Sedition by Alicia Cameron Read Free Book Online Page A

re-education centers, the research had been conducted under the guise of continuing my family’s business. I had plotted the grand reveal for months, but I let my news slip at a holiday party. She discovered my results before I ever had a chance to take them public. The results that could have torn down her empire were buried under layers of legal and administrative security, and she has monitored me closely ever since. She’s onto the reboot of the project; she has been for a while. The only advantage I have is that she has no proof, and I have Sascha to thank for that. He hid it from her last time without even knowing what he was hiding. I’ve told him about my current research, but nothing about the past, or my mother. Whether I continue to enjoy that benefit of his help in future seems unlikely at the moment.
    “I’m sure the partners at my company are well aware of the existence of the Miller System,” I snap. “And nobody but Oliver knows anything about me. It will stay that way. That was what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
    “You’ve always been the most ungrateful child!” she yells through the phone, making me cringe despite the distance between us. “One day I won’t be there to help you. You’d better keep your nose clean!”
    She disconnects before I have a chance to reply, leaving me thinking about my options and hers. She’s tried to interrupt my progress, but she has nothing on me, thanks to Sascha. I doubt Oliver would turn on me, but then again, he was at my mother’s call for years. I have only trusted one other person with my research, and even then, my insistence on keeping secrets got in the way. I didn’t tell him about Oliver’s connection to the original research, or his history with my mother. What happened at Oliver’s party was Sascha’s fault, but it was mine as well.
    I don’t want to lose him over my own paranoia.
    After dinner, I follow Sascha into the kitchen, watching him wash dishes and pretend I’m not there.
    “You took your things out of my bedroom,” I comment, trying not to sound angry. I just want him to talk to me.
    “Yes, master.” He doesn’t look at me.
    “You didn’t need to do that,” I say, frustrated. “It’s fine, though.”
    “Yes, master.”
    He keeps washing dishes. I wonder if he’s waiting for me to forgive him or invite him back. I try making the first move. I come closer, standing hip-to-hip with him, and I place my hand on the small of his back. I lean close, whispering, “You are welcome to come back, if you’d like.”
    I feel him tense, but he tenses so often. When I hear him say “Okay,” I start rubbing his back slowly. I know he likes this; he always relaxes when I do it.
    “I know you were upset,” I whisper, letting my lips brush against ear. “But that doesn’t have to have anything to do with it. Things were good like they were before. I can make you feel good again.”
    Sascha carefully sets down the dish he is washing and I start to regain hope that we can fix this.
    “If that’s your wish, master, I’ll obey.”
    His tone is detached, defeated, and I jerk away in horror. He turns to look at me, and I don’t bother trying to conceal the look on my face. I’m shocked that I’ve made him think I would do that to him.
    “Jesus Christ, Sascha!” I snap, retreating away from him. “That wasn’t what I meant!”
    He looks at me with hatred in his eyes, something he has never done, not even when I first bought him. I’ve betrayed him, and he’s not going to let me forget it. Where I used to see lust and longing in his eyes, now I just see fear and disgust.
    “I didn’t mean…” I start, stepping farther away. But what did I mean? I wanted him to forget it, to go back to being the pleasing little pet he was before the party. “Forget it.”
    I storm out, sickened with myself. I try to be angry with him, because I’ve given him everything, but I can’t. I kept him in the dark, it backfired. I should never have