Perfect Ruin (Unyielding #2)(84)

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.

I found two bottles of pills in the fridge with a label that had no batch code. All drugs had batch codes and they coordinated with files. But the bottles had simple orange labels with the name CONNOR.

I yanked the pill bottles out and took them to Deck who nodded then put them in his bag. Then I walked over to Kai and put my hand on his chest. “Do you know anything about my father? Why Daniel would say that?”

“Yes.” He kept his eyes on me as a wave of dread hit me.

My knees weakened and I became lightheaded. It wasn’t good. Oh, God, there was something wrong with my dad. “Kai—”

“London, it’s not my place to tell you. It’s your father’s. If I need to, I will, but right now”—he cupped the back of my neck and squeezed—“I need you here, with me. Okay?”

He was right. If the news was bad, now wasn’t the time to—

My eye caught the red flashing light on the code box beside the door. “Kai! The door.” He turned to where I was looking.

“Deck,” Kai said as he grabbed my hand and headed for the door.

That was all he had to say and Deck went for Georgie. “Babe. Need to go.”

I punched in the code on the door, but it buzzed and wouldn’t open. “It’s locked. Security can lock the doors if there is a breach.” Oh, God, we had to find my dad and get out of here.

I heard Deck arguing with Georgie as she typed furiously on the computer while Kai took out his knife and jammed it into the top of the black code box, cracking it open.

The cover fell to the floor and he yanked a bunch of wires out and then sifted through them.

“Georgie. Now,” Deck ordered.

“I got it. Shit, I need to delete…. Done.” Deck yanked her away from the computer as Kai cut two wires and the doors slid open. But it wasn’t because Kai cut the right wires; it was because my father overrode security and opened it.

“Dad?”

“London.” He stepped forward to hug me when Kai blocked him by moving in front, his hand on my wrist so I couldn’t go near him. “I’m not going to hurt her.”

“Kai?” I tried to move past him, but he tilted his head to look at me, eyes glaring in warning, a warning I couldn’t ignore.

I peered past him to my father and knew something was wrong, not just the concern etched on his pale face, but how sick he looked. Black lines were heavy under his eyes and he appeared ten years older than the last time I’d seen him.