Georgie sidled up to him. “I get it, baby. A quickie. In and out. You’re good at that.”
Deck snorted and shook his head. Georgie laughed.
I bit my lip to keep from smiling because Deck wasn’t laughing and neither was Kai. He handed me a white lab coat from his bag, which I put over my vest, and Georgie did the same.
Kai put his hand on my hip and urged me toward him then looked down, brows raised. “Gun, London.”
Shit. “Right.” I put it in my lab coat pocket. Although, if anyone looked close enough, they’d see it. With the weight of it, my coat was slightly skewed, but all of this didn’t concern me. My focus was on the possibility of seeing my father.
Vic was on the roof of an adjacent building with a sniper rifle looking for anyone who might be Vault. Since it was so late, there were few people still in the buildings besides security.
Tristan and Chess had stayed at his house to watch Connor. Josh and Tyler were flying in the following morning, which meant the microchips were now destroyed and anyone who had been tracking them knew it had been a false trail.
“Ready?” Deck asked.
I nodded, as did Kai, and Deck opened the door. There was one security guard to pass in order to get to my dad’s lab. Kai said he’d ‘deal with him.’ I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but innocent people getting hurt was something I wasn’t willing to sacrifice. Most of the people in this building I’d known since I was a kid.
We decided on my plan instead, so Deck and Kai wore suits and ties, teamed with Kai carrying his black bag, which wasn’t holding any sort of business-related material, but security wouldn’t know that.
We walked down the corridor…Kai beside me, Deck and Georgie behind us. When we rounded the corner a few steps away from my father’s lab, a security guard stopped us.
Kai stiffened beside me and I saw the slight movement of his blazer lifting as his hand went to his knife.
I stepped forward, smiling. “Daniel, hi. Nice to see you.”
His frown slipped as he recognized me. “Miss Westbrook? Good to see you. It’s been—”
“Years,” I finished, touching his forearm affectionately. He’d been employed at the lab since I was ten years old and yet he still refused to call me London. “School has been grueling and has kept me away,” I lied. “How’s your wife?”
I heard Kai curse beneath his breath.
“Great. Still can’t cook and still a pain in the ass, but the best, most beautiful, pain in the ass an old guy like me could have.” He nodded to Kai, then his eyes shifted to Georgie and Deck before coming back to me. “Your father just told us the bad news. Sorry to hear.”
I hesitated. “Umm, yeah.” Bad news? What was he talking about?
“How is he feeling? He’s looked pretty tired over the last few months, but then your father doesn’t know when to go home.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Workaholic, that man. I’m thinking his daughter will follow in his footsteps. Is he meeting you in the lab? I just saw him go upstairs. I thought he was leaving.”
“Well, I think—”
Kai stepped forward. “We have a red eye to catch in an hour, Miss Westbrook. Do you mind?” His fingers curled around my arm and I glanced at him with confusion. “Dr. Westbrook,” Kai said abruptly.
I nodded. “Right. Yes. Daniel, say hi to Marcy for me. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Will do.” He shifted to the side to let us pass and we walked to the sliding glass door to my father’s lab and I punched in the code. I prayed he hadn’t changed it as I waited for the red blinking light to turn green.
If it didn’t, then Deck and Kai were taking another approach and Daniel was going to get hurt. The three seconds felt like twenty when the doors finally slid open. I waved to Daniel and stood to the side to let Kai, Deck and Georgie inside. Just before the doors closed, I saw Daniel take out his cell phone.
Shit. I didn’t say anything to Kai because I knew he’d go deal with the potential issue and it wasn’t an issue—yet. Maybe he was calling Marcy to let her know he saw me? I didn’t want him getting killed because I saw him with his cell.
I quickly showed Georgie the main computer and she went to work on it while Deck and I scanned all of the shelves and fridge for the drug Connor was on. If my dad was continuing to supply them, there had to be a batch he was currently working on.
Kai kept watch, but I saw him walk over to the storage closet and open the door. Our eyes met and the corners of his lips curved up. So much had happened since he saw me hiding in that closet. I’d been scared and confused, yet his scent had sparked something familiar and comforting about him. Now I knew why.