light.

He laughs. “No, nothing like that. Not in reality, anyway. But maybe in a simulation.” His right eyebrow twitches and I freeze, his unspoken warning setting off alarm bells in my head.

How am I ever going to get out of being scanned? I grind my teeth. And since when does he care what happens to me? He practically tied me up in a net and left me dangling over a river—a perfect package for Kyran to pounce on.

For the first time I consider the possibility he and Kyran are working together and my pulse jumps. But I dismiss the idea as soon as it pops into my head, the urge to trust he’s got my best interests at heart smothering it.

“Don’t scare them, Beau.” Eric/Nash appears behind Beau/Garrett and Nicki carrying two drinks. “You’ll never get them on your team that way.” He hands the tall glasses fizzing with pink bubbles to Cara/Chloe and me. “You two looked thirsty and I knew once Beau cornered you, he’d never let you get away.” He grins. “It’s cloudberry-pine soda.”

“Thank you.” I accept the effervescent concoction and take a tiny sip. “It’s delicious.”

“Eric is always so thoughtful.” Nicki curls herself around his bulging bicep. “You’ll be in good hands whichever side you end up on—Team Beau or Team Eric.”

I size up Eric/Nash, clocking my initial instincts at being this close to him again, noting the woozy wave that weakens my knees, the tiny protective barrier I cloak myself in. All I know is I’m on Team Elisha.

“I hope they keep us together, though.” Cara/Chloe swallows a sip of her drink. “Kerri and I have never been separated. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“With your similar brains you might be on the same side, but maybe not. We’ll see what your biases are.” Eric/Nash lifts his palms to illustrate his uncertainty. “Brain scans tell all.”

That’s what I’m afraid of.

“I guess we don’t have a choice.” I gulp. Stewart and Rayelle are going to need to figure out how to hack Stanford’s systems and fake our brain scans ASAP and I imperceptibly tap out a message to them.

“If you believe choice is out of your control, you’re better off with me.” Beau/Garrett’s eyes bore into mine, daring me to deny him. “I’m happy to mentor you any time.”

Emphasis on the mentor. I get his unspoken jab. Very funny.

I don’t back down. “That’s so sweet of you. But I’d like to make up my own mind about whose side I’m on. I do believe I have a choice.”

“Don’t listen to my sister,” Cara/Chloe jumps in, nudging me over with her shoulder so she can command Beau/Garrett’s attention. “What she means is, we both would love your advice. We’re a little lost around here.”

“Well, lucky for you, everyone is scheduled for a tour of the facilities tomorrow at one o’clock with Dr. Schilling.” Eric/Nash nods toward where Bix/Sophia and the rest of the interns are still gathered in a circle behind us. “And we’ll both be there to answer any questions you might have.” He gestures with his thumb between Beau/Garrett and himself.

“That’s such a relief.” Cara/Chloe clutches her chest.

“I have a feeling you might end up with me, Kerri.” Eric/Nash winks at me.

“What makes you think that?” Beau/Garrett tilts his head to the side.

“Just a hunch.” Eric/Nash shrugs.

“Is the decision based on more than brain scans, then?” My innocent gaze bounces between the two of them.

“Always.” Dr Nasif joins us. “Data is only the beginning of the story, if you ask me.”

Her voice has a slight accent that I can’t place and up close, she’s less severe than her slicked-back hair bun implies. In fact, she’s stunning. Her copper-colored eyes are electric against her black hair and smooth olive skin, and when she looks at me, the impact is like a punch to my gut, knocking the wind out of me. My nerves tingling, I blink to comprehend the familiarity seeping through me. All I know for sure is that I know her.

Even though I’ve never met her, I’ve known her my entire life.

It must be because she reminds me of my mother. There’s something about her smile, the way she moves. I can’t place it exactly, but she could be my mom’s sister.

The resemblance is uncanny.