Caroline straightened and then opened the truck door. “That’s one of the maintenance staff.” She stepped down and waved at the man. “Hey, Charlie. How’s Meredith?”
The man turned toward her, a grin on his face. “Hey, Miss Carrie. She’s good. Real good. The doctor released her to go back to work this week.”
“Awesome.” Caroline—er, Carrie—raised a hand for a high five the man willingly gave. “Someone stole my purse today, and it had my house keys in it.”
“Need me to rekey it?”
“Can you believe we stopped and bought a new lock on the way here?”
“You let me install it. Save you some money and get it done today.”
“That would be great. Thank you.” She turned back to the truck and made a little “come here” motion with her hand. Brandon obliged and she waited for him to join her. “Charlie, this is my good friend Brandon.”
The man gave him a solid looking over, like he was trying to penetrate to the core of his being. Then he gave a slight nod as if pleased with what he saw. He stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Name’s Charlie Harris.”
“Brandon Lancaster.” There it was. The little widening of the eyes. Nothing over the top, but enough to let Brandon know his name had landed.
“It truly is a pleasure, sir.” Charlie opened his mouth as if he wanted to comment on the Super Bowl or some other favorite moment, then shook his head as if clearing the thought. “You have that lock? If so, give it on over, and I’ll get this changed out for you.”
Brandon retrieved the bag from the truck, then Charlie unlocked the door and got to work as Brandon and Caroline stepped inside.
He glanced around the living room. “Carrie?”
“That’s what you want to focus on?”
“I’ve never heard anyone call you anything but Caroline.” He grinned. “Well, other than the kids.”
Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, as if she could get a gold medal in the sport. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“Carrie.” He let the name roll off his tongue, and she turned away with a harrumph.
“Have your fun, but you don’t get to call me that.”
“How does Charlie rate giving you a nickname?”
“He’s a nice guy.”
“I’m a nice guy.”
“Maybe.” She turned and evaluated him with a thoroughness that left him feeling a bit exposed. “But you haven’t unclogged a drain or changed my lock.”
“I was willing to. On the lock.”
Charlie whistled from his post by the door. “I’ll leave the new keys with you, Miss Carrie. Just take the one for the super.”
“Thanks, Charlie. I’m here long enough to get a few things. Then I’m off for a couple days.”
This was news to Brandon. “I thought you’d stay here.”
She shook her head. “Not tonight. I wouldn’t feel safe knowing someone has my address—even with the lock changed.” Caroline lowered her voice. “What if someone saw me at the mall? Knows I was there with Justin? Am I safe?”
Brandon hated the question. He considered offering to sleep on her couch, but she turned away before he could say anything.
“Can you wait here while I throw a few things in an overnight bag?” She walked down the small hallway to the back half of her apartment.
The space was cozy and reflected her personality with bright throw pillows with clever sayings on them. One about coffee, another about books, and still one more about travel. Personally he thought such pillows were a waste since he was always putting them on the floor so he could get comfortable, but they did mirror Caroline's personality, though she didn’t travel. Did that mean she might like to?
There were no photos on display. Nothing personal enough to stop her rooms from looking like they could fill the pages of some farmhouse design magazine. Had she found an example and replicated it, or was this really what she liked?
It felt a bit like a warm den with its deep beige tones. As he settled on the couch to wait, he wondered what she would do with his apartment, if given the chance. Would she come in and add black-and-white prints to the walls while taking down his football paraphernalia? Would she understand why those things mattered to him, or find them old? Relics of his past?
Based on this room, Caroline didn’t have a past.
That wasn’t possible, but as he took another glance around, he realized it matched what he knew. It was almost as if she showed up for law school without a background. She’d been a blank slate, and her friends had made her who she was.
While it was a package that was easy to love, who would she be if she took full control of her destiny?
He wasn’t sure she knew.
The realization brought heaviness. The sort of heaviness that wouldn’t dislodge with a roll of his shoulders and a mental heave-ho.
No, it demanded a response.
The challenge was determining what kind.
It was a puzzle he could work on. A goal to achieve.
When she stepped from her room pulling a rolling suitcase and work bag, he realized there was a lot more that needed tending. Tears were tracing down her cheeks as she approached.
* * *
The new key felt heavy in her hand as she handed it to Brandon. Stupid tears. She wanted to stop crying, but even more she wanted to be strong enough that tears weren’t an issue.
“After everything that has happened, I need to know someone has a way to get into my apartment if anything happens.” The act highlighted how alone she was in the world. “You’re the closest thing I have to family.”
“You have the girls.”
She sniffled and gasped against the pain. “I suppose, but it feels pretty lonely right now. Besides, you’re my boyfriend; just don’t abuse the privilege of the key.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious? The privilege of the key?”
She choked on a laugh and then leaned into his side, desperate for the warmth of his protection. “You know what I mean.”
* * *
She was about to disappear.
He could feel it to his core.
He couldn’t let that happen. “Come back to Almost Home tonight. Or I’ll drive you to Jaime’s.” The words didn’t seem to ping behind the wall she’d erected. “You’re not alone, Caroline.”
She sucked in a sob.
It did him in, and he tugged her into a hug.
She fell against him, feeling small and frail. His arms tightened, but she didn’t relax. He rubbed her back, wanting to infuse her with the knowledge she was safe. He had her, and he had no plans of letting go.
“Caroline, you will not be alone unless you want to be. I’m here and won’t leave.”
“Don’t say that.” She stiffened and tried to pull back, but he didn’t let her.
He held firm and prayed for insight. “What are you afraid of?”
“You can’t promise you’ll never leave. That’s the one thing I can guarantee will happen.”
“Impossible.”
“Not in my experience.” She sagged a bit. “If I didn’t insist on being included, I’d be overlooked and forgotten. My mom forgot my sister and me every night. The alcohol was more important. Then in college everyone else was more fun or popular. I was the pity invite.”
“You think that’s still true?”
She buried her face in his shirt and gave a quick jerk.
“Caroline, I wish you could see what your friends and I see. You are an amazing woman, full of empathy and the vision that really sees people. Your heart is soft and you feel others’ pain. You are strong and compassionate.” He tipped her chin up so she had to look at him. “And you are the most beautiful woman I know.”
Then he leaned down and lightly touched her lips with his. Slowly he deepened the kiss, trying to convey the depth of his emotion in this small act.
* * *
Her heart froze at the lightest of touches. His lips on hers.
T
hen she let herself lean into the moment. Forget her fears. Trust this man.
She deepened the kiss and his arms tightened around her waist.
The image of Justin’s twisted body at the parking garage vanished. Her entire focus settled on the man holding her. And she didn’t want to move or break the spell. She didn’t want to risk waking up from the dream where the man she loved was kissing her.
She felt the weight of it.
He was offering himself.
And she didn’t want anything more than the knowledge that he would be here, holding her as carefully as if she were spun glass.
This . . . inside his arms . . . was home.
Her chest caught and she felt the lightest touch on her cheeks as he brushed away the lingering tears. She shuddered and leaned into his touch.
He pulled back and set his forehead on hers. “Will you let me help you? I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”
“I don’t want to be alone either.”
He let go of her long enough to grab her suitcase. “That settles it. We’re headed to Almost Home. It’s remote and yet there are others if I need backup.”
“I don’t want to put anyone in danger.”
He wanted to promise she wouldn’t be, but right now that felt like a promise he couldn’t keep. “Then we’ll lay low.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to be dependent on you.”
He stepped back so he could meet her gaze. “If you can’t trust me, who will you trust?”
She swallowed and then leaned back in, hiding her face under a veil of her hair. “I choose to trust you.”
He felt the significance of her words. The force of the choice behind them.
He wouldn’t let her down.
Chapter 29
Thursday, June 3
As soon as she woke Thursday morning in the unused cabin at Almost Home, Caroline called Brian. “Have you had a chance to look at the files I emailed you Tuesday?”
“Now’s really not a good time.”
“It’s been a pretty rough week for me too.” She didn’t want to tell him she’d been with Justin, not unless she had to. “Did you get the email?”
He huffed and she heard something that sounded like pages flipping. Then clicking as on a keyboard. “Nope. I thought maybe you forgot.”
“I sent it right after we talked Tuesday. Are you sure it’s not in your spam or trash?”
There was a moment of silence. “Yep, it’s not here. I’d be glad to look at it, but Justin was in an accident, and my workload just doubled again.”
The silence became awkward, and she forced the words. “An accident?”
“He was at Tysons Corner of all places. During the workday. Got hit entering the parking garage.” The man made a hissing sound. “Can you imagine? Random, and whoever hit him didn’t stop.”
She could imagine. In living color. Could feel the vibration. She shuddered and closed her eyes. “Awful.”
After that call, all she wanted was to stay cocooned in the cabin. Instead, she got a call telling her she was needed for a meeting. She asked Brandon if she could borrow his truck and he agreed, though he made it clear he would have preferred to drive her himself.
On her way in, she circled the parking lot looking for the security vehicle, but when she found it, it was clean. No dents. No indication it had been in a hit-and-run the prior day. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. How would she even know what she was looking for?
As she moved to her office, she couldn’t shake the image of Justin’s broken body, or the idea that someone connected to Praecursoria had been behind the “accident.” She’d tried, how she’d tried, but the thoughts kept pressing in.
She found a moment of peace as she relived the sweetness of Brandon’s kiss.
She wanted to let herself lean in and trust what that moment represented.
Her thoughts shifted yet again. What had Anna been so determined to understand? What had she uncovered? And had Justin been killed for helping Caroline try to decipher it? She wanted to see if he had talked to anyone else in the lab but didn’t want to put a bull’s-eye on someone. And how did it tie to Sarah’s death, if at all?
An hour after the meeting, Caroline knew she needed to leave. She wasn’t getting anything accomplished within her office’s four walls. But while packing her bag, she got a call to report to Quentin’s office. How was he back already?
She sighed but set down her bag and grabbed her notebook, pen, and keys.
She wanted to retreat to Brandon’s place. She wouldn’t sleep, but she’d be home. She froze. Home? She couldn’t let herself hope for that. Or maybe she could. Brandon had proven himself to be nothing but steadfast.
After a brisk rap against Quentin’s door, she entered his office. Instead of sitting behind his desk, he was sitting on his loveseat, a stack of files in front of him and one open in his hand. He glanced up and pushed his reading glasses on top of his head. “Have a seat.”
She edged to one of the wing chairs across the coffee table. “How was your trip?”
He looked at her with a tip of his chin. “What trip?”
“Lillian mentioned you were out of town.”
“Nope. Too much to do here. Can I get you anything to drink?” He waved at the cup of coffee next to the files. “Lillian is out today, but the Keurig is still on.”
“I’m fine.” She didn’t want to prolong her time at the office. “I hope she’s okay.”
“Lillian?” He waved a hand in the air. “She’s fine. Just wanted some personal time.” He set the files to the side. “Has she said anything to you? I’m concerned someone here is harassing her.”
“She hasn’t said anything specific, but I would ask her.” Caroline considered how much to say. Without Lillian giving her a name, she didn’t have anything to report to HR. “As her boss, it’s always good to confirm everything’s okay with her. She seems to do a good job.”
“A great job. My schedule was a disaster until she arrived. I know she can be overly zealous at protecting me, but it’s helped.” He watched her carefully a moment. “You all right?”
“It’s been a long week.” Although the day would improve with Brandon and the kids.
He rubbed his eyes and then slid the glasses back in place. “It has. We’ve got a key employee to replace.” He watched her a moment, but Caroline didn’t flinch. “Are you doing all right? I heard you were there.”
She swallowed hard. “I’ve never seen anyone that battered before. It’ll be a while before I lose that image.”
“That must have been hard. Is there anything I can do?” He put his hand over his chest. “We take care of our own.”
There was something about the way he said it that made her cock her head as if that would help her understand. “I’m fine. Thanks.” And she had friends who would help if she needed anything. “If that’s all.” She pushed to her feet.
“Actually, I need you to move the process along.”
“What process?”
“Patrick Robbins’s trial. With the FDA. We can’t afford to miss this opportunity. It’s time to go to the next level of trials.”
She inhaled. “The FDA isn’t the holdup. Our scientists and doctors are jumping through hoops as fast as they can.”
“That may be, but as a shareholder I want to ensure everything moves as swiftly as possible.”
“You aren’t the sole shareholder. I’m sure you don’t want anyone’s investment to be at risk.” She’d reviewed the list earlier in the week as she prepared annual filings to be filed with the Virginia Secretary of State. “You have a fiduciary duty to each of them.” Including Brandon.
“And that means getting these therapies into people’s hands.” He growled. “I could move the operation to Mexico tomorrow and make this available to whoever wants to pay. But I don’t want to. It’s better if we do everything here.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. “What if Patrick’s body is unique
in the way it metabolizes and mobilizes the CAR T-cell therapy?” She straightened her shoulders and maintained eye contact with him. “Bethany isn’t doing well on the same protocol.”
“Who’s that?”
“The little girl we met the day I interviewed.”
“Oh, right.”
“Her body is in full rejection of the therapy. What if we ramp up too fast for Phase 2 trials and learn her experience is not unique?”
“We’ll never know if we don’t get more people on it.”
“I advise strongly against that.” Then she stood but paused before leaving. “While I’m here, I need to know who has liability for the genetic testing done while Genetics for You was part of this company.”
“Caroline, this is ridiculous. Of course Genetics for You has liability. That’s why their letter shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“But Brian Silver and Samson Kleme were part of the consortium of buyers, and—”
“And that has nothing to do with anything. Send a letter and make it go away.”
“Take this seriously, please. One lawsuit, if validated, leads to more. You could lose Praecursoria over this. Handling the complaint correctly must be a top priority.”
“That’s your job.”
“Exactly. And I’m doing it. What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing. We’re finished.” He stood as red mottled his neck.
“You can’t avoid this issue. This company’s past and current actions can’t be avoided by looking away and crossing your fingers.” She sighed. “Look, they’ve made a reasonable offer.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing? Think about it, Caroline: Genetics for You is defunct. That’s the only reason those women are coming after us, because they can’t go after the real target.”
“Where is the buy-sell agreement?”
“It should be in your files.”
“It’s not.”
“Then I’ll have Lillian email a copy to you.”
* * *
The community dinner had the lodge echoing with decibels that had to be higher than any auditory specialist would recommend. Tonight Brandon didn’t care. The kids were excited and enjoying their hot dogs and homemade macaroni and cheese. They didn’t know s’mores were coming, though he still questioned his sanity tackling a project involving sticks and fire without more adult supervision. Thirty-some sugared-up kids running around a fire with sharp sticks might not be his best idea, but he knew they’d love it.
Lethal Intent Page 21
