Chapter Twenty-Three – Wren
Chapter Twenty-Three
Wren
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I move quickly into the office, my heart hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat. I reach for the touchpad and tap it, and relief floods through me when I see Roman is still logged in. He didn’t even lock the screen before storming out.
I pull the USB stick from my bra, but my hands are shaking so badly that I fumble with it. It slips from my fingers and hits the floor with a small clatter.
“Damn it,” I hiss, dropping to my knees to grab it.
Zeth pushes a wave of calm through my body. It spreads from my chest outward, reaching my trembling fingers and steadying them. The shaking stops.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and I stick the USB into the laptop’s port.
My fingers fly across the keyboard as I navigate to copy everything. I don’t know how long I have. If Roman comes back within the next five minutes, I’m done for. But I have to try. Even if I don’t manage to copy all his files, I need to get something. I have to hope it’s enough to bury the Kyzers.
The green loading bar appears on the screen, and I eye the door to the office, which I left cracked open. I tap my fingers on the table, watching that bar creep forward with agonizing slowness. My stomach churns. I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Zeth is silent inside me, but I can feel him tense and just as apprehensive as I am.
The door to the lab opens. I hear footsteps, then the door closes again.
I freeze, every muscle in my body locking up. But I don’t move yet because it doesn’t seem to be Roman. Roman is loud and obnoxious, and when he enters a room, it’s like a tornado sweeps through everything he touches. This isn’t Roman.
Maybe it’s Dale. He usually shuffles and moves slowly, his undead body not built for speed. I check the time on the computer screen and see there’s still another hour until lunch, so it can’t be Dale.
Then a feminine voice comes from the other side of the door.
“Wren? Where are you, darling? I wanted to have a word with you.”
It’s Olivia.
I feel Zeth recoil inside me, twisting himself into knots as if he wants to flee but is trapped. My pulse spikes even higher, if that’s possible.
“Please, not now,” I beg him. “We’re so close. Hang tight, please. I’m here for you.”
Zeth shakes under my skin. I’m starting to feel dizzy from our combined adrenaline, and a sharp pain stabs through my side.
“Zeth, keep it together. You’re hurting me.”
At that, he freezes. He sends another wave of calm through both of us, though I can tell it takes effort. I eye the green bar on the screen. Olivia’s footsteps are getting closer, and the bar is at ninety percent.
Come on, come on.
Just as I hear her steps right outside the office door, the transfer completes. I grab the USB stick and yank it free, shoving it back into my bra. In a fraction of a second, I’m across the room at the espresso machine. I press the button and it whirrs to life, grinding beans with a violent noise.
“In here, Olivia!” I call out, forcing brightness into my voice.
The door swings open and Olivia enters, looking around the office with curiosity. Her gaze sweeps over the room, taking in the conference table and me standing at the espresso machine.
I give her my brightest smile.
“Would you like a cup?” I ask.
Olivia sniffs, her nose in the air, and shakes her head.
“That thing is foul. Put it down, darling, I can’t let you drink such nastiness.” She waves her hand dismissively. “I was actually here to invite you to a cup of coffee, but a decent one, not what my sons gulp down like it’s water.”
I force myself to laugh lightly and turn off the espresso machine.
I walk over to Olivia, careful not to even glance at the open laptop behind me.
If I don’t look at it, maybe she won’t notice it either.
But as I approach her, I feel Zeth’s control slip again.
A bead of sweat travels down my spine. I have no choice, though.
I need to keep this woman distracted, and Zeth is going to have to deal with the situation.
“I’d love to have a cup of coffee with you, Olivia,” I say. “But I’m afraid I have a batch in the fridge that I have to take out any minute now.”
Olivia pouts, her red lips turning down at the corners. I’m getting ready to insist that I have work I can’t just abandon, but the door to the lab opens and closes again. Quick footsteps approach.
Olivia is blocking the doorway, and I don’t have time to convince her to move into the lab with me before Garrett makes his appearance. He stops in the doorway, his eyes finding me. His brows furrow.
Olivia turns and pats Garrett on the cheek.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait upstairs?” she coos.
She floats past him into the lab, and Garrett’s gaze fixes on me. His eyes travel past me to the open laptop on the conference table, and his features darken.
I do my best to look casual, like nothing at all has happened.
“What are you doing in here?” he asks.
I look offended.
“I was making a cup of coffee, but Olivia graciously invited me to have one with her.”
I make to move past Garrett, suddenly realizing that Olivia is my way out. If Olivia wants to take me for coffee, then I’m not busy anymore. But Garrett grabs my arm and hisses in my ear:
“Where’s Roman?”
“How should I know? He’s in and out all the time.”
Olivia chimes in from behind Garrett.
“So, you’re saying you can’t spare fifteen minutes for a quick chat?”
I smile broadly at her.
“No, of course I can. It would be my pleasure.”
That’s when the alarm goes off. I pull free from Garrett, and he lets me go. I rush to the fridge and take out the vials of Crimson Haze, lining them up in a neat row on the counter. I strip off my apron and hang it on the hook.
“I’m ready,” I say to Olivia. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’m not a fan of this burger place,” Olivia says, “but they do make a decent coffee.”
“That sounds great.”
As Olivia leads the way toward the door, I shoot Garrett a glance. He’s staring at me darkly, not at all convinced that I was just using the espresso machine. But he doesn’t stop us. He lets me and Olivia leave.
I rush to the elevator and press the button, pretending like I’m eager to be nice to the old woman. The doors slide open and we step inside, but the moment they close, Zeth pulls at me. He makes me glue myself to the opposite wall, as far from Olivia as I can get in the small space.
She notices and laughs.
“Are you okay, Wren? I don’t bite, you know.”
“No, of course not,” I say quickly. “I just don’t want to crowd your space.”
“You’re too kind. Such a nice girl. No wonder Roman is infatuated with you.”
I stare at her, dumbfounded. I would’ve never thought this surprise visit was about her son.
Roman isn’t infatuated with me at all. Lately, he’s been ignoring me, which is great because I hate him.
But right now, I need to play Olivia’s game and figure out a way to shake off Garrett and his suspicions.
We reach the ground floor, and Olivia leads me into the burger joint. She walks right through the kitchen where a few people are working, but they ignore us. It smells of meat, grease, and delicious sauces. Olivia finds us a corner booth and motions for the waitress to pour us coffee.
I barely sit down before I stand back up, pressing a hand to my stomach as if I’m in pain.
“I’m sorry, Olivia. I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She waves me off.
“Of course, darling. Don’t take too long, though. The coffee is good while it’s hot.” She blows on the steam rising from her cup and takes a delicate sip.
I rush across the floor and into the bathroom, as if I really do have an emergency. Which isn’t even a lie. The door doesn’t lock, which makes me feel uncomfortable, but at least I’m alone. I grip the edges of the sink and stare at myself in the mirror, looking at Zeth through my own eyes.
“You need to unmerge, take the USB stick, and go,” I tell him. “Right now. Take it to Tom.”
Zeth recoils inside me.
“I’m not leaving you alone with them. Olivia is dangerous. You have no idea! She’s the most dangerous of them all.”
“Let me handle her,” I say. “She’s just a meddling old lady.
I don’t know what happened between the two of you when she was young, but right now she just wants to set me up with her useless son.
It’s better if you’re not here. You can’t be in her presence, which makes it almost impossible for me to interact normally with her. Trust me, Zeth, I’ll be fine.”
“What about Garrett? He’s on to you.”
“We don’t know that. Listen to me, you have to go. If you’re right and he’s on to me, then the last thing I need is him finding the USB stick in my bra. Take it and go.”
Zeth must relent because what I’m saying makes sense. This could be the end of our mission, and he knows I can stand my ground if I have to. After all, he trained me himself.
He starts to unmerge, but the process stops when there’s a knock on the bathroom door.
We’re both startled, but I recover quickly and urge Zeth to unmerge fast. He does, and just as Garrett barges through the door, Zeth is slithering through the vents in the ceiling. I notice that he’s taken the USB stick with him because it doesn’t poke me in the breast anymore.
I stare at Garrett.
Garrett stares back at me.
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask. “This is the ladies’ bathroom.”
He’s not impressed.
“Get out. I need to search you.”
“Are you insane? What for?”
He doesn’t answer. He grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the bathroom, then turns me around and presses me face-first against the wall. I don’t fight him. I let him search me, and he does so thoroughly. His hands pat down my sides, my breasts, even between my legs.
I shrink back at that last part.
“Fuck you, have you lost your mind?”
Olivia hears us and comes over on quick feet. I honestly don’t know how she walks in those heels. She looks between us, her expression mildly concerned but not alarmed.
“What is going on here? Is this really necessary?”
Garrett turns to her.
“I have reason to believe Wren has had access to sensitive information. I think it’s best if I take her to a secure location.”
Olivia huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. For a moment, I think she’s going to take my side, but then she rolls her eyes.
“If that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you. Might I suggest my apartment?”
Garrett nods. He pulls me toward the back door of the burger joint, and Olivia leads the way. I’m sweating profusely now, my shirt sticking to my back.
When we emerge into the sunlight, I see Dale and the golem waiting beside the usual black sedan. Dale has a bag in his hands that he passes to Garrett, and then it comes over my head before I can react.
Fuck. I’m essentially being kidnapped again.
I consider trying to escape. I might be able to take out Garrett because he’s human, and Dale too, because I’m faster than him. But the golem poses a real problem. There’s no way I can overpower him and escape, and they all have guns even though they’re concealed.
I let Garrett push me into the car.
As we pull out of the parking lot, the only one who speaks is Olivia.
“For the record, I don’t believe this is necessary, but I make it a point to let Garrett do his job as he sees fit. I am glad, however, that we’ll get to talk at length.”
I feel Olivia patting my knee, and I don’t know if I’m happy that Zeth isn’t here because he wouldn’t be able to handle being near her, or if I wish he were here because then he would’ve easily taken out the golem and I’d be on my way to freedom.
I swallow heavily and try not to think about what ifs.