Pestilence (15 page)

He agreed with Death’s comment. Bart reached out to touch Jasper’s shoulder, but paused a few inches away. Bart turned to look at Pest.

“I don’t know where to touch him without causing him pain,” Bart admitted.

Pest shrugged. “I don’t think you should be touching him at all.”

“But look at him, Pest. I know I should be pissed because he left me behind, yet he looks terrible and I can’t help thinking I’d be just like him if he had taken me with him. Maybe it was fate that he abandoned me. I might not be alive today.”

“Yes, I think you’re right. As much as I annoy you with my secrets, falling into my arms was the best thing to happen to you in a long time.” Pest stepped up next to Bart and met the foggy blue eyes of the man in the bed. “He’s awake, Bart.”

Bart turned his gaze back to Jasper’s. “You look like shit.”

Jasper blinked. “Bart?”

Pest winced at the gargling-with-glass sound of Jasper’s voice. “Why don’t you talk to him while I go find Dr. Darvi?”

Bart nodded, but didn’t look at Pest when he touched him on his shoulder.

“How did you get here?”

It was the last question Pest heard before he moved out of earshot. As he headed toward the group still surrounding the driver, he wondered what would happen now Bart had seen Jasper again. Would Bart choose to go back to Jasper and stand beside him while he fought this deadly virus? Pest wouldn’t be surprised if that happened, no matter what Bart thought he felt for Pest.

A slender form broke from the group and approached Pest. He studied the darker skinned man walking up to him.

“Dr. Darvi?”

“Yes, and you would be Dr. Aldo Bianchi. I’m glad you’re willing to give us the gift of your knowledge. We’re starting to feel like we’re in over our heads.”

“I’m sure all doctors who fight epidemics feel the same way you do. I’m not sure how much help I can be, but I’ll do what I can.” Pest gestured back toward Bart. “I would suggest you take some blood samples from Dr. Winston. He was on the same expedition as the four men who presented the first symptoms and are probably patient zeroes for your outbreak.”

“Really?” Darvi’s gaze shot to where Bart stood, excitement and disbelief battling in his eyes. “He looks fine.”

“I know. When I found him, he was burning up with the fever. During the months I had him in my care, he never had the boils or lesions these gentlemen have. He had convulsions when the fever got dangerously high. I have all my notes from his care with me.”

Darvi started to rush over to Bart, but Pest grabbed his arm and stopped him short.

“Don’t run roughshod over him. He’s still gets a fever, though at times, it seems dormant, almost like malaria. Yet when he gets overly excited or exhausted, it spikes. I’ve worked too hard on getting him well, I don’t want you to ruin it by upsetting him.” Pest strolled back toward Bart. “I’ll talk to him first.”

Bart acknowledged Pest’s presence with a slight nod, but he didn’t look away from Jasper.

“Dr. Winston, Dr. Darvi would like to run some tests and draw some blood. We have to figure out why you managed to survive with very little harm being done to you. Plus there might be something Darvi can use to help the others.”

“Of course, I understand.”

Bart straightened and turned to finally look at Pest. The gratitude in Bart’s eyes surprised him.

“Thank you,” Bart whispered.

Pest nodded, knowing the thanks came from the fact his care kept Bart from suffering as much as the others had. Pest sent up his own small prayer of thanks that Bart had fallen into his arms on that day.

“Dr. Darvi, this is Dr. Bartholomew Winston.”

They shook hands and Darvi hesitated for a moment.

“Where do you want me to go to give some blood? I’m exhausted at the moment, so maybe we could start the other tests tomorrow.”

Darvi nodded, quite happy not to have to force Bart into the tests. “Certainly, Dr. Winston. I understand it’s been a rather long day for you. You just arrived in country from Brazil as well. We have a suite arranged for you at the closest hotel, though I’m wondering if we all shouldn’t stay at the hospital. Your driver is the first new case we’ve had since these four presented with the symptoms. The CDC has been keeping an eye on all the cities the men passed through on their travels. So far there haven’t been any cases reported.”

The doctor waved a hand at Dr. MacLachlan. “Can you draw several vials of blood from Dr. Winston?”

Her eyes widened as she joined them. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to our lab.”

Bart looked at Pest and he smiled at the man, trying to encourage him.

“I’ll stay here and talk to the doctor while you get the blood taken. Then we’ll head to the hotel and get some rest.”

He watched Bart leave the room and only after the door closed behind him did Pest turn back to Darvi. “I’d like to examine the patients while I wait for Dr. Winston.”

“Yes, sir.”

Darvi gestured to Jasper. “Dr. Jasper Jones was the first to exhibit symptoms. He’s in what we think is the advanced stages of the illness, though aside from boils, lesions and the fever, no other symptoms have manifested.”

“Hello, Dr. Jones, my name is Dr. Aldo Bianchi. I’m going to examine you. I might be able to help you.”

“Bart said you healed him,” Jasper croaked out.

“I did, and you need to stay quiet. It isn’t good for you to stress your body out any more than need be.”

While the statement might be true, Pest simply didn’t want to chat with Bart’s ex-lover. He didn’t think he’d have anything good to say to the man who’d abandoned a sick person in the jungle. Though he had to be fair, Jasper might not have known Bart was ill. Of course, then it just made Jasper look like a complete asshole for dumping his lover in a jungle where he couldn’t fend for himself.

Pest pushed all those thoughts from his mind and focused on going over every inch of Jasper’s body and his charts. He wouldn’t formulate any opinions until he’d looked at the other three men.

Chapter Eight

Bart held out his arm for MacLachlan to wrap the tubing around. She didn’t seem interested in talking, just doing her job. He wanted to ask questions about Jasper and the others, but something told him she wouldn’t say anything to him.

“I think having Dr. Bianchi here will be helpful in trying to figure out what virus the others brought back with them.”

“Possibly.” She shrugged and tapped the vein before pressing the needle into his arm.

“He is an expert in his field,” Bart couldn’t help but point out.

“And so is Dr. Darvi. So is everyone on this team.”

She didn’t sound like she was happy to have them barge in, though Bart wasn’t trying to muscle in on her glory. He just wanted to keep other people from falling ill. He should have known better than to go into the rainforest and look for undiscovered animals or plants. Trying to become famous in the scientific world could lead to his fellow expedition members dying.

“Sorry.”

“I guess we should welcome all the help we can get, so this doesn’t spread beyond the core group.” She filled one vial and handed it to him while attaching a second vial to the syringe.

He nodded and gave the tube back to MacLachlan when she reached for it. She put a Band-Aid over the needle mark. Bart leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with a sigh.

“How sick were you really?” The disbelief in her voice irritated him.

“You don’t believe I was sick at all, do you?” He opened his eyes and met her skeptical gaze. “Why? Because I don’t have boils or lesions? Because you haven’t managed to cure these men yet, so a man living in the Amazon rainforest shouldn’t have been able to do it with his primitive medicine and herbs?”

MacLachlan pursed her lips and eyed him. “Let’s just say I need to be convinced you were sick.”

“I guess I can’t fault you for that. You wouldn’t be doing your job if you believed everything everyone told you.” Bart stood slowly, his head buzzing slightly, and he inhaled sharply as it felt like his body was on fire again. “Shit. My fever’s spiking again. I need to get to the hotel and rest.”

Without saying anything else, he stood and walked back into the ward. Pest turned to look at him and immediately knew what was wrong. The white-haired man touched Darvi’s arm, nodding toward Bart before meeting him in the middle of the room.

“We’re taking the car to the hotel. It’s just down the block from here. Darvi had it cleaned and sterilized for us.” Pest touched Bart’s arm. “Our bags are back in the trunk and my pouches should be there as well.”

“Pouches? What are you talking about?” Darvi looked between the two of them.

“I brought several different herbs and plants I’ve been using to help keep Dr. Winston’s fever down, plus I believe it helped keep his illness from getting as bad as the others. Also, I talked to one of the local shamans and he told me his tribe have been using these plants for centuries to combat what sounds like this particular virus.” Pest led the way out of the ward to where they changed into new scrubs.

“I’ll welcome any kind of help I can get. I’m not convinced natural medicines can help, but I’d like to get samples of those to see if we can distil some sort of compound or chemical that might help us develop a medicine for it.”

“Of course, I’ll bring some over tomorrow when we come back in the morning.” Pest stripped, not seeming to care that Darvi watched them. “Right now, Dr. Winston needs to go and lie down.”

Darvi didn’t protest as they left, and Bart appreciated the fact Pest didn’t linger. They climbed into the car and Pest drove while Bart leaned his head against the passenger side window.

“I’m getting sick of this,” Bart groused.

“I know, but I think you’re getting better. The fever doesn’t come as often or stay as long as it did in the beginning. The last batch of tea I made for you wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been. I’ve slowly been weaning you off it.” Pest lifted a shoulder when Bart looked at him. “I can’t be sure they aren’t addictive in some way. I don’t want you to crave them.”

“Thanks for looking out for me.”

“Least I can do.” Pest shrugged.

“I’m hungry as well.”

Pest drove into the parking lot of the hotel and stopped the car. “I’ll order room service while you take a shower and change into sweats. Take a cool shower and it might help you feel better.”

After grabbing their bags and Pest’s pouches, they checked in and went to their room. Pest ordered room service while Bart showered. He could tell the fever had gone down. After dressing, he wandered out into the living area of the suite.

“I ordered some food, plus some hot water and we’ll make you some tea as well.”

Bart shook his head. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” Pest frowned at him.

“I’d like to see how long I can go without needing the tea.” He sat on the couch and rested his head on the back, closing his eyes.

Pest hummed softly for a minute, but Bart didn’t look at him. He rocked to the side as Pest sat next to him. A warm hand landed on his thigh and he turned to look at Pest.

Pest stared at the window and the silence filled the room. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything, just quiet. Bart closed his eyes again and drifted, leaning into Pest’s body. He absorbed Pest’s warmth and breathed in the man’s spicy scent. While it soothed him deep inside, it also excited him. His cock kept swelling, tenting the sweats he wore.

Pest’s hand slid up his thigh to press gently against his erection. Hot breath washed over his ear and he shivered.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that later, but I think we should eat first. I want you to keep your strength up, just in case the virus hasn’t totally left your body.”

Bart opened his eyes and met the endless black of Pest’s gaze. He slid his hand into the hair at the nape of Pest’s neck to tug the man forward. Their lips met and Bart sighed, his breath mingling with Pest’s. Thank God he didn’t have to worry about getting Pest sick.

He licked the seam of Pest’s lips, asking for entrance. Pest opened and Bart swiped his tongue inside, tasting the mint Pest had had earlier. They teased and played.

Pest cradled the side of Bart’s face and tilted his head for a better angle. Soft and slow, their lips rubbed together. How long had it been since Bart had been treated with such care? None of his former lovers had ever seemed to worry about treating him like he was special. Oh, not that Bart wanted tenderness all the time, but sometimes it was nice to know he mattered to the man he was going to sleep with.

A knock on the door broke them apart. Pest smiled at him before standing and going to get the food. Bart stayed on the couch, not interested in moving at the moment. Pest set the plate in front of him, handing him silverware before opening him a beer. He grinned Pest set the bottle down.

“I thought you might like one since it’s been months since you last had a drink.”

“True. It’s been longer than that. We didn’t have anything like that on the expedition either.” Bart rolled his eyes. “Probably a good thing considering being drunk isn’t safe while stumbling around the jungle.”

Pest opened a bottle of water for himself and chuckled. “Good idea. I don’t usually drink anything except water or tea.”

“A real nature’s child, huh?” Bart winked as he lifted the cover off his plate and breathed the tantalizing aroma of steak and potatoes. “How did you know what I wanted?”

Pest laughed again. “After not having a ton of red meat, I figured you’d be dying for a steak. I’ve been living on fish and vegetables for so long, I don’t miss steaks or anything like that anymore.”

They settled down to eat and Bart savored every bite of the well-prepared steak and potatoes. No conversation interrupted the meal. When the last bite was swallowed, Bart leaned back against the couch and groaned. He patted his stomach.

“I think I ate too much.”

Pest grunted and cleared their plates off the coffee table, setting the tray of dirty dishes in the hallway. After coming back in, Pest sat on the edge of the table in front of Bart.

“Why don’t you get ready for bed? I’m going to take a shower after you’re done. Then we can pick up where we left off when the food arrived.”