Experimenting With Ed (15 page)

“Colorado,” Ed told her, and she stopped bouncing as a sobering idea occurred to her.

“Will you…” She trailed off, not sure how to ask without coming off as completely desperate. “Would you be…” Her second try wasn’t any more successful.

“She’s trying to ask if you’ll come with her to Colorado,” Darwin stated.

“Yeah?” Ed turned his head to look at her and she stared at her shadowed lap, swamped in equal doses of humiliation and relief that the question was out there and she didn’t have to ask it.

“Um…well, yeah,” she muttered, still not able to look at him.

“Sure, I’ll come,” he said, his voice casual. When she glanced up at him, he had a huge grin. “Might as well see if I like snowboarding.”

Darwin snorted. “Please. He’d have gone whether you asked him or not. He’s in
looove
.” His voice went up to a high-pitched falsetto on the last word. Ed reached over Claire’s head to give the other man a shove. Darwin just laughed.

As for Claire, she couldn’t stop smiling.

* * * * *

Later that morning, parked a half block down from the lab, Claire wasn’t feeling quite so content.

“You should stay here,” Ed told her for the fiftieth time.

“We talked about this,” she said, also for the fiftieth time. “It’s all set. Don’t change the plan now.”

He frowned. “I don’t like it.”

“I know.” She squeezed his hand but he still scowled. “Still, you’re just going to have to cowboy up and accept the fact that I’m going in there.”

His response was a wordless rumble.

Claire sighed. How was she supposed to reason with a growl?

“That her?” Darwin asked, nodding at a woman walking toward the front door of the lab.

“That’s Joelle,” Claire confirmed, her heart beating faster as she watched her former coworker unlock the front door. This was it.

“I don’t—”

Claire interrupted him. “Zip it, Eddie. I’m going. Now let me out.”

Jerking the truck door open, Ed slid out and held out a hand to help Claire hop down. She leaned against him, stretching up to kiss his chin.

“Don’t worry,” she reassured him. “I’ll be fine.”

He just grunted, bending to press a hard kiss on her lips.

Claire turned back toward Darwin. “You’ll keep an eye out for Gordon, in case he comes in early?”

“And delay him. Got it,” Darwin said.

“Great. And you’ll know him if you see him?” Claire didn’t know why she was asking. She’d described her ex-boss to him over and over.

“Pubic-hair face?” Darwin drawled. “How could I miss that?”

She laughed, although it had a nervous edge, and swung the truck door closed. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Ed. “Ready?”

Although he still scowled, he gave a reluctant nod.

“Let’s do it, then.” She turned and resolutely walked toward her former workplace. It was strange how different it looked, how…ominous it appeared now, when only a few days ago it had been just an innocuous lab. Stepping through the front door, she couldn’t hear anything, since her heart was thundering so loudly in her ears. She held the door for Ed, turning to look behind her when he didn’t take the weight of the door from her.

No one was there.

She stuck her head back outside and looked around. There was no sign of him. Darwin’s truck was still parked in the same spot but she couldn’t see inside it, only the reflection of the morning sun off the windshield. Biting her lip, she hesitated, unsure whether the plan had changed.

Turning to face the hallway, she eased the door closed behind her. There were no sirens, no cops, no men in lab coats to snatch Ed and Darwin away, so she was going to follow the plan. Taking a shaky breath, she pulled off her stocking hat as she walked down the hall toward the lab.

The door was closed. Through the window she could see Joelle at one of the lab computers. The other woman’s back was to her. Pretty sure Gordon had changed the key code two minutes after Claire had quit, she didn’t risk setting off an alarm by entering the wrong combination. Instead, she raised her fist and knocked.

Joelle jumped and spun around. When she saw Claire, she flinched and her eyes shot to a spot next to the door. Claire guessed she was looking at the phone mounted on the wall. Joelle was thinking of calling Gordon—or the cops. Either one would be bad.

“C’mon, Joelle,” Claire said, raising her voice so the other woman could hear her through the window. “I just want my coat.”

Joelle hesitated, her gaze flickering back and forth between Claire’s face and the phone.

“You know everything Gordon’s saying about me isn’t true,” Claire pushed. “I’m not going to
do
anything. I just want to grab my coat.”

The other woman took a hesitant step toward the door and then stopped.

Shoving back a snarl of frustration, Claire forced a smile. “We worked together for more than a year, Jo! You know I wouldn’t hurt you or the research. I’ll just grab my coat and leave. Gordon won’t even know unless you tell him.” She tried to make her face as pitiable as possible. “It’s cold out there, Jo, and I can’t afford another coat right now. Please?”

“You’ll be quick?” Joelle asked, moving to the door, and Claire nodded, choking back a triumphant exclamation. “Okay.” Joelle pressed the release bar on the door, shoving it open. Claire grabbed the edge of the door and slipped in quickly, before the other woman could change her mind. As soon as Joelle glanced away, Claire dropped her hat onto the floor, nudging it back with her heel against the doorjamb before carefully closing the door. The hat propped the door open a couple inches, just enough to keep it from locking again.

“Thanks, Jo,” Claire told her. “Is it still in the closet?”

“Yeah. Hurry up,” Joelle told her, watching as Claire moved toward the closet. As she walked, Claire darted a glance over to the table where her laptop had sat the last time she had seen it. The table was empty. Her stomach dropped.

“Do you get to use my laptop now?” she asked as she pulled her coat off the hanger.

“No.” Joelle shifted uneasily. “Nadine will. Gordon said he has to clean it up first though.”

The words “clean it up” sent a bolt of panic through Claire. “A little canned air on the keyboard?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

“I don’t know. It’s in his office. She’ll get it when he’s done with whatever he needs to do to it. Can you hurry?”

“Got it.” Claire held up her coat and walked to the door. She paused with her hand on the door. “I have to ask. Why are you going along with faking the data, Jo?”

Joelle flushed a deep red. “You need to go.”

“He’s going to get caught,” Claire warned. “You should get out while you still can. Look how things have escalated already. Faking results, lying to the police, helping Gordon cover up attempted
murder
…”

“Shut up!” Joelle snapped furiously. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You have your coat, so get out before I call the cops!”

Claire pushed the door open. “Wreck your life if you want,” she said. “Personally, I don’t think Gordon’s worth it.” She slipped into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her until it bumped against the hat. Although there was no reason to prop the door open now, she couldn’t grab the hat without Joelle noticing, so Claire just left it stuck between the door and the jamb. As she hurried down the hall, Claire tried to think of a new variation on the plan. How were they going to get the laptop out of Gordon’s locked office?
He
surely wasn’t going to let them in.

An arm locked around her waist at the same time a hand clamped over her mouth. Terror shot through her as she was dragged backward into the supply closet and the door yanked closed. As her back was pulled against a familiar chest, her panic faded.

“Really?” she whisper-yelled into the darkness, as the hand dropped from over her mouth. She elbowed Ed in the stomach and immediately regretted it. “Man, your abs are hard. Was scaring me half to death really necessary? You couldn’t have just tapped me on the shoulder?”

“Shh,” he hushed her. “Stay here.” He released her and moved to the door.

“The laptop’s not in the lab,” she told him in a whisper. “It’s in Gordon’s office.”

“I heard,” he murmured back. “Now stay.”

“Ha,” she muttered. “Not going to happen.” Even though it was pitch-black in the closet, Claire could feel his glare. “Your laser-beam eyeballs aren’t going to work this time,” she whispered. “I’m coming.”

Although she couldn’t make out whatever he was grumbling under his breath, Claire could guess what he was saying. Despite his inaudible tirade, she stuck close behind him as he slipped out of the closet into the empty hallway.

Still clutching her coat, she watched as he punched in a series of numbers on the keypad attached to Gordon’s office door. To her amazement, the lock clicked and the light turned green, allowing them access.

“How’d you know that?” she hissed after they slipped into Gordon’s office and the door had clicked shut behind them.

“Heard it,” he explained, his voice low. “When we were…in the closet. The first time, I mean.”

“Are you blushing?” she whispered in amazement.

“No. That the laptop?” He pointed at the computer bag.

She hurried over to where it leaned against his desk. “Looks like it.” She unzipped the top and pulled it out far enough to see the scratch marring the top from when she’d accidentally tipped it off her desk a few months before. “This is it.” Yanking the zipper closed, she shouldered the bag and moved toward the door, but Ed held up a warning hand.

Her heartbeat accelerated until she thought her heart would shoot right out of her chest. “Gordon?” she mouthed.

Ed shook his head. “Joelle,” he said so quietly Claire was surprised she heard it. After a few seconds, Ed nodded and shoved open the door. “She’s in the bathroom,” he whispered in Claire’s ear. “Take the computer to the truck. I’ll be right out.”

“But…” she started to protest but then snapped her mouth closed. With Joelle about to emerge from the bathroom at any moment, she knew now was not the time to argue. She darted toward the exit and through the front door, not allowing herself to look back.

The truck was only a half block away but it felt like miles. Claire forced herself to walk, although she felt horribly exposed in the morning sunlight. Her steps sped up until she was almost running, the laptop bumping heavily against her hip.

She sucked in a breath of relief when she reached the truck. Yanking the door open, she climbed in, twisting the computer bag around so it lay across her lap. Moving to pull the truck door closed after her, she hesitated.

“Should I leave this open for Ed?” she asked Darwin, who shook his head.

“Shut it,” he told her. “An open door attracts attention. Where is he?”

“Still in the lab.” She realized she was shaking. “I don’t know why he thought he had to—”

“Get down,” Darwin hissed, interrupting her.

She ducked down, crouching in the space in front of the passenger side of the seat. “What is it?” she whispered. Her heartbeat, which had just begun to calm down a little, took off again.

“Pubes-face is here.” Darwin opened his door. “Stay down.” Then he was gone.

Breathing in quick pants, Claire huddled out of sight. She wiggled around so she could shove the laptop beneath the seat next to Ed’s pack and then jammed the small cooler in front of it. Wadding her coat into a ball, she shoved it into the space above the laptop, hoping that would hide the computer bag from a casual search of the truck, just in case she was discovered.

She strained her ears, trying to hear something—anything—besides her harsh breaths but there was nothing. When the passenger-side door opened, Claire jerked her head up, slamming it on the underside of the dash. Biting off a gasp of pain, she twisted her neck to see Ed climb in and pull the door shut.

He sat with his legs pressed against the door so his feet would fit in the only spot not taken up by Claire. Wrapping her arms around his knees, she gave his legs a hug, so relieved he’d made it out of the lab in one piece.