“Anyway,” Detective Atwood said, “if you could gather any information you have on your research, as well as anyone who has access to your lab and who could’ve potentially overheard your discussions, I’ll need to take that to the station.”
“But I can’t just send you our research,” he blustered. “It’s confidential. It’s our life’s work. It’s—”
“Part of my investigation until I find who killed your friend,” Detective Atwood said bluntly.
I wandered the circumference of the room before ending up near the northernmost wall, which housed a window divided into multiple glass panes forming a geometrical design. Outside, students bustled by chatting happily, completely unaware that one of their professors had been killed in cold blood.
Even though we were only a few stories up, my legs threatened to give out on me at how high we were. I started to look away before my gaze snagged on a familiar head of brown curls walking among the students. Oh no. Desmarc was here! Why in the blighted aether was he heading for this exact building where he’d find me investigating a murder with a Blue Cape?
I spun around, heart pounding as I tried to remember if I’d seen any other exits on our way up. Maybe taking the stairs would reveal more options. “I have to go.”
Detective Atwood caught the panic in my expression and straightened. “You have twenty minutes to gather the information before your escort arrives from the Iron Watch,” he said to McNeil. “I’m going to walk my...partner here out, and then I’ll be back to stay with you until they arrive.”
Detective Atwood strode out the door after me, leaving Professor McNeil opening and closing his mouth without saying anything.
“You don’t have to come. You probably want to stay and guard Professor McNeil.” I was already halfway down the hall and heading to the stairs.
“That’s all right. I don’t believe he’s in any immediate danger here. I’ll accompany you to the edge of campus, then come back and stay with him until another officer arrives.” Detective Atwood grabbed my elbow to stop me. “Poppy, what’s wrong?”
“I saw my fiancé outside.” I scanned the hallways, looking for another exit.
“And you don’t want him to see you with me?” The concern melted from his expression into something I didn’t have time to decipher.
“Nothing good will come of it.” I quickened my pace and practically ran down the stairs while scanning for other exits. “He’ll inform Papá, and if that happens, you can say goodbye to my chances of helping with anything else.”
“Oh,” he said as we made it back to the first floor and headed down the checkerboard hall.
Desmarc’s tall form leaned over the desk as he spoke with the woman who’d given us directions earlier.
“Go down that hall, and you’ll find it,” the woman said most unhelpfully, pointing Desmarc in the worst possible direction. “If you—”
My heart jumped to my throat. He was heading right for us!
“Come on.” I yanked on Detective Atwood’s hand and pulled open the first door in the hallway to reveal a dark storeroom no more than a few feet deep. I ran inside, pulling Detective Atwood behind me and shutting the door.
“What are you—”
“Shh.” I strained to hear any noise and almost tripped over a broom handle in the darkness. My panicked breathing threatened to drown out all other sounds.
A door opened across the hall, then a man spoke. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“My pleasure,” Desmarc replied. “Thank you for the invitation.”
I exhaled in relief. One second slower and he would’ve seen my mad dash into the broom closet with Detective Atwood.
“I know many of the Guardians have expressed an interest in what we’ve been working on,” the other man, who must’ve been a professor, said. “I understand that Meridian Annandale is incredibly busy these days, and I appreciate you coming in his place.”
“The Guardians would prefer to stay on top of anything that could give us an edge in the next renewal,” Desmarc said. “And since I’m part of the Technology and Innovation Guild and working closely with Meridian Annandale, it made the most sense.”
I chewed on my lip. I’d thought AIR U was more removed from politics, but maybe I was wrong.
Detective Atwood shifted, possibly trying to hear better, but it made me intimately aware of how close we stood. How improper this was. How my hand had somehow landed on his arm and how incredibly hard his muscles were. His body was one giant ball of heat pulling me toward him.
“You’re too close,” I whispered as a thick metal pipe running from floor to ceiling dug into my back. The closet was small enough to leave us standing chest to chest. One of his arms rested on the wall next to my head, making him loom over me.
“You’re the one that pulled us in here.” His warm breath tickled my face from his proximity, but I dared not shift away when it might wedge us in even more tightly.
The thought sent my heart rate spiking. I’d been an idiot to pull Detective Atwood in here with me. I should’ve let him stay in the open. He had nothing to hide, but now that we were in here together, we looked extremely guilty. Not to mention that if anyone found us, it could ruin my engagement with Desmarc.
A thread of guilt slithered through me at the way my pulse raced. It shouldn’t be doing that. I was engaged to be married, and I cared for Desmarc, yet I was hyperaware of how close Detective Atwood was.
“Are you always so impetuous?” he whispered with a soft laugh.
I quivered at the feel of his breath, grateful for the faint light that surely hid my blush.
He put a hand against the wall near my head, putting it close enough to me that if I twisted my head a little, my lips would brush his arm.
I was careful not to move even though it felt like my pounding heart might give away our location.
“I’m afraid I don’t have long,” Desmarc said, drawing me back to the conversation taking place in the hall. “I’m planning on visiting my fiancée after this.”
“Of course. Of course.” There was a muffled thump, as if the man was clapping a hand on Desmarc’s shoulder. “I’ll try not to take too much of your time.” A door closed in the hall, then silence fell.
I tilted my head up to look at Detective Atwood through the sliver of light coming between the cracks of the door, and my hat started to slide off before getting caught on the wall. “I have to get home.”
“I know.” He reached around me in the cramped space and replaced my hat on my head, then he swallowed.
In the semidarkness, I was strangely aware of the chiseled line of his jaw above me and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. His eyes gleamed, and I had to look away.
“Do you think it’s safe?” I whispered.
“I’ll go first and make sure,” he said just a moment before he opened the door and stole into the hall.
The burst of light was blinding, but I only had a moment to be dazzled by it before he shut the door again, leaving me in near-darkness.
I let out a breath of relief. That was too close.
The door opened again. “The coast is clear. Come on.”
I stumbled into the hall and walked toward the exit without looking at Detective Atwood. Hopefully his own eyes were still adjusting so he couldn’t make out how red my face was. As long as I didn’t pull us into situations like that anymore, I’d be fine. It wasn’t fair to Desmarc either.
We made it all the way back to the university gates without saying a word.
“Well, I should go home now,” I said, twisting my fingers together behind my back. “I don’t want any more unexpected visitors sneaking up on me today.”
Detective Atwood laughed, though it sounded a little strained. “Yes, we wouldn’t want that.”
“Good luck with the case.” I forced a slight smile, trying to ignore the way my stomach knotted with residual nerves.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Good luck?”
“Would you rather I wish you bad luck?” I fidgeted with my gloves.
His lips twitched. “We’ve had more progress in the last two hours than in the last two days,” he said. “I don’t need luck, I need you.” His eyes widened a little. “I mean in a professional sense. For the good of the investigation.”
“Oh.” My heart fluttered. I’d done it. I’d proven to someone how useful I could be, and I was going to be able to help. “I look forward to hearing from you, then.”