Emily awoke to the smell of coffee. That was different. Usually, she stumbled her way into the kitchen half asleep to make the first pot of the day. But today was different.
Today was the day after the night before. The night before where she’d slept with Sam.
She stretched, feeling sore in all the right places, bringing back memories of their night together. After a moment of luxuriating in those wicked memories, her brain switched into full gear.
The smell of coffee meant that Sam was still here. That was a good sign. Wasn’t it? Would things be awkward between them now or easier? Had last night been as earth-shattering for him as it had been for her?
Somehow she doubted it. Not a guy with a body like a Greek god come down from Mount Olympus, and skills in bed she hadn’t even realized were possible. No. Sam Archer was in a different class entirely from the kind of men she usually got involved with—the kind of men who were interested in her.
Sam was here because of his job. Maybe yesterday’s seduction had been all about keeping her close and lulling her into blindly trusting him. Maybe it had been about making her fall in love with him.
She sat up in bed, clutching the rumpled sheet to her chest as realization hit.
If that had been his plan, he’d succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Finding out he was on the right side of the law had broken through the final barrier, allowing her heart the freedom to attach itself to him. She was very much afraid she was starting to love him.
What a mess.
“I made breakfast if you’re interested.” Sam’s voice came to her from her open bedroom door.
Their eyes met and she was touched by the soft, almost relaxed expression on his face. This was the first time she’d seen him this way and it gave her a little thrill to realize she was probably a large part of the reason why he was so relaxed this morning.
“What? No breakfast in bed?” She decided to keep their interaction light hearted. The heavy stuff could come later—if there was a later for them as a couple.
“You know, I considered it, but then I looked at the clock and realized that if I climbed back in that bed with you, neither one of us would ever make it to work today. We’re running a tight schedule as it is.”
“What time is it?” Her eyes widened when she caught sight of her bedside clock. He was right. They really did need to get going if they were going to make their charter.
He laughed as she scrambled out of bed. “I already grabbed a shower. Breakfast will be waiting when you get out.”
She noticed then that he was freshly shaven and wearing his pilot’s uniform. He’d come prepared. She’d ask him about that over breakfast. For now, she had to hustle if she was going to shower and dress and still have time to eat. They had a big day ahead of them.
When Emily arrived in the kitchen a few minutes later, she looked good enough to eat. Sam had enjoyed nibbling on her the night before but it had only seeded a hunger that grew the more he was around her. She could easily become addictive.
“You happened to have a spare uniform with you?” she asked as she sat at the table. He liked her straightforward style. There was no messing around. No beating around the bush with Emily, unlike the other women he’d been involved with over the years. She was a refreshing change.
“I always keep a change of clothes in my trunk. Several, in fact. I’ve got camo gear, black fatigues for night work, gym clothes, and since coming here, a spare uniform. I like to be prepared.”
“What are you, a Boy Scout?” she joked, seeming to relax at his answer.
“Weren’t you listening? I’m something even better—a Green Beret officer. We wrote the book on being prepared.”
She chuckled, digging into the eggs and toast he’d made. It wasn’t fancy, but it was hearty and decently cooked. He was good with breakfast foods and grilling but anything fancier and he was lost.
“Look, Em, I didn’t plan last night. I’m not saying I didn’t think about it. A lot. But I didn’t plan for it to happen the way it did, where it did, or when it did. But I’m sure glad it did.”
She burst into laughter. Here he was, trying to be serious and reassuring and she was laughing.
“Sorry.” She must’ve seen by his expression that he hadn’t been joking. “You just sounded—” She stopped herself midsentence. “Never mind. I’m glad to learn you aren’t that calculating when it comes to seduction. I admit, I was wondering if you’d been playing me. I wouldn’t like that, Sam. I know we’ve been thrown together by circumstance and it’s true I’ve been drawn to you from the moment I first saw you.” A becoming flush of rose entered her cheeks at the admission. “I know this situation is one in a million. I just don’t want to be played.”
“I respect that. And I wouldn’t do that, Em. Please believe that.”
Her expression changed and a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth as she looked at him with her head tilted to one side.
“I believe I do.” She stood from the table and took the plates to the sink, leaving them there for later. “Thanks for making breakfast. We’ve got to get moving if we want to make it to work on time.”
“I thought being the owner, you had more leeway than other pilots?” He wasn’t arguing, merely teasing her as they gathered what they’d need and headed for the door.
“I do. But clients are clients and when they want a flight at a certain hour, it has to go at that time.”
“Poor boss lady. Slave to the clock.” He laughed with her as she locked the door behind them and they headed for his car. Her car was already at the airport from when Henry had driven himself there the day before.
He unlocked the door to the big SUV for her and waited while she got in, closing the door behind her. Then he got in on the driver’s side. He started the vehicle and headed for the airport, watching his mirrors closely for the first few blocks.
When he had to stop for a red light, he turned to Emily, gently reaching to cup the nape of her neck in one hand and pulled her close for a deep kiss. He only surfaced when the car behind them honked, indicating the light had turned green and he’d been too lost in kissing Emily to notice.
Damn. He had it bad.
He got the vehicle going again and cleared his throat, trying to rein in his raging hormones.
“I was wondering when you’d get around to a good morning kiss,” Emily quipped as the silence lengthened.
“To be honest, I knew if I kissed you back at your place, we’d never leave. As it was, I lost track of the passage of time. You make me forget everything when I kiss you, Em.”
And now he was getting sappy. He’d never spoken such things to a woman before. Of course, he’d never felt such things. Emily confused him. Or rather, his emotional turmoil where she was concerned confused him. But one thing was perfectly clear after their night together—making love to her could make him forget everything. Mission, duty, and danger be damned. When they were together, nothing else could penetrate the state of bliss she created.
He knew without having to think too hard about it that only Emily had this effect on him. She was special. Special, and very dangerous to him on a personal level. She was the kind of woman a man gave up everything to be with. Sam wasn’t so sure he was ready for the commitment. He wasn’t sure if he was capable of it.
There was the added uncertainty of his medical state. The serum he’d been given to save his life had changed him on a fundamental level. He had more in common with a comic book superhero now than he did a regular human being. He healed super fast. He doubted anything short of decapitation would kill him now, though he didn’t want to test it. He wasn’t completely invulnerable, but it was a close thing, or so he’d been told by the docs who had worked on him.
He should have been dead from the zombie contagion long ago but he’d been saved. And changed. He wasn’t sure what the future held for him medically. The stuff they’d used to save his life was highly experimental and long term effects were totally unknown. So he didn’t know if he really had a future anymore.
He’d have to be satisfied with whatever Emily would give him here and now. He couldn’t think of the impossibility of a future with her…or worse, without her. Wanting to be with her after this mission was over had quickly become a strong desire. But he wasn’t fool enough to actually believe it could happen.
For one thing, Emily was a lady through and through. A smart woman with resources of her own. She didn’t need a rundown soldier like him. She could have any man. He hoped she’d choose to be with him for a while at least but he wasn’t fool enough to think she’d want him for anything long term. She’d marry a doctor or a lawyer and settle down in the ’burbs. The life of a soldier’s wife was too rough for her.
“You have hidden depths, Sam Archer. I didn’t know you were such a smooth talker.” The light in her eyes warmed him as he met her gaze.
“You bring out the long buried gentleman in me, Emily. I’m not usually known for my language skills.” He had to laugh at himself because that statement was nothing but the truth.
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe it. I once went a week without speaking a single word to anyone. Not on purpose. It just happened. I only realized it when I started to say something and felt my throat didn’t really want to cooperate. I was hoarse from not talking for so long.”
“Were you on vacation?”
“That’s the amazing part. I was working. Back then I was only a green second lieutenant, fresh out of school. I did a lot more following of orders than giving them and all that was required of me was a salute and the completion of the assigned task.”
They arrived at the airport and parked near the Praxis Air hangar. In fact, Sam was able to park in the space right next to Emily’s car.
Sam spotted Buddy standing in the doorway, wiping his hands on a dirty rag. There was no doubt the old man saw them arriving together in Sam’s SUV. From the pointed look Buddy gave him, Sam knew there would be words between himself and Emily’s self-appointed protector later.
“Crap.”
The unladylike word from Emily’s lips made Sam grin. She’d noticed Buddy watching them.
“I guess I should have asked this before, but do you mind if people at work know we’re together?” Sam kept his voice pitched low so only she could hear as they headed across the parking lot toward the door.
“To be honest, I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but it looks like the cat is already out of the bag. At least with Buddy. He won’t talk but I bet he’s not the only one who noticed my car parked here last night. No doubt there will be talk. Even if nothing had happened, there would have been talk when they saw you give me a lift today.”
“So the question is, do you want to give them something to really talk about?” He offered his hand, letting it be her decision whether or not she took it.
She seemed to think it over for a second as they walked, then she apparently came to a decision. She took his hand and moved closer to his side. Something about her actions made him feel about ten feet tall.
“Is Buddy going to give you hell for getting involved with me?”
“Probably.” She paused. “Either that or tell me how relieved he is that I finally found a guy I like. He seems to have appointed himself as my surrogate parent since my mom died. I’m thinking the chances are fifty-fifty. He’ll either be glad or think I’ve lost my mind.”
“I’d bet on the latter if his scowl is anything to go by.”
“Yeah, you may be right about that,” she murmured as they neared the door. “Good morning, Buddy,” she said, trying to ease past the old man without pausing for conversation.
Buddy wasn’t about to let that happen. He blocked the door subtly, with his rounded body, pocketing the rag he’d been using to clean his hands. His gaze swept from Emily to Sam and back again before zeroing in on Sam.
“I noticed your car was parked here overnight, Emily. I assume Henry left it here on his way out of town. What surprised me was that you didn’t come get it last night.”
“I had other plans.” Emily squared her shoulders and faced the older man down. She had courage when it came to standing her ground, Sam was learning.
“With him?” Buddy’s gaze narrowed unflatteringly on Sam.
“As a matter of fact, yes. Sam gave me a ride in this morning so I wouldn’t have to take a cab.”
Sam liked the way she didn’t lie, but she also didn’t give in to the older man’s bully tactics. What he learned about what they’d been doing the night before was up to Emily. Sam would respect her wishes whatever she decided.
Buddy eyed him suspiciously but it didn’t bother Sam. He stood fast and said nothing, letting Emily take the lead. This was her world, after all. She’d have to live with these people when he was gone.
Thinking of that even in an abstract way annoyed him. Sam didn’t want to think of a future without Emily in it but that, in all likelihood, would be his reality.
“We’ve got an early charter, Buddy. If you’ll excuse us, we need to get moving.” Emily moved daintily past the big man and went through the door. Buddy grudgingly stepped aside to let Sam follow.
They really did have an early charter and no time to waste. Emily settled the paperwork while Sam went through the preflight checks on the jet. It was another one of those strange cargo runs, which fit perfectly with Sam’s plans. With Emily on board, he’d probably be able to get a much better look at the contents of the crates that had already been loaded into the belly of the plane.
They were headed to West Virginia today. Coal country. Land of lots of caves and nooks and crannies. Sam thought it a perfect place to hide if you wanted to go to ground.
The charter was an overnighter. They’d be bringing cargo in and taking another load out the following day. The layover might give Sam time to do some serious recon. He had every intention of covertly following these boxes to their destination.
They got off the ground with little fuss. Sam had taken the opportunity to search the cockpit and hold during his preflight to make sure there were no listening or recording devices that shouldn’t be there. They would be able to speak freely on board.
Once they hit cruising altitude, Sam unbuckled himself from his seat.
“Where are you going?” Emily asked as he wormed his way out of the tiny cockpit.
“I’m going to take a look at the cargo.”
Her lips thinned in worry but she said nothing as he worked his way aft. The crates were sealed tight but Sam had a knack for breaking into the boxes in such a way that nobody would ever know he’d been there. He popped the cover on the first one and found lab equipment. He didn’t know exactly what the apparatus was off hand, but he knew he’d seen something like it in the team’s labs back on base. He snapped photos of the contents of that box, and each of the others, with his secure phone, sending them via satellite to the tech crew before he’d even finished putting all the covers back on.
He rejoined Emily in the cockpit a moment later.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he slid into the copilot’s chair and refastened his safety harness.
“Smooth sailing. What was in the crates?”
“Laboratory equipment. I didn’t recognize most of it but the techs back on base will be able to identify what it all is, I’m sure.”
“How?”
He patted the phone on his hip. “I sent them photos. They’re probably already working on it as we speak.”
“Pretty nifty.”
“Not as nifty as you.” Oh, man. He had it bad. Sam had never said anything cornier in his life, but her smile was worth it. She didn’t seem to find him awkward at all, which was a minor miracle.
He reached out and took her hand in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. He needed to feel her skin. That small touch brought back memories of the incredible night they’d spent together. Emily was a special woman. Of that he had no doubt.
The radio broke into his thoughts, air traffic control issuing guidance for their flight. They were beginning their approach to the small airstrip in the hill country of West Virginia. There were larger airports in the general area with lots of commercial traffic, so they had to pay close attention to the instructions from the ground to navigate the busy airspace.
Before long, they were on the ground and the cargo was being unloaded. Sam watched, pretending to do paperwork while the cargo handlers did their thing. He was ready to move as soon as the cargo left his sight. The airfield was small and he should be able to follow it, providing Emily arrived with the rental car in time.
He’d sent her off as soon as they landed to pick it up. They were staying overnight and one of the perks of her position was that she could spend the money on a car rental that most other flight crews weren’t allowed. As a result, they had a nondescript sedan waiting for them. All they had to do was get it and get going. With any luck, she’d be in the lot waiting for him when the cargo van they were loading the crate on took off.
As it was, Sam couldn’t have planned it any better. As he walked out to the parking area, which was adjacent to the airstrip, he found Emily waiting there for him, keys in hand. She’d even thought to let him drive.
“I figured you had more experience tailing someone than I did,” she joked in a quiet tone as she tossed him the keys.
“You figured right, ma’am. Hop in and let me show you how it’s done.” Sam threw his overnight bag into the backseat and climbed behind the wheel.
He could still see the old white cargo van trundling toward the airport exit. There was an advantage to being in such a small airport. There were few buildings, lots of wide open spaces, and a great deal of visibility.
“Did you do the check?” he asked tersely as he started the car.
“Yes, sir.” She flipped him a mock salute and took the small black electronic box from her jacket pocket. “I do believe it’s all clear.” He’d given her the box, which was designed to check for listening devices, before leaving the jet and asked her to give the rental car a discreet once-over.
“Just to be safe…”
He took the box and flipped a switch that would create electronic interference with any signal that might be transmitting from the vehicle.
“We’ll leave this on so nobody can track the car,” he told her, placing the box out of sight, in the center console. “We won’t be able to listen to the radio or use the GPS, but nobody can track our movements via the GPS unit in the car either.”
“Nifty.” She turned her attention to the road. They’d left the airport exit and were on a four lane highway. “Is that what we’re following?” She pointed to the truck.
“Yes, indeed. The big white whale. We got lucky. That thing shouldn’t be too hard to track, so I can hold back a bit and still keep an eye on it.”
He did just that for the next forty-five minutes as the delivery truck led them on a circuitous route through small towns and wooded areas. The terrain was hilly with steep grades in some places. They went through some obvious coal mining area where piles of the black rock lay around roadside buildings and dump trucks trundled past stacked high with it.
Eventually, the white truck slowed and turned into a narrow driveway.
“What do we do now?” Emily asked as he passed the driveway and kept going on the small mountain road.
“We look for a place to stop or turn around so I can go check out what’s up that driveway.” Just up the road he found what he needed. “This is perfect.”
He pulled into a small parking lot. There was a convenience store of sorts with a set of broken down gas pumps that were probably installed in the 1940s.
He threw the car into park and opened the door, looking around. The sun was beginning its descent over the hills, causing dark shadows to creep across the land. The place looked deserted but he couldn’t see around the corner of the building from his vantage point and it was heavily wooded. It didn’t really matter though, because all he wanted to do was switch drivers so Emily could drop him off along the side of the road on the way back down the mountain.
“Sam?” The tone of Emily’s voice caught his attention. She’d stopped in her tracks, halfway around the front fender. Her face was turned toward the side of the building he still couldn’t see.
Without hesitation, Sam joined her. He saw immediately what had stopped her cold. There were two men on the ground. One prone and one kneeling over him. Both wore dirty, tattered clothing, but the kneeling one was covered in blood. It dripped downward from his mouth and the ends of his sharply taloned fingers.
“Oh, crap.” Sam reached for the gun strapped to his ankle.
“What is he doing?” Emily asked, stepping forward as if to help. Sam stopped her by grasping her upper arm. She turned to meet his gaze, clearly confused.
“Get in the car and lock all the doors. There might be more of them. If anyone comes toward you—even if they look harmless—drive away. Get to safety. Do you understand?” He issued the instructions as quickly and quietly as he could, trying to instill a sense of urgency. He didn’t want to draw the creature’s attention just yet.
“I won’t leave you here by yourself. I can help.” It touched him that she thought of his safety, but her concern was completely misplaced.
“No. You can’t. I’ll be all right. I’ve dealt with this before, Em. Trust me. If one of them scratches you, you’re dead. And I mean dead. No turning back. You die and then come back as one of them to spread the contagion.”
“What about you? They could kill you too.” Her voice rose along with her fears, it seemed.
“Shit.” The creature looked up, spotting them. “Get in the car now, Em. No arguments. I have to deal with this.”
The creature rose and started toward them.
“Sam?” Emily froze as she got her first real look at a zombie.
“In the car!” He put some force behind his words and she finally got moving. Emily finished her half circle around to the driver’s side, seated herself behind the wheel and locked the doors.
Sam had never used the frangible bullets before. Now was his chance. He only hoped they worked as advertised.
He took aim and fired while the creature was still about ten yards away. He hit it in the chest. The impact of the bullet made the creature stagger slightly, but it kept coming. It lurched in that steady, rhythmic way he’d come to associate with the creatures.
As it drew closer, he saw the bloodstains around its mouth. They were all a fresh, bright red. They hadn’t had time to dry. With any luck, the poor soul on the ground was the only victim. Otherwise there would be dried blood on the creature’s clothes and older, brownish stains of dried blood around its mouth and on its hands.
He counted the seconds in his mind, hoping the zombie would disintegrate sooner rather than later, but he really had no idea what this new version of the toxin could do. He’d have to report in to the rest of the combat team as soon as he had some hard data on how the new weaponry worked—if it worked.
The zombie was only five feet away and the toxin still hadn’t taken effect. Sam began to back away, bumping into the side of the car. Emily had the car idling, waiting, ready for action.
“Move the car, Em. Take it about ten yards toward the road.” He spoke in a clear, loud voice so she could hear him through the closed windows over the soft purr of the engine.
She did as he asked. Sam never took his eyes off the zombie or stopped the count in his head. Twenty seconds now and no sign of stopping.
Sam backed off. The zombie followed. Twenty-five seconds.
The zombie’s face slid, its jaw dropping off its hinges as the rest of him followed close behind. When Sam mentally reached a count of thirty seconds, the creature was a pile of steaming goo and dirty clothes on the ground at his feet.
“Stay put,” he shouted to Emily.
He saw her wide-eyed nod as he took his satellite phone from its holster at his hip. Speed dial connected him with Commander Sykes.
“Sir, we’ve got a situation.” Sam spoke as he walked cautiously toward the victim, lying still on the ground.
“Where are you?”
“West Virginia. Coal country.”
“I’ll have the techs triangulate your signal while you give me a sitrep.”
“I just eliminated a single creature. Single frangible round. Thirty seconds from impact to dissolution. The creature killed one victim at a small, backwoods gas station convenience store. From the looks of him, he was the clerk. Sending photo now.” Sam used the camera feature on the sophisticated phone to send an image of the dead man.
“Are you secure?”
“Emily’s in the car, but sir, she saw the creature. I’ll have to tell her.” Sam searched the rest of the area, keeping an eye on both Emily in the idling car and the victim. Sam would have to deal with that poor soul as well, but he had some time yet.
“Understood.”
“I think I know where this creature came from. We followed a cargo van from the airport to a location down the road from here. We stopped to turn around so I could do recon of the area but encountered this situation before I could scope out the driveway the van turned into.”
“I’ve mobilized the combat team. They’re on their way. They should be there in about an hour. Do recon and report back before taking action, if possible. It would be better to let the team handle this to preserve your cover should this not be the main infestation. The intel you’ve gathered to date leads me to believe there could be multiple locations we’ll need to mop up.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of the victim then continue recon.”
“I sent cleanup specialists with the combat team. Do what you can to secure the area but recon is the priority for the next sixty minutes.”
“Yes, sir.” Sam saw the victim stir, coming back to life—if you could call it that. He was dead, but his corpse was reanimated by the contagion.
“Gotta go, sir. The victim is getting hungry.”
Nobody had ever explained to Sam why the creatures seemed so eager to eat people. The contagion acted on dead cells to elongate hair, teeth, and nails, the latter two becoming pointy and sharp. The fingernails in particular, turned into hard, yellow claws and made good weapons, which the creatures used to disfigure their victims in gruesome ways.
The attendant rose. Half his face was missing and his intestines were hanging out of a giant hole in his abdomen. The first creature had been playing with his kill and it wasn’t pretty.
Sam took aim and fired. Once again he counted. Twenty-nine seconds later, the attendant was another pile of dirty fabric and organic goo, roughly four feet from the other one. At least the cleanup team wouldn’t have far to travel between kill sites. Sam marked each of the piles of debris with small electronic wafers that would lead the cleanup teams directly to the hotspots. Not one particle of the contagion could be left behind. The entire area would get a thorough cleansing but the remains would be packed up and shipped to the laboratories back on base where the science team would study them.
Sam took a look inside the store and did a perimeter check around the building. No signs of any more creatures. That was good.
Now for the place the delivery van had disappeared.
Sam went back to the car. Emily opened the doors for him. Before getting in on the passenger side, he took his bag from the backseat and pulled out a camouflage shirt. If he was going to do recon in the woods, he wasn’t going to wear his white uniform shirt.
“Is it safe?” Emily leaned over the center console to peer up at him.
Sam shrugged. “Safe enough for now. Be ready for anything and keep your eyes open.”
He stripped off his white shirt and quickly dressed in the green and brown one. Then he looked at his pants and grimaced. He didn’t want to take the time to change completely but his chances were better for not getting caught if he was outfitted correctly.
“What was that?” Her voice trembled with remembered fear.
“What did it look like?” He didn’t want to be difficult but the situation had just gone to hell and he didn’t want her to be in the line of fire. He shucked his pilot’s dress shoes and took off his pants right there in the parking lot, in full view of anyone who might be passing on the road. Luckily, this road was sparsely traveled. In fact, nobody had passed in the whole time they’d been there. That was good. The cleanup team might have time to get here and contain the site before anybody else happened along.
“It looked like…” she trailed off, her tone uncertain.
“Go ahead. Say it.”