Page 77 of Sinful Palace

I frowned and rubbed the back of my head. “Is it possible for you to stay late to fit it in around the kits?”

“I already stay late every day, so no, that’s not gonna work,” she said. “But I suppose anything’s possible, given the right circumstances.”

Her eyes began to gleam, and I finally realized what she was angling toward. “Ah. You want a bribe.”

She twisted her lips. “I’d rather you refer to it as a payment for my services.”

I reached into my back pocket and opened my wallet to see how much cash I had on me. “Is two-fifty enough?”

She rolled her eyes. “Two hundred and fifty bucks is barely enough to buy lunch around here. I want two grand. If you don’t have more cash on you, just Venmo me the rest.”

My lips tightened. “I can’t use Venmo. I don’t want any sort of paper trail on this, just in case. Cash only.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to go and hit up an ATM, then. Unless….” She eyed my wrist. “How much is that watch worth?”

“Ten grand.”

She beamed. “That’ll do.”

“Are you serious?”

“Hey, do you want me to fit these tests in or not?”

I unclasped my watch and handed it to her. “There. Happy?”

“Very. This’ll get me at least two lunches.” She winked.

I rolled my eyes. “Very funny,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “So how long until you have results for me?”

“I can have preliminary results in a day or two. But the more complicated sequencing stuff will take a bit longer. A week, maybe more.” She held up a hand. “I’m sorry. It literally takes that long even if I start today. I’m not trying to screw you.”

“It’s fine. A week or two is better than three months.”

“Cool. I got your number off Connor, so I’ll call you when I have something, ‘kay?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

I left the lab and started heading back to Wonderland. While I was stopped at a light, my phone rang. I glanced down to see it was Willow, calling from the cell I gave her recently.

I answered and put her on loudspeaker before accelerating as the light turned green. “Hey, princess,” I said. “I was about to call you to let you know how the meeting went. I’m kind of worried about your dad. Q said he’s got nothing to do with his disappearance, but I don’t believe him. I think he might be in trouble.”

“No shit,” she said with a wet-sounding sniff. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

My brows drew together in a frown. “Are you okay?”

“Not really.”

“What’s wrong?

She didn’t reply for a long time, but I could still hear her sniffling and breathing shakily. “He’s gone,” she finally muttered.

“What?”

“Jamie just called to tell me. They found him in the river this morning.”

“Who? Your dad?”

“Yes,” she said, voice quaking. “He’s dead.”

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