Joey jolted upright. “Cole?”
He tried to say her name, but his voice was cracked and hoarse, nearly nonexistent.
Joey looked around, reaching out of his view and coming back with a cup of water. She bent the straw forward for him to sip, and he winced at the effort it took to lean forward even that little bit.
“What happened?” he whispered.
Joey squeezed his hand again. “They gave you three units of blood and rushed you into surgery. Other than the blood loss, they said you’ll be okay. No major organ damage.”
Cole felt a surge of relief. “I can’t believe we got him. It’s over,” he said with a smile. “I love you so much, Joey.”
She pulled her hand from his. “There’s something you should know. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Cole.” She put the cup away and then stood, backing away from his bed.
He frowned and reached for her. His arm weighed a hundred pounds and fell back to the bed. “What’s wrong, Joey? Come back,” he pleaded. Why was she leaving him?
Joey paced the room, obviously upset. He shifted his weight again, ignoring the sharp stab of pain as he sat up farther.
“Come here,” he said through a wince. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”
Joey turned to him from across the room, her brow furrowed and her hands clenched. She crossed the room in a few steps. When her hand rejoined his, he relaxed. As long as she was there, it was like his mind and his body were able to rest.
“Cole. In the server room… Patrick’s program. I didn’t realize what had happened.”
Cole frowned, trying to follow her jumbled story. He shook his head. “I don’t understand. I watched you cancel the program.”
She hung her head. When she looked back up, there were tears in her eyes. Something was very wrong. “I didn’t get there in time. I was so close, but it…”
Cole’s heart dropped to his stomach. “What are you saying? It’s gone? All the research?” Everything he’d worked for, the money and time he’d spent pouring into long shot drug therapies. All the work they’d done mapping the effect of genetics on different dementia conditions. Everything was lost.
What would he do now? When Patrick had his gun trained on Cole, he’d hoped Joey would save the data instead of worrying about him. What good was his life if his life’s work had vanished? Then his eyes moved to their joined hands. Moisture gathered and flooded his own eyes in a moment.
All was lost. Yet somehow, he still had everything.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Cole’s tearsnearly broke her. She felt terrible. After everything they’d done, she’d failed at her mission. She’d been hired to protect the secrets of his company. And now, no secrets remained.
Joey shook her head. “No, they’re not gone. Patrick wasn’t trying to delete the server. I thought he was… but he uploaded it. Every confidential Zia file is completely public, accessible to anyone at the click of a button.”
Cole tipped his head back, letting out a noise that quickly transformed to a wheezy cough and then a wince. She grabbed his water from the table and held it to his lips.
“Shhh, I know it’s bad news, but you have to breathe.”
Cole reached for her arm, taking a sip of water, and then meeting her eyes. Instead of the anger and despair she expected, Cole’s eyes were bright and full of joy. A smile spread across his face as he laughed.
“So, it’s not gone?”
She shook her head slowly. “Well, no. It’s still there. It’s just completely leaked. It made national news and everything,” she explained. Maybe Cole wasn’t understanding. Were his meds making him loopy? “All of your trade secrets and breakthrough drug research is out there for the world to see.”
Cole was still laughing, a huge grin on his face.
“Cole! Stop it. You’re freaking me out.”
He paused his laughter long enough to say her name and lean back with a sigh. “I thought… You made it seem like it was gone forever.” He shook his head. “And honestly, I still felt like the luckiest guy in the world because you were still here.And Iwas still here.” He laughed again. “But then you tell me that it’s not really gone.”
“Yeah, but what about the company? Won’t this hurt Zia’s future?”
Cole’s energy was fading. “Oh, probably. But you know what? I’d rather share every proprietary piece of information with the world than be set back a decade or more. Zia will be fine.”