Page 54 of Hale Yes (Highway to Hale #1)

“Do you want me to order you some food?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“I brought my dinner, but you can order something for yourself.”

My nose crinkles at the thought of eating. I’m sick to my stomach over this. “I’m okay, but you go ahead and take a break if you need to.”

Instead, she brings her sandwich to the control room, and we begin watching the footage once again, not at regular speed but definitely slower than the first time.

When we get to 11:08 p.m. on the first night, Bernadette freezes the feed, rewinds it to 11:04, and turns it back on. My eyes search the screen, but I see nothing except for a fly buzzing by the camera.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she says.

I lean closer, wondering what the hell she’s seeing that I’m not. “What is it?”

“Watch the fly,” she says, rewinding again and slowing the feed to regular speed.

The insect flies in a circle in front of the camera and then zooms off to the right of the screen.

“Okay, so you think the fly is a thief in disguise?” I ask, unable to hold back my sarcasm.

“Keep watching,” she says. Four minutes later, the fly is back. He circles once and then exits the view to the right, just like before. We continue watching, and the exact same thing happens again. Bernadette’s voice is hard when she explains. “This part of the video is on a loop.”

My blood freezes in my veins, and my voice comes out strained. “But… how could that be?” My brain knows exactly how, but my heart refuses to believe it.

Her mouth is a tight line. “Someone fucking hacked my system.” Her fingers fly over the keys. “I have no idea how this happened. This system is state-of-the-art. It would take a damn genius to be able to hack in and put this on a loop for around twelve minutes.”

I happen to know a genius who has done exactly that, and bile rises in my throat. “I need to run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” I croak out, almost knocking my chair over when I stand.

“You all right, Dr. Hale?”

My head bobs up and down in a silent yes on my way out, because if I open my mouth right now, I’m going to lose the meager contents of my stomach on the floor.

I shove open the bathroom door and check beneath the stalls for feet. I’m alone.

“Fuck,” I whisper, dropping my forearms on the formica countertop and slamming my fingers into my hair. “Fuck, this can’t be happening.” My eyes stare unseeingly into the sink basin as my guts threaten to upend themselves.

Finally, I look up and don’t recognize the man in the mirror, the man who’s found his happiness in a woman he thought he could trust. But the man looking back at me isn’t happy at all. He’s fucking broken.

You can trust her. My heart speaks louder than my brain before my brain shouts back. But she does have the capability. You watched her do it.

Logic and love battle for supremacy, and I have no idea who is going to win when I splash cold water onto my face and the back of my neck. The collar of my dress shirt is damp when I return to the control room, and I still don’t know who will be the victor.

Bernadette’s cool gray eyes meet mine when I walk in. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she watches me sit in the chair beside her.

“You know who did it, don’t you?”

The question is both an accusation and a plea.

“I…” God, these are the hardest words I’ve ever tried to say. “I have an idea.”

The story tumbles from my lips. How Nicolette and I had a sexual encounter in the lab.

The way she put the cameras on a loop for a few minutes to dart unseen into my office for my shirt before going into the restroom to straighten herself up.

How I knew there was a weakness in the security system, but I said nothing because I trusted her, and it seemed harmless at the time.

Bernadette listens, occasionally running a hand through her cropped salt-and-pepper hair. When I’m done, she stares at me for a long moment, and I can feel the judgement radiating off her at my stupidity.

But when she finally speaks, her words hold a hint of kindness. “That was a reckless thing to do, Dr. Hale. I should have been notified the instant you found out our system could be breached like that.”

“I know,” I say, feeling miserable about lying by omission. “But I really don’t think she did this. Nicolette has no reason to betray us like this.”

The slight shake of her head lets me know she thinks I’m being a lovesick dumbass.

“Money can make good people do bad things, Dr. Hale. Industrial espionage is a lucrative business. And I understand Dr. Bell previously worked at Aquarius?” I nod dumbly, my head feeling like it weighs a thousand pounds.

“It seems like an awfully big coincidence that the one person that’s been known to hack into our system left the company that stole your work less than a year ago. ”

What she’s saying makes perfect sense from a logical standpoint, but my heart doesn’t want to be logical. It just wants Nicolette.

“Can you let me tell my dad about this? Tomorrow?”

Bernadette’s eyes check the clock over my shoulder. “It’s late, so Mr. Hale is probably in bed. I think waiting until tomorrow would be fine. There’s nothing we can do about it tonight anyway.”

“Thank you,” I say gratefully. “I also want to speak with Nicolette personally. Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation.”

Our head of security eyes me skeptically. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dr. Hale. A cornered animal can be dangerous.”

I grit my teeth. “She’s not an animal, and she’s not dangerous. Nicolette wouldn’t hurt me.”

A memory pops unbidden into my head, and I shake it away. This isn’t the same thing.

Bernadette grits her teeth. “I obviously can’t stop you, but I would caution against it.”

“Noted,” I say tightly.

“And I’ll have to notify the police about the break-in tomorrow. I’ll also get the company that designed and installed the security camera system on the job. Sometimes the actual footage can be recovered, but to be honest, that’s not my forte. I’ll leave that up to the professionals.”

“Can we wait to see what they find before you call the police? That will give us the evidence we need, and they can deal with it then.” My voice sounds overly hopeful, but she shakes her head.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid not, Dr. Hale.”

My jaw clenches in anger, but I know she’s just doing her job. “I understand.”

And with a heart full of dread, I walk out of the security office and straight to my car. The ring in my pocket seems like a heavy boulder, reminding me what I stand to lose. I love Nicolette, and I know she loves me too, but I need to talk to her in person about this.

It’s not a conversation I’m looking forward to having.