Free Tainted by A. E. Rought Page B

and curl her to me.
    “Alex,” Jason says again. “We have to report this. There’s procedures to follow.” His voice trails off, and he slumps down beside me.
    Who gives a damn about their procedures?
    They can take their rules and–
    Procedures . My father may have sinned, but his process worked a miracle. So can I. Em deserves to live.
    “Jason, open the back door.”
    “What?” He whips his head to look at the car, then back at me. “Why?”
    “Just. Do. It.”
    Blinking, he rises from the sand, and scrambles for the car. Water gushes everywhere when I ease my arms under Emma’s body and lift her to my chest. I cradle her to me, like she’s sleeping and, in a way, that’s all she’s doing. Sleeping until I wake her up.
    “What are you doing?” Jason says. “We have to leave her. The cops…”
    “The cops aren’t coming.” My voice is dark, full of angst.
    “But… but…”
    “Jason, open the damn door and get in! I need your help!”
    “Help with what?” he wails, his confusion coming out in one sentence.
    “With Emma.”
    One look from me silences the “But she’s dead,” on his lips. Jason’s expression changes from panic to questioning to something I can’t read. He snatches up my jacket and shoes, then yanks open the back door of the Acura and settles into the seat. He spreads my jacket over the back seat. His arms are up and waiting. With a kiss on her cold, cold cheek, I ease her onto his lap, and guide her feet in as he slides over.
    I close the door, and race around the car.
    This will work, I tell myself.
    I can redeem myself.
    I can save her.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Time barrels down with the force of a blizzard. The longer she’s gone, the harder it will be to bring her back. My nerves are on overdrive, the stress putting more electricity in the air, affecting the dash lights. They keep pace with my pounding heart. Flash-flash! Flash-flash!
    I recreate the accident in my mind. The car I didn’t recognize. Driver with a hood up. The crash. Emma drowning. Pulling her from the river. How many minutes have elapsed? Who would do this to her?
    Ascension Labs materializes in the squall, square, brooding and somehow calling me. Poisonous promises, but I can’t shut them out. It worked for me. It has to work from Em.
    “What are we doing here?” Jason mutters. “This is your dad’s lab, right?”
    Yes. And I hated it once. I still do. The crazy relief blooming in my chest feels strange and wrong. People died here. Animals still suffer. Too many laws were broken to count. But this is where diseases are conquered, broken things are fixed, this is where my father manipulated life and death.
    Gates span the drive, locking us out. A ghost of a thought whispers: it’s not too late. Don’t do this to her…
    It can’t be Daniel. He wouldn’t let Em go.
    This is a deep, personal argument.
    Don’t become your father.
    I’m not listening to this anymore. I punch my Bluetooth connection on the dashboard and voice command, “Call Paul.”
    Financial controller, and in charge of Ascension, he’s the only person who is in a place to help us. Or blow my hopes to hell. The wait between rings seems to drag forever. Finally, on the third ring, Paul picks up. “Merry Christmas, Alex.”
    “No, it isn’t.” Paul sucks in a breath at my harsh tone. “I need to get into the lab, and the gates are down. I don’t have a computer to key in the remote code.”
    “Just a second.” Clacking sounds come through the speakers. Ahead, the gates groan and swing forward. Then he asks, “What is this all about?”
    Would he accept what I’m about to do? Would he call the cops? He didn’t before…
    Jaw clamped, I gun the Acura toward the front doors. Stamping the brakes, I pull the steering wheel to the left. The car skids to a stop parallel to the front doors, the rear passenger window lined up with the security camera. I can imagine what he sees: Emma, pale, lifeless, wrapped in my jacket, clutched in