Take - Page 86

“Will this do the job?” Don asked with a smile.

“More than that. This gear is top-of-the-line. When can I start?”

“Now, if you like.”

Out in the hall, I spotted Reath heading back my way. His cellphone rang, and he pressed it to his ear. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I could tell it was a terse conversation. When he entered the lab, his jaw was tense.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He held the phone up so I could see the screen.

There was a video. I tapped it and watched as a sidewalk flickered to life. Then a man appeared and looked up at the camera. He smiled.

I sucked in a breath.

Auclair.

“I have to go,” Reath said.

“All right. I’d like to stay here and get started.”

His chest rose as he pulled in a deep breath. “The security is good. I texted Noah, and he ran a quick check on Croft and Weare. They’ve both been with DARPA a long time. Stay inside and don’t leave until I come back to get you. I’m sending over a man. His name is Ben Axelson. We call him Axe. Weare’s authorized it.”

I nodded, and then he lowered his head and kissed me.

“Be careful,” I whispered.

From the dangerous glint in his eye, I didn’t think he’d listen to my advice.

“And you stay out of trouble.”

“It’s going to be me and some bacteria. What could go wrong?”

Dressed in a lab coat, I leaned over and scribbled some notes. I glanced at the beakers and Petri dishes on the bench and smiled.

It felt so good to be working again. I was born to be a scientist, and the lab was my spiritual home.

I glanced up. No one had bothered me for a long time. Don had disappeared, and I’d seen Trent Weare and some other security guys out in the hall.

My thoughts turned to Reath. Was he okay?

God, waiting to hear, knowing that he was out there hunting Auclair, was the worst.

I thought of how we’d taken each other last night in his bed. It hadn’t felt like just fucking. It had felt like making love.

I lifted my fingers and rubbed my forehead. Could I help Reath see that we had something special? That love could be a strength, not just a weakness.

The rap of knuckles at the door made me jerk. I dropped my pen, and it rolled across the floor.

“Sorry to startle you, ma’am.” An older man stepped inside, wearing khaki cargo pants and a black shirt. If I had to cast someone to play a battle-hardened soldier, it would be this man. He had a craggy face, broad shoulders, and intense blue eyes. His salt-and-pepper hair was cut very short. “I’m from PSS. Ben Axelson. Reath sent me.”

I smiled and pressed a hand over my racing heart. “Of course. He told me to expect you. Thanks for coming, Ben.”

“Call me Axe.” He nodded and scanned the lab. “This facility is secure, but we can’t be too careful.”

“Well, Linc played my bodyguard the other day, and now he’s on desk duty for all his trouble.”

Axe’s lips twitched. “He hates desk duty, and he’s letting us all know.”