Free Anew: Book One: Awakened by Josie Litton Page A

is
real.
    His hand lowers. He takes a deep
breath, drops the revolting collar on his desk as though it is suddenly burning
him, and goes over to the small fridge under the bookcase. He returns with a
bottle of water.
    “Drink.”
    I don’t even think of refusing.
As parched as I am, the water is beyond delicious. I finish the entire bottle
without pausing to breathe. At the same time my mind is racing.
    I’ve just learned something
important. Ian isn’t simply adverse to hurting me. The mere thought of doing so
almost literally sickens him.
    A little of the coiled tension
that has held me on a knife’s edge all day eases.
    He stares at me with a look of
intense wariness before he appears to come to a decision. Taking a deep breath,
he says, “I’ll forego the collar if you’ll give me your word that you won’t run
again or do anything else to endanger yourself.”
    I can’t conceal my shock.
“You’ll take my word?” How does that fit with the idea that I have no will of
my own?
    “Is there some reason why I
shouldn’t?”
    “No,” I assure him quickly.
Sensing that I have the advantage, I add, “I’ll give you my word not to run
provided I have your word that you won’t give me any reason to want to do so.”
    I’m thinking not of what passed
between us in the night but of the Cabinet of Secret Delights. Distantly, in
the back of my mind, I feel a dark, erotic pull in its direction but I am not
remotely ready to confront that.
    Ian stares at me for a long moment. Slowly, he nods.

Chapter Eight

    Ian
     
    T hud!
Thud! Thudthudthudthud!
    The punching bag shudders under
my fists. Sweat flies in all directions. My heart is pounding, my lungs burn.
Normally, I would have stopped before now but nothing has been remotely normal
since the moment Amelia awoke yesterday.
    What the hell was I thinking?
That I could tell her so bluntly who she is and she’d be fine with it? ‘You’re
a replica, you have no free will, and by the way, I own you’.
    Why didn’t I anticipate how
traumatized she’d be and what she might do as a result? I have a responsibility
to protect her. So far I’m doing a piss poor job.
    Thud! Thud! Thudthudthudthud!
    The two thousand acres of
untouched nature preserve that surround the palazzo are a rare treasure but
they contain more than a few dangers. Now that it’s spring, migratory black
bears, Canadian wolves, and bobcats are passing through, most of them
aggressive young males looking for mates. If she’d had an encounter with any
one of those--
    Then there are the cliffs and
steep ravines, the swiftly running rivers and streams that can topple anyone
trying to ford them, the endless opportunities to trip over a gnarled root or
rock and twist an ankle, becoming incapacitated-- She could so easily have been
hurt or worse.
    And that’s before I even get to
the potential threat from the greatest danger of all--humans.
    Thud! Thud! Thudthudthudthud!
    A backlash against the existence
of clones and replicas is growing, made all the greater by the fear that
technology is challenging the essence of what it means to be human. Anger has
ratcheted up among those from whom the march of progress has brought only a
crushing sense of no longer being either needed or relevant. Not surprisingly,
some want to destroy what they regard as a threat not merely to themselves but
to the very existence of humanity.
    If Amelia had encountered any of
them--
    Thud! Thud! Thudthudthudthud!
    I close my eyes, still punching,
and see her standing in the clearing, surrounded by my men. She was obviously
terrified--how could she be otherwise when she had no idea who they were or
what they intended? But she kept her head up and she didn’t give an inch.
    Again in the library, she faced
me down, refusing the collar, letting me know what I can do with any idea of
her being my property. I haven’t seen very many displays of courage to equal
that. She is brave but she is also maddeningly stubborn and defiant…not