Ultraviolet Catastrophe(24)
Author: Jamie Grey

Grant dropped my arm as Dad threw a punch, connecting with the guy’s jaw.

Asher grabbed me from the other side and pulled me out of the way. He slipped an arm around my waist. “Are you alright?”

I tried to nod, but my neck muscles still wouldn’t obey. I met Asher’s worried gaze, hoping he could read my thoughts in my eyes. His eyes searched mine, and he nodded once. Then the sound of Dad pummeling Major Grant made us turn.

Dad’s face glowed red, and his hair stood on end. He punched Grant over and over, the man’s body jerking with each hit. Blood seeped from his split lip and dripped onto his neat button-down shirt, leaving a smear of crimson. But Grant just stood there, hands at his sides, not defending himself.

“Stop him,” I whispered.

Asher leaned me against the car before sprinting across the sidewalk to grab Dad’s arm. “That’s enough, Dr. Kepler.”

Dad glared at Asher for a moment before dropping his arm. He turned back to Grant. “What the hell are you doing here? What did you do to my daughter?”

The major wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, smearing it with red. “I didn’t do anything to your daughter. We were simply talking.”

Dad spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving Grant’s face. “And that’s why she can’t move? You son of a bitch.”

Asher grabbed Dad’s arm before he could hit Grant again. “Dr. Kepler, we need to get Lexie to a doctor.”

Grant’s eyes narrowed. “Before you do something rash, you should consider what’s best for Lexie, not some knee-jerk reaction based on your misguided opinions. We can give her opportunities Quantum Technologies can never match. We’re on the cusp of something great, William. We want you to be a part of it.”

“And I want you to go to hell.” They glared at each other, and Dad clenched his fists again. If we didn’t get away from here, he was going to seriously injure Major Grant. And I knew the military would prosecute him to within an inch of his life if Grant was hurt

But Dad gritted his teeth, reigning himself in with more self-control than I’d expected. “Get out of here, Grant. Before I do something I’m not going to regret.”

Grant shook his head, adjusted his now-ruined shirt. Blood splattered the blue cotton like a child’s finger painting. “This isn’t over, Kepler. Lexie belongs to Branston.”

My skin crawled at his words. What did he mean?

Dad stepped forward. “Leave her the hell alone. That’s an order.”

Grant smirked. “You know you can’t touch me, William. I’m much higher up the food chain. You should be the one watching your back.”

Dad grabbed Grant by the shoulders and shoved him against the car so hard he grunted on impact. “Lexie will never go to Branston.” Dad’s eyes bulged, and a muscle throbbed at his temple. Slowly, he dropped his hands and stepped back from Grant with a growl. “I’m not going to tell you again. If I see you in Oak Ridge, I’ll kill you myself.”

He grabbed Grant’s arm and shoved him into his car. The three of us watched the man drive away, his taillights flashing red before he turned the corner and was gone.

Dad turned back to me, his face twisted with worry as he studied me. “Lexie? Are you all right?”

I felt my muscles slowly start to respond as I nodded. “I think so.”

Asher still had his arm around me, and I couldn’t help leaning into him as he started toward Dad’s car. “Let’s get her back to your house.” His muscles were solid against my side, and his scent wrapped around me, familiar and comforting.

I smiled weakly. “Thank you.”

“Any time, Lexicon.”

Asher and Dad almost lifted me into the leather seat, and Asher leaned down to look me in the eye. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I know.” I took a shaky breath as Dad climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’m sorry.”

Asher looked puzzled. “For what?”

“For freaking out at you the other day.”

“It’s forgotten. Get some rest, and I’ll stop by later to check on you.” He peered further into the car to talk to Dad. “I’ll get my dad from QT. He’ll want to make sure Lexie’s okay.”

We pulled away from the curb and started toward home. On the corners, the security bots were frozen, sparks spitting and jumping from inside the chest cavities. Someone had sabotaged them to get into town. I didn’t even need to guess who.

As we drove, the tension grew like a tangle of weeds between Dad and me, choking down the questions until the hum of the car engine was the only sound. In the driveway, he eased the car into park and got out, coming around to my side. My muscles felt almost back to normal, but I was glad to have his shoulder to lean on up the path to the house. I slanted a look at him from the corner of my eye. His lips were thinned into a line but I couldn’t tell if he was still mad at Grant…or at me.

Once inside, he set me down gently on the couch, then turned away, his shoulders hunched around his ears. Dad paced the room, and with his wild hair and tortured face, he looked like the picture of a crazed scientist. He hadn’t even bothered to take off his lab coat.

I watched and counted. Four steps from the couch to the window. Six steps from the window to the kitchen. Three steps from the kitchen to the couch. The image of his tracks popped into my head like someone had drawn them with a marker. It was a perfect scalene triangle.

He paced the path twice before he finally shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to me. I curled my shoulders forward and stared at the scuffed tips of his loafers.

“Lexie, I’m sorry.”

I shook my head, still not sure how to respond. So many confused thoughts and emotions swirled through me that I didn’t even know where to start.

“We’ve tried for so long to keep Branston from finding you that we never considered what would happen when they did.”

“How did they? You said I was safe here.” My voice trembled. I didn’t want to have to look over my shoulder every time I left the house.

He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, and I don’t like it.”

Yeah, understatement of the year.

I shook my head. My voice felt rusty and my throat still burned from the drugs, but at least I could talk again. “Dad, Grant said you actually went to Branston and worked there. Why didn’t you tell me?” Why had he lied to me? Again.