by Tanya Stowe
The place had been demolished. Pillows and cushions slashed open. Large lamps smashed on the ground. Every shelf, every piece of furniture, had been turned over, torn apart or destroyed.
Sassa gasped. “Oh, no.”
Jared glanced at her. She clasped Keri close and those pretty, pouty, pink lips trembled. Her armor had slipped. She looked vulnerable and close to the edge. She’d already been through so much. She didn’t need this. He wanted to reach out to her but knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. Instead, he gritted his teeth and searched the room for Kopack.
The man walked toward them, a stack of papers in his hand. Jared didn’t waste time.
“You could have given us some warning.”
Kopack sighed. “We’re just as surprised as you, De Luca. We were here two days ago, right after Dr. Kruger notified us that his wife was missing. It didn’t look like this.”
“They did this after...?”
He nodded. “Maybe last night. A neighbor thought she saw something, a flash of lights. She contacted the local police. When they arrived, things were silent. No sign of lights or intruders. We didn’t find this wreckage until this morning after the police discovered June’s body. We came back here looking for clues and found this.” He gestured to the demolished room. “It appears they were trying to open a safe. The police scared them off before they could finish. Our people just got it cracked open. These documents were inside. We’d like you to take a look, Ms. Nilsson. Maybe it’s the professor’s formula for the pathogen.”
Sassa took the papers and looked around for a place to sit. Obviously, she couldn’t hold her daughter and shift the papers. Finding no available spot, she handed Keri to Jared.
Surprised, he shifted the baby in his arms. First thing she did was reach for his badge.
Good thing to know. Babies like bright, shiny objects.
He moved her again. She weighed less than his workout bag, but she was wiggly and made him nervous. He placed his hand on her back to keep her from toppling. The action pulled her closer and a sweet, powdery scent drifted upward. Nice. Clean.
Sassa shuffled the papers. “It is some kind of formula for sure. Give me a moment.” She read silently. Jared picked his way through the debris to the safe behind the picture. Not a very discreet hiding place. Sam had been so cautious about everything else. Why would he put the formula in such a low-grade safety receptacle with an obvious location?
He studied the front of the small safe. The lock buttons were in a straight row instead of a square. Unusual. Sam must’ve paid a pretty penny for that unique setup.
Ten square blocks, zero to nine. Something about them tickled his memory. The ID bracelet! The one Sam had been so determined to give to Sassa. Did it mean something?
At that moment Keri lost interest in his badge and reached up, determined to stick her fingers in his mouth. He grasped her little hand, held it down and turned to the men in the room. “Sassa, do you have the bracelet? I think the numbers on it might be the combination.”
All the men in the room paused and stared. Kopack shook his head. “What does it matter? The safe is open.”
“Sam insisted Sassa take the bracelet with his last breath. She already knew he wanted her to have it. So why was it so important?” He shook his head. “Sam was purposeful. That bracelet meant more to him than just a keepsake. I want to know what.”
Kopack nodded. “Good idea, De Luca. Looks like you might carry your weight around here, after all.”
The comment struck deep but Jared refused to react. Everywhere he went he had to prove himself. Did he wear a sign on his forehead that read Lost Cause Who Doesn’t Even Know His Own Father? His past seemed to be something other men could smell—and it followed him everywhere he went. All he’d ever wanted was to prove his grandfather’s faith in him, to be worthy of the kindness the officer of his youth had showed him. If he could do that, maybe he’d finally earn his wife’s respect. Maybe...
He pushed the thought away. He’d refused to respond to Kopack’s remark, but he didn’t miss the slight frown that creased Sassa’s brow. Apparently, she didn’t like Kopack’s dig, either.
Was Sassy Sassa about to defend Jared? The thought made him smile. That big chip on her shoulder might come in handy sometimes.
The smile faded when Kopack turned to Sassa. “Do you know the number, Miss Nilsson?”
“No, but I have the bracelet.” Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, she pulled out the large, man’s bracelet. Her hand looked delicate and fragile against the heavy, bulky links. She handed the object to Kopack. He carried it to the technician who had opened the safe. The drilled-out lock sat inside the open door. The man reconnected the wires from the loose lock to the back of the safe door then punched in the numbers.
No sound. No click. Nothing.
He punched the numbers one more time then shook his head. “It’s not the code for this safe.”
“You’re sure it’s not just damaged?” Kopack asked.
“Definitely. Something would have registered if it was the right code.”
Hope faded in Jared. Well, it was a good idea.
Sassa lifted the papers. “I’m afraid this destruction was all for nothing. These files are research for Xylella, but it’s our initial work. We were trying to find a cure for X when we created the new pathogen. I don’t know why Sam felt the need to lock these papers up. They’re public knowledge. They’ve already been published.”
Kopack nodded. “It seems he put all of his important papers in the safe. We found these, too.” He handed her a manila envelope.
“What’s this?”
“It’s Dr. Kruger’s will. On the envelope is the name and number of his attorney and...the executor of his estate. You.”
Sassa frowned and her voice dropped a notch. “Sam had everything in order. Do you think he expected to die?”
Kopack agreed. “It seems he was prepared for all possibilities...except how far the Knights were willing to go to obtain the information. None of us imagined they’d make such a public move and murder him in front of witnesses.”
Jared clamped down on the words I believed it and I warned you. Instead he said, “The important thing to remember is they have gone public. They’ll never be able to go back underground. This is their last gambit, a suicidal bid for their group. We can’t underestimate them again. They won’t stop until they’ve introduced that pathogen into the world.”
And Sassa Nilsson is our only hope for stopping it.
He didn’t say the words out loud, but it was apparent that same thought was on the mind of everyone in the room...except Sassa. She seemed focused elsewhere. He could almost see the wheels churning behind her unfocused gaze.
Keri chose that moment to reach for his mouth again. Jared grabbed her tiny hand and looked down into big, beautiful, blue eyes, just like her mother’s. The beginnings of a smile tickled the corners of her baby-doll lips, also like Sassa’s. He couldn’t imagine Nikolai Chekhov getting his hands on the helpless little bundle in his arms...or her mother. Sassa might have some prickly edges but she didn’t deserve what that madman would dish out.
Jared halted the scenarios his imagination created before they could take shape. But a new and fierce determination to stop Chekhov and his organization took root within him.
“Wait a minute!” Sassa glanced around, a hopeful glint in her gaze. “If Sam had sent these documents to his lawyer, is it possible he sent him the formula, too?”
“We thought of that and we’ve contacted his lawyer. He’s en route to his office now. In the meantime, we need to double your guard.”
“My guard? Why?”
Jared took a deep breath. “It’s been a crazy week for you, Sassa. You haven’t really had time to put two and two together.”
“Two and two about what?”
He glanced at Kopack then back
to the intense question in Sassa’s blue eyes. “You heard what he said. The Kruger residence was in perfect condition when they searched it at the beginning of the week. Last night someone trashed it. Think about it, Sassa. The Black Knights already had Sam’s computer. So what were they looking for when they trashed the house?”
Her blue eyes widened. “The formula wasn’t on his computer.”
“Exactly.”
She gave a brief shake of her head. “I knew that. If I’d thought about it, I knew it. I put his conference notes on that computer myself. It was a simple little thing. If there’d been a locked file or something unusual on it, I would have seen.”
“Obviously, Sam hid the formula someplace else.”
“But where? It’s not in the lab. I know every inch of that place. I’d know if it was hidden there. It wasn’t in Sam’s safe or anyplace here in the house. Where could it be?”
“We don’t know and neither do the Black Knights.”
She frowned, and Jared sighed. Her brain was on overload because her normally sharp mind was taking a long time to pull the pieces together.
He hated to do it, but he had to speed up the process. She needed to be aware.
“That means, Sassa, you are the only living link to the formula’s location. You’re also the only one who has a chance of repeating the formula or creating a cure. I’m afraid you just became number one on the Black Knights’ Most Wanted list. Kopack needs to double your protection and I won’t be leaving your side.”
* * *
Jared suggested she might want to go home, but Sassa insisted on going straight to the lab. Her decision seemed to please him and he smiled. A good smile. White teeth against his dark beard. Strong and sincere. He’d given her a slightly sarcastic grin on the car trip home, but this was different. This smile was real—the first she’d seen on him—and a little thrill speared through her whole being. She’d brought one bright spot into his day. That was a good thing. They’d no doubt have too few of those in the time ahead.
They were dropping Keri off at the campus child-care center when one of the FBI agents assigned to watch Sassa planted himself in a corner of the playroom. Sassa sent a worried glance in Jared’s direction.
“It’s just a precaution I suggested and since I’ll be by your side, we can afford to leave one of your guards here. Kopack agreed.”
Still...
Sassa sent one last, worried glance toward her daughter before Jared ushered her out the door for the walk across campus.
When she finally stepped through the door of the lab, Sam’s three assistants, Matt, Libby and Jacki, stopped what they were doing and turned to her.
Okay. Another hurdle. She was in charge now. They waited.
She took a breath.
“Thank you all for being here. I think you’re aware of what’s happening.”
Matt, the oldest of the lab assistants, nodded. “The FBI has been here setting up equipment since yesterday.” He nodded at Sam’s glass-enclosed office. “The IT guy is in there now.”
Stalling for time, Sassa nodded, slipped her lab coat off the hanger near the door and put it on. Then she ran her favorite citrus-flavored lip balm over her lips. Only then did she meet the steady gaze of her fellow workers. She hesitated, trying to decide what to tell them. Fortunately, she had Sam’s lead to follow. That meant nothing but the truth. “I think we all know Dean Trujillo is not a fan of Sam’s program. Now that he’s gone, our jobs here are most likely in jeopardy. I want to give you warning...in case we’re not successful in recreating the pathogen.”
“We will be.” Matt spoke before she could go on. “You’ll find a way. We know you will.”
Their confidence warmed Sassa. She didn’t know what to say, how to express her appreciation. She looked up. Jared, arms folded over his chest, leaned against the doorjamb of Sam’s office. A satisfied smile floated over his lips. That little half smile vote of confidence did funny things to her stomach—made it flip—and brought a flush to her cheeks.
Exactly the kind of response she didn’t need to have to Mr. Jared De Luca but...the fate of the world was sitting on her shoulders. She needed all the help she could get.
She allowed herself that little moment of pleasure. Told herself it would be just one. Later, she’d put Jared’s smile and his confidence in the box where they belonged—with all the other good-looking, charming unbelievers in the world. But right now, his faith in her gave her strength.
She nodded at her fellow workers. “Let’s get to work then...for Sam.”
“For Sam,” they repeated.
“I’ll need all of your notes and lab assignments from the days before the accident. Anything that might jog our memories or point us in the right direction. I want to make sure we all observed the same things and, also, to make sure I didn’t miss some small detail.”
They returned to their desks and Sassa headed to Sam’s office. Jared was blocking the door and didn’t move. She looked up. A wry smile played around his lips, surprisingly full ones for a man. She shouldn’t notice things like that. Couldn’t afford to notice them. Sassa ducked her head as if to push her way through, but he didn’t move. And she didn’t dare step any closer. He smelled too good. Like fresh pines. Because he refused to move, she was forced to look up.
“You can do this, Sassa. Even your colleagues believe in you.”
She ducked her head again. This time a smile wavered across her own lips. “Actually, I am a pretty good biologist. I guess it’s just my family I keep letting down.”
He frowned. “From what I’ve seen, your family is very proud of you. You haven’t let them down.”
She made a small sound. “I thought I had a bright future. That’s all down the drain now. If the FBI wasn’t backing me, I’m sure Dean Trujillo would have kicked me off the campus. He never liked me.”
“I take it Sassy Sassa made an appearance during one of your encounters with the man?”
Laughter escaped before she could stop it. “I think you spent entirely too much time talking to Sam.”
He folded his arms tighter. “I wish I’d spent more time. Now it’s too late.”
“Yes...for both of us.” She took a deep breath and looked around. “All I ever wanted was to support my daughter, to take care of her without the world constantly falling down around me.”
He straightened from leaning on the jamb and lifted her chin with his finger. “You didn’t create this disaster.”
“No. I didn’t. But it’s up to me to fix it.” Her words sounded a little shaky...like she felt.
Jared took a deep breath. “My grandfather had a favorite scripture he always used to quote when I felt like I was in over my head. Jeremiah 29, verse eleven. He made me memorize it so I could repeat it. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you...thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’”
She looked up. His brown eyes were deep, dark and sincere. “I thought you said you don’t believe.”
His lips twisted in a wry smile. “I’m not sure I do. But you do and you’re ruining my good story, so listen up. My granddad would always finish the scripture by saying, ‘You don’t know what His plans are for you, but you can be sure He never sends the wrong man for the job.’”
“You think I’m the right person for the job?”
Jared nodded. “You are. And don’t forget, it’s not all up to you. It’s us. I won’t leave you alone in this.”
Us. The last time somebody said “us” to her, it turned out to be a disaster. She would never forget that again. No matter how appealing Jared made it sound, there would never be an “us” for her.
She stepped forward, trying to push her way through, but he wouldn’t budge.
“It’s been a rough morning. I think you need a pick-me-up. How about a cup of coffee?”
“I’m more of a t
ea drinker.”
“Okay, can I get you something else?”
Her laugh was rueful. “What I would really love to have is something I absolutely don’t need.”
“What’s that?”
“I could eat a dozen hallongrotta from my favorite Kingsburg bakery. You know...raspberry caves? Yummy shortbread cookies with raspberry jam in the center?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen those.” He paused and a doubtful frown creased the place between his brows. “A dozen all by yourself?”
Now. Right now was the perfect time to set their relationship back on the right course. Time to cut through all the nice words and the hopeful pulse-pounding smiles. She met his gaze squarely. “You don’t think I got these hips from eating like a mouse, do you? I’m a stress eater. So, yes, a dozen cookies all by myself.”
Surprise flitted over his features, but he didn’t rush in to contradict her or to feed her false compliments. Sassa knew the truth about herself. She was short and rounder than most women. Years of stress eating had added on the pounds and she’d never been able to shed the extra baby fat. Probably never would. She had no illusions about herself and she hoped Jared didn’t foster any, either. She would be sorely disappointed in him if he did.
She had no illusions about him finding her attractive in any way. His wife was probably tall, slender, dark-haired with lovely dusky skin. And immaculately put together. Just the opposite of Sassa’s thrown-together, baby-on-her-hip usual style. She knew the truth and hoped Jared wouldn’t try to make her feel good with a bunch of insincere compliments she could see right through.
He didn’t. He kept silent.
What a relief. And yet...a tinge of disappointment crowded the edges of her awareness.
He could have protested just a little.
And that’s exactly why you have to keep your distance, girl. You always fall for his kind. Now put that nonsense behind you and get on with the real issue.
“I’m ready for you now, Ms. Nilssen,” the computer technician called out.
Relieved, Sassa pushed around Jared’s silent form. As she sat at the desk, she glanced up once to see his frowning features before the tech explained the FBI’s equipment and the log-on procedure.