Hidden Impact (Safeguard #1)(57)

“You’re funding our mission with Phoenix Biotech’s money.” Gabe knew Harte was good, but this was above and beyond.

“Call me Robin Hood.” Harte continued, “The US government is also offering a substantial bonus for any information we may acquire regarding the nature of biological weapons being developed.”

Gabe peered out the window, straining to catch sight of Maylin. She’d quit pacing on the porch and begun wandering through the trees between the guest cabin and the main house, weaving back and forth instead of heading for one building or the other. In the grey mist of the day, she was going to end up chilled and damp. “How are we going to proceed?”

And then he’d figure out how to make things right with Maylin.

Harte cleared his throat. “You continue your angle. Send me an updated status report and an estimated breakdown of the support you’ll need by morning. We’ll send you reinforcements by EOB tomorrow. I’ll work my end with a separate team. Get the girl out, and any of her research you can retrieve safely while you’re at it.”

“The girl is the primary objective.”

“Confirmed.”

Relieved, Gabe grabbed a jacket for Maylin and took a step toward the door. Jesus. If he’d waited minutes longer, they wouldn’t have had to have that fight.

No. That was cowardice speaking. He should have had the conversation with her back in DC. And if delaying it had damaged what was between them permanently, then he’d own it. What mattered more was doing what he could for her now, whether she forgave him or not.

“An-mei Cheng may not be the only scientist in their custody.” Harte brought him up short. “She is the objective for this mission, and her research is secondary. Any additional intel on the number of other projects in the facility would be extremely helpful for us to move forward.”

And they’d need to move fast. If all of the scientists were off the radar the way An-mei was, whoever was making the big decisions at Phoenix Biotech might decide to shut down the facility after Centurion Corporation retrieved her, and the people still in the facility might not get out in time.

*

No amount of cooking was going to help her find her way past this roadblock. Maylin stumbled between the trees, reaching out to press her palms against the trunks until the bark bit into her skin. The mist had settled under the trees and darkness chased the sunset until the only light came from the external lamps on the main house and guest cabin. She didn’t want to go to either one, and there was no light leading the way to the answers she was looking for.

Drops ran down her cheeks, hot tears and cold rain. This wasn’t her. She never admitted there were no other options. She kept working toward a solution until she found a path forward. Even her parents had said it was her strength. When they couldn’t see where her life would lead after she’d quit her pre-medical course of study, they said they’d learned to give her time to find her way.

But it’d always been for her. Her troubles and her solutions.

This time An-mei was lost, and what was needed to bring her back was beyond any individual’s means. Hell, as good as Gabe and his team were, Maylin had known she was asking for more than they could do too. And she’d let herself hide from the obvious when they’d returned from Centurion Corporation’s corporate headquarters on their own. She was angry and embarrassed because she’d set herself—and them—up for failure. She was as mad at herself as Gabe.

What good was being independent if the only person she could keep safe was herself? And even to do that, she needed to hide amongst others.

“Hating every part of me right now,” she muttered into the rain.

But what decisions could she have made differently? Even...even if she hadn’t become intimate with Gabe, things wouldn’t have come out another way.

Would she take it back if she could?

“Cora??o. Should I translate it for you?” The weight of a jacket settled around her shoulders. Gabe sneaking up on her should’ve scared her, at least made her jump. Instead she fought the urge to lean back into the shelter of his arms. “My heart.”

Hers skipped a beat.

Warmth spread through her even as she tried to keep it stuffed away. Her anger simmered, but she couldn’t bring back the flash of rage she’d had earlier. It was too hard to scream at him for something he couldn’t change.

“I don’t know where we go from here.” Saying it out loud buried her under sadness. What was she going to do?

“I broke something between us, cora??o, and I am sorry.” Gabe grasped her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. In the dark, he was backlit by the light from the guest cabin, but she could still see his face in the fainter light from the main house. “Won’t ask you to forgive me right away.”

“Good.” She bit her lip. Why did she have to sound so petty?

“But I have news.” His hands squeezed as he spoke, like he wanted to be sure she listened. “I got a call from my CO. We’ll have the reinforcements we need. We are going to get your sister back.”

“Just like that?” She whispered her question, blinking away the mist and rain.

“Come inside. Let me get you warmed and dry. And I’ll tell you about the call.”

Her brain stuttered as relief blanked everything. “We still need to find her.”