Ben, who had a nose like a bloodhound, squinted slightly as he sidled up to Nick, taking a closer look at hisplexion. Yep, he wasn''t imagining it; Nick was ghostly pale.


    Nick was hanging on by a thread, his guard down a notch. By the time he realized Ben was close, it was a tad toote. As Nick looked up, their eyes locked, and he caught the trace of suspicion in Ben''s gaze.


    In that heartbeat, one thought red in Nick''s mind: Ben''s onto me.


    Nick''s nerves went taut. The guy in front of him was the only one he''d ever tangled with. Even though Ben wasn''t the strongest, his sharp instincts made him a formidable judge of character. And now, with Nick''s injuries leaking through his coat, the metallic tang of blood was hard to hide.


    If anyone found out about his wounds, he wouldn''t make it out of the institute today. It didn''t matter if he had anything to do with the missing data his colleagues were worried about the me wouldnd squarely on him.


    He couldn''t afford to blow his cover.


    Nick''s fingers clenched, his mind racing through escape ns.


    "I noticed you''re looking a bit pale. Are you hurt?" Ben asked, his toneced with the kind of concern you''d expect from a coworker.


    Keeping his cool, Nick replied casually, "You know how it is in research. Lack of sun gives us this lovelyplexion."


    Ben''s eyes flickered with doubt, but he smiled and said, "I just caught a whiff of blood, thought you might be hurt."


    Nick shifted slightly in his seat, letting his jacket cor fall open to reveal a ck sweater underneath, "Probably just some patient''s blood from a recent surgery," he said.


    Ben''s gaze lingered on the sweater for a moment, his voice light, "Ah, got it."


    Nick''s lips tightened slightly into a aposed line, opting not to drag the chat any further. Just then, the


    Chimed, slicing through the


    tension.  Swnovel


    Ben''s eyes darted to the door. Nick took a small, relieved breath.


    Over at the desk, Manuel had


    ???


    velmet


    already hit the button to open the door, and in walked Dr. Ray''s


    assistant. He nodded at Manuel and the professors in greeting content belongs to swnovel


    Manuel put his notebook down and asked, "Dr. Ray need something from me?"


    Shaking his head, the assistant turned to Nick instead, "Dr. Ray''s looking for Professor Holt."


    Ben raised an eyebrow, surprised, and nced at the assistant.


    Nick''s tension spiked, not eased. He pulled his jacket tighter. Why on earth was Dr. Ray looking for him now?


    Manuel, who''d been hoping to chat with the young T5 researcher, said, "Alright then, Mirabe, you better get going."


    Nick couldn''t figure out what Dr. Ray wanted, so he stood, nodded to Manuel, and followed the assistant out.


    The faint blood scent still hung in the air. Ben watched the door for a second before turning back to Manuel and the professors. The air seemed clearer now.


    Ben''s eyes swept over Nick''s empty


    chair, deep in thought. This guy from the T5 Research Institute-he


    seemed to be more than just your run-of-the-mill researcher.  swnovel