Chapter 15
Fifteen
Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. It was the most basic of human functions. Harmony had been doing it forever. She didn’t need to think about it.
Until she was closed in a storage cabinet with the man she was starting to feel way too many things for was wandering the halls of her lab looking for the person who destroyed her research.
Harmony wanted to cry. To scream. To throw things and cause her own destruction.
But first, she needed to be okay.
Every breath burned her lungs. She fought herself to keep going, to make her breathing steady. Hyperventilating wouldn’t do her any good.
The last month was fucked up. Watching men break into a building. Meeting a billionaire who seemed to think she was someone she wasn’t. Meeting a man who kept her safe and made her feel things she’d never felt. Being followed. Being stalked. Being doxed. Her apartment broken into. And now her lab.
She’d never imagined any of those things, let alone all of them coming on the heels of each other. If she could go back…
No. She would still make that phone call. She would still report the break-in to the police. She would still make the same choice.
But why did all the rest of it have to happen?
Tears welled up, but she choked them back, knowing if she started crying, she would give away her hiding spot. And she still wasn’t sure if the person who broke in was still there. If they were hiding and waiting for Harmony. If they’d surprised Damien and he was knocked out or injured or dead.
Panic rose up again, flushing her skin hot. She strained to hear something, anything. Her heartbeat whooshed through her head, drowning out all other sounds.
Wait. Were those footsteps?
Were they Damien’s or someone else’s?
How long had he been gone? How long did it take to check all the rooms? What if he couldn’t get into them? If he couldn’t, the person who broke in couldn’t. Right?
Unless it was another student.
Harmony trembled so hard she was sure anyone outside her hiding spot would hear the cabinet shaking. She’d never been more scared in her entire life. She might not survive the next few minutes. Damien might already be dead. They could be coming for her.
The cabinet door opened, and she screamed. “Ahhh!”
“It’s okay, Harmony. It’s me,” Damien said, reaching for her and pulling her into his arms. “I’m so sorry I scared you.”
The tears she was trying to hold back flowed down her cheeks. She shook her head and buried her face in his chest. “I’m just scared. And mad. Who would do this? Did you find anyone?”
“No,” Damien answered, his chest rumbling with the single word of frustration. “I didn’t want to, but I also really wanted to.”
A noise behind Damien had him shoving her back toward the cabinet and spinning. In a heartbeat, his gun was pointed at the door.
Reed froze in the doorway. He dropped his stainless steel bottle to the floor, the sound echoing loudly in the lab.
“I apologize,” Damien said. “Clearly, there was a break-in. I didn’t hear you coming until you were right there.” He tucked his gun away and approached Reed. “Are you okay?”
Reed stared at Damien like he’d never seen him before. His gaze was blank and scared, much like Harmony was sure hers was.
Damien reached Reed’s side and snapped his fingers in front of Reed’s face. “Say something.”
“You have a gun,” Reed said, his stuttered words soft.
“I do. But I don’t like using it. Someone was here. When we arrived, the lab was like this. Don’t touch anything. We need to call the police.”
“No,” Harmony and Reed said together.
Damien paused and looked between them. “Why not?”
Harmony glanced at Reed, who still looked like he was panicked. “The work we do is under contract. Some of it is not able to be shared with the public. Even the police department. We need to speak to Doctor Griffiths first.”
“The police need to be aware of this, even if they aren’t allowed in here. I’m going to call Marcus. You call Doctor Griffiths.”
Harmony nodded and pulled out her phone. Her hands were still shaking.
“Yes?” Doctor Griffiths said as he answered, sounding both bored and annoyed.
“Good morning, Doctor Griffiths. This is Harmony Gibbs. There’s been a break-in at the lab. We—”
“What? Where are you?”
“I’m in the lab right now. Reed is here, too. The door was open when I arrived. Everything is… It’s destroyed.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t touch anything. I’ll call campus police and get them to get the security footage. We need to call in the FBI for the federal projects we’re working on.”
“Do you need me to call anyone?”
“Do you know anyone in the FBI?”
Harmony looked up as Damien walked back over. “Um, no, sir. I don’t know anyone in the FBI.”
“I do,” Damien said. “I can call them.”
“Is that Mr. Joseph?” Doctor Griffiths asked.
“Yes. He was with me when I arrived. He has a contact with the FBI. Would you like him to call them?”
Doctor Griffiths sighed heavily. “Yes, I suppose that would be helpful.”
Harmony nodded to Damien, who stepped away to make his call. “He’s calling now.”
Doctor Griffiths clucked. “Well, isn’t he a good one to have around. I’ll be there soon.”
The phone went silent. She looked and Doctor Griffiths had hung up.
Harmony took a breath and looked around the lab again. Damien had guided Reed to a chair, and Reed was looking at everything, too. Harmony walked over to him.
“Who would do this?” Reed asked.
Harmony shook her head. “I don’t know, but I can’t help but think it’s whoever has been after me.”
“Which makes them more suspicious. If they left you alone, you’d go on with your life. They keep fucking with you. Why?”
Harmony snorted. “I sure wish I knew. I’m sick of looking over my shoulder and not being able to do anything without a shadow.”
Reed glanced over at Damien. “If you’re going to have a shadow, he appears to be an attentive one.”
Harmony looked back and saw Damien watching her. His eyes softened when she met his gaze, but every inch of him was on full alert. She could fall for him if she wasn’t careful.
“I’ve never seen a look like that on you before. I guess he’s not the only one in free-fall,” Reed said, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m not…” Harmony tried to argue, knowing it was pointless by the smirk on Reed’s face. “Fine, but he’s protecting me. It’s a job.”
Reed snorted. “I’ve known plenty of people with security for one reason or another. That look is not one of solely professional interest.”
Harmony’s cheeks heated.
“I know we’re not close, but I respect you, Harmony.
A lot. I don’t think I’d have had the guts to go back to school after being away from it for so long.
I know I’m lucky to have the financial support I have.
I’ve never been more aware of that until I met you, though.
You work your ass off to be the best one here.
It’s nice to see you enjoying life, too.
When you’re not in danger.” He shivered. “Holy shit, he pulled a gun on me.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t even know he had one until today. I guess I should have figured that out, but…”
“It’s okay. I’m happy he was here. Even though it was pretty fucking terrifying to have a gun pointed at me, if I’d been whoever did this…” Reed trailed off and looked around the destroyed lab, letting it speak for itself.
“I still can’t believe this happened,” Harmony said.
Reed nodded, taking a deep breath. “Same. Thankfully, all of our work can be redone. If there’s a silver lining, it’s definitely that no one was here, and no one was hurt.”
“You’re right,” Harmony said, relieved to know Reed was on her side. They’d never been friends, but his support meant a lot.
“I just hope they find some answers. It would be nice to know who would do something like this.” Reed nudged her and nodded toward Damien as he hung up the phone.
Harmony struggled not to grin as Damien stalked toward her. He stopped a foot away. “You both okay?”
Reed straightened his spine and nodded. “I’m better than she is. Definitely uneasy, but Harmony hasn’t stopped shaking.”
Damien focused all of his attention on her.
Harmony saw Reed back away, giving them as much privacy as possible when they were all in the same space.
“I’m so fucking sorry about this,” Damien whispered. He hauled her against him, one hand around the back of her neck and the other low on her back. “I hate that you’re going through this.”
Harmony nodded. “Thank you for being here.” She knew she wouldn’t have survived all the crazy shit she’d been through if he wasn’t there for her. If he hadn’t shown up as many times as he had.
Voices in the hall drifted to them, pulling Damien away from her. When Doctor Griffiths appeared with campus police right behind him, Harmony knew she was in for another long day answering questions.
“You really stepped in it, didn’t you?” Adam Johnson asked Damien.
Adam and his partner, Lorelei, were local FBI agents Rose Protection Agency had worked with a few times in the past. They both relocated to Niagara Falls in the last few years when they came to help Adam’s cousin with a case, then fell in love with their respective spouses and never looked back.
Damien shook his head. “I’m just glad you and Lorelei were available. Harmony’s boss is not a fan of mine.”
Adam glanced at Doctor Griffiths. “Any chance he’s involved in all this?”
Damien looked at the professor and dismissed the idea. “I can’t imagine he would be. Harmony said he’s friends with Reed’s parents and favors Reed. I think all this is more of an inconvenience and frustration for him. But I’ve never gotten the feeling he’s involved.”
“Have you looked into him?”
“I have not,” Damien admitted.
Adam made a note on his phone. “We’ll check him out. Just in case. Especially since the exterior doors weren’t damaged. Just this one to the lab where all Harmony’s tests are.”
“She’s not the only one who works in here,” Damien said immediately.
Adam snorted. “Are you trying to convince me this is because of someone else?”
Damien growled softly. “Dammit.”