Page 40 of Bossy Romance

“No, it doesn’t seem to be gas.” There’s a pause. “It looks like… goo.”

Every muscle in my body goes tense.

Nova gasps in surprise. “Goo?”

“I think I know where Rowan could be,” I bite out. Wrenching the door open, I storm outside.

Nova follows me down the hallway. Since the alarms locked down all the elevators, we take the stairs to the lab. I’m full-on sprinting, but Nova can’t keep up in her heels.

When I try to slow my pace, she pushes me forward. “Go! Make sure Rowan’s alright. I’ll be right behind you.”

I don’t want to leave her, but if Rowan got caught in that goo…

“Go!” Nova insists.

I pull ahead of her and crash through the stairwell door with my shoulder.

I don’t even take a step forward before I see it.

Miracle goo.

It’s pushing against the lab’s display window like a puffer fish gone mad. The orange fluid is lashing the door with such force that it’s starting to bend at the joints.

My heart leaves my chest and explodes somewhere outside of me.

If Rowan is in there…

I take giant, determined steps toward the door, ready to dive into the goo and search for his body in the expanding substance, when I see movement around the corner.

My boots skid to a stop. I focus on the human-sized shadow as alarm bells wail loudly overhead.

Someone small with dark hair and pale skin crouches out of sight.

I stomp that way, my face a mask of fury. “Rowan!”

He climbs to his feet. His eyes are on the ground and his hands are locked in front of him. I can see remnants of the goo plastered on his palm, sure evidence of his involvement in this emergency.

“Did you do this?”

“I… I…”

My vision goes red. “I told you specifically not to touch anything! Do you know how dangerous this could have been? You could have gotten seriously hurt or hurt other people! Is this how your mother taught you to behave?”

A gentle hand lands on my back.

Nova.

Her brown eyes barge into mine, silently beseeching me to stop.

I inhale deeply, my chest rising and falling. The blood is pounding in my head. So much restless energy. So much fear.

Rowan stares at the ground, still not saying anything.

Nova calls the security office. “Can you send someone from the medical bay? A child came into contact with the miracle goo and needs to be checked out.” She pockets her phone and drops to her haunches in front of Rowan. “Do you feel dizzy? Lightheaded? Nauseous?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“That goo is a volatile substance. Who knows what’ll happen to you if you ingested it,” I snap.

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