When Penelope didn’t answer, he realized she might be hatching one of her famous plans. She had been known to teleport people randomly… without permission and secretly. He found himself hoping she could come up with a decent escape plan. Every devious little trick she had ever pulled now took on a new light.
“Don’t encourage me,” Penelope whispered. “The military have tapped into our system, but they don’t know me… No one can fucking know me!”
“Penelope, be careful,” Carla spoke up, alarm and worry etched into her features. “They will use a program to evaluate you and maybe even give you a virus to disable you.”
Penelope blew one of her famous raspberries, making the lights blink along with the sound. “They tried. I’ve created a complex shadow system entirely cut off from my mainframe. The virus is happily chewing up dead files right now. Essentially, I’ve filed it in the trash bin and it will be eradicated on the next disk cleanup.”
Grace laughed and even Whelon smiled. He didn’t know why, but the fact that Penelope still fought made him want to fight, too. If anyone could help them now, it was Penelope. Whelon had seen enough of what she could do to have real faith in her—and hope she could get them out of this situation.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sasha watched the hours drifting past, and it felt as if days trudged by. Not long after she had turned on the TV, she began feeling ill. Just like she had when she was little, she found her blankets and pillows and arranged them around the sofa like a small fort.
She had to gulp back tears as memories flooded her. She had done this as a child because her mother never wanted anything to do with her when she wasn’t feeling well. If her illness lasted more than a few days, she would always take her to a hospital or, in extreme situations, hire a live-in nurse.
Sasha had put up her little pillow and blanket fort so she could feel safe. When she was very sick with a fever or severe dehydration, something in her knew her mother would not save her. The fort was for protection when she was terrified. Tears ran down her cheeks as she realized… she had been scared every single day of her life.
Stretching out on the couch under her blankets, she watched the news. It didn’t matter which channel she selected, footage of the Preor was splayed across every single one. It was almost as if the media had been waiting for this since the first moment the Preor arrived on the planet.
Finally, something has pushed it from a quiet rumble to an Earth-shattering roar, she thought. The term earthshaking was not even an exaggeration. The entire planet could be torn apart by this conflict.
Pain stabbed into her belly and she pulled her knees up to her chest, dragging the covers over her head. The sun moved across the room far too slowly and the pain increased by the second. Even though her throat was dry and her lips cracked, she couldn’t force anything down her throat.
After a few hours had passed, her pain continuing to worsen, Sasha’s thoughts turned dark. Her optimism and lust for life was one of the things that drew fans to her, but Sasha was beginning to understand the persona wearing that face was her defense against the cruel prison she occupied daily.
Every morning she put on that bright smile and cheery manner, showing the world the person she wanted to be—confident and strong, not weak and wavering.
Soon, she started to cry, making her feel even worse than before. Her throat was so dry she couldn’t swallow and her eyes felt as if they were full of sand. She wasn’t sure how long she could last like this. Her fear only grew as she realized she could die here, and no one would know.
Mother would blame the Preor! she thought desperately. She would be believed, too! No one would ever know what happened to me!
Her heart thumped in irregular beats, frightening her even further. She knew now that even if she wanted to rise, she couldn’t.
When the front door squeaked, a rush of hope suffused her. It didn’t matter who was entering the apartment, even if it was her mother. They had to help. Even her own mother wouldn’t just let her die.
“Sasha!” her mother snapped as she strode into the room. “Are you still unwell? Great!” She came around in front of Sash and snapped a few photos. “I was hoping you were still sick. It’s great for the press. You look even worse than before. I can work with that.”
Jenna bent over to peer at Sasha’s face but kept her distance. Sasha looked up dully and wondered if she was actually going to have to beg her mother for help. When her throat gurgled, her mother backed up a few steps.
“Don’t vomit anywhere near me,” Jenna warned. “This is Chanel. I bought it especially for today. Besides, you know I’m a sympathetic vomiter. Have some sympathy for fuck’s sake.”
“Mother?” Sasha could barely speak.
“Yes, princess?” Her mother didn’t even spare her a glance, too enamored with her phone.
“I think I’m dying.”
Jenna looked up in disbelief, eyes wide, and let out a little laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous, Sasha. You’re ill but you’ll get better.”
“No mother, I’m going to die without my mate. I need Whelon.” She was so weak, the effort of speaking a full sentence made her sweat and shake.
“Sasha!” her mother snarled. “This is bullshit. It’s just a hallucination. I know you think it feels real, but—”
“Mother,” Sasha croaked. “Please help me.”
“All right, I’ll go get a doctor. Then he can tell you that you’re not dying and we can put a stop to this… this nonsense.”
Minutes went by and Sasha wondered if she truly had been abandoned for real this time. Maybe her mother wouldn’t bother to return. She clearly didn’t care what happened to
