Page 13 of The Knight
“She also clearly doesn’t want us here,” Fox muttered.
“Details, details.” Einar waved dismissively. “She’ll come around.”
Abe loosened his collar, but his thoughts weren’t on Einar anymore. The meeting was over, yet all he could think about was the next few days. There had to be more to Freya’s story than the tough, icy exterior she let the world see.
And despite her thorns, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted to find out.
8
The next morning,Abe wasn’t sure if the Ice Queen was trying to lose them in the claustrophobic corridors of Hellisheidi power station, but she certainly seemed to be making an effort.
She walkedfast.
He exchanged a glance with Fox.
Very fast.
Good job his legs were fucking long. He kept pace with no effort at all.
They would ship out first thing tomorrow. Zak would escort the boxed archives by ship, but he and Fox would accompany Freya on a flight to Oslo. Fox had triple checked their travel arrangements for departure. They both knew only too well that where Raptor was concerned, there was no room for mistakes.
Her gaze was locked straight ahead, her heels clicking on the concrete floor as she escorted them down to her lab. She wore fitted dress pants and a pale gray sweater, clearly chosen to convey seriousness and professionalism, but the way they hugged her body gave him inappropriate ideas.
She’d secured her hair in a twisted plait at the back of her head. As yesterday, the overall impression was severe, but thefew tendrils that had escaped on her nape were distracting. He imagined they would be soft if he wound one of them around his finger.
She glanced over her shoulder as if to check they were still following. He raised a hand in acknowledgment. Her mouth compressed as she whipped her head to face forward once more.
Hell yeah. Still here, Duchess.
She exuded efficiency and a love of her work. Little else. What would it take to coax out a genuine smile, or perhaps even a laugh? Or even what it would be like to witness her genuinely flustered and uninhibited. Did someone as meticulously controlled as Freya even know how to truly let loose?
He shook his head as his thoughts about her unexpectedly drifted toward X-rated. What the fuck was that about? On his scale of women, Freya didn’t even register. He didn’t need that kind of grief.
He dragged his attention off her ass and onto the lines of conduit running above his head on the gray concrete ceiling.Focus.He was here to protect her. Nothing else. Besides. Freya looked so buttoned-up she would likely implode before she let go. Some women were just built like that.
“This is my primary lab where I’ve been working the last few months.” Her tone was glacial and he let it wash over him, setting his errant thoughts back in order. She palmed the glass door lock. “This door is encoded to me and my team alone. Only we have access to this room. It works on recognition of biological features.” A beam of light slid down her palm and back up again and then the door opened.
“How did the other team break in?” Fox eyed the lock, his bushy eyebrows joining.
“Synthetic biometrics possibly.” A crease formed on her forehead. “But we’ve not been able to confirm this. A lot of potential evidence was destroyed in the chaos.”
“An insider job?” Abe asked.
“Perhaps.” Her head tilted as if surprised at his question. Maybe she still had the wholeI’m working with gruntsthing going on. “It’s an ongoing investigation.”
She stepped into the lab ahead of him, and Abe followed with Fox. The room hummed with the quiet efficiency of high-end equipment, and the air was crisp with the scent of ozone. Sleek, metallic surfaces gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights and lab stools were tucked under the counters in neat military rows.
Fox gave a low whistle, his expression grim.
Meticulously packed crates lined the far wall. Abe’s gut cramped at the sight of Raptor’s familiar insignia.
This was why they were here.
Raptor’s illegal research on microchips designed to manipulate the minds of military veterans. The innocuous-looking brown cardboard boxes hid the devastating reality. Their contents had already ruined lives—and held the potential to destroy countless more.
PTSD had scarred several of Abe’s teammates. He knew only too well the life-changing impact of the condition. The chip had been marketed as a breakthrough—offering relief from the torment of traumatic memories. But Raptor had tapped into its darker potential. Instead of just easing pain, the chip erased emotion, turning soldiers into something far more dangerous: operatives who would carry out any mission without question or conscience.
Fuck.