Page 44 of Seal My Fate

“Too long.” He smiles.

“So are you all squeezed in together, the way we were?” she asks innocently, taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s the basement levels, right?”

“Right. I thought I’d miss natural light, but we have a bunch of SAD lamps, and to be honest, it’s easier for the sterile environment.”

“Some experiments are affected by light,” Wren explains to me.

“Oh, wow,” I make a general murmur of interest. I’m not sure where Wren’s going with the chitchat, but I know she’s got an agenda here.

“The setup is incredible,” Phillip continues. “I wish you could see it. A whole floor of micromanipulators and centrifuges, then the meeting rooms… I even have my own office now, right beside the server room,” he adds proudly. “With a mini fridge.”

“So no more catfights when Mickey steals your lunch,” Wren says with a grin.

“Exactly.” Phillip smiles back. “So, what will you do now that you’re dropping all this?” he asks. “You are dropping it now, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Wren smiles. “After all, there’s nothing to expose. You’ve put my mind completely at ease. So… I don’t know what the future holds.”

“Maybe you should go back to America,” Phillip says, looking anxious. “To be near your family, I mean. You must have missed them a lot.”

“You’re so sweet, looking out for me.” Wren reaches across and squeezes his hand. “I’m so glad we had this chance to reconnect. You’ve been such a big help,” she adds, and I know she’s privately twisting the knife. “It means the world to me that I can trust you like this.”

Phillip gulps, looking seriously uneasy. “Of course,” he stammers. “You can always trust me.”

Bastard.

He pulls away and checks his watch in a big, exaggerated gesture. “Look at the time!” he blurts, already bolting to his feet. “I need to get back.”

“Of course,” Wren coos. “I’m sure they can’t get anything done there without you.”

“It was great seeing you,” I tell him, just as upbeat. “Let us know if you want to hang out again, before Wren goes back to the States. We could all have dinner, take it easy. No more investigations and drama,” I add, with a little laugh, like the whole thing was a game.

Phillip laughs along nervously. “Sounds good. I’ll, umm, let you know!”

He hurries away, disappearing into the crowd.

“I bet you a hundred bucks, I never hear from him again,” Wren says, scowling after him.

“So much for friendship.”

We lingera little longer at the café, then take a meandering route back to Saint’s place, stopping at a few stores to pick up more clothes and essentials for Wren, and to make sure we’re not being followed. I don’t see Saint, but I can feel his watchful eyes on us, and the reassurance of his presence nearby.

“I can’t believe he looked in my eyes and lied like that,” I mutter, still fuming when we all rendezvous back at the safety of Saint’s house. “He’s a traitor. Not just to you, but the whole of modern medicine!”

“If it helps, I don’t think he knows anything about them sending that man to kill you,” Wren offers. “I can’t believe he’d want me dead.”

“Some consolation.” I roll my eyes. “He’s still willing to perpetrate a massive fraud against Alzheimer’s patients and their families, and for what?”

“Fame, vast wealth, fast cars,” Saint speaks up, joining us in the living room. He collapses on the couch next to me, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. “People have done far worse, for far less.”

“Well, we’re not going to let them get away with it,” I say, determined. “Are we?”

There’s a pause, and something uncertain skitters across Wren’s face. “I could just leave,” she says quietly.

My head snaps up. “What do you mean?”

“If we drop this now, you could be safe,” she tells me. “I only came back because I thought you were in danger, with him,” she nods to Saint. “I had no idea it would set off this domino chain of disaster. Ashford have already proven they’d rather kill than let the truth come out. But what if we just let it go, the way we told Phillip. You could have your life back.”

“But… If we let them release this drug, it’s going to harm thousands of people. Millions, even!” I protest. I can’t believe this. “Whatever happened to ‘do no harm’?”

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