On the Hunt (19 page)

Then he stopped moving. Still inside her, with the aftermath of the pounding still echoing in the silence, he placed a searing kiss between her shoulder blades.

He released her hair, and her head dropped forward. Breath panted out from her lungs, and her mind blanked. Sleep half claimed her, right then and there. Deacan pulled out and turned her around.

She flopped onto her back, her body beyond exhaustion. Everything inside her quieted almost to the point of numbness. Yep. She was going to be sore the next morning.

He smoothed the hair off her forehead and traced a path between her breasts to her still-vibrating core, his broad hand hot. “Say it,” he murmured, his green gaze intent.

She frowned, trying to follow his words. “Hmm.”

His hand flattened over her already sore mound, and her eyelids flew wide open to study him as a threat. “I said to say it, or we’ll go for round two.” The set of his jaw didn’t allow for any misunderstanding.

She blinked, her body too satiated to find any outrage. “You’re such a throwback. Highlander.”

His chin lifted. “Aye. Now, Nora.”

Sleep tried once again to entice her, and she wanted to fall into it. “Fine.” She yawned. “You win. I’m yours. Do with me what you will . . . after I sleep.”

In the early dawn light, his face changed. Not in an obvious way, and not in a way she would’ve noticed had she not been watching. What she saw there was absolute and carved in stone as ancient as those around his homeland. “Again, Nora. Without the yawn, in this moment and in this place. Ye will say it.”

Her mind cleared to razor-sharp focus, the feeling unpleasant after her dreamy state. Her body felt well taken and overcome, and her heart beat in tune with his. On some level, a purely feminine one that had nothing to do with logic or reason, she felt his call. His demand. She also knew, after she’d pushed him, after what they’d just shared, he wouldn’t allow her to evade or diminish the moment. He wouldn’t let her deny what had passed between them, whether she liked it or not. Whether she fully understood it or not. “Fine, but it goes both ways. If I’m yours, you’re all mine.” It was as close as she could come to finding some balance.

“True. One more time. No qualification.” The look on his face, determined and dark, stole her breath.

Nerves tingled across her abdomen at the possessive tone, and she had to take a deep breath before speaking. Sometimes words held meaning that changed lives, and he was demanding acknowledgment of something easier left unsaid. Knowing full well what he was doing, to be sure.

Yet she had to answer. “I’m yours.” She gave him the only words that would satisfy him.

His chin lifted and for several long, quiet moments, he studied her. “You are mine. And you won’t be forgetting it again.” He lay next to her and rolled her into his embrace, covering them with a blanket.

Warmth seduced her, but something, a flare of awareness, opened her eyes. His hard body all but enclosed her. “I never really knew you, did I?” she murmured.

His breath brushed her hair. “You knew half of me.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “Now I know all.”

“Aye, you do. God help you, Nora.” His hold tightened. “Now you
have
all of me.”

After only two hours of sleep with Nora in his arms, Deke jerked his truck to a stop in a small driveway just as a local squad car screeched to a halt behind him. “Stay here,” he muttered to her, halting her reach for the door handle. When the call had come in, he hadn’t had time to get her to safety, and he sure as shit wasn’t leaving her at his apartment, alarm system or not.

She nodded, her face pale, her eyes wide. “The newest nanoparticle results will be available in about two hours, maybe three. I need to be there to see if the charges reversed when the particles found the bacteria. I’ve been working with zinc oxide nanoparticles, since Lynne thought zinc affected Scorpius somehow.”

He had no clue what charges she was talking about. “I’ll make sure you’re back by then.” He jumped from the truck and squinted in the sun before giving a short nod to a gnarled Metro Police deputy. “The FBI has secured the scene. Keep the neighbors back.”

The cop rested his hand on his hip, his bushy eyebrows rising toward Nora.

“Keep an eye on her. She doesn’t come near the house.” Waiting for a grim nod, Deke stalked toward the front door and knocked, leather gloves covering his hands and making them sweat. An FBI agent in full black suit opened the door. “What?”

Deke flashed his badge, the serious one nobody fucked with.

The agent’s eyes widened, and he stepped back. “All righty. Want to tell me why I was called down to secure an attempted rape scene?”

Deke sighed. “No. Go outside and wait for the CDC.”

The guy pivoted and took off, mumbling something sounding suspiciously like
dickhead
.

A trilling ambulance siren blasted through the day, and Deke glanced back toward the cop, who waited far away. “Don’t let them come in unless the CDC is with them and geared up.” Deke had called the CDC workers at the hospital the second he’d gotten the report of the assault.

“Yep,” the cop said, hand on his holster.

Deke walked around the vestibule to a quaint living room where a young woman sported a nasty black eye and split lip.

Anger and lingering fear darkened her pretty blue eyes. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Hi, Mandy. My name is Deke McDougall, and I’m with the police.” He remained on the other side of the room to keep from spooking her, having no problem lying about his affiliation. “An ambulance is coming, and they’re going to take you to the hospital.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Fought the prick off.”

Deke nodded. “I know, and good job, by the way. You sure it was Zach Barter?”

“Yes.” She fingered the crack in her bottom lip and winced. “We went to undergrad together and have kept in touch. When he got into D.C. last week, he gave me a call, and I hoped we’d get a chance to meet up.” She flushed. “He’s cute, you know?” Red stained her cheeks.

Deke lowered his voice. “This wasn’t your fault, and don’t think for a second that it was. Tell me what happened.”

She patted the couch next to her. “I’m not scared. You can come sit down.”

He sighed. “Honey, I’m going to tell you something, and I don’t want you to get too worried. Okay?”

She blinked and her movements halted. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not. There’s a possibility Zach is infected with some sort of bacterial pathogen.” Deke tried for reassurance, but as the ambulance pulled into the driveway, panic crossed the girl’s face. “Stay calm. Trust me.”

She pressed a hand to her chest.

“You’re probably just fine.” Deke ignored the ruckus behind him. “But we need to make sure, you know?”

She gulped, and tears filled her eyes. “Okay.”

Deke nodded. “Tell me what happened.”

She glanced beyond him and then focused back. “Zach called, and I invited him to dinner. When he got here, he came in, and almost immediately, he grabbed me and kissed me.”

Fuck it all.
Deke nodded. “Then?”

“He tried to rip off my shirt, and I panicked. Starting fighting back. Hit him in the nose.” A tear fell down her cheek.

“Good job.” Deke glanced over his shoulder to see two workers from the CDC donning protective gear outside on the lawn. “Did he bleed?” Deke asked.

“Yes. We fought some more, and then he ran out.” Mandy shrugged. “I don’t understand.”

Neither did Deke, but it seemed that Zach had tried to infect the girl. He moved to the side. “Thank you. I know this is difficult. I’m going to let the CDC take over, and they’ll get you to the hospital just to run some routine tests. As soon as I can get in to see you, I will.”

Fear all but cascaded from her, but she lifted her chin. “How bad is this?”

He shook his head. “I’m sure it’s fine, but we need to double-check. Do you have any idea where Zach would’ve gone?”

She rubbed her eye. “No. Sorry.”

He forced a smile, hoping it held some reassurance. His gut was brewing, and he didn’t like it one bit. “Be strong, sweetheart. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” He moved out of the way and walked outside as the CDC workers, looking like something from a science fiction movie, approached the house.

The first one, a short black guy, stopped near him with a plastic bag. “Did you touch anything?”

“I just knocked on the door.” Deke slid off the gloves to deposit in the bag. “She’s hurt and she’s scared. Be easy with her.”

The guy nodded. “Not my first rodeo, pal.”

Deke paused and then moved toward the cop. “Keep the onlookers away from the scene. More FBI should be arriving soon.”

The officer returned to his squad car with an uneasy glance at the CDC guys before turning around. “We’ve been canvassing per FBI instructions with the picture of the suspect. Two restaurants blocks over said he’d been in earlier.”

Deke frowned. Jesus. “Did they mention any weird behavior?”

“Not really. Just said the guy ate from the salad bar.”

“Fuck. Call them back and shut them down. Then call the CDC and have them go test the restaurants, especially salad dressing or anything he could’ve contaminated.” Deke paused at his door.

The deputy winced. “You think he spit in the salad dressing?” “Hell if I know.” Deke sighed and jumped into his truck. Apparently the cop had figured out there was a contagion on the loose. Of course, with the CDC stomping around in full suits, it wasn’t a huge leap.

“Well?” Nora asked, her arms crossed.

He glanced at her, not liking the pallor of her usually tan skin. They had things to discuss, and now wasn’t the time. “Zach attacked her, but she’s okay. I mean, depending on whether he was able to infect her or not.”

Nora shook her head. “It’s like he wanted to infect her.”

“Yes, and it’s interesting he sought out somebody he already knew.” For whatever reason, Zach was fixated on Nora. “He’ll come for you again.”

She nodded. “Let him come.”

Now that was Deke’s badass woman. “Right. For now, I have to go coordinate a manhunt. You want to stay with me or go back to the CDC labs?”

She swallowed. “CDC labs. I want to check on Lynne and see if I can do anything.”

That’s what Deke had figured. “We will have a serious chat, and soon.”

She cut him a look. “Uh-huh.”

He ignited the engine just as his radio beeped.

“McDougall,” the FBI dispatcher called.

“Yes,” he answered.

“We have a report of a rape over on Miller Street, three blocks from your current location. Student from the college was knocked out and just woke up to call nine-one-one,” the dispatch said, her voice crisp.

A rock hit Deke’s gut. “I’m on my way. Did she mention a suspect?”

“No. Just said it was a blond guy who looked like a movie star from the fifties.”

Shit. Zach Barter.

 

 

After dropping by the lab to discover the experiments were still running, Nora was frisked by a Secret Service agent and then escorted through another hallway to find Lynne. A man stood outside a plastic bubble, his gaze on Lynne, lying inside the bubble and all alone. The last round of tests had been conducted, and the CDC health workers had gone to decontaminate and find some answers.

The extra security made sense, but Secret Service?

Lynne sat up in her hospital bed, pale and wan, her chest glowing a bright blue. “Nora, meet Bret Atherton.”

Nora stood up straighter. Aha. The man now second in line to the presidency. “Mr. Speaker.”

Bret Atherton half turned, deep blue eyes twinkling. “Bret.”

“Okay.” Tight and trim, he stood to about six-two with thick blond hair and worried eyes. Even with tension cutting lines into the sides of his mouth, charisma flowed from him. She had the oddest urge to study pheromones. “What’s the news?” she asked.

“None of it good,” he said, turning back to face Lynne. “The country is in unrest, and as soon as the truth gets out, the stock market will plummet. We have foreign enemies gearing up to make attacks because they think we’re weak, and they don’t even know the details about Scorpius yet, although their spies have been pretty effective.” He sighed. “Although at the moment, I’m more worried about Sweetcakes.”

Nora blinked. Once and then again. “Sweetcakes?”

He grinned. “She hates that.”

Yes, Lynne would hate being called that. Nora eyed her friend. “If you two need a moment, I can come back.”

“No,” Bret said. “I have to get back to work and figure out if we should make an announcement to the American public yet or not. The White House is against it at this point.” His gaze darkened as he studied Lynne. “If you need anything, you call me. I mean it.”

Lynne nodded. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Bret turned and nodded at Nora. “It was nice to meet you, Dr. Medina.”

“You too,” Nora said. “For the record, I think it’s time to announce.”

He nodded. “Me too.”

She waited until he and his guards had cleared the door and had time to walk down the hallway. “What the fuck is with the blue?” she asked through a speaker set into the wall, at a loss for any other words.

Lynne nodded and glanced down. “I know, right?” Her voice emerged weak, and the monitor to her left recorded a slowed heart rate. “The altered bacteria and experimental antibiotic did something freaky weird to me.”

Nora tried to smile. “I don’t think ‘freaky weird’ sounds very scientific.”

Lynne sighed and leaned back against the pillows. Sweat dotted her brow from the high fever. “It’s all we’ve got. So far, the tests show a ramped-up bacteria that’s attacking my cells. If it keeps going like this, I’ll be in a coma within a day or so.”

Tears pricked the back of Nora’s eyes, but she kept her voice calm. “You’ll be fine. We’ll figure this out.” Guilt threatened to swamp her. “I’m so sorry, Lynne.”

Lynne glanced her way and rolled her eyes. “Knock that shit off,” she said. “Seriously. Your shy assistant, Zach? Who would’ve thought it?”

Nora half chuckled. “Not me.” The idea was too crazy to believe. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”

Lynne glanced down at her chest, glowing a bright blue under the hospital gown. “I should’ve destroyed the green strain the second I saw its power. I thought maybe we could use it to contain the illness somehow.”

“I was there,” Nora said softly.

Lynne shut her eyes. “I know. Any news on poor Zach?”

Nora bit her lip, her chest aching. “Four attacks that we know of right now.” Two rapes and the other two assaults, both with an exchange of bodily fluids. The lunatic was trying to infect people. The idea that the man she’d known and trusted for months was capable of rape nauseated her. Deke, the Metro Police, and the FBI were dropping a net on D.C. in the hopes of catching him. If he got out, somehow made it to another city, things could get bad. Really bad.

Lynne opened her bloodshot eyes. “Let’s hope they find him soon.” She rubbed her lips with a pale hand.

Nora nodded. “They will. So Bret came to see you.”

“Yes.” Lynne coughed. “He’s under a lot of pressure. Don’t tell anybody, but the vice president is fighting heart problems.”

Wow. So the guy could actually be named president. “Do you love him?” Nora asked. If she could keep Lynne thinking happy thoughts, that wouldn’t hurt.

Lynne shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think so, and then sometimes he turns into a narcissistic asshat.”

“Isn’t that the very definition of a politician?” Nora asked. Heck. “Doesn’t a person have to be a narcissist to want to be the president?”

Lynne snorted and rubbed her eyes. “Probably.”

The woman needed to rest. Nora forced a smile. “Why don’t you get some sleep, and if I hear anything, I’ll let you know?”

Lynne snuggled back against the pillows, and her eyelids lowered to half-mast. “First, talk to me about anything but Scorpius or my love life. Let’s talk about
your
love life. Tell me about your Scot and if you’re going to screw it up again.”

The mention of Deke seared heat through Nora’s abdomen. She needed to get back to the lab, but whether she wanted to admit it or not, her friend was running out of time, and this might be the last time they talked. The thought made her chest hurt. So she dropped into a chair. “I’m out of my depth.”

“Good.” Lynne grimaced and readjusted her blankets. “You love him?”

Nora frowned. “We just started dating again.”

“So the hell what?” Lynne whispered, her voice cracking. “I’m beginning to see how short life is. You’ve loved that man since you were sixteen. Why the hell are you waffling?”

Because she hadn’t really known him. After the previous night, she’d caught a glimpse of the dangerous being she’d always suspected of living inside Deacan McDougall. “He’s too much, you know?” she said softly. “It’s like he was born in the wrong time.”

Lynne’s eyes glazed. “Maybe he was born in exactly the right time.” Her voice dropped to almost dreamy, almost trance-like. “If not this illness, then the next one. Or the one after that.” Her eyes fluttered closed.