Free Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky Page A

club. He was wondering why you weren’t keeping a low profile since you’re supposed to be in the LADC.”
    “Paul Thompson?” I asked, my throat already tight. “What did you tell him?”
    “I told him the truth. That you were still hanging out with DS dropouts.”
    I stared at the ceiling. “Why would you tell him that, Joe?”
    “He’s a good friend. The Thompsons are like family to us.”
    “Paul Thompson wants to see me burned at the stake. His dad’s my probation officer. What were you thinking? You should have just dropped me off at the LADC.”
    “What were
you
thinking?” he shot back. “Paul told me you helped out with an interception. And you crashed a cop car? This isn’t funny anymore, Maddie. This is serious. You could have killed someone.”
    “That’s what airbags are for. They’re designed to withstand impacts at over sixty miles an hour.”
    “What are you, some secret agent all of a sudden? One of the cops is in the hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung. How do you feel about being responsible for that?”
    I looked down at my lap and felt terrible. “I’m sorry. We didn’t plan the interception; it just happened. That kid stopped our shuttle and we were only trying to help.”
    “You help the wrong people,” Joe insisted. “Don’t you see that? Maybe you shouldn’t be hanging around Justin anymore. The guy’s bringing you down.” He looked away from me and sighed. “I did some research and the LADC doesn’t sound that bad. It’s a rehabilitation clinic. It might really help you.”
    I stood up and tried to laugh but it got caught in my throat. It sounded like a whimper. “I’m getting out of here. Nice talk. Now I get to go into hiding again.”
    We were interrupted by a knock at the front door. I looked at Joe with suspicion, but he refused to meet my eyes. No one ever knocked on our door. For a second I foolishly thought it was Justin, but he knew better than to come up here; he knew where he wasn’t welcome.
    “What’s going on, Joe?”
    “You should get the door,” he told me. “It’s for you.”
    The muscles tightened around my lips. “Open,” I told the sensor, and the door unlocked.
    Two tall uniformed figures walked in. My first instinct was to run but my feet were locked in place. Damon and Paul blocked the only exit in the apartment. They stared at me and their faces held identical cocky grins.
    “We meet again,” Damon said.
    “It’s been a while,” Paul added.
    I glared at Joe. “You knew they were coming all along?”
    “Sorry, Maddie,” Joe said. “I just care about you. I don’t want to see you throw your life away because you’re too naive to know what you’re doing.”
    I slumped down onto the stool and pressed my face into my hands. I wondered if there was a website where you could buy and trade brothers because my current one sucked. Disownyourfamily.com. I’d have to look into it.
    “It was a cute prank,” Paul said.
    I looked up at him and rolled my eyes.
    “Is this your new goal?” he asked. “To free the world one digital dance club at a time?” He laughed at his own joke.
    “How thoughtful of you to come all the way down here to be my personal escort,” I said.
    He asked for my hands; I grudgingly raised my arms and he slapped metal handcuffs around my wrists. “My dad and I made a special trip down here to keep your arrest private. That way no one could intercept you this time. Nobody knows about this. We were open to working with you and your father until you almost killed a cop last night.”
    I stood up and Damon grabbed my biceps tightly with his hand. “You’re about a month late for your registration at the LADC.”
    I mumbled that I preferred to be fashionably late wherever I went. I tried to play confident even though my hands were shaking. Damon’s eyes pierced mine. His patience was gone.
    “You don’t speak unless I give you the privilege. You understand me, young lady?”
    He squeezed my arm