Page 57 of Wicked Rush

Chapter Seventeen

As the SUV rolled to a stop at the light, Braelynn took a deep breath, their earlier conversation playing through her mind. After she’d showered, she’d gone downstairs and found Lars fully dressed. He’d kissed the top of her head, directing her to sit and eat breakfast. Never speaking of their feelings or lovemaking the night before, they’d sat on opposite sides of the kitchen table. It was as if they’d both made the unconscious decision to put distance between them.

Although Braelynn had argued to the contrary, Lars had refused to let her go to Bart-Aqua alone. She hadn’t disclosed to him specifically what she planned on retrieving, but she’d explained that it was data. They both knew that it was dangerous; her uncle was already suspicious. Killing her cat had been a warning to do as he’d ordered, yet she’d disobeyed. He was monitoring her every move, and would have known she hadn’t gone to the office as he’d instructed. It was likely Shane had passed by her condo, looking for signs that she was there.

Lars had insisted they take his car, which was both newer and faster than hers. As a precaution he’d arranged for fake plates, disguising the vehicle as a rental. Since it was Sunday, the regular security team would be off duty, and those attending to the gate probably wouldn’t recognize her regular car. She’d drive the vehicle, and he’d hide beneath a comforter in the large back seat. They’d thrown in a chair and tote bag, and she planned to tell the guards she was going to the beach if they questioned her.

Guilt teemed through Braelynn. She’d avoided telling Lars she was related to Armand Giordano, that the data was going back to Emerson Industries. But she couldn’t risk getting him involved any further. Given that she’d be on a jet before the sun set, she told herself that he didn’t need to know anything else.

“Here we go,” she said, turning into the corporate facility’s entryway.

“Remember what we discussed.”

“I can do this. In and out. You drop me off at my house. I get in my car and I leave.”

“One more time, let’s hear it.”

“Forty-five minutes at my desk. Move to secured research area. Someone might stop and ask me what I’m doing. Not as many people are there on the weekend, but since my un…” she stuttered, and corrected herself, “Mr. Giordano told me to be there yesterday, I don’t know what will happen. Shane could be there. They’ll be watching my place. Even though we left the lights on, they could find out I wasn’t there.”

“Stick to your story. You were too devastated about the death of your pet to think straight. You needed to be alone. You went to a bar, drank too much and spent the night in a motel in Mission Beach.”

“They might not believe me.”

“Have they ever seen you when you’re grieving?”

“No,” she lied. Her uncle had held court at her mother’s wake, never missing a beat. She’d been distraught. It had been the one time in her life she’d taken a sedative. The funeral had been a blur, and considering her state of mind, the scenario of getting drunk over the loss of her cat seemed plausible. “But I’ll go with it. It’ll have to be good enough.”

“Just don’t waver. If he asks where, tell him you went to several bars. He’s not going to have time to check while you’re there. He’ll do it later and by then you’ll be long gone.”

Gone.The word stabbed her heart but it was reality. There was no use lamenting the inevitable at this point. She had to get her shit together. With her life at stake, possibly Lars’ too, there was no room to fuck it up. Game face on, she continued running through their plan. “If anyone else stops me to talk, it could take longer to get to the research.”

“Shake ‘em off. You’ve got to meet friends at the beach.”

“Give me twenty minutes tops to get into the room. I’ll need at least thirty minutes once I get there to locate the rest of the documents, take care of the files. If I leave sooner, they’ll suspect something.”

“An hour and forty-five minutes,” he told her. “If you take longer than two hours…”

“You’ll call the police?” Her heart sped.

“I’ll call my friend Dean. He can get in touch with the police, help get you out of this mess. I’m going to assume that there is an issue if you are any longer than what we agreed.”

“But there could be a delay. You don’t need to call that soon.” Panic laced her voice.

What was he going to tell them? That she was stealing data and didn’t make it out on time? He didn’t even know what she was stealing. In the eyes of the police, all they’d see was a researcher, one who was committing corporate espionage at a company that had already been called to a congressional hearing for fraudulent and unethical business practices. Jesus Christ. She sighed, wondering how the hell she’d ever gotten herself into this position.

“Two hours. If you don’t come out in two hours, I’m calling Dean. And you can bet your ass that I’ll be out of this car and breaking down the damn door to get you out of there.”

“But nothing is going to…”

“This is not up for discussion, sweetheart. Two hours or I’m coming to get you. That asshole killed your cat. People who do shit like that are capable of anything. And don’t think I forgot for a minute about the people who shot at you. Maybe you really don’t know who they are, but they’re tied into this. Bad people do bad things. And right now, the two of us are about to do something that I’ve already told you,” he paused and blew out a breath, “it’s not too smart. I don’t even know what the hell you’re taking. I may be a fucking idiot but part of me wants to trust you. I’m trusting that whatever this is, it really belongs to you, and is a matter of national security.”

Braelynn went silent, and told herself she was doing the right thing. She’d already told him too much, acknowledging the existence of the stolen research. She couldn’t divulge the classified information and tell him the truth, tell him what it was, what it could be used for or who she was giving it to. He’d have no choice but to trust her.

“I can see those wheels turning, Brae. Just stop. I know you’re not telling me everything but my gut tells me you’ve gotten caught up in something you can’t control. I know behind all that cloak and dagger shit, there’s some serious, life-threatening things that go on, things regular folks don’t know about. I’m doing this based on my intuition and hoping like hell I’m right.”

“We’re coming up.” She slowed the car as they approached, and her heart caught at the sight of the large modern building in the distance. “Lars, I’ll be forever grateful for what you’ve done for me. No matter what happens today, I want you to remember that.”

“You gonna be okay?” he asked.