Read Online Deadly Betrayal by Maria Hammarblad - Free Book Online Page A

databases, whatever that meant. We had been together for many years, but I only had a dim understanding of how he worked. It had never seemed like a problem; I didn’t know how a human worked either.
    I went about my morning, took a shower, and found fresh clothes. Adam still didn’t wake up.
    “Adam.”
    I ran a hand over his shoulder.
    Nothing.
    I shook him.
    Still nothing.
    Swallowing hard did little to keep brewing panic in check.
    He had told me he wasn’t fully functional. He told me he needed to sleep, or power down, or whatever his data cleaning stage should be called. Maybe it hadn’t been enough.
    Had I re-found him just to lose him after one night?
    I would have to ask John for help.
    Fantastic. This might not exactly be my fault, but I felt like I broke him. I was supposed to take care of him, it was the one thing John ever asked me to do, and I broke him.
    I rested my hand on his shoulder and said, “I’ll be right back” just in case he could hear me.
    John’s door slid open when I came close to it. I hadn’t even considered what time it might be and that he might still be sleeping, but he sat in a chair with his feet up, reading a book.
    He had probably stayed up like that all night, making sure to be awake in case I needed help. So many did so much for me and I had so little to give back.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I think he’s dead.”
    “Again?” He came over to me, put a hand on my back, and pushed towards my room. Once there, he looked at Adam and frowned. “What did you do to him? He was fine yesterday.”
    “I didn’t do anything. He said he was going to purge his databases and that he needed new memory circuits because they were radiation damaged.”
    When John didn’t answer, I added, “Can you fix him?”
    “I don’t have circuits for him stored in the pantry, Hon.”
    I gave him a blank look. Adam was his son. At some point in time, he built androids. Was it that farfetched to think he might have spare parts?
    “You’ve fixed him before.”
    He looked at me and sighed. “Yes. On the Bell, with Jia’Lyn. You know I like to tinker. Cheryl and I, it was a team effort.”
    “Oh.”
    “Don’t look so disheartened. We’ll take him back to the Bell. Jia’Lyn and I will get him going again.”
    “I hope so.”
    Way to go, sounding mousy.
    Going back to the Bell meant meeting Anya. It would be more awkward for him than for me, but still awkward. She would know everything that happened and everything that almost happened . She’d know before we were even on the ship.
    John shook me out of my thoughts. “You said radiation damage. That might have ruined his power cells.”
    Power was good. Necessary.
    “Can we check that?”
    “Not in here.”
    At least Adam looked peaceful.
    Maybe he used up his last ounces of energy in getting to us.
    John put a hand on my shoulder. “Go to sickbay and get a gurney. We might as well run some tests.”
    When I stepped into the corridor I couldn’t remember where sickbay was. Then, my feet took over and led me in the right direction.
    I met John when I headed back; he must have tired of waiting for me. He carried Adam hauled over his shoulder.
    I knew he was strong, but I didn’t know he was that strong.
    John dropped Adam on the gurney and chatted as we walked. It was his way to keep me calm and distracted, and I was grateful.
    “Did you learn anything more from him?”
    “He mentioned Debana. I think she teleported him out, but I don’t know how. Or why. Then she hid him in a cleaning closet, and I think he was there for a long time. Months.”
    “Debana? Orange hair and color-changing eyes? She brews some foul booze.”
    That’s not what I expected him to say.
    John opened a hatch in Adam’s head to attach a data transfer cable, but paused before plugging it in. “Oh,”
    I had done my best not to look. Seeing cables stick out of my husband’s head made me queasy at the best of times. Now I went over to take a little peek, more