by Lisa Harris
Her brother, on the other hand, had witnessed the same event, but his reaction had been totally the opposite. Watching their father die had made Josiah impulsive and reckless. If Josiah were here right now, he’d howl at the improbability of his little sister being so easily convinced by a man, especially a man she’d just met, to steal a deadly virus, and then recklessly trust said stranger to help her evade men with guns.
And Josiah would be right. She knew the possible dangers this virus possessed, and Aiden Ballinger was as unpredictable as the virus she’d stupidly let him talk her into removing from the safety of a Level 4 containment lab. She could claim she’d fallen prey to his charms, but what she wanted to do was kick herself with her broken shoes.
How can I fix this?
Aiden squeezed her hand, and Rachel startled from her thoughts. “Look,” he said in a low, calming voice, “why don’t you order us some coffee and something to eat, and I’ll try to track down my team, okay?” He regarded her the way her mother used to when she wanted her to see her side of things, then he fished his phone from his pants pocket. “Black and strong for me.”
“You’re just going to sit down and drink a cup of coffee like nothing’s happened?”
“Comes with the job.”
“Maybe for a virus hunter, but nowhere in the lab-geek manual does it state that the average researcher should expect to be pursued by gunfire.” Rachel fisted the jacket closed around her trembling body. “I chose a boring life because. . .it doesn’t matter why.”
“I think it does.” He lifted the laminated menu out from behind the napkin holder. “Burger medium well. Lettuce and tomato only.”
“Anything else, Captain America?”
“If I can’t get Shepherd, maybe someone else on the team can help us out.”
Rachel wanted to tell him she wasn’t getting paid enough to take his dinner order let alone take a bullet on behalf of world safety, so she was going home, but a tall woman was blocking her exit from the booth.
“You two lovebirds ready to order?”
Matchstick thin, in her mid-fifties, and wearing cat-eye glasses and too much red lipstick, the server looked like she’d just stepped out of one of those thriller films where the hero and heroine duck into a restaurant to escape evil pursuers. Oh wait. That’s exactly what they’d just done.
“We’re not together. . .I mean. . .we’re not lovebirds. . .I mean, yeah, I’ll order for the both of us.” Rachel’s teeth had stopped chattering but her hair was still dripping onto the table. “Two black coffees. Hot. Two burgers.” Rachel proceeded to repeat Aiden’s burger specifications and when she realized they matched her own, a strange sensation buzzed in her stomach. “I’ll have the same.”
“That all?” the woman asked, pen hovering over her pad.
“When do you close?”
“About an hour.” The server let her eyes crawl over Rachel’s disheveled appearance. “You two expecting company?”
“No.” Rachel’s panicked response raised the penciled eyebrows of the woman.
“I’ve got an extra pair of sneakers that might fit you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Saw you limping in your broken heels.” She let her gaze slide to Rachel’s feet. “Must have been some party.”
“Yeah,” Rachel said. “Real wild.”
“Want the sneakers?”
She had to return to the lab and fix this somehow. She could call for an Uber ride. Should she even trust an Uber driver? If she had to take a bus or the subway, she’d have to walk, and the sleet was turning the streets and sidewalks into a skating rink.
“I’ll pay you for them,” Rachel said.
“Help someone else someday.” The woman ripped their order sheet from the pad and slid her pen above her ear. “I’ll get those sneakers right out to you and see that you and that cute boyfriend of yours get some extra fries.”
Boyfriend?
Before Rachel could set the record straight again, the woman sashayed across the empty diner and shouted their order to the round-bellied man scraping the day’s grease buildup from the grill behind the long counter.
Aiden snapped his flip phone shut. “Shepherd is still not answering, and now I can’t get Iceman either.”
“Our kind server is bringing me some shoes.”
“What?”
“I can’t go much farther in these.” Rachel held up what was left of the heels Cara had talked her into. “Besides, if we didn’t shake whoever was following us, I think they’d be here by now, don’t you?” She would have laughed at sounding like a character from a thriller movie, but Aiden’s sober face killed the thought. “What is it?”
“My team always answers my calls.”
She leaned forward. “I still say we need to call the police.”
“And tell them what? That we stole an ancient virus from a Level 4 lab and then the security guards chased us?”
“Well, when you put it that way.” He could push all he wanted, but she wasn’t making another move without thinking through every consequence.
Aiden shoved his phone in his pocket. “I haven’t eaten all day, and if this is going to be my last meal, I plan to enjoy it.”
Last meal? She assumed he was joking, but instead of reinforcing her lack of a sense of humor, she said, “Tell me about this Iceman.”
“My freshman year of college, Calum Lewis waltzed into our dorm room like he owned the joint, threw his rucksack on the empty bunk, then stuck out his hand in an offer of friendship.” Aiden rubbed his chin. “We’ve had each other’s back ever since.”
“Have you tried calling his family? Maybe they’ve heard from him.”
“His mother’s dead and he hasn’t seen his father since third grade.”
“How could he afford Columbia?”
“You really have stalked me.”
“Maybe, but there’s still clearly a lot I don’t know about you.”
The server showed up with two hot coffees, two burgers, extra fries, and a pair of size seven sneakers as promised. “Eat up, kids.”
Rachel thanked the beaming woman for the shoes, then slipped them on. “I don’t know anything about your family, other than that you grew up in Philadelphia. I’m sure your parents would want to know if you’re in danger.”
He chewed slowly then swallowed. “Probably. What about you? Anyone we need to alert on your behalf? A boyfriend? Husband? Parents?”
“No boyfriend or husband.” She’d survived the loss of her father, and after her mother remarried, it had felt like she’d lost her too. She’d learned to be a survivor. “My mom and I don’t keep up that well, but I have an older brother who lives in California that I’m pretty close to.”
“Maybe you should go there.”
“Josiah has a busy surgery practice, a wife and my niece Emma that I would not want to put in danger.”
They ate in silence for a few moments while Aiden polished off his burger. “I think you’re right.”
“About?”
“Letting my parents know what’s going on. My dad has connections and will be able to help us both. It would give us time to figure out what’s going on, and we’d be able to keep the virus safe.”
“We?”
“Sure. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.”
“You want me to go to your parents’?” Rachel shook her head. “If I don’t show up at work tomorrow, people will think I had something to do with all of this.”
“You know as well as I that it’s not safe to go back to the lab, Rachel.”
“If we return the vials, show the higher-ups what we saw on the security feed, they’ll see that we had no choice but to take the samples and run.” She bent over and tied her new sneakers. “I may get in some trouble for giving you access to the lab, but once we tell them about the blood in Dr. Moreno’s office, they’ll understand—”
“I think this is way bigger than us simply throwing out an explanation. I’m more concerned that
they’d confiscate the virus while trying to sort everything out. And that can’t happen. If you won’t go to my parents’, at least let me get you a room next to mine at the hotel. I’ll sleep better knowing you’re safe.”
She frowned at the plan. “I’m not sure sleep is going to be possible.”
“How far do you live from here?” Aiden asked, ignoring the comment.
“Just a few blocks.”
“Okay, we’ll swing by your place and get you some dry clothes. You can call your brother on my phone and warn him about what’s going on, but then you’re coming with me. We’ll work together to make sure you keep your job, and even more importantly, that we both keep our lives, okay?”
Rachel considered his arguments and weighed them against everything that had transpired since she’d come in contact with the vials tucked inside the cooler sitting beside the attractive and convincing virus hunter. As much as she loved predictability, she knew living pathogens could not be trusted to play by the rules. Sometimes they tried to stump you by refusing to give up their secrets. Or sometimes they tried to trip you up with false positives. And sometimes the unsolved mysteries of a virus were like the unsolved mysteries of life. . .They could only be solved by stepping out of the bounds of safety.
Her gaze latched onto Aiden’s. She was already in over her head. And as far as she was concerned, they were out of options.
Then and there she made another impulsive decision. “I’ll go with you.”
“Good.” He pulled out a couple twenties and set them on the table. “Because we have less than seventy-two hours before the virus begins to decompensate.”
Chapter Seven
Aiden slid in next to Rachel in the back seat of the Uber. While he might need her expertise with viruses at some point, having her with him did complicate the situation. But it had been his own string of decisions that had led to her involvement. Which made him feel responsible. And now, without any idea who they could trust, keeping her with him seemed like the only way to ensure her safety.
He glanced out the window as their driver merged into traffic that was still heavy this time of night. He’d been paranoid after learning about the security breach in their system while in Tibet. So paranoid, in fact, that he’d not only bought a burner phone that couldn’t be traced, but he’d used a fake name when checking into his DC hotel. At the time, he’d felt as if he were overreacting. Now he knew he hadn’t been. The one thing he’d done right was to secure a place off the radar where they could hole up until they knew what was going on. But every minute spent protecting their own hides decreased their chances of saving countless lives. Time was not on their side.
“We’re going to figure this out,” he said, hoping the lilt in his voice made up for his lack of confidence in the situation.
“Maybe, but in order to figure it out, we need to know who’s behind your security breach,” she said. “Dr. Moreno was very insistent that we not leave a digital trail.” She pulled the little notebook from her purse. “None of what I learned about the rapid replication abilities of this virus is on a computer.”
“Unless my hacker also works inside Gaumond. What about Cara?”
“Cara? You know her as well as I do. She’s harmless, and besides, I didn’t tell her what I was doing. I can’t imagine her being involved in something like this.”
Which led to another set of questions. If whoever was after them had tracked Rachel’s phone, which they must have done to find them on the subway, how had they figured out Rachel was involved in the first place? There was no way to know at this point, which only added to his uneasiness. He needed to get her somewhere safe.
His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, hoping for some good news.
“Who is it?” she asked.
Aiden glanced at the caller ID.
“Veronica Waybright. She’s a clinical research nurse and works part time as Shepherd’s assistant.” He answered the call. “Veronica, I’ve been trying to contact Shepherd for hours. I’ve left him messages. I’ve left you messages. What’s going on?”
Rachel leaned in close so she could listen.
There was a pause on the line before Veronica responded. “I don’t know how to say this, Aiden, but Nate’s dead.”
“Wait a minute. What?” He lowered the volume on his phone so their driver couldn’t overhear. “How?”
“I’m not sure anyone knows yet. I’m here now with the police and his wife. Apparently, his car went into the C&O Canal near Chain Bridge Road. There was alcohol in the car.”
Aiden shook his head as he tried to take in the news. The strongest drink he’d ever seen his boss order was a double shot of espresso. Never alcohol.
“Shepherd doesn’t drink,” Aiden said. “He’s been sober for over a decade.”
“That’s what his wife told the authorities. They’re going to do an autopsy, but until then that’s all I can tell you. I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Keep me updated.”
A sick feeling washed through Aiden as he hung up the phone.
Rachel turned to him. “I’m sorry, Aiden. I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t either.” He dropped the phone into his lap then rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to wake from this horrible nightmare.
She leaned forward. Her words barely a whisper. “We aren’t the only ones they’re willing to kill to find this virus, are we?”
He caught fear in her voice. Shepherd’s death couldn’t be filed away as a coincidence. He’d asked the man to look into the security breaches in order to find out who was behind them. So what had happened? Had Shepherd asked one too many questions? Gotten too close to the person who knew the truth? Clearly he’d discovered something, but what? Or had someone just decided to make sure he didn’t dig any deeper?
Rachel’s fingers squeezed his arm. “Your boss is dead. Mine is missing. Whoever wants this virus is not going to stop looking until they find us.”
He laid his hand on hers, not sure how to respond. Her breathing was accelerated, and her face had blanched white. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” She turned away from him and stared out the window as their car sped through the wet streets and rain pinged against the windows.
“You’re shaking.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew her close.
Her gaze met his. “My father was murdered when I was a kid.”
“Oh. Wow. . .” Her confession took him off guard. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was young and don’t remember him as much as my brother, but this. . .” She waved her hand in the air. “It triggered something deep inside of me, and I’m there again in my mind. Watching my mother cry on the long flight back to Kansas. People filling my grandparents’ fridge with casseroles and Jell-O. Not really understanding what was happening, but realizing on one level that life would never be the same again.”
Aiden studied her tear-streaked face, wanting to help, but not wanting to pry. “What else can you tell me about it?”
“My father was a doctor who felt called to help the indigenous people of Columbia. My brother and I grew up on the banks of the Amazon River. One day my father tried to help the wrong people. They killed him. Just like your boss. . .maybe Moreno. . .all because of someone’s greed.”
Normally, he would have enjoyed the lights of the city, but tonight he barely noticed. He didn’t know how in only a few hours something had connected between them, but it had. And now his heart unexpectedly broke for her.
“I’m sorry. Truly sorry.”
She shrugged. “We came back to the States and life went on, but I still think about him.”
Their driver pulled to a stop in front of a red brick townhouse. Aiden asked the man to wait for them, then hurried up the stairs behind Rachel to her apartment.
She pulled out her key, then stopped. “Aiden. . .”
“What’s wrong?”
She pushed the door open with her foot. “Someone’s be
en inside.”
Aiden stepped into the doorway then glanced into the living room. “Wait here.”
“I’m coming with you.” She grabbed his arm and followed him through the open living room and kitchen area, then to the adjoining bedroom and bathroom. On any other day he would have enjoyed seeing where she lived. Photos of the Amazon jungle hung on the wall next to a picture of her as a little girl with her family, but there was no time to study them.
Whoever had been here was long gone, but his apprehension had just multiplied exponentially.
“Can you tell if anything was taken?”
“I’m not sure.” She turned slowly in the ransacked living room. “I’m trying hard not to freak out. I only heard about this virus today. If they got to Dr. Moreno and he told them I’d been working on it. . .”
Her theory made sense. And it answered the question he’d asked himself earlier. There was no doubt now that someone believed Rachel was key to whatever they had planned for the virus.
“We need to get out of here,” he said. “I want you to grab some clothes for a couple days and your passport. You do have a passport, right?”
“Of course.” She turned and faced him. “But why would I need a passport?”
“We need to keep our options open.”
A plan had started to form in his mind, but if he told her, he was worried she’d balk. It had been weeks since he and his father had spoken, and their last encounter had ended in a fight. As an only child, he’d never lived up to his father’s expectations of taking on the family business, but right now it didn’t matter that his plans didn’t fit with his father’s. Not today.
“Rachel?”