"Get in the car."
Damien stood by a black sedan. His face looked hard. Mad. Like he wanted to break something.
I didn't move from the hotel steps. "No."
"Celeste. Get in the damn car."
"You lied to me."
"We need to talk."
"We just did. Back there with Rylan."
He walked closer. His eyes looked wild. "That man wants you dead. You know that, right?"
"Maybe I should be dead."
Damien stopped. His face went white. "Don't say that."
"Why not? I'm just some lab rat. Something they made."
"You're not a thing."
I laughed. It sounded ugly. "Right. I'm a person. With real feelings. Real choices. Except none of it's real."
"Your feelings are real."
"How do you know? Maybe they programmed those too."
A car drove past. The street was getting busy. People walking to work. Normal people with
