“What? Who?” I demanded.
“I don’t know. A young guy with brown hair, a Beta. Soren and Maggie are trying to figure it out. But he knew my name and where I worked. He told me to leave the lab, so I called Lisbeth to tell her I had a personal emergency and I’d be out for a while.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She told me you’d quit.”
I wanted to ask her why she hadn’t calledmewhen this all happened.She doesn’t owe you anything, I reminded myself.
“I’m sorry for not telling you myself. It just… seemed better to keep you out of it. But we aren’t any closer to knowing what’s going on.”
“It’s alright. I’m just glad to hear from you,” I said, even though that wasn’t the full truth. I wanted to be the one who kept her safe.
There was a muffled voice on the other end of the line, then I heard Bridget say quietly, “Shut up. I’m not asking him that.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. Soren stood in front of me, watching my every move. “But it’s an orthopedic study. Why would someone threaten you over that?” I realized that it sounded like I was dismissing her. “I believe you; I just don’t understand.”
Bridget gave a short laugh. “Me neither. Maggie’s working theory is some kind of corporate espionage, but I’m not sure. It felt very… personal.”
“What can I do?” I asked. I had a crazy impulse to ask her to move in with me, but that was out of the question for many reasons.
“You could quit the lab, get Anvi out, and just let us handle it,” Bridget said.
There was a scuffle on the other end of the line, and I heard Bridget cry out. “Bridget? What’s happening?”
“Hey, it’s Maggie,” another voice said. “Bridget is too nice to ask you, but I’m not. And I’m the one in charge of the investigation, so it’s not really her call, anyway. Well… it’s not an official investigation, but I’m still in charge. Soren was there to see if anyone suspicious came sniffing around for Bridget.”
I paused. “What are you asking me?”
“Oh, right. How would you feel about doing a little undercover work? Would you be up for that?”
“Of course,” I said immediately. “If it helps find out who’s threatening her, of course I’ll do it.”
“Good. You can meet Soren again, and he’ll give you instructions on what to do. Okay?”
“Yes, alright,” I said. “Can I speak to Bridget?”
There was another rustling sound.
“You don’t have to do this. Youshouldn’tdo this,” she said. I imagined her expression: how her brows were probably furrowed, her lips pressed together in disapproval.
“If I can help, I will. Now, can you please tell me how you’re feeling? I promised Anvi a detailed update.” It was as good an excuse as any.
“She’s going to be so disappointed to quit the lab.”
“Bridget,” I growled. “I need to know if you are alright.”
“Hold on.” There was another pause in which I could hear footsteps. Then she sighed. “I’m… hanging on. But I’m honestly scared. Lachlan said they have to be really serious to spend the time and money tracking me. I don’t want to be the reason anyone gets hurt.” She paused again. “Please, don’t put yourself in danger on my account.”
My heart was pounding. I wanted to tell her I would do anything to keep her safe. That I would die to protect her if that’s what it took. That she was precious and lovely. That I loved everything about her, even her conviction to do what she thought was right, no matter how much it might hurt her in the long run.
But Soren was still watching me. And the timing was terrible.
“I’ll be fine. Just please promise meyouwill be careful.”
Bridget sighed. “If you end up dying, I’m going to be really, really annoyed with you.”
I almost smiled. I turned away from Soren slightly. “If you ever want to… talk about things, you can call me. Or text me. I would like to know you’re still alive, too.”
“They took away my phone to look for tracking. But I’ll try,” she said.
