Rook called while Bram was still waiting for his mother’s line to connect.
The incoming name displaced her photograph. Bram stared at the screen until the ringing stopped. His mother’s call had gone unanswered; he could not know whether she had heard it or merely left the phone in the other room.
A message followed from Rook’s office. Attend the secure housing desk. Family transfer available immediately.
Bram sat with his wet coat folded beside him. The clinic had offered him a towel and a chair while Kellan finished cleaning the tools. He had accepted both, then found he could not stop looking at the small acknowledgment the message required.
He told Eli where he was going.
“Not into a gate,” he added when Eli’s expression changed. “An office. Public entrance.”
“Why?”
“They’ve offered my family a move.”
