Read Delete: Volume 3 (Shifter Series) for Free Online Page A

that was still intact.
    “Um, yeah you do,” Zac said, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Penthouse suite, buddy.”
    I followed him towards an armed guard protecting the entrance. The man stiffened upon my approach, jerking his gun to his chest. I ignored him, sick of guns and men snapping to attention whenever they saw me, and pushed through the doors.
    Inside were a large reception desk and a water fountain with a statue of a leaping fish in the middle. The fountain burbled in a way I guessed was supposed to be relaxing, but really just made me want to use the bathroom.
    “Good morning, Mr Tyler,” the woman who appeared at reception said. She was unnaturally cheery for this time of the morning. “It’s been a while. I hope everything is well.”
    “Yeah, sure,” I muttered.
    “I took a few messages for you while you were away.” She reached into a small cubbyhole behind the desk and handed me a pile of envelopes. I tucked them under my arm without even looking at them.
    “Thanks.”
    “Well, then, have a great day.” She smiled a beaming plastic smile and walked back into the room from where she’d appeared.
    “Come on,” Zac said, tugging at my arm.
    He led me over to a set of golden lifts. The doors slid open automatically without having to be called, and we stepped inside. I stared at the numbers as they counted up. Zac watched me the whole time, the corner of his mouth curled.
    “Cut it out, would you?” I said.
    “What?”
    “The mysterious smile. It’s annoying.”
    “Hey, I’m sorry, but it’s kind of funny, you know?” he said, looking straight ahead.
    “What is?”
    “You. Not remembering, being all…” he looked up, trying to find the right word.
    “All what?” I said, with a sigh. “All stupid?”
    “No, being all shy and hating the attention. Like when it all first started. It’s sort of nice to have you back.”
    The elevator pinged open on the top floor, and I stepped out before I could read too much into what Zac was saying.
    On either end of the corridor, large windows looked out onto the city to the east and west.
    “Wow, I really live here?” I said, walking towards the window and looking down at the river beneath us. In the dull grey light of morning, it was almost possible to pretend London was whole again from up here.
    “Yep. All the top brass were moved here when the war first started. When they didn’t think London would ever come under attack. Now you’re the only one left.”
    “Why?”
    “They didn’t think it was safe.”
    “And were they right?” I said, remembering the shattered glass buildings I’d seen yesterday.
    “It’s palladium-based glass,” Zac said, knocking on the window with a bent knuckle. “It can withstand a force of up to two hundred thousand pounds per square inch. There are sentry guns on the roof with motion trackers that have a one hundred-meter-range sensitivity. And surface-to-air missiles positioned all around to take out any aerial attacks. But even then… probably not. I mean, where is safe these days? The brass keep asking you to move into the Hub with the rest of the S3. But you insisted. Said something about not running away and being a beacon for hope.”
    “God, I’m a real dick, aren’t I?”
    Zac didn’t answer. He smiled and walked me towards the only door on the floor, marked with a large, silver number one. I dug in my pockets for a key. But they were empty.
    “It’s DNA-sensitive. Only you can open it,” Zac said, pointing at a small silver panel on the side of the door.
    “Oh, right.”
    I placed my hand on the panel. It was cold, sucking the warmth out of my hand. Something scratched across my palm and, after a second, the door swung open with a clunk. I looked down at my hand, where a thin red line cut across my palm.
    “It takes a skin sample,” Zac said in explanation.
    “Welcome home, Commandant Tyler,” a female, computerised voice said as I stepped through the door.
    I groaned at my own