Page 53 of Enchanted Hero (The Secret Enchanters #1)
"Not at all." Blackburn inexplicably grasped her hand, and she inexplicably allowed it.
It forged calmness and coolness, security and safety in a world anything but.
They stepped to the lawn where the reporters still gathered, most talking to cameras and phones and dozens of emergency personnel.
The police had pulled the wind machine out from its hiding place, and a crowd gathered around the device that was undoubtedly already all over social media.
She hadn't done half bad, with a shiny silver machine that stood ten feet tall and just as wide.
It looked like a big fan. Of course, it would never work because its innards were little more than a hundred twisty wires that did nothing.
She would retrieve it before they dissected it – somehow.
“Here’s why it won’t be difficult to find the student.
” The professor released her hand, and coldness replaced it.
"Half the students are women, and a significant fraction represent other nationalities.
Deleting those will cut the potential culprits by two-thirds, and artificial intelligence can provide additional assistance. It may take a while, but I'll get him."
Yes, he would. Kyla moved quicker to keep up with the large steps of the man beside her.
A group of scientists walked by, conferring with men in jackets labeled Scientific Institute of Research and Investigation .
Her breathing and steps faltered. She squeezed her eyes shut, forced one foot in front of another.
Until she pummeled right into Blackburn.
Pure Muscle. Solid Hardness. Unstoppable Power.
Strength surrounded her as muscular arms captured her in sheer possession.
Momentum pressed her against a rock solid length, heated inch by heated inch, as they touched along their entire bodies.
Her face reached his chest; her breasts pressed into a solid abdomen.
Was it her imagination or did he pull her more firmly into his grasp?
Tension replaced logic, stealing her breath.
Her imagination had not done him justice.
His chest was expansive and broad, his arms thick with power.
Underneath his clothing, muscles tightened and flexed, but he did not release her.
Instead, he gazed at her with a ferocity that held her in thrall.
His blue eyes sparkled like the stars at night, promising to decipher all her secrets.
Yet instead of fleeing, the urge to press even nearer fired. To inhale his woodsy scent, to knead those powerful muscles, to kiss those luscious lips. She willed her body to move away, but it wouldn't respond.
He spoke first, "Are you all right?"
As if his words shattered an enchantment, she regained control of her limbs, jerking back and nearly falling to the debris-filled ground. "I'm fine." She patted her suit down, smoothing invisible wrinkles. "Thank you for catching me."
"No problem." Dr. Blackburn shook his head, his focus as scattered as her thoughts.
But then his eyes cleared, as he noticed the giant machine.
"That's the device that created a windstorm?
Astounding." He stared at it, and his lips quirked down.
"Actually almost unbelievable. Officer," he called to one of the policemen holding curious onlookers back.
A slew of ambulances, police cars and fire trucks had arrived at the scene, but thankfully no one appeared seriously hurt.
"Would it be possible to bring this machine to my personal laboratory? "
Kyla stiffened, as the officer nodded. Blackburn provided scientific evaluations on police cases on a regular basis; he wouldn't be denied when the device directly affected him and his school.
The laboratory that had been destroyed was the main science laboratory, but the personal lab next to his office remained intact.
After the authorities conferred, a group of men hefted the heavy machine to the science building. Kyla clenched her fists as it disappeared through the double doors with a slew of officers and reporters trailing behind it.
"I'm going to dissect every piece of that machine, down to the smallest screw. Although I'm a biology professor, I've studied other scientific and engineering disciplines, and I want to know how someone created such a device."
Kyla could answer that question. It was a big version of the wind machine from the cartoon about space age people.
Except without any of the working parts or even a single screw, which definitely complicated Blackburn's plans.
She had to retrieve the machine before he had a chance to discover its uselessness.
"When are you going to conduct your investigation? "
Blackburn did not hesitate. "Right after I make a short speech to our friendly distributors of information."
Kyla watched helplessly as he retook the de facto stage, causing all conversation and movement to cease.
In a booming voice, he declared the wind machine the undeniable culprit to the current catastrophe, and undisputable proof of the ill-fated prank that demolished the lab.
The reporters appeared to believe him – mostly – since the truth almost blew them away.
Yet of course the two incidents were not related.
Now she had to dispose of the wind machine before anyone discovered how fake it was.
"Just a few more questions," Dr. Blackburn called from the front, startling her to action.
Why was she still here? Minutes remained to steal the machine before the good doctor uncovered the ruse, giving her little time to dispose of the evidence, if at all.
Once he got a whiff of the truth, he wouldn't stop until he savored the entire feast.
Kyla backed up and turned, jumping over branches, backpacks and other debris as she ran to the science building.
She barreled through the clunky metal doors, raced down the cool, wide hallway with its gleaming marble tiles, emptied as everyone lingered outside.
She turned corners, slid to a stop outside Blackburn’ laboratory.
The sleek black lab door was shut tight, but thankfully the policemen had departed.
Likely they would post a full security detail soon but were currently focused on the aftermath of the incident.
Kyla pulled the door, but it was locked tight, no doubt to ward off eager students looking for a unique souvenir.
Of course, locked doors provided little resistance to enchantment.
She grasped the handle and focused her power, allowing a soft smile as the door opened easily.
With another dash of enchantment, she disarmed the security system, slipped inside and locked the door behind her.
Kyla spared seconds to take in the spacious lab.
Million-dollar microscopes and state-of-the-art computer equipment filled a double story lab at least thrice the size of her home and school laboratories combined.
Silvery metal racks with golden accents held various chemicals, beakers and test tubes.
A massive desk sat at one end, with neat piles of folders stacked next to expensive supplies.
A huge, overstuffed executive chair was poised and ready for the master himself.
Before she could act, a symphony of footsteps rang in the hall, accompanied by the timbre of the exterior doors opening and shutting.
The press conference must have concluded, meaning she had but moments before Dr. Blackburn arrived to inspect the wind machine.
She pivoted rapidly, searching the room as the seconds rocketed past, but the device was nowhere to be found. Where had he hidden it?
A wide door in the back provided her only remaining chance.
It opened as she approached, not from her powers, but from a technological mechanism.
She didn't have time to admire the second part of the professor's laboratory, where oak fixtures, floor to ceiling machinery and expensive supplies blended technology and luxury.
All that mattered was the silver prize in the center of the room, the wind machine.
The door to the outer lab opened, signaling her time and chance were up. Kyla closed her eyes, calling the enchantment that would whisk both her and the wind machine out of the lab and away from danger. Just as a faint pink mist appeared, she stopped. One. Small. Detail.
If video surveillance covered the other laboratory, then logic dictated…
Kyla groaned as she spied the shiny black camera staring at her from the southwest corner of the room.
And the northwest corner. And every other corner.
And places that weren't corners. Of course she could scramble their signals now, blocking their recording of the enchantment, but they had already recorded her presence.
In other words, she was caught.