Ultraviolet Catastrophe (19 page)

“Ready when you are.”

Asher typed in the password he’d gotten from hacking into the QT security system, and when the scanner glowed green, I pressed the plastic down, careful to keep my fingers out of the scanner’s light. One long second passed, then two, and finally, the door beeped and swung open.

I ducked under the police tape before I could think about what we were doing. “Let’s get this over with.” I tucked the print scan back into my purse and pulled out a tiny flashlight.

Asher slid into Avery’s chair and booted up the computer. “I’ll start on his computer files if you search the desk drawers.”

“Deal.” Nervous sweat beaded my forehead, and I pushed back the strands of hair plastered to my forehead before yanking open the top drawer and rummaging through it. Mostly office supplies. The guy seemed to have a thing for paperclips. Drawer two was snack foods. A jar of peanut butter, some crumbly crackers, three packets of oatmeal.

Drawer three was full of files. I sank to the ground and crossed my legs beneath my dress, pulling the files out one-by-one and opening them on my lap. I scanned through each document, but most of them were performance reviews or personnel files for Avery’s employees. The last folder seemed to be full of glossy handouts from conferences. I pulled them out one at time. Most of them were for things like the American Institute of Physics or the Biomedical Engineering Society or the Nano Today Conference, but the last brochure in the pile made me suck in my breath.

It was the same one Major Grant had given me on his “visit.”

It was for Branston Academy.

“What did you find?” Asher asked. I directed the flashlight to the cover, and his lips thinned. “Why would he have that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they tried to
recruit
him, too.” I could still feel the sting of Grant’s needle, and I pushed those thoughts away.

I flipped through the pages of the brochure, recognizing the fake smiles I’d seen in my own copy. On the last page, someone had scrawled a phone number in blue ink. I tucked the brochure into my purse and hurried to put the rest of the files back in the drawer.

“Are you finding anything, Ash?”

“Nothing but dozens of project status emails to Danvers and his team, and some pretty hot messages to the latest girl he was hitting on.”

“Oh?” I got to my feet to lean over his shoulder, and he shook his head.

“Keep moving, Lexicon. You can see them later.”

I stuck out my tongue and flicked the flashlight at the old-school clock on the wall. We’d been there seven minutes already. “We should hurry. Danvers will be wrapping up her speech soon.”

He nodded, not taking his eyes from the glowing monitor. It turned his skin a weird shade of blue and washed out his eyes until they looked colorless. “I’m almost done here. Take a look through his bookshelf before we go.”

I nodded and moved over to the tall shelf. It was mostly full of decorative items, a vase, a model of an atom, a few awards. The books were all crowded together on one shelf, and I gripped the flashlight in my teeth, aiming it at each book as I pulled it out. Most of them were texts he’d written or contributed to, a few looked like research books, and there were even one or two spy novels tucked between the scientific texts. I flipped through the pages of each book quickly, but there were no notes, no sign he’d even read any of them. We were wasting our time here, and if anyone caught us…

The glow from the computer faded as Asher shut it down, leaving my tiny flashlight the only light in the room. He moved through the shadows to join me at the bookshelf; I could feel the heat of him before his arm touched mine.

“What can I do?”

I could think of quite a few things he could do, especially in that tuxedo, but I smoothed my suddenly sweaty palms on my dress and turned to face him, the flashlight in my mouth shining directly in his face, turning his eyes into stars. He blinked and threw a hand up to shield his eyes.

“Watch it, Lexicon.” His voice was husky as he tugged the flashlight from my teeth and turned it on me.

It was such an odd feeling, knowing he was there, watching me, studying me, but invisible in the darkness. I forced a smile. “One left to go and then we can get out of here. Though I’m not expecting to find anything.”

“I hope there’s something on the information I copied from his computer. I’d hate for this to be a waste of time.” Asher directed the flashlight to the lowest shelf and then snapped the light off. “Did you hear that?”

My ears strained, but I was more conscious of Asher’s closeness, of the feel of his body beside mine in the dark. A thousand tendrils of heat stretched between us, connecting us. “I didn’t…”

“Shh…” He put a finger against my lips. I froze as his skin touched mine, and a shiver of pleasure snaked through me. I wished I could see his face. I was glad he couldn’t see mine.

And then I heard it too. Voices.

My phone vibrated in my purse, and I pulled it out. The text was from Zella.

Danvers and Kepler on the way.

I grimaced. So much for an early warning system. Thank god Asher had heard them. I leaned closer to him to whisper, “Danvers and my dad. We need to hide.”

We both realized it at the same moment. There was no place to hide. Avery’s desk was glass, modern and sleek. There were no closets, no huge chairs to hide behind. We were trapped.

Outside the door, the voices grew louder. Dad had that overly reasonable tone he always got when he was trying to make a point.

“You know I can’t continue on this project using Avery’s plan, Carla. That’s not how I work. I need time to reevaluate the approach.”

“We don’t have time, William. QT can’t afford any mistakes right now. We’re under investigation from the government, and Branston is breathing down our necks. If this doesn’t go well, they’ll take us over for sure. And then none of us will be safe.”

Asher tensed beside me, and I wanted to touch him, to reassure him it would be okay and my dad would make this right, but I held back, waiting for Dad’s answer.

“I understand, but we can’t take chances with this. One wrong step and it won’t just be our jobs at stake — it’ll be our lives.” He let out a deep sigh. “I need his files, Carla.”

There was a long pause, but finally, she said, “Fine.” The keypad beeped as she entered a password.

Asher slid a hand around my waist and yanked me to him, his other hand tangling in the hair at the back of my neck.

And then he kissed me.

I sank into him, my body fitting against his chest like a puzzle piece. My arms snaked up to his shoulders, brushing through the soft hair at the back of his neck. His lips crushed mine as his hands splayed across my back, pulling me even closer. The smooth fabric of his tux wrinkled beneath my grasping fingers.

The heat of him, the taste of him overwhelmed me, and the kiss deepened until the whole room was spinning. I forgot where we were, what we were doing. All that mattered was the chemistry between us, the way my hips pressed to his, the feel of his arms around me.

Asher’s fingers feathered against my jaw, each touch searing and gentle at the same time. His other hand traced the contour of my waist, curled around me, pulling me closer until our heartbeats mirrored each other. He tasted exactly like I’d expected — like Asher. And I wanted more.

There was a shocked gasp, and then my dad’s murderous voice. “Alexa Kepler, what the hell are you doing in here?”

Asher and I sprang apart. I could feel my cheeks blazing, and I stared at the floor, the walls, anywhere but my dad’s furious face.

“It was my fault, Dr. Kepler,” Asher said. “I wanted to be alone with Lexie, and this was the only unlocked office.”

Dr. Danvers shook her head. “That’s impossible. Security sealed it.” Her eyes narrowed. “What did you do, Rosen?”

“Me?” He blinked innocently at her and adjusted his jacket. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Both of you need to get back to the party. Now,” Dad growled. “And, Alexa, we
will
be talking about this later.”

I hung my head and shuffled out of the room, Asher right behind me. My dad slammed the door behind us.

Asher grinned like the Cheshire cat. “Guess it worked. They didn’t even question why we were in there.”

I blinked a few times. My head still felt kind of swimmy from that kiss, but I should’ve realized he’d only done it to save us, to give us an excuse for being in there. I forced a laugh. “Good one. Totally fooled them.”

“Let’s get back to the ballroom. We need to get everyone together and tell them what we heard. Branston wants to take over QT. I didn’t even think something like that was possible.” He shook his head and set off at a sprint.

I didn’t bother to try to keep up. My knees weren’t steady enough for that sort of speed yet, and my pulse still raced faster than I thought possible.

Asher stopped at the doors and waited for me. “You okay, Lexicon?”

Pull it together, Kepler.

I nodded and pushed past him into the crowded room. “Just need a drink.”

He peered at me for a minute, concerned. “There’s a chair over there. I’ll go grab a soda for you and be right back.”

I sank down into one of the chairs against the wall and watched him push through the crowds. People laughed and greeted him, and he’d switched back into actor Asher mode. Hell, he might even be more charming than usual if that was even possible.

Amy must have been watching for him because she appeared a moment later and gripped his arm like a lifeline. A surge of jealousy shot through me. The kiss hadn’t meant anything. I had to let it go. Asher and I were better off just staying friends.

Across the room, I spotted Max and Zella entering together. She had her head tilted close to his to hear better, her face glowing with happiness. There was another situation I couldn’t read. Zella obviously liked him, so why didn’t she just tell him? The music started up again, and Zella grabbed Max’s arm, tugging him toward the dance floor. He shook his head, but she kept tugging and finally he smiled and followed her.

I frowned at them. Maybe I understood Zella better than I thought. I wasn’t really having much success with accepting my own feelings about Asher. It was freaking terrifying.

At the drink table, Amy had draped herself all over Asher, but he shrugged out of her reach and nodded at one of the other guys standing nearby. He looked like he was our age, but I didn’t recognize him — probably in a different level. The guy’s eyes widened, and he nodded enthusiastically before holding out his hand.

Amy pouted at Asher, but he shook his head. Finally, she grabbed the other guy’s arm, her hips swaying as she headed for the dance floor. She glanced back at Asher to make sure he was watching the show, but he’d already picked up two cans of soda and was headed back toward me.

Amy stared at me from across the room. Her eyes narrowed before her partner spun her away into the crowd. I felt my skin crawl at the raw hatred in her expression.

“Amy looked pretty pissed you abandoned her,” I said casually, taking the can from Asher as he sat down beside me.

“I’m more worried about what’s going on here. Not really in the mood to dance with her.”

I chewed my lip. The image of Asher and me twirling to the music, the feel of his hands on my hips as we danced popped into my head before I could stop myself. And there I went again. So much for my promise to not think about him like that. “So, um, what are you in the mood for then?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “What are you offering?”

“Uh-uh. I’m not crossing that line. Amy already hates me enough as it is.”

“What we do together is none of her business.” His slow smile made my knees weak, but I pushed it away.

“Really? That’s why she’s spending the night at your house and bragging about you guys getting back together? I’m getting seriously mixed signals here. If you’re not interested, just tell me and put me out of my misery already.”

Oh my god, had I really just said that? I clapped my hand to my mouth and bolted to my feet, turning away before he could see my beet-red face.

Asher grabbed my hand before I could run away and forced me to turn and face him. “Misery, huh?”

I tried to tug my hand free, but he held it tighter. I stared down at the tips of my shoes poking out from beneath my dress. I couldn’t stand to see the gloating in his eyes. It was bad enough to hear it in his voice, for him to know I’d been stupid enough to fall for him. Because I had. As hard as I thought I’d been fighting it, it had been a losing battle from day one.

“Lexie, look at me.”

I shook my head and stared past him. Across the room, I spotted Jordan dancing with another scientist. Which meant Dad and Dr. Danvers were still in Avery’s office. Maybe if I caught the shuttle home, I could escape the dreaded discussion with him.

Asher put his hands on my shoulders and forced me to face him. “Amy and I aren’t together. We haven’t been since last year. We’re just friends.”

I finally met his gaze, hating that I sounded almost jealous. “Then why all the kissing and hanging out and whatever?”

“I told you. I’ve been helping her with her homework. And we haven’t kissed, Lexie. She knows we’re over.”

My eyes flicked to Amy, still gyrating on the dance floor. “I don’t think she does.”

Asher followed my gaze. “Not for lack of me trying. Honestly, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Especially you.”

He looked sincere and I wanted more than anything to believe him, but what about all the other girls he’d dated? Was I going to turn into another Amy, desperate to hold on to him after he’d moved on to the next shiny new thing?

The bars of a slow song filled the room, and Asher’s grin turned suggestive as he held out a hand. “Dance with me?”

It was all I could do not to jump into his arms, despite my misgivings. I tugged at the bodice of my suddenly-too-hot dress. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Me either. But somehow I don’t think anyone will mind.” Asher led me out onto the dance floor. His hands snaked around my waist and pulled me against him, and I awkwardly placed mine on his shoulders. What the hell was wrong with me? I’d danced with guys before. But none of them had Asher’s sparkling blue eyes or the dimple in his cheek.

“Relax. I’m not going to bite,” he whispered in my ear. His breath was hot and moist against my skin, and I shivered.

Couples moved slowly around us. I tried to focus on them instead of on the way my fingers ached to touch his hair or how my pulse threatened to turn into a drumbeat. Slowly, I relaxed into the feeling of having his arms around me. I looked up to find him watching me with a crooked smile that made my skin erupt into flames.