Page 61 of A Barista's Guide to Love & Larceny
“I’m just saying, it doesn’t make sense to get this far and then justleave,” he said to Dani as they headed down the left-hand hall Katya had indicated, the one leading to the lab where they were running the sleep studies. “Don’t you think there’s at least one other thing we could do while we’re here?”
Dani had a sudden flash of memory: the sleepwalking woman shambling down the hall, the employees screaming, Max pressing the elevator button over and over, panicking.
“No,” she said firmly. “I think we did what we came to do, and now we go. That was the plan. I want to stick to the plan.”
The hallway, thankfully, was empty, and far more peaceful than it had been the last time Dani was here. The sign for the restroom glowed at the far end like a beacon. As they started toward it, Wyatt muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot likeincompetence, and Dani was about to tell him off when the door to the lab slid open and a person in a pink lab coat stepped out, pausing at the threshold to look back as someone called after her—
Dani’s gut seized up.
Fuck. That’s Dr. Rodriguez. Fuck.
Dr. Rodriguez is there?Silva thought sharply.Miss Lionet—don’t let her recognize you.
It’s fine, Wyatt said through the shell.Dani looks completely different.
All the same, McKenna added, the first time she’d contributed to the telepathic conversation.Try not to look her directly in the face.It’s easier to see through a glamour if you know the person.
Dr. Rodriguez said something affirmative to whomever she was talking to and let the door fall shut. As she started toward them, she turned her attention to the quartzpad in her hand, tapping away without even looking where she was going. She was far less put together than when she’d given Dani and Oliver the tour—less so than she’d been at The Sand Bar, too, her hair in a messy updo and her shirt untucked, with a sizable coffee stain on the front. She was murmuring to herself when she very nearly ran into Wyatt, who, as far as Dani could tell, had not attempted to avoid that outcome in the slightest.
“Oh, gods,” Dr. Rodriguez said, putting her free hand to her heart as she finally glanced up. “I didn’t see you there. Excuse me.”
Miraculously, she made to move past them without further inspection or discussion, but then, in a wild act that Dani could not comprehend—not now, and not later, when she reviewed the events of the night—Wyatt stopped and called after her, “Ms. Phoebe, wait up.”
Wyatt, Dani thought as Dr. Rodriguez came to an abrupt halt and turned, slowly, so they could behold her expression of disbelief.What are you doing?
This is a bad idea, Oliver agreed.
“I’m sorry?” the woman said. “It’s Dr. Rodriguez, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, jeez, my bad,” Wyatt said. “Dr. Rodriguez. I just had a question? If you have a minute.”
“Not really,” Dr. Rodriguez said, and now she was really lookingat them, in a way she hadn’t before. Dani angled her face away, pretending to study something on the wall. “Who are you, exactly? I don’t believe I’ve seen you around.”
Be careful, Dani thought to him.She’s in charge of the whole program—
“Garrett,” Wyatt said, and he lunged forward with his hand out for her to shake. “Garrett Shredup. I’m here for the sleep study. Both my girlfriend and I are.” He waved to Dani, who took an incremental step back, desperately wishing to be written out of this off-script narrative.
Dr. Rodriguez extended her own hand reluctantly, as if it were moving without her permission, then shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for this. I’m afraid I’m going to have to—”
Almost impossibly fast, Wyatt grabbed Dr. Rodriguez by the hand and pulled her toward him while clamping his other hand over her shoulder, thumb against her neck. Dr. Rodriguez made a strangled noise, reaching up as though to hit his hand with her quartzpad, but it was too late—her eyes rolled back in her head and her knees went out from under her, unconscious. Wyatt caught her by the armpits and the quartzpad clattered to the floor.
Twenty-Two
A few seconds of utter silence passed while Dani looked at Wyatt, then at Dr. Rodriguez, then back at Wyatt.
“What?” he said. “You thought I was a one-trick mage? I can do more than open portals, you know.”
“Holy fucking shit,” Dani finally said. “What did you just do?” Rage and fear were coursing through her veins, fire and ice, and she wondered if she was about to pass out, too. She almost wished shewouldpass out. Maybe it would be easier that way. “This is bad. This is really, really bad.”
Silva’s voice blazed into their minds.Did I really just see what I thought I saw? Mr. Shalhope, tell me you didn’t just assault the Head of Research. Hai perso la testa? Hai compromesso tutto—
The professor kept going in Italian, her rant tearing across Dani’s neurons, before Katya interrupted, her telepathic voice steely but impressively even-keeled under the circumstances.
I’ve cut the video feeds from this floor, she said,but you guys need to figure out how you’re going to fix this. Right. This. Second. You’ve really done it this time, genius.
She cut off abruptly, and Dani had the sickening feeling that she was done helping them.
“Come on,” Wyatt said after a minute. “Let’s get her in the bathroom.” He heaved Dr. Rodriguez into his arms, bridal style, and resumed their journey down the hallway.
