They sat opposite each other, and Levi found that the nerves had taken control all over again.
“So,” he said. “See any interesting movies lately?”
Hannah had perfected the art of the look of condemnation combined with disgust. “I don’t have time to watch movies,” she said firmly.
“Nothing?” he said. “Not even those old ones that constantly run on cable?”
Hannah shook her head, looking down at the table. Levi felt like he was failing, but at the same time, perhaps he was pushing her too far into a personal direction she wasn’t ready to go.
She did say to him that she wasn’t good with relationships, after all.
Levi decided to remain quiet as their breakfast was served. Two poached eggs, toast, strawberries, and a pile of bacon. They ate their food in silence, with Hannah consuming her own in record time.
When she was finished, she wiped her mouth, with Levi trying to force himself to look away from those tasty-looking lips. She stood abruptly.
“I’m going to survey the grounds,” Hannah said. “What is your plan for the day?”
Levi was hovering his fork with a piece of bacon on the tip, holding his mouth open. He gazed around, truly unsure of his answer.
“Um, I think I’ll try to work. My office is next to my bedroom, so you know.”
Hannah nodded, then spun around to stomp her way back to the front door. But before she left the room, she turned her head slightly back in Levi’s direction.
“Levi?”
“Hmm?”
She was a sight to see, no matter what distance, no matter what mood. He was in trouble if he had to have her around for any length of time.
“Tell your chef thank you for the food.”
Levi nodded, then watched as Hannah left the room hastily.
He did eventually get upstairs to his office to start looking into the Einstein Project. But it took him a moment to realize that all of the work had been frozen while he was missing and would remain so until the situation was resolved. Levi grunted and tried to bury himself into anything that would take his mind off Hannah.
Levi worked for hours, his focus narrowing like an archer into a consistent flow. He hadn’t even realized that the chef had brought him lunch or that he had begun eating it without conscious awareness. Around four p.m., he shook himself out of the daze and got up from his desk to stretch his legs.
He immediately came across Hannah pacing the hallway like a wolf in a cage. He smiled to himself, feeling his heart leap at the mere sight of her. She noticed him, too, and began walking toward him casually.
“Any word from Nick?” Levi asked.
Hannah shook her head, her eyes glued to the ground as she seemed to make a conscious effort to not meet his eyes. “Nothing so far,” she said.
Levi felt that awkwardness emerge between them again. The day before, he had seen her humor, parts of her true self, and he desperately wanted to see that again.
“So what is the plan here?” he asked, placing his hands in his pockets.
Hannah’s walls immediately went up again. “Plan?” she asked, her expression distorted. “The plan is to keep you here, keep you safe, while Nick and the team investigate who kidnapped you and why.”
Levi shook his head, which seemed to increase the level of annoyance Hannah was having trouble containing. “We know why,” Levi said. “A bunch of people aren’t happy about the drones. So why do I have to stay locked up in here because of that?”
Hannah remained silent but stared at him with daggers in her eyes.
He stepped toward her, emphasizing his words proudly. “I am not going to be a prisoner in my own home, Hannah,” he said. “That’s letting them win more than anything else.”
Hannah stood still, almost as if she had been frozen in time. Without thinking it through, Levi touched her forearm, and he was sure that he heard her faintly hiss.
“What are you doing?” she inquired.