Night Shade

by Bianca D’Arc

  “Do you remember the flat tire I got on the way here?” Matt didn’t like the sound of this but didn’t interrupt. “The tire didn’t blow out on its own. It was shot out.” He really didn’t like the sound of that. “Rodriguez and some goon of his ran me off the road. He wanted me to join his team. I refused. He began threatening me around the time the patrol car showed up.”

  “You called the cops?”

  “First thing.” She nodded shakily. “As I pulled off the road I dialed nine-one-one. Luckily Rodriguez talked long enough that he couldn’t do anything worse than just threaten me before help arrived.”

  “Dammit, Eileen!” He wanted to hit something but was still weak as a kitten. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me about this long before now. He threatened you. Didn’t you think it was important to share that fact with me?”

  She looked even guiltier as she met his gaze.

  “That isn’t the only time he threatened me.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Remember the day you met up with me in the base cafeteria? That guy I was talking to? He was a messenger sent by Rodriguez. He was also driving the car that ran me off the road. He was about to make a scene before I saw you enter.”

  “Same question.” Matt was fast losing patience. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want a cloud hanging over me. I know you had your doubts about me when Xavier and Sarah first asked me to treat Sam. Just by virtue of my being part of the original science team that developed the contagion, I was already under suspicion. I didn’t want anyone to know that some of the old team members had been in touch with me.”

  “But it would have given you more legitimacy to have been honest with me from the beginning.” He shook his head at her reasoning. It didn’t make any sense…unless…

  Shit.

  “What did you do, Eileen?”

  It was the question she’d been dreading, but the time had come to pay the piper. At least part of the balance. She’d try to hedge her bets if she could. She’d give Matt part of the truth. The part she could bear to reveal.

  “Back before I realized what he was up to, Dr. Sellars contacted me. I’d just started my new job on Long Island and I didn’t realize what a slimeball Sellars was. Unlike Rodriguez, who’d always rubbed me the wrong way, I got along well with Dr. Sellars. He was at least polite to me when we worked together before.”

  “We already knew Sellars e-mailed you, but you denied any involvement with him when the team first contacted you.” The suspicion in Matt’s eyes nearly broke her heart.

  “I didn’t tell you the whole truth. While it was true I’d turned down Dr. Sellars when he invited me to dinner to discuss joining his research, that wasn’t the only communication I’d gotten from him.” She took a deep breath before continuing. She hated this. “Several weeks before, Dr. Sellars asked for my help with a chemical equation he was working on. He didn’t say what it was for and he only gave me the part he was having trouble with. Like a dope, I solved his puzzle for him and somehow Rodriguez found out. I began to suspect, when I first examined Sam, that the equation I’d solved had to do with the so-called improvements Sellars made to the contagion. I felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner. Rodriguez knew I’d helped Sellars. He was trying to use the information against me. He threatened me with exposure.”

  “What did you decide?”

  “I was at an impasse. I refused outright to help him in any way, but I really didn’t want you to know what I’d so foolishly done. I didn’t want you to look at me the way you’re looking at me right now.” Her voice broke, much to her chagrin. She turned her face away, cut deeply by the accusation in Matt’s gaze.

  “You were going to let him blackmail you?”

  “No!” She shot to her feet, her body demanding action when her heart was in turmoil. “I refused him over and over. I wouldn’t have willingly helped him.”

  “Then what were you going to do?” Matt’s voice was quieter, closer. She turned her head and found him standing a foot behind her. He’d moved silently, dogging her tracks. He looked stronger now than he had just moments before.

  “I didn’t know what to do.” She turned completely to face him. “I was letting it ride until something forced my hand, I guess.” She felt tears gather in her eyes as remorse set in. “But I never expected anything like what happened last night. I didn’t want to put anyone else’s life in danger and I certainly didn’t want you to be attacked by a creature sent to kill me.”

  She couldn’t see through the tears filling her eyes as she sobbed. Strong arms closed around her tentatively at first, then more securely as Matt drew her against him. One big hand rubbed her back as she trembled, her emotions getting the best of her after so many days of keeping everything bottled up inside.

  “I’m so sorry, Matt. I never meant for you to be hurt, and now you’ve been infected. All because of me.”

  His arms felt so safe, so warm. His voice rumbled against her as he spoke in a low voice.

  “I’m also immune to the contagion because of you, sweetheart. You literally saved my life.”

  Both his words and tone surprised her. She had expected him to be really angry with her. Instead he sounded almost forgiving and somewhat indulgent. She pulled slightly away to look up into his eyes.

  “Then we’re even because you saved me, too. It was sent to kill me.”

  “But it wouldn’t have killed you. You’re immune.” His gaze narrowed.

  “Nobody knew that. Even so, that thing still could have ripped me limb from limb.”

  “You could’ve outrun it. Retreated and called for help from the combat troops. Why didn’t you?”

  She fought the urge to look away. He was treading too close to the secret she desperately wanted to keep. She’d have to brazen it out.

  “I couldn’t let it escape the lab. That happened once before and a lot of good men died. I knew I had to keep it in the lab if at all possible.”

  “Foolish,” Matt whispered, his gaze growing more intimate as he held her. “Brave, but foolish.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me.” She’d meant her words to be amusing, but they dropped to a whisper as Matt drew closer.

  His mouth hovered over hers so that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. She wanted to taste him, to know his kiss. She wanted it like she wanted her next breath.

  Finally, his head dipped that final short distance and his lips took possession. It wasn’t a kiss so much as it was the staking of a claim. His arms enveloped her while his mouth plundered hers. This was no exploratory joining of lips. This was a full-body kiss that rocked her world off its axis.

  The temperature in the room went from comfortable to steamy in fractions of a second. Eileen pressed against him, reveling in the strong arms that imprisoned her, the warm body that made her feel so womanly, the hard ridge of flesh pressing against her that made her feel so wanted.

  He was aroused. Just like that, there was no doubt in her mind that he wanted her. Just as she wanted him. Had wanted him for days now. Weeks. Since the moment she’d first seen him, Matt had fueled her late-night fantasies and made her yearn as no man had before.

  His hands slid lower, cupping her butt as he rubbed against her. She strained against him as well, wanting the clothes between them to be gone. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, his body inside hers.

  Matt took her lips with a fierceness he’d never used for a first kiss before. Somehow it was appropriate. She’d brought out the barbarian in him and she didn’t seem to mind one bit. She answered his demands stroke for stroke, nibble for nibble, and drove him even higher with her innocent response.

  He put all his energy into turning the mere acceptance of his desire into flashing hot, eager demand. He wanted her to want him and within moments, he felt the leap of her pulse under his fingers. She grew hungry for his touch, pushing her body into his. He felt the softness of her clothing against his bare chest and longed to
feel more.

  He was hard for her and they’d barely even begun to explore each other. She was dynamite in his arms, but he was wary of being burned. He didn’t want this whole situation to explode in his face. He had to tread lightly, especially now that he knew she’d been keeping secrets from him. If she’d omitted to tell him about her immunity and the continued harassment from Rodriguez, what else had she kept from him?

  Her every movement told him she wasn’t being completely honest with him. Whether the information she held back was as serious as what she’d already admitted remained to be seen. He hoped it was something simple. He didn’t know what he’d do if it turned out she was withholding something even more serious.

  The idea of it made him angry, but it was hard to hold on to his anger when Eileen was in his arms. In fact, it was impossible. She fired his blood, as she had from the beginning. From the first moment he’d met her she’d piqued his interest, and now that she was in his arms, responding to his demands, it felt even better than he’d imagined. She made him want more.

  He raised one hand, edging toward her breast, wondering if she’d protest his possessive touch. When she moved closer, practically offering herself to him, he grunted in satisfaction. Covering her soft mound with his palm, he squeezed gently, feeling the weight and size of her in his hand. She was perfect. And the little peak that rose under his palm tempted him to do so much more than merely feel.

  He wanted to taste, to learn the flavor of her skin, the contours of her under his tongue.

  But not yet.

  For now he had to content himself with just this. There was too much yet to be resolved between them. Too many questions unanswered and too many feelings he didn’t have the time to deal with right now. Damn, this woman was distracting.

  Matt had been a loner for years and never worried about what any of his girlfriends might be thinking or feeling. He hadn’t been in any truly serious relationships since he was a young soldier and even then, he’d kept himself firmly in check. At the first sign that his girl was getting too serious, he was gone. Now, it seemed, he wanted nothing more than for Eileen to be serious—to commit fully to this mission and to him.

  A startling thought.

  Startling enough to make him draw away from her tempting softness, the fire of her desire, the pulsing arousal of her presence.

  He had to get out of here. He wasn’t sure who he could trust anymore—not even himself, if he couldn’t keep his head together when Eileen was in his arms.

  He stepped away, seeing the hurt confusion on her face. He steeled himself against it. Matt couldn’t be sure of her at this point. She was still hiding something. He didn’t know what it was, but he’d bet his left nut that she wasn’t telling him everything. Until she came totally clean, he had to be wary.

  Without another word he stalked out of the room. He had work to do.

  Matt was in no mood to deal with Beverly when he arrived at his office. He was early, which was a good thing. He closeted himself in his office and closed the door—a clear signal he didn’t want to be disturbed. He needed the time to get his anger under control and to regroup physically from the night before.

  He wasn’t one hundred percent up to his peak of performance, but he didn’t need to be. He only had to convince the spy in his office—and any others who might be watching for any sign of weakness—that everything was as it had always been. He was riding a desk. It shouldn’t be too hard to pretend to be operating at full speed. If he’d still been working in the field, that would be another thing, but luckily he didn’t have to deal with that challenge.

  He just had to tough out a day in the office.

  Along about lunchtime, his peace and privacy came to an end. Beverly knocked on his door and Matt made a pretense of being engrossed in paperwork before he allowed her to enter.

  “Would you like me to bring lunch back for you, sir?”

  The offer was innocent enough, but Matt wouldn’t trust a viper like Beverly not to drug his food.

  “No thanks. I’ll be going out in a bit. I’ll get something then.”

  He hoped Bev would take the hint as he turned back to his paperwork. No such luck. She hovered in the doorway long enough he had to look up.

  “I heard there was a bit of a fracas on base last night. Something about Dr. McCormick’s laboratory.”

  Yeah, Bev was definitely on a fishing expedition. Matt had to play it cool. He also recognized an opportunity to misdirect the spy in his midst.

  “Yeah, we had a little disturbance over there. Beats me how the creature got into her lab without anyone seeing it, but these things are good at stealth.” Matt hoped he wasn’t over-playing his bewilderment, but Bev seemed to be buying it. It was time to make his next move. “Do we have any reports of personnel AWOL from base?”

  Bev didn’t betray her surprise at his question by anything other than a slight widening of her eyes that he wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been watching her closely. She was good. But Matt had to be better.

  “No, sir. I’ll double check but I’ve been keeping a close eye on duty reports from every sector of the base. Nobody’s missing. Or at least, nobody’s been reported missing as yet.”

  “We’ll have to keep an eye on that.” Matt grimaced, hoping she would go that extra step that would expose her and give him an opportunity to mislead both her and the people she worked for.

  “Did anyone see its face? I mean, was the zombie recognizable at all?”

  Bingo. She’d opened the door. She’d also just asked a potentially incriminating question. Why should she care if anybody recognized the zombie?

  “Dr. McCormick saw it clearly, but she didn’t recognize him. We know it was male, but that’s about all as far as identifying characteristics. She said his face was unrecognizable and the combat team didn’t waste time. They just finished him off before he could infect the doctor.”

  “Tough break,” Bev said as if she really meant it. All the while, Matt could almost hear the gears turning in her mind.

  Matt got the feeling that Bev knew damned well who’d been sent to destroy Eileen. Jennings had been one of Eileen’s colleagues. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize him. Matt wanted Bev to think that Eileen was playing along—that she wasn’t identifying Jennings for her own purposes. Perhaps that she was hedging her bets so she could play both ends against the middle. He wanted to keep them guessing as to Eileen’s allegiances if at all possible.

  Bev had tipped her hand. She wasn’t just spying on him for Chester. She was in league with the ones who had killed Jennings and sent him after Eileen. Bev was definitely wearing a black hat in this gunfight. It was up to Matt to use that knowledge to his best advantage.

  Beverly left for lunch and Matt was fairly certain she’d be reporting to her masters on the morning’s developments. Matt gave it forty minutes before he stopped shuffling papers, got up from his desk, stretched, and left the office.

  Tempted as he was to go check on Eileen, he resisted, opting instead to check in with Simon. A quick call informed him that Simon was having lunch with Mari in the base hospital’s cafeteria. Matt decided to drive the short distance because he was still tired as hell from the ordeal of the night before.

  He couldn’t let it show. Nobody could know what had happened to him in that laboratory. Only the inner circle that now consisted of Eileen, Mari, and Simon knew and he wanted to keep it that way. At least for now—at least until he had rooted out the rats in his kitchen.

  Matt arrived just as Simon and Mari were finishing up their lunch. He grabbed a sandwich to go and went with the couple to Mari’s private lab.

  “Are we clear in here?” Matt asked Simon as soon as the door closed. Simon had already gone to work checking for listening devices.

  “I checked before lunch and found nothing. I also recoded the electronic locks. Only Mari can get in. Not even our cleaning crew has access now.” Simon did a thorough recheck of the small space while Matt did his own survey
of the inner office.

  There were no windows, which negated the possibility of someone listening from far away using a parabolic mic. The air system was independent of the rest of the building because this lab had been built to study infectious diseases, so there was also very little chance of anyone listening through ducts or other access points into the room.

  “We’re clear,” Simon reported as he took a seat on one of the lab stools. Mariana had already seated herself on a rolling desk chair. Matt commandeered another stool.

  “How are you feeling, Commander?” Mari asked as Matt seated himself.

  “Tired,” he admitted. “Very tired, but otherwise okay.”

  “How’s your back?” she probed further, concern in her gaze.

  “To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought much about it. It doesn’t hurt if that’s what you’re asking. Haven’t had a twinge all day, which is kind of surprising, really. I’ve had to get used to blocking the pain, but every once in a while a spasm would still creep up on me. I haven’t had any of those today yet.”

  “If I’m right, you probably won’t have spasms at all anymore.”

  “Now that would be something.” Matt didn’t want to talk about himself or his injury anymore. He had bigger fish to fry. “There’s a leak in my office. I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’s Ensign Bartles, but I want to know who she’s working for and who else might be involved.”

  “Think she’s reporting back to Admiral Chester?” Simon asked.

  Matt knew there was bad blood between Simon and Chester from years ago when Chester had been captain of a ship that had fled an engagement, leaving Simon’s SEAL team high and dry. Chester had weaseled his way out of responsibility for that fiasco because he was politically connected even then, but Simon had never been shy about saying why he disliked the admiral and had told Matt the entire story.

  “I have no doubt Chester’s getting regular updates from her. He positioned her in my office without my being able to object. It was too convenient the way she showed up right before Tim disappeared.”