Under Fire (Love Over Duty #1)(44)

"To answer your other questions," he said as they crossed the train tracks, "two of my team members know what's going on. They are the guys who brought over the cleaning stuff this morning. Unfortunately, everybody else is tied up on the job today, reuniting a kid with her mom, otherwise I'd have them involved already. With regards to your mom, you might want to give her a call. What you tell her is entirely up to you. You know her better than I do. Being honest is the best policy, for what it's worth."

"My aunt could go get her, say it's better while her ankle is still in a cast."

"That could work. If you tell her to just take a trip, she'll think you're crazy given her ankle, but if you tell her there is something going on, she'll take more precautions and move faster."

Ever vigilant, Six led them through the small lot. A loud noise came from behind them, and he turned quickly, hand on gun, only to realize it was the sound of the dumpster being emptied into a garbage truck. His heart raced, but the response wasn't as jarring as it had been the evening he'd met Louisa. Why the hell did it happen some of the time and not all?

A hand on his arm made him jump. Louisa. Shit. "Sorry," he said, trying to laugh it off with a grin he really didn't feel. "Occupational hazard."

"You don't have to pretend with me," she said quietly. "I've been faking normal for as long as I can remember."

"I can keep you safe. You don't need to worry about that." Where the hell had that come from? Because you're a jumpy mess, you idiot. He really didn't want to seem incapable in front of her.

She tilted her head to one side and smiled as she placed her hands on his biceps. "I have no doubt about that," she said confidently.

"Good," he said, ignoring the way his voice sounded like he'd smoked a pack a day for a decade.

It should have made him feel like a king that she trusted him. Relied on him.

But it didn't.

Because for once, he didn't trust himself.





CHAPTER SEVEN

"So you don't know the exact quantities of all the ingredients, but you know what the ingredients are?" Six asked as they ate her butternut-squash-and-black-bean burritos.

He'd challenged her about eating bacon for breakfast because he'd been surprised to see it in her fridge, and she'd confessed to the one thing she couldn't give up which was why she always said she was pretty much vegetarian. So they'd shopped side by side with two different carts containing two different sets of groceries. Uncertain as to how many days she would be staying with Six, she'd bought a week's worth of food. She could always take it with her when she left if her carnivorous friend didn't want it. But somehow between getting the groceries, picking up clothing from the mall, and Louisa starting to make dinner, Six had been curious about what was on the menu. And when she'd offered to make enough for the two of them, he'd agreed.

Louisa put some salsa, spinach, and the filling made of rice, peppers, black beans, squash, and seasonings into her wrap and rolled it up. "That's right. We have so many different samples on the go, so many different tests, and sometimes I would do part of the preparation and Ivan would do the other. I honestly don't remember all the ratios."



       
         
       
        

"To play devil's advocate, though, why would they need you if they have all of the lab notes?"

It was something Louisa had been considering while shopping. "The sample has been gone for two weeks now. My only thought is that somebody has tried to remake it outside the lab and it hasn't worked for whatever reason. If that's the case, they have two options: reengineer it backward from the sample they know worked or find the person who made it to see if she can re-create it."

Six suddenly pinned her with his stare. "Didn't you say they have the sample, though? The one that was stolen? That's what started all this. Right?"

Damn. He didn't know what she'd done, and she couldn't decide whether that was the reason her mouth felt dry, or whether it was the way his eyes seemed to see her. Really see her. "They don't have the sample," she said. It was time to come clean, at least to him, and she knew it. She just hoped he'd understand when she explained. "On Friday, the day I saw you at the gala, I'd had a strange feeling that somebody had been in the lab. I couldn't quite put my finger on why. It's like the energy was off or something, which I know probably makes no sense to you."

But to her surprise, Six nodded in agreement. "I totally get that. I rely on gut instinct more than any intel, especially if I only have a split second to make a decision. So what did you do?"