Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 143779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
She was alone. Completely alone.
“I was in my lab. Someone else must have used my card. And Kyle isn’t my boyfriend. He works for Genedyne, too. He’s in security. He was in the lab at the time, too. As well as my engineer.” She had witnesses. “His name is Pete Moore. You can talk to him and he’ll tell you that Kyle and I were both in the lab.”
Except for when Kyle went to look for Hutch.
“I will certainly do that,” the detective said.
She wanted to say that he should check the security cameras that were all over the building, but then he might see that it had been Hutch who had crept into the server room. What had he done?
Why was she hesitating?
“I would pull the security camera footage, but somehow all the cameras mysteriously went out in the ten minutes before and after your card was used. Did you do that or was that…” He glanced down at the file again. “Kyle Hutchins?”
So they hadn’t figured out that Kyle Hutchins was Kyle Hawthorne. Should she point that out? She was confused about how to handle this. Hutch had explained to her that the security guard at her building was Dallas police, and they weren’t sure if he was investigating Jessica Layne or working for her. She didn’t know if she should lay everything on the table or if that move would get her in even worse trouble. Before they’d taken her in Kyle had told her to stay quiet. He’d promised her someone would come for them. She folded her hands together to try to keep them from shaking. “It wasn’t either of us. I wouldn’t begin to know how to hack a system, and neither would Kyle. He works security. He’s got access to the whole building. Why would we use my keycard if we were…what? Trying to screw with the computers? Why would we do that?”
“Because there are companies out there who would pay a lot of money to get the research on that system. You’re not allowed to take home large parts of your research, are you? No one is. So all that research, all that cutting-edge knowledge, is in that room.”
A chill went through her. “I wouldn’t do that.”
The detective pointed to his file. “But I have evidence that says you did. And it’s not only companies that would be interested, is it? Other countries would love to get their hands on some of that data. According to your boss, there’s a vast array of cutting-edge research, the kind of tech that could give a country an advantage.”
He wasn’t merely accusing her of stealing. He might be accusing her of spying, of treason.
How had Hutch done this to her? He hadn’t told her he was going to take a look around the server. He’d taken her card and put her in a horrible position and then left her to take the punishment.
Her career was over. She would lose everything and she wasn’t sure why. Why had he done it?
Why couldn’t she point the finger his way? She should do it because everything was on the line for her and he’d left her out in the cold. She had no idea what he was doing.
Had someone taken him? Was she looking at this the wrong way? Maybe he was completely innocent and someone had taken him. Maybe she was sitting here feeling sorry for herself and he was being hurt.
Helpless. She felt so helpless.
“I can’t do anything for you unless you talk to me.” The detective’s voice had softened. The good cop was in the building. “Noelle, I’m sure he talked you into this. He’s a good-looking guy. Did he convince you he cared about you?”
Yes. Hutch had. Despite her better judgement, she’d fallen for his every line. He’d figured out exactly how to play her. He’d walked the fine line between making her feel cared for and appreciating her independence.
He was good, but then hadn’t he told her flat out how good he was at undercover? Seducing her had likely been way easier than dealing with the evil doctor.
“Noelle? Are you all right?” The detective was frowning her way, making her wonder how long she’d been zoned out. “You have to know that Kyle Hutchins is in a room next door and he’s talking. He’s telling us everything.”
“He’s making a deal?” A numbness had settled over her, and she welcomed it. She wasn’t going to cry now because she couldn’t feel the pain.
The detective nodded. “That’s exactly what he’s doing.”
“But I could make a deal first.” She knew how this went. Even if she hadn’t been a sheriff’s daughter, she’d watched enough Law and Order to play this scene out in her sleep.
“All you have to do is tell me the truth.”
“Because that’s what Kyle is doing.” She didn’t even know what the truth was. How hard had she been played? Had they set her up to take the fall? She couldn’t help but remember how Kyle had told her Hutch would never be anything but honest with her.