Project Terminal: Devil's Virus (2 page)

“Dr. Maxwell Straight, it’s been a while.”

Max squealed, whirling toward the baritone voice. Her gaze clashed with a pair of blue eyes, narrowed as they took her in from head to toe. She sucked in air, trying to steady her racing pulse. “Preacher, you scared the hell out of me.”

Chapter 2

Adam had watched the doctor and other soldier for a while, keeping his distance from the pair. Hidden by shadows within the trees, he’d climbed ten feet into a Pine and trained his rifle’s scope through the window of the abandoned barn. He didn’t quite trust anyone involved in Project Terminal. Even the woman who’d asked for help didn’t escape mistrust, despite their history. Images had popped to mind while he watched—memories of him and Dr. Straight he’d best keep buried. Digging them up would only make the job more difficult. His heightened hearing had picked up their conversation. He knew Damian to be a hard-ass and didn’t care to have a run-in with him. Not tonight. And when Max had taken Gonsalves’s hand…

Shunning the train of thought and its accompanying jealousy, Reed stepped forward and asked, “What’s the plan?” He purposefully invaded the doctor’s personal space, standing within a foot of her, wanting her off balance so it’d be easier to catch her in a lie. He excelled at reading people, which had made him a good sniper. And perfect for the project.

Her pale skin flushed dark pink and her gaze darted around the ramshackle interior of the structure. She was tired, distracted. “First, Strong Stock then we’ll need to find an infected person. We also need to find a lab where I can work,
if
you want to hang around that long.” She cleared her throat and tilted her chin to meet his eyes. “You’re here to ensure I retrieve what I need. The rest I can do on my own.”

He let his gaze travel down her figure again…tall and willowy, with short brown hair and matching eyes. She hadn’t changed much since he’d last laid eyes on her. A striking woman and he couldn’t help a visceral attraction. Once she could drive him to madness with little effort and he’d willingly given her that control. But things had changed; he’d realized the truth of the program she’d been involved with. Dr. Straight had been blind to the direction they were heading, and though he’d given his body to the scientists, he wouldn’t give his soul.

She stepped away, regaining distance. He wanted to reach out and pull her back. Instead, he flexed his fingers at his sides. No need to let baser needs get the best of common sense.
For ye suffer fools gladly…
a Bible verse he’d held close since the day he’d walked away from Project Terminal. One of his father’s favorites—best keep others at arm’s length so one wouldn’t wind up a sacrifice to sin. Or, in his case, science.

“I’m here to take the project down, Dr. Straight, in whatever way you need.” Her formal title felt alien on his tongue, but necessary to keep things professional.

She blew out a breath. “Good. As you know, Strong Stock was kept secret, but who knows after all this time if it’s been found out. My sister is clever.”

“Doc is a drone, as I understand it. You were the brains.” He hadn’t meant it as flattery, only as the truth. Her twin sister, Dr. Marguerite Straight, had simply ridden her sister’s coattails until gaining what she’d needed to take over.

Dr. Straight shrugged. “We worked in tandem.”

He regarded her, unsure if modesty or guilt kept her from claiming credit for R1LN. Most likely a combination of both. “I want to leave tonight, under the cover of darkness in case Gonsalves was followed.”

“Okay, my car is parked down the road about a mile away at a gas station.”

She made for the door, but he caught her upper arm. The soft feel of her skin sent a shock of awareness through his blood. “Let’s take my rig, they know your car.” He didn’t release her immediately and she didn’t pull away. Her eyes darkened and her lips parted, a sight making his cock swell. He released her and turned, facing a side door. “We’ll need every advantage we can get.”

“Wait, Preacher.” She sounded out of breath.

He turned his head, looking at her from the corner of his eye. “What?”

“Call me Max. Please.”

* * * *

Strong Stock
, the place Max and her former colleague Dr. Doug Martin had created after finding out the true motives of Project Terminal. Taken from their mothers’ maiden names Strong and Stockard, they’d used the area to hide information they believed might one day help bring down the project. Thus far they’d collected paperwork, and now, Laura Swift’s blood samples, thanks to Doug’s forethought. Doug, who’d been murdered by her sister while trying to trap Damian and Laura.

“I need specifics. You were vague on the phone,” Reed said, cutting into her thoughts. His presence filled the cab of the SUV, and dwelling on her sister’s cruelty seemed safer than her physical reaction to the Marine. Even now goose pimples broke out over her skin and she huddled closer to the passenger door. “But I understand not wanting to talk on a cellphone. The conversation would’ve been easily intercepted.”

“Damian found a survivor of the virus. Her name is Laura Swift. Doug took some blood samples and hid them at Strong Stock. If I can identify what creates her immunity, maybe I can stop what I started. I can create an antidote for those already infected.”

Laura’s immunity to R1LN held the key to finding a cure and stopping the plague spreading within the population. For her sister, a roadblock from creating the ultimate weapon, one that stole a person’s life and turned them into monsters.

“You played God only to create the devil’s virus,” Reed said, digging the knife of shame deeper in her gut.

The cloak of darkness surrounding them made her claustrophobic. She closed her eyes, but it didn’t stop the night from swallowing her up. She took long, deep breaths, trying to quell the sense of foreboding. “I own up to what I’ve done and fully intend to make things right. I’d give my life in an instant if it’d bring back even one person who’s died because of me.”

“Don’t do that.” Reed’s voice had dropped to a raspy whisper. It sent shivers over her skin.

“Do what?” Her voice wavered.

“Promise your life away so easily.” The SUV stopped and Reed shifted into park. He turned to face her in the confines of the Jeep Cherokee. “Never step into battle with that mindset or you’ve lost before you’ve begun.”

She tried to make out his face in the dark, but only his silhouette stared back. Regardless, she felt his gaze. They were so close his body heat warmed her side—too many things to trip up her erratic heartbeat. She’d called Preacher in to keep her safe, not to make her hormones out of whack or dig up old pain. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “I’ve got to figure out where to do my work.”

“I think I know a place.” Reed shifted into drive and they continued on into the moonless night. “It won’t have a fancy science lab, but it’ll have to do.”

“As long as I have a microscope and a centrifuge I can do my work. Except I really need fresh infected blood. We stored samples, but who knows how much the virus has mutated since it’s been on the loose.”

Reed made a low sound in his throat. “Do you have any idea where I can get some?”

“No, I don’t.” She blew out a breath. “The virus is spreading through Louisiana the worst. Damian will find one and tag it. He’ll send me directions on the disposable phone I bought, and we’ll retrieve it.”

“Leave it to me, and I’ll get you what you need. You don’t need to get close enough to tangle with one of these demons.”

She frowned. “I should be out there too. I can’t leave the dirty details up to you. I wanted your help watching my back, not doing everything.”

“I’m used to working alone, Max. You’ll only get in the way.”

His words stung and she frowned. “I won’t be bullied out of any part of this mission. It’s my responsibility to end what I started.”

He made a non-committal sound, but she wouldn’t back down from what they both faced. She hadn’t slept a full night since everything had gone to hell, and the only hope she had of healing her conscience was to feel she’d done her all to fix things.

“Let’s go get your equipment first. It’s the lab building for a college. The place is locked down tight, but I can get us in.”

She shot him a look. “We’re going to steal equipment?”

“Where else do you think we’d get it? Off of eBay?”

She leaned back against the headrest. “Let’s say ‘borrowed.’ Once we’re finished, we’ll return it, okay?”

Reed chuckled. “A little late to be playing the guilty card, isn’t it?”

Anger flared, she didn’t need him adding to her guilt trip. “Like you’re so saintly, Preacher, you walked away from everything without a second thought.” She took a deep breath to curb the emotions playing behind her words. “I’m doing what’s needed. I haven’t exactly been on vacation since I got kicked out of the project. I’ve been pouring over my notes and praying I’d find something useful.”

“If you would’ve listened to me from the beginning you could’ve washed your hands of the whole damned mess. Before it got this far.” He was only a shadow next to her as they drove down a tree lined secondary highway.

His sanctimonious tone left her sputtering. “Do you sleep soundly at night, Reed? I sure as hell don’t.”

“I don’t sleep, not anymore. We’re almost to the college.”

* * * *

Max’s presence left Adam off-kilter. It was too easy to recall the way her body felt beneath his and the hours they’d spent tangled up in one another. Adam could taste her lips, feel the way her pussy squeezed his cock, hear her cries of pleasure, see her face contorted in ecstasy. Too many nights he lay awake with her on his mind. No other woman could match Max in or out of the bedroom, and he’d done his best to forget her.

They pulled up to the laboratory building. The three-story stark structure was quiet, only protected by a commercial security system. “Stay here, I’ll bring the security down.” He got out of the Jeep, and, after a minute, returned to Max. “I have bags in the back to pack up the equipment.”

She helped him collect the duffle bags and they headed inside. What they needed sat upstairs on the second floor, he’d already walked the place while classes were open a few days before. With the weekend, the building would be empty. They stopped in a hallway while she put her glasses on—Max always had the sexy librarian thing going for her. Prim and proper until her clothes came off and then anything but…

He indulged the train of thought only a second before snapping his attention back to the college’s hallway. “We’ll need to go upstairs.” His voice bounced off the walls.

“I’m surprised they don’t have a night guard.” Max searched as if looking for just that.

“Not a place like this, not enough money. It’s a community college in the middle of nowhere.”

“Great, I’m not feeling any better about taking the equipment.” She tucked her hair behind her ears before shoving her glasses up her nose.

“We’re borrowing it, right?” He tried to tease, but his tone came out sarcastic.

She lifted a shoulder. “I guess we can’t back out now, I need them too much.”

He waved her toward the flight of stairs. A sound brought him up short and he blocked Max’s path. She froze and he placed a finger to his lips, closing his eyes, listening. The noise was nearly imperceptible, more a disturbance in air flow. He concentrated on its direction.
Inside a room three doors down.

He opened his eyes and looked to Max. The whites of her wide eyes glowed in the low lighting, an expression of fear that sent his protective instincts into overdrive.
God help me, nothing will harm Max.
Adam would put himself between her and anything that tried. He pointed toward the direction of the sound and her gaze followed his finger. She nodded, apparently understanding that he needed to check things out. He hoisted his rifle off his shoulder and brought it around, ready for whatever came. He hoped it wasn’t an unlikely late night janitor or student—a complication he wouldn’t know how to deal with, at least not with Max there.

Max stayed put while he stalked forward, careful to keep his boot falls silent. He paused by the closed door, waiting for another noise so he could place what lurked inside. If too near the doorway it might bolt into the hall with Max, the last damn thing he wanted. Luckily it seemed to be toward the wall opposite him.

Adam grasped the doorknob and turned, wincing when it clicked. He inched it open, peeping through the widening crack. Just an empty room cast in pitch black thanks to closed blinds. He squeezed inside and closed the door. Perhaps foolhardy without knowing for sure what he faced, but he had the doctor to worry about. His eyesight took several seconds to adjust, and he squinted, noting a shifting of shadows…

It was on him in a flash, its weight knocking him backward. He slammed into the wall, his rifle clattering to the floor. In reflex he swung his fist, catching the attacker in the jaw. It squealed, its teeth flashing in the darkness. The silhouette formed into an undead when Adam’s eyes adapted to the night. Once a balding professor judging by the suit and tie. It lunged again and he timed the attack, jumping out of the way. It crashed into the wall and Adam dove for his rifle, snatching it off the tile. The tight confines left the smaller and faster devil with an advantage, and it pounced on him again before he had his gun aimed. Adam shoved it off, and it stumbled backward.

“Hey!”

The shout startled them both. The devil turned toward the opened door, and a beam of light trained on the undead’s face. It hissed, throwing its hands up against the blinding glare, giving Adam the chance he needed to aim his rifle. He pulled the trigger and the undead crumpled to the floor. Max lowered the flashlight, shock and disgust contorting her pretty face.

Adam had to take a few moments to catch his breath before he could speak. “You saved my ass, Max.”

“Did it bite you?” She jumped over the corpse and stopped before him, holding the flashlight up, raking the beam over his front.

He searched over his hands and arms, not even a scratch, though the rank smell of death clung to his clothes. “I’m clean.”