“O-okay,” she agreed. “Where do you want to go? You're not taking me to the station, are you? Because I swear, I didn't hurt anybody.”
“All right, all right,” he said, reaching out to grab her arm. His grip was hard enough to leave behind bruises, and she had no doubt that Blade would punish the man for hurting her like that.
While her instincts told her to pull away, to run, because this man screamed danger and he wanted to deliver her to people who would take pleasure in punishing her for her dissent, Whitney didn't. She allowed the cop to lead her through the park, knowing that Blade could hear her every word.
They went to the far side of the park, crossed the street where there was a row of shops, bakeries, and cafes, gift shops, and a store that sold children’s clothing. Bypassing all of them, he led her through a small alley leading between a store selling fresh fruits and vegetables, and a travel agent with bright pictures of tropical islands on its windows.
“Where are we going?” she asked, tugging slightly back against him. Not because she was going to attempt to escape, but because if she really was there to clear her name, she’d be wondering why they were walking down an alley.
“My brother owns the produce store, thought it would be a quiet place for you to show me your evidence that you claim clears your name without anyone spotting you,” the cop replied, but even without training like Blade’s, she could hear the lie in his voice.
Opening up a door at the back of the alley, they stepped inside a large open space lined with huge wooden boxes filled with a range of fresh produce. Whitney was glad the man had said where they were going, so she didn't have to, and knowing where they were meant the guys would be closing in, waiting to see when Dr. Gardner was going to pop up, or if he didn't, following her to wherever the scientist was holed up.
“Can I give you my proof now?” she asked.
“Sure, whatever,” the cop replied, looking about nervously, obviously expecting someone.
No one appeared, but a loud crack suddenly split through the air, and the older man beside her dropped.
Whitney was scrambling backward before she even realized what she was doing. Someone had just shot Detective Hayes. Killed him. The bullet hole in the center of the man’s forehead confirmed it, as did his sightless eyes now staring at nothing.
“He was annoying, right?” a voice asked, and she saw a shadowy figure step out from behind two of the pallets of fruit.
A voice she knew.
A voice she feared.
“Time to come home, baby genius,” Terry Richards, Dr. Gardner’s head of security, said with a smirk.
Chapter
Eighteen
January 15th
1:58 P.M.
Blade was so on edge it didn't take much to set him off.
The crack of a gunshot was more than enough.
He was out of the car and moving before he even processed what he was doing. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to get to Whitney.
Protect her.
If he hadn't failed already.
They’d been banking on the fact that Dr. Gardner wanted Whitney alive more than he wanted to punish her for betraying him. Was he going to punish her? Absolutely he was, but he still needed her, she was too smart, too valuable, he couldn’t do what he wanted without her.
But it was still a gamble.
There was every chance the deranged doctor was too blinded by his rage at having someone he thought he’d molded into the perfect little scientist slave that he didn't have to worry about her loyalty, suddenly turn on him.
And not just turn on him.
Whitney had told them how she’d destroyed all her notes, all her formulas, all her calculations, all of it gone. Without her, there was no way for him to get it back. That was definitely enough to push the scientist over the edge.
“Wait,” Steel ordered from behind him.
