The Lives Between Us

by Theresa Rizzo

  He shook his head and pursed his lips before coming out of the chair to sit on her bed. “Nope.”

  “Stop worrying.”

  Edward didn’t bother to deny it. “Aren’t you? I mean those little neurons are all around your spine now and—”

  “And they may be growing tumors or who knows what kinds of cancers,” Noelle said in her raspy voice.

  Edward hated Noelle’s verbalizing his greatest fears so nonchalantly—like her life was unimportant. Like it didn’t matter to her. He frowned, not sure what to say. He wanted to yell that this threat was real and serious and she needed to stop speaking so cavalierly about her life.

  He needed her to stop acting like it didn’t matter if tumors grew like popcorn along her spine or if cancer cells multiplied and spread manically throughout her body, invading and strangling her healthy organs. Edward wanted to rail at her, but taking his fear out on Noelle wouldn’t help.

  “Don’t forget we have the suicide transgene,” Noelle said.

  “The neuron and cells have to malfunction or grow a tumor before they can destroy it through the transgene. It could be too late then and who knows what side effects the drug that destroys the neuron might have? And what if the cells have chromosomal abnormalities? It could happen, you know.”

  “What’s to say my chromosomes are perfect now?”

  Edward scowled at her. “Stop joking. I’m serious.”

  Noelle’s lips spread in a gentle smile. “You’re tired. The traveling must be wearing on you.”

  Edward was tired. Tired of being afraid. Hopefully after tomorrow he’d have one less thing to be afraid of. There were still plenty of worries with Noelle’s limitations: muscle spasms, dysreflexia, pressure sores, infections, pneumonia, osteoporosis, pulmonary embolisms, cardiovascular disease—and the list went on, seemingly endlessly.

  “A little.” Edward caressed the soft skin of her cheek. “I just miss you so much during the week.”

  “Edward?”

  “Hmm?” He looked up.

  “When session was in, we didn’t see that much of each other during the weeks anyway.” Noelle smiled.

  “But I always knew you were just thirty minutes away if I needed you.”

  “Now I’m an airplane ride away.”

  Not just an airplane away, a world. This accident had stolen his life—not his woman, because she was still her, but his routine. His comfortable, fairly predictable life was gone, and in its stead they now struggled with the uncertainty of Noelle’s condition. He struggled to work with his father in-law in raising his son. He felt guilty accepting his father in-law’s extensive help.

  “Go ahead, say it.” Edward shrugged. “I know the truth. I’m a needy, pitiful man.” He forced a grin to his lips in an attempt to recapture their old, easy banter. “Go ahead. I can take it.”

  Noelle turned her head and twitched her shoulder. She actually jerked her shoulder against his—an amazing feat. Edward’s heart swelled in satisfaction. This time there was no need to force his lightened mood.

  Noelle patiently waited for him to raise his glance to hers before speaking. “You are perfect. You are my champion. My hero. There’s nobody I have ever wanted, or ever will want to spend the rest of my life with, but you.”

  Hero? He’d screwed up in so many ways. Edward had rarely felt less heroic.

  He eased an arm around her and hugged Noelle to him to hide his tears. Edward swallowed hard. “Good. ’Cause you’re stuck with me.”

  Face buried in her neck, the scent of Noelle’s familiar light shampoo and her soft hair teased his senses. Edward blinked hard against the emotions swamping him. Joy at her amazing attitude, bravery, and her incredible recovery, warred with fury that she’d even had this devastating accident, that she might never walk again, and that Eileen had the power to hurt his love further.

  Anger won. Edward released Noelle and smoothed her hair. Straightening her covers, he carefully tucked her in—all the while keeping his face averted so she couldn’t guess the hot rage building within him. There was so much he couldn’t control—so much he’d failed at—but Eileen he could control. Edward would not fail his wife again.

  Edward closed his eyes and kissed her, pouring all his love and determination into that one kiss. Noelle moaned and he pulled back. “Wow. You have missed me.”

  A satisfied grin lifted his lips. “Just want to be sure you don’t forget me.”

  “As if I could.”

  Edward planted another quick kiss on her lips and then walked toward the door. “Night, babe.”

  “Love you,” she called out.

  He turned and winked. “Love you, too.”

  In the elevator, Edward flipped open his phone and scrolled down his contact list to a name he seldom thought about and even less often called. Without a second thought, he pushed send.

  * * *

  Ten minutes. Ten minutes to the meeting that would determine their fate. Mark checked his phone for messages, then turned it to vibrate. Ensconced in leather executive chairs in front of his desk, Mark and Ed faced each other.

  Ed wore a tailored striped navy suit, white shirt, and light blue tie. With two hours to go before his flight to D.C., he sat with one leg crossed over the other, picking at a hangnail, giving it undue attention and concentration.

  Mark had dressed less for the occasion, wearing Dockers and a dress shirt. His gaze wandered the pictures on the credenza to the left of Ed, pictures of his family and his past. He thought about the great picture of Skye Noelle took at Christmas. Noelle had taken dozens of pictures during the vacation and emailed them to him before her accident. He’d have to get Skye’s photo framed and add it to his collection.

  Eileen knocked on the door and entered. Her lab coat flopped open revealing a scarlet silk blouse and a short black skirt. Power clothes, yet nothing different than she wore every day. Her spicy warm perfume drifted through the office, coiling around his senses, a subtle reminder of a female presence.

  A black cervical collar circled her neck, she wore flats instead of her usual high heels, and she carried herself gingerly. A couple of Steri-Strips at her temple held a cut closed, and a sling cradled her left arm.

  Eileen hesitated when she noticed Ed. “Sorry. Am I interrupting?” She consulted her watch. “I thought you said nine, but...”

  “I did.” Mark’s eyes widened. “Holy cow. What happened to you?”

  “Here, take my seat.” Edward jumped up and offered her his chair, then shut the door.

  “Car accident.”

  Mark looked at Ed to see if this was news to him, but his expression remained neutral. “What happened? Should you be at work?”

  She eased into the chair Ed vacated. “I was going stir crazy at home. I was stopped at a light waiting to make a left turn and some car plowed into the back of me, shoving me into on-coming traffic.”

  “You’re lucky you weren’t killed.”

  Ed stood next to Mark. “Wow, that’s crazy. Was he drunk? Texting?”

  “Don’t know; he didn’t stop.”

  Hit and run? “And the police haven’t found them?”

  “No.” She shook her head slightly. “I doubt they’re looking very hard.”

  Mark frowned. “Why’s that?”

  She looked at him out of the corner of an eye. “One of the officers on the scene just happened to be Sheriff Lynch.”

  Mark pushed aside a smile and glanced at Ed. Karma’s a bitch. “I doubt that has anything to do with it. The Lynches are generous people.”

  She raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes, then looked up at Ed. “Senator. I checked on your wife this morning. She’s in good spirits.”

  He smiled. “Noelle’s happy to be out of the hospital and back at Fisher.”

  Eileen folded her hands and sat with her knees crossed. One slim foot gently bounced back and forth in a constant, rhythmic motion. She looked from Mark to Ed. “So what can I do for you, gentlemen?”

  Mark walked around
the front of his desk and then sat on the top. He picked up a manila envelope and toyed with the edges. “In light of your accident, this seems a little callous, but you’ve really left us no other recourse. Eileen, you’re a very talented and dedicated researcher, but in your enthusiasm to help the Hastingses you’ve broken several laws and jeopardized this company.”

  “How so? What is it you think I’ve done wrong?”

  “Playing stupid doesn’t become you. You stole money from this company to buy black market embryos for Noelle’s stem cell line.”

  Eileen raised immaculately sculpted eyebrows over wide doe eyes. “There’s a black market for embryos?”

  “Shocking, I know,” Mark agreed. She would not goad him into losing his temper and making a mistake.

  “You can’t prove anything.”

  “I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t. I never authorized a fifty-thousand dollar purchase for any equipment, yet you supposedly bought a digital confocal that we don’t have.” He paused. “We tested Noelle’s cell line from our lab; they’re ESCs—not CBSCs. Ed signed a consent for CBSC treatment.”

  Eileen’s bouncing foot slowed a few seconds before resuming its previous tempo. “So? So what if I did? She’s better. It worked.”

  “It’s illegal. And you stole from this company and switched the cells. I suspect you did it with the best of intentions, but you cannot continue working here.”

  Eileen’s leg stilled. “You’re not going to fire me. What would become of the Lynch twins with their parents in jail? I’m certain Skye’s playing mommy to them would put a crimp in your love life.”

  “What?” Mark frowned at Ed, who shrugged.

  “The Lynch’s ESC line. The line they asked me to create for their daughter’s treatment. The evidence that’ll put them in jail for five to ten years each.”

  Mark opened his eyes wide. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. What I do know is that Serena wanted to do a thorough inspection of the facilities before agreeing to replace you—”

  Eileen’s eyes lit in amusement. “Serena?” She laughed. “Replace me? Funny.”

  “Serena might be a little blunt, but my sister’s definitely smart. Brilliant, in fact. And she has a few qualities you don’t appear to understand. Like loyalty, integrity, honor… Anyhow, after she inspected the Ann Arbor facility, she demanded a substantial signing-on bonus for cleaning up after your sloppy techs. She’s going to have to rewrite our policies and protocols because some of the bags had been contaminated—”

  “Contaminated? That’s absurd.”

  “That’s what I thought, but Serena showed me several vials of stem cells frozen within bags of cord blood. She’s not sure how they got in there, but she suspects it’s a systemic problem since she discovered the contaminated bags in several different tanks.”

  The blood leached from Eileen’s face, leaving her ghostly pale. Her eyes darted back and forth as she took it all in and as if desperately trying to think of a way to salvage any of this. Mark was certain she was biting her tongue to keep from asking how many vials they’d found. After Serena unearthed the first and cracked Eileen’s identification code, he was pretty confident they’d found them all. “Have any idea how that could have happened?”

  Eileen’s face tightened. She thrust the papers back at him. “I’m not leaving.”

  “After doing some research, I’ve a creative solution to offer you. You’ve heard of New South Wales Reguvinen?” He rotated the envelope between his thumb and forefingers.

  She nodded.

  “I made a few phone calls and got you a job offer. Today will be your last day with Aviva, and your new position at Reguvinen starts in three weeks. Don’t worry about the two weeks’ notice—consider it waived.” Mark handed her the envelope. “I think you’ll find that their offer is more than generous, and they’ll pay all moving expenses.”

  Eileen took the envelope and held his gaze. “And if I choose to decline?”

  “You won’t.”

  She raised her chin. “If I do.”

  “The penalty for embezzlement is five to ten years of jail time.” Ed said. “Switching the cells is intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and misrepresentation, and malpractice—easily one to three million dollars and probably an additional five to ten years.” Ed let that sit and sink in a few seconds before pulling the PI’s report out of a manila envelope and pretended to scan it.

  “I believe it’s just you and your son, Oliver, right? Your husband died five years ago from bronchial carcinoma. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to embarrass your only child with this prosecution. You’ve acquired no other romantic entanglements. You have no close friends. What do you have to lose?” Ed nodded. “Take the job, Eileen.”

  Anger glittered in her eyes and the envelope creased in her curling, white fingers. “That’s blackmail.”

  “Who you gonna tell?” Mark asked, suddenly feeling light and amused.

  “Maybe I’ll take my chances in court. If I go down, I’ll take you all with me.” She shifted in her seat to look at Ed. “Your precious career, Senator, would be over.” She turned back to him. “And Aviva would be destroyed. Your reputation would be ruined.”

  Mark nodded. “True. But we won’t be broke, despised by our children, and in jail.” He nodded to the envelope lying in her lap. “Look at the offer. It’s a good one.”

  Scowling, Eileen flipped open the envelope and yanked out the documents inside. The men sat silent as she scanned the contents. She flipped through the pages. “Not much of a salary—I’d want more money.”

  “Sorry; that’s nonnegotiable. Once you prove your worth you might be able to negotiate something more acceptable.”

  Eileen continued reading.

  “Ten years?” Eyes wide, she stiffened and glared at him. “If I sign this, I’m committed for ten years.”

  “It’s not iron clad—I believe you have an out.”

  “Not a realistic one with that penalty.” The papers crinkled in her grasp.

  Mark shrugged. “Your choice. At least we’re giving you a choice—that’s far more than you did either of us.”

  Eileen pursed her lips. “I’ll think about it.”

  Mark pushed back his sleeve, uncovering his watch. “You have five minutes.”

  Eileen’s mouth dropped open and angry redness flooded her cheeks. “You’ve got to be kidding. I can’t make this decision in five minutes.”

  “Yet you will,” Mark said. She’d sign because she wouldn’t want to go to jail and because she cared what her only child thought of her.

  “Sign the papers, Eileen,” Ed urged.

  Eileen looked at Ed. “My son’s here in the States.”

  “Convince him to move with you.”

  “He’s happy here. He’s a teacher. He’s got a job. If I move to Australia, I’ll never see him.”

  “You’d see him less from prison.” Mark handed her a pen. “By the way, what’d you do with the other Lynch embryos?”

  “If I’d ever had any in my possession, I would’ve destroyed them.” She raised her eyebrows. “We had no use for them at Aviva.”

  Ed crossed his arms and tilted his head. “A smart, enterprising lady like you?” Ed tilted his head and frowned. “I doubt it.”

  Mark looked at Ed. “I agree.” He turned back to Eileen. “You’re too smart to waste an asset like that. We know they’re not at Aviva, and you’re not storing them at home, so what could have become of them?”

  “Perhaps you should tell me, as it seems you have all the answers today.”

  “You’re not altruistic enough to give them away, so stands to reason you’ve either sold them, traded them, or someone owes you a favor.”

  “A smart lady like our friend Eileen here would have sold them and made a tidy little profit.”

  Mark frowned. “Where’d she hide that kind of money?”

  “Aw, shoot, it wouldn’t be hard. He’s being naïve, right Eileen?”

  Sh
e glared at them.

  “She’s right about one thing… It isn’t at all hard to find people willing to sell embryos for a price.”

  Mark raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  Ed nodded. “They’re discrete, but if you know the right people,” he looked at Eileen, assuring her, “and I do, they’re quite easy to locate.” He frowned. “Funny thing though, they like to keep their activities…confidential, wouldn’t you say, Eileen?”

  “They like to remain in the dark—do their best work that way, uncensored. I really think they get quite upset having their business disclosed. In just a week, using a candle, you’d be amazed at the information my people have uncovered for me. Just imagine what they could do with a big ‘ol governmental floodlight. An investigation a senator could very easily initiate.”

  “That would certainly put a crimp in their business.” Mark couldn’t resist taunting Eileen with her own words.

  “It would. But more importantly, I bet they’d be pretty upset with whoever brought them to my attention.” His eyes narrowed on Eileen. “And upset people are dangerous people.”

  Eileen fingered the brace around her neck as if it was suddenly too tight. “You’re not scaring me with your little story. You’re bluffing.”

  Ed handed her a sheaf of papers. “I don’t bluff. Ever.”

  Mark craned his neck and squinted to see what Ed handed her. It looked like cell phone records for the month of December. One particular number had been highlighted in canary yellow.

  Eileen scanned her cell phone records, and held out her hand for his pen. She scribbled her name, in triplicate, took her copy, and stiffly stalked out of the office.

  As soon as Mark closed the door behind Eileen, he turned to Ed. “Were those really her cell phone records?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “You have anything to do with her accident?”

  Ed raised an eyebrow, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door. “How could I? I was in D.C. See you and Skye for dinner.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  Edward took out his phone as he walked to his car. He waited until he was inside to make the call. A man answered on the third ring.