Touching Eternity (Touch Series 1.5) (34 page)

“Please hold.” The line died in his ear.

He snarled at it, resisting the temptation to beat the receiver against the desk.

Seconds faded into minutes. Each minute passed at a snail’s pace. He grounded his teeth until he was sure he would have no more. He pored over the note Marcus had written him, looking for clues that weren’t there. There was no explanation. No reasoning. No logic behind the decision being made. He had been nothing but thorough in all his reports. He had given them exactly what they’d wanted. Yes, the progress had been slow thus far, but it was to be expected. He had warned them. Progress did not happen overnight. The human brain, so brilliant, was still a vast mystery to the scientific community. He had already decoded so much of it. He would have had more, more accurate results if Tomas hadn’t destroyed so much of his work, but he hoped to amend that now that he had Isaiah on his side. With the two of them, they could get so much done! So much accomplished. He just needed a little more time.

“Mr. Garrison?”

Garrison nearly jumped at the unexpected voice. He cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m still here.”

“Mr. Jacobs requests that you make an appointment to see the board five o’clock this afternoon. Will you be able to attend?” the secretary asked.

“Yes, I will be there.”

“I will make Mr. Jacobs aware. Please do not be late.” With that, the line clicked. It went dead.

He scowled at the tone buzzing in his ear before setting the receiver down. He rose out of his chair, his mind spinning as he stole an anxious glance towards the clock on the wall. Only three hours to pull together a presentation that would hopefully inspire them to change their ignorant minds. But first, he lifted the receiver once more and dialed the number to the university.

Edward Hoffman answered his own phone.

“Edward,” Garrison said in the way of greeting. “It’s Terrell.”

There was a moment of pause, hesitation. “Terrell!” Edward said at last, forced cheerfulness carving through the single word. “I’ve been expecting a call from you.”

“What’s going on, Edward? Why did the university cancel my seminar next week?”

“Uh…” Edward cleared his throat. “Well, I had two men visit me yesterday, detectives. They’re investigating the death of Gabriel Tomas and his family.” He hesitated again, longer this time. When he spoke again, his voice was low. “They were asking about you, Terrell.”

It was a task to speak again when his tongue seemed to have pasted itself to the roof of his mouth. Cold sweat gelled along his spine before he reminded himself that he had nothing to fear. They would never find his lab. They would never be able to prove he had anything to do with Tomas’ death, or faked death.

“What did you tell them?”

“The truth,” Edward said without hesitation. “That Gabriel was doing something for you and they should talk to you.”

Under his breath, Garrison cursed, but then thought about it. Maybe it was better this way. He could handle it personally. Maybe even see what the detectives knew, how far along they were in their investigation.

“It’s terrible what happened to Gabriel,” he said instead, letting sadness seep into his voice.

“Tragic,” Edward agreed solemnly. “The detectives wanted to know what kind of work he was doing for you, but I told them I had no idea. They suggested that you may have been the last person to have seen him alive. They were very insistent on knowing everything I knew about you, which wasn’t very much. They asked me not to contact you until they’d had a chance to speak with you. I’m sorry, Terrell. If there was any other way…”

Garrison let a full heartbeat fill the silence that followed before speaking, “I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me. I was under the impression that he’d gone on vacation. What does any of this have to do with my seminar?”

Edward sighed. “I don’t know. I just think it would be best if we waited until this matter has been settled first.”

“But that’s nonsense! We planned this months ago!”

“I understand.” He almost sounded like he meant it. “But there’s something else. Mortimer Hobbs.”

Anger coiled tight inside him. “What about him?”

Edward dropped his voice again. “He’s been talking, Terrell. I don’t believe him, but there are a few who…well, do.”

“Believe what?”

He was going to kill that slick little snake! Then, he was going to kill Lew and Bruce for not taking care of the problem whilst they’d had the chance.

“He’s saying things,” Edward answered cryptically.

“What kind of things?” Garrison growled, feeling a dull ache in his temples as this game quickly became tedious.

“He says you sent men to threaten him into silence.” He lowered his voice. “He says you want to stop him from telling everyone the truth.”

Should have killed him. Should have killed him! Fury boiled up like a fountain inside him.

But when he spoke, his voice was calm, tinted with amusement. “Threaten him into silence, eh? Well, I hope I get my money back, because clearly it didn’t work if that were the case. I think that if I’d done any threatening, he would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut.”

Edward chuckled. “That’s my thoughts. I wonder what truths he’s referring to if that were the case. He’s clearly not all well in the head.”

Clearly. But Garrison said, “I haven’t the foggiest idea. Poor guy has probably driven himself into the ground with exhaustion. I know my students consider me a slave driver, but I had no idea.”

“Exactly,” Edward said. “I thought the whole thing was pure idiocy.”

Garrison laughed although nothing about the situation was remotely hilarious. “So does this mean we can progress with the seminar Thursday?”

All amusement died in Edward’s voice. “I’m sorry, Terrell. Not Thursday. Perhaps once this is all cleared up, we can set a new date and time. But I really must go now. I’ve got a million things I need to finish. I’ll call you if I hear anything else. You take care of yourself! Talk to you later.”

The line went dead before Garrison could even catch his breath to speak. The phone struck the wall opposite his desk with a loud clang. It struck the floor in several broken pieces.

This wasn’t happening!
He willed himself to believe as he slumped back in his chair. Fear stole paths throughout his body with icy fingers of dread that made him shudder. The chair beneath him squeaked. How could this be happening? He didn’t understand. Everything had been going so well only a week ago. He’d been making such progress. How could everything crumble so quickly?

Garrison shot to his feet, sending the chair rolling out and striking the wall behind him with a clutter.

It wasn’t over! He still had a chance to salvage things. He just needed to keep his head. He needed to fix things, starting with the board. They had to be shown just how crucial this investment is and how it would line their pockets with more money than they ever dreamed. Then, he would visit Mortimer Hobbs, that sniveling good for nothing snake, and teach him a thing or two about loyalty. If it hadn’t been for Garrison, where would he have been? Still cleaning rat guts off laboratory trays, that’s where. Garrison had given him a future, had shown him a life beyond his miserable, pathetic life and this was the thanks he got? That was unacceptable.

He started reaching for his phone before realizing it would do him no good. Instead, he stalked purposefully to the door and stormed out. All tests would have to wait until another day. His whole world was in jeopardy.

Isaiah

He couldn’t stop touching her. His fingers traced the lengths of her arms, the ridges of her spine, the contours of her face and still it wasn’t enough. Every part of her was so familiar yet so foreign. She herself was like a magnet, drawing him to her, his eyes, his hands, his lips, it was never enough. The vast hollow in his chest brimmed to the point of bursting and he was staggered by how easily she could take away the pain.

“I won’t ever leave you again, Ams,” he told her for the thousandth time. “I promise.”

With her back to his chest, her slim fingers skating up and down the length of the forearm banding her middle, Amalie turned her head and peered up at him. The gray light pooled through the terrace window, spilling over the curves of her cheeks and filling her eyes with a soft glow. The uncertainty and fear had his arms tightening around her.

“What is it?”

She turned her face away, letting a thick curtain of hair fall between them. His fingers smoothed back the strands, tucking them behind her ear before taking her chin and forcing her to face him again.

“What?” he insisted.

“Even after everything that happened?” Her voice was so small, he almost didn’t hear her.

“What do you mean?”

She wrenched her face free of him. He let her, but tightened his grip when she tried to pull out of his embrace.

“Isaiah…”

“Tell me,” he urged, pressing his lips to the side of her neck. He didn’t miss the way her entire body seemed to go rigid with a tension that hummed through every one of her bones. “Ams?”

“How could you not know?” she hissed through her teeth. “How can you stand to touch me?”

“Hey!” His hand closed around her upper arm when she jerked out of his hold and tried to hurry away. “What are you talking about?”

She twisted her arm free and glowered at him. “I’m talking about me! I’m not the same Amalie you left a year ago! I’ve done…I’m not…”

“Hey.” His hands framed her face, drawing her forward until their noses bumped. “Do you honestly believe that would make me love you less? There is nothing in the world that could ever make me see you any differently.”

“I feel different.”

He lightly stroked the curve of her cheek with the pad of his thumb, staring intensely into her eyes. “I won’t push you, Amalie. I won’t do anything you’re not ready for. Having you back is so much more than I could have ever asked for a month ago. I will wait for you forever if you’ll have me.”

Her mouth opened, tears shining in her eyes, when the door behind him flew open with such ferocity, they both jumped.

Garrison stood shadowing the doorway, his expression blazing with fierce determination. Behind him, Derek stood erect, blank-faced. Isaiah felt rather than saw Amalie stiffen. Her fears struck him with the force of a truck.

“Sir?” His body automatically shifted until Amalie was blocked from sight.

“What are you doing in here?” he demanded at once, outrage hard on his face. “You know you are forbidden from being in Amalie’s room unescorted.”

“We were talking, sir,” he said evenly, keeping everything from his voice but innocence.

“It is extremely inappropriate! You are not children anymore. I will not have this again, is that understood?”

Isaiah inclined his head. “Understood, sir.”

Garrison gave a sharp, satisfied nod. “Come with me.”

Isaiah didn’t move. “Me, sir?”

“Yes, you!” Garrison barked, turning on his heels. “Hurry. We have urgent matters that need our attention.”

Outside the door, just hidden from sight, he spotted Lew and Bruce and he wondered what was so urgent that Garrison needed those knee-breakers. But he figured he was about to find out.

He turned to Amalie. “I’ll be back soon.”

Worry shone in her blue eyes, radiating in the anxious grip her teeth had on her bottom lip. “Isaiah, I don’t—”

He tossed a quick glance over his shoulder, checked to make sure the coast was clear before brushing a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll be back,” he promised quietly.

She didn’t protest again, but watched him as he hurried after the group. He caught Derek’s gaze in the doorway. They exchanged a silent glance before Isaiah turned right after the trio already disappearing down the corridor.

They took the limo. Lew and Bruce stuffed themselves on either side of Garrison, leaving Isaiah the entire opposite bench.