Chapter 24 Rose
I wake to the sound of approaching footsteps. I roll onto my back and stare up at McGregor’s ugly face.
“Rose,” he says.
He knows who I am. Good. My timing isn’t too off. Ignoring his extended hand, I stagger to my feet and brace myself against the wall outside his office. My head’s pounding, but it’s nothing compared to when I was carrying Parker.
Parker.
It feels like something’s pushing on my chest, crushing my heart and lungs from the inside out. I place my hand over the aching spot and clamp my eyes shut.
“Where’s Parker?” McGregor says.
My stomach clenches. “What’s the time?”
McGregor reads the time from his watch, and I adjust my own.
“When did you last see me?” I ask.
“Yesterday, when you disappeared from my office.” McGregor gestures to the book in my hand, his beady eyes wide. “Is that it?”
Yesterday. Parker’s right, my precision is improving.
“Where’s Parker?” McGregor repeats, and my body heats.
“Does it matter?” I snap. “Do you want your research or not?”
I hold his journal out to him, my fingers gripping the blood-stained leather. Am I making a mistake? I’m breaking the oath I swore to uphold at Neurovida, for a man I don’t trust. I pass the book over to him, but before I let go, my gaze locks with his.
“I want to help him, Rose,” he says. “I want to help both of you. And if I don’t hold up my end of the deal, neither will you.” His voice is hoarse. “There’s much at stake for me, too.”
“Good,” I say. “Because if you use this book to betray us, I’ll go back to the day we met, and I’ll kill you.”