by Leigh James
The muscle in Gabe’s jaw twitched. “Lauren, I don’t give a fuck about Jiàn and what they classify as a deterrent. I’m not letting anyone near you—or me either. I want you to calm down. Give me a minute. I’ll pack up, and we can go home.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I have to go back to work.”
“You aren’t going anywhere but home with me—”
“Gabe,” I cut him off. “My board wants me to launch the patch as soon as we get our final FDA approval. I’m going back to Paragon to try to make that happen. And I’m probably not leaving until it does.”
Gabe shrugged. “Then I’ll come with you. I can work from your office.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched again. “Why’s that?”
“Because I think it’s safer for you if you stay away from me.”
Gabe’s eyes flashed. “You know that’s not possible. It’s also ridiculous.”
“It’s not impossible, and it’s not ridiculous. I have to work. You have to stay safe. If I’m at my office, and you’re away from me, at work and home with your security, maybe…”
“Maybe what? Maybe Jiàn Innovations will forget about me?”
“I don’t know.” I could feel the blood drain from my face, and I swallowed hard. The idea that I’d put Gabe in mortal danger crushed me. “I just know that I couldn’t live with myself if something ever happened to you. Do you understand that?”
“Of course I do. I feel the same way about you.” He raked a hand through his hair. “But for the record, I can take care of myself. I like to fight. I’m actually quite good at it. And I have a loyal security team that will do whatever it takes to protect me and what’s mine.”
“I know all that, but you can’t bully your way past a bullet.”
Anger rolled off him in waves. “Jesus Lauren. Stop—your genius is showing.”
I’d known he wouldn’t be thrilled with this idea, but I had to make him understand. “Gabe.” I took his hands, pleading. “I love you. I don’t want to be away from you, but this isn’t forever. It’s just for right now.”
“Explain to me how us being apart solves anything.” He sounded completely unconvinced.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm down so I could explain my position to him clearly. “Clive told me that they want me alive—at least until they have what they want from me. If you’re near me when—if—they come, you’ll fight for me. They’ll hurt you. If you lay low and stay away, you’re not an obstacle. I’m the one they want.”
“And I need to be the one to protect you,” he said hotly.
“You can’t protect me if you’re dead. I’m keeping security with me twenty-four- seven. Let Timmy and the others do their jobs, and you and I can both do ours: run our companies and stay alive long enough to get through all this.” I hoped my logic would work on him.
There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but his expression remained stubborn. “I told you—I don’t like it.”
“I think this is the best way to deal with this situation right now.”
“What if disagree? What if I don’t want to wait?” he asked with fire in his eyes.
His words cut me. “That’s your choice. I can’t ask you to wait for me.” As soon as said it, I cringed. Of course I wanted him to wait for me.
He squeezed my hands, and I could tell he was struggling to calm down. “I know you have to go back to work. And I understand that you want me to be safe. But I don’t agree with this course of action and I don’t like it. At all. I don’t want to be separated from you.”
Misery engulfed me. “I don’t want to be separated from you, either.”
“Then babe…why are we doing this?”
“Because I love you. I love you so much, I don’t want you to get killed just because you’re my boyfriend.”
“I don’t think you’re being rational right now.” His voice had a dangerous, angry edge.
“And I don’t think you’re really listening to me.”
We stared at each other, at an impasse.
“I have to get back to work,” I said finally. “I love you.”
Gabe turned away, dismissing me. “Sometimes you have a funny way of showing it, babe.”
Chapter 23
I met with Eddie, my security manager, as soon as I got back to Paragon. “I’m going to be staying here. We need added security. I believe I’m still in danger. It may be worse than before.”
Timmy knocked on the door and came in. “Ms. Taylor.” He nodded at me and settled on the couch. “What’s going on?”
“I’m going to be staying here around-the-clock. The patch is launching sooner than we expected.”
“And Mr. Betts?” he asked.
I groaned and leveled a stare at Timmy. “What about him?”
Timmy stared back at me, his face expressionless. “I thought you were staying with him.”
“That was then. This is now.”
He raised his eyebrows a fraction but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
There was another knock on the door, and a good-looking young man stuck his head in. “You wanted to see me?” he asked, and Eddie motioned him in.
As he came through the door, my heart sank. He was tall—not as tall as Gabe, but over six feet—with huge shoulders and a powerful-looking chest straining beneath his suit jacket. He was blond with a square jaw and blue eyes. He was young, strapping, and very attractive. This had to be Wes, my sister’s new bodyguard.
“Ms. Taylor?” he asked, smiling at me tentatively. “I’m Wesley Eden, personal protection agent. I’ve been watching your sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I nodded at him and shot Timmy a filthy look. “Is she here?” I asked the room at large. I couldn’t look at Wes’s handsome face. “My sister?”
“She’s in her office,” Wes answered politely.
I looked at Timmy. “I’ll talk to you later.” I headed out of the office.
Timmy had said Wes was a good-looking guy, but he’d failed to mention that Wes was exactly Hannah’s type and awfully eager to please.
Sighing, I made a beeline for my sister’s office. She jumped up when I came in the door.
“Finally!” she said and pulled me in for a hug. “I haven’t seen you for days!”
I stood stiffly as she rocked me back and forth. I was happy to see her, but my long list of concerns, problems, and things I had to accomplish were blurring all my other emotions.
And I couldn’t get Gabe’s words out of my head. What if I don’t want to wait?
Hannah pulled back and was staring at me, her brow furrowed. “What? What’s the matter?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Well, that’s not true. We’re going for our final FDA approval and launching as soon as possible.”
She looked shocked. “Huh? Are you kidding?”
I wearily collapsed into one of her chairs. “I’m not. I met with the board. In light of Clive’s arrest and everything else that’s happened, they want to move up the release date.”
Hannah leaned back against her desk. “That’s understandable. Can you do it?”
“I don’t have a choice. But I’m ready. This has been my baby for so long. It’s ready to go out into the world.” I paused for a beat. “There’s been a lot going on, though.”
“You think?” she asked sarcastically. “What happened with Clive?”
“He’s still in jail on the tax charges. But he cleared me and Gabe of all charges. He set Gabe free.”
Hannah wrinkled her nose. “That’s a very un-Clive-like thing to do. What gives?”
I looked away. I wanted to tell Hannah the truth, but it was also my nature to protect her. “He had his reasons.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not a child anymore, Lauren. Just tell me the truth. Maybe I can help.”
I looked at her sharply. “Your only job right now is to stay safe.”
She
raised an eyebrow. “If you’re telling me we’re launching as soon as we can, I have a hell of a lot more work to do than just that as Paragon’s publicity director. Besides, I’m safe. Gabe’s got so many men at the house, I need a Las Vegas-style buffet to feed them all.”
I raised an eyebrow right back. “And you have Wes.”
“Right.” Her face was impassive, a trick she’d mastered when our parents had still been alive, when she’d been lying to them about the parties she was going to and the bad boys she was dating. “He’s been great.”
“How great?”
Her facial expression didn’t budge. “Great in an ex-Marine, bulging-muscle, will-kill-someone-if-they-look-at-me-cross-eyed sort of way. He makes me feel safe.”
“Does he make you feel anything else?”
Hannah scowled at me and picked up part of her hair, twirling it. “He’s nice. How’s Gabe? How’s he handling the fact that you’ve got to work nonstop for the near future? I’m guessing he’s disappointed. Or maybe he’s upstairs in your office, refusing to let you disappoint him?”
“He’s at work. He’s…not happy with me right now.”
Hannah looked annoyed. “What’d you do?”
“Nothing,” I said defensively. “I just told him I needed to be here.”
“He’s the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation too. I’m sure he understands the pressure you’re under.”
I shrugged. “He does.”
“So what’s the problem?” Hannah leaned forward, her full focus on me. “Tell me.”
I bit my lip and watched the carpet.
“Lauren.”
I finally looked up. “Clive Warren sold my stolen specs to a foreign corporation. They’re trying to reverse-engineer the technology based on the faulty information he sold them. They’re the origin of the threat I told you about,” I said, even though that wasn’t the problem we were talking about.
“What?” Hannah’s voice reached a near-hysterical pitch. “Who the hell is it?”
“We believe it’s a Chinese biomedical company—Jiàn Innovations.”
She nodded slowly. “I know who they are. A couple of their apps became hot commodities last year. Why are they stealing from us?”
“They want my technology, and they can’t seem to make it themselves.”
Hannah looked appalled. “Jesus, Lauren.”
I went back to inspecting the carpet. “Now you sound like Gabe.” Because even though we were discussing the Chinese company who’d stolen from me and was threatening me, Gabe was all I could think about.
“What happened with him?” I could feel her watching me. “Did you push him away? Did you tell him that you could handle everything all by yourself?”
“No. I just told him I thought he’d be safer if he stayed away from me right now, and he didn’t want to hear it.”
Hannah groaned. “You always isolate yourself. You’ve done it your whole life, and it’s gotten toxic since Mom and Dad died. Gabe cares about you, and he’s capable of helping you. He can help protect you. The last thing you need to do is cut him off right now.”
“But I’m not cutting him off. I explained that to him, but he’s so freaking stubborn, he wouldn’t listen.”
She grunted. “He’s stubborn?”
“I don’t want them to take him away from me. I couldn’t stand it.”
Hannah got up and came over to me. “I know it’s scary to have feelings for someone. Hey. Look at me.”
I looked up at her. “What?”
“It is scary to love somebody. Because you could lose them, or they could decide they don’t love you back, or they could die in a car accident. Loving somebody is a risk, and you can’t make it a calculated risk, because it’s not scientific. I’m sure that scares the shit out of you.”
“I’m not scared to have feelings for Gabe. I’m scared that the people who bought my technology off the black market are going to come after him. If something happens to him and it’s my fault, I’ll never forgive myself. Do you understand?”
Hannah nodded. “Of course I understand. But I also know that Gabe is a very competent adult. He can make up his own mind. Part of loving somebody else is trusting them to make the right decision.”
“When did you become the expert?” I asked. “Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?”
“No.” Hannah went back to her desk, averting her gaze. She fidgeted, shuffling some papers then twirling her hair. “I haven’t been going out a lot lately, so I’ve just been doing some thinking.”
I carefully watched my sister’s face. She was hiding something from me, and I had a sinking feeling I knew what it was. “I met Wes this morning,” I said, eager to direct the conversation away from my love life to my sister’s. “He seems like…a strapping young man.”
She nodded, still not looking at me. “I think he can probably handle himself in a fight. I hope so anyway. Isn’t that the point?”
Standing, I decided I’d have to wait to interrogate my sister. I had to get back to the lab. “That is the only point,” I said, my voice a warning. “Don’t let any of his other points, er, point at you. He’s there to protect you, Hannah. You can’t distract him.”
She gave me a haughty look. “Who said I’m distracting him?”
“No one. Yet.” I headed toward the door. “It’s his job to keep you safe. Let him do his job.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said. “And while we’re giving orders, I command you to call Gabe and make up with him. I know you love him, Lauren. You’re lucky you found someone who loves you back.”
I looked at my watch. “I think Dr. Phil is on soon—don’t miss it. Sounds like you need to update your material.”
“I know you love me,” she called as I hustled back down the hallway to the lab. “And lucky for you, I love you back.”
“I am lucky. And I do love you,” I said under my breath.
“I heard that!” my sister called.
Chapter 24
Launch preparation kept me busy for the rest of the week. We met with the FDA and presented our latest results from our clinical trials. I held my breath and crossed my fingers that the final approval would come through soon. While we waited, we moved forward with our in-house manufacturing process.
We were hurtling toward the release in surprisingly good shape.
I had neither seen Gabe nor spoken to him. I texted him every day, just to make sure he was still alive, but only got back terse responses, such as Still alive and Still pissed.
After another week passed, he sent me another text: I want to see you. That’s non-negotiable. I can’t handle worrying about you like this.
I waited until I calmed before I wrote him back. I didn’t want to run the risk that I would throw my plan out the window so I could selfishly be in his arms again. I miss you more than anything, but I think we need to stick with the plan.
Not. Fucking. Happy about it. What do I have to do to get an audience with you?
Wait for me. And you’re not an audience. You’re my boyfriend.
Doesn’t really feel like it, Your Highness.
So he was safe, but he was angry with me. I guess that was the price I had to pay.
He sent me sporadic texts for the rest of the week, but I didn’t respond. I didn’t want to fight with him. I just wanted us both to live long enough so that we could actually have a life together.
Otherwise, things were almost eerily quiet. My employees felt the pressure to get everything in order. Many of them were sleeping at Paragon for just a few hours each night, rising early and heading back to the lab. Eddie had increased security to the point where our office felt a little bit like Fort Knox, which suited me just fine. I didn’t want to get hurt, but more than that, I wanted to protect the people who’d loyally worked with me for so long.
And we were so close. At long last. Once we got our government approval, there was nothing standing between us and the market. Over the past six years, I’d formed partnerships
with domestic labs all over the country; they were ready to begin using the patch for patient testing as soon as it was approved. Dynamica had set up our foreign distribution partnerships, so that piece was in place, as well.
Eva and I were talking in the lab when my phone buzzed. It was Leo. Need to see you.
I headed immediately to his office, knowing that the coder wouldn’t summon me unless it was important. He and Dave hadn’t left the Paragon grounds in weeks. I had to order them to go outside and occasionally take walking breaks. They were starting to resemble zombies, or teenagers who’d been playing video games for a week straight.
“What’s up?” I asked as I went into Leo’s office. The coders were in their typical positions: Leo was slumped over the keyboard at his desk, and Dave sat on the couch, balancing his laptop on his bony knees. Food containers, candy bar wrappers, and empty coconut-infused-water bottles were still scattered everywhere.
I wrinkled my nose. “I think housekeeping needs to get in here.”
“Huh?” Leo sat up, propping his glasses on top of his head and rubbing his bloodshot eyes.
“Nothing. What did you want to see me about?”
“I’ve got an update for you. Dave and I were able to remotely hack into Jiàn Innovations.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I said, too surprised to censor myself.
Leo actually chuckled, something I’d never seen him do before. “We set up a remote server so they can’t trace us—at least, not easily. I’ve been in for two days, but I wanted to monitor it first before I got you all excited. I examined their systems and figured out when they had their automated backup scheduled. I went in and copied some of their files during that time. I have them for you.”
I was stunned. “You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not.” He smiled at me, and I could see this was a big deal for him too. He handed me a flash drive. “These are the files for your laptop. Stay off Wi-Fi.”
“Thank you.” I turned to Dave. “Have you spoken to Mr. Betts at all?”
Dave shook his head. “No. It’s weird. He usually calls me all the time to bug me and ask if you’re okay. He’s been quiet this week.”