Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

before he saw it in her eyes.
    The shifter pulled right up to the front door and parked the car, then jumped out to open the door for Tiernan. She had no polite way to refuse, so Brennan had to endure several seconds when she was in easy reach of the driver. If the shifter really had been experimented on and chose this moment to succumb to the madness, Brennan wouldn’t be able to reach her in time to save her. Brennan had far too much experience with the damage an enraged shifter could do with his claws and teeth to be anything but tense until she safely reached his side.
    “Welcome to the Litton Neuro-Research Institute,” the scientist said with a flourish, opening the large metal door. “Prepare to be amazed.”
    “Oh, I am, Dr. Litton,” Brennan told him as they entered the building. “I definitely am.”
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Chapter 23
    Tiernan had been nervous enough about the drive down the back road to Out-in-the-Boonies, but the metal detector at the doorway ratcheted her anxiety level to an eight or nine. Brennan surely had his daggers with him, and that was going to go over badly. Really badly.
    The shifter had lied about being part of Lucas’s Pack, so he was definitely one of Litton’s thugs, but that was no surprise. Litton was too paranoid to have anybody but people he could control around him, she’d bet. She’d met the type before, and they hadn’t even been mad scientists.
    Brennan never even paused. He sauntered through the metal detector like he was a celebrity on a red carpet. The machine didn’t make a peep.
    After all her worry about Brennan, the machine buzzed loudly when she walked through, and she flinched. The very bored-looking attendant perked up, probably at the opportunity for trouble. He shot up out of his seat, his hand hovering near the pocket of his jacket. “Weapon?”
    Tiernan smiled. “Cell phone.” She put the phone in the little tray and walked through again, this time with no buzzing. Litton, who had been practically dancing from foot to foot the whole time, led them down a short hallway and into a large conference room.
    “We’ll be in here for the presentation, and then I’ll take you on a tour of the lab,” he told Brennan.
    “I’d prefer a more casual approach,” Brennan said. “Why don’t we walk around the lab now and save the formal presentation for later or even tomorrow? I like to see my dollars at work, so to speak.”
    Litton didn’t like that idea at all. His face turned an unhealthy purple color and he started spluttering. “Oh, no, no, that won’t do at all. You know scientists, Mr. Brennan, a bunch of people more set in their ways you’re unlikely to find soon. We have to let them follow the plan or they’ll get confused and unhappy. Unhappy scientists don’t do good work.”
    “We’re so lucky you’re not like that, Dr. Litton,” Tiernan said sweetly, finding it hard not to laugh when he scuttled out of there, muttering something about coffee and back in fifteen minutes.
    Brennan crossed the space separating them until he was standing so close to her that his breath ruffled her hair when he spoke. “You shouldn’t tease the evil scientist.”
    She shivered a little from the sensation of his warm breath traveling down her neck. “I know, but he annoys me so much. Even if I didn’t hate him for everything he does and everything he stands for, I’d still want to kick him in the nuts just on general principles.”
    The deep timbre of Brennan’s laughter sent another shiver down her spine and she moved a Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
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    prudent distance away, pretending to be fascinated by the tray of coffee cups. Then she remembered what she’d wanted to ask him and returned so she could speak quietly and avoid any eaves-droppers or bugs.
    It wasn’t paranoid if there was a good chance it might be true.
    “How did you make it past that metal detector?” she murmured, scratching her nose to cover her mouth in case they were on video surveillance. Although maybe that was a bit over the top.
    What was the likelihood that they had lip readers on staff?
    “The only—”
    She cut him off by pulling his head down and kissing him, then pretending to nuzzle his ear.
    “The room might be bugged. Maybe whisper in my ear?”
    He put his arms around her and pulled her very close to his hard body. “Finally, a mission I approve of one thousand percent,”