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My heart thundered. A thousand scenarios flashed through my head for why he was here, each more heinous than the last. But one stood out: Jacques had sent him here to pick me up. Made perfect sense that he’d use Philip. The Tribe didn’t have a lot of manpower to spare right now, and he was the one who’d suffered most from my bullshit.
I had no idea how long he’d been out there, but I wasn’t going to wait around. While Savannah waffled over ribeye vs. T-bones, I hustled out the back door.
The door jangled shut behind me. I hurried toward the street then skidded to a stop as a black SUV pulled across the mouth of the alley. That’s a Tribe vehicle, I thought wildly, followed by, I’m trapped. No way forward and no way back with the paintball dead end behind me. If I cut through the Bear’s Den, I’d come out on Main Street where Philip was waiting.
My one shot was to dart past the SUV. Surely the driver wouldn’t be desperate enough to tackle little old me in front of a bunch of pedestrians.
No way to tank up on brains for zombie-speed, so I sprinted as fast as possible for regular Angel. The driver’s door flew open as I squeezed past the SUV. Jacques clambered out. “Angel! Stop!”
Heart pounding, I dodged down the sidewalk away from Main Street and Philip. I needed to be a damn grownup, stop and give myself up, but my inner third-grader insisted that if I just kept going maybe they’d give up and leave me alone.
Footfalls behind me told my inner third-grader she was a moron, but I scooted through a cluster of parade-goers and kept going.
“Angel!”
Different voice. Not Jacques. Dr. Nikas.
I stumbled to a halt, spun in horrified shock to see Dr. Nikas climb out of the back of the SUV and take several steps toward me. Jacques had also stopped and was looking back at the reclusive doctor. I could practically hear the thoughts clamoring through his head. Dr. Nikas is out of the vehicle in a crowd!
“What are you doing here?” I blurted.
People whooped on Main Street. Dr. Nikas flinched, then paled as pedestrians crowded past the SUV. “Come to the car, Angel,” he said, voice strained. “Please.”
Shit. Dr. Nikas had a horrific phobia of crowds, and for damn good reason. No way could I put him through more pain because of my idiocy. Shoulders slumped in defeat, I headed his way, reaching him as Philip rounded the corner of the Bear’s Den. I couldn’t bring myself to meet Philip’s eyes. I didn’t have the energy—or the courage—to handle the condemnation and anger that I knew they held.
Dr. Nikas fled back to the SUV. Worry and fear and embarrassment battled it out in the hard knot in my chest as I climbed in after him. Fuck it. I had no choice but to be a grownup and take my licks now.
Philip closed the door behind us, but remained outside with Jacques, to my very small relief.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked, and clenched my hands together to try and control the shaking. “I’m so sorry. Oh god, why did you come here?”
Dr. Nikas took a long drink from a thermos, and a bit of color returned to his face. “You left the lab, then wouldn’t answer texts, and hung up on Jacques. I need to talk to you.”
My throat tightened. “What’s there to talk about?”
His calm eyes rested on me. “We have yet to sort out the issue.”
“What’s to sort out?” I said, miserable. “I’m an awful person who stole drugs.”
“Yes, you did,” he said then sighed. “And it is partially my fault. I hope you can forgive me, Angel.”
“Huh?” I stared at him. “How the hell is it your fault?”
“I’m the one who authorized you to use the combat mod in New York,” he said. “I knew of your addictive nature yet didn’t take care of you when we returned.”
It was several seconds before I could speak. “You had more important problems. I’m the one who made the decision to steal from Philip’s doses.” My eyes filled with tears as I glanced at the broad back of my zombie baby where he stood near the front of the vehicle. “That’s why he’s messed up again, isn’t it? I hurt him.”
Dr. Nikas’s expression of regret told me I was right. “I didn’t catch it sooner because it took months for the cumulative dose decrease to show an effect.” He touched the back of my hand lightly. “Now that I know, I’ve made corrections and the reversal is well underway.”
“But I hurt him and made him suffer,” I said. No way could I ever look Philip in the face again.
“It’s you I’m concerned about now,” Dr. Nikas said.
The lump in my throat thickened. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t come back to the lab. I understand.”
“No, you don’t understand,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I need you to come back.”
Baffled, I struggled to make sense of his words. “Come back? Why?” Punishment or imprisonment seemed unlikely at this point. Dr. Nikas wasn’t the type to be all sneaky like that.
