“Tricky,” I murmured, though my skill as a surgeon made me confident that I could do this. What I wasn’t certain about was the whole thawing thing.
This technology was beyond anything I’d ever seen before. I closed the medical file and tossed it onto the polished wood before I spun to grab a few of the notebooks from the shelf.
Stefan returned with my coffee, and I took a long sip as I dove into the research.
Over an hour later, I was still thoroughly engrossed when the door across the room opened. Nattie and Nadia hurried inside.
“Nattie,” I said with a grin as I shifted my latest notebook onto the desk and rose to greet her.
“Hi,” she said as she crossed to me, kissing my cheek before she glanced at the messy desk, then returned her gaze to me, expectant. “How is it going?”
“This is fascinating,” I said, my eyebrows raising.
Disappointment danced in her eyes for a moment.
“Uh, sorry, I know this is your father. I didn’t mean to make it sound like a science experiment.”
“Well, it rather is, isn’t it, doctor?” Nadia said, crossing her arms.
“Well, but it’s important to Nattie. It’s family.”
Nattie placed a hand on my chest, her eyes searching mine. “Please tell me you can bring him back. Please tell me you can save him.”
“Uhh, well, I’m still reading through this. If I can get the thawing process correct, I know I can remove the bullet fragment. But we have to reverse the freezing process properly.”
“Yes, I understand,” Nattie said. “When can we begin?”
I furrowed my brows. “Oh, uh, I really don’t know.”
She furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I still have a lot to get through. And that’s just a first read. I need to then take some detailed notes. To do some experimenting with the process with something less…precious.”
“How long, doctor?” Nadia asked.
I set my hands my hips, a sigh escaping me. “Uhh, if everything goes well, maybe a few weeks. A few months, if not.”
“Months?” Nattie said, her eyes widening.
I bobbed my head, but from the look on her face, that was the wrong answer. “This isn’t a simple process. And I can’t afford to make a mistake.”
“No,” she said, her voice concealing a sob. “That can’t be. Kyle, we don’t have that kind of time.”
I furrowed my brow. We couldn’t speed things up any more than this. But that didn’t seem acceptable to Nattie or anyone else in the room. Would that be the thing that killed our relationship?
“Doctor, are you saying you cannot pull this off within the next day or so?” Nadia asked, one eyebrow arching high. Her tone seemed calm, but it was laced with a chilling edge.
“No, there’s no way,” I said.
Nadia’s eyes shifted to Nattie, her lips tightening into a thin line. “Then, we have a major problem.”
The finality in her voice sent a shiver down her spine. Whatever was coming next, I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.
CHAPTER 24
NATASHA
The words hit me like a physical slap as we stood in the quietness of the underground lab. My heart hammered against my ribs as the fallout of what this meant raced through my mind.
