Fatal Deception

by April Hunt

  “I know my life isn’t for the faint of heart, Doc. I know it’s a lot. But I also know I love you, Isabel Santiago. I’m in love with you.” Roman braced his palm against the window and felt his chest throb when she laid hers on top. “And if you taught me one thing, it’s that there isn’t a damn thing you can’t do if you do it with the person you love.”

  “Roman, I…” Tears now poured down Isa’s cheeks, but the rest of her words were cut off by the faint buzz of the door.

  The air lock in Isabel’s quarters disengaged, and in stepped Maddy. No hazmat suit. No protective equipment. She smiled warmly and glanced between them. “Sorry to interrupt, but…”

  “Well?” Isa asked, her nerves showing.

  Maddy wrapped her into a hug, her happiness the only thing rivaling Roman’s own relief. “You’re clean, Isa. No exposure.”

  On cue, Roman’s own air lock disengaged. The door slid open, but instead of a friendly smile, the person entering quarantine wore the all too familiar yellow-hooded biogear that he’d come to hate.

  “No,” Isa gasped.

  Roman shifted his gaze to her, and this time, the tears pouring down her cheeks definitely weren’t because he’d poured his heart out.

  “No!” Isa cried out, shimmying out of Maddy’s restraining hold. She pounded against the glass as if trying to burst her way through to him. “Roman!”

  “It’s okay, Doc.” Roman smiled wanly.

  No one needed to tell him what was expected of him. He sat back on the bed and extended his arm for another round of blood tests. As the tech hung his next bag of meds, Roman closed his eyes.

  If he looked at Isabel through the glass, she’d see he was a few thousand miles away from okay. He’d finally had his own happiness at his fingertips…and now it slipped away with every tick of the clock.

  * * *

  So much for Tru Tech being closed to civilians. Roman had no sooner gotten prodded for the twelfth time in as many minutes than the small waiting area outside his personal bubble filled with Steeles—literal and honorary.

  If it weren’t for the pass-coded sealed doors, Roman was pretty sure his mother would’ve charged into the room, infectious or not, the second they’d arrived. But thankfully, one look to Knox or his cousin Grace, and they managed to steer the conversation—and Cindy Steele herself—in the other direction.

  Now Liam stood on the other side, shaking his head at Roman’s stark surroundings. “I know some people go to extreme measures for attention, but seriously, Ro. Don’t you think this is a bit overkill?”

  “What can I say? Go big or go home, right?” Roman shrugged playfully.

  He appreciated his youngest brother’s joking nature much more than the doom and gloom that had been the theme when they’d first arrived. It had taken a lot of verbal assurances and hours of seeing it for themselves, but they were all finally believing that he felt fine.

  And he hoped to hell they left before realizing that that was no longer one hundred percent true. Maybe it was a little hypochondria, or way too much time thinking and questioning, or hell, maybe it was being stuck in this damn room. But his muscles developed that faint unused ache, and the room felt a little cooler than it had before.

  “I’m not gonna ask you if you’re doing okay,” came King’s voice.

  He’d taken up the window spot that had been temporarily vacated by Liam.

  “Good…because I’m getting sick of hearing that question,” he said truthfully. “And what’s up with the constant pop-ups, man? This is getting to be a habit. Soon you’ll be sniffing around Steele Ops looking for a job or something.”

  King laughed. “Yeah. No. I’m so fucking done with organized groups. No offense, man, because your brothers are kick-ass, but I’m way too fond of answering only to myself.”

  “I know of a few others who felt that same way, and I’m signing their paycheck.”

  “But unlike them, I mean it.” King glanced around as if making sure he wouldn’t be heard. “She’s doing okay…just so you know.”

  Roman didn’t need to ask who he was talking about. On King’s first visit to quarantine after hearing of his status, he’d asked him to make sure Isabel didn’t run herself into the ground trying to find a cure for him.

  “How do you know this?” Roman asked.

  “I may have run into Maddy in that cubby they call a cafeteria and gently requested that she make sure to take care of Dr. Sexy.”

  “And she didn’t tell you to fuck off?” Roman half-teased. No one in Steele Ops would ever be on the doctor’s friend list after the way things played out.

  “Actually, no. She simply said she was already on it…and I believed her.”

  Chills abruptly sucked away all Roman’s air, his teeth reflexively chattering. Taken by surprise, he searched for the nearest sturdy object and held on tight. “Well, shit.”

  “Hey, man. You okay?” King’s concerned voice barely reached his ears. “Dude. Ro?”

  “Yeah.” Roman cleared his throat and slowly released his grip on the nearby chair as he stood upright. He blinked until King’s face was no longer blurry. “I’m good.”

  “You sure about that?”

  He wasn’t so certain. “I think…I think I may need to sit.”

  He reached for the chair and then the one chair split into two. He blinked, hoping to clear away the sudden double vision, but it only made his head spin more. “Fuck me.”

  “Roman?” He heard an anxious voice call out his name.

  His mom? Grace?

  Roman stumbled. Someone shouted, the loud bark sending a stabbing pain through his head. “Don’t…yell.”

  “Someone get Isabel! Now!”

  “No,” Roman ordered weakly. “Don’t…worry…her.”

  Fuck. Was his speech slurring? He reached out for the chair again, and this time, he missed entirely. His body fell forward with nothing to stop his fall but his overexerted muscles…and his face.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Eight

  “This one’s a dud,” Isa announced, sliding her latest viral sample from the microscope and putting it with the ever-growing shelf of other rejects. As she set it down and closed the shelving unit, she barely refrained from smashing the entire thing with a sledgehammer—not like she had a sledgehammer.

  They’d been at this for hours—how many she didn’t know. Not like it mattered. She didn’t care how long she had to stay in this damn suit. She wasn’t going anywhere until they found a drug combination that eradicated FC-5 completely.

  The problem was in Roman’s blood.

  His viral load was too damn high, way higher than it should be for twenty-four hours after exposure.

  “Is, look at this,” Maddy called her over to the other side of the room, where she worked with samples that had been taken from Tony.

  Roman was still unconscious, the meds they were giving him around the clock the only thing keeping him alive. For now.

  As Isabel got to Maddy’s station, her friend slid over. “Take a look at that viral load.”

  Isabel peered through the lens. “Whoa.”

  “Right? Those numbers are like nothing we’ve seen before. I mean, it’s not natural. It’s like…hell, I don’t know what it’s like. Isn’t that a bit extreme for a run-of-the-mill exposure? How did Tony say he exposed himself?”

  “He didn’t. But there’s no way he has that kind of viral load with a simple proximity exposure. It’s almost like…” A horrible thought occurred to Isabel, and her stomach churned. “It’s almost like he injected the undiluted virus into his system.”

  Behind her hood, Maddy’s eyes widened to saucerlike discs. “No. Fucking. Way. He wouldn’t!”

  “Before what happened, I’d think the same thing, but now? I think there wasn’t much Tony wouldn’t do to get his agenda seen.” Isa hated to admit it. “And it would explain why we’re seeing such high levels in Roman’s blood, too.”

  “Is this going to speed up the clock? Our current
antivirals are helping to give us a little extra time, but—”

  “We’re almost there,” Isa interjected. “We need to keep our noses to the grindstone and we’ll have it locked in before we know it.”

  She wouldn’t accept anything less.

  They were already thirteen hours past exposure. The fact that Roman hadn’t yet shown any physical symptoms of FC-5 infection was a good sign, and Isabel was holding on to that shred of good with both hands.

  “Dr. Santiago.” One of the Legion spotters waved at her through the window. “We need you in quarantine.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Mr. Steele, ma’am. He’s taken a turn.”

  A thick-gloved hand caught Isa’s arm as she teetered on her feet.

  “Is, look at me. Isabel!” Maddy grabbed her hood and forced Isabel’s gaze on her. “You with me?”

  Isabel nodded. She was. Now. But the inside of her mask was fogged, evidence of her sudden panic.

  “Good. Keep your head in the game, okay? You’ll focus. You’ll sleep, eat, and you’ll fucking take one breath at a time. If you don’t continue to do any of those things, you’re worthless to him. Do you hear me?”

  “I can’t lose him, Maddy,” Isa heard herself whisper. “I can’t…”

  “We’re doing everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen. Now go. You have two patients to go look after. Him…and you. I got things here. You go be where you need to be.”

  She gripped her friend’s fingers as tightly as the gloves allowed. “Thank you, Maddy. I can’t tell you how much—”

  “Will you stop kissing my butt already and go be with your guy?”

  The ten minutes Isa spent hosing off her gear in decon and going through checkpoints never felt so damn long. By the time she finally stepped into the Legion’s lobby, she was ready to crawl out of her skin.

  Isa sprinted toward the clinic’s quarantine wing. She didn’t even stop when she hit Roman’s viewing room. She burst through the door and was instantly swarmed by well-meaning Steeles and their barrage of questions and worries.

  Someone—King—grabbed her hand and paved her way.

  At Roman’s window, she pushed her face to the double-paned glass and watched as one of the clinic staff attempted to help Roman, who lay sprawled on the ground, apparently refusing any kind of assistance.

  Isabel punched the mic button on the wall to allow two-way conversation. “Stop being such a pain in the ass and let Ben get you into bed.”

  Roman’s gaze snapped to her, and something flickered over his face and left way too quickly for her to decipher it. “I told them not to call you.”

  “Thankfully, they didn’t listen. Now, are you letting Ben help you, or do I need to get gowned and drag you there myself?”

  She counted to five before Roman very reluctantly put his hand into Ben’s gloved one and accepted the help to his feet. Once there, he wavered slightly, but the five-foot-eight tech caught him.

  Isabel’s stomach threatened to empty its contents. What contents, she didn’t know. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d put anything in her mouth more substantial than the Red Bull she’d commandeered from Maddy’s hiding spot.

  She waited until Roman was safely tucked into bed before heading toward quarantine’s clean room.

  Roman followed the movement. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  “To do my job.” Ten minutes later, fully garbed, she stepped into his room. Ben stood off to the side, readying his next dose of antivirals.

  “Thought you said you were going back to work.” Roman frowned as she approached.

  “I am. Maddy kicked me out of the lab, so now you are my job.” She lifted a lone dark eyebrow and hoped he could see she was serious. “You have a problem with that?”

  “No, he does not.” Cindy Steele’s voice came though the speaker. She glared at her son through the window, her mom scowl no less lethal. “I’m telling you right now, Roman Wallace Steele, you will let Isabel help you, or with as God as my witness, I will come into that room and give you a spanking like you’ve never had before.”

  Roman burst out laughing. “You’ve never spanked us a day in our life, and you’re going to give me one now?”

  She huffed. “Now is when you’re acting like a spoiled child. Don’t test me, son. I will do it…in front of the woman you love or not.”

  A small smile formed on Isa’s face. She couldn’t help it. Just like she couldn’t help wondering if Roman had told his mother about her…about what he’d shared with her before they’d been hit with the news. But judging by the slight color that rode high on Roman’s pale cheeks, she didn’t think so.

  Roman may have laughed and made a joke, but it hadn’t been without cost. Even without listening to his breath sounds, she could tell he was breathing a bit too fast and a lot too shallow. His skin, dotted with a faint dew, looked overheated.

  Roman turned his eyes to her, and it was right there in front of her. He was barely keeping himself together.

  He swallowed roughly and murmured for her ears only, “Make them leave.”

  “Roman, they’re worried about you. They—”

  “Won’t be any less worried if they stand there and watch me like I’m a rat in a maze. Please, it’s bad enough I’m not getting rid of you. I can’t let them see me like this, too.”

  “I’ll try not to take offense to that,” she joked lightly.

  He didn’t mean it harshly, but he was right. He wasn’t getting rid of her.

  “I’m sorry, folks.” She turned toward his family and friends. “I have to give Roman a physical and it might get a little…personal. Then he needs to get some rest.”

  “You’re kicking us out?” Cindy looked affronted.

  “Of course not. I’m relocating you.” Isa chose her words carefully. “Tru Tech has a small sleeping quarters for staff on the other side of the building. It’s almost like a small apartment, and it’s already been readied for guests. When you want to see Roman again, find the nearest employee and have them pick up the phone to set it up.”

  Roman’s mom didn’t look thrilled, but she accepted the news and turned to her son. “You make sure they call us if you need anything.”

  “Will do, Ma.”

  “I mean it, Roman. That means you actually have to tell them you want to see us.”

  A real smile slid onto his face. “I promise, Ma. You have my word.”

  She looked as if she was about to lose her battle against her tears and aimed a motherly look at Isa. “Take care of my boy, sweetheart.”

  “With everything I have, Cindy. I promise.”

  With everyone gone, the only sound to be heard was the steady drip of Roman’s IV.

  “You need anything else from me, Dr. Santiago?” Ben asked.

  “No, thank you. I’ll check his vitals and take it from here.” She waited until the air lock hissed and the tech stepped into decon.

  “What do I have to do to get you to walk out the door and follow my family?” Roman asked. His hands clutched onto the side of the bed as if trying to prevent the room from spinning.

  “You’d have to know how to perform miracles, because divine power is the only way I’m leaving this bedside.”

  He grimaced and let out a body-shaking wet cough. “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of.”

  “Roman, I never would have left you in the first place if it weren’t for the fact that we’re so close to getting the cocktail right. Now that I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.” She stepped closer to the bed and wished she could climb in right next to him. He looked a little more winded, and according to the oxygen monitor on the wall, wasn’t experiencing the high oxygen levels expected for a man of his general good health. “Tell me everything you’re feeling.”

  His lips twitched. “So we’re bringing up yesterday now? Wait…was it yesterday? I’ve kind of lost track of time.”

  “I’m a firm believer in the order of basic n
ecessities, but in order for us to have a conversation about our future together, there has to be a you. So start talking.”

  “Future, huh?”

  “Spill it, Steele.”

  As they ran through a complete body systems check, Isabel forced her face into the blank mask that Roman excelled at. She asked questions, and he answered honestly, only needing prodding a few times. He got winded talking, and it was evident by the goose bumps erupting across his skin that his fever was wreaking havoc with his body.

  Once she was finished playing Dr. Santiago, it grew more and more difficult to keep her face impassive. Her shoulders dropped and she released a deep breath, temporarily fogging her hood.

  “Come here,” Roman demanded softly, crooking a single finger.

  “Are you…beckoning me?”

  He smirked. “Don’t make me ask again, Doc.”

  She closed in on the bed, wishing with everything she had that she could take off her garb and slide her fingers through his. He must have felt the same thing, because his gaze dropped to the thick rubber monstrosities on her hands.

  “Guess there’s no copping any feels in this get-up, huh?” he teased.

  “Roman…” She fought against the tears. No way was she feeling sorry for herself when it was the incredible man in front of her who facing ridiculous odds. “We’re finding a treatment. I’m not stopping until I do. I bet that by the time morning rolls around—”

  “Isabel.”

  At the use of her full name, Isa stopped. “Yeah?”

  “I need you to make a few promises to me.”

  She eyed him warily. “What kind of promises?”

  “First, no matter what happens…you move onward knowing you did everything you could.”

  “You—”

  “Let me finish, babe.” Roman paused, looking as if he needed to catch his breath. His hand slid over hers, rubber gloves be damned. “Things happen for a reason. I need you to continue believing that. I need you to know that for the time I’ve had you in my life, you have made me the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t know what the hell I did to deserve you, but I’m sure as hell glad it happened. And I wouldn’t change a damn thing…except to have more time with you.”