The Safe Bet (Hidden Truths #1)(82)

Her voice quavered when she gave in and left a message. “Henry, call me. Right away.”

Two years back, Ava had trained for a moment like this, never expecting that it would come, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember a blessed thing about the protocol. Frantic, she searched through the other favorites in her phone.

“Come on, Kat.” When Kat’s phone went straight to voicemail without even a ring, Ava began to wonder if she were dreaming. Was this some strange, alcohol-induced nightmare?

Her last hope was Eddie. “So help me God, please pick up.” There were only four people who worked in the lab, after all, and no one else knew a damned thing.

“What in the hell is going on?” She cringed as she chucked her phone back into her brown bag and rubbed her shaky hands over her face.

She’d never been inside Henry’s home, but she’d dropped him off one time when he got sloshed after work. The man had become like a father to her, and she’d insisted he take a break from work for his birthday last month. They went for a few drinks, and a few for him turned into about seven gin and tonics. That was the only time she’d ever witnessed Henry’s brain work at even a slightly reduced level.

Even then, you couldn’t forget that he was a genius. A mad scientist, even. The man was her idol.

And now he was missing.

She jerked at the handle of her car and hopped inside. Henry’s place was only five minutes away. She pushed the little red sedan to its limits on the highway, not giving a damn about the police.

As she came to a stop in front of his townhome, Ava noticed his silver town car was missing, and she doubted it was in the garage. He has to be here, though. He just has to be. It was already past eight in the morning.

As she walked to his front door, the Maryland sun helped ease the balance of the cooler-than-normal September air. Prickly bumps of unease raced over her skin as her fist pounded on his door. She rubbed her hands over her arms before ringing the bell a few times.

Peering up at the pale blue shutters of the windows on the top floor, she wondered, hoped, that he was inside—and that everything was okay.

As she was about to ring the bell again, Ava caught sight of someone exiting the neighboring townhome. “Excuse me!” she called, hurrying over, her hand waving in the air.

The old woman crinkled her brow and pulled a small cat close to her chest. Was she afraid of her? Seriously? “Ma’am? Have you seen Henry? He lives next door, and I’m worried about him.”

The woman studied Ava for a moment, her dark brown eyes taking in every inch of her. “I never see him. I didn’t even know his name, to be honest. He’s never home.”

Of course not. He practically lives at the lab. Before Ava had a chance to speak again, the woman grabbed her newspaper from off her walkway and returned to her house.

Desperate, Ava tried Henry’s door one more time, shaking on the handle a bit to see if she could get in. But finally, she knew that it was time to face the music.

She had to go to Aberdeen. She had to report to Homeland Security.

*


Ava stared at the security guard. He was a beast of a man—a cross between an NFL linebacker and the Hulk. She wondered what he was thinking as he squinted in her direction, his forehead wrinkling as his shoulders arched back. His gaze screamed total disapproval.

“I’m sorry, but you aren’t in the system. I can’t let you in.”

“What do you mean I’m not on the list? I’m a government employee. Until six months ago, I came in to work here every day.” His eyebrow seemed to query what she had been up to the last six months. “Does Tom still work here? He knows me.” She tried to remain calm, pressing her hands against her sides as if to slow her heartbeat with the strength of their pressure. She didn’t want him to sense the fact that panic and fear had planted root in her body, entangling every inch of her.

“No, he’s not here, and it doesn’t make any difference. You’re not getting in.”

No! She couldn’t back down. “I’m not leaving until I talk with Director Frank Harris. Please, this is a matter of national security.” She rubbed her sweaty palms against her hoodie and reached for the zipper, feeling suddenly too hot.

The guard cocked his head to the side and reached for a phone. “I have an Ava Daniels here, requesting to see Mr. Harris,” he said with a deep voice, studying the name on her ID badge.

Thank God. Ava’s patience level was somewhere between zero and nuclear as she waited for him to hang up.

“Someone will be down in a moment.”

She bit back an “I told you so” and, instead, nodded and took a seat on the black bench near the metal detector, draping her hoodie on her lap. She watched as the minutes ticked by on the digital wall clock across from her, trying not to think about how Henry could be falling into greater danger with every passing moment. She attempted to fight back the steady stream of scenarios that crowded her mind. Her heartbeat grew louder in her ears as fear gripped coldly at her insides. What if terrorists had infiltrated the lab? Dressed in black, because why wouldn’t they be? They’d grabbed Henry, tortured him for information, and wiped away all evidence before going after Kat and Eddie . . . because Henry wouldn’t betray his country. No, they’d have to kill him first.

She blanched at the thought.

But surely they would have come after me, too?