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He dipped his breadstick into the sauce in the Styrofoam container and took a bite. She mirrored the action, letting this new tidbit sink into her mental dossier on him. He didn’t seem to realize she needed time to process because, between bites, he looked at her computer.
“So what are we doing tonight?”
“I’m going to run that extra check on Laura for you. Then I’ve got an algorithm I want to run on the data from the project.”
“Oh. I should probably tell you that I already told Laura what was going on.”
Joey paused her fork midway to her mouth. “You what?” Was the man insane?
Cole set his food on the desk. “Look, I needed to let her know. She cares just as much as I do. We’ve been working on this for decades together. I was at her wedding, for goodness’ sake.”
“I don’t care if you’re the godfather to her child. The fewer people who know what is going on, the easier it will be for us to find them.” Joey set down her fork, her appetite disappearing in the rush of agitation.
“It’s fine, Joey. I trust her.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t. And we’re supposed to be a team here.” She ignored the twinge of conscience at the clearly false declaration of unity. Just because she might buy his whole wanting to cure Alzheimer’s bit didn’t mean she wasn’t pretty well-convinced that Kensington was doing some shady stuff to make it happen. Joey rolled her chair toward the desk. “If something comes up on her background check, you’re the one who’s going to have to confront her about it.”
“Nothing will come up. And even if something does… I’m sure it won’t mean that she’s behind all this. She would never.”
Joey shook her head. “I love that you believe that.” She hit a few buttons to get her deep dive program running, then turned back to Cole. “Look, I’ve been working in this world for a long time. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people are capable of anything.”
It was obvious that he would do anything to achieve his mission of curing Alzheimer’s. And maybe that was part of the problem. Cole was so laser-focused on his mission that it seemed he had become capable of getting into bed with the worst of the worst.
She ran a hand through her hair. “When push comes to shove, people are only looking out for themselves. You might think they won’t, but given the right incentive, everyone will betray you.” It was a fact of life Joey had realized a long time ago.
“Who betrayed you, Joey?”
CHAPTERTEN
The question escapedbefore he thought better of it.
Cole saw the intensity in Joey’s eyes. She believed what she was saying with every fiber of her being. Everyone will betray you.
“Let’s just say I would have sworn they never would. And yet, here we are.”
“Is there anyone you trust without reservation?” Here was another layer to the Josephina onion. She wouldn’t tell him who had betrayed her, but perhaps it was enough to know that someone had. His heart went out to her. He’d been let down by his parents. But betrayal? That was different.
Joey stared at the screen as it flipped through the background check process she’d automated. “Without reservation? No.”
“Not even Flint?” He had so many questions about their friendship. From what he could tell, if there was anyone she trusted, it was his friend.
She shook her head. “Not even Flint.”
He lifted his eyebrows at her unexpected answer. Before he could ask for clarification, she continued. “This team? Black Tower comes close. I trust them with my life. I know they’ve got my back. Do I think they’dwantto betray me? No. But do I think Flint would burn it all down if it meant saving Jessica?” She shrugged. “Probably. And that’s how it should be.”
Joey lifted her eyes to him. “Jessie’s the most important thing in the entire world to him. You and I? We don’t have that. Our most important thing isn’t like theirs. It’s not a person. It’s a cause.”
He let himself get lost in the dark-brown depths of her eyes. He could listen to her all night if she’d just keep talking.
“And what’s your cause?” he asked quietly, urging her to continue.
She held his gaze and responded. “To save innocent people from those who would sacrifice them as pawns in a game they designed.”
He didn’t know what to make of that. It sounded incredibly noble. It also made him think there was a lot more happening at Black Tower than he realized. So much for security details and consultations. What had Flint gotten himself into?
What she’d said about him was true though. Nothing was more important to him than finding the cure. Stopping the disease. He was in a fight against nature.
A fight against the effects of a fallen world.
