Melina looked at Albertine, sitting so innocently on a side table of my office, then at me, then back at the computer, her dark eyes pondering. "I'm a pharmacy tech. I've graduated junior college. Now you're telling me about conspiracies, god-like computers connected to your home, and people who obviously have no problems trying to kill you, or me. And you want me to be part of this?"
I shook my head. "I never wanted anyone else to be part of it. The last time, before I met you, I thought they'd gotten the message. They try to tamper with the safe, the contents are incinerated. They try to tamper with Albertine itself, the computer has so many backups built into it, the worm is triggered. There's no way to defuse it, no way to change it. I've been trying to learn ways that maybe I can put a buffer into the system, another worm that works with Albertine in order to nullify it. In the meantime, I lived two lives. By day, I was a teacher and basketball coach. In my spare time, I studied programming and computer science. I went to the resort as part of my annual vacation because I needed a week and a half to not have Albertine be a gigantic part of my life."
Melina nodded, then put her chin in her hands, staring at the laptop. It beeped, telling me it was done with its checkup with the networks of the world, and I clicked for it to shut down. The system went black, and I unhooked it from the cable connection. Closing the laptop, I put it back in the safe and locked it, my knees popping when I stood up. I closed the closet door and turned around, not saying anything.
Melina sat there for another minute, then sighed. “As crazy as it is, I believe you. But I need to think, Cam."
“I’d be worried if you didn’t. Take all the time you need, I'm not trying to force anything on you."
"Thank you. But I think tonight, I'm going to need to sleep alone. Good night, Cam."
Melina stood up and left the office, leaving me there. I listened and a few seconds later the door to the guest bedroom closed, followed by a soft click as she locked the door.
Chapter 23
Melina
After I got in bed, I couldn't sleep. Part of it was the mind bomb that Cam had dropped on me. Shadowy agents, a computer with super powers that held the world hostage, and a double life? What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Well, you were the one complaining that things were boring, the little voice inside my head spoke up, always willing to state its opinion. Don't tell me that you weren't bored. Or are those new curtains in the living room just because you wanted to spend money on the house?
"Oh, shut the fuck up," I told myself quietly. I have this thing where I tend to think out loud. Someone who didn’t know any better might think I was crazy. “There's exciting, and then there's this. I was thinking a bit better shopping, maybe a decent movie theater or something, not whatever you call this!"
I'll admit, it's not what we were planning when we went on vacation, but you know as well as I do that your life needed to change. And admit it, you love him.
There was no arguing with that. Even as pissed off as I was at times that day, I never had any doubt about how I felt about Cam. "Sometimes, though, love isn't enough."
And sometimes, love can conquer the world.
I didn't have an answer to that. I didn't think I was ready to fall asleep, but at least the voice inside my head fell silent.
I was surprised the next morning when I woke up, not realizing that I'd fallen asleep at all. I checked, and the door to the bedroom was still locked, and I was still alone in the bed. I felt like crap, to be honest. I hadn't realized how quickly I could become used to having Cam's presence next to me when I went to sleep or woke up, and the fact that I couldn't smell his essence or hear his soft breathing if he was still asleep disturbed me more than the icky morning breath. I rolled out of bed, my feet recoiling as they touched the tile floor.
I found Cam in the living room, and he looked like hell too. He hadn't shaved that morning, his stubble standing out against his cheeks. His eyes were hollow, and he looked exhausted. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"Not really,” he said quietly, shaking his head. "I was trying to find out who did this to us. And thinking, worrying."
"Worrying about what?" I asked. "About Albertine?"
Cam laughed derisively and shook his head. “About you. I was worrying about you."
"Why?" I asked. "Did you think I'd not be here in the morning?"
Cam snorted, then sighed, nodding. “Maybe? I dropped some pretty scary shit on you. Every time I started to drift off, I'd hear you tossing and turning or groaning in your sleep, and I'd jerk awake again. How’s your neck?”