Chapter Ten
He walked them to the back door of her lab. He needed to keep her from touching anything until he could get a forensics team in here. Once he made a couple calls, it wouldn’t take long. Until then, he had this under control.
He asked, “Are you just playing with the mice today?”
She jerked her hand away. So much for having this under control. “What do you mean playing with the mice?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Oh, shit. His aunt did that after his uncle said something stupid. He put his hands up in supplication. Too late.
“I’ll have you know, my playing has saved millions of lives. Maybe even the life of someone you care about, if that’s possible.”
He raised a brow and looked at her. “What does that mean? Do you think I’m incapable of caring?”
She huffed. “I don’t know. Are you, Dr. Oversight? Everyone I’ve met like you is like you.” She paused at what she just said. “You know what I mean.”
He realized his mate was even hotter when riled. This could be fun. But not now. He needed to stay focused. She was in potential danger and he had to take care of her.
“Okay, I apologize for insinuating your work isn’t important. I know it is. Let’s just get the cages and whatever else you need to a different lab.”
“Fine with me.” She walked past as he took in a deep breath. There had to be clues to who the culprit group was. The local infidels were probably not highly skilled in rappelling down the sides of buildings, nor at turning off security camera systems.
He found the window that had been cut. He took in another deep breath. Interesting that the burglar chose to tape the pane in place upon leaving. There must’ve been a purpose. That in itself kept the crime hidden until someone walked into the room in the daylight. But why risk the few extra minutes? How much time did he need to get away?
Wanting to check out the cabinet that had held Mel’s laptop, he made his way in that direction, sucking in a deep breath here and there. He worried about why he wasn’t smelling anyone but his mate in this room. At the cabinet, he ran his nose along the frame. The sharp bite of chemicals used in explosives made him draw back. It wasn’t a large explosion, but enough to do the trick. The intruder knew exactly what he was doing.
But there was no fucking scent of anything alive. This made no sense. His hands fisted into balls. He hated when others purposely hid their smell— Oh, fuck. They purposely hid their smell. Someone knew he was a shifter and was there. Only a handful of people knew. Shit. He needed to talk with HQ.
Without turning to Melinda on the other side of the room, he asked, “Is there any place in particular you’d like to go?” When she didn’t answer immediately, he looked over his shoulder. She leaned against a counter and stared at him with a bemused look.
After a second, she replied, “There’s a small room down the hall that has mazes the mice and I can play in.” She narrowed her eyes at him, and he laughed. She was so damn cute.
He grabbed the two cages while Melinda loaded her lab coat pocket with treats. She led them to an unlocked room and held the door for him.
“Just put the cages on the counter. I’ll take it from there.” He did so and turned to leave. “Parish— I mean, Hamel.” He stopped. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes focused on the floor. “Thank you for your help this morning. I’ve never dealt with that kind of thing and I was shocked and lost. You knew what to do, and I appreciate that.” Her eyes lifted to meet his. Their beautiful, glassy shine took his breath away. Yup, his mate had him wrapped around her finger already.
He took a bow. “You’re welcome, milady. Dr. Oversight at your beck and call.” He winked at her then closed the door behind him. He took a calming breath and pulled his phone from his pocket. After pushing the speed-dial button, he headed for Kintu’s office.
Before he could get the phone to his ear, a voice was already yelling. “It’s about fucking time, Jag. I was beginning to wonder if you’d gone AWOL.” Right, like that’d ever happen.
“Don’t be a douchebag, man. You won’t believe all the shit that’s happened in the past thirty hours.”
“Ha, try me.” Okay, maybe his boss would believe him. That man had probably seen some weird shit in his day.
“Fine, I take that back. But you’ll never guess who I met.”
“Christ, Jag. What is this, Twenty Questions?”
“You know, you’ve been the biggest pain in the ass since that fight with the wolf pack. Did they kick your sense of humor along with your ass?”
“In your dreams, dickhead.”
Hamel smiled. “There’s the prick we all love.”
“What do you got, Jag?”
Good-relations social hour was over. That was one of the things he loved about his boss: He really cared. Most of the time. “Not looking good. There may be backing to the threats issued. Last night they pulled off a smooth gig after killing security cameras in a building as tight as Fort Knox.”
“I’m not sure you want to use that analogy,” his boss said.
What the hell was the guy talking about? It’s Fort Knox. “Why not?”
“You know, there’s no money there anymore. Hasn’t been for forty years.”
“No shit,” Hamel said. “How do you know that?”
“I was one of the army’s grunts lucky enough to load the shit and haul it away.”
“Where’d y’all take it?”
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you.” Hamel kept his mouth shut. His boss could be serious or blowing smoke up his ass. Either way, Hamel didn’t want to know. “All right, back to the job at hand, Jag. What else do you know?”
“The target you sent me to protect happens to be my mate. Did you know that going in?” The silence on the line made him wonder if the call dropped. “You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” The tone of his voice had changed. It was filled with . . . uncertainty. He didn’t like that.
“What’s going through your head, boss man?”
A resigned sigh reached him. “You’re not going to like this, but it may be in your best interest if you’re reassigned.”
Hamel froze in his tracks. “Bullshit!” Several people within hearing distance looked at him. He turned down another hall. “Don’t even think about reassigning me. I won’t leave. I can’t leave. She’s my mate and I will do whatever I have to to protect her.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of, Jag. A protecting mate’s mind turns to violence and killing as the first defense, not logic and communication. I can’t have you shooting first and asking questions later. Do you understand that?”
Hamel wanted to put his fist through a wall. “Yes, I understand it, goddammit. And I don’t fucking care. You can send in someone else, but I’m staying with her no matter what.”
“You know damn well I don’t have anyone to send.”
Hamel grinned. “I know.” His boss laughed.
“You stay for the time being, Jag. Keep her safe and find out what you can to help us here with who wants her serum and why.”
“Yeah, got it.”
“And, Jag, don’t be a stranger. Believe it or not, I do like to hear your voice. Most of the time.” Hamel’s phone beeped signaling the call had ended. He smiled and opened the door to Kintu’s office. Time to get back to work.