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Authors: Natalie J. Damschroder
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are secure,” he said automatically.
“Mine’s not. Can I see you? Meet with you?”
“I’m at the office now. Are you in DC?”
“Not yet. I’ll be there in the morning, but I don’t want to go to Hummingbird.”
Scowling, Matthew said, “You can meet me at the house if you can make it early enough.”
“Have an early tee time, Matthew?” The acerbic tone was much more the Ella he remembered, and he relaxed.
“No. But I will have to work.”
“On Saturday.”
“On most days.”
She sighed. “Fine. The house in the morning. I’ll try to be there by eight. Is that acceptable?”
“Of course. I hope I can help you, Ella.”
“Me, too.” She sounded scared and upset again. Something was off about her quick changes, but without being in the room with her, he couldn’t tell what. He didn’t have the time or mental capacity to take on someone else’s problems, but she was Kelly’s sister and Lark’s aunt, and family was supposed to be there for family. More importantly, instinct told him to meet with her. And he always trusted his instincts.
Chapter Six
Lark felt the weight of Jason’s eyes on her and knew she wasn’t fooling him by pretending to be asleep. That was okay. He wasn’t going to tell her anything until they got to the safe house, and she didn’t want to pepper him with questions. It would annoy both of them, and if her eyes were open, she wouldn’t be able to help herself.
Not that she needed to open her eyes to look at him. She had a perfect mental image of his body up against hers, his face looking down on her like some big damn hero. He was as well defined as any Navy SEAL, the snug knit shirt and jeans he wore showing off his muscles to perfection. He’d moved fluidly, running with ease and comfort. Whole.
A frisson of excitement made her shiver. Based solely on the miracle, of course. Not on Jason’s body and how he used it. Only on the fact that he was alive.
It had fucking worked . Excitement lifted her again. She’d tried not to pin too many hopes on her compound. Tried to make it enough that discovering the plant’s properties could lead to bigger breakthroughs in medicine. It had qualified her for the fellowship, which brought new possibilities. But here in this car was proof she’d been right. And that she’d sold it to the right people, people who could develop it. Who had developed it.
A little bubble of sadness welled and popped, tempering her giddiness. It came from a pool that was always there, something she knew she’d never get rid of. Her mother hadn’t needed such revolutionary technology when she fell from a horse. Whatever they’d used to put Jason back together wouldn’t have prevented her mother’s infections, or the complications, or the stream of surgeries that had left her vulnerable. She’d been one of those pure-of-heart, fragile-of-body women to begin with, and never recovered fully from the fall. She’d died of the flu, of all things, when Lark was sixteen.
So Lark couldn’t play “what if.” She couldn’t imagine that her findings or the amazing things they led to could have ever saved her mother. But they could help, maybe save, other people. Maybe helped save Jason. And that validated everything . Her choice to say no thanks to her father’s business, though he’d built it—and kept the silly name—as a testament to her mother. Her seemingly random venture into botany after a couple of science-related internships and summer jobs. Her focus on work and lack of social life, most of the time.
She couldn’t wait to get her hands on Jason’s medical records. His recovery was amazing. He didn’t seem to have any stiffness or creaky joints or misshapen bone. She wondered if anything hurt, and if it had all healed right. If the regeneration therapy had been enough, and if not, what else they’d used on him.
We can rebuild him. God, it was real .
Okay, he wasn’t bionic. She didn’t think. No computer chips controlling his super
“Mine’s not. Can I see you? Meet with you?”
“I’m at the office now. Are you in DC?”
“Not yet. I’ll be there in the morning, but I don’t want to go to Hummingbird.”
Scowling, Matthew said, “You can meet me at the house if you can make it early enough.”
“Have an early tee time, Matthew?” The acerbic tone was much more the Ella he remembered, and he relaxed.
“No. But I will have to work.”
“On Saturday.”
“On most days.”
She sighed. “Fine. The house in the morning. I’ll try to be there by eight. Is that acceptable?”
“Of course. I hope I can help you, Ella.”
“Me, too.” She sounded scared and upset again. Something was off about her quick changes, but without being in the room with her, he couldn’t tell what. He didn’t have the time or mental capacity to take on someone else’s problems, but she was Kelly’s sister and Lark’s aunt, and family was supposed to be there for family. More importantly, instinct told him to meet with her. And he always trusted his instincts.
Chapter Six
Lark felt the weight of Jason’s eyes on her and knew she wasn’t fooling him by pretending to be asleep. That was okay. He wasn’t going to tell her anything until they got to the safe house, and she didn’t want to pepper him with questions. It would annoy both of them, and if her eyes were open, she wouldn’t be able to help herself.
Not that she needed to open her eyes to look at him. She had a perfect mental image of his body up against hers, his face looking down on her like some big damn hero. He was as well defined as any Navy SEAL, the snug knit shirt and jeans he wore showing off his muscles to perfection. He’d moved fluidly, running with ease and comfort. Whole.
A frisson of excitement made her shiver. Based solely on the miracle, of course. Not on Jason’s body and how he used it. Only on the fact that he was alive.
It had fucking worked . Excitement lifted her again. She’d tried not to pin too many hopes on her compound. Tried to make it enough that discovering the plant’s properties could lead to bigger breakthroughs in medicine. It had qualified her for the fellowship, which brought new possibilities. But here in this car was proof she’d been right. And that she’d sold it to the right people, people who could develop it. Who had developed it.
A little bubble of sadness welled and popped, tempering her giddiness. It came from a pool that was always there, something she knew she’d never get rid of. Her mother hadn’t needed such revolutionary technology when she fell from a horse. Whatever they’d used to put Jason back together wouldn’t have prevented her mother’s infections, or the complications, or the stream of surgeries that had left her vulnerable. She’d been one of those pure-of-heart, fragile-of-body women to begin with, and never recovered fully from the fall. She’d died of the flu, of all things, when Lark was sixteen.
So Lark couldn’t play “what if.” She couldn’t imagine that her findings or the amazing things they led to could have ever saved her mother. But they could help, maybe save, other people. Maybe helped save Jason. And that validated everything . Her choice to say no thanks to her father’s business, though he’d built it—and kept the silly name—as a testament to her mother. Her seemingly random venture into botany after a couple of science-related internships and summer jobs. Her focus on work and lack of social life, most of the time.
She couldn’t wait to get her hands on Jason’s medical records. His recovery was amazing. He didn’t seem to have any stiffness or creaky joints or misshapen bone. She wondered if anything hurt, and if it had all healed right. If the regeneration therapy had been enough, and if not, what else they’d used on him.
We can rebuild him. God, it was real .
Okay, he wasn’t bionic. She didn’t think. No computer chips controlling his super
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