Page 77 of Shadow Break

“Aaron, this is serious. They said you have the bio weapon. You need to come in now. I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to sort it out by cooperating, not by running.”

“Sir, I don’t have the concentration to explain right now, but you need to arrest Dr. Pallon.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because he’s the one who has the bio weapon.”

“How’d he get it?”

“I’m a bit preoccupied to explain the intricacies, but it involved the attempted murder of Sydney.”

“That’s not what I’ve heard.”

“Then you’re going to have to trust me.”

“I’ll trust you if you come in.”

“I need to get her somewhere safe, then I’ll be in touch.”

“No, that’s not acceptable. She’s a suspect. Come in now or I’m putting you on suspension.”

“Sir, I don’t know who’s involved. I can’t trust anyone right now.”

“Not even me?”

“Not when you don’t know who’s involved either.”

“Aaron, I know you are a decorated agent because of the big shakedown you were a part of, but you’ve got to stop seeing bad guys everywhere. You helped clean up the department. Now let us do our job.”

“Sorry, sir. Apprehend Dr. Pallon unless you want a weapon on the loose.” He hung up the phone and imagined the look on Knightly’s face. He did trust that his boss wasn’t involved, but that didn’t mean the office was a secure place for them. Right now, there was only one place he knew they would be safe.

He looked at Sydney in the mirror. She was looking back. “I’m a suspect?”

He screeched onto another street. “Let’s just say you’re a person of interest.”

“What am I suspected of?”

He made another quick turn down an alley and out onto a larger street. “Can we talk about this later?” He pulled into a parking garage and stopped the car once he got around the corner and they waited.

He was ready to make another break for it if needed, but no one followed them in.

He turned back to Sydney. Her hands were pushed down hard on either side of her and she was pale.

“How are you holding up?”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“That’s okay. Throw up if you have to. Do you think you can walk?”

She jerked her head in a nod.

“Just ignore what I’m about to do.”

“Which is?”

“Doesn’t matter, I told you to ignore it.”

“Aaron, please. A man I trusted just tried to kill me for reasons I can’t begin to understand, I’m a suspect and you won’t tell me why, and you’re about to do something you refuse to divulge. Don’t leave me in the dark.”