Crossing his arms, Carl was glad to see him go. It hadn’t escaped his attention that Alec seemed to take every opportunity to touch Kayla in some way. He didn’t consider himself to be a jealous man, but there were limits. He just wished he could get a read on Kayla’s feelings.

Xantham leaned toward Carl. “I don’t like that guy.”

Carl nodded and muttered, “You’re not the only one.”

“Let me show you to your rooms,” Seara offered.

They followed her down the hallway, and she showed them to each of the prepared rooms. After putting their things down, Seara opened up the safe room for them. “I know you have things you want to do so I’ll get out of your way. I’ll have some food out in the living area whenever you get hungry.”

Kayla set up one of the computer terminals and glanced over at them. “How far did you guys get with the program?”

Cruncher linked his terminal connection with hers and said, “We were able to get into the system easily enough with Alec’s access codes, but their monitoring system is pretty complex. There are a few loopholes we discovered, though, and I started coding a few things. We could definitely use your help in exploiting them.”

Once their systems were up and running, Kayla set to work reading Cruncher’s code and making modifications. Carl watched as Cruncher began debating back and forth with her about possible changes. Her adeptness with technology continued to impress him, especially given her camp’s limited resources. Xantham occasionally threw in a few comments but primarily amused himself by reading through OmniLab’s sensitive data with Alec’s passcodes.

Once he was confident they were engrossed in their project, Carl headed back into the living room with Veridian. Seara looked up from placing a tray of food on a table and smiled at them. “Please help yourself. If Kayla’s anything like her father, she’ll end up immersed in whatever she’s doing and forget to eat.”

Veridian laughed and reached for a plate. “Yep, that’s her. Kayla forgets everything when she gets started on a project.”

Carl looked at the expanse of food. “I’ll take something to her.”

“Thank you, Carl,” Seara said, handing him an empty plate. She looked at him, her gaze hesitant. “I know it’s none of my business, but most people wouldn’t have gone to the lengths you have for my daughter. You jeopardized your entire future. You care about her, don’t you?”

Carl paused, assessing Seara carefully to gauge her reaction to his words. He was well aware that many Inner Circle members didn’t care much for outsiders. He wasn’t sure if she was one of those who harbored conventional views but decided it best to keep his answer conservative. “Your daughter is an incredible woman. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

Seemingly unaware of his concerns, Seara smiled happily. “She is, isn’t she? The more time I spend with her the more she reminds me of her father. I wish she’d been able to get to know him.”

Relaxing somewhat, Carl began making up a plate of food. “I can’t help but wonder how different her life would have been if she had grown up here instead. But I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to get to know her.”

Seara studied him thoughtfully for a long moment, but she didn’t say anything more. Instead, she handed Carl a fork and napkin to take to Kayla. Armed with a plate of food, Carl carried it to the safe room while Veridian stayed behind with Seara.

Xantham’s eyes widened when he saw the plate. “Real food? I’ll be back.” He jumped up and ran out of the room.

Carl chuckled and put the plate down next to Kayla. “You need to eat something.”

Kayla nodded absently and took a bite without bothering to look away from the screen. She continued working, and Carl waited patiently for her to resume eating. When she continued to ignore him, he cleared his throat to get her attention. “One bite isn’t going to cut it, Kayla. Have you eaten anything today?”

“Huh? What?” Kayla blinked at him, her confusion evident.

“You need to eat something,” he reminded her.

“Oh, right.” She glanced down at the plate as though seeing it for the first time. She dutifully took another bite before turning back to the computer.

Carl stopped her. “If I have to physically remove you from the computer, I will. Take a short break, Kayla.”

She scowled. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“So you’ve said,” he agreed. “Repeatedly.”

Cruncher looked up, pretending to be affronted. “What? You didn’t bring me a plate?”

Carl raised an eyebrow. “Next time you’re locked up against your will, I’ll consider it. In the meantime, though, you can get off your ass and get yourself something.”

Cruncher chuckled, stood, and headed out of the room. Kayla ate a few more bites before pushing the plate away. She looked at Carl expectantly, and he sighed in resignation. He took her plate while she turned back to the computer. Within a few minutes, she was back to being totally engrossed in her computer.

He shook his head, heading back into the common area.

“Well, she ate a few bites,” Carl informed Seara. The woman took the plate from Carl and gestured to the table. “Why don’t you have a seat and fix yourself something?”

He obliged and sat with the rest of his crew. When they finished eating, Cruncher and Xantham headed back to the safe room while Carl, Veridian, and Seara remained behind, talking. After several hours, Veridian and Seara headed to their respective rooms to get some rest.

Carl walked back into the safe room. It appeared Cruncher and Xantham had already gone to bed. Kayla was still sitting at the computer, reading intently.

“Still working on it?”

Kayla jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned to look at him and relaxed slightly. “No, it’s finished. I wanted to take another look to make sure we didn’t miss anything. It looks like it’ll work.”

Carl walked up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He started massaging her tired muscles, and she lowered her head, making a small noise of contentment.

“You have no idea how wonderful that feels.”

He continued rubbing her shoulders. Leaning down close to her ear, he said, “Everyone else has gone to bed. Why don’t you turn this off? You can finish looking at it in the morning.”

“Mmm,” she murmured and turned off the monitor. Standing up, she turned around to wrap her arms around his neck and purred, “Was that an invitation?”

“It could be, if you’re interested.”

Kayla ran her fingers lightly across his chest. “I’m definitely interested.”

He smiled at her and tilted her head back to kiss her. “Then let’s go to bed.”