“Come to repair the O-ring on the stove?” Bianca said. “Or is it the flux capacitor this time?”
Nina stifled a laugh while Jaime flushed a deep crimson. He looked like he wanted to argue, then thought better of it and ignored the barb, turning to Nina.
“I been watching the news, bonita,” he said. “They’re saying this Cipher guy killed that one girl in Georgetown because she looked like you.”
She had no desire to start a discussion about the case with him. “That’s the theory.”
“I could stay here while you’re gone if you have to leave town again,” he said. “Keep an eye on the place.”
Bianca snorted. “And sniff all her undies.”
He rounded on her. “That is so wrong, mi’jita. You got a dirty mind for a young girl. I think you spend too much time on the internet.”
Nina gave him a firm response. “Thanks for the offer, but no.”
Jaime wasn’t ready to give up. He stepped closer to Nina. “I know you got a gun and stuff, but that guy could sneak in here while you’re away and hide. Then when you come back, he—”
“I can take care of myself just fine.”
Bianca put a hand on her hip. “If he comes in here, she’ll kick his ass.”
“What if he surprises you?” Jaime suddenly darted behind Nina and wrapped his arms around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides. “Like this.”
Instinctively, she snapped her neck back, headbutting him in the chin before spinning out of his grasp.
“Damn.” Jaime rubbed his jaw.
She glared at him. “If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t grab me like that.”
“What about like this?” Jaime reached out and circled her neck with his hands.
The feel of thick fingers around her throat sent Nina’s heart racing. She was in the back of the Cipher’s van. Gloved hands squeezed her windpipe, gradually increasing their relentless pressure. Cutting off her screams. Suffocating her. She struggled against the tape binding her wrists and ankles. The monster leaned in close, panting with anticipation. The world darkened around the edges, then her ears rang with the laughter that spilled from his cruel lips.
She raked the edge of her shoe down Jaime’s shin and stomped on his foot, simultaneously bringing her arms up in a swift arc to break his hold. She barely managed to stop herself before palm-striking the bridge of his nose.
“Stop it, Jaime!” The fear in Bianca’s voice brought Nina fully back into the present.
Jaime was hopping on one foot, cursing in two languages.
“I think you’d better go,” Nina said to him as her breathing slowed to normal.
“Yeah. I can see you got this.” He straightened. “Glad I could help you . . . uh . . . practice your moves.” Making no mention of the leaky windowsills that had been his purported reason for coming, he shuffled stiffly, trying to hide his limp, as he left.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Bianca burst out laughing.
Nina raised a brow. “It’s not funny when people get hurt, Bee.”
“I know, but it’s Jaime.” She gave her head a small shake. “I mean, he comes in here all macho, trying to be the big bad protector, and you just totally kicked his ass.”
“He means well.”
“He means to get in your panties.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“I know that. You know that. The rest of the building knows that. But he keeps trying anyway.” Bianca blew out an exaggerated sigh. “Denial is a powerful thing.”
“Words of wisdom from the girl who never dates.”
“I don’t see you going out on Saturday nights. Or having any men over to visit.” Bianca aimed a thumb at her chest. “I’m helping my professor create the next generation of implantable nanotechnology. What’s your excuse?”
She had no excuse. At least none that she could admit. Stalling for time to come up with a glib retort, she glanced down at the bright colors on Bianca’s T-shirt. Tilting her head, she leaned closer, taking in the design for the first time.
“Nina?” Bianca’s tone held concern.
“I’m fine. I was just . . . I like your T-shirt. Where did you get it?”
Bianca looked down. “It’s from the science club competition at the end of last semester. Funny, right?”
The black cotton shirt featured a color-coded depiction of the entire periodic table with the phrase WE’RE IN OUR ELEMENT beneath it.
Nina tried a laugh that came out hollow. “Gotta love science humor.”
“Where have you been? Nerds are considered cool now.”
Nina winked. “Good to hear, because I’m at least twenty percent nerd myself.”
“Excuse me, but you are ninety percent badass,” Bianca said. “Whatever makes up the other ten percent doesn’t matter.”
She must be better at faking than she thought. The momentary distraction was giving her space to breathe as she came down from the Jaime-induced adrenaline rush. Jet lag had slowed her normal recovery time. “I need another bottle of water. I’m dehydrated.”
“That’s because the air on planes is recycled.” Bianca grabbed a second bottle from the fridge and passed it to her. “You probably didn’t drink enough to make up for two cross-country flights.”
“I hear they recycle their toilet water too,” Nina said, unscrewing the top. “Do you think that’s why airplane coffee tastes funny?”
Bianca laughed in midgulp. “You made me snarf my water.”
Nina put her bottle on the counter. “I’ll get a paper towel.”
She waited as Bianca dabbed at the front of her shirt, the moisture darkening the neon design. She squinted at the neat rows of boxes, each with letters in the center and numbers in the corner.
Letters and numbers.
She grabbed Bianca’s wrist and yanked her arm away.
“What the hell, Nina?” Bianca took a step back.
She released her grip and whirled, looking for her laptop. After a fruitless search through the living room, she remembered it was still packed in her suitcase. Ignoring Bianca’s questions, she raced to her bedroom to retrieve the computer and brought it back, opening it on the kitchen table.
Bianca stared down at her. “Care to share?”
“Your T-shirt gave me an idea,” she said as the laptop booted up. “It could be way off, but I need to check.”
“Is this about the Cipher’s clue?” Bianca grew excited. “Let me help. I could seriously use five hundred thousand bucks.” She scooted a chair beside her. “And bragging rights.”
Nina googled the periodic table. “Hand me a sheet of paper and a pencil from that drawer over there.” She jerked her chin toward the junk drawer at the far corner of the kitchen counter.
Bianca dug through the contents and came back to the table moments later. “I’ll pull up an image of the clue on the card he left in San Francisco. You write down the matching elements.”
Nina spared Bianca a quick grin as she grabbed the paper and pencil. The girl caught on quickly. At times like these, Nina remembered Bianca had an IQ north of 160.
Bianca read the numbers, pausing between each so Nina could look for the atomic numbers and jot down the corresponding chemical names and element symbols.