“But where? It’s not in the lab. I know every inch of that place. I’d know if it was hidden there. It wasn’t in Sam’s safe or anyplace here in the house. Where could it be?”
“We don’t know and neither do the Black Knights.”
She frowned, and Jared sighed. Her brain was on overload because her normally sharp mind was taking a long time to pull the pieces together.
He hated to do it, but he had to speed up the process. She needed to be aware.
“That means, Sassa, you are the only living link to the formula’s location. You’re also the only one who has a chance of repeating the formula or creating a cure. I’m afraid you just became number one on the Black Knights’ Most Wanted list. Kopack needs to double your protection and I won’t be leaving your side.”
Jared suggested she might want to go home, but Sassa insisted on going straight to the lab. Her decision seemed to please him and he smiled. A good smile. White teeth against his dark beard. Strong and sincere. He’d given her a slightly sarcastic grin on the car trip home, but this was different. This smile was real—the first she’d seen on him—and a little thrill speared through her whole being. She’d brought one bright spot into his day. That was a good thing. They’d no doubt have too few of those in the time ahead.
They were dropping Keri off at the campus child-care center when one of the FBI agents assigned to watch Sassa planted himself in a corner of the playroom. Sassa sent a worried glance in Jared’s direction.
“It’s just a precaution I suggested and since I’ll be by your side, we can afford to leave one of your guards here. Kopack agreed.”
Still...
Sassa sent one last, worried glance toward her daughter before Jared ushered her out the door for the walk across campus.
When she finally stepped through the door of the lab, Sam’s three assistants, Matt, Libby and Jacki, stopped what they were doing and turned to her.
Okay. Another hurdle. She was in charge now. They waited.
She took a breath.
“Thank you all for being here. I think you’re aware of what’s happening.”
Matt, the oldest of the lab assistants, nodded. “The FBI has been here setting up equipment since yesterday.” He nodded at Sam’s glass-enclosed office. “The IT guy is in there now.”
Stalling for time, Sassa nodded, slipped her lab coat off the hanger near the door and put it on. Then she ran her favorite citrus-flavored lip balm over her lips. Only then did she meet the steady gaze of her fellow workers. She hesitated, trying to decide what to tell them. Fortunately, she had Sam’s lead to follow. That meant nothing but the truth. “I think we all know Dean Trujillo is not a fan of Sam’s program. Now that he’s gone, our jobs here are most likely in jeopardy. I want to give you warning...in case we’re not successful in recreating the pathogen.”
“We will be.” Matt spoke before she could go on. “You’ll find a way. We know you will.”
Their confidence warmed Sassa. She didn’t know what to say, how to express her appreciation. She looked up. Jared, arms folded over his chest, leaned against the doorjamb of Sam’s office. A satisfied smile floated over his lips. That little half smile vote of confidence did funny things to her stomach—made it flip—and brought a flush to her cheeks.
Exactly the kind of response she didn’t need to have to Mr. Jared De Luca but...the fate of the world was sitting on her shoulders. She needed all the help she could get.
She allowed herself that little moment of pleasure. Told herself it would be just one. Later, she’d put Jared’s smile and his confidence in the box where they belonged—with all the other good-looking, charming unbelievers in the world. But right now, his faith in her gave her strength.
She nodded at her fellow workers. “Let’s get to work then...for Sam.”
“For Sam,” they repeated.
“I’ll need all of your notes and lab assignments from the days before the accident. Anything that might jog our memories or point us in the right direction. I want to make sure we all observed the same things and, also, to make sure I didn’t miss some small detail.”
They returned to their desks and Sassa headed to Sam’s office. Jared was blocking the door and didn’t move. She looked up. A wry smile played around his lips, surprisingly full ones for a man. She shouldn’t notice things like that. Couldn’t afford to notice them. Sassa ducked her head as if to push her way through, but he didn’t move. And she didn’t dare step any closer. He smelled too good. Like fresh pines. Because he refused to move, she was forced to look up.
“You can do this, Sassa. Even your colleagues believe in you.”
She ducked her head again. This time a smile wavered across her own lips. “Actually, I am a pretty good biologist. I guess it’s just my family I keep letting down.”
He frowned. “From what I’ve seen, your family is very proud of you. You haven’t let them down.”
She made a small sound. “I thought I had a bright future. That’s all down the drain now. If the FBI wasn’t backing me, I’m sure Dean Trujillo would have kicked me off the campus. He never liked me.”
“I take it Sassy Sassa made an appearance during one of your encounters with the man?”
Laughter escaped before she could stop it. “I think you spent entirely too much time talking to Sam.”
He folded his arms tighter. “I wish I’d spent more time. Now it’s too late.”
“Yes...for both of us.” She took a deep breath and looked around. “All I ever wanted was to support my daughter, to take care of her without the world constantly falling down around me.”
He straightened from leaning on the jamb and lifted her chin with his finger. “You didn’t create this disaster.”
“No. I didn’t. But it’s up to me to fix it.” Her words sounded a little shaky...like she felt.
Jared took a deep breath. “My grandfather had a favorite scripture he always used to quote when I felt like I was in over my head. Jeremiah 29, verse eleven. He made me memorize it so I could repeat it. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you...thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’”
She looked up. His brown eyes were deep, dark and sincere. “I thought you said you don’t believe.”
His lips twisted in a wry smile. “I’m not sure I do. But you do and you’re ruining my good story, so listen up. My granddad would always finish the scripture by saying, ‘You don’t know what His plans are for you, but you can be sure He never sends the wrong man for the job.’”
“You think I’m the right person for the job?”
Jared nodded. “You are. And don’t forget, it’s not all up to you. It’s us. I won’t leave you alone in this.”
Us. The last time somebody said “us” to her, it turned out to be a disaster. She would never forget that again. No matter how appealing Jared made it sound, there would never be an “us” for her.
She stepped forward, trying to push her way through, but he wouldn’t budge.
“It’s been a rough morning. I think you need a pick-me-up. How about a cup of coffee?”
“I’m more of a tea drinker.”
“Okay, can I get you something else?”
Her laugh was rueful. “What I would really love to have is something I absolutely don’t need.”
“What’s