The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark by Orest Stelmach Read Free Book Online

you could use it, not look at it. Let’s go.”
    “I’m not taking the suitcase. Please. Let’s not argue over this.”
    “Why? You can’t seriously be concerned you’re going to nick it.”
    Bobby had already lied to her about Genesis II . He didn’t want to lie to her again. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “It’ll be hard to run with a suitcase.”
    “What?”
    “It’s easier to run with the bag.”
    “Run? What are you talking about? Who’s going to be running?”
    “We are.”
    Nadia frowned. Suspicion spread across her face. “Why do you say that?”
    “If the formula is real, someone else probably wants it. And if someone else wants it, we’re going to have to run. Just like we had to run from Ukraine.”
    “We’re going to Japan. Not Ukraine.”
    “Doesn’t matter where we’re going. The formula’s the thing. Right?”
    “If it’s real.”
    “Yeah. Right. If it’s real.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Do you know something I don’t know?”
    Bobby shook his head. “No.”
    Bobby kept a straight face but he could feel her eyes penetrate him. They’d only known each other for a year but they’d endured the trip to New York from Chornobyl and his murder charge. Nadia could read Bobby better than his teammates’ parents could read their kids.
    “You were excited when you first got home from jail,” Nadia said, “talking to me like normal. But ever since the e-mail came you’ve clammed up. And now you’re packing as though you’re going to need to run.”
    Bobby tried to hold her eyes but couldn’t. His father had been a master con artist. Bobby was discovering he was his father’s son, capable of concocting plots and lying to anyone necessary to extricate himself from a dangerous situation. But he couldn’t stand lying to Nadia. He owed her his life.
    “You do know something,” Nadia said. “Don’t you?”
    Bobby saw the knowing look in her eyes. On the one hand he didn’t want to discuss the treatments with her, relive the horrors he’d shared with Eva. On the other hand, he longed for her to push him a little more so he’d tell her the truth.
    Nadia walked up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. He’d told her never to touch him when she’d done the same thing at the Kyiv train station. But now he didn’t mind it so much. In fact, although he wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, he found it comforting.
    “All we have is each other,” she said. “If you know something it has to be related to the e-mail.” Bobby could see her mind working furiously. She was so smart. “The name. Genesis II . You recognized it. It means something to you. Doesn’t it?”
    Bobby nodded before he could decide whether he wanted to or not. He held his breath, waiting for her to yell at him, but she didn’t.
    Instead, she patted his shoulder. “That’s okay. I’m sure you had your reasons. The important thing now is we’re getting on a plane in two and a half hours to go to Tokyo. I need to know if we’re in danger. If Johnny’s in danger. Who or what is Genesis II ?”
    Bobby told Nadia about Dr. Arkady, Eva, and the treatments.
    “ Genesis II was what Dr. Arkady called us,” Bobby said. “Eva and me. He said we would be a fresh start for mankind. The person with the second locket, who signed the e-mail, the one Nakamura is calling Genesis II , has to be someone who knows about us. Who knows about our treatments.”
    Bobby told Nadia about Ksenia Melnik, Dr. Arkady’s assistant, and her son, Denys.
    “Why didn’t you tell me this right away?”
    Bobby felt himself blushing. “The treatments. We promised Dr. Arkady to keep them confidential. I didn’t want anyone to know. I had some kind of injections. I don’t even know what they were.” He didn’t mention the side effects. They weren’t relevant to their trip and the mere thought of them made him nervous. And he didn’t need to be nervous before a fourteen-hour flight.
    “And that’s it?” Nadia said.