Page 56 of Hired for Research
He jerked, realizing he’d gotten lost in his head and hadn’t realized Evelyn had been talking to him. Her fingers on his arm were cool, her furrowed brows showing her concern as she looked up at him with those chocolate eyes half hidden behind the black frames of her glasses.
She pulled her hand away and he almost reached out to grab it, not wanting to lose the feel of her. It felt like a beast was writhing around in his chest and she was the only thing that soothed it.
“Are you okay? You zoned out.”
He knew he should keep his mouth shut. Opening it was only going to make things harder for the both of them. If he kept quiet, he could pretend she wanted him as much as he wanted her and was only leaving because she had to, but if he said something, the truth could be that he was wrong. That he was the only one suffering.
“Can’t you stay?”
He wanted to slap himself the instant the words left his mouth. Shock replaced her worry before she schooled her features into a carefully blank mask.
“Look,” he blurted. It was too late to stop since his mouth hadn’t cooperated. “I know your research is important. What you’re doing for us is important. And you came here because this is the best place for you to do the research, where you can see how it could be if all alphas were free, so can’t you just stay here to finish it?”
His chest was heaving, his heart galloping as if he’d pushed himself to the limits of his endurance. He searched her face for any sign that she shared his feelings, that she was as drawn to him as he was to her, but all he could see in her eyes was sadness.
“Jett.”
She stopped, taking a deep breath and letting it out, as if she didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to believe she was struggling the way he was, but she looked so calm.
“I wouldn’t have access to the things I need here. Plus, my job is at the university. I was allowed to come here to collect information for the project, but I still have to go back to finish and present the findings.”
He swallowed, trying to accept what she said. His instincts were pushing him to take control, to take away the option to leave, but that was exactly what got alphas locked away, and he wouldn’t do that to her.
“Evelyn.”
Her name was a plea on his lips, begging her for even a shred of hope. He was grasping at anything he thought would lead to the future he desperately wanted. She was the one for him. He knew it.
“Once the project is over and they repeal the mandates, I could come to the city. They’ll still need Controllers, or I could join the Force if they do away with them, and then maybe we could give us a chance? I told you I’ve wanted you since you arrived, and I still do. I want more time with you, to see if this pull between us could be something more. I want you to be mine.”
The mask slipped as tears welled in her eyes, but she turned away from him, moving to the opposite side of the room. He wanted to follow her, to pull her into his arms, but as soon as he took a step, she held up a hand to stop him, the distress in her posture freezing him to the floor.
“Jett, it’s not that simple.”
He opened his mouth to argue that it was, but she held up her hand again, shaking her head.
“The mandates aren’t going to be repealed. At least, not anytime soon.”
“I know it’ll take a while to be official, but once your research proves the mandates aren’t needed and alphas are safe…”
He trailed off as she kept shaking her head, a tear spilling down her cheek.
“No Jett, you don’t understand.”
She took a breath, straightening and wiping the tear away. The shutters when back up and he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.
“The Alpha Project has spent the last few years looking into what makes an alpha an alpha, what causes the aggression and other undesirable factors, and how we can shut it off. The main purpose of the project was to produce a medication to basically remove an alpha’s dynamic traits.
“The Federal Bureau of Population and Labor was funding the project, but a lack of results over the past year has made them threaten to pull the plug. With the recent stir caused by Eden and more people looking into the validity of the mandates, they added in a stipulation that we study alpha behavior in order to keep our funding.
“They specifically want proof that the mandates are necessary. That without the theoretical drug, alphas aren’t safe enough to be freed from the Camps.”
It took a few moments after she went quiet for what she’d said to sink in, and when it did, it stole his breath. The blood tests made more sense for drug research than for the excuse she’d given him in the beginning.
Evelyn took a step toward him, but he flinched away, still trying to process what she was saying.
“Jett, I was told if my findings didn’t support maintaining the current state of things, the project would be buried. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Eden, and I can see that the mandates are wrong, but it’s not going to do any good. Alpha-Camps provide cheap labor for the city, and they’re going to do everything they can to prevent them from being broken up. The only option is the drug, because they’ll make enough money off it to make up for the loss of the Camps, but I can’t find anything that’ll do what they want without serious side effects for the alphas.”
She looked so earnest.
