“He told you that or you wouldn’t say that as if you know what was said. Don’t let Whitney fool you, Shylah. You should know by now he lies. More, he would want a biological weapon. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself. That man would never pass up the chance to know if the virus would work on you. They were testing it in your blood, after all.” Draden began walking again, needing the outlet of physical activity because the anger and the desire—the need—to actively hunt Whitney down and kill him was so strong.
“I’m well aware of Whitney’s character, Draden. I’ve studied him. I know his every character flaw and his need to develop weapons.”
Draden fought back a retort. She would have taken the time to study Whitney if she considered him the enemy. He let a few moments go by, breathing deeply for calm. “Why did you report to him?”
“Your team and the Indonesian government as well as the World Health Organization will all be hunting the Williams brothers and Orucov. Probably every law enforcement agency around the world as well. While they all do that so openly, Whitney can quietly send assassins to hunt and kill Montgomery. That’s the only way to take Montgomery down. It’s even money that the moment the guy knows or even suspects that someone is after him, he’ll be in the wind.”
“Would Montgomery let the virus loose on the world? What kind of man is he?”
She pursed her lips, considering the questions for a few moments before answering. “From everything I’ve discovered about him, he’s a mean, spiteful, spoiled bully. Would he release the virus? Yes, I think he actually would, but, only if he was protected from it.”
“So, if he already has the virus, everyone’s in trouble.”
She nodded and then sighed. “I probably should have told the others, but your Joe rubbed me the wrong way.”
“He’s a good man, sweetheart. And so is Trap. I honestly believe Trap and Wyatt have a shot at figuring out how to get you out of this mess.”
“I don’t know why you keep saying that.”
Draden swept his hand down the back of her head and settled his fingers on the nape of her neck as they approached the two steps leading to the porch. His touch was possessive because he felt that way. He didn’t mind being a little primal.
“This virus was designed by the Williams brothers and Orucov. They constructed it. We have their original files. Some are password protected and I’m betting those are the files Trap needs to deconstruct the virus. Even if he can’t get into them, he’ll find a way. He’ll do it in time to save you. I know he will.”
Just as she had before, Shylah moved in front of him to examine the silky strands she’d left across the stairs and doorway. The strands looked like those of a normal spiderweb. Delicate. She turned to face him, leaning her back to the door, her hands on her hips.
“I understand that. What I meant was, why would you believe Trap can find a way to save me, but not you? Why do you keep putting it that way?”
Draden shrugged, looking at her face. He thought her face was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. That flawless skin. Her freckles. Her generous mouth and large dark eyes. He wanted to kiss her, not discuss dying with her.
“They injected me with the virus, giving me a larger dose, if you will. It’s more concentrated in me. You have a little more time.” He stepped closer to her and framed her face with his hands. “Maybe I want you saved so much I don’t let myself think of anything else happening. Whitney’s virologists were having a difficult time coming up with a virus that would infect you, so your immune system is very good.” Hopefully that would buy her a lot more time. He was counting on Trap and Wyatt.
“I want you to remember we’re in this together, Draden. I need to feel I’m in this with you, not by myself.”
“You know if you’re with me, Shylah, you’re just plain fucked. There isn’t any getting out of this for me.” He wanted her to understand that and start looking toward Trap to find a way for her to live.
“I’m with you, Draden,” she said softly. “I’m right here with you every step of the way.”
He slid the pad of his thumb over her perfect skin. Had there been hurt in her voice? “Baby,” he said softly. “I’m not trying to push you away. I’m trying to save your life. I want you to live. You’re extraordinary. The world needs you.”
She shook her head. Tears glistened on the tips of her lashes. Yeah, he’d hurt her. He slid his thumb over her lips needing to stop the trembling.
“Do you really believe that?”
If she kept blinking and sending those tears trailing down her face, he wasn’t going to be responsible for what he did. “Absolutely.”
“I kill people, Draden. I can justify it and call it everything but that, but I kill people. That’s hardly extraordinary.”
“Of course, it is. Men like the Williams brothers, Agus Orucov and Montgomery are willing to wipe out the population for money or power. Someone has to track them down and take them out. The world does really need you, Shylah.”
There was a long silence while she stared into his eyes, and he felt as if he might be drowning. The sensation was so real he held his breath.
“I don’t want the world, Draden. I just want you. Here. Now. Whatever we’ve got in the time we have left.”
He heard the sincerity in her voice. She knew what she was facing just as well as he did. She’d seen the evidence, the results of such a horrific virus. His heart clenched. No one had ever wanted him, not in his entire life. His own mother had thrown him away, essentially traded him for drugs. It had started there and gone further downhill.
He leaned into her and took her mouth. Gently. His body stirred, a familiar ache now, when she was close. She had captured his heart and he didn’t ever want it back. The taste of her was wild, hitting his veins and spreading like wildfire. He’d never felt so alive and it was rather ironic that he was dying.
He lifted his head reluctantly, knowing that each time he kissed her, he was sealing her fate. He stroked his thumbs down the path of her tears and then brushed kisses over her eyelids. “Let’s go inside. We both need to lie down for a little while.”
She nodded and turned away from him to open the door. They both knew no one was inside. The webs had been intact and neither one of them felt their radar going off as it would have with an intruder, but they still paused to double-check before stepping inside. The habit was ingrained in both of them.
Draden loved that he didn’t have to remind Shylah, that she was already in sync with him about their security. Another person might have been so overwhelmed with the thought of dying that they couldn’t cope, but Shylah was determined to make every second count—and she wanted to spend that time with him.
Once inside the ranger cabin, Shylah went to her backpack. No one would suspect a young woman hiking in the forest to be a seasoned assassin.
“You’ve had some time to poke around. Why do you think Whitney’s virologists took off before they figured out a vaccine? Was it the fact that the World Health Organization had been called in? Or that the Indonesian government were sending their elite to Sumatra?”
“Why do you think they didn’t find a vaccine?”
He shrugged. “No evidence at all. None. No notes, no entries, no coming close.”
“I think they were panicked,” Shylah said. “For sure. They didn’t even take the time to wipe the computer. They ran. That makes me suspect it was more likely the MSS were hunting them. Either for more of the virus, the vaccine or because they hadn’t realized it was that lethal. It makes more sense that they were being hunted. I tracked them to the MSS village, remember? Their tracks showed they left without hurrying, but they never returned to the lab, they fled, using the river as an escape.”
“There’s no sign of the MSS beyond those two villages.”
“Not yet, but the commander of the MSS could have easily said something to the three of them that made them feel threatened enough to run.”
Draden nodded in agreement. The action sen
t a burst of pain radiating through his head. “I’m really damned tired, Shylah,” he confessed. “More than I’ve ever been in my life.”
“You’re injured, Draden. You need to eat better and sleep the entire day today. That head injury was far more severe than either of us guessed.”
His gaze was on her face while she reassured him. He would have believed her more if worry hadn’t been there so plain in her brown eyes. He glanced down at his watch. He only had a few minutes to rest before he would have to meet the helicopter and Joe. He knew he wasn’t going to have Shylah come with him. This time he was going to make it clear that he wanted her saved. There had to be a way, even if that meant physically removing her to a hospital somewhere.
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