Chapter 8 The Line I Shouldn't Cross

DAVE

I'd been staring at my screen for so long that the words stopped looking like words. On the screen, the lab report was staring back at me. The letters were big and loud.

DNA ANALYSIS: INCONCLUSIVE / MUTATED.

Mutated. What the hell does that even mean? Is she a science experiment? Did she fall into some toxic waste or something? Like what the fuck was going on?

My coffee was freezing cold. It tasted like bitter sand water but I drank it anyway. Mutated didn't mean anything. It wasn't a diagnosis or a conclusion. It was just a fancy way of saying we have no idea what the hell this is. And somehow, that scared me more than if it had said something definite.

I was tired, stressed, and confused. If I hit the 'Submit' button, Meredith Stevens is done for. The government would take her. They'd put her in some basement with guys in white lab suits before I could even finish my shift.

I thought about her in that apartment, the way she looked at me. Her hazel eyes had turned gold. They were literally glowing. And then that tiny, weak whisper. "No hospital. Please."

She wasn't the "Iron Goddess" in that moment. She looked like a girl who was terrified of her own secret.

"Hey, Callahan!"

I jumped so hard I almost knocked my coffee onto my lap. It was Miller. He was leaning against my desk, looking way too relaxed.

"You look like hell," he said. "Rough night?"

"Something like that," I muttered.

"How did it go with the CEO? Did she tell you the truth?

I felt a cold sweat on the back of my neck. I looked at the 'Submit' button, then back at Miller. My brain was screaming don't do it. The lie came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"She wasn't there," I said. I tried to keep my voice flat, like I didn't care. "The people at the front desk said she was working from home. It was a total waste of time."

Miller raised an eyebrow. He looked surprised. "Really? The Iron Goddess taking a day off? That's weird. Well, the Captain wants that DNA report. Are you filing it now?"

"Later," I said quickly. "System's being slow."

Miller laughed. "Whatever man, Don't stay up all night staring at the screens. Go home."

"Yeah," I said. "You too."

As soon as Miller walked away, I grabbed my jacket and bolted. I was officially lying to my partner. I was officially a bad cop. But I couldn't just sit there. I needed to see her. I needed to know what the hell was happening before I accidentally ruined her life.

I didn't even look at the receptionist when I got to Aurora Luxe Holdings, I just flashed my badge and walked straight to the elevators like I owned the place.

When I got to the top floor, it was too quiet. It wasn't the "rich people" kind of quiet. It was the "something is wrong" kind of quiet.

Then I heard it. A muffled cry coming from behind the big office doors. I didn't knock. I shoved them open.

"Meredith?"

She was on the floor. The most powerful woman in Manhattan was piled in a heap next to her desk. Her face was as white as a sheet of paper. Elena, her assistant, was on her knees next to her. She was shaking so hard she could barely hold her phone. Her thumb was about to press the 'Call' button.

"Detective! Thank God!" Elena cried. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. "She just collapsed. I'm calling emergency services right now-"

"Don't!" I shouted.

Elena froze. She looked at me like I was crazy. "What? She's not waking up! Get out of my way, I have to call!"

I stepped over and snatched the phone right out of her hand.

"Are you insane?" Elena screamed. She tried to grab it back, but I held it up high. "She's dying! Give me my phone back!"

"Listen to me!" I grabbed her shoulders. I didn't want to hurt her, but I needed her to snap out of it. "Look at me, Elena! Focus!"

"She told me yesterday, at her place that she has a condition. Something private. She was very clear, Elena. No hospitals. Do you understand?"

"She never told me that!" Elena yelled. "She's my boss! I care about her life, I don't care about some stupid secrets!"

"Do you know what happens if the news people see her like this?" I lowered my voice. I tried to sound calm, even though my heart was banging against my ribs. "They will dig into her life and tear her apart. She told me she'd rather die than have the whole world poking around in her business. You know how she is, Elena. She's proud. Is that what you want? To humiliate her?"

Elena looked down at Meredith. Then she looked back at me. Her bottom lip was trembling. "But... she looks so sick. What if she doesn't wake up, Detective? What if she dies because of you?"

Suddenly, a loud ping came from the desk.

We both looked at the laptop. A red box was flashing on the screen.

SECURITY BREACH DETECTED: PENTHOUSE ACCESS.

"Oh my God," Elena whispered. She went even paler. "Someone is in her house?"

My cop brain took over. If someone was at her place, it wasn't safe. And if I took her to a hospital, She'd be trapped.Whoever was at her house would just find her at the hospital.

"Someone's at her house," I said. I reached down and scooped Meredith up. She was ice-cold. It felt like I was holding a statue made of marble. "We can't go to her place. And we are definitely not going to the hospital."

"Then where are we going?" Elena asked grabbing Meredith's bag and her laptop. "We can't just drive around!"

I headed for the private elevator.

"My place," I said.

"Your place? Are you kidding me?" Elena said. "That is kidnapping! You are kidnapping a billionaire CEO! Do you know how much trouble we are in?"

"I'm saving her life," I said. I wasn't sure if I was lying to her or myself, but I didn't have another choice.I got Meredith into the back seat of my car, supporting her head, making sure she was breathing. As I pulled out into the crazy New York traffic, I looked at her in the rearview mirror.

I had lied to my partner. I had ignored a lab report. And now I was taking the city's most famous woman to a crappy one-bedroom apartment in Queens that smelled like laundry detergent.

Congratulations, Dave, I thought. You are officially the worst cop in New York. You're going to jail for sure.