Read Online Red Alert by Jessica Andersen - Free Book Online Page A

threaten, I advise. And yes, I advised most of the companies interested in the NPT technology—those not owned by FalcoTechno and its subsidiaries,of course—that I would be grateful if they let your offer slide.”
    Numbness closed in on her. “And they agreed? What happened to marketplace competition?”
    “If any of my competitors thought your offer was a good one, they’d go up against me in an instant. Since all you’re offering is the opportunity to buy an extremely restrictive license without any development potential, they’ve been more than willing to give it a miss. Probably would’ve anyway.”
    “Baloney,” she said. “The technique is going to revolutionize prenatal testing.”
    “True, but it could do so much more if the other aspects were developed.”
    An icy ball lodged in her belly. “Which is precisely why I don’t want to lose control of the patents. The ethics are—”
    “The ethics aren’t the issue,” he interrupted. He closed the laptop with a decisive click and turned the full force of his attention on her. The piercing intensity of his blue eyes chilled the ice inside her even further when he said, “Sure, some people will set off down the bioethics warpath the moment you say stem cells, but we’re not talking about experimenting on embryos here. That’s the whole point. We’re talking about a blood sample.”
    The ice moved from her gut into her bloodstream as an uneasy suspicion formed in her brain. “No, we’re not talking about it at all, because I’m going to find someone to license NPT on my terms, or else.”
    “Or else what?” he said, very calmly, almost dangerously calm, as though he were accusing her of planning something she hadn’t even thought of.
    The phone rang, making her jump. Her heart rate spiked at the thought that it might be an investor phoning her back. But no, it was an inside line. She eschewed the speakerphone in favor of privacy and lifted the handset. “This is Dr. Corning.”
    “It’s Max. There’s something I think you should see in the lab.” A thread of excitement ran through his normally gruff voice, telling Meg it was something good.
    “I’ll be right there.” She replaced the handset and glanced over to find that Erik hadn’t returned to his computer. He was still looking at her. Watching her.
    Judging her, though she didn’t know what she’d been accused of.
    A sizzle of frustration beat at the worry, but she said only, “You keep doing what you’re doing. I’m needed in the lab.”
    He set the laptop aside and rose, leaning heavily on the cane and wincing. “What I’m doing is keeping an eye on you.”
    A momentary beat of empathy fled quickly in the face of irritation. “If you’re protecting me from the person who may or may not be trying to kill us, then you don’t need to follow me into my own lab. If I’m not safe there, where am I safe?” The starkness of the words brought an involuntary shudder and she quickly continued. “And if you’re protecting your supposed future investment, then you should take aserious look at yourself in the mirror. That level of paranoia can’t be healthy.”
    She expected his anger, even welcomed it on some level. His anger distanced him, made him seem less approachable than he’d been when they worked together in her office, quietly sharing space like longtime co-workers.
    Or partners. Lovers.
    And where had that thought come from?
    Rattled, she headed for the lab, aware of Erik following at a distance, far enough away that she couldn’t accuse him of breathing down her neck, even though that was exactly what it felt like.
    When she bent over Max’s fluorescent microscope she could almost feel the weight of Falco’s gaze, but when she straightened to snap at him, he was half a room away, leaning against a wall.
    Yet his eyes held a knowing gleam. Why? Because he sensed her ridiculously misplaced attraction and found it amusing? Or because he imagined a far more sinister