I took less than ten seconds to absorb what he was telling me. It might kill me, but all that mattered was knowing I had a chance to save my mates’ lives if I could get my antibodies to an insanely high amount.
“How long would I have once you’ve injected me?” I asked, moving to stand over his shoulder again.
“It’s not something we’ve studied.” Boone removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not even sure what a lethal dose of the toxin would be for a rabbit shifter. For all we know, you could be dead within an hour of the injections.”
“I understand. All I want is an educated guess,” I pressed.
He slid his glasses back on and turned to stare up at me. “If you injected yourself at the levels high enough to make yourself sick and stimulate your immune system, I’d say you had a matter of a few hours before you’re unconscious. And I don’t know if you’d come out of it, even with medical intervention.”
A few hours.
I mentally ran through my escape plan and return journey to the hospital. It would be cutting it incredibly close, but I could work with that.
But there was a chance I’d react badly and die before I made it back to the hospital. Which meant I couldn’t risk the information on the toxin dying with me. Regardless of whether I lived or died, the pack needed this information to prepare itself for any future attacks from the burrow.
Moving fast, I press the knife against his neck. “Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. I want every record, every file, every note, every freaking doodle sent to Bradford Hospital’s email.”
“Is the knife really necessary?” he grumbled, typingBradford Hospitalinto his search engine.
“Yes, because I’m asking you to breach security, and I can’t risk you fighting me on it.” I glanced down to make sure I wasn’t actually hurting him. “Besides, if anyone reviews the security tape, you’ll have an excuse.”
He mumbled something under his breath, but clicked open the hospital’s website to a page showing the departments and staff. “Alright, who do you want me to send it to?”
Boone scrolled down the page, but I didn’t recognize any of the faces. I racked my brain trying to remember the name the helicopter medical staff had mentioned. “Blaine! Send it to Dr. Blaine!”
“Okay, then.” His fingers blurred across the keyboard as he created a new email and typed a quick note.
“I need you to add a note at the bottom. From me,” I added before he could hit send.
“Alright.” He waited.
I took a deep breath. “To my mates, Fletcher, Copeland, and Linc, I want you to know that no matter what happens, my time spent with you has been the best of my life. To Monroe and Cillian, I’m sorry for the trouble I caused the pack. Please accept this research as a token of my appreciation and apology. I hope it’ll help save lives in the future.”
“Is that all?” Boone asked, moving the cursor to the send button.
“Yes. Did you attach everything?”
“You have a knife to my neck; of course. I attached a zip folder. I also included a private link to a cloud service where I’ve hidden away copies of all the research.”
“Are you allowed to do that?” I asked.
He laughed. “No, of course not. But after giving up my hope for a normal future, I wasn’t going to risk being cut out from my own research if something were to happen or they were to fire me. It’s my insurance policy.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Send it.”
He sent the email and then slowly turned to me, ignoring the knife mere centimeters from his neck. “We should probably hurry if you’re intent on doing this. I’m not positive, but I suspect the council might be monitoring the lab’s computer activity. If that’s the case, it won’t be long before they realize an email with a large file was sent.”
“Lead the way.” I pulled the knife away from his neck and stepped behind him.
Not wanting to risk accidentally hurting him, I pressed my fingernail against his lower back, letting him believe the knife was still there as an incentive to not test me. As much as I appreciated his openness, I couldn’t risk him double-crossing me last minute.
He led us down another long hallway toward a glass-enclosed room. “In here.” He jerked his chin toward a door at the far side.
Boone typed in a code to unlock the door, and we stepped inside. Microscopes and elaborate displays of vials and beakers of every size and shape imaginable lined the walls. Cool, sterile air that smelled of disinfectant burned my nose. The scent reminded me of the hospital and the moment I’d turned and walked away from my mates.
For the millionth time, I wondered if they were still alive. They had to be. I’d know if they died, wouldn’t I? The pain of being away from them was bad enough. I was sure their death would be unbearable.
“Sit while I prepare the injections.” Boone motioned toward one of the padded stools.
