The Chemist Part 40

"Oh, right. That does make me feel better."

All the tension came back as they rounded the corner into the parking garage, and the daylight disappeared. She drove in a claustrophobic downward spiral until she reached the right level, and then saw Kevin standing impatiently beside an empty s.p.a.ce marked RESIDENTS ONLY. He waved her into it.

She braced herself as she opened the door, expecting a few snide comments about her face or disparaging observations about Daniel's screwups, but Kevin said only, "Don't mind the cameras, I took them offline this morning," and then opened the back of the SUV to let Einstein out.

There was a real reunion with Einstein, who threw Kevin to the ground and attempted to lick the skin off his face. Trying to pretend that she wasn't the slightest bit jealous of Einstein's affection for his man, Alex ignored them both until she and Daniel were loaded up with as much as they could carry.

"Um, which way?" she asked.

Kevin got up with a sigh. "Follow me."

To his credit, he did grab the remaining duffel bags as they went to the elevator.

"Do I need a hat?" Alex asked. "Is there a lobby? I'm not exactly ready for my close-up."

"No worries, Ollie, this goes straight to the apartment. By the way, bro, nice beard. It's a good look on you. In that you don't look like you as much anymore."

"Um, thanks?"

"About this friend..." Alex began.

Kevin sighed again. "They can't all be Arnies. Sorry, shorty, this might get rough."

"You don't trust him?"

The elevator opened into a plush hallway... or was it an anteroom? There was only one door in the s.p.a.ce.

"I've paid her through next week, so I trust her about that far."

The hair on the back of Alex's neck stood up. Daniel had gotten her more used to human interaction, but she knew she still had some pretty severe people issues. As they walked the length of the short hall, she struggled with the duffel in her right hand, trying to free some fingers so she could pull a syringe from her belt. Just as she caught hold of the one she wanted, Daniel touched her wrist. She glanced up, and he was giving her a look that seemed to imply she was overreacting. Frowning, she slid the syringe back into place. It wouldn't take long to draw it if the need arose anyway.

Kevin had a key to the single door. He took a deep breath as he pushed it open.

At first Alex wasn't sure they hadn't stumbled into the lobby after all, because she'd never been inside an apartment with a wide marble staircase up to another story. The place was lavish, sleek and modern, and lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that immediately had her feeling exposed. Through the gla.s.s, the sun was just beginning to droop toward the DC skyline. There didn't seem to be any other apartments close enough to look into this one, but a telescope would make it possible. Or a rifle sight.

"No," a hard-but somehow still velvety-voice announced from behind them.

Alex whirled. The apartment stretched back the other way, too, wrapping around the front door and the hallway beyond. On one side was a huge white kitchen; on the other a dining room with seating for ten, with more window-walls framing each. Leaning against the marble kitchen island was the most exquisite human being Alex had ever seen in real life.

The woman looked exactly like the facetious description Alex had conjured up to describe Kevin's improbable mental image of the Oleander. She had honey-blond hair, thick and long, that stood out from her head in full waves like a Disney cartoon's. Sapphire-blue doe eyes, full red lips turned up at the corners, and a straight, narrow nose, all set with flawless symmetry in an oval face with prominent cheekbones. Swan neck over elegant collarbones. Of course, the generous hourgla.s.s figure with a tiny waist and legs that seemed longer than Alex's entire body. The woman was wearing only a short, black kimono and an irritated expression.

"It's temporary," Kevin said in a conciliatory voice. "Obviously, I'll pay you the same for each of them. Three times what we originally agreed on."

The surreally perfect woman raised one eyebrow and looked pointedly at Einstein. His tail was wagging furiously. He stared up at the blonde with the proverbial puppy-dog eyes.

"Four times," Kevin promised. He dropped the bags he was carrying. "You like dogs."

"Kate?" Daniel asked suddenly, surprised recognition saturating his tone.

The woman's face dimpled into a toothpaste-commercial-quality smile.

"Hi, Danny," she purred. "I almost didn't know you with all that scruff. Well, that does make me feel better. You left a nasty welt on my ego, but at least you didn't forget me."

"It's, er, nice to see you again," Daniel stammered, flummoxed by her greeting.

The blonde's eyes cut to Kevin. "Okay, he can stay."

"It's just a few nights," Kevin said. "I need the little one, too."

"You know I don't like women in my s.p.a.ce," she said in a flat voice, flicking her eyes to Alex, then back to Kevin.

"Oh, that's okay, Ollie's not a real girl," Kevin a.s.sured her.

Daniel dropped his bags and took half a step forward before Alex hooked the back of his shirt with her one free finger.

"Not now," she muttered.

Kate-or whatever her real name was-shrugged gracefully away from the island and glided toward them. She looked down her nose at Alex; easy to do, as she was a good six inches taller.

"So what happened to your face? Your boyfriend tune you up?"

Daniel stiffened. Alex wasn't sure what this was-maybe some kind of territorial thing? It was only a guess; Alex didn't have a lot of experience with other women. In the distant past, she'd suffered through a couple of immature roommates, liked a few other lady science geeks, and made small talk with the rare female underling who didn't flee her presence. Mostly she'd worked with men, and she didn't know all the rules for double-X-chromosome interactions. At a loss, she went with the truth, though she probably should have waited to see what Kevin had told the woman.

"Um, no, it was a Mafia a.s.sa.s.sin." Alex worked her jaw, feeling the bandage pull against her skin. "Oh, and the older stuff was just Kevin trying to kill me."

"If I'd actually been trying to kill you, you'd be dead," Kevin grumbled.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"What, you want to go another round?" Kevin demanded. "Anytime, sweetheart."

"The next time I put you down," Alex promised, "it will be permanently."

Kevin laughed-not derisively, like she expected, but with genuine delight. "See what I mean, Val?"

The woman looked like she was trying not to smile. "Okay, you've piqued my interest. But I have only the one extra room."

"Ollie's good at roughing it."

"Whatever," the woman said. Apparently it was an agreement. "Get all that mess out of my living room."

She skimmed close by Daniel as she pa.s.sed them. Without a backward glance, she headed upstairs. The kimono was very short, and both brothers watched her climb with partially open mouths.

"You turned her down?" Alex muttered under her breath.

Kevin heard her and laughed again. "Let's move this stuff before she kicks us all out."

THE EXTRA BEDROOM was bigger than Alex's entire DC apartment had been. And it wasn't as if she'd been living in a dive; her place was what real estate agents described as a luxury apartment. This place, though, was several degrees beyond mere luxury. Kevin had seemed on the level when he said the woman was a hooker, but Alex hadn't had any idea that profession could pay so well.

Kevin stacked the duffels against one wall.

"Ollie, you've still got that cot, right? There's a huge walk-in closet off the bathroom. Check it out and see if it will work for you. You could set up on one of those couches out there, but it might be best to keep you out of Val's line of sight as much as possible."

"Of course Alex will sleep in the bed," Daniel said.

Kevin's eyebrows pulled together skeptically. "Really? You're going to get all chivalrous about Ollie?"

"It's like you never even met our mother."

"Relax," Alex said as Kevin bridled. "We'll work it out."

"Fine," Kevin said.

"Should I have been more careful with my words out there?" Alex asked Kevin. "You said she's not trustworthy."

Kevin shook his head. "No, you're fine. Val might kick us all onto the street when she's tired of us, but she won't sell us out. I've bought her time and her discretion. What happens with Val stays with Val. She has a reputation to protect."

"Okay," Alex agreed, though she wasn't sure she entirely understood Val's policies.

He moved to the door, then paused with his hand on the k.n.o.b. "There's plenty of food in the fridge if you're hungry, or we can order something in."

"Thanks," Alex said. "I'll sort my stuff out first."

"Yes," Daniel said. "Let us get situated."

Kevin hesitated one more second, then stepped back into the room. "Uh, Danny, I just wanted to say... it's good to see you. I'm glad you're safe."

Like before, as he was leaving the ranch, Kevin looked like he wouldn't be opposed to a hug. Daniel stood awkwardly, his body language full of ambivalence.

"Yes, well, thanks to Alex," Daniel said. "And I'm glad you're not dead like she thought you were."

Kevin barked a laugh. "Yeah, me, too. And thanks again, poison woman. I owe you one."

He exited on another laugh, leaving the door cracked behind him.

Daniel gave Alex a long stare, then went to the door and quietly shut it all the way. He turned back to her, and there was clearly an argument about to begin. She shook her head and motioned him to follow her farther into the guest suite.

For a second, the bathroom made her forget why she'd come this way. A swimming poolsize tub was set into the floor, surrounded by marble and a faintly blue tile wall that shimmered like a pale sea. A showerhead the diameter of a truck tire was suspended from the ceiling over it.

"What is this place?" Alex gasped.

Daniel shut the door behind them. "Kate-or rather Val-is apparently quite successful."

"Do you think she's really a prost.i.tute, or was that just Kevin trying to make the story better?"

"I didn't come in here to talk about Val."

She turned to face him, her lips twisting sideways into a pucker.

"Alex, I don't like lying to him."

"Who's lied?"

"Acting, then. Pretending that we're nothing to each other."

She huffed a sigh. "I'm just not ready to deal with the inevitable fallout. I have enough stress."

"We're going to have to tell him eventually. Why not get it over with?"

He saw her expression change as she weighed the options.

"You still don't believe we have an eventually, do you?" he accused.

"Well... there is a good possibility either he or I will be dead within the next week, so why rock the boat?"

Daniel abruptly pulled her into a rough hug that was somehow more reproachful than comforting.

"Don't say that. I can't stand to hear you talk that way."

"Sorry," she said into his shirt.

"We can run away. Tonight. We'll hide. You know how."

"Can we at least wait till we've slept and eaten?" she asked plaintively.

He laughed unwillingly at her tone. "I suppose I could allow that much."

She relaxed into him for a moment, wishing again that running were the right option. It sounded so much easier, restful almost.

"Let's just walk out there hand in hand," Daniel suggested, "and then make out on the sofa for a bit."

"First, eating and sleeping. I am not dealing with the aftermath of some grand reveal until I'm sure I've considered all the possible forms the backlash might take and whether I need to be armed-or, rather, how armed I need to be. I can't even think straight right now."

"All right," he said. "I'll give you tonight, because I know how exhausted you are. But we're revisiting this discussion in the morning, and I intend to be quite inflexible."

"Will Kevin be in here too?" she wondered. "The woman said there was only one extra room. That won't make discussing anything very easy."

"I doubt it." She could hear the eye roll in his voice and she pulled away to look at his face. He didn't let her go, but he dropped his arms to rest more casually around her waist.

"Oh, do you think she meant this was the only empty extra room?"

"No, I think he's staying with her."

She wrinkled her nose. "Really? She didn't seem to like him very much."

"The women in his life never do."