Bright blond hair fluttered in the wind and stood out like a flame in the darkness at the helm. She cast about but didn’t spot Greiff anywhere. She banged on the floor with her fist until Lucky turned enough to see her. The thin man leaned down to the open doorway leading below decks, and a minute later, Greiff appeared.
His posture was different—shoulders straighter and squarer, a hard set to his jaw and eyes. Shadows haloed his face as he prowled to where she reclined on her elbows.
They stared at each other without speaking until nerves got to her and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Hey. You never bought me dinner.”
A surprised chuckle burst from his throat and he covered her mouth in a long, hot kiss. They broke apart, each short of breath, and he ran his thumbs over her cheek bones.
A shaky smile stretched her mouth. “Can’t believe you kissed me even though I have to taste like puke.”
“I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re awake. I put you on the floor so you wouldn’t fall onto it. Sorry about that.” He cast about for the blanket and made motions to tuck it in around her again. “I would have taken you below, but I didn’t want to move you more than necessary.”
“It’s fine. But if you put that thing around me, I’ll kill you.” She shoved the blanket away. Greiff would smother her with care if she let him. “Any chance of getting my legs unwrapped?”
He grimaced. “Sorry honey, but we’re probably going to have to put you in a tub and soak ‘em off. They’re full of blood. And I don’t have any other way of keeping your legs stabilized. I know the muck from the sewer is still on there too, but I had to stop the bleeding. You were going into shock.”
“What, you mean you don’t keep emergency sticks around to make splints? No jetted tub? How dare you be so unprepared?”
The moonlight glinted off his wide chest as he took a deep breath. “No. I don’t. I’m so sorry—”
“No more of that. We’re alive. I’ll heal.” She poked him in the chest. “Now, pick me up. I don’t want to stay down here anymore. You have to fill me in on where we’re going.”
“Are you always this bossy?” He slid his arms under her knees and back and stood with a small wobble. “And heavy?”
“Shut it. Not my fault you didn’t get super strength. And no jokes about my weight.” The salty ocean air cleared her lungs. Lucky turned to observe them, the green gauge lights painting his features in interesting patterns. She waved and smiled at him. “Where are we going?”
“Canada. Lucky says he’s got a contact with a plane. One of those small ones they use to take tourists fishing.” He paused next to their temporary captain and she looked in amazement at the array of high tech equipment sprouting from the dash under the wind shield.
“Hey Lucky, you sure it’s safe to go this fast in the dark?” A small boat-shaped blip blinked on and off on one of the screens. Another had a red rotating line circling a center point in a slow sweep. The only gauges she recognized with certainty were the compass and the marine radio.
“No worries, Clo. We’re far enough off shore that harbors, sand bars, and other boat traffic aren’t going to be an issue.” He tapped a rapid drum roll on the console with two fingers. “You ever had sex on a boat? It’s pretty awesome. You get this whole extra rolling motion from the water that is just, like, I don’t know. It really lets you get some leverage and slide in there—”
“I’m taking Chloe below decks. Don’t get us killed.” Greiff pivoted to the side and descended the stairs.
A laugh bubbled up despite the continuous throb from her legs and the unease snaking around her heart in a coil. The fear of pursuit wouldn’t leave her. This was too easy. Two different groups after them and no one had caught up yet? Something about it didn’t track. She didn’t believe for a second they were free yet.
He laid her carefully on a large bed and slid a pillow under each foot to elevate them. “That guy has done nothing but talk about sex since you’ve been out. I spent an hour and a half watching you and listening to him before I escaped down here. The bruising and cuts on your feet healed over and your breathing evened out, so I figured it was safe to leave you. Plus, I was going to gag him if I didn’t get away from him.”
She patted the cushion next to her hip. “Come sit by me. Tell me what else is on your mind.”
He perched on the edge of the bunk, scrubbed at his hair, and stared at the floor. “I’m dying for a smoke.”
“Yeah well, I’m dying for food. And those screaming orgasms you promised me.”
A small smile tugged the corner of his mouth up and he traced her nose from brow to tip. “Food I can help you with. The orgasms you’re going to have to wait for until your legs are healed. Don’t move.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
He rose to his feet and disappeared into the small galley area. He returned with a package of beef jerky and bottled water. “Sorry. This is all I could find.”
Saliva flooded her mouth, and she lunged for the jerky. “This is awesome. Thank you. I’m starved.”
The sealed plastic didn’t last long under her focused assault. She mowed through four pieces of dried beef in record time before slowing down.
“So what were you doing down here other than hiding from Lucky?”
He popped the lid on the water and handed it to her. “Going through the information on that flash drive he gave me. Lucky stashed a lap top in his bag and brought it with us.”
“And?” The empty pit in her stomach felt better, but still needed more fuel.
“It’s a lot to take in. There are profiles and news articles and schematics…all very well organized, but I can’t connect all the pieces yet.”
She worked on a really thick chunk of meat and mulled his words over. “Has Dyson checked in?”
“No. I watched him throw a man from the window as we were running for it.” He sucked in a deep breath. “But I also saw him take four rounds to the chest. I don’t know if he made it, babe.”
The stress of the situation asserted itself as tight bands of muscle in her chest squeezed in and made it difficult to breathe. “He saved us. Twice.”
“I know. Muriel called him to let him know we were headed for the sewers, and then he arranged for the boat at the warehouse.” He sighed. “I need more time to go through the flash drive. The things on it are disturbing.”
“Completely bat shit?” Fatigue sucked at her and she snuggled back into the mattress.
He took her water and recapped it. “Yes.”
“Sorry, Jake.” She yawned and tried to ignore the itchy prickly feelings in her legs.
“For what?”
“Being in color and stuff. Hitting people with frying pans. That guy this morning had it coming though.” She battled to keep her eyes open, but they slid shut anyway.
“I’m sure he did, sweetheart.”
Chapter Thirteen
Greiff prowled through the lower deck living area, searching the cabinets, drawers, and various cubby holes for anything he could use as a weapon. The gun he’d given to Chloe got lost when Dyson dropped her out of the window. That left him with a Glock with only one loaded magazine.
He knew exactly how many bullets were in it, because he’d taken them out and counted them. Fifteen in the magazine, one in the chamber. A small tool set he’d discovered in the galley held some screwdrivers, wrenches, electrical tape, and a box cutter. He dropped a flat head screwdriver and the box cutter into his pocket. Good for in close fighting, but nothing for a long range attack. Everything else went back where he’d found it.
Information and ideas buzzed around his head. He and Chloe had to leave the country and disappear. If she did end up pregnant, their kid would be hunted down and treated like a science experiment. And even if she didn’t want him around, he wasn’t letting some government weapons program or crazy asshole take his kid. He thought of Chloe leaving him behind and pain lanced his heart, but he’d let her walk if she wanted to. He’
d have to make sure he convinced her not to go anywhere. Since his divorce, he’d been alone. Sharon burned him so bad he hadn’t thought he’d ever be with someone new. Hadn’t thought he’d want to. But with Chloe, all that baggage fell away. She had spunk, smarts, and was loyal to her friends. Pieces of his heart already belonged to her.
He’d convince her to stay with him no matter what.
He mounted the steps to go back above after checking on her once more. Lucky’s bright white skin stood out even in the near absolute darkness.
“Told ya she’d be fine. You guys will be back at it in no time. She heals up fast and then you can get all the pus—”
The white hot jealousy he’d burned with earlier came back and ate through his self-control like acid. He gripped the back of the shorter man’s neck and mashed his face into the steering wheel. The boat listed in a sharp turn to the right. “I told you. Don’t do it. Don’t even think about her that way. Don’t look at her.”
Lucky held still and didn’t move at all. He held both hands up in a surrender position until Greiff let him go. “Alright, I’m sorry man. Like, calm down. What’s with you and the ‘roid rage?”
Blood thundered in his ears. “I don’t know. I’ve never been like this before. I shouldn’t have been able to clear that pile of rubble outside the warehouse, but I did. Something’s changing.”
“Like, you noticing your abilities are getting sharper? Nose works better than ever? Feeling stronger maybe?” Lucky kept his eyes straight ahead as he spoke.
A cold ball of apprehension curled into a fist in his chest. “Yeah. I was teasing Chloe earlier when I picked her up. She only weighs about a hundred pounds, but picking her up was easy. I bobbled her around because I was afraid to hurt her.” He wished for a cigarette so bad his head hurt. “And I can smell …I can smell at least three different women on you, despite us being out here in the ocean. I’m not cold, although it’s dropping into the sixties and I’m only half dressed. And that jump. I shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
He held back the information that his feet had healed over in record time. Despite clearing the debris Chloe had landed in, large rocks and bits of trash littered the ground around the building. The soles of his feet took a hell of a beating on impact. He’d run on adrenaline, and didn’t notice the damage until after Chloe had passed out. In fact, he could track his own footsteps around the boat because of the bloody foot prints he’d left on the white fiberglass.
“Listen man. Your partner was working both sides. And both sides want you. We know that the original delivery system of the chemical agent was passed through beverages.”
Unease skittered over him. “Yeah, I read that. Acts like some kinds of viral hijack that rewrites DNA and copies itself.”
“Right. So, you didn’t get very much because you were laid up in the infirmary and ended up leaving early. The agent was designed to hit your genome like a scatter bomb. Kaboom!” Lucky gestured with his hands and wiggled his fingers. “You’d ingest it; it’d do its thing. Changes occurred. Small bits of the, let’s call it a chemical, could still be floating around in there, making slow changes over years, but after the immediate change, not much more would happen. So the agent has been hanging out in your bloodstream, moving around slowly, replicating a little at a time. Until recently.”
“Wait. Are you saying I’ve been drugged again with that shit and that’s why my body is mutating even more?”
Lucky met his eyes and the weight of sadness in them almost doubled him over. “I think so. Chloe too. Anything you ate or drank in the last twenty four hours could have contained the mystical soup mix. Chloe’s not supposed to be able to heal as fast as she is. Based on past tests and data, she should have been unconscious and in a coma-like state for a few days at least.”
“Anything? I thought you said it was like a dropping a nuke on my genome. Instantaneous infiltration.”
“You have to digest the stuff through your stomach lining so it enters your blood stream. Unless they gave it to you in an IV. That’d shoot you right up. Whoop! Like, bam. It’d still take some time to integrate to your cells, injecting its own code and forcing your body into slave labor, but, yeah. How longs it take for your body to process a burger?”
Mother fuck. When did they find the bottom of this rabbit hole? At what point did the information bombs stop falling? What did this mean for him and Chloe?
“What kind of past tests?” He clenched his fists and wished for something or someone to pound into the ground. Keeping Lucky on track and not losing his mind to wrath over what had been done required more patience than he’d known he had.
“Injuries. They hurt her to see how long it’d take her to heal. They even cut off one of her toes once.”
Icy cold rage took over him and cleared every thought out of his head. How many people had these unconscionable lowlifes done things like this to?
“I’m taking them down. Every last one of them.”
Lucky laughed a low, humorless rasp with an edge of despair. “I’ve been trying for years. The net is wide and deep, man. Like, it crosses oceans and countries. And you’ve got something else to consider.”
“What?” A red haze clouded the edges of his vision and he tightened his grip on the Glock. He didn’t remember drawing the gun from his waistband and took a few deep breaths to regain control.
“Chloe. Your child. You’re going to have a kid. If they set you two up to be mates or whatever, you’ll have a baby. You have to protect them both.”
“How do you know for sure?”
“Read the files.” Lucky glanced over his shoulder. “Fuck. I thought we’d made it out. Why didn’t you kill Rebane?”
“I don’t like to kill. And I didn’t know for sure what was going on.” He strained his ears, but didn’t hear anything above the engine’s roar. “Tell me why you’re sure. I might not get to read the files and I want to know now.”
“Take the wheel. Keep us on this bearing. If something happens to the equipment, there are maps under the seat.” Lucky skirted around him and tossed the blanket over the bank of equipment save the compass. “I know because it happened to me. You should be happy. You and Chloe like each other. It doesn’t always work out that way.”
Greiff took the wheel and kept his focus on the ocean ahead. Nothing around them but blackness. They’d been operating without running lights and the moon provided the only illumination. The effect was dangerous and creepy, but he found that his vision in the low light was sharp and effectual. Maybe even better than in day light. He shrugged off the worry of what that meant for the future and focused on the present.
Lucky disappeared down the stairs and came back up with two plastic wrapped rifles and a few boxes of shells. “I’m sure you’re familiar with this gun. They’re closing in fast, probably in a speed boat. This cruiser won’t get up above forty knots, so we’ve got to take them out before they get close enough to sink us.”
“This whole thing is fucking nuts.” He watched as the blond yanked a dark hoodie over his head and flipped the hood up to cover his hair.
“Yeah, well, this is our reality. Better get used to it, man.” Lucky ripped the plastic away, checked the safety and magazine of the first rifle, and handed it over. “They’ll do whatever it takes to bag us. And you and I both know that bullets will tear right through the hull of this thing. Possibly hit Chloe and definitely sink us.”
The muddle of his thoughts foamed and frothed, but he locked it all away. In the darkness Lucky’s face and hands stood out like triple flames. “Better let me handle guarding our rear. Even if you’re a better shot, you’re day-glow bright with that super white skin of yours.”
Lucky finished unpacking his weapon and switched places with him at the helm. “Don’t hesitate, man. It’s them coming up on us.”
The audible thrum of an approaching boat reached his ears and he trekked to the stern to crouch down and use the low, rear deck to support the weight of the rifle. “How c
an you be sure?” He strained his eyes to try and see an approaching vessel but couldn’t make one out yet.
“There’s no one out here but us. And any other boats would be using their running lights. We’d see them coming. Plus, no one would be out here without high tech nav systems to help guide them. The navigation systems warn you about other vessels and obstacles in relation to your boat.”
Everything his companion said made sense, and yet he had to be sure. A bullet from the rifle he held could easily tear a hole right through the hull and into anyone inside the cabin. Maybe go through them and out the other side of the boat.
“You sure this scope is dialed in?” He put his eye to the lens and scanned the ocean behind them. Nothing.
“Yeah. You never know after they’ve been jostled, but a boat is pretty damn big and you don’t have to be super accurate. Just sink the fucker.”
A second scan of the ocean behind them revealed a dark shape silhouetted for seconds against the night sky. He squinted and strained, and despite the low light, he made out a dark hull and the shadows of three people behind the windshield. Gunfire broke the monotony of the engines’ drone.
He fired back, four rounds in fast succession. The boat turned to the left so sharp he almost toppled over on his side. “Lucky, straighten this thing out, dammit.”
A thump and crash came from below decks, but he couldn’t leave his position to check on Chloe. Fuck, he hated decisions like this. She might have re-broken her legs, but he had to try to protect her from further harm before he’d know. The boat continued in its sharp arc and fear that they’d capsize seized him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the other man on the floor in a widening pool of blood.
In a lightning fast move, he rushed to a new position, emptied the magazine toward the other boat, and exchanged his weapon for Lucky’s. Then he got the cruiser back on to the correct bearing and engaged the autopilot. Bullets punctured the windshield to the right of his head and he ducked down to the floor.
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