Chapter 31
Her phone woke her at dawn, and she reached out blindly to answer it. “What?”
“Daisy, it’s Wilson here. I wanted to check in.”
She blinked at the time. She knew her supervisor was an early bird, but after everything that had happened, she’d hoped to sleep in—and get another chance to test Jordan’s seemingly steely resolve. A glance around the room showed it was empty. He wasn’t here.
A sharp pang was followed by the thought, “Good.”
All the better to get herself back under control.
Yesterday had been a shit show. No wonder her emotions had been up and down like a rollercoaster, making it impossible to think straight.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you so early, especially after all the terrible things that happened yesterday.
” Wilson sounded agitated. No wonder. “The thing is, I got a call earlier and spoke to the fuel rod manufacturers, the managers of Moses Lake, and the FBI Director. Director Rhodes was absolutely insistent that the new rods not be left sitting around. She’s arranging an armed FBI escort to the reactor today, and the rods are to be inserted as soon as possible.
” He swallowed repeatedly. “With Amed gone, I was wondering if you’d like to take on part of his project?
You won’t need to stay at the reactor site, as Roger plans to pretty much camp out there, and he’s more than capable.
But if you could assist him with remote monitoring of the data and maybe give him the occasional break when he needs it, you’d be more than halfway to your PhD. ”
The work she was doing was supposed to follow directly from Amed’s work, but she wasn’t prepared, and it didn’t feel right.
Her grip tightened on the phone. “Have you heard anything about Amed? Did he confess?”
“No. Nothing.” Wilson sounded defeated. “I will never forgive myself for this.”
It sounded as if he was crying, and she wasn’t surprised.
It had to be a massive blow when you dedicated your professional life to nuclear safety, only to be used as a conduit to cause harm.
His legacy would forever be tainted by Amed’s plans and his student’s association with a Russian terrorist—and by the murder of Francois Tremblay.
At least it was a warning for everyone else conducting research. They were all potentially vulnerable and needed to be cognizant of bad actors.
“This will be the last full-scale test I ever conduct, Daisy.”
“What?”
“My heart isn’t in it anymore. I plan to move up my retirement date.” His voice trembled. “I guess, what I’m trying to say is, if you want data for your PhD, you’re going to have to step into Amed’s shoes. There might not be another opportunity.”
“But I don’t know enough—”
“You’re smart. Roger knows more than I do on the technical side.
He’s pissed, but he’ll get over it. You can learn from him as we go.
Once the rods are in place, there’s not that much to do except monitor and collect data.
The engineers onsite are in charge of all operational decisions.
Whatever tests you plan to conduct have to be approved by them first. They are the chieftains of safety protocols and procedures. ”
He said it as if reminding himself that his inexperienced first year PhD student wouldn’t be in charge of a nuclear reactor.
A relief for everyone involved.
She sucked in her lips. She wasn’t sure that she was ready for this, but what choice did she have? At least Roger knew what he was doing.
“What time do you need me? I need to arrange transportation as the FBI has my car.”
“The director said she’d send an agent to your location to accompany you and the others to the power plant.”
Jordan wouldn’t like that.
Her advisor read her mind.
“If your FBI boyfriend wants to come, he’ll have to take it up with his boss. Moses Lake takes security very seriously and knows who to expect. As they should. Be sure to take ID, assuming you still have it?”
“I have my wallet. What time is this agent arriving exactly?”
“I don’t know. Soon, I would imagine.”
Crap. She didn’t even have any clean clothes. “Who else is going to be involved today?”
“Les, Mira, Emilia, Roger. You and myself. The others are already on their way downtown. You’ll have to text them where to pick you and this FBI agent up. Director Rhodes refused to say where you were staying.”
“Shit.” Daisy shot out of bed.
“My sentiments exactly. I have to consult with the Dean before I leave. I’ll be late, but I’ll see you there. In the meantime, I’ll be praying nothing goes awry.”
Daisy found a three-pack of new panties and a baby blue bralette draped over the pile of yesterday’s clothes and wondered briefly who’d drawn the short straw and been sent to find women’s underwear in the middle of the night.
She quickly dressed and was pulling on her sneakers over socks that were way too big for her when the door opened and Jordan appeared, carrying two large coffees and a bag of something from a bakery.
Damn, he was good.
“Where are you going?” He put the cups down and tried to capture her in an embrace, but she ducked out of his arms and hit the bathroom. There was only one toothbrush, but she’d left fussy behind on that rooftop.
She spat and wished she had a hairbrush or moisturizer, but miracles stopped with underwear and toothpaste. She needed to go shopping. Resupply her life. But first she needed to rescue her fledgling science career out of the ashes.
She opened the door to find Jordan standing there wearing a heavy frown. She moved past him. Picked up the coffee he’d brought and took a large sip. She closed her eyes. It tasted divine and sent a signal to her brain to wake the fuck up. Now was not the time to be drowsy.
“My supervisor called. They’ve brought forward the installation of the new fuel rods by a couple of days, and if I want to finish my PhD, I need to be there.”
“Has this been cleared?”
“Apparently, Director Rhodes is sending someone, an agent, to accompany the lab to the power plant. And,” she said as he opened his mouth, “if you want to be included, my advisor said to contact the director and get permission because security at the reactor site is strict.”
His cell rang. He picked up and frowned as he listened. “Roger that. Where? I’ll be there in five minutes.” He disconnected. “I have to go but I’ll—"
“Ha. Big surprise.” The bitterness in her tone shocked and disappointed her. This was what happened when emotions got involved. “Sorry. That’s not fair. We both have jobs to do.”
She hung her head, but he lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “I’m not going anywhere, Daisy. I need five minutes to check in with Novak before Gold Team heads out. They’ve had a sighting on traffic cams of Bocharov on Interstate 64, heading south toward Camp Peary and the Naval Bases there.”
Her gaze flashed to his. “You have to go.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. I spoke to Ackers. I have another week’s leave due, and I’m taking it to be with you.”
She didn’t miss the change in language, to be with her, not to protect her, even though that’s what he’d be doing.
“And what happens after a week, Jordan? What if Gold Team loses Bocharov or the sighting was a mistake? What difference will a week make?”
He took her free hand. “I don’t know, but if it comes down to your safety or my job, your safety is more important.”
She huffed out a disbelieving breath. “What? You’d quit your job? Quit HRT?”
“Yes. Maybe I could get a transfer to the Richmond Field Office. Maybe I’ll go private, or write a goddamned memoir, but you are my priority.”
Tears smarted in her eyes, that he’d choose her over his career, that someone in this world might value her as much as their job, but she blinked the moisture away. “You can’t do that. You love your job. Eventually you’d come to resent me—”
“No, I wouldn’t. Not so long as you give whatever this is between us a real chance.”
Her heart gave a crazy leap. The desire to believe him, to take a chance, was nearly overwhelming.
“I don’t know.” She dragged her hands through her hair and felt as if her brain might implode. “I can’t think right now. There’s too much going on. I need some space to think about whether or not I want to take a risk—”
“You think I’m not terrified of this thing between us?
” He sounded angry. Not cold rage but molten fury.
“Almost everyone I’ve ever loved has died because of me.
I’ve been careful not to open myself, or others, up to that again.
But there you were with your goddamned smart mouth and defiant eyes.
Who would have thought that would have been such a fucking irresistible lure? ”
She blinked at his vehemence.
“But guess what? There are no guarantees in life, Daisy. People fall in love, and they fall out of love again, and it isn’t fair, and it hurts, but that isn’t me. Once I commit to something, I commit one-hundred percent. You’ll have to shoot me to get rid of me now.”
She wanted to joke she had her gun in her bag, but she couldn’t make a sound. The passion in his eyes and voice mesmerized her. She desperately wanted to believe him.
He stepped closer and held her by the shoulders. “Life is short, and even though Bocharov is still out there, still a threat, I’ve finally figured out it’s too precious to waste.”
His words brought her to her knees, and she didn’t know how to deal with all the things he was telling her. All the things she was feeling. She wanted to believe him, she did, but her heart shrank away from the thought of being deceived.
Someone knocked on the door, and she jerked away from him to pick up her bag, slung it over her neck even as she recoiled from the smell of the smoke that still clung to it. He handed her the bag of pastries.
“Give me five minutes,” he pleaded. “I’ll get the clearance I need from the director.”
“I need to go.”