Hard Line - Pamela Clare Page 0,63
careful. We did a threat assessment this afternoon about your situation.”
“Let’s hear it.” Thor had learned to respect Shields’ judgment.
“We believe there’s an eighty-percent chance the killer will react with violence when he hears that the package is leaving Antarctica. Watch your backs.”
Kristi poked at dinner—chicken fried steak, biscuits, and mixed frozen veggies. “You’re so lucky, Sam.”
“It’s Samantha, please.” Samantha got the words out despite the awkwardness of her request. “I’ve never liked being called Sam.”
“Oh. Okay. Samantha.” Kristi didn’t seem bothered. She looked up from her plate. “You’re so lucky that Thor is staying longer. I wish Malik weren’t leaving. It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye.”
Samantha glanced around the galley, but Thor, Malik, and Lev weren’t there yet. “You’ve only known him for a couple of weeks. What happened to just taking what you can and enjoying yourself?”
“Malik happened.” Kristi leaned in. “He’s just too good in bed, and he’s sweet, too. He’s ruined me for other guys.”
A week ago, Samantha would have thought Kristi was exaggerating or being overly emotional, but now she understood. She couldn’t imagine getting together with anyone but Thor. He wasn’t just a fantastic lover. He also saw her for who she was. His kindness had carried her through some of the toughest days of her life. “Maybe you two can reconnect after you get home.”
“I’m not sure he would want that. We agreed there would be no strings.”
“And now you want strings?”
“I want the option for strings.”
Samantha wasn’t sure what that meant. She hadn’t let herself think about Thor leaving, but this conversation pushed her mind in that direction—and her stomach sank. It was hard to imagine six more months down here without him and Patty. “Maybe you should talk with him about it. Maybe he feels the same way.”
“You think so?”
“You’re both adults, right? Talk to him.”
Of course, there was no chance that Samantha would take her own advice. Thor lived in the mountains west of Denver, while she worked in Chicago. There was no way for them to be together once they returned home.
She tried to change the subject, but Kristi couldn’t get her mind off Malik. By the time she’d finished her meal, Samantha felt she knew more about Malik than she did Thor. “Are you sure he’d want you to tell me all of this?”
Then Hardin walked up to their table. “Hey, Sam, Kristi.”
Kristi corrected him. “She prefers Samantha.”
“Ah. Okay.” He knelt beside the table and leaned in. “Samantha, can you do me a favor? I got an email from Patty’s parents. They’ve got questions about her last week. You knew her a lot better than I did. Can you help me answer them?”
“Sure. See you later, Kristi.” Samantha carried her tray to the dish pit and followed Hardin out of the galley toward the administrative offices.
“I really appreciate this,” he said. “It was hard enough having to tell her parents that she was gone. But I just don’t have the answers they want.”
“I’m happy to help.” Samantha meant it. “I can’t imagine what it’s like knowing their daughter was murdered.”
“Neither can I. They seem like good people.” He opened the door to his office, gestured her inside, then closed the door behind him. “Let me wake up my computer. It’s on the screen. You can take my seat.”
She sat. “I hope they find some kind of peace when—”
A sharp jab in the shoulder.
She gasped, jumped to her feet, saw Steve holding a hypodermic needle in his hand. Ice slid into her blood, the pieces coming together with a chilling click. “Oh, my God. It was you.”
A rush of dizziness.
“Patty wouldn’t mind her own fucking business. She kept poking around the computer I was using to hack the satellite. I made a special bottle of wine for her. When she came to report what she’d found, I offered her a drink. But I didn’t want to kill her. I liked her. I don’t want to kill you either. I just need to get information from your lover boy—and then I can get rid of him and his two goons.”
“What did you give me? Was that methanol?” Dizziness left her unsteady on her feet, his office closing in around her.
“No, idiot. It’s midazolam—a sedative. I stole it from the infirmary. It won’t kill you. It will just make it easier for me to get you out of the building.”
Out of the building? Where was he taking her?
“There’s nothing out there.”
“There’s ice and cold and darkness.”
“You … bastard!