He made it to the lab and Noelle was starting to pack up her laptop. He grabbed his own and shoved it into his satchel.
“Hey, I was worried you got lost.” Noelle’s eyes were wide, concern for him plain there.
He was crazy about this woman, and he prayed she could forgive him. He’d thought he could honor the deal with the feds, but now he knew he should have walked out of that meeting and laid it all out to her. He couldn’t talk to her now because Pete was standing behind her.
“I told her it was likely that the janitors hadn’t gotten to the men’s room yet and you couldn’t make yourself go in.” Pete shuddered slightly. “Some of our techs, I swear they need to see the doctor. She doesn’t understand because women’s rooms are never nasty.”
He needed a reason to leave and fast. “Hey, sweetie, I sent Kyle down to get the car. I got a call from home and something’s happened to my mom.”
She paled because she knew damn well his mother wasn’t alive. She knew a whole lot about his family. She nodded. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. I need to get home and call my dad. We might have to head down to Louisiana if it’s serious.”
Her grip tightened around her cane as she obviously realized something had gone wrong and she might not be coming back to the office soon. “Of course. Let’s go.”
“Hutch, I’ve got cameras again,” MaeBe said in his ear. “Be careful what you say until you get in the car.”
Well, of course they would come up now. Fuck.
“Go,” Pete said. “I’ll take care of closing everything up. Please let me know if I can make things easier on you.”
She nodded and walked out of the lab with him.
The minute the door closed, she looked up at Hutch. “What’s going on?”
“Like I said, I’m not sure. Dad was upset. He said something about an accident, but the doctor called him back in the middle of our conversation. I’m waiting for him to get in touch again.”
Noelle stopped, and for a moment he worried she might argue with him. Then she started for the elevators. “I hope everyone is okay and not in danger.”
Smart girl. “Me, too. Kyle is getting the car and we’ll go back home and take it from there. Hopefully we’ll have more information soon.”
They made it to the elevator, the tension palpable between them. He reached out and took her free hand in his.
She was silent but entwined their fingers and turned his way. “I hope everything is okay.”
He smoothed back her hair and stared down at her. “I’m going to make sure it is. Trust me, baby. I’m going to take care of things no matter what. I’m going to put you first.”
She took a long breath and then tilted her head up. “Okay.”
He kissed her, needing to be close to her. It had been a rough hour, and he wanted nothing more than to get her somewhere safe, wrap his arms around her and tell her everything.
He could also tell her he’d gotten all of her research because if he was right, it would be gone soon, and if she fought Genedyne, she might find herself in the same position as Madison Wallace.
He wasn’t going to let that happen.
The doors opened and he stepped out. She let go of his hand and started around the corner.
“Hutch, something’s happening. I need you to go out the back of the building. I can get you out,” MaeBe said, her voice urgent in his ear.
He stopped, letting Noelle go slightly ahead of him. She rounded the corner. “What is it?”
“It’s the cops. They’re here and they have Kyle,” MaeBe said. “Damn it. Why is Noelle walking out there? They’ve seen her, Hutch. The guard is taking her into custody.”
Oh, that wasn’t going to happen. “Call Tag.”
He started toward Noelle. They wouldn’t be able to see him until he fully entered the lobby.
“Hutch, stop. Think for a second,” MaeBe pleaded. “They’ll arrest you, too. They’ll take the drive. We don’t know who will get their hands on it. We don’t know if you can get it back.”
His feet felt planted to the marble floor. From his vantage, he could see the lobby guard gently leading Noelle out the front doors where blue and red lights made the whole place look eerie.
Kyle was on the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back and a burly officer standing over him.
“I need you to run to the back stairwell,” MaeBe said. “I’m shutting the cams down and I’ve got Michael ready to pick you up. He’s on his way. You’re going to leave out the freight entrance and immediately take a right. Keep your head down and I’ll get you to Michael and he’ll take you to Sanctum.”