Ultraviolet Catastrophe (22 page)

Asher spent the entire afternoon with me in the surgery waiting room. I didn’t want to think too closely about the fact that his presence helped more than I would have expected. As the hours went on, time stretched into an unendurable nothingness where it no longer had meaning or feeling. Where there was nothing else but the TV blaring on the wall and the comforting feel of Asher’s thigh against mine.

Max and Zella showed up mid-afternoon, rushing into the room with worried faces and cups of coffee from Coco’s.

“Have you heard anything yet?” Zella asked, sitting across from me in one of the cushioned chairs.

I shook my head. “The OR nurse checked on me about an hour ago. They were still working on him. Evidently, there is still shrapnel from the machine in his abdomen. He’s lost a lot of blood.” I gratefully took a sip of the coffee and cradled the warm cup in my icy fingers. “What have you heard about the accident? How’s everyone else?”

Max nodded. “They’ve moved all of the injured to the hospital and are saying they should all recover in a few days.”

“This is all my fault. We should have told someone about the calculations being wrong. We could have stopped them from doing this test.” My voice cracked on the last word, and Asher’s fingers brushed my wrist, reminding me he was there. Maybe if we’d told my dad, Branston wouldn’t have been able to do this.

“This is just as much my fault for not telling someone.” Asher squeezed my hand, and his voice was determined. “I promise we’ll fix this. But I don’t want you worrying about this right now. Focus on your dad.”

“I want to worry about it now. I don’t want to sit here scared to death for the rest of the afternoon. I want to be doing something.” Coffee sloshed down my wrist, and I snatched a tissue from one of the many boxes scattered around the room to blot at it. If Branston had someone inside who could make this happen, what else were they planning?

I wadded up the tissue in my fist. Freaking out was not going to help. “Right. Sorry. I just want to do something. To fix this.”

“We all do,” agreed Max. “Asher, your dad said he’d be here in a little while. He’s just finishing his reports at QT. Are you guys hungry? Zella and I can grab some snacks from the shop downstairs.”

Asher nodded. “Some food would be good. Thanks, guys.”

Max and Zella took off, and Asher turned to me. “What can I do, Lexie? It’s killing me to see you like this.”

“Make my dad better? Rewind time so we can stop this from happening in the first place?” I shook my head. “I just want to see him. Hear his voice again.”

“You will. And we will figure this out. I promise.”

His eyes glittered with anger, and I knew he meant it. I wanted to spill everything to him about Grant’s email, but before I could, there was a commotion at the door and my mom rushed in.

“Lexie!”

I ran to her, squeezing so hard neither of us could breathe. “Mom! You’re here!”

“Honey, I’ve missed you so much.” She brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “What’s happened? How’s Will?”

I pulled away and shook my head. “I don’t know much. They’re still trying to patch him up.”

She squeezed my arm. “How are you holding up?”

I glared at her, my relief suddenly swamped by anger. “Better if I could have gotten a hold of you. Where have you been? Why haven’t you been answering my phone calls or emails?”

She frowned. “I couldn’t risk it. I had to finish a sensitive project. Branston couldn’t know where I was. I’m sorry, honey.”

“I was worried sick.”

Mom pulled me into another hug. “I know. I was, too. But things are going to be all right now.” She stepped back and noticed Asher for the first time. “And who’s this?”

“Asher Rosen. A…friend.”

“Asher Rosen?” Her eyebrows rose for a moment before she held out a hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Asher. I was friends with your mother a long time ago.”

He shook her hand. “I remember. I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances.”

Mom wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “So do I.”

They wheeled my dad to the ICU around seven that night. Five hours of surgery and three transfusions later, but he’d made it. The doctors had removed as much shrapnel as they could find, set his broken arm and leg, and stitched up the gashes on his face. It looked like he’d been through a battlefield instead of just a regular day at QT, but I didn’t care.

At eight o’clock, I sent Asher home. He looked as tired as I felt, and Dr. Rosen had finally arrived to see how we were doing. He and Mom shook hands, taking a few minutes to catch up while Asher and I wandered toward the elevators.

He leaned against the wall while we waited. “You going to be okay? You and your mom should go home and get some rest.”

“We’re going to stay for a while. I don’t want Dad to wake up here alone.” The hall was quiet; most of the patients’ visitors had gone. I stared at the computer carts for a moment before turning back to Asher. “You know this wasn’t an accident, right? Branston did this. And as soon as I know Dad’s okay…”

Asher shook his head. “As soon as he’s awake, you’re going to get some rest. I’m decrypting the rest of Avery’s files as we speak. I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything out.” Wrinkles formed between Asher’s eyebrows as he frowned. “Right now, the most important thing is your dad. You need to be there for him.”

I nodded, guilt twisting my insides. “I know. But I can’t help feeling this is our fault. If we’d just told someone, Branston could never…” Part of me wanted to blame Asher for keeping this secret, but I’d agreed with waiting to tell Danvers until we had more proof.

A frown formed between his eyebrows, and Asher shifted his weight. “I know. I’m sorry. I don’t think they would have believed us, but maybe I made the wrong call. At least one good thing came out of it. Danvers announced the project is on hold while they investigate.”

“For how long?”

“Long enough for us to figure out who’s helping Branston from inside.” He leaned forward and brushed a piece of hair from my cheek, his fingers leaving a trail of heat that made my skin tingle. “I’ll call you in the morning to see how your dad’s doing.”

Dr. Rosen joined us as the elevators swished open. He studied me for a moment before saying, “Call us if you need anything.”

They got into the elevator, and a jumble of conflicting emotions swirled through me, though one thing stood out. I wouldn’t have gotten through the day without Asher.

“Hey, Asher?”

“Yeah, Lexie?”

“Thank you.”

He nodded, and the elevator doors slid shut. I slowly walked back to Dad’s room where Mom was already curled up in one of the armchairs, her eyes framed by dark smudges.

“Asher seems like a good kid,” she said. “It was nice of him to keep you company today.”

“Yeah, he’s not too bad.” I sank into the other chair and tucked my feet beneath me. I’d missed our girl talks, but there was no way I was getting into a conversation about the guy I liked with her right now, no matter how much I was tempted. And even though I’d wanted to tell her everything as it had happened, email hadn’t seemed like the best way. She’d had more important things to worry about.

“Where have you been? What’s been going on since you left?”

“Where haven’t I been?” She gave me the ghost of a smile. “I hit almost every major city in the Southwest, but I ended up in Seattle at one of the other QT facilities. Branston followed me at every turn, and I had to finish my own research before I could come home. I’m sorry for not contacting you more often.” She paused. “Dad told me about them finding you here. I’m so glad he was able to get to you in time.”

I nodded. “Major Grant showed up at Coco’s. It was not pretty. I thought Dad was going to kill the guy.”

Mom frowned at Dad’s still form. “He probably would have. They have a…history. But he said you had worked things out together?”

“We’re getting there. I don’t think he quite knows how to handle having a daughter.”

She chuckled and looked at me with sad eyes. “I wish things had been different. We thought being apart would be safest for all of us. It wasn’t fair to keep him out of your life.”

“And what about your life?” I raised an eyebrow. “What haven’t you told me?”

Mom shifted in her chair. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. I saw you guys kissing in the kitchen. Dad told me he was still in love with you. And you never got over him either, did you? The bitter divorce thing was all an act.”

She shrugged. “We did what we had to do. Keeping you safe was more important.”

I traced a finger over the worn fabric of the chair arm. “None of us are safe now. I think Branston caused the explosion that almost killed Dad.”

She half-rose to her feet. “What?”

I told her about Grant’s email, and she got up to pace the room.

“I suppose it isn’t surprising that Branston has spies inside QT. They’ve poached several leading scientists from other branches in the last year.” Her lips thinned. “We just have to figure out who the mole is and how to stop him.”

Mom and I spent the night pretzeled into the two chairs in Dad’s room before he woke at dawn. He was groggy and out of it but all right. The doctors did an MRI and a few other tests to make sure he hadn’t sustained any brain damage, and though he was in a lot of pain, they told us he’d probably be back home in about a week.

Since he was out of the woods, Mom and I left to get some rest at home. But before I did anything else, I desperately needed a shower.

I stripped clothes off as I sprinted toward my bathroom, shedding the stench of smoke and fear and hospital as I went. I cranked the shower as hot as it would go and stood under the stream, letting it wash away the smell coating my body like plastic.

I scrubbed my hair, letting the floral-scented bubbles wash over me and feeling my muscles finally start to relax. I never wanted to go through anything like this again. I paused, hands tangled in my hair. If we didn’t stop the saboteur, things might get even worse next time. Someone might die.

After I hurried through the rest of my shower, I stumbled back to my room, towel wrapped around my head. I did a quick check of my phone as I plugged it in to charge. Two texts from Asher, one from Max, and one from Zella. The little red number next to my messages icon made me surprisingly happy.

I opened Asher’s and smiled as I read.

Just checking in. Hope your dad’s doing well. Wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything. Besides me, of course.

Grinning, I texted him back.

Haha. Home now. Dad’s awake and well. We’ll talk about what I need later.

I switched off my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted to keep checking for his response. Right now, I needed a nap.

I slept for almost twenty-four hours and only woke when Mom tapped on my door.

“The hospital called. Your dad’s awake again. Want to head over?”

I nodded and yawned before throwing back the covers. I twisted to turn on my bedside lamp and spotted the Branston brochure on my nightstand. The one from Avery’s office. The one with the jotted-down phone number. I stared at my phone in the charger.

One call and I might have some answers. One call and maybe I’d be able to figure out who was working for Branston. Who’d hurt my dad and was trying to destroy the project.