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Her muscles tensed for action, for resistance, for the upcoming fight.
But it never came.
The intruder didn’t look down. The boots disappeared from her vision. Retreated toward the window. The sound of glass crunching. More glass falling to the ground.
Then, only the alarms. Mixed in with sirens. Police sirens. Red and blue flashing lights illuminated the lab. She’d been so terrified she hadn’t heard them until now.
Is that it?
Stunned, Olivia stayed still. Her arms around her curled knees, one hand still playing with her bracelet.
It’s a trick. I’m not going to fall for it.
Olivia didn’t move from her hiding spot, her heart racing, her ears straining for sound.
Eventually, the alarms stopped. The red emergency lights terminated. Regular office lights flickered back on.
It’s over.
Scarcely daring to believe it, Olivia crawled out of her hiding hole and sagged to the floor. Her stiff joints protested the movement, and she lay there as tiny needles stabbed into her calf from them having fallen asleep.
“Hello, anyone there?” someone shouted down the hall.
A dark form strode before the window, casting a shadow onto the floor.Fuck.
She’d been tricked, after all. The intruder hadn’t left.
But she had no more strength to escape. She lifted her head. Relief flooded her when she saw the police officer fully in the light, even if he looked like he just graduated high school.
The officer’s eyes widened, taking in her flat position on the floor, the broken window, and the glass shards everywhere.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asked, concern written over his features.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She pushed up onto her arms and leaned her back against the desk.
“Hold on. Stay there.” He examined the cracks along the window before disappearing. Second later, she heard him. “The handle’s broken. I’ll see if they can open the door remotely.”
Olivia’s heart rate slowly returned to normal. The sirens continued to blare outside, the blue and red lights attempted to give her a headache, but it was over.
Who was it? What did they want? What did the one intruder want in her lab?
She climbed into her chair. Nothing looked amiss on her desk. Her computer was still off. Did the intruder take anything? Urgency gripped her. She strode to the sample fridges on shaky legs. She hadn’t heard the intruder open them, but she’d also been more worried about her life than anything else.
She checked both fridges. Everything was exactly where she’d left them.
“Ma’am?” The same police officer entered through the now open door. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Yeah, I’m fine,” she repeated to herself. Her insides no longer felt like jelly. Her voice came out steady. “What happened?”
“We’re still figuring that out, ma’am. Please, if you’ll come with me?”
“Uh, sure. Give me a minute.” Her practical nature resurfaced with a vengeance. It always made her feel better, settled her nerves, if she had a plan and acted on things she could control.
Olivia grabbed her purse and checked she had everything she needed—laptop, wallet, phone. The damned phone. If not for it, she’d be home in bed, all packed and ready for her flight tomorrow.
Tonight’s events didn’t change her plans. She was going to LA tomorrow. A fist squeezed her heart and she had to pause to take another deep breath.
Betsy. Her sister was in a coma. She’d received the call earlier today and had booked the first available flight.
