MY BODY JOLTED at the sudden noise, and I looked behind me to see that Hunter was standing in the open doorway of the tank. Eyeing his stance, I noticed his arms were crossed, and his face was set in an unpleasant frown.
What now...I muttered to myself.
"Miss Ono, may I have a word, if you'd be so kind." Hunter drawled sardonically, his lips twisting into a snarl as he spoke.
"I thought we were done for the day?" I quipped back, unwilling to leave Cassian so soon. Also, with the sour mood Hunter looked to be in, I wanted to be nowhere near him.
Hunter let out a frustrated breath. "The subject is, but you are not. Let's go." Hunter answered impatiently, gesturing for me to come to him.
I sighed.
As much as I dreaded it, I had to go with Hunter. What choice did I have?
Glancing over at Cassian, I saw that his face had hardened with his gaze focused solely on Hunter.
Slowly, I unlaced my fingers from his and let go of his hand. This action caught Cassian's attention, and he glanced at me before trying to reclaim my hand.
I shifted, moving just out of his reach.
"I have to go." I said solemnly, looking down.
"With him?" Cassian hissed, cutting a sharp look over to where Hunter stood.
I nodded. "Yes."
"It is not safe." Cassian insisted, trying once again to reclaim my hand. But once again, I moved out of his reach, shaking my head.
"I know, but I have to play along remember?" I whispered pleadingly.
Cassian didn't respond, instead, he watched me carefully. I saw understanding wash over his features as he processed my words.
"Don't worry, I can handle this. You trust me don't you?" I added, sounding more confident than I felt.
"Yes." Cassian replied without hesitation.
I let out a breath, "Then I'll see you soon." I said with a half smile, finally standing up to take my leave.
Cassian clenched his jaw, cutting another sharp look over at Hunter. If looks could kill, Hunter would be on the ground already.
Dragging my feet, I walked over to where Hunter stood, giving him my most unpleasant scowl as I approached.
"After you, Miss Hawaii." Hunter jeered, making a display to hold the tank door open for me as I passed. I bit back the snide remarks I wanted to say, fearful that I might come to regret them.
With Hunter following behind me, I walked through the tank door. The door closed behind us and I took one last glance at Cassian. His eyes were intense as he watched me leave, his hands balled into fists as he eyed Hunter following behind me.
He didn't trust Hunter, and frankly, neither did I.
"In here." Hunter ordered from behind me, regaining my attention. I glanced at him to see that he was signaling for me to go inside the surveillance room.
Complying, I walked into the room, noticing a few researchers looking up from the screens to see who had entered. They glanced behind me and immediately began getting up from their seats, passing by me as they filed out of the door.
Soon, all of them had left, leaving Hunter and me alone. My heart was beating fast, and my palms grew sweaty. Something felt off, and I didn't like where this was going at all.
"Come take a look at this monitor here." Hunter called from behind me, breaking the silence. Walking up to stand uncomfortably close beside me, he put his hands on my shoulders, guiding me to a large security monitor frozen on a video of the outside of Flip's old office.
Judging by the date printed on the screen, it was a recording from a few days ago. Which coincidentally enough, was at the exact time I had stolen the file after my shift.
My face paled.
Hunter reached over from his position beside me and pressed play. Just as I suspected, the security footage showed me walking into Flip's office.
While I watched the video play, I could feel Hunter's slow breathing down the back of my neck, making me shiver in disgust.
As the video showed me leaving Flip's office, Hunter stepped forward to come around me to pause the monitor.
Crossing his arms, he turned to face me, "Why did you go into Flip's office?" Hunter asked coldly, his lips pressed into a flat line.
He was suspicious of me, as he should be.
However, the fact that he was asking me what happened steadied me. It meant that he most likely didn't have a video of me inside Flip's office. In fact, I didn't remember ever seeing cameras in Flip's office.
This was good...I thought to myself. This meant that I wasn't caught yet. Hunter didn't know I had stolen a file. I could still get out of this...I could lie.
"I thought that was your office now?" I asked innocently.
"It is." Came Hunter's clipped reply.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, "That's what I figured, so I went there looking for you." I lied easily. If I have learned anything about Hunter, it was that his ego was his biggest fault. All I had to do was play on it.
Hunter's eyes widened briefly before narrowing, "Is that so."
I nodded.
"You were looking for me, why?" Hunter repeated carefully, looking down at me skeptically.
I bit my lip. "Well, I wanted to thank you." I began, noticing how Hunter's frown faded and his eyes widened with shock, "for letting me keep my job after everything. I know I was a bit angry at first, but I realize now that you were just trying to help." I finished, blinking up at him. It took everything in me not to gag as I watched Hunter eye me appreciatively.
"I'm glad you've come to your senses." Hunter began after looking at me for a few moments, probably judging to see how genuine I was.
Internally I cheered at my success. Hunter had let his guard down and believed my lies. After all, he had no reason to be truly suspicious of me. For all he knew, I was a stupid girl who could barely save herself.
Which was true to some extent...I thought briefly, silently cursing myself before refocusing on the present.
But now, at least I could use my past mistakes to my advantage. To everyone here, including Dr. Grant, I was no threat. But now, I could finally prove them wrong.
Hunter took a step forward, coming to stand only a foot away from me, "You know..." he drawled slowly, holding my gaze, "if you really want to thank me...perhaps we can grab a bite after work. Just the two of us, if you know what I mean." Hunter added lowly, shooting me a wink.
I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat and forced a smile.
"Of course." I beamed up at him, "Though I can't tonight because I already made plans, but tomorrow would be perfect." I added quickly, holding my breath as he thought about my excuse.
Hunter scoffed. "Fine, tomorrow then, wear something tight and short too." Hunter answered impatiently, not bothering to hide his suggestive tone as he requested my attire.
"Whatever you like." I smiled, biting my tongue until I could taste blood. I wished so badly that I had another can of pepper spray to empty into his eyes.
"I'll see you then." Hunter mused, brushing my shoulder with his as he walked past me and out of the room.
When I was sure he was gone, I let out a long sigh. Running my hands down my face, I swore to myself that I would never ever go on that date with Hunter. That meant that I had to get Cassian out of here ASAP.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and shot a quick text to Noah.
Tonight, where?
I heard the sound of footsteps and quickly put my phone back in my skirt pocket. Looking up, the researchers were returning to their posts in the security office. They briefly looked at me with curiosity as they resumed their positions in front of the security monitors.
Muttering a quick "excuse me" I made my way out of the room and back to the tank. It was getting late and I had to leave Cassian for the night once again.
I opened the door to the tank and the sound made Cassian look up. Making my way over to him quickly, I kneeled down in front of him once again.
His shoulders relaxed as he looked down at me with relief.
I smiled, "Hey, I'm alright, just like I said." I started, reaching up to tuck a lock of silver hair behind his ear. His hair was surprisingly soft, and I let my hand linger for a few moments before leaning back.
"I have to leave you again..." I began slowly, watching his face fall, "but I have a plan."
I glanced around to be sure nobody was close enough to hear before leaning in to hug Cassian. Reaching my hands around his neck, I pulled myself to him, burying my face in his neck.
Taken aback at first, I felt Cassian stiffen before relaxing into me and wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me to him.
"I wanted to be sure nobody can read my lips on the cameras...but I'm coming back for you. We're getting out of here...tonight." I whispered into his hair.
"Okay." I felt him say back against my neck, his arms tightening around me.
After a few moments, I pulled back and looked him in the eyes one last time, "See you tonight." I said softly.
Cassian smiled down at me, "Tonight."
With that I began to stand, letting my hand slide out of his as I moved away. I glanced back at Cassian, giving him one final wave before I made my way out of the tank door.
Closing it behind me, I began walking to the elevator. I felt my phone buzz and, realizing it was probably Noah's response, I reached into my pocket to grab it.
Before I could read the message, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me roughly aside. I struggled against their hold as they quickly shoved me into a dark room and shut the door, locking me in there with them.