12. The Scientist
THE SCIENTIST
The Virginia State University chemistry building looked dead from the outside—dark windows, empty parking lot, the kind of quiet that made most people nervous.
But Reign knew better. The third-floor lab had lights on, a soft glow visible through the blackout curtains someone had tried to close but hadn't quite managed.
Arissa Sterling was still working.
Reign sat in the Hellcat across the street, engine off, watching.
Soleil was positioned on the east side of the building in her blacked-out Audi, Sevyn on the west in his Charger.
They had the perimeter locked. This was supposed to be simple: get in, charm the chemist, secure her cooperation or her research, get out.
His phone buzzed.
Soleil (9:47 PM): You going in or you just gonna sit there?
Reign didn't respond. He checked himself in the rearview mirror—black Givenchy hoodie, black Amiri jeans, gold chain catching the streetlight, fresh lineup. He looked good. He always looked good when he was working.
But something felt off tonight.
Maybe it was Soreya's text still sitting heavy in his chest. Maybe it was the fact that he'd promised to tell her everything tomorrow and had no idea how. Maybe it was the exhaustion of being pulled in too many directions—his woman, his family, his hunger, his conscience.
He got out of the car and crossed the empty street.
The building's side entrance was locked, but that wasn't a problem.
Reign moved with the kind of speed that made locks irrelevant, slipping inside before the security camera could catch more than a blur.
The hallway smelled like chemicals and old coffee.
His footsteps were silent on the linoleum as he climbed the stairs to the third floor.
The lab door was cracked open.
Reign paused outside, listening.
A woman's voice—confident, articulate, with that particular cadence of someone who knew exactly what they were talking about.
"—which is why the melanin interaction is key.
If we can synthesize a compound that mimics the body's natural UV protection and amplify it, we're not just talking about sunscreen.
We're talking about cellular-level defense. "
Reign pushed the door open slowly.
The lab was sleek—modern equipment, organized workstations, a wall of blackout curtains that someone had clearly installed themselves. And there, standing at a counter with her back to him, was Arissa Sterling.
She wore a white lab coat over a black Skims bodysuit and high-waisted jeans, red bottoms on her feet even though she was just in a lab.
Her locs were pulled back in a high ponytail, gold hoops catching the fluorescent light.
She held a red solo cup in one hand—wine, from the way she sipped it—and gestured with the other as she talked to someone on her laptop screen.
Reign stopped mid-stride.
She was beautiful.
Not just pretty. Not just fine. Beautiful in a way that made his chest tighten and his focus slip. The kind of beautiful that came with intelligence, confidence, purpose. She moved through her lab like she owned it, like she knew exactly who she was and what she was capable of.
"I'm telling you, Dr. Chen, this is groundbreaking," Arissa continued, her voice animated. "If the trials go the way I think they will, we're looking at applications beyond dermatology. Think about people with photosensitivity disorders, think about?—"
She turned slightly, and Reign saw her face fully for the first time.
Fuck.
High cheekbones. Full lips. Eyes that were sharp and assessing even through the laptop screen. She had that kind of face that belonged on magazine covers, but she was here in a lab at 10 PM talking about biochemistry like it was foreplay.
Reign's phone buzzed in his pocket. Probably Soleil asking what was taking so long.
He ignored it.
Arissa's eyes flicked toward the door—toward him—and her expression didn't change. She didn't startle. Didn't panic. Just held up one finger in a "give me a minute" gesture and turned back to her screen.
"Dr. Chen, I gotta go. Yeah. I'll send you the updated data tomorrow. Mm-hmm. Bye." She closed the laptop and turned to face Reign fully, one hand on her hip, the other still holding her wine. "You know most people knock, right?"
Her voice was smooth, unbothered. Like strange men showing up in her lab at night was a regular occurrence.
Reign stepped inside, letting the door close behind him. "My bad. Door was open. I ain't mean to interrupt."
"But you did." She tilted her head, studying him. "So what you want?"
Straight to the point. No fear. No hesitation.
Reign liked that.
"I'm here to talk to you about your research," he said, moving closer. Not too fast. Not threatening. Just confident. "The sunlight serum. Word is you made a breakthrough."
Arissa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Word from who?"
"People who pay attention."
"People who break into labs at night?"
"I ain't break in. Like I said, door was open.
" Reign stopped a few feet away from her, close enough to see the gold flecks in her brown eyes, close enough to smell her perfume—something expensive, something that made his senses sharpen.
"I'm Reign. I run some businesses in Richmond.
Clubs, lounges, that type of thing. And I got investors who very interested in what you working on. "
"Investors." Arissa's lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "That's what we calling it now?"
"What you think I'm calling it?"
"I think you ain't no investor." She set her wine down on the counter and crossed her arms, the lab coat falling open to reveal the way her bodysuit hugged her curves.
"I think you somebody who heard about my work and decided to come see if I'm as smart as people say.
Or if I'm just a pretty face with a podcast."
Reign's jaw tightened. She was reading him. Seeing through the charm.
"You definitely smart," he said, his voice dropping lower. "That ain't in question."
"And the pretty face?"
"That ain't in question either."
The air between them shifted. Arissa's smile widened slightly, something predatory flickering in her expression. She moved closer, closing the distance he'd carefully maintained, and looked up at him with those sharp, assessing eyes.
"So what you really want, Reign?" Her voice was soft now, almost intimate. "You want my research? You want me to work for your 'investors'? Or you just here because you curious?"
Reign's heart was beating too fast. He could feel his control slipping, could feel the pull of her presence like gravity.
This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to charm her, secure her cooperation, get out.
But she was doing something to him—something that made him forget the plan, forget Soleil and Sevyn waiting outside, forget everything except the way she was looking at him.
"I'm here because what you created could change a lot of things for a lot of people," Reign said carefully. "And I wanna make sure you protected. That the right people benefit from your work."
"The right people." Arissa laughed, low and rich. "And you one of the right people?"
"I could be."
She stared at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable.
Then she stepped back, picking up her wine again.
"You know what I think? I think you dangerous.
I think you the type of man who get what he want by making people believe he got their best interest at heart.
But really, you just looking out for yourself. "
"That ain't true."
"Ain't it?" Arissa sipped her wine, her eyes never leaving his. "Because I do my research, Reign. And I know who you are. I know about your clubs. I know about the rumors. Girls going missing. People disappearing after they leave your spots. You think I ain't heard?"
Reign's blood went cold. "You don't know what you talking about."
"Don't I?" She moved closer again, and this time there was something different in her energy—something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Or maybe I know more than you think. Maybe I know exactly what you are."
The words hung in the air between them.
Reign's instincts screamed at him to leave. To get out before this went sideways. But he couldn't move. Couldn't look away from her.
"I need time to think about your offer," Arissa said finally, her voice returning to that smooth, unbothered tone. "You got a number I can reach you at?"
Reign pulled out his phone, his hands steadier than he felt. They exchanged numbers in silence.
"I'll call you," Arissa said. "If I'm interested."
"And if you not?"
"Then you wasted your time tonight." She smiled, and it was the kind of smile that promised trouble. "But something tell me you don't think it was a waste."
Reign didn't respond. Just turned and walked toward the door, feeling her eyes on him the entire way.
Outside, the cold air hit him like a slap. He crossed the street to the Hellcat, his mind racing.
His phone buzzed before he even got in the car.
Soleil (10:23 PM): What the fuck just happened in there?
Reign looked up. Soleil was leaning against her Audi, arms crossed, her expression dark even from across the parking lot. She knew. Somehow, she knew.
He got in the Hellcat and started the engine.
Reign (10:24 PM): She need time to think.