When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Four

"Vivian." Dane's voice startled her. "Where are you coming from so early?"

Why was he up this early? She froze, her hand on the door knob still. "I went for a walk. I'm usually back before anyone wakes up. What are you doing up?" She turned to face him with a tight smile.

"You don't take walks on Saturdays because you sleep in. The door's system logs also don't show any regular trips on Saturdays." His jaw clenched. "But you know what they do show?"

He'd totally ignored her question. Clearly she couldn't have a variation in her routine, but the same standard didn't apply to him. She swallowed hard and shrugged. Why was he snooping? He'd always been overprotective and a little too concerned with her for her comfort, but this? Had Mom and Dad put him up to it?

"You go out during quiet hours on Sunday mornings. Everyone, even law enforcement, spends those hours doing what good citizens do. Two hours of reading the Codex. Everyone but you, anyway. You get back just in time to avoid being caught." Dane narrowed his eyes. "Whatever you're up to stops now, Vivian. Before it's too late."

He knew, and he was furious. He never called her by her full name unless she'd really messed up. And as for his anger? That was written all over his face. He knew more than just that she wasn't behaving like a good citizen. How though? Well, it didn't matter. That he knew was all that did. Now she had to find a way out of this without lying to his face. "Honestly, Dane?" She rolled her eyes, but her heart thumped wildly against her breast. Dear God, please, let him drop it. "What do you think I am? Some sort of spy? I'm not up to anything."

"Don't dig the hole deeper. Don't make me do something with what I know," he murmured softly.

She shivered at the menacing tone and shoved her hands into her pockets. "You mean what you think you know." Had he noticed her trembling? "I haven't done anything."

Dane chuckled and shook his head. "You're not a good liar, and you're not fooling me. Come. You should see something."

She stared at him. "Since when did you decide I was a liar?"

And since when did her little brother act like this? His anger had never been directed at her. Not like this. Her heart pounded in her throat, and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

He crossed his arms. "According to sub-section fifty-five of the Codex, humanity is selfish and acts in its own best interests, which is why we have the Codex and the Supremacy to keep us in line so we do not succumb to the evil inherent in us all. We have no basis for truth unless it suits us." He stopped quoting the Codex with a frown. "And you've proven that all too well lately." He inclined his head toward his bedroom down the hall. "Now, are you going to come with me, or do I need to make you?"

Maybe if she played the older sister card? "You want me to tell Mom and Dad you need to see a shrink, Dane? You're acting crazier than normal, and if you don't stop it, I'll—"

"You won't say anything. Mom and Dad are out of the house to give us a chance to talk. Now stop acting like a five-year-old child threatening to tattle. It isn't going to get you out of anything."

Her stomach roiled. So much for that ploy. Well, she hadn't really expected it to work. Dane knew better. He knew her too well, and he always had. "Okay, fine... I'm not going to say anything to them. You already knew that though or you wouldn't have been so rude at the door earlier."

"The McGayen name won't shelter you from the Supremacy, Vivian. They know what you did. Keep that in mind before you tick me off."

She blinked back tears and forced the fear back. They knew what she'd done. They knew. How much, though? Just about the Archives? Or about more? Dane turned his back on her and headed for his room.