Rough Edges by Shannon K. Butcher

didn’t. Instead, his thoughts stayed fixed on her, trying to piece together the puzzle she created. When nothing came to him, he angled his body so that the camera couldn’t see and opened the book to page thirty-two.
    Inside was a stick of chewing gum acting as a bookmark. The poem on the page was titled “On Your Side
.
” He opened the foil wrapper carefully, wondering if it might contain some kind of poison. What he found was far more intriguing. She’d written on the inside of the wrapper,
Use the gum to plug the tube under the bed. Pretend to sleep.
    Gage didn’t know what the note meant, but there was only one way to find out. He popped the gum in his mouth and flushed the wrapper down the toilet. If Jordyn was truly on his side, there was no way he was going to let her get caught helping him. And if she wasn’t on his side, he’d overpower her and escape without the benefit of a lab coat that fit or the hindrance of guilt over hurting an unarmed woman.
    *   *   *
    Randolph answered his phone out of fear, rather than any sense of duty to the woman he worked for. “Yes?”
    â€œIt’s been hours. Has the second dose been administered yet?” asked Norma Stynger.
    He briefly thought about lying, but decided that was too high of a risk. “She hasn’t been home yet. She only left the office a few minutes ago.”
    â€œYour job was to ensure she was subjected to the drug once a day for several days. Are you telling me you failed?”
    â€œShe has to go home and shower sometime.”
    â€œAnd if she doesn’t? If she leaves town again or spends the night at work?”
    â€œSecurity at the Edge is too high for me to sneak in, especially after I took care of that other thing you wanted.”
    â€œI wanted you to frighten her, to increase her output of adrenaline to trigger the serum.”
    â€œThat’s what I did.”
    â€œNo, you killed one of my men and gave the enemy another device to reverse engineer.”
    â€œBut Bella was scared. My contact at the Edge confirmed that.” Lila wasn’t of much use, but there were a few things she was good at. Reporting about her boss’s emotional state after the attack at the office had been one of them.
    â€œYou’re careless,” Stynger said. “Perhaps you should come in and we’ll work on that flaw.”
    Panic flowed through Randolph’s system. He knew what she meant—that she would fuck with his head until he did whatever she asked of him. Even if it meant drilling a hole in his skull and shoving one of her precious devices inside.
    â€œI’ve got this,” he hurried to reassure her. “I’ll make sure she gets the next dose soon.”
    â€œYou’d better. If she goes without it for too long, we’ll have to start the process all over again. My test results will be skewed, and I’ll be very displeased.”
    â€œYou just worry about the relocation. I’ll handle Bella.”
    â€œSee that you do,” Stynger said. “Or I
will
make you.”

Chapter Eleven
    B ella was still shaking by the time she pulled into her driveway at home.
    What the hell was she thinking letting Victor pull her in like that? And hugging her? That was so far out of line, she didn’t even know what to call it. Insubordination seemed a tad extreme, especially considering how good it felt. Disrespectful was closer to the mark, but even that left a bad taste in her mouth. His intent seemed pure, if a bit misguided.
    The real problem was that she’d liked the hug far too much. Between the shitty day she’d had, which had caused a basic human need for comfort, and the way he lit her body up with physical need, being in his arms had been pretty fucking awesome.
    If only he hadn’t talked and screwed things up like that, they would have gone a lot further than just hugging. If she was smart, she’d thank him for