The Vines by Shelley Nolden (ebook and pdf reader .TXT) 📕

“Listen, I don’t want to cause any trouble between you two.”

Bastard. She’d been so wrong about him. That fact that he would imply that Finn felt anything but concern for Cora . . . The insinuation had to be Kristian’s way of getting back at Finn for freeing the woman. Finn was devoted to her; Lily knew that. Yet she herself had done a double take at the ruggedly beautiful woman—exactly Finn’s type.

“Anyway, you’re free to leave. Tomorrow you can go back to work. I’m sure being cooped up here has been especially miserable for you.”

Vicious bastard.

September

s the seal on the door marked “Patient Files” wheezed open, the sharp smell of antiseptic hit Lily, knocking her back to her junior year of high school.

Eyeing her nervously, Rollie flicked a switch; a halogen light illuminated a wash station, bins of PPE, and a neon-red biohazard waste container.

Lily’s oncology nurses had worn purple hazmat suits when dispensing her chemo. The memory triggered the fiery sensation of a blood-orange chemical coursing through her veins. She shook her head. Right now, she couldn’t afford to be burdened by the past. Beyond the plastic sheath at the end of this air lock lay the Gettlers’ secret laboratory. And her boyfriend.

“We’ll take it slow.” Rollie smiled at her, briefly revealing his coffee-stained teeth, and shut the outer door.

Before all this, the way his grin stretched from his loose jowl up to his eyes had always melted away the discomfort she’d felt after one of his offhand remarks about the influence of family structure on child development. Although he’d never said it, she knew her upbringing as an only child, raised by a single mom, concerned him. Now that she had some understanding of their secrets, it made sense why he’d always seemed to be evaluating her fit for inclusion in his family.

To be fair, however, Rollie had always been supportive. Through his praise and questions that showed his genuine interest, she knew he was proud of her for finishing in the top 10 percent of her college class, as well as for her work with the Central Park Conservancy. “Oh. You’re a gardener.” That had been Leonard’s reaction after asking how she planned to use the degree paid for by the trust he’d established shortly after her birth.

Now Rollie’s disarming smile made her skin crawl. A part of her longed to tell him that she’d had her own reservations about joining their fucked-up family cult. But she loved Finn, and right now he needed her.

“Let’s get going, please. I want to see him.”

“You will, but we need to follow protocol, starting with your jewelry.” He pointed to a tray next to the sink. “It could puncture the suit. And Lils, you—”

“Don’t call me that.”

Rollie rubbed his jaw. “I understand I’ve lost your trust for now. But that’s why I brought you here.” He reached for her but quickly withdrew. “You’re like a daughter to me. And always will be, even if you and Finn—”

“Don’t,” she said with a scowl.

He rubbed his heavily lined forehead. “I invited you here so you can see the full magnitude of what’s at stake. This isn’t just for Sylvia; it’s for you, too.”

“Is it also for Finn? Because you don’t seem to care what happens to him.”

His hand drifted to a scar at the corner of his jaw, his “Zugzwang Tell,” as Finn called it. Whenever the two played chess, Rollie’s fingers rested there when he’d run out of moves that wouldn’t put him at a disadvantage. The only other time Lily had seen him do it was while discussing Sylvia’s therapies.

“He’s the world to me,” Rollie said in a stern tone, his voice stretched thin by age and exhaustion. “My—and Sylvia’s—greatest accomplishment.”

Lily picked at a nail. Finn had once told her that Ulrich had pressured Rollie into marrying his first wife, a woman of pure German descent. Although Rollie had loved Sylvia more than Petra, it had been Kristian—not Finn—who’d received preferential status.

“Let’s see how he’s doing,” she said curtly as she tied back her hair.

She let Rollie help her into a Teflon suit and rubber boots. Following his lead, she raised her hood and put on a respirator and face shield, then elbow-high rubber gloves.

He unzipped the plastic tarp and held it open for her.

At the sight of medical equipment, she suddenly felt like her boots were bolted to the floor.

Reminding herself that Finn needed her, Lily envisioned a plant—this time, a bougainvillea. Slowly, the tension in her muscles dissipated and she stepped into the lab.

Searching for Finn, she took in the long row of metal cabinets, computer desk, industrial freezer, incubator, centrifuge, and five microscopes arranged across three lab stations.

From a cot at the far end of the room, Finn grinned at her through his face shield. “Hey, gorgeous.”

She beamed back at him, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies agitated the queasiness in her stomach.

Distantly, behind her, she heard Rollie sealing the air lock.

Finn began to rise, then wavered. He grabbed the rim of the folding bed for support.

Lily rushed toward him, but he motioned for her to stay back. “I got it.”

“Take it easy.” Rollie helped Finn up.

“You said he wasn’t sick,” Lily said accusingly.

“He’s not. He’s had some minor, common reactions to the vaccines, but nothing serious.”

Just three weeks after Rollie had declared all three Gettler men disease-free, he’d asked Finn to return to the island to convince Cora to help Sylvia. “You now have a rapport with her,” he’d said. As if that were reason enough for Finn to reengage with the deadly woman.

Lily had considered begging him to say no, but she would do anything for her mother, even this. So she’d given him a deep kiss good-bye before he’d left to receive far too many inoculations at one time. They’d had no choice: the heron nesting season would be over soon.

“So,” Finn said, crossing the room to Lily’s side, “now you have us both here.” He squeezed her hand