Page 4 of Falling for the Enemy

Ian perked up first. “We got the grant?”

I nodded. “Sure did.”

Ian shook his head and pointed at me. “You sure had us there with that long face.”

“Actually, Norm was the one with the long face. Mine was more—a mix of joy and?—”

“Uh-oh. Don’t like where this is going next.” Evan rarely spoke up but when he did, he proved himself to have incredible intuition. He knew there was more to the joyful announcement.

Everyone sat forward with interest. While Norm had gone on incessantly after I walked in, he was now noticeably silent. Nodoubt he was imagining himself in the wilds of Costa Rica trying to get a spider out of his shoe.

“Well, the grant committee has some stipulations,” I started.

“Like?” Ian asked.

“They want a team of six grad students and two staff members.”

Robyn sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s all,” she said with a laugh. “The more the merrier, right?”

Ian was on board with it, but clever Evan had already figured out where this was leading. “Not Sinclair,” he said.

I nodded. “Professor Sinclair and two of his team.”

Robyn scrunched her nose. “Oh my gosh, not Pam.” She always said the name with an extra emphasis on the “a.” “She is such a know-it-all.”

“Professor Sinclair will choose who he takes along,” I said.

Norm smacked the table. “Well, I’m out. I won’t travel with Sinclair. I don’t even like being in the same building with the man.” Norman looked pleased that he’d found an easy out. I knew he wasn’t game for such a big adventure.

I would have loved to leave him behind, but his name was on the grant, and he was one of the six grad students. “You’re going, Norm. You were part of the grant application. It’ll be fine. We’ll do our thing, and they can do theirs.”

“When do we leave?” Ian asked.

“That’s the other thing. We leave this Friday.”

The group broke into a flurry of discussion that was edged with both angst and excitement. Robyn and Evan had never been out of the country, and while Ian had traveled some, this would be his first trip to a rainforest. Before applying for the grant, the entire team made sure to have their passports renewed and ready to go just in case. Norman never talked much about his travel experiences, but something told me leaving hismom’s front couch to go down to the local market might have been the extent of his world so far.

“Lo!” Jack’s terse yell silenced the room. He stood in the doorway to the lab with his fists curled and an expression that reminded me of someone chewing a mouthful of nails. “If your little coffee klatch is over, I need a word. My office.” His words came out of a jaw that was tight as a steel trap. He spun around and stomped out.

I glanced at my crew. They all wore looks of grave concern. “Should I go with you?” Ian whispered.

I smiled at him. “Sweet of you to offer, but I’ve faced down far worse animals on my travels.”

Ian’s shoulders relaxed with relief.

“Go ahead and get back to work. Plan on a lunch meeting so we can discuss some of the nuts and bolts of the trip. And cheer up. This is a fabulous grant, and it’ll look great on your resumés. Should be a lot of fun.”

“As long as we send Sinclair down the river,” Robyn muttered.

“There’s miles of rainforest out there. I’m sure we can put plenty of space between us. Now, into the lion’s den I go.”

Chapter Three

AVA

Typical Jack Sinclair. He’d ordered me to his office to talk but closed his office door so that I’d have to knock to get permission to enter. He wanted me on defense before I even walked inside, but that was not how I played.

I knocked and entered before he could blurt out, “Yeah, come in already.”

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