Read Online HASH: Human Alien Species Hybrid by April M. Reign - Free Book Online Page B

at the thought of breaking me out of her own facility, she didn’t show it.
    However, I was nervous.
    “Now?” I whispered.
    “This is quite time sensitive. Professor Ahern will be back from a meeting with our employers soon, and I’m sure after that she’ll want you available for her own work .”
    That was one way of putting it. For a moment, I stood there stunned that Dr. Stevens was doing this. Then I realized that I had to make this look as normal as possible. I reached out and took Dr. Stevens’ hand.
    “Doctor?” one of the watching junior scientists insisted, “This isn’t logged in on the schedule.”
    “I know that, Andrew. You may have noticed that since the Startech takeover, the schedules have been a little confused. I’m just trying to make the most of a gap in them. If you want to come along and observe…”
    “No, that’s all right. This is your project.”
    She smiled. “It’s nice to know someone here still thinks that.”
    She led us away from the lab and my room. I followed, and Em went with us, flickering in and out, as she reached for the machines around us and sucked in information as we went.
    Aric was waiting for us at the end of the next corridor, flanked by a lab assistant and a couple of security guards. Dr. Stevens dismissed them, and it was amazing that they just walked away, leaving the three of us to walk around as we pleased. Then again, I guess the way they saw it, Dr. Stevens had everything under control. And for a long time, she had been in charge of me. Solely.
    I hoped she had everything under control.
    As soon as we were alone, Aric wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close, his lips brushing mine.
    “Aric…Em told you?”
    “Yes, I know everything and Startech won’t get away with this. Once we get out and you’re safe, I’m going to return and claim what’s mine…what belongs to my family,” he whispered in my ear.
    “They’ll kill you. If you come back, I want to come back with you and help you reclaim your ship.”
    “Jade, we’ll talk about breaking back in later, right now, let’s try to break out . Okay?” He grinned.
    I smiled weakly at his attempt to make me laugh. Em flickered beside us, in and out.
    Dr. Stevens shook her head. “Perhaps we should save the excitement until we’re out of here? I can’t risk taking you out of the front door, and even I can’t talk you past the guards, but there are emergency exits around the Institute, for fires, or cave-ins, or anything like that. There are strict regulations when you’re this far underground.”
    “We’re underground?” It occurred to me that I didn’t even know the most basic things about the place I’d lived for so long.
    “I showed you the plans,” Em pointed out. “Where did you think we were?”
    “I thought it was just a building.”
    Dr. Stevens shook her head. “We found that an underground location was the most effective for containing the implant. It seemed…stronger, with more outside signal to work with.” She sighed. “Jade, I’m so sorry. We robbed you of so much. Come on. There isn’t much time.”
    She led the way down corridor after corridor, into parts of the Institute I hadn’t seen before. I’d seen so little of everything, when I really thought about it. Aric kept close beside me, obviously as excited as I was, though wary, too. There was something almost dangerous about him as he looked around for any sign of trouble, the living metal of his implants catching the light.
    Only Em seemed unworried, and that was just…well, Em. She didn’t have a tangible body and maybe she was less careful than me.
    She danced a few steps on ahead. “I think I know where we’re going. I was going to get us out this way, although I wouldn’t have gone by a direct route like this. Miriam has guts, I’ll give her that.”
    Em had a point. When I’d thought about escaping, I’d imagined us having to run and hide, ducking into doorways every time we heard footsteps,