1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 385
Shay laughed. “It took exactly one hot shower to
change my mind.” She reached out and touched Tally’s hair,
tangled and knotted from two weeks of camping out and
riding all day. “Speaking of showers, you are a total mess.”
Tally blinked. Hot tears were forcing themselves into
her eyes. Shay had wanted so much to keep her own face,
to live on her own terms outside the city. But that desire had
been extinguished.
“I didn’t mean to . . . betray you,” she said softly.
Shay glanced over her shoulder, then turned back and
smiled. “He doesn’t know that you were working for
Dr. C, does he? Don’t worry, Tally,” she whispered, putting
one elegant finger to her lips. “Your ugly little secret is safe
with me.”
Tally swallowed, wondering if Shay had found out the
whole story. Maybe Dr. Cable had told them all what she’d
done.
A buzzing sound came from beside Dr. Cable. On the
work tablet she had been carrying, a request light blinked
with an incoming call.
Tally picked up the tablet and handed it to Shay. “Talk
to them!”
Shay winked, pushed a button, and said, “Hey, it’s me,
Shay. No, I’m sorry, Dr. Cable’s busy. Doing what? Well, it’s
complicated . . .” She muted the device. “Shouldn’t you be
rescuing people or something, Tally? That is the point of
this little trick, right?”