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“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby. I’ll make sure you get out safely.”
“Thanks, Terry. I appreciate it.”
Terry gave a brief nod of his head and headed back. Had he just told her what she thought he had: that he was a shifter, that he would help, and that he had a way of covering their tracks as far as surveillance was concerned? If she was right, and she was pretty damn sure she was, the ability to get herself and Mason to safety had just become a whole lot more doable.
She buzzed down to Mason’s room, mostly just to put in an appearance. She examined the newly posted medical chart at the end of the bed, adjusted the IV so his sedation was less and looked at his vitals. Everything indicated that his transition was progressing nicely and smoothly. For the rest of the afternoon, she ran dummy experiments while she began searching both internal and external systems for the complex’s blueprints. She began to make note of the differences between the internal, password-protected files and the plans they had filed with the City of Reykjavik. Whoever had set up their passwords should be taken out and shot. The password was, predictably, ‘password.’
She paid particular attention to all the known exits. There was no external exit from the atrium except at the top, which seemed odd. There was, however, what looked to be a long tunnel from a separate space next to a room that housed the mechanical systems of NLGP. From what she could tell, the tunnel looked to branch off into three separate main tunnels, leading to three different exits—one to the loading dock off the back of the building, one that seemed to open close to the company’s private dock, and the last one that ran all the way into the city. There was one entrance into the tunnel system from the building and three exits to different locations. All four were marked with a large X indicating it was defunct and no longer in use. Maybe that was true, but it didn’t mean it didn’t exist anymore.
Another knock and Kam stuck her head in. Emery couldn’t help but hear the theme song for Cruella De Vil playing in her head. But poor ole Cruella had nothing on Kam Perkins. Cruella just wanted puppy skin coats. Kam wanted men and shifters’ souls.
“Just wanted to pop in and let you know I thought about what happened yesterday. I think I probably overreacted and hope you can forgive me.”
The evil comic book villain from the day before was gone, replaced by the kind, benevolent boss. Emery now knew she wasn’t the latter and wasn’t afraid of the former. Either she knew something was up or she figured whatever it was she wanted from Emery she couldn’t get without her assistance.
“I’m doing great here in my office. It’s nice to have my own little mini lab, so to speak, but I may need time on the mainframe and in one of the larger labs.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Just let me know when you need it, and I’ll set it up.”
“Would you like to see some of my interim projections?”
“I’m sure they’re fascinating dear, but I’d hate to take you away from your work. Just put it in your daily report.”
Kam turned to leave.
“I saw Dr. Payne earlier. He seems to be improving.”
“Yes. He’s healing nicely, but the powers that be…”
“Isn’t that you?” Emery teased.
“Don’t I wish,” snorted Kam. She took a breath. “I hate having to tell you, but I don’t want any secrets between us. I feel just terrible about how I treated you yesterday and hope you won’t let that come between us. So, in that vein, I think you should know, the big bosses have decided to prosecute Dr. Payne for corporate espionage and will also be bringing a civil suit against him to try and recover some of the damage he’s done.”
Emery clamped down hard on her emotions. She could not betray her true feelings. “I am sorry to hear that. I liked Dr. Payne, but I certainly understand their position.”
“Oh, thank god,” said Kam. “I was so worried you wouldn’t.”
“No, I get it. If they let him skate, anyone else might figure it was a risk worth taking, and it would set a bad precedent. I might like Dr. Payne personally as he was always supportive of my work, but I certainly don’t respect someone who steals information that isn’t rightfully his. It always amazes me how many brilliant people decide to do that, despite their NDAs and contracts that say all work performed on behalf of the company or using their equipment is considered work product and is owned wholly by the company.”
“Precisely. Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time. I am glad to hear you think Dr. Payne is getting better.”
Emery waited until the door clicked closed and then went into her private washroom to throw up. As she rinsed her mouth afterwards, she looked at herself in the mirror. It would seem that their timeclock was a lot closer to zero than she’d thought. She needed to get herself and Mason out, and she needed to do it sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER 14
MASON
Mason was fairly sure he’d thrown up in his mouth after Perkins’ visit. God, she was like something he might see peeking out at him from underneath a rock. There was little that rattled Mason. After everything he’d seen as a special ops operative and here at NLGP, nothing much surprised him anymore. But Kam Perkins had a kind of malevolent spirit he’d only seen in the deadliest of vipers, and he could easily imagine her slithering along the ground on her belly.
He knew they were monitoring him electronically, and so Mason began testing the strength of his restraints one-by-one. Emery had managed to loosen them but only enough to make them more bearable and not loose enough for him to escape. Each of the cuffs holding him in place were covered in padded leather but given the way they seemed to burn ever so slightly, he had to believe, like the collar around his neck, they were infused with iron. He had to give NLGP credit—they knew how to ensure a shifter couldn’t use his best weapon—his shifted self.
But if he could get out of the restraints, he could remove the collar and shift, but then what? No, he needed to wait for Emery. She was working on a way out. She was far too brilliant to be stumped by the goons that ran NLGP. He tugged at the restraints and growled.
He could feel her malevolence before she entered the room. Kam Perkins was, in his opinion, evil personified. She knew exactly what she was doing and did it anyway, believing her kind was superior and therefore the ends justified the means.
A soft laugh came from the doorway. “You didn’t really think we wouldn’t take into account how to keep you from shifting, did you, Dr. Payne?”
“You’d be amazed at how stupid I believe you and your cronies to be, and I suspect in due time, I will be proved right.”
