by Anna Blakely
“Oh, okay.” Kole nodded as if that made perfect sense.
Zade shot his teammate a look and said, “Dude, you have no idea what she said, do you?”
Kole snickered. “Not a clue.”
The room filled with chuckles. Hoping to see a smile on Matt’s handsome face, too, Kat glanced his way. Instead, she found him staring directly at her, and he was definitely not smiling.
Looking away quickly, Kat apologized to the group. “Sorry. I spend most of my days in a lab working with a team of scientists. I’m not used to having to explain what we do to other people.”
“Why don’t you dumb it down for us grunts. We’ll try to keep up.”
Matt’s sarcastic remark got everyone’s attention, including Gabe’s.
“There a problem, Turner?” Gabe looked directly at him.
Not appearing to be intimidated by his team leader, Matt simply shrugged and said, “Just ready to figure out why we’re here, that’s all.”
“Then let the woman talk,” Zade joined in.
Matt gestured for her to continue. “Explain away.”
Cheeks red with embarrassment, Kat did her best to ignore the strange looks Matt’s teammates were giving them both. Clearing her throat, she gave them what she hoped would be a clearer picture of what she and the others on her team did.
“A biomedical engineer uses biological or chemical processes to research and develop formulas or serums for various purposes. My department is directly involved in working on the company’s government contracts.”
“So, the government pays you to create stuff,” Kole simplified it even more.
“Yes.”
“Like what?” Gabe asked.
This is where it got tricky. Every government-sanctioned job the company took on required she and her team to all sign non-disclosure agreements.
As if he could read her mind, Jake said, “It’s okay, Kat. We’re all former military and do contract work for the government as well. We understand the risks involved in disclosing classified material. And I wouldn’t ask you to break any sort of legal agreement you may have signed, but if there’s something you believe is directly related to what happened, we need to know. I can assure you, whatever you share with us stays with us and will only be used to protect you.”
She knew he was right. They couldn’t help her unless they knew everything. Besides, even if they did go back on their word, being sued for breach of contract was still better than being dead.
“Okay.” Kat inhaled deeply and began telling them everything she knew. “The U.S. government has contracted with Anderson Biomeds for years. Specifically my department focuses on projects to help aid our military forces overseas.”
That got their attention.
“What sort of projects?” Gabe asked curiously.
“Several types, really. We’ve developed vaccines to fight off area-specific viruses, immune system boosters, things like that. Oh, and the blood clotting agent the military currently uses was also developed in our lab.”
“Really?” Kole gave her an approving nod. “That’s cool.”
Zade agreed. “Yeah. I’m sure we’ve all used that stuff at one point or another.”
Kat refused to allow herself to look at Matt for fear her eyes would give away too much. He’d always been able to read her well. Better than anyone else she’d ever known.
“If you’ve ever been deployed overseas, I can pretty much guarantee you have.”
“These formulas you develop, do the people in your department work on an individual basis, or as a team?”
“Oh, we’re very much a team. One that depends greatly on trust. We’ve also had to learn and understand each other’s nuances and strengths, and we use those to our advantage. Each person has a specific job, but we combine those jobs to obtain the desired result. At least, we try to, anyway.”
“Back to the company, itself”—Gabe chimed in—“why did the government choose to partner with Anderson Biomeds?”
“Most companies or agencies use contracted laboratories. That means they work on formulas and outsource the rest of the steps. We do everything in-house, from the developmental stages all the way through completion. Everything we create is done so within our own company’s walls.”
“Really cuts down on cost,” the other man stated. “Also lessens the chance for one of your formulas to get leaked to a competitor.”
Kat nodded. “Exactly.”
“How competitive is this sort of thing?” Zade asked.
“Biomeds is a highly competitive field, world-wide. If someone discovered one of our formulas, they could take it out from under us. They could then sell it at a lower cost, but still make millions. Possibly more. It would ruin us.”
“Which brings us to why Kat needs our help.” With a nod, Jake gave her the go-ahead to share the incredible, terrifying story.
“Everything started four days ago when I received a strange text on my work phone.”
Kole frowned. “What made it seem strange?”
“For one, it was sent after midnight.” Her eyes skittered in Matt’s direction and back again. “I pretty much live at work, so I don’t have much of a social life. I certainly don’t have any friends who would text me that late at night. Plus, it was from a number I didn’t recognize, and there was nothing in the text to indicate who the sender was.”
“What did it say?” Zade’s focused gaze found hers.
“The only things on it were instructions to be sure to ‘include all the notes along with the formula’ and an email to send the information to. But the thing that really struck me as odd was what was at the end of the text.”
Gabe tipped his head a bit. “Which was?”
“An order typed in all caps to delete the texts after the email was sent.”
The room was silent for a moment before Zade asked, “Any idea what formula they were talking about?”
Kat shook her head. “Not at the time. We sometimes work on multiple projects simultaneously. Anyway, I wrote back as soon as I read it, asking who it was. I got no response. I tried calling the number, but all I got was a recording saying it was invalid. I finally brushed it off as a wrong number and went on with the rest of my night.”
“I’ll admit that was a bit strange”—Kole looked at Jake—“but random texts really aren’t our thing, Boss.” His head swung back around to her. “No offense.”
A corner of Kat’s mouth turned upward. “None taken. Believe me, I wouldn’t waste your time if that was all it was.”
“So there’s more,” Zade commented.
Kat looked over at him. “The day after I got that text, there was an explosion in our lab.” She drew in a shaky breath, hating that she had to revisit that nightmarish day. “Three members on my team were killed. Two instantly, and another…Amy suffered severe burns over forty percent of her body. She’s been in the ICU, but the hospital called early this morning…” her voice cracked. Clearing her throat she said, “Amy didn’t make it.”
“Damn.” Kole’s face filled with sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
Forcing a smile, Kat offered a low, “Thanks.”
With an expression matching Kole’s, Zade asked, “Were you there when it happened?”
She nodded, the memories from that day still raw and painful. “I’d just walked out to use the restroom seconds before it happened. I, um…” Swallowing against the knot in her throat, she forced herself to push on. “The force of the blast threw me to the ground. When I realized what had happened, I rushed back in, trying to help. I knew right away that Evan and Todd were dead. I was able to drag Amy into the hallway, away from the flames and smoke, but that was all I could do for her.” Kat cleared her throat. “Other than calling 911.”
“That took a lot of guts to go back in like that,” Jake said sincerely.
Didn’t seem like it to her. All she’d felt was helpless.
“Were you injured?” Gabe asked sounding concerned.
Kat shoo
k her head. “Just some bruises.”
She fought the urge to touch the tender spot under her hairline. Thankfully, it was on the same side where her hair naturally lay. Not that she was vain. Kat just didn’t want to make a big deal out of a few stitches. Especially when the others had gone through far worse.
“Do you know what caused the explosion?”
“Yes.” Though part of her wished she didn’t. “Due to the nature of my work, I was able to assist the authorities in testing the residue found at the ignition sight. It was a mixture of various chemicals frequently used by our lab. Individually, each of the substances are relatively harmless, but put them together, and—”
“Boom,” Kole finished for her.
Kat nodded. “Exactly. The particular combination created a highly explosive compound.”
Jake asked the same question she’d been wondering ever since it happened. “Are we talking an accident, or do you think the explosion was intentional?”
“That’s the thing. I-I can’t be certain. I can’t imagine they would, nor can I begin to fathom a reason why they would. What I can tell you is, my people would’ve known the risks of having those chemicals together in one workspace.”
“What about someone not on the team?” Jake continued to question her as he took down some notes. “Does anyone else have access to the lab?”
“Only a couple of the higher-ups in the company. But they hardly ever come in, and when they do, it’s usually because some important investor is visiting. It’s been weeks since our last visitor, and authorities checked the building security footage. The only ones in or out of the lab that day were my three teammates and myself. No one else.”
“In whose area did the fire start?”
A pang of sadness and guilt struck inside Kat’s chest. “Todd’s. His station was behind mine.”
“Is it possible he could’ve grabbed the wrong thing by mistake? Like, maybe he got distracted?”
“Possible, yes. But highly improbable.”
“If it wasn’t a mistake on his part, how do you think those chemicals ended up there?”
“I wish I knew.” She shook her head. “Actually, what I really wish is that I’d never left.”
“You needed to use the bathroom, Kat,” Zade tried to appease her. “Not like anyone can fault you for that.”
Kat appreciated the man’s attempt to empathize, but she knew she’d never forgive herself for leaving when she had.
“The explosion originated in Todd’s workspace, and you said he was directly behind yours, correct?
She looked over at Jake. “Yes.”
“So it’s safe to assume that, had you stayed, you most likely would’ve died alongside your teammates.”
“Maybe.” She’d thought of that, too. “But had I stayed, maybe I could’ve noticed the chemicals in time to prevent the explosion in the first place.”
Gabe’s deep voice rumbled as he advised her, “Kat, if there’s one thing we’ve learned in this business, it’s that you can’t torture yourself with what-ifs.”
She knew he was right. Didn’t ease the pain in her heart any, though.
“So you receive the odd text and the next day the lab explodes, killing nearly everyone on your team,” Kole spoke evenly, summing everything up so far. “What else?”
Kat hesitated to answer because saying it out loud made it real. She looked at Kole and the others.
“With the lab in shambles and my team…anyway. The project has been put on hold until Sloane can get a new team established and the lab back in working order. I went into work yesterday to see what, if anything had been recovered. After that, I stopped by the hospital to check on Amy before going home. When I walked into my apartment, I found the place trashed.”
The engrained image of her shredded couch and broken lamps still caused a shiver to run down her spine.
“Was anything taken?” Zade asked.
“My personal laptop and a stack of old notebooks I’d kept from past research projects. Everything else was just…destroyed.”
Kole thought a moment. “Anything of value on the computer?”
“Not to anyone else. Like I said, it was my personal computer. The ones we used at the lab are highly encrypted to protect the research. That one was your average laptop. It was never used for anything work-related. Of course, whoever took it would have no way of knowing that.”
“Whoever took it and the notebooks were looking for something specific,” Gabe noted. “What were you guys working on at the time?”
“For the past four years, we’ve been developing and fine-tuning a special project. It was in its final stages, but it wasn’t quite perfected to the standards it needed to be. We were coming up on a pretty solid deadline, so the team has been working non-stop with barely enough time to eat or sleep. When it gets like that, I pretty much live on coffee, which is why I was headed to the restroom in the first place, and…” Kat stopped herself and took a deep breath. “Sorry. I have a tendency to ramble when I’m upset or nervous.”
When Matt coughed loudly, Kat couldn’t help but wonder if her nervous ramblings were the cause. It was a habit she’d had since she was a young girl. One he used to love teasing her about.
“It’s okay.” Jake offered a kind smile. “Just take your time.”
After filling her lungs once more, Kat began again. “This particular formula is for a special serum commissioned by the government. It’s been slated for military use only, and in my opinion, is the most important thing we’ve ever done.”
“What’s so special about it?”
Everything. This project was the sole reason she’d continued working for Anderson. Not because she felt any sort of loyalty to him. Not even close.
Kat glanced around the room. “With our serum, thousands of American soldiers’ lives will be saved. Maybe more.”
Chapter 3
“Spit it out, already, Doc,” Matt ordered impatiently. He knew he was being a dick, but fuck.
How the hell was he supposed to react to seeing her again? Not only that, but he had to sit here while she talked about her job at the super important lab owned by her rich as fuck former father-in-law. Seriously?
At least he’s a former and not current.
Matt shot that thought down hard. There was no ‘at least’ in this situation. He wouldn’t have given a flying fuck if she’d still been married. Just like he didn’t give a shit about her anymore.
So why did your chest tighten when she talked about the explosion and the break-in?
That was pure coincidence, he told himself. Probably something he ate.
To make matters even worse—as if that were even possible at this point—he had to continue to stare at her gorgeous face while listening to the sexy, sultry voice that once had the power to bring him to his knees.
Still does.
Shut the fuck up!
Christ. Now he was arguing with his own subconscious. No wonder he was grumpy as shit.
Maybe, if he was lucky, she’d get mad at him and leave. Jake would be pissed, but it would be worth a slap on the wrist if it meant getting her out of here.
Flickering an annoyed glance his way, Kat revealed the supposedly huge government secret.
“My team and I developed a serum that can slow down the body’s response to trauma.”
Okay, so that did sound sort of cool. He and the others remained silent, so Kat continued to explain further.
“Basically, it works on both the cellular and molecular levels to deter a person’s normal physical reactions when they’ve sustained an injury.”
“How?” Zade asked the same question rolling through Matt’s mind.
“I’m sure you’re all well aware of how adrenaline works in the body, yes?”
She was in a room full of former-military badasses who now worked the private sector. Brilliant assumption, Kat.
The other guys all responded with nods, but Matt kept his emotionless expression going strong.
“Are you saying this serum your lab has been creating is some kind of synthetic adrenaline?” Kole asked.
Matt gave his teammate a look. “That’s what epinephrine is, dumb ass.”
“Sort of,” Kat answered Kole. “However, what we’ve been developing is much more advanced than your average epi pen. This stuff will slow your heart rate, which in turn, slows the bleeding. It makes it so you don’t feel pain. Or, if you do, it won’t be enough to keep you from being able to defend yourself or your teammates. Your breathing remains more even, as opposed to the heaving breaths we tend to take in when we’re hurting.”
Kat stopped a few seconds to let what she’d shared sink in. When Zade looked back over at her, Matt couldn’t tell if the expression on his face meant he was impressed, or he thought she was nuts.
“You’re talking super-soldier shit.” He sounded in awe.
He’s impressed.
With the same half-smile he used to love seeing, Kat said, “Not exactly the term we use in the lab, but yes. That’s pretty much it.”
“Holy shit.” Kole fell back into his chair. Looking at each of them, he sounded even more impressed than Zade. “Can you imagine what something like that could mean for our troops? For any of us? Guy takes a hit that would normally bring them down, but is able to keep going?”
“Remember,” Kat intervened quickly “It’s temporary. The test subjects we’ve used it on so far have only seen positive changes for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. We’ve been tweaking the formula so its effects will last longer, but we were unable to test the new serum before the explosion.”
Kole shook his head. “Still. I could name half a dozen soldiers who died when they were mere minutes away from getting the help they needed. Something like this…” He glanced around the room. “This is a game changer.”