Free Courage (Mark of Nexus) by Carrie Butler

the pick-up area. A guy from the labs was supposed to be around to take me to the dorms at six, and I didn’t want to miss him. What kind of first impression would that be?
    “Lookin’ for a ride?”
    I tightened my grip on my handbag as a guy meandered in my direction, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. It was a wonder he could see me past that shaggy blond fringe of his. “I’m meeting someone.”
    He tilted his chin at my accent, and I knew what was coming.
    “Before you ask, no, I’m not”—I hooked my fingers in the air—‘the black Spice Girl.’” Yeah, I’d gotten that a few times on the plane.
    His lips twitched, and I took it as my cue to walk away. Right. Brilliant conversation we had there. Time to find my lab representative.
    I rose up on my tiptoes and tried to see around the throng of people. This internship was my ticket out of Preston—literally. If I wanted to land a pharmaceutical job after graduation, I needed to milk this research and development gig for all it was worth. The experience would look great on my CV.
    Provided I actually make it there.
    “Excuse me,” the same dodgy guy piped up, and I had to bite my tongue.
    “What?”
    He forced himself between me and some man in a business suit. “You’re Corynn, right?” A quick flick of his wrist revealed smeared ink. “Corynn Catley?”
    I froze. “Yeah?”
    This time, his mouth pulled back into a full-fledged grin. “Nice to meet you.”
    He slapped his hand to mine and gave it a few quick pumps. “The name’s Maverick. I’m here on behalf of R.S. Tobler Laboratories.”
    Worst. Nightmare. Happening.
    I played it off well enough, though. Smiled, apologized, and followed him out to the car—but all the while I was dying. How could I have been so brisk with my employer?
    “My girlfriend’s driving,” Maverick announced, as he shut my luggage in the boot. “And she’s the owner’s granddaughter, so you’ll want to play nice.”
    “Why wouldn’t I pla—”
    “Here you go.” He opened my door, gave me a shove, and I landed in the backseat with an unladylike grunt. “Stay clear.”
    “What?”
    Slam!
    “Good morning, Corynn.”
    I looked up to find a frizzy, bird-like woman smiling at me in the rearview mirror. “My name is Gail Frasier, and I’ll be supervising your work this summer.”
    My spine straightened of its own accord, and I tried to press the wrinkles out of my skirt. “I-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Frasier.”
    “Likewise. Please feel free to call me Gail.”
    “Gail, then. Thank you.”
    And off we went. The first couple of minutes prompted a near heart attack—one of those wrong-side-of-the-road reactions—but I acclimated. “So, we’re headed to the dorms, then?”
    “Not just yet,” Maverick answered. “We were able to get you exchange status at Wilcox, but there’s still another month or so left in the semester. Their first vacant room won’t be ready until Friday.”
    I frowned “What about until then?”
    Gail waved her hand off the wheel. “Oh, you’ll stay with us at the clinic. It won’t be a problem.”
    “You guys live in the clinic?”
    Maverick looked at Gail, and they shared a laugh. “More like under the clinic,” he muttered. “Don’t worry. You’ll like it.”
    Thank God he couldn’t see my face from this angle. “Great.”
    Sleeping under a clinic? Was that commonplace in the States?
    A few more minutes passed by before Gail spoke up. “Ever heard of the Nullari, Corynn?”
    “The what?”
    “That answers that question,” she said out of the side of her mouth. “Now, when we get to the clinic, the first thing you’ll do is go through orientation. Then our president will brief you on your first assignment.” Her eyes flashed in the mirror again. “How does that sound?”
    “Sounds great,” I mumbled. What else could I say?
    “Good.” Gail smiled. “I look forward to you becoming one of us.”
    ~
    After I received my orientation packet and