Chapter 17

Veni didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. She looked over at Reid. “Do you think we’re safe?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

Her lips firmed, and she nodded. “I don’t think he necessarily understands that it’s not over. I don’t know whether he’s involved in the next step or not.”

“It doesn’t matter at this point,” Reid replied, “but we must keep you safe in the meantime. As for your mom, well, I’m afraid she doesn’t look as if she’ll make it very far from here.”

“No, and I don’t think she wants to anyway. If she can’t be in the lab, she’s okay to go,” Veni stated. “And that may sound ridiculous, but that’s also how she feels about the work she was doing.”

“It doesn’t matter how it sounds,” Reid said. “The important thing is to ensure she doesn’t have to suffer at this stage of her life. It’s palliative care now,” he noted. “I would very much like to get you back to the hotel, but I suspect you want to stay here, don’t you?”

She nodded, looking up at him. “It’ll be the last time I get to see her. For a while there I wasn’t even sure she was still alive.”

“I know. I just don’t feel that we’re out of danger yet.”

She stiffened and looked toward the door. “You think they’ll get to us in here?”

“No, but I think the longer we’re in here, the more we become sitting ducks, and they have time to set up a plan to take us out. That is not something I would like to see happen.”

She winced. “And yet the fact remains that I would hate to see my mother die alone.” She could tell from Reid’s facial expression that he understood but didn’t like it. She smiled. “I promise that I’m not always such a trial.”

He laughed. “That’s funny. I remember you being quite a trial,” he teased. “But that’s okay, I was up for it then, and I’m up for it now.”

She gave him a tearful smile. “You always were the best part of our relationship,” she murmured. “I’m still not happy about what I did.”

“You didn’t do anything except choose to go your own way, so don’t ever be ashamed or upset about that,” he declared. “That is a right we all have. And don’t say it,” he added, when she opened her mouth, interrupting her. “I really don’t want to be told what a nice man I am.”

She burst out laughing. “And yet it’s true.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ve got other things to think about right now. I’ll go talk to Anders and see if we can set up an exit plan from here. You spend whatever time you can with your mom. I know it’s almost over.”

At that, she immediately walked over and sat down beside her mother. “I hope that we have a little bit more time, but honestly I know you’re right. I don’t think she’ll even make it through the night.”

He heard the heavily labored breathing of the woman on the hospital bed and nodded. “I suspect you’re correct, and all the more reason to be prepared for a quick exit out of here.”

As he went to the door, she called out to him. He turned to her, one eyebrow raised. “Did you mean what you told my father?” He looked at her, puzzled. “About looking after me?”

“Absolutely. I would have looked after you last time too,” he shared, flashing her that grin.

“Yet we never saw each other in all the years in between.”

“No, but we retained that connection. We continued to email or call over those years. Plus I’ve become a little bit of a fatalist,” he shared. “I believe that, when it’s time, it’s time, and people cross paths for a reason. You crossed my path, and I got a second chance.”

“No,” she countered, getting up and walking closer, her arms going around his neck. “I got the second chance.”

He kissed her hard. “Let’s ensure we get out of here safely, so we can both enjoy it,” he whispered, with a tender look. “Spend whatever time you can with her. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

And, with that, he walked out of the room, leaving her to be with the only loved one she really had.

No, Veni has you now. And that thought made his day.