Atlas grunted softly. Houston stared directly over Romy’s head. It felt like the pair was having some kind of cryptic conversation. She turned to the side so she could inspect Atlas’s grey eyes for herself. But the man behind her was an impassive mask.

“All right,” Atlas ground out.

“What?” Romy exploded. After all her ignored heartfelt reasons yesterday, he was just going to agree?

Atlas glanced her way as he turned to his office. To lock himself away for comets knew how long again. “You will now be working in the storage room. Try to make some sense of it. Tina will show you. Tina!” he barked.

The door to Tina’s office flew open. Romy peeked inside and saw maps and plans covering the walls. They could be useful. The thought of stealing from Tina was vaguely terrifying, however. Romy envisioned many broken bones if she were caught.

The redhead’s scowl quickly turned to a saucy smile. “Yes, darling?”

Atlas frowned at Tina and, it seemed, avoided looking Romy’s way. “I need you to show Rosemary how to use the scanner system in storage.”

Tina’s mouth dropped slightly for a long second before she snapped it shut. She glared at Romy. “I guess I can do that.”

Houston walked to his room, gracing Romy with a dramatic wide-eyed expression at the tension between the other pair.

“That is all,” Atlas commanded.

Who on Earth is he? Romy thought in exasperation. Atlas had mentioned a superior. Who did he defer to? It clearly wasn’t Tina. Did his commander occupy the fourth room? If so, the person never ate, slept, or peed. Maybe they used diapers, too. She bit her lip to stop her laughter from bursting free.

“Rosemary,” Atlas interrupted her musings. “Go with Tina. She will show you what to do.”

It was an order.

She supposed she should respond quite well to orders. Or she had before, anyway. But now, with her hormones raging, Romy decided she didn’t care who he was—no one spoke to her like that. Especially when they were lying through their butt. She tossed her short hair in his direction. “Whatever, Atlas.”

Romy really needed to think up some better retorts. She left the entranceway in the wake of a furious Tina.

Her anger didn’t stop her from straining to hear the voices behind her.

“Do you remember puberty, boss?” Houston asked.

“What’s your point?”

“Rebellion would be the word that comes to mind.”

“We need to keep her safe, H. You know we do.”

“She’s just in the next building. You can see the stairs from here. And I really do need more time to analyse. . . .”

Romy’s feet slowed, but their voices were too faint to make out. Tina threw a sharp glance her way. A foreboding shiver worked its way down Romy’s spine as she scrambled to catch up with the woman.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN