Free Double Dare: April Fools' For Love by Jodi Redford Page B

round trip to his office with Leo’s request to fetch his reading glasses from the lab. After tossing out a few teasing digs about his partner becoming an old man, Devlin made tracks down the hall and fished his badge from his pants pocket.
    The moment he stepped into the lab he was struck once again with the peculiar sensation that something wasn’t quite right. As much time as he spent in the space, it was practically his second home. So with that said, if his Spidey-sense was telling him that a detail wasn’t as it should be, he was damn well going to listen up.
    Rubbing his chin, he surveyed the room, mentally checking off boxes as he cataloged each detail individually. Trash can in corner—normal. Lab coats on their proper hooks? Yep. Workstations prepped and ready for—
    His mental inspection skidding to a halt, he stared at the empty test tube holder resting on the station across from him. The vial had most definitely been there when he and Leo locked up yesterday.
    So where the hell did it go?
    Determined to get to the bottom of that mystery, he retraced his steps to Leo’s office. “Did you do something with one of the vials from batch 39?”
    Leo tore his focus from his monitor, his brow furrowed. “No. Why?”
    “It’s missing.”
    “What?”
    Well aware of where Leo’s thoughts were jumping, Devlin shot up his hand. “Don’t burst your coronary. We don’t know that this is a repeat of Texon.” But after having one of their prized formula’s ripped off by a competitor several years ago, the fear was there of it happening again. Even with all the precautions they’d taken to prevent a reoccurrence, the threat was always present. There was only so much they could do.
    Leo vaulted from his chair and rushed from his office. Devlin stayed hot on his heels. Once inside the lab, Leo confirmed Devlin’s suspicions with a string of colorful obscenities. Raking his fingers through his hair, he shot a narrow squint at the panel obscuring the security camera in the corner. “Let’s pray they were too sloppy to cover their ass.”
    What were the chances someone would be foolish enough to stroll in here and steal Xtacy without disguising their identity? Wisely deciding to keep that woeful dose of reality to himself, he followed Leo back to his office. With a quick click of his mouse Leo pulled up the link to the security system and located the time stamp for last night. He fast-forwarded through an hour or so of uneventful footage before a blip of motion flashed across the screen.
    Leo’s features hardened. “Got the son of a bitch.” He rewound a few frames and pressed play.
    On the footage, the lab lights flickered on and a woman stepped into view. Devlin blinked. “Wait a minute. Isn’t that—?”
    “Sidney.” Her name fell from Leo with the same amount of bemusement that plagued Devlin. They both leaned closer to the computer as she sashayed to the workstation and picked up the test tube.
    Devlin shook his head. “I don’t believe it. Not of Sidney. No fucking way.”
    “Then what the hell are we looking at?” Leo demanded, his tone flatter than a desert highway. Despite the lack of inflection in his voice, Devlin knew his friend was hiding a world of hurt while he processed the visual evidence of Sidney’s potentially traitorous activity.
    “I don’t know, but let’s not jump to conclusions yet.” Come on, Sid. What are you doing? His heart knocking, he waited for the moment she’d put the vial back and scurry out of there, completely unaware of the real criminal lurking in the shadows about to abscond with the Xtacy formula. The wish was a desperate shot in the dark on his part, but he refused to give up hope. No matter how thin it was. When the test tube went flying out of Sidney’s grasp and smashed onto the floor, he straightened with a jolt, renewed optimism crashing over him. “She dropped it. That’s why it’s missing.”
    A fraction of the doubt lifted from Leo’s gaze but