Bellisia touched the screen and immediately Shylah put her palm up as well. Smiles faded, and they stared at each other.
“Where’s Zara?”
Hearing her voice, Draden tightened his hand around hers to give her strength and to let her know he was with her.
“She was sent away with Nonny, Pepper, Cayenne and the three little ones. If someone is planning to set loose a virus on our teams, Team Two has the facility to protect our loved ones,” Ezekiel said.
“That’s a good idea. I wish you’d gone with them, Bellisia,” Shylah said. “I need to know you and Zara are safe. Both of you.”
“We need warriors here, Shylah,” Bellisia was gentle. “You know what I can do. Around here, there is a great deal of water.”
Shylah turned her hand so that her fingers threaded through Draden’s, seeking comfort. His hand wrapped around hers, surrounding it, holding her to him.
“I know, Bellisia. I wouldn’t have left either, but that doesn’t stop me from needing to know what Draden and I are doing isn’t for nothing. You’re family. My only family, you and Zara. I like knowing you’re safe. Picturing you happy with your husband. Zara as well.”
“I am happy,” Bellisia assured. She glanced over her shoulder at the man standing behind her.
“Trap, why did you send Cayenne with them? I would have thought she would have come with you or stayed there to protect our homes,” Draden said. Trap had to have sent her. Cayenne would never have left him any other way. She obeyed one man only. She was a wild card, and Joe knew it. She trained with them and she protected their home and families, but she was always with Trap.
Trap suddenly looked uncomfortable. “She’ll kill me if I say anything.”
Bellisia gasped and glared at Trap through the computer screen. “She’s pregnant. You wouldn’t send her away for any other reason. She’s pregnant.”
“That true, Trap?” Joe asked, his tone annoyed.
“Yeah. She’s been pregnant for a while. She didn’t want anyone to know, and she doesn’t really show much.”
“Is she seeing a doctor?” Joe demanded.
“Nonny is seeing to her.”
Trap ran his finger around the neck of his shirt. He was wearing a T-shirt so Draden couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re going to be a father, Trap.”
Trap gave him a look that would have made anyone else drop dead right on the spot. “Fuckin’ gonna put a cap in your head,” he warned.
Draden shrugged. “Not much of a threat when I’m dying anyway.”
“Might help you along,” Trap said.
“We’re being monitored,” Joe reminded. “Wrap it up, ladies.”
Draden felt Shylah’s breath catch as she pressed her front to his back tightly. “We saved a tiger today, Bellisia. The Sumatran tigers are so rare, maybe only four hundred remain in the entire world and we saved one today. Or rather, Draden really did. You should have seen him. I never saw anyone move so fast.”
Draden tightened his hand around Shylah’s in warning. She either ignored it, or she didn’t realize why he didn’t want her to go there.
“We were coming back from encounters with the MSS. I’d gotten a few, and Draden had managed to retrieve what was left of the virus. The tiger was right below me, looking up at me, and he took a couple of steps right into a poacher’s snare. He went crazy, attacking the tree and rolling and raking, snarling. He would have starved or chewed through his own leg. It was truly horrible.”
“That’s awful,” Bellisia said. “How in the world were you able to get the snare off of him?”
“It was a cable and the more he fought the tighter the noose drew. Draden dropped down from above, right on him, driving the tiger to the ground. Somehow, he managed to put him in a headlock while controlling his movements with his legs, holding him down so I could remove the snare. Then we had to time both of us getting away before he could put a scratch on either of us. It was the coolest thing ever.”
Draden kept his eyes on Joe’s face the entire time Shylah was relating the story to Bellisia. He knew why she did it. She wasn’t thinking about the sickness they carried in their bodies or the fact that he had an ampule with drops of the deadly virus on him when he’d done such a foolhardy thing. She wanted to spend time with her friend. Losing that contact meant they were another step closer to dying.
“Wrap it up now, Bellisia,” Joe ordered.
She shot him a look but obediently blew a kiss to Shylah. “You’re loved, girl, you know that,” she whispered.
“Same,” Shylah said, sounding choked.
Bellisia removed herself from in front of the camera to stand beside her husband. Ezekiel wrapped his arm around her, and both stayed in view of the camera.
“Did you have the virus on your person when you rescued that tiger?” Joe demanded.
Shylah stiffened. She started to straighten, but Draden kept his hand on hers, holding her against his back and shoulder.
“I did.”
“What the hell kind of dumbass move was that? You know how deadly that virus is. What were you thinking?”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking of much other than giving my woman a gift. She’s dying, and I can’t save her. I want her last days to be as happy as possible under the circumstances.”
“What kind of bullshit excuse is that?” Joe demanded. “You’re talking about a possible worldwide pandemic if this thing gets out. You know better. Your first duty is to your country.”
Shylah pulled her hand away from his and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, nearly choking him while she glared at the screen. “I think giving his life for his country is about all anyone can ask. You don’t have much compassion in you, do you? I guess that’s what makes you such a good commander, but frankly, neither one of us has to do anything you say. Not one damn thing.”
“Baby,” Draden cautioned.
“No, we don’t, Draden. We’re the ones here facing this thing.” She was fierce about it. “We’re dying. Everything we give them is a damn gift they can accept with a freaking thank-you instead of tearing strips off you.”
No one, in as long as he could remember, had stuck up for him. Certainly not with the ferocity of a tigress. She was making it known, just as he had, that they were a couple.
There was a small silence. Joe probably had half the Indonesian military behind him, certainly the commander of their elite special forces. Draden doubted if they would have responded to such insubordination gracefully, but Joe did. He was the sort of man who stayed cool under even the most embarrassing situations and having Shylah rip him a new one in front of an audience had to be right up there.
“I apologize, Ms. Cosmos.” Joe even managed to pour sincerity into his voice, although Draden was certain he wanted to take Shylah into another room and give her one of his renowned dressing-downs. “It must be very difficult to be in the position you’re in, aware of what’s coming. Both of you are courageous and deserve respect. On the other hand, we have to protect the public. We can’t have even a couple of drops of that virus get out. I am certain you can see my position.”
That was Joe. Apologize, but let everyone, especially Shylah, know he was right. Draden wasn’t about to allow him to make her feel small. He interrupted. “We’ve taken out a good number of the MSS, and yes, we’re wearing masks and gloves when we hunt. We’ll take as many of them down as possible for you. Our strategy is to make the village as unfriendly a place for them as possible so hopefully they’ll move out of there and the Kopassus can deal with them.”
Shylah leaned her head against his back. He could almost feel her weariness and need to have the strangers gone. It took nerves of steel to face what they were facing, and she didn’t want to waste what time they had left being chastised and fighting with command. He wanted to wrap things up, but he really needed assurance from Trap first.
On the screen, Joe glanced over his shoulder, nodded to someone off-camera and then turned back. “That can be coordinat
ed. Right now, we’re close to you. We’ll be coming for the blood and virus and we’ll bring you food and supplies. They’re keeping everyone away, so you shouldn’t run into any civilians. When you want them to take over, let us know. The Kopassus will be on standby.”
“The MSS haven’t come this far into the interior. So far, we’ve been safe from them,” Draden reported.
“The Indonesian military will help with that. They’ve thrown up a ring around the remote lab and the ranger station. You will be able to move in and out freely, heading toward the village to do as much damage as possible to the terrorists but they won’t be able to get to you. Be careful, both of you. Don’t take chances that could spread the virus.”
“We won’t. Clear kills only,” Draden agreed.
“Are you showing any signs of infection, Draden?” Trap asked. “Symptoms can appear within two days and you received a healthy dose.”
Draden appreciated the concern on Trap’s face. The man was his best friend, but he rarely showed emotion. He nodded and rubbed at the back of his neck. “My head’s pounding. I’ve had a headache for over twenty-four hours.”
“He isn’t showing any signs,” Shylah denied, her head appearing over his shoulder again in the camera’s vision. “He hit his head really hard and clearly has a concussion, which he denies.”