Acceptable Risks (28 page)

And he didn’t say it couldn’t happen again. He didn’t apologize, or ask if she was okay. He just lay underneath her, holding her close, and breathed.

“Thank you for not starting out with caveats,” she finally said when her brain couldn’t take it anymore and forced her to speak.

“Hmmm?”

She lifted her head a little. His eyes were closed, but his hand was still moving. “Are you awake?”

His lids lifted slowly, lazily, and he looked so satisfied her heart skipped. “Barely. What did you say?”

“I said thank you for not starting out with caveats.” She put her head back down on his chest, this time at a steeper angle so she could breathe him in, taste his skin. “About how you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, and the last thing you want is to hurt me, and if I don’t want this I can say no, and—”

“I get the picture.” He lifted his shoulders off the bed and rolled them both over so she was on her back, looking up at him. His blue eyes burned with emotion, and her tears welled up again.

“It’s been a very long time for me, Gabby.” He traced his finger down the side of her face and across her mouth. “Both the sex and the emotion.” His mouth curved briefly. “One longer than the other. I haven’t opened myself to anyone since Kelly died.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’m—”

“You’re not grateful.” There was bite in his tone. “You’re deserving. I’ve been fighting this for a long time, and tonight it just didn’t seem worth fighting anymore.” He relaxed a little, settling onto his side next to her, propping his head with his arm under the pillow. “I don’t know if you realize it, but I avoided coming to the lab as much because of you as because I was ashamed to face Jason.”

“Oh, Matthew.” Sorrow swirled with happiness she didn’t dare allow. She rolled to face him and touched his cheek. “Why?”

“I told myself it was because I didn’t want to lead you on, but it was really because I sensed what we could have, and it scared me.” His face puckered in a slight frown. “I don’t admit to fear well.”

“I know.” She snuggled closer and braced herself. He’d overcome that fear tonight, but that didn’t mean anything for the future. “I want to go with you guys tomorrow.”

“You will.”

“I will?” She raised her head to stare at him. “No argument? No, ‘you’re safer here, let the professionals do the hard work’?”

“You’re not safer here. Even without knowing who the other people on Isaac’s list are, Hummingbird is more secure than my house, and leaving you alone is not an option.”

“Thank goodness.” She settled back onto the pillow. “I was prepared to stow away in Jason’s Range Rover, but I was afraid you’d take the Town Car instead.”

Matthew chuckled, his fingers toying with her curls. “We also need you. I want to pull all the RT-24 development data and prepare it to send to the government. If we can get it established before Isaac’s plan is complete, we might have ammunition against treason charges. And I want to destroy all the data on Jason.”

The doctor in her rebelled at that. “Even if we can’t use it for research purposes, Matthew, I can’t destroy his medical file. He’s unique. He’ll need special treatment for the rest of his life.”

“One file, yours, as secure as possible. You’ll be his doctor. As well as an attendant at his wedding, I imagine.” He grumbled more than stated the latter.

Gabby laughed. “I hope you come around before the wedding,” she teased him. “Is he really about to propose?”

He sighed and shifted under the sheet. “No. But if he doesn’t soon, Lark will. I don’t want to talk about that.”

“Okay.” Gabby let the subject go. If Matthew was relenting about his daughter, maybe his whole perspective was shifting, and she didn’t have to guard against a reversal. “Let’s talk about the plan some more, then. I didn’t think you’d include me, so I didn’t pay full attention before,” she admitted.

He kissed her. “From now on,” he said, “you’re in on everything.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lark dragged herself down to the kitchen at six in the morning, after a quiet but not completely restful night of snuggling, whispering and dozing.

Jason had gotten up and showered before she had, so she wasn’t surprised to see him in the kitchen, a mug of coffee ready to hand to her. She
was
surprised to see her father and Gabby giggling over the omelet pan.

“What the—?” She raised her eyebrows at the other couple as she sipped the coffee, then hummed in approval. “Thank you.”

“I figured you’d need it. I don’t know, they were doing this when I got down here.”

Matthew said something in Gabby’s ear, his arm around her back. Bubbles rose inside Lark, as if she’d been carbonated. Her father had apparently taken her words to heart. Okay, she didn’t want to think about how he and Gabby had spent their night, but he actually looked relaxed and happy, which was exactly what she wanted for him. And now, maybe he’d relax and be happy for her, too.

Still. Did they have to act so gooey? She shuddered and asked, loudly, “When do we leave?”

Her father looked up and grinned. Almost beamed. “About an hour. I reached Kolanko on his cell. He’s actually in DC right now and agreed to meet us at the office.”

She snitched a piece of bacon from a plate next to the stove. “What did you tell him?”

“Just that I wanted to meet with him, had some things to discuss. He agreed right away.”

They’d debated for a long time about where to arrange the meeting. They had no idea how many other staff members had been compromised. Jason had made sure Nils was locked out of the system, but there hadn’t been time to notify every employee. But they needed to access the lab, and Matthew and Jason could secure their own domain far better than anyplace else. So Hummingbird it was.

“Was Kolanko suspicious?” Jason asked.

“No. He’s been supportive since the explosion. He’s grateful for his daughter’s life and told me months ago to call him for anything we needed.”

“We’re all going, right?” Jason moved to the far counter to pour himself another cup of coffee.

“Yes. I need you with Kolanko, and then Gabby can get us into the lab and collect or destroy the data.”

It went unsaid—though it hadn’t the night before—that Isaac might come after them harder after their escape.

But he wasn’t stupid enough to target Hummingbird itself.

“What time is the meeting?” she asked her father.

“Eight o’clock.”

“And the strategy?”

“Jason and I will talk to him,” Matthew responded. “You and Gabby will sit quietly in my office and not worry your pretty little heads.”

He was clearly joking, and laughed when Gabby slugged him in the chest, but Lark couldn’t laugh. She hated that Jason would be away from her, that Kolanko could be as much a threat as anyone else. She leaned against the counter and watched everyone else eat, her appetite gone. She realized then that Jason wasn’t eating, either, but that he’d downed two glasses of orange juice. She met him at the refrigerator when he pulled out the jug for another refill.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Why?” He poured only half a glass this time.

“You seem unusually thirsty.”

“Nah. It’s healthy. Vitamin C will help with the cramps. You know.”

She wasn’t sure she believed him. She checked her watch and sighed. The sooner they got to Hummingbird, the sooner they could solve the problem and get on with the rest of their lives.

* * *

They arrived at Hummingbird half an hour before the meeting time. Matthew went to secure the conference room, while Jason took Lark and Gabby to his office.

“Don’t talk to anyone,” he cautioned. “Don’t go anywhere with anyone or use the phones.” He unlocked a cabinet and pulled out four small handheld units that he quickly coded. “Just hit this button in an emergency.” He indicated a small red button on the side, and handed one to each of the women. “They’re low range, so
stay here
,” he re-stressed. “Once you hit the stairs or elevator, you’ll be too far away.” Hummingbird had better equipment than this, but it was locked away on another floor, where they set up ops. There was no time to get to it, and accessing it could tip someone off.

“We’ll be fine. We’ve got Caitlyn out there as our first line of defense.” Lark stepped closer and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Go get this over with. And good luck.”

Jason kissed her and gave Gabby’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then hurried to join Matt in the conference room. Kolanko arrived a few minutes later.

“Mr. Templeton,” he boomed in his heavy European accent once the soundproof door closed behind them. “It is a true miracle to see you standing here.” He took Jason’s hand in both of his and pumped his arm sharply three times. “Welcome back to the living. I owe you so much.”

“Thank you, sir. Please, call me Jason. How is Adrina?”

“She is getting better. She had some nightmares, unfortunately. She didn’t understand what was happening, but remembers the fear as we ran, and that you fell.”

“She saw me?” The possibility hadn’t occurred to him. He’d thought they’d been long downstairs by the time he went over the rail, and was horrified that he was causing a child nightmares.

“Not exactly. She heard the noise and looked up, and then others talked about what happened in her hearing. She has had some anxiety, but is overcoming it now. Do not worry, Jason, it is not your fault, and that she lives is due to your skill and dedication. Now, Matthew, let us get to business. I know you are a busy man.”

“As are you. We appreciate you meeting with us.” The men sat at the conference table, Matt at one end, Kolanko by the door, Jason at Matt’s left hand. They weren’t sitting next to each other in a confrontational posture, and all could see each other’s faces. It was the best way to indirectly put Kolanko at ease.

“I am happy to be of service in any way I can.”

“We’re glad to hear that.” Matt leaned forward, his arms on the table, his hands folded. “We understand you’re working with Isaac Kemmerling.”

“But of course. You know this, yes? He is your representative.”

That was so not what Jason was expecting to hear, and in his shock, he couldn’t help exchanging a glance with Matt. Both faced Kolanko immediately, but the motion had been obvious. The big man sat back, his expression hardening. “What am I missing?”

“Isaac doesn’t represent us,” Matt explained. “He’s a former employee who resigned after censure and has been searching for an opportunity to take revenge on us for three years. The incident at your hotel gave him that opportunity.”

Jason listened while Matthew sketched the recent events, just skimming the surface so Kolanko understood what was at stake. The room twisted around him for a second. He blinked hard and waited for a wave of dizziness to pass. He swallowed, and his dry throat caught on itself. He should have brought a bottle of water into the conference room with him. There was a small refrigerator in the corner. He stood and went around the table to it, glad to find a collection of small bottles. He waited until Matt paused, then offered water to the others. Matt declined, but Kolanko accepted graciously, making Jason’s actions seem hospitable. But Matt eyed him for a second too long before continuing the recitation.

The water glided down Jason’s throat, cold and soothing. Everything seemed to sharpen instantly. There. That was all that was wrong. He needed something to drink. Maybe all the chemicals used on his body put him in greater need of hydration, something the techs hadn’t been aware of because he’d been well hydrated in the lab.

He screwed the lid onto his empty bottle and set it aside, refocusing on the conversation.

“We’re asking you to tell us everything you can about your dealings with Isaac,” Matt was saying. “Anything you can give us to block his intent and, if necessary, testify to the government or in court.”

The evenness of Matt’s tone revealed the importance of what he was asking, which gave power to Kolanko. Maybe he didn’t hear it. After all, Jason had spent a decade learning to read his boss. But the big man looked down at his hands flat on the table, his face in a slight frown, and Jason’s heart sank.

He wasn’t going to help them.

* * *

Her father owned an exceptionally high-quality desk chair.

Lark spun in a circle, letting her vision relax to fuzz as the office whirled around her, oriented by a flash of white—Gabby in her lab coat, freshly laundered armor. The doctor sat in a soft armchair on the far side of the office, perusing a law enforcement magazine. Lark, however, was bored. Bored, bored, bored.

Which was really a superficial mask for anxiety. She hated not knowing what was happening, what they’d do after the meeting, how to stop Isaac or keep her father from facing the death penalty.

When her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, she leapt to check it. She needed a distraction, any distraction. The display said “Ralph.” Lark wrinkled her nose. Maybe not that much of a distraction.

Feeling guilty for not calling in for so long, and telling herself Jason had meant don’t use the
office
phones, she answered.

“Lark Madrassa! Where the hell are you?”

“Ralph.”

“Of course it’s Ralph! You were supposed to be at work two days ago!”

“I came in Sunday. We talked. You know I had some personal issues to deal with.”

“‘Had’ being the operative term. You missed your appointment at the police station, too. You promised to be here to do inventory and haven’t even called in. I’ve left you six messages at home and on your cell.” He ranted on and Lark let him, because she deserved it. But she found she couldn’t care. Even his threat to fire her if she didn’t show up tomorrow was meaningless in the face of everything else.

Movement outside the office caught her attention, and she watched Caitlyn through the glass. The assistant had looked over her shoulder into the office, Lark was certain of it. Now Caitlyn paused with her hand on the phone, her body still, as if listening hard. After a moment, she picked it up and dialed.

“Gotta go, Ralph.” Lark hung up her cell and waved Gabby over as she picked up her father’s extension. She hit a few buttons to conference herself in and angled the receiver for Gabby to listen, too. The line was ringing, and they could hear Caitlyn’s breathing while she waited.

Gabby nudged Lark until the computer monitor hid their posture, then snatched a piece of paper and wrote, “Can she hear us?”

Lark nodded and cupped her hand over the receiver without touching it. Gabby held still, her mouth pressed together as if to keep herself from talking.

“Hello?”

Lark and Gabby exchanged knowing looks. It was Nils.

“Hi, it’s me,” Caitlyn said.

“What,” Nils barked, not even making it a question.

“They’re here.”

His response was a little less rude this time. “Who, they?”

“All of them. Matt and JT are meeting with Kolanko.” Nils swore, but Caitlyn continued, “Lark and the doctor are in his office.”

Gabby straightened just as Caitlyn turned. She pretended to study something on the monitor, then looked up at Caitlyn and smiled. The assistant returned it with a tiny curve of her mouth and turned back around. Gabby immediately crouched to listen again.

“Hang on,” Nils said, and the phone rasped and rumbled. He probably held it against his stomach. They could make out a few words, but nothing they could put together. Caitlyn heaved a big sigh.