“I doubt you’ll believe me any more than she would if I told you that her involvement in all of this is the furthest thing from what I want.” He sighed, his broad shoulders falling a bit.
“I believe you that you wish to keep Elizabeth from danger, but I also agree with her that it’s hypocritical for you to engage my cooperation.”
His brows shot up. “You’re a trained scientist—”
“Whom you took to discover a dead body!” Saffron frowned as she realized how truly unnecessary that had been. “You could have just shown me the autopsy report, or even waited for the coroner or another expert to work on the sample of theMucor. Why did you take me with you and bring me the sample? I’m not a mycologist.”
Nick’s slight frown didn’t waver. “Yet you figured it out—with Alexander’s help, I admit—within hours.”
“You knew Wells was dead,” Saffron countered, “yet you took me to his house. There wasn’t anything plant-related there, and you knew that. Why did you take me to see his body?”
Nick gave her a look she couldn’t understand. “Why did you agree to go?”
Exasperated, she hissed, “Because you implied I was needed to help plug a hole in national security!”
“You were, and you did. You’ve provided me the information I needed, and now your part has come to a close.” Nick’s indecipherable look turned speculative. “Unless you believe you can do more.”
Her immediate impulse was to say yes, yes, she did think there was more she could do. She wanted to find the rest of the puzzle pieces and lay them down so she could see how they all fit together. But for some reason, it felt like Nick wasn’t asking her to help solve the rest of this mystery.
“What do you mean?” she asked slowly.
“I mean something beyond being a mole in a lab.”
“I don’t … I don’t know what you mean,” she repeated.
Nick’s lips hitched into a crooked smile, suddenly charming. “You’re smarter than that, Saffron. Think it through. Do you really think I just happened to desire to reconnect with my sister right now? That it’s coincidence?”
Indignation on Elizabeth’s behalf welled within her. “You used Elizabeth to get to me? But why?” Her mind raced ahead. She was far from the only botanist in the city and definitely not the only one Nick could have used as a mole in the lab. She was young and female, which might have made her seem an easy target, but Nick had shown no lascivious interest in her whatsoever.
Her voice wavered as she said, “You used me.”
“Iemployedyou, Saffron. There is a difference. Compensation is the main one. It would be generous and stable. Not to mention what it would do for your career. Publications would just be the start.”
“I don’t want publications. I turned down the chance to be published because I didn’t want my name attached to the government.”
“I know,” Nick said, taking a small step toward her. His brow furrowed. “I understand. Your father died from chlorine gas. And Wesley …”
Pain stabbed in her chest at their mention.
Nick’s eyes did not leave hers. “I lost my brother and dozens of men who were like brothers to me. I understand.” His hand rested on her shoulder, heavy and warm. “That’s why I chose to take this work on. To prevent things like this from happening again.”
“Your work—”
“Is not so different from yours. We could both be working to prevent disasters, Saffron.”
Visions of the fields of Ypres and Flanders clouded her mind. Muddy wastelands where, years after war tore it to pieces, things were barely coming back to life. “Scientists didn’t prevent the greatest disaster of our time, did they? They made it worse. More traumatizing. More deadly.”
Nick merely looked at her, the impatience in his gaze making her aggravation burn hotter.
“Thank you for the offer, but no,” she said firmly. “I took this on because you led me to believe it was essential I help discover whathappened to Petrov and Wells and ensure the security of the laboratory. I realize now you had a bigger scheme in mind, and I want no part of it.”
“I never took you for the type to turn your back on those in need.”
“I don’t,” Saffron replied. She went to the door and opened it. “You, and the government, don’t need my help to destroy things. Once I tell Elizabeth the real reason why you came to town and rekindled your relationship, you’ll finish destroying anything you’ve repaired with her.”
He followed on silent feet. Once he was inches away, she wished she saw regret in his eyes but saw only intense focus. “You would hurt her so badly?”
A pang of sadness rang through her chest. It would hurt Elizabeth. But it was better that she know. “I would protect her. She should know the kind of man you turned out to be.”
