“Bullshit! He smiled at me. He has no fucking clue! This is false imprisonment; do you understand that? What you’ve done isn’t legal. I don’t give a shit who your father is!”

“Naomi, please calm down.”

I lunged for him. I didn’t realize his guards, Trex, and Kitsch were behind me until they held my arms.

“Is it true?” Trex asked. “Did you manipulate Zeke into taking a contract in Deep Echo?”

Peter opened his mouth to speak then chuckled nervously. “Of course not. Zeke came to me.”

“Why don’t you let us ask him,” I said. “Let him come out.”

Peter frowned, losing his cool for just a moment, long enough for me to see his true motive. “Absolutely not!” He flattened his tie, attempting to mask his sudden outburst. “Part of Zeke’s contract is for him to undergo treatment he can’t find anywhere else. He has to stay under constant supervision of his doctors.”

My throat felt tight, my eyes burned. “You’re experimenting on him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Peter said, waving me away. “It’s a new procedure and treatment Dr. Cohen has developed with his stem cell research. Remember, he’s the top biophysicist in the country. Every PhD here is the top of their field. It’s really exciting stuff what they plan to do.”

“You’re experimenting on him,” Trex said, angry. “Let him out of there, Peter. Naomi knows what you did and why. She’s not going to just forget.”

“I’m not worried about myself. Zeke is going to be well and get his life back. He’s very excited. You should be too. He’ll be released once his contract ends, and you can discuss it then. In the meantime, I won’t dismiss protocol, facility security, or the law for your pet project.”

“How long until his contract ends?” I asked.

“Three years,” Peter said.

I yanked away from Trex and the guard. “Are you insane? How did you even get him back there? He has zero clearance.”

“I’m capable of doing a lot more than you give me credit for,” he said, tightening his tie.

“You crossed a line, Peter. I will never forgive you for this.”

He smiled. “Yes you will. You always do.”

“Not this time.” I went after him again, struggling against Trex. “You’re dead. You are fucking dead to me!” I spat on his desk.

Peter’s smile faded as Trex and Kitsch pulled me away. They guided me back to the locker room where I leaned against the lockers and slid to the floor, holding my hair from my eyes with my hands.

Kitsch took off his cap and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “That’s not legal, is it?”

“Don’t say anything else,” Trex said, looking up.

I folded my arms on my knees and bowed my head, feeling helpless.

chapter thirty-seven

in the deep

Zeke

I