Early morning light was soft and gray through the windows that'd blown out. The smell was vile and full of smoke and charred plastic.
My beautiful lab.
Sadly, Randi walked through the mess. It was silly to be all weepy over scientific equipment when someone could've really been hurt, but Randi couldn't help it. She'd ordered every beaker, every thermal cycler, every notebook. She stroked the scorched and warped counter where Brass had let her take his blood and bowed her head.
"You shouldn't be in here alone." The low rumble of Brass's voice didn't surprise her, even though she'd thought she was alone. Randi wrapped her arms around her middle, not turning around.
"I'm fine." He'd come with her last night, watching the fire being put out. It hadn't been nearly as bad as it could've been. Darkness said. Whoever had set it was no professional. However, the chemicals in the lab, and the myriad cleaning agents had almost made up for that. Little except some of the bigger equipment would be salvageable. They were going to have to gut the building and start over. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Weeks to order most of what she needed. Months, in some cases.
She felt Brass's heat at her back. "No, you're not." He turned her to face him, his big hands gentle, but firm. "But it's just stuff, Doc. Stuff the NSO can replace. Both the equipment and the samples."
Tears stung her eyes. "I don't want you to have go through that again." He stroked her cheek with a rough fingertip.
"I'm tough, Doc. I'll deal with it." But she saw the flicker in his eyes he couldn't hide.
"But you shouldn't have to…" In the next breath, she was crying for real. Everything finally catching up to her; the move, all her issues with Lilah, dealing with her attraction to the compelling male in front of her, and now this. The implosion of a long-cherished dream.
Without a word, Brass scooped her into his arms,
She wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers tangling in all that long black hair he'd forgotten to tie back again, her face buried in his shoulder as he walked out of the lab. He carried her easily, no hitch in his stride, walking until the lab was hidden by trees.
He didn't stop until he sat them both down in a chair outside the almost deserted cafeteria, keeping her head tucked under his chin.
It was still quite early, right around 6am. Methodically, he stroked her back and arms, then his strong fingers worked the nape of her neck, up into her hair. Easing her tension and sending shivers down her spine.
Her tears stopped and with a hiccup, Randi finally lifted her head.
"Why, Brass? Why would someone do this?"
"I'm more interested in who."
Startling her and sending tension through Brass's powerful frame, Darkness took a seat at the table opposite them. Randi saw his dark eyes note Brass's hold on her before narrowing. She straightened, but didn't move to leave Brass's lap. For once, she really didn't give a bloody damn about appearances. She just wanted answers.
"Any ideas then?"
"Hoping you could help with that."
"She's not up to this right now." Randi put a hand on Brass's forearm at his rough words.
"I'm fine, really. Just a little shaky. It'll pass."
Those black eyes flickered to Brass once, then back to her. To her surprise, his voice hardened. "It better. "
She frowned. Darkness was scary, no question about that. But he'd always been fair with her, even during …
"You remember when I helped Justice interview you?"
She swallowed as Brass started beneath her. Her fingers tightened on his arm, hoping he would stay silent. He didn't.
"Why the fuck were you in on Miranda's interview, Darkness?"
Darkness ignored him, staring at Miranda.
"I remember," she said, her voice soft but clear.
"Did you leave anything out, Dr. Grant? Anything at all?"
She swallowed. "Not about me. No. I told you everything."
Miranda was shaking, and her fingers on his arm had gone icy cold. Abruptly, Brass got to his feet, making her latch onto him with a tiny scream, though there was no way in hell he would've dropped her. "This is over, Darkness. I said not now."
For a moment, he thought the Species would get to his feet. Brass really hoped that didn't happen. Taking Darkness down was not something he was sure he was capable of, but for Miranda, he would make one hell of a try.
Instead, the Species merely laced his fingers over his stomach and shrugged. "Now or later, doesn't matter. We're going to get to the bottom of this. Justice has an appointment scheduled for the doctor here with me and Tiger in two hours. Take her home, Brass, and let her think about that, then get back here. I need to talk to you, too."
He gave short nod, feeling deeply uneasy. He loped back to the house, not saying a word, though he could feel Miranda staring at him.
Finally, when he set her on her front steps, she grabbed his arm. "Do they really think I had something to do with that fire? That I would burn my own lab?"
Brass looked down into those worried but indignant gray eyes. "I doubt it," he forced himself to keep his tone even, "but if you're hiding something, Doc, you sure as hell better stop right now before something else blows up in your face."
Her fingers went slack on his arms and Brass pulled away.
He didn't look back, he'd do whatever he could to protect her, but sure as shit Miranda had lied to Darkness. She'd left something out.
Something big.
