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“Don’t come near me. You’re working with Kinetica.”
He looked stunned by her accusation, but it could have been an act.
The stunned expression vanished, his lips thinned, and he clenched his jaw until it quivered. Energy shot toward her like a bullet to the heart. Quite suddenly, she was afraid, and it was not of Kinetica.
She took a step backward. She’d never seen Tristan so intensely furious.
“Think about it. If I was working with Kinetica, why would I have my security firm investigate you? I would have already known what you were capable of doing. I would have outed you to whomever was in charge.”
Anger came to her rescue. “You didn’toutme because you wanted me to heal your mom. Now I’ve done that, you plan to turn me in, don’t you? Dumbass that I am, I practically threw myself at you, and you took what I offered. Why not, when it was a bonus, right?”
“This is what you really think of me?” He towered over her, his navy eyes shards of thick, dark ice. “I amnotworking with Kinetica. I didn’t tell you because I figured you would freak out like you’re doing now. I wanted you to trust me with the truth yourself, Lillian.”
Panic fueled her fury. She was practically shrieking now. “Don’t call me Lillian. You have no idea who you’re dealing with. If Kinetica knows my identity—if they know I’m here—they’ll kill you to get to me. Hell, they’re probably already out there, watching your house. I have to get out of here.”
She headed toward the door. She’d grab her things and nurse her shattered heart later.
“So, this is it? You’re going to just walk out the door? I didn’t take you for a coward, Lillian. Well, you won’t have to worry about Kinetica for much longer at least. I’ve reported them to the FBI. They’ll handle it from here.”
Ice-cold fear stopped the blood coursing through her veins.
“What have you done?” She turned and looked around the room, although logically, she knew Kinetica couldn’t come through the office walls. “Kinetica’s spies are everywhere, including within the FBI. If they know I’m alive, they’ll come after me, and trust me when I say they’ll find me. You think the government will let someone like me go? Who do you think funded Kinetica? I can’t stay here. I have to leave.”
Tristan stepped in front of her, blocking the doorway. “I’ll go with you.”
She shook her head. “If you really aren’t working with Kinetica, then don’t try and follow me. It will only get you killed.”
“Lillian, don’t shut me out. I want to help you.”
“How? It doesn’t matter how rich you are. Kinetica won’t stop until they find me. Do you really believe you can somehow protect me from an organization with no ethics, hell-bent on creating a super healer? That you’ll persuade the government to let me go after they’ve spent years waiting and watching as other healers were used and discarded? They won’t, you know. I’m far too valuable to their success. They’ll lock me up and force me to cooperate.”
“Kinetica can be bought. You forget, I know the company CEO. He won’t want to lose the money I’ll offer if they leave you alone. And they won’t want the publicity my name will bring. As for the FBI, not everyone is corrupt, Lillian.”
His voiced softened, and he reached a hand to wipe her cheek, which she realized was soaked with tears. “I have friends there.”
She shook her head and backed away from his tenderness. “You have no idea the power this organization wields. They’ve been operating for years and getting away with it with the government’s blessing. If you shut down their operations, they’ll simply find a new location.”
“Lillian, don’t run. Trust me.”
For a mad moment, she thought about leaning on Tristan’s considerable strength and taking advantage of his money and resources. But her insanity was only temporary. Kinetica had captured, used, and ultimately, killed every healer in the program, including her mother. Lillian was one of the few people alive with the unique DNA they needed.
“I’m leaving.” She moved toward the door.
He stepped in front of her, his jaw clenched. “Please don’t. Give me your phone number so I’ll know you’re safe.”
She studied the hard planes of his face, which contrasted with the wary vulnerability in his eyes. This was not a man who would stand in a corner and wait to see what would happen when she was threatened. No, this man would use the number to trace her and probably bring Kinetica to her doorstep.
Something tore inside her, breaking away from her heart and shattering into a million invisible pieces. Tristan wouldn’t stay away, but she would never forgive herself if he or her dad or sister were hurt when Kinetica came for Lillian. She refused to lose another person she loved. It was best for everyone if she went back into hiding.
She tried to step around him, but he shifted to the right, blocking her path to the door. Her eyes dropped to his shirt, partially unbuttoned. He was not going to let her leave without a fight. She’d run out of options…but there was one.
She forced air into her lungs and raised her gaze until her eyes met his. She heard herself speaking like it was someone else—someone cold and uncaring—someone like Angelina. “You don’t understand, Tristan. I should never have slept with you. It was a mistake.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“I do. I don’t love you. I was grateful to you for saving my sister…nothing more. I never had serious intentions toward you. I might someday want children…healthy ones. I could never be with a man who can’t give them to me.”
Her arrow struck home, a world of hurt flaring in his eyes before disappearing behind a hard mask. This time when she moved forward, he stepped aside.
