That would keep the wolves from the door for a while, but she needed to find out what she was designing.
Her thoughts flicked back to the conversation.
Ted.
He was the one Kathleen trusted. The only one who knew what the research really was.
If Kathleen wouldn’t give her the answers, maybe he would.
Marise walked to the window, looking out over the city. Her reflection stared back, composed, calculating. But underneath, a pulse of something else was building.
She didn’t want to hurt Kathleen.
But if she didn’t get the intel then someone else would.
And that meant she had to act before they did.
She turned back toward her laptop and opened a new file.
Tomorrow, she’d find Ted.
And this time, she’d get what she needed.
CHAPTER NINE
Kathleen touched her lips, the memory of the kiss lingering. Her mouth had been so soft. And this time, the press of lips hadn’t turned her rigid and sent her spiralling into panic. She’d let Veronica touch her, and liked it. She wanted more. She didn’t know what to do with that.
She stood in front of Tank Two, checking the ion conductivity levels, trying to shake the warmth beneath her skin. But even the sharp scent of minerals and ozone didn’t strip it away. She adjusted the flow rate, blinked hard at the numbers, distracted. It wasn’t the kiss itself—it was the tenderness. The way Veronica had asked. The way she hadn’t pushed when Kathleen had frozen the time before. And the way, this time, her body hadn’t tried to escape.
Ted came clattering in from the hallway, juggling a tray of sealed nutrient bags. “Delivery’s late again,” he muttered, setting the tray down. “They switched the chemical supplier. This stuff’s thicker than glue.”
Kathleen didn’t respond right away. She keyed in the new calibration and set the chamber to process. Only then did she turn. “I’m leaving early tonight. It’s David and Edith’s anniversary.”
Ted nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on the tanks.”
“Check conductivity every hour. The light cycle’s already set.” She started removing her gloves, pausing to glance over. “Don’t touch Tank Three.”
He saluted playfully. “No mad science without supervision. Got it.”
She gave him a faint smile. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
By the time she got home, the memory of Veronica’s kiss was still there like a scent in the air. Kathleen walked into her apartment, dropped her bag on the hook, and placed her shoes carefully by the wall in the entryway. The familiar hush settled around her. Everything in its place. The quiet that usually soothed her now felt intrusive. She wandered to the kitchen, flicked the kettle on out of habit, and stared out the window while it boiled. She’d barely poured water over the tea bag when her phone rang.
It was her old university professor and mentor, Professor Edith Williams.
In her late fifties, she carried herself with the unflinching confidence of someone who’d spent decades in labs and warring with grant committees. She had a fierce loyalty to the few students she took under her wing; Kathleen had been one of them. Edith had seen in her the rare combination of raw talent and intellectual hunger, and she’d defended her more than once when the faculty dismissed Kathleen’s social awkwardness as arrogance.
Though now semi-retired from lecturing, Edith still loomed large in Kathleen’s life—an exacting voice in her head, reminding her to think sharper, question harder, and never hand her work to people who hadn’t earned the right to see it.
“Hi, Kathleen,” Edith said brightly. “You are coming tonight to our anniversary dinner, aren’t you?”
“I am, Edith.”
“Knowing you, I’m checking you haven’t forgotten. I’ll be wearing that green scarf you gave me, so no excuses about not recognizing us at the restaurant,” she said with a laugh.
Kathleen smiled faintly. “I think I can manage.”
There was a pause, then Edith asked, “You haven’t been stuck in that lab of yours and ignored your social life, have you?”
