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every level, and often plied me with compliments I knew weren’t true.
    I tried to avoid him whenever he came for a check-in because he made my skin crawl, but this visit was different. They’d never shown up with an entourage before. And certainly not dressed like this.
    The agents wore black jackets with armored quilting at the shoulders and elbows. The necks of the jackets were high and close-fitting, made tighter by a fastened strap.
    Over the jackets they wore thick black vests. Handguns hung from the waists of their black pants, and their hands were hidden in black gloves with plates of rubber on the fingers.
    They clustered in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, waiting for further direction. In addition to Connor and Riley, I counted a total of seven men and one woman. Two agents per boy.
    None of them made eye contact with me, even when I stared. Were those bulletproof vests? I was suddenly on full alert.
    “Come with me.” Connor led his team to the basement. I followed silently at the back, afraid of being caught and sent away.
    Riley punched in the entrance code at the lab and the door rushed open. Dad’s voice carried out as he greeted Connor, then Riley.
    “Arthur.” Connor clasped Dad by the shoulder. “We got word this morning from OB that we’re ending the project. We’re taking the units.”
    Dad said nothing. The agents broke into pairs in front of each cell. Connor and Riley murmured to Dad while Sam stared down the men at his room, fists clenched. I caught Trev’s eyes and saw panic.
    “No.” The word was out before I could stop it. Everyone turned to me, standing at the mouth of the hallway.
    The boys shifted in their rooms. Shifted closer, as if they would group together if not for the walls between them. Sam’s eyes were on me.
    “Excuse me?” Riley snapped. He was far older than Connor, impatient, no-nonsense.
    I warmed beneath the attention and the glow of the fluorescent lights. “You can’t… yet… I mean… they’re not ready. We can still—”
    Sam shook his head and I went quiet.
    “She’s right,” Dad added. “They aren’t ready.”
    Connor gave Dad the kind of smile you give someone when you’re tired of their excuses, when you think you know better than they do. “Every time I talk to you, they aren’t ready. I’m beginning to think you’ve grown too attached.”
    Dad started to object, but I beat him to it. “We still need to run a few more tests.”
    Connor slid toward me, wound an arm around my shoulders. “I know you’ve put in a lot of effort down here with Arthur these last few months, and that won’t go unrewarded. How much longer do you have before you finish school?”
    I had only about six months to finish homeschooling and told Connor so, though I had no idea why it mattered.
    “Come see me when you’re done. We’ll find a spot for you. I’ll keep you close to me. Sound good?”
    Sam shook his head again, but Connor missed it. Cas stood at the front of his room, arms crossed over his chest. Nick rolled his head back and forth, the bones in his neck cracking. Trev curled his hands into loose fists.
    Connor dug his fingers into my shoulder as he turned us both toward the rooms. “I think you would make a wonderful addition tothe Branch,” he continued, keeping his eyes on the boys. “Would you like that?”
    My limbs felt weak and airy. “Um…” I was overwhelmed by the smell of his cologne, sweet and musky all at once.
    There were things I wanted outside of this lab. I wanted to travel, to visit the places in my magazines. But I’d never pictured my life without Sam and the others in it. If I worked for the Branch, would I work close to Sam? Did it even matter? If he left today, would he forget about me?
    “You don’t have to find a place for me.”
    “Nonsense. I want you there. It’s my pleasure.” Connor ran a hand over his blond, perfectly coiffed hair, as if checking its placement. “Clearly the boys respect you.