Page 26 of Perfection

Ah, Jesus. He slammed back to the present. Throwing his forearm over his brow, he shut his eyes, exhausted, and fell asleep.

* * *

“What the hell is going on here?”

Kindra jerked awake. Director A-Isaac’s voice resembled a foghorn warning of an imminent crash. The sunlight shining through the glass of the unity room blinded her momentarily, but she didn’t need to see to know she was in deep trouble.

And she couldn’t move.

It took a moment to recognize the weight of a leg draped over her thigh, pinning her. When had they become so…cozy?

With a backward shove, she pushed free of York—Lieutenant Richmond,she mentally reprimanded herself—and scrambled to her feet. Standing before her superior, she staggered from a massive head rush, regained her balance, and then focused.

Isaac lifted his chin to stare down his perfect, plagiarized Nordic nose at her. “Nine said you were in here. Explain yourself.”

“Yes, sir.” She swallowed while assembling her thoughts.

Not an easy task. A quick glance at York found him still reclined on the floor, propped insolently on one elbow as he blinked sleepy eyes. Damn him. Getting caught together in an intimate embrace didn’t seem to faze him at all. And why should it? His job wasn’t the one headed for the incinerator.

Her boss cleared his throat.

She straightened. “Director A-Isaac, may I introduce Lieutenant York Richmond.” Darn the trembling catch in her throat. “We were working—”

“I know who he is,” the director cut in, his eyes locked on Kindra. “I’m aware of the case. I’ve been briefed about the death of the child, and I’ve been watching you via Comp Nine. I don’t approve of your work ethic, Dr. B-Zaika.”

His insulting tone both stung and infuriated her. “How so?”

A-Isaac put his hands behind his back, chest out. She wondered what bothered him more, that she hadn’t informed him last night of the genetic crisis or that she was cavorting with a Coder? A-Isaac was a strict purist, so it could be either—or both.

On a technical level, she agreed with him. Rules were rules. So what did that say about her?

By law, Coder and GEI copulation was forbidden, and the punishment was to be locked away in separate banished communities. The decree met with resistance on both sides, most often by those who claimed they were “in love.”

Kindra didn’t get why those Coder-GEI couples made such a big deal of it. What did love mean, anyway? Her thoughts jumped to Brianna, and she knew how much she loved her daughter. And her father. Maybe she was mistaken about selecting a life partner for companionship rather than love.

Thoughts of Brianna reminded her the annual, contracted Nanny Sally upgrade was scheduled to arrive at the house today.

So many demands on her time. She would need to call and chat with the replacement.

She snapped out of her musings and back to the matter at hand. She recognized it looked bad to be found in a compromising position at work, even though she technically wasn’t on company time. Combine that with sneaking tissue samples out of the morgue…

Oh my word, what is getting into me?

Since when had she become a rule breaker? She felt her face flush. A-Isaac had cause to be upset with her, even though ithadbeen an accident. They had just fallen asleep.

She heard the faint scrape of York’s shoes. Though she didn’t take her eyes off A-Isaac, she was aware the lieutenant had gotten to his feet. She could feel his massive presence behind her, feel his warmth against her back.

“Sir, I’m afraid this is my fault.” York’s baritone voice was clipped, the words an admission without any actual indication of apology.

“Of course it is,” A-Isaac said before York could expound on the statement.

“Wait a minute.” Kindra didn’t wantanyoneto think she couldn’t handle herself. Not the director, because there was a line of scientists waiting at the office door to steal her job, and not York Richmond, because he clearly thought shecouldn’tstand up for herself.

He was wrong.

Her eyes darted from A-Isaac to York. She thought the lieutenant was ready to hammer something as he flexed his hand into a fist. She looked back at the director. “Since when—”

A-Isaac held up a silencing hand. “We’ll finish this discussion in my office. Now.” The director turned on his heel and marched toward the exit of the unity room, obviously expecting them to follow.