Page 20 of The Jaguar's Flower

Renfield stood quietly for a moment before he nodded, but Violet realized it wasn’t at her. “The nurse will take you back to the elevators so you can return. I expect a report by noon.”

Violet did not know what she was supposed to do. Any findings she reported would harm others. However, if she didn’t show results, Renfield might realize she had hidden something. She would give anything for someone to talk to, but Violet refused to take that risk. She needed a plan.

Chapter thirteen

Violet’seyescrossedafterstaring at the papers. Coffee wasn’t doing the trick to keep her awake any longer. The blurred vision wasn’t helping the headache that developed behind her eyes.

She pushed away from the desk with an oversized monitor and microscope. Even from the increased distance, her eyes blurred and watered. Pulling her glasses off, she rubbed her eyes. It tempted her to clear one table so she could take a little nap.Not more than an hour.She sighed at the thought.

Her fingers tapped on the table, hopeful she could grab that nap. Violet wanted to head home and curl up in her bed for at least eight hours. It only made things worse since she’d been awake early the morning before and worked through the night.

When she checked the time, she groaned to find out it was already past noon. Once she finished her doctorate, she thought she was done with all-nighters. Apparently, working in the real world wasn’t much different from going to school.

The temptation grew too strong. The computer beeped, but Violet refused to look at it as she crossed to one of the emptier tables in the lab. Placing her hand on the tabletop, she groaned. “It’s not soft, but that means I won’t oversleep.” She rationalized. “Besides, I’ll be more refreshed, and my eyes won’t burn. I can work better that way.”

Her hand reached for a tray of samples. She prepared to move them to another table when the door slammed. When she whipped around, she knocked the vials over. Her hand clutched her chest as if to still her racing heart.

Renfield was annoyed and ready to make heads spin. The two experiments that earned most of his attention produced no results. His mood worsened when he heard Dr. Morris speak to an empty room. “If you don’t have results, I will bring a guard to hose you down. Perhaps that will wake you up enough to earn the salary we pay you.”

None of the staff liked him, but they respected their roles. On good days, Renfield was a surly asshole, but on days like this one, he was a downright bastard. It was one trait he carried over from his previous life. Not that he remembered much other than the ability to kill and heal. His head shook as blurry images tried to surface. It was not the time to ponder on the past, but he needed to focus on his future. Those blurry memories drove his focus.

“Dammit, Dr. Morris, I should have received an update by now. If you cannot show me results, I can have your contract terminated.” The threat alone caused most of the staff to increase their productivity, but she seemed almost relieved.Interesting.

He watched her body language. She was afraid, but she didn’t fear his threat. Besides the slight droop in her shoulders, she maintained the same posture as when he entered. Her hand remained on her chest while she refused to make eye contact. “What’s that infernal beeping sound?”

Given who she worked for and what she did, she wasn’t sure if the threat meant fired or killed. His question pulled her from her mute stupor. “The beeping?”

She wanted to bang her forehead against the table. Renfield’s dark look only grew darker, which she thought impossible, except she witnessed it with her own eyes. Rather than letting him intimidate her further, she searched for the source of the noise.

The large monitor over Violet’s favorite workspace blinked to indicate the test was finished. “The last test I was running finished, though I don’t understand why I was supposed to begin with basic pregnancy tests.”

She moved toward the computer to determine the results. Her boss was highly intelligent but lacked the most basic knowledge of genetics. Her expertise in genetics was the only reason she hadn’t been fired yet.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard to enter a series of commands to read the results. His lack of knowledge in her area of expertise aided her at the moment. Renfield would not understand what the series of numbers on the screen meant, but she knew.

At least the lies were minimal. “On a genetic level, it’s the same as the previous samples that were given to me. Not pregnant. Though it could still be too early. A genetic test can prove to show pregnancy sooner, but that time frame is still a week or more from conception.”

Renfield forced himself to remain calm. A show of violence would not help this situation. Breathing in through his nose, he exhaled to regain his usual unflustered demeanor. “Very good, Dr. Morris. It has only been a day.”

Only thirty-six hours passed since they injected the subjects, so there was still time to wait. He wanted something concrete on the genetic level since the subjects were shifters. It meant he needed the medical staff to draw more blood from the subjects.

“Focus on the tests. You are not to leave this lab until you have definitive results.” He ignored the groan from her lips. He needed to perform his own tests soon. Dr. Morris was the best candidate, given her betrayal of the facility.

“We will give an update to the DOD in a few days.” The lie rolled off of his tongue. Since she was human, she would provide the variable. Guards occupied the female in the test group. A sinister smile curled his lips as he turned on his heel.

As soon as Renfield turned his back, Violet’s nose wrinkled. Genetic tests could not determine pregnancy, only abnormalities within a pregnancy. She bluffed the dickhead of a doctor, but she didn’t know how much longer she could fool him. If Renfield knew anything about genetics, he would have caught her lies. He also wouldn’t demand useless pregnancy tests.

It was a letdown to see she held the same genetic markers that she picked from the other samples. It simply meant that she needed to run the test with different markers. Unlike Renfield, she wanted to help them. If she could distinguish shifters from humans on a genetic level, she could also hide it from others that understood genetics.

She didn’t know if shifters had the same diseases or ailments as humans. As she considered that option, she made a mental note to search for the genetic anomalies within the shifters’ coding.

Chapter fourteen

MacwaitedforAvelto leave the room as the clock struck 22:00 hours. The jaguar barely acknowledged his brother until he heard the audible click of the door. He paused as he listened for Avel’s boots to fade into the distance. The jaguar stepped away from the door. He headed back to his bed to gather a pair of night clothes. He didn’t want to hurt Violet like he did the other night with his tactical gear.

As he pulled his shirt over his head, he felt his eyes close. Startled, he opened his eyes with a gasp. His shirt was placed neatly over his shoulders but not over his torso. As he finished dressing, he rubbed his eyes. His fingers dragged through his hair as he tried to fight the sleep he needed.Sleep is important. People are getting suspicious.

The soldier snapped into place. His eyes scanned the area until they landed on the analog clock above the door. An hour passed since Avel left. “She’s expecting me.” He slipped on his boots and tucked the pajama bottoms into them. With purpose, he headed out the door.

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