Page 58 of Wicked Rush

“I just want you to know that everything, this weekend, it meant…” Braelynn went silent, realizing that if she let her emotions take over she’d lose her shit. Concentrate, she reprimanded herself. “I, uh, I just want you to know if I could have told you everything I would. And you’re right. There are some very bad men inside that building.”

“Two hours.”

“Two hours,” she repeated.

“Here we go. You’ve got this.”

Braelynn’s heart pounded against her ribs as she pulled up to the guard. She lowered the window and gave him a closed smile, friendly but professional.

“Dr. Rollins,” he said, inspecting her ID. Typing at the computer, he looked to her car and back to the screen. “It says here you drive a Prius. That big ole truck there doesn’t exactly look fuel efficient to me. What’s that…hmm…an Expedition?”

“Um…yeah. I had car problems. My battery was dead. With the convention in town, this gas guzzler was the only thing I could rent at an affordable price.” The lie made no sense but as she looked in the back seat, her stomach flipped, aware she had bigger problems.

“Going on a trip?” he asked, peeking around her.

“Just headed up the coast to Malibu to see a friend.” She glanced to the time on her dashboard and back up to him, her facial expression stern. “I’m actually running short on time. Gotta get in and out of here if I’m going to get any serious beach time. I’ve got a volleyball match at three,” she added.

“It says here that you were expected yesterday,” he commented.

“I’m expected almost every day. I’m a researcher. That’s why I have this nifty doctor label on my badge,” she quipped with annoyance and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She looked to the parking lot and back to the guard, softening her voice. “Look, I’m sorry for being short with you. Just between us, Giordano has been running the lot of us into the ground. Oh, I know he wants us here on Saturdays, squeezing blood out of his minions, but something’s gotta give. I’ve just about had enough of this seven day a week job. Just because I’ve got those letters in front of my name, it doesn’t do me any favors. You and I are both here working our asses off on a Sunday, right?”

“You know it. This isn’t even my weekend to work, but I got no choice.” He looked to the building and back to Braelynn, giving her a grin. “You have a nice day, Doc.”

Braelynn sighed in relief as he waved her on, leaving her windows down so that Lars had fresh air.

“Nice job,” she heard him say but resisted looking back, careful not to have anyone notice he was in the car.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“This car gets pretty good mileage, by the way.”

“Sure it does.”

“And it’s not an Expedition.”

“Still not a Prius.”

“It’s a Suburban and I can fit a lot of shit in it when I go camping.”

“Okay.” She laughed.

“What?”

“Not exactly good for the environment.”

“Hey, I use solar panels for electricity. It’s not like I drive this baby every day of the week. All good things in moderation.”

Braelynn turned off the car but left the keys in the ignition. “It’s showtime.”

“Two hours, Brae. Time?”

“Ten seventeen.”

“You’ve got till twelve seventeen. Check your watch.”

Braelynn glanced down to the Cartier watch he’d given her in the kitchen. At first she’d refused to accept the insanely expensive gift but he’d insisted she’d need it to keep track of time. Employees weren’t allowed to bring cellphones, tablets, or any other computer devices into the building. She blew out a deep breath, carefully setting the alarm on the intricate moon phase timepiece.

“I’m on,” she said, opening the car door.