Until it was over. Until her body quieted, and she sagged against Hank. She clutched his hand where it wrapped around her torso and she dropped her head against his chest.
“You. Hurt?” she asked.
“Bruises only. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
She closed her eyes. What was one more fight in a day that started with violence? “Dr. Oltheten?”
“Gone.”
“You should have helped him.”
“It was too late. Ever try to give CPR to a cat? It’s impossible to get a seal on their face. Not when it’s that size.”
She didn’t want to think about it.
“And with the smell, I probably would have ended up vomiting all over him.”
Like she had. Or had been about to until Hank helped her.
“This is insane. It’s all…insane.”
He didn’t argue with her. He just held her. And what could he say? In two days she’d been introduced to shifters, attacked multiple times, and witnessed more violence than in the average Bond film. Well, that last part wasn’t true, now that she thought about it. But she’d been up close and personal with it, and she was shaken to her core.
“We should get out of here,” she murmured. Escape. That’s all she wanted right then. To just escape.
“We will. Travis didn’t have any keys on him, but we should be rescued soon.”
She frowned as she looked up at him. “Rescued? How—”
The doors released with a loudthunk, cutting off her words. A second later, Alyssa poked her head inside. “You okaaay?” The last word slowed down as she took in the scene. “Ambulance?”
Hank shook his head.
“Dr. Lu?” she said, her expression excruciatingly sympathetic. “I know this is a lot—”
Her words cut off as Simon came striding in.
“We breached the minute the doors locked,” he said. Then his gaze cut to her. “How are you doing, Dr. Lu?”
Why did everybody keep asking her that? She was fine. Though she’d just emptied her stomach and couldn’t put enough strength into her body to stand. “Dr. Oltheten…” She took a steadying breath. “He created the serum. Him and his sister.”
Simon nodded as if he’d already figured that out. “Any idea what was in those cardboard boxes they took out?”
Hank shook his head, while Cecilia started thinking well enough to ask questions. “How do you know about the boxes? How did you know when the doors locked?”
Hank touched her briefcase. “Your tablet and phone have been broadcasting this whole time. And mine.”
She blinked. Right. That was a sensible precaution. Then Hank turned to Simon.
“Did you catch anyone?”
“We’ve taken control of the building, but Wolf never showed. We covered all the exits but—”
Alyssa cursed as she poked at her tablet. “Got the building specs. There’s a basement. I’ll bet my next paycheck there’s a tunnel out from there and a secret exit.”
“No bet,” Simon growled. Then he focused back on Cecilia. “Can you figure this science out? From his notes?”
Hank turned to her, his voice soft. “You don’t have to,” he said gently. “You don’t—”
