Everything about her...her inner and outer beauty, her kindness, her compassion. To him, she was perfect, she was everything that was good and right and true. Of course, this made her apparent betrayal that much more difficult to bear.
Though Colton had hinted there was more to the story. Of course. There always was. Jake could only hope Maddie cared enough about him to reveal her side.
“Hey,” he said softly.
When she turned to face him, he saw that she’d been crying. “Hey,” she replied, the despair in her voice matching the hopelessness in her eyes.
With every fiber of his being, he wished he could offer her comfort, that he could simply open his arms, pull her close, to tell her everything would be okay.
Instead, he jammed both hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t touch her and walked out to the end of the pier. “Mind if I join you?”
“I’m not sure,” she answered. “What do you want?”
Fresh hurt stabbed him. “Maddie, when did we become so adversarial?”
“When you started pushing for answers I couldn’t give,” she cried out. “All I’ve done is try to protect you. And right now, I’m not even sure why. You’ve made it clear you value getting a story more than anything else. More than...me.” She turned her back to him, her shaking shoulders evidence of her silently crying.
He stood, frozen, while an awful certainty filled him.
“Maddie, whatever you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in, let me help you. Not for a story, but because I genuinely care about you. I can’t protect you if I have no idea what the danger is or where it’s coming from.”
“You want to protect me?” She made a sound, some sort of awful cross between a laugh and a sob. “The best way to protect me would be to let Colton help you stay safe.”
Before he could respond, a sound behind him made him turn. Colton came jogging up. He stopped when he reached Jake and he motioned to Maddie to come closer.
To Jake’s surprise and annoyance, she pushed to her feet and joined her brother.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I’ve got news,” Colton answered, excitement ringing in his voice. “Rick’s unit is already on the move. They’re going in and attempting a rescue.”
Maddie gaped at him. “But wouldn’t that be going against the chain of command?”
“And their own orders?” Jake interjected. “What gives?”
“They stick together, the guy I spoke to said. No man left behind and all that. No way do they plan to let the Protectors make Rick some sort of sacrificial lamb.”
“Protectors?” Jake asked. “What do you mean?”
Maddie and Colton exchanged a quick look.
“That’s the name of their unit,” Colton responded. Jake wasn’t sure how, but he knew the other man was lying.
Again.
“What about the virus?” Maddie rubbed her hands together as if she was cold. “Any news on any front on progress in developing an antidote or a preventative vaccine?”
“No. I can only assume they’re still working on it.”
Still stewing over the way both Maddie and her brother felt compelled to exclude him, Jake cleared his throat. “Hey, if they’re Protectors, how about you ask them to protect me?”
Though the question made sense to him, clearly it didn’t to the other two. Maddie appeared horrified, while Colton tried hard not to laugh.
“That’s the thing,” Maddie said. “Unfortunately, the Protectors are actually the ones who want to harm you.”
Judging from the sharp look Colton sent her, she’d said too much. Maybe she had, but once again, Jake didn’t understand the subtext.
He waited to see if she—or Colton—would elaborate, but of course neither did.
“Whatever,” he said. “Since we seem to be at a bit of a stalemate, I’d like to be heading back to Galveston now. If one of you wouldn’t mind dropping me off in town at the bus station, I’m sure I can get myself home.”
“Bus station?” Colton spoke in a tone of utter disbelief. “There’s no bus station within fifty miles of here.”
“You can’t go back now,” Maddie added, her voice slow and measured. “There’s no telling what they’ll do to you if they bring you in now.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He looked from one to the other. When neither of them spoke again, he sighed. “Fine. Then point me in the direction of civilization and I’ll walk.”
“I’m sorry, Jake.” Colton stepped in front of him. “Maybe we weren’t clear. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Step away from me,” Jake ordered. “I’m not tied up, so if you plan to stop me, it’s going to get physical.” He moved to go around Colton, but the other man grabbed him.
Jake shoved. Hard. Clearly, Colton wasn’t expecting this. Jake wrenched himself free and shouldered the other man, hitting him hard in the gut. Colton staggered backward, trying to regain his balance, but couldn’t. Off the edge of the dock he went, hitting the murky water with a huge splash.
Though he wanted to laugh, Jake knew better. Instead, he dusted his hands off on the front of his jeans, and took off at a jog toward the gravel road.
Except he hadn’t counted on Maddie. She moved so fast he barely had time to evade her. Launching herself at him, she tried vainly to knock him to the ground.
He spun and the second time, he caught her, pinning her arms to her sides. “Settle down,” he ordered.
Eyes spitting green fire, she continued to struggle. Just long enough for Colton to come up behind him and clock him under the chin.
When he came to, his hands and feet were bound. They’d left him lying on the ground, with Maddie—the traitor—watching over him.
“He’s awake,” she called out, and Colton came into his view.
“Help me help him up,” Colton ordered. When they had him standing, Colton informed him they were going to march him back to the house. “Don’t try yelling,” he said. “There’s no one else up here now, so no one will hear you.”
Ignoring the other man, Jake looked at Maddie. Despite the pain in his pounding head, his heart hurt more.
“Don’t do this, Maddie,” he implored. “I’ve done nothing to warrant being treated this way.”
She swallowed. “I know it might not seem like it, but it’s for your own good. This is the only way we can keep you safe.”
Drawing himself up, he shook his head, which sent bolts of pain through his jaw and head, making him wince. “Let me make this clear. If you don’t help me get free, I’m done. I want nothing further to do with you, ever. Understand?”
Eyes dark with emotion, she gave a slow nod. “If that’s the price I have to pay to save your life, then yes.”
Chapter 18
Though she might have wished for less masculine posturing between the two men, Carmen couldn’t help but thrill at Rick’s refusal to clue Scott in on whatever had just happened with the intruders. She wasn’t sure she still trusted the other biologist, and apparently Rick felt the same way. The fact that Scott had lied about his qualifications still pissed her off. Though no doubt he had his own reasons, the seriousness of this task left no room for anyone to fall short.
Another time, she might have stewed about his ignorant delusions. Not now. She knew she couldn’t let anything distract her. Not this time, not when she was so close to obtaining an analysis and identifying the exact biological makeup of the virus.
Excitement thrummed through her. Sure, no doubt the CDC had felt the exact same way, and those biologists were just as qualified as she was. But something—call it gut instinct or woman’s intuition—told her she was right on the edge of a major breakthrough. If she could just keep Scott out of her way while she worked. Judging by the bumbling way he fumbled around the lab, it would only be a matter of time until he made a costly error.
No one could afford the luxury of cleaning up a catastrophic mistake. Due to the urgency of the task, they would be working fast, which carried another form of
risk. While vaccine development was usually a long and complex process, the world didn’t have the luxury of waiting ten to fifteen years.
Later, when all of this was over, she planned to have a long talk with Scott about the importance of being honest about one’s credentials. Right now, since she didn’t have time, she had to get right to work and see what she could discover. Anticipation raced through her body as she set her tools out and prepared to begin.
Even though she knew the CDC would have followed these same steps, she began her exploratory stage. She needed to go through the hopefully weakened virus particles. By having Ted’s corpse, she had already been able to skip a step—the one in which she’d use cultures to identify the cellular response to the virus in humans.
She planned to develop numerous candidate vaccines, since she knew most of them wouldn’t produce the needed immune response. Once again, in a noncrisis situation, this process usually took one to two years.
In this part of the experiment, she intended to act in as close to a nonscientific manner as she could. While still following protocol, she planned to develop all kinds of radical combinations and hope one of them worked. More like gambling than true science, but desperate times called for desperate measures. All she could do was work hard and hope the metaphorical lightning would strike. Not her usual painstaking and methodical way of working, but she knew she’d have to be bold if she wanted results.
At least she trusted Rick to keep them safe.
As if he’d read her thoughts, Rick stepped into the antechamber and once again went through the brief cleansing process. Though Carmen continued working, she remained überconscious of him, almost as if she was tracking his every movement.
Not good. No distractions. As he entered the actual lab, she looked up to tell him exactly that. Before she could, he crumpled to the floor in midstep, his bulky protective gear settling around him in a puff of inflatable padding.
“Rick?” Putting aside the sample she’d been working on, she rushed to him. She rolled him over so she could see him. Stunned, she gasped. What she saw horrified her.
Sores had begun blooming all over Rick’s handsome face. Even under the headgear that was supposed to have kept him safe.
Which meant something had happened to his suit. Frantic now, she managed to unclip his headpiece and remove it. When she did, he managed to open his eyes.
“What happened?” he croaked. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train.”
While she tried to formulate an answer, a tear sneaked out of her eye and streamed down her cheek.
Seeing this, he cursed. “The virus?”
Slowly she nodded.
“How?” He licked his cracked lips. “I thought this outfit was supposed to protect against infection.”
“It is,” she answered, watching as more and more sores appeared on his skin, right before her eyes. Brushing away her pointless and useless tears, she leaned down close, putting her mouth near his ear. “I promise you, I won’t let you die. I’m going to continue to work on figuring out an antidote and vaccine. But if I don’t find it in time, I’ll bite you and kill you that way.” And hopefully, that first death would end the virus. When he reawakened as a Vampire, it wasn’t illogical to assume that he’d be invulnerable, as well.
But right now, Rick’s condition rapidly worsened. He was dying right before her eyes.
“No. Not even as a last resort,” he managed, even as blood vessels burst and turned the whites of his eyes red. “I’d rather die than join the undead. Develop the antidote and save me. Save the world.” The last word trailed off into a gurgle as he slumped over again, unconscious.
Muttering a string of curses in a language that had been long forgotten, she eased him into what she hoped was a comfortable position and climbed back to her feet.
When she looked over at Scott, she realized the other man had been watching them intently. “What?” she asked, confident he hadn’t been able to hear what she’d said to Rick.
“He looks bad,” Scott said, shrugging. “I’m thinking it won’t be long until he’s in as bad shape as the first guy.” To her annoyance, he sounded surprisingly comfortable with the turn of events. Of course, why wouldn’t he, since clearly his protective suit still did its job?
“I think he’s going to die really quickly,” Scott continued.
Carmen lurched toward him, as quickly as she could in the bulky suit. “So help me, if I find out you’re the one who sliced his protective gear, I’ll ram this virus down your throat. Was it you?”
Scott blanched, taking a step back. “Of course not,” he protested, stumbling over the words. “I’d never do a thing like that. Are you certain it was cut?”
“I didn’t take the time to look.” She kept her voice cold. “We don’t have that luxury. I’m going to get back to work immediately. I’ll need you to stay out of my way. Understood?”
“Crystal clear,” he replied, nodding. And then he, too went down, hitting the cement floor hard. Hopefully, his suit helped cushion the blow, though judging from the sharp crack she heard, his facemask most likely had been compromised.
Which clearly no longer mattered. Cursing the cumbersome gear, she rolled Scott over. Huge sores had also begun to erupt on his face, which meant someone had sabotaged his suit, too. A spidery web of lines showed she’d been right about the facemask.
If both men’s suits had been compromised, most likely hers had been, too. However, she had one advantage here that the saboteur knew nothing about. The virus couldn’t touch her. In fact, she saw no need to continue to wear the cumbersome protective suit.
“Screw this,” she muttered, removing her own headgear and gloves. She quickly stepped out of the rest of her gear, aware that whoever had messed with them had no idea she would be invulnerable.
She didn’t care. None of that was important. What mattered now was the need to save Rick’s life. And Scott’s, too, after Rick’s.
Rick groaned, a tortured sound. Judging by the rapid progression of this virus, she had less than six hours to either come up with an antidote or she’d have to bite him and turn him into a Vampire to keep him from dying on her.
Despite Rick’s request that she not do that, she wasn’t about to lose him. She’d do whatever she had to in order to keep him alive, even bite and turn him. Hell, even that possible solution had an uncertain outcome. While Vampires were impervious to the effects of the virus, she wasn’t sure that would still apply to someone who had been infected before becoming a Vamp. She hoped she wouldn’t have to actually find out.
She had to come up with the antidote. While wanting to save the world was altruistic and noble, saving Rick hit much closer to home.
Working at near Vampiric speed, she examined slides, worked calculations, tested and did it all again. And again and again, refusing to let her rising frustration deter her.
While both Rick and Scott lay on the floor nearby, the virus continuing to destroy their bodies.
One hour passed, or maybe two. Hell, it might just as easily have been three or four, for all she knew. Time flowed in a continuous stream of awareness, and while she knew she was working against a ticking clock, she couldn’t allow that knowledge to throw her off her game. Scientific fact had little room for improvisation, but she’d learned long ago to trust her gut and go with her instincts. Sometimes a move that might at first seem illogical turned out to be the exact detour that had needed to be taken.
Testing. Nope. Move on to the next. And again, not the response she’d been hoping for, or needed. Every now and then, she’d leave her work area to check on the two downed men. The virus continued to spread with alarming speed, but they were both still breathing.
Aware they wouldn’t be for much longer if she continued to fail, she renewed her efforts, increasing her speed. Though Rick’s supposed friends remained outside, ostensibly guarding the lab, she was glad they didn’t look in on her. If they did, they’d only see a crazed woman working so fast she ap
peared as a blur.
Though supremely focused, fear of losing Rick guided her every movement. She couldn’t lose him. Not now, not ever. If she could save him, she could save the entire world.
Growing more and more desperate as each test failed, she tried to take an objective step back in her mind. She was missing some common denominator, but what? Though she racked her brain, she couldn’t hit it. Again, she tried. Again. And again.
While meanwhile the virus continued to devour the bodies of the two men on the floor. Time was running out.
“Hey!” One of the new men, Rick’s friend, entered the antechamber and peered at her through the glass wall. “What’s going on in there? Why is Rick on the floor? What did you do to him?”
“Stay back,” she ordered. “Someone sabotaged their suits and they were infected with the virus. No one is to come anywhere near this lab. Understand?”
Instead of recoiling in horror, he didn’t move. “Why are you not wearing your protective gear? Are you infected, too?”
“Whoever messed with the suits probably ruined all of them,” she explained. “I work faster without it, so I went ahead and took it off.”
His eyes widened. “That’s a huge risk to take.”
“Maybe.” Letting her impatience show, she returned to her microscope, viewed the next slide and entered the data into a computer program. “I don’t have time to chat.”
When she looked up again, he’d gone.
After running through all her slides, she returned to poor Ted’s decomposed body and extracted another round of samples. As time had passed, what had once been flesh and bone now resembled a soupy sea of organisms. It horrified her to realize if she didn’t make some sort of breakthrough soon, Rick and Scott would look like this.
They were running out of time. Once more she ran her tests, hoping, just once, for a change in variables. But she found nothing. Learned nothing. This had become beyond frustrating. She wanted to throw the vial against the wall and watch it shatter.
Of course she didn’t. Vexing, true. But she wouldn’t consider a total failure. She couldn’t. Not yet.
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