Delmar hadn't been the same since he heard the recording. Something in him had shifted. Quietly, deeply. He paced the apartment in restless silence, his shoulders tense, his gaze lost in thoughts. He didn't ask much, but when he did, his questions were sharp, urgent, and hollowed by fear. Fear for the voices he heard on my phone...the ones I couldn't.
I could tell he was trying not to burden me with it. He offered small smiles that didn't quite reach his eyes. He kept his voice calm, even when his hands trembled while drying a plate or folding K'liira's towel. But I wasn't blind. Whatever he had heard in that recording, it had gutted something inside him.
And the distance...God, the distance was killing me.
Delmar used to orbit me, his attention unwavering, his strange eyes always watching like I was the sun he couldn't touch. But now? He barely looked at me. He spent more time with K'liira, gently guiding her through basic human routines, teaching her how to comb her hair or mix cereal, and less time speaking to me at all.
It had always been me building the wall between us, brick by hesitant brick. But now that he was on the other side of it... it hurt in places I didn't know I had. What scared me more was the fact that he had started looking for a place of his own. He had taken up the job as a diving instructor, and every night I heard him browsing rentals on the computer with K'liira by his side. He didn't ask if I was okay with it. Maybe because he assumed it was for the best.
I should've been happy. He was blending in, finding his footing in a world that wasn't made for him. But all I could think was...he was moving on. Without me. The one person in this world who might have actually loved me, and I had pushed him far enough that he no longer reached back.
Peter hadn't spoken to me in two days either. And while under normal circumstances I would've rejoiced at the silence, now it only made things worse. I needed him. Not emotionally, I didn't think I ever would but practically. I needed access. Information. Guidance.
So yeah... if licking Peter's ass could get me access to the truth, I'd seriously consider it. Metaphorically, of course.
I headed to the A-Wing, where Peter kept an office meant for his research assistants. It was a small, cluttered room buried in the corner of the graduate cubicle cluster, usually reeking of coffee and tuna sandwiches. He often held private meetings here, either to grade papers, flirt, or rant about institutional politics.
But instead of Peter, I found Liam.
He stood with his back to me, bent over a work table lined with feeding trays, mixing powdered supplements into containers of thawed mackerel and squid. A soft whirring came from the centrifuge in the corner, and his gloved hands moved with an unhurried rhythm.
I hesitated at the door. "Hey... can I come in?"
Liam turned. His brows lifted, unimpressed. "Sure," he said flatly. "Make it quick."
We had met once before, during a department potluck where he offered me a spoonful of seaweed salad and told me about his pet turtle named Mandu. He was likable in a subdued kind of way, and not officially part of the core research team. As one of the contracted marine biologists handling animal care, Liam's job involved tank sanitation, monitoring vitals, and keeping the aquatic residents fed and stimulated.
More importantly, he'd been Peter's assistant for over a year. Longer than I'd even known Peter.
"What are you doing?" I asked, forcing a smile as I stepped into the room.
"Making sure our dolphins don't die of malnutrition," he muttered, scraping powder into a mixing dish. "Do you need something?"
"Yeah, actually. Is Peter here?"
Liam leaned against the counter, wiping his gloved hands on a cloth before folding his arms. "Really?" he scoffed. "After whatever the hell happened between you two, you're still looking for him?"
I blinked. "Wait, he told you something?"
"Not just me. The whole grad circle's buzzing. This place doesn't get much action and romance between a senior researcher and a PHD student is a lapping material."
I rolled my eyes and laughed bitterly. "Of course."
"He's pissed," Liam added with a sigh. "Whatever you did must have really bruised his ego."
I clenched my jaw. "Look, I don't care about his gossip. I just need to talk to him."
"Why?" Liam asked, not even trying to hide his suspicion.
"Because I need some information."
"What kind of information?"
"Why do you care?" I snapped, the irritation bubbling up.
He looked at me for a long second, chewing on the inside of his cheek like he was weighing something. Then, without a word, he stripped off his gloves and motioned for me to follow.
We exited through a side corridor and took a service elevator to the facility's basement level, where the Rescue Wing for recovering marine life was located. A low hum filled the air, punctuated by filtered water rushing through the wall tanks. The lighting here was dimmer, clinical, and colder.
He walked ahead of me into the dolphin holding area, casually grabbing a bunch of fish from the bucket and tossed them one by one into the tank, two dolphins swam up and gently nudged his arm.
"Liam," I called, arms crossed. "Are you going to tell me where Peter is, or did you bring me here for dolphin therapy?"
He turned to me slowly, his face unreadable. "I respect you, Kash. I really do. But whatever it is you're doing with Peter... it's not safe."
I scoffed. "What is this, an intervention?"
"You clearly don't like him. Not that I blame you, he's a man-child with a superiority complex. But seriously...whatever you are trying to do...stop."
I stiffened. "How do you know I am trying to do something?"
He raised a brow. "Seriously? Anyone with a working pair of eyes can tell.The whole act is a joke, and he knows it too."
"Well, maybe I'm just not affectionate in public," I said sharply. "Not that it's any of your business."
He shook his head. "You're not his type, Kash. Never were. Have you thought he probably has ulterior motives too."
The way he said it, it make me pause. "What are you talking about?"
"I know..." His voice was quieter now. "I know what are you really after?"
I hesitated, but the tension in the air snapped when a tall man in a gray blazer and formal ID badge entered the room. One of the board members. A big deal.
"Liam," he said curtly. "A word."
Liam nodded, tossing the last fish into the tank before pulling off his lab coat. He looked back at me once as he left. "You should find someone else to play. Preferably one who doesn't work in a classified lab."
Then he was gone, leaving the heavy silence and the echo of swimming dolphins behind me.
And my mouth still hanging open.
***
The marine holding room was colder than usual, the scent of brine and fish food clinging to the air. A dolphin thudded its fluke against the tank's edge somewhere nearby, the rhythmic splash oddly calming in the stillness. I sat on the low bench outside the equipment storage room, arms crossed, trying not to look out of place among the interns and maintenance crew.
Liam returned nearly an hour later, walking fast, his expression stormy. The moment his eyes landed on me, his frown deepened into a scowl.
"What the hell are you still doing here?" he snapped, pulling off his gloves and tossing them onto a shelf.
I stood. "What business did you have with the Board?"
His jaw tightened. "None of your concern."
That tone, that dismissal...it sparked something hot and reckless inside me. "I just wanted to make one thing clear," I said, keeping my voice calm even though my fingers itched to throw something. "Whatever Peter's told you, he's lying. There are things you don't understand, and I don't expect you to. Yes, I need information from Peter, for personal reasons, but it's not about money. I know you think so..a lot of people here think that."
"What do you need from him then?" he asked.
I looked over my shoulder, meeting his gaze. "None of your concern," I said, echoing his earlier words with a glare.
"What are you hiding, Kashton Berry? Son of Dr. Caleb Berry?" he muttered after a pause, eyes narrowed.
My breath caught. "How do you know my father's name?"
"It's not classified. One quick background check...hell, a Google search, anyone here can make the connection if they bother to look."
I clenched my fists. "I have to go."
Panic surged. This guy could ruin everything. One word to the right administrator, one line in an email, and I'd be blacklisted from marine research forever.
"They are onto you," he said, quieter now, but his voice dripped with warning. "Whatever you're doing, whatever you think you're digging into, the NDA you signed when you joined this program is legally binding. You could go to prison. Do you understand that?"
I turned, swallowing hard. "Why do I feel like you know something you're not saying?"
He studied me for a long beat. His eyes, sharp and calculating, seemed to strip me bare.
"We need to talk. Seriously."
I hesitated. "Then give me your number. Let's meet after work."
"No," he said quickly. "I can't be seen with you outside. Not now. Not after this."
I understood the fear. Something deeper was happening inside that B-Wing. Something that had even the staff walking on glass.
"Fine. Take my number." I gave it to him in a low voice. "Text me your address. I'll come to you."
He nodded once, then walked away without another word, leaving me standing in the cold hum of the facility's fluorescent lights, wondering just how far I'd already gone.
And how much further I was willing to go.
***
Read the explicit version of the book on Patreon. Link ( https://www.patreon.com/RHRose )