Page 12 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Maybe Marcel was just shooting in the dark.

Lifting the pillow off her face, Sofia wiped her tear-stained cheeks with the blanket. "I have a life back in Finland. I want to go back to the university and resume my studies. I have family and friends whom I miss."

Marcel arched a brow. "Are they in Finland? Or are they a little farther to the east?"

He knew about the compound, and the only way he could was if Jade had told them about it.

"I can't say."

She wouldn't even if she could. She didn't know these people and what they wanted with Igor. They could have him, but they couldn't have all the innocent people living under his rule.

"Try to get some sleep." He patted her shoulder and got up. "I'll wake you up when it's time."

8

MARCEL

Once Sofia had finally fallen asleep, Marcel left the bunker and headed to the clinic.

Her tears had sliced at his heart, and yet he couldn't bring himself to comfort her above promising her that she wouldn't be physically harmed.

Even though he believed that she'd been forced into the situation, he couldn't overcome the disappointment he felt and be there for her.

When he got to the new clinic in the clan's enclave, the Guardians were muscling a huge crate through the doorway. The door had been removed and was propped against the wall, but the opening was so tight that the crate scraped the jambs on both sides.

Marcel had never seen an MRI machine before, and he had never had a reason to go over its specs either, so he'd assumed that it was a reasonably sized medical device, but given the Guardians' sweaty foreheads and their grunts, the thing was not only large but also heavy. It was on a wheeled platform, and yet the men were working hard to push it through the doorway.

Standing next to the orphaned door, Julian observed the operation with a frown.

Marcel stopped next to him. "I didn't know the device was so large."

"It's a monster. My mother must have forgotten how heavy this thing was when she decided to move it here."

"How heavy is it?"

"About six thousand pounds."

"What's in it, lead?"

"Close. It's a magnet. Magnetic resonance imaging uses the body's magnetic properties to produce images. I won't bore you with the details of how it works. If you are interested, you can look it up."

"I might do that. Can it harm Sofia?"

Julian shook his head. "An MRI doesn't use radiation, so it's much safer than X-rays. It won't harm her in any way. Some studies have reported an increase in DNA damage due to cardiac MRI scans, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. These devices are routinely used as a diagnostic tool in hospitals and are considered very safe."

"I'm surprised that Bridget sent the big machine here after Kian decided to close operations in Safe Haven."

Julian shrugged. "I wasn't told anything about plans to shut the place down. Is it because of your spy?"

"She's not my spy or my anything." The lie tasted sour on his tongue. He cared about Sofia whether he was willing to admit it or not. "And not because of her. If you want to blame anyone, blame Jade. This whole mess started because of her."

Julian lifted his hands. "I'm not blaming anyone. I'm just stating cause and effect. She came, and we need to leave."

"I'm not sure that's a certain outcome. We need to interrogate her first and find out what force we are dealing with."

As the doctor nodded, the Guardians managed to push the crate through by dislodging the doorjambs.

"It will take me about half an hour to set it up, and then I'm ready for your girl. Is she asleep?"