Chapter 5
“He works really fast,” Stan commented as they drove through the potholes to Nick’s house.
Lenore shrugged, but she couldn’t hide her smile. She’d just gotten done telling him about their first date scheduled for that night. “And he’s a good kisser.”
Stan grimaced. “Too much info.”
“I just thought you’d want to keep tabs on him. You are the big brother after-ah!” Stan swerved around a pothole and Lenore clutched onto the doorknob. “Are you trying to get us killed?”
“No and this big brother doesn’t want to know all the gory details of your love life,” he countered.
“Eh, it’d be a pretty short story to tell, especially with a guy I just met,” she pointed out.
“He tell you what he sees in you?” Stan teased.
“Meat,” she replied.
Stan cringed. “Again with the gory details.”
“You asked.”
“And regret it.” Stan turned the wheel sharply and they sailed past a pothole. They could see Nick’s house just down the road. “Damn, but this street is getting bad. I swear the city put in a few more potholes since yesterday.”
“Or your driving’s getting worse,” Lenore argued. Stan veered again and Lenore put too much pressure on the handle. It pulled down and released the door lock. The door swung open, and she screamed as she fell out of the truck.
“Lenore!” Stan cried out. He slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop two dozen yards down the road.
Stan jumped out at the same time Nick appeared from the overgrown path. The men saw Lenore’s limp body on the ground, and both rushed over to her. Though he was the farthest away, Nick reached her first and gently turned her over. Her breathing was harsh, and her face and arms were horribly cut by the rough gravel. Stan dropped to his knees beside her and his hands shook as they clutched onto her hand that was closest to him.
“Lenore?” he choked out. “Lenore, can you hear me?” Lenore’s eyes fluttered open and she winced when she tried to move.
“We must get her into the house,” Nick told him.
Stan shook his head. “She shouldn’t be moved. Let me call the hospital.” He took out his cellphone, but Nick reached over and grasped the other man’s hand in a vice-like grip. Stan looked up into Nick’s stern, unwavering eyes.
“They won’t get here in time. Trust me on this.” Nick let him go and slid his arms beneath Lenore. She gasped and clenched her teeth when he lifted her off the ground. “I’m sorry, but the pain won’t last much longer,” Nick assured her. He stood and rushed toward the house. Even with Lenore weighing him down, Stan couldn’t keep up with Nick.
Nick reached the open front door and slipped inside. Stan was a half minute behind them and stopped in the entrance hall. They were gone. He strained his eyes and ears, but didn’t find any trace of them. However, the basement door was open.
Stan rushed to the doorway and peered down the dark, twisting stairs. “Nick! Nick!” he shouted. There was no response, but he did hear a slight rattling of glass against glass.
Stan pounded down the stairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He looked around the room and noticed some of the white covers were partially pulled off the laboratory supplies. One of the boxes was opened and marked with the word ‘Samples.’ His eyes fell on a couch in the far corner to his right. Lenore lay on the cushions with Nick bent over her. Nick held an empty vial in his hand that he quickly stuffed into his pocket. Stan hurried over to them and found that Nick clasped his hands around one of Lenore’s. Her face was pale and her breathing was ragged.
“What’s wrong with her?” Stan whispered.
“A moment,” Nick replied. Even as he spoke Lenore gasped and arched her back. Her free hand clawed at the cushions and strangled cries slipped from her throat.
Stan fell to his knees beside Nick and reached out to press her back down to the couch. Nick blocked his hands with his arm and shook her head. “Not yet. Give it a few more seconds.”
“What’s going on?” Stan demanded to know.
Before Nick could reply Lenore let out one last gasp and collapsed onto the couch. Her breathing evened and some color returned to her cheeks. Stan was relieved when her eyes fluttered open and she blinked against the brilliance from the overhead lights. “W-where am I?” she murmured.
“Safe,” Nick replied.
Lenore sat up with some help from Nick. She winced and rubbed her head. “What hit me?”
A smile slipped onto Nick’s pale, trembling lips. “A gravel road,” he told her.
Lenore noticed Stan and glared at him. “I told you you needed to get that door-” She didn’t have time to finish before Stan pushed aside Nick and wrapped her in a tight hug. A sob escaped him and her face softened. She returned the hug and patted him on the back. “I’m fine. Just a headache,” she assured him.
Stan pulled them apart and looked her over. “Are you sure? The car was moving fast and you fell out so quick-”
“I said I feel fine,” she insisted. She spread out her arms to show her dirty, but unharmed self. “See? Not even a scratch.”
“But your face,” Stan insisted. He reached up and brushed away the dried blood and bits of gravel. His mouth dropped open. There was only smooth skin beneath the muck. He turned to Nick. “How?”
Nick smiled. “I’m a doctor, and as her doctor I advise that she should stay here for a few days, at least until I’m sure you’re fine. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few days off from work, either.” Nick insisted.
Lenore smiled and waved away their worries. “I feel just fine.” She swung her legs over the side of the couch, but a woozy spell struck and she clutched at her head. “Or maybe I’m just mostly fine,” she corrected.
“Let’s get you upstairs and out of this dusty basement,” Nick suggested.
“And to the hospital,” Stan persisted. “You may be fine on the outside, but you could have some serious injuries on the inside.”
“It was just a fall,” she argued.
“From a moving vehicle.”
“You weren’t going that fast.”
“I was breaking the speed limit.”
“Then I really don’t think you want to tell anybody I fell out of the vehicle,” she pointed out.
“Could we discuss this in cleaner surroundings?” Nick insisted.
“I don’t want to discuss it at all. I feel fine, and I’ll show you.” Lenore jumped to her feet, strode to the steps and marched up them. That is, until her foot slipped on one of the narrow steps and she fell forward. She caught herself, sprang back up, and turned to the men. Nick tried to hide a grin, but Stan still looked worried. “We will never speak of this again,” she ordered them. Then she finished her march up the stairs and out of their sight.
Nick looked to Stan and put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “She’s stubborn enough to push any injury out of her body,” Nick commented.
“And too stubborn to admit when something’s wrong,” Stan replied. He turned to the stranger and looked him over. “But what was that vial in your hand? Did you give something to her?” he wondered.
Nick paled, but smiled. “Just a little protein juice. It seems to have worked miracles on her,” he commented. He strode forward and up the stairs after Lenore.
Stan narrowed his eyes as he watched the strange man disappear up the stairs. “A little protein juice?” he repeated. He turned his head and his eyes swept over the half-covered boxes. Stan moved over and looked inside the one labeled ‘Samples.’ There were other vials inside filled with a dark-red liquid. He took one and pocketed it inside his jacket. “We’ll just see what you gave my sister,” he murmured.
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