“HOW COULD YOU BRING HER HERE?!” I’m so furious my hands are pushing at his chest, shoving him, without any thought.
“You needed a subject to test who hasn’t been exposed to the epidemic. I brought you one.”
“And you just randomly picked my best friend?”
“Shay, it was a practical, obvious solution. There are very few people available in Scotland who aren’t either immune or dead: this group wasn’t too far away.”
“How did you even know about Iona?”
“From my computer—on Shetland. I saw the communications between you and Iona on her blog.”
“So you were why it was compromised. Does that mean it was you who sent people to Iona’s friend’s place? The one Kai was going to go to?”
“Yes, but he never showed.”
“Why were you trying to find him? It’s not like you get along.”
“No. But we were trying to find you, a known survivor. He seemed the best link. We didn’t know at that point that you were at the air force facility. Likewise, we also helped Freja get away from the authorities in London, but she disappeared with Kai before we could contact her.”
I shake my head, pushing out the questions, my wanting to know things that don’t matter right now when only one thing does—Iona.
“How could you bring Iona here? The epidemic has been here just a day ago. She might get sick. How could you just casually risk someone’s life like that?”
Not just anyone: Iona. Someone I care about.
“Don’t waste time.”
“What?”
“In case she gets sick, don’t waste time. Here is your chance to investigate someone who is well, and then see what happens if they get sick.”
My hand is a fist and taking a swing at him before I know what I’m doing, but he easily catches it in his hand. He’s half laughing, then serious. “Don’t push your luck, Shay.”
I stare at him: he’s my father, and he does these things? And it’s not just what he has done that hurts. It’s that he has done it to me, to someone I care about.
I back away from Xander, and I run.