Deke poked his head in, his gaze roaming her head to toe as if taking inventory. A feminine part of her bristled, and she lifted her chin. He grinned with no small amount of masculine smugness. “You’re looking a bit worse for wear, darlin’.”
The endearment, normally used with a nice Southern drawl, came out asdorilinin his deep brogue. She lowered her chin as her mind spun. As she tried to deny reality. “No more so than you.”
“True.” Someone called his name from down the hall, and he turned and gave a jerk of his head before focusing back on her. “Just got word the FBI is tracking Zach Barter back this way. There are guards posted by the labs and at the end of this hallway. You don’t move without me by your side. Got it?”
Fear sizzled along her skin, yet she kept her composure and lifted an eyebrow. “Did you take Scorpius samples from the lab?”
He stilled. Then his head lifted, and his green gaze lasered right in on her. The atmosphere in the small room was charged. “No.”
She stood and planted both hands on the desk. “Do you know who did?”
“Aye.” His eyelids dropped to half-mast in a curiously dangerous look.
“Damn it all to hell, Deacan,” she exploded. “Scorpius is not a weapon.”
He drew in air through his nose. “It could be if used against us.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers and fought the urge to punch him in the face. “I won’t be part of creating a weapon we might use against other human beings. No matter what happens.”
“We need a secondary location to keep Scorpius, just in case something happens to this one,” Deke said levelly. “Nobody is asking you to be part of weaponizing anything. Your job is to find a cure, so I suggest you do it.”
Her chin lifted. “What’s your job?”
“To protect and defend by any means necessary.” He lifted a shoulder. “It’s who I am, and I’m not garna change. What we have, you and me, it’s good. Maybe we don’t agree on much, but we agree on each other. We shouldn’t have given up so easily last time.” He glanced down at his vibrating phone. “I have to go. We’ll discuss us later. Don’t leave the building,wife.” Without another word, he turned and disappeared down the corridor.
Her temper exploded inside her head with enough force to rattle her teeth. How could he?
The phone on her desk buzzed, and she snatched it up. “What?”
A pause came across the line for a moment. “Um, Dr. Medina?”
Nora took a deep breath and tried to keep from throwing something. She and Deke were going head to head at the nearest opportunity. “I’m sorry, Bobbi. What’s going on?”
“Well, I, I’m not sure what to do. I tried to call Lynne because I heard she still wanted to be informed of major developments, but she’s out of range, and maybe not even conscious, and I, just—”
“It’s okay.” Nora lowered her voice to soothing. “I’m covering for Lynne, and I can help. What’s going on?”
“I found the missing samples,” Bobbi whispered, her voice muffled.
Nora’s head jerked up. “Where?”
“By Loading Dock C. After I saw they were gone, I figured I should do something since Lynne wasn’t here, so I went to talk to Geo Flanks in the security room? The cute one with the beard?”
“Bobbi—to the point, please.” Nora skirted the desk and headed into the hallway. Where was Loading Dock C? Somewhere south, right?
“Well, he let me watch the security cameras and recordings, and I saw the vials being removed. The cooler containing them is in C right now. Just waiting.” Bobbie cleared her throat. “What should I do?”
Nora sped up, smiling at people she passed. “Nothing. Do nothing right now—I’m on my way.” She sucked in air. “Who took the vials?”Please, don’t let it be Deke.
Bobbi sniffed. “Don’t get mad, but it was the sexy-as-hell Scot. Your man.”
Nora doubled over as if punched in the gut. If he thought she wasn’t smart enough to stop him, to stop the government, he didn’t know her at all. “Hold tight. I’ll be right there.” She tried to remember the map she’d been given earlier so she could maneuver around the CDC and find the vending machines. They probably hadn’t figured she’d use it in order to avoid the guards.
While her memory wasn’t as good as Zach’s, it was darn close. Nora avoided the guard points, took several more hallways, found the stairs, went down, took several more hallways, and finally ended up at Loading Dock C. Quiet and boring. She shoved open the double doors to a quiet warehouse-like room.
Dust filled her nose and trickled like a warning across her skin.
Bobbi slowly came out from behind a box of masks. Her blue eyes sparkled and her color was heightened. “Dr. Medina. Or is it Dr. McDougall now?”
