by Bianca D’Arc
“I’m already immune. It happened in a lab accident that turned out well for me, thank goodness. Nobody knew. Until now.”
“Not even the commander?”
She shook her head. “Nobody. It was safer for me to hide it.”
He gave her a sidelong look. “I’ll bet.”
Anything she might’ve said in reply was interrupted by a knock on the door. Simon was instantly on alert. He checked the peephole before he opened the door to admit Mari.
After that, they spent about a half hour just cleaning Matt up, removing the blood and contaminated clothing from his unconscious body and the dirty sheets from under him. The two women worked together to remake the bed with him in it as he suffered through the biochemical reactions that would leave him immune from the contagion. Matt was also suffering pain as his back spasmed repeatedly.
“Do you think it’s healing like Simon suggested?” Eileen asked as they examined the lower back area. It seemed to be getting less swollen as time went on.
“It’s possible. Even likely, I’d say, from what I observed with Simon. After all, the original intent of the research was to create something that would increase the body’s healing ability.”
“I’d love to try to see what’s going on in there. I did some ultrasound images of his lower back a few days ago,” Eileen ventured, knowing Mari would pick up on the significance of having a recent baseline for comparison.
But Mari picked up on more than just the medical significance.
“Commander Sykes let you examine him?”
Eileen tried not to squirm under the other woman’s scrutiny.
“He was experiencing some pain during our first martial arts class. I convinced him to let me take a look.” She tried to sound offhand. “I’d done some work in orthopedics early in my training. Having those images could really help us figure out what’s going on. We could try to scan him again now and compare to the earlier images.”
“Where’s the machine?”
“Down in the lab. I thought maybe we could ask the cleanup team to disinfect it first and bring it up here. It’s small enough.”
“Let’s do it.” Mari slapped her hands on her thighs and stood. “I’ll call down to the guys cleaning up the lab.” She moved off to one side of the room and pulled out her cell phone, placing the call.
Eileen took the time to examine Matt more closely. She brushed short strands of his sweaty hair away from his brow. He was still burning up, but the temperature wasn’t life threatening. He’d be okay for now, but she would continue to monitor him closely.
The ultrasound machine showed up a little while later, hand-delivered by one of the cleanup team members, newly sanitized. Mari set things up, plugging it in and flipping switches and dials until it was ready. She positioned herself and the machine at the side of Matt’s bed. Eileen was on his other side.
“How do you want to do this?” Mari asked.
“I don’t want to put him on his belly with the possibility of convulsions. How about I hold him on his side while you do the scan?”
Mari agreed and they set to work. Rolling Matt was relatively easy. Keeping him on his side required Eileen to move in close to support his shoulders and hip. He was heavy and she had to bend close to him in order to get a good grip. His overly warm body was solid and deliciously muscular. As worried as she was about his condition, she couldn’t help notice how good he felt under her hands.
Mari ran the scan as quickly as possible and printed out a few images. They rolled Matt onto his back within minutes. Eileen watched him carefully to make sure he was okay. She was concerned he might still be in for more convulsions, but he seemed to be resting peacefully for the moment.
The two women settled in to wait on chairs, one on either side of Matt and the bed. All was quiet while they examined the two sets of ultrasound images.
“I’ll be damned.” Mari whistled softly as she passed the flimsy paper to Eileen. “It looks like both the tissue and bone are regenerating.”
“Yeah.” Eileen was preoccupied as she scanned the images.
“See the way the disk tissue that was removed is starting to fill back in?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Eileen was truly amazed at what the machine allowed them to see in grainy black-and-white.
“Me, neither. I have to admit, it’s pretty amazing. Simon has some incredible regenerative abilities, but even I didn’t expect this. The commander’s tissue was surgically removed. His bones were altered by a surgeon and yet they’re reconstructing themselves. He’s about halfway there right now, if I’m any judge. If this continues, his back could be good as new in an hour or two.”
“Wow.”
“You can say that again.” Mari sat back in her chair as Eileen kept looking at the images. After a few minutes of silence, she, too, sat back. Slowly, she became aware that Mari was staring at her.
“What?” Eileen asked self-consciously.
“Just curious.” Mari’s expression spoke of suspicion, not simple curiosity. Eileen felt her stomach clench.
“About what?”
“Since I got here you haven’t seemed overly concerned about contamination. Is there something you haven’t shared with us?”
Eileen sighed heavily. “I guess it’s obvious now that I’m immune. I felt it was safer to hide that fact for as long as possible.”
“From us?”
“From everyone,” Eileen admitted. “You have to understand, before I joined this team, I was on my own. I was working in the private sector, making my own way. I didn’t want the information getting out to the wrong people. I could have made a very big target for some very bad guys if it had been known. The alternative was turning myself into a lab rat for the military. Neither idea appealed, so I forged my own path.”
“How long have you been immune?”
“From early on.” Eileen felt it wisest not to go into too much detail. “I realized pretty quickly that some of the original science team members were completely bonkers. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, so I kept my immunity a secret.”
“You can’t keep that secret any longer, I’m afraid.”
“I realize that,” Eileen admitted. “I’m just glad I was able to help Matt.”
Mari’s eyes narrowed as she grinned. “So you’re on a first-name basis with him?”
Eileen realized her mistake and couldn’t control the telltale flush of heat in her cheeks. Mari only laughed softly.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to answer,” Mari assured her. “I won’t pry. We all have our little secrets. This situation is hard on everyone. You and Matt deserve to have some happiness.”
“It’s not like that,” Eileen protested weakly. She would have said more, but Matt began to twist and turn on the bed. His back spasmed once more, and both women moved to help him.
They watched over him the rest of the evening, but he didn’t convulse anymore. His back spasmed from time to time and they took a few more images of the progress his body was making in repairing itself. The data they collected could be very valuable to her research but Eileen didn’t really care. She wouldn’t rest easy until she was certain Matt would be okay.
Mari was a big help. She coordinated with the rest of the team and at some point had food delivered. She placed cup after cup of hot coffee in Eileen’s hands and didn’t ask any further embarrassing questions about her relationship with the commander.
Eileen was glad of her presence. She wouldn’t leave Matt’s side until he was awake and she was sure he’d be all right.
The hours seemed to drag on until finally, just before dawn, Matt’s eyes opened.
“Eileen?” His voice was raw but it was music to her ears.
“I’m here, Matt.”
His blue gaze searched for and found her. His relief was visible as the tension left his shoulders.
“You’re okay?”
“I’m fine. How do you feel?”
He seemed to consi
der. “Not good, but not bad, either.” He sat up slowly, grimacing as he went. “The serum worked?”
Good. He remembered what had led up to this. It was a good sign for his neural activity.
“Like a charm.” She gave him a wobbly smile. Her relief was profound. Seeing him sitting up and taking stock of his internal condition was more than she’d hoped for. He seemed to be recovering much faster than Sam had.
“How’s the back?” Mari’s voice intruded from the other side of the room and Matt’s head swiveled to her.
“Why? What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Mari assured him, stepping closer. “But one of the benefits of immunity is radically increased healing. Eileen and I monitored some rather startling changes to your lower back as your body processed the contagion and the serum. I’m just wondering how it feels to you.”
Matt shifted his hips on the bed, side to side as he took stock of his spine.
“It doesn’t hurt. There’s some soreness, but not the pain I’m used to.” His gaze turned back to Eileen, his eyes widening slightly with a sort of cautious hope. “Is it healed?”
“We think so, yes.” She loved being able to deliver such good news. “You’ll be the best judge of how you feel, but Mari and I have been looking at the scans all night and it appears your body has regenerated the injured disk tissue. I want to get an MRI to do a finer inspection but it looks good from what little we can see using this machine.” She gestured toward the small rolling console they’d been using throughout the night.
He looked around the room. “I’m in your quarters?” he asked Eileen.
Suddenly she felt defensive. “It was the closest uncontaminated place to put you.”
Matt nodded, his mind no doubt going over all he could remember of the night before.
“What time is it and where’s my phone? I need a sitrep.”
“Simon’s downstairs with the cleanup team,” Mari volunteered. “He stuck around to guard the place and to be here when you woke. I’ll call him.”
Eileen opened the drawer of the bedside table where she’d placed some of Matt’s gear. She handed him his watch and phone.
“Your wallet and other personal items are in here.” She pointed to the drawer. “Your clothes were taken away by the cleanup team for disposal except for what you’re wearing.” They’d left him in his boxers. “Sam brought over a change of clothes for you last night. He figured you’d need a new uniform when you woke up, but frankly, I wasn’t expecting you to be up and around today. It took Sam several days to recover.”
“But you improved your serum after you saw how it worked for him, didn’t you?”
“I did, but the version I gave you last night was untested. I really don’t know what to expect. I’d like you to take it easy until we’re sure you’re not going to have an adverse reaction.”
He shot her a look as he levered his feet to the floor over the side of the bed. She jumped up to help him, but he shook her off.
“Where did you say my clothes were?”
“Matt, this is—” Eileen began to object, but Matt waved her to silence.
“I don’t have time for a long recovery. Even if I have to crawl there, I’ve got to get back to the office today. Or do you want me to be replaced?”
There was something going on here. He was too adamant. There had to be a damn good reason he pushed himself so hard.
“Okay,” she said in a slow, deliberate manner as she walked toward the dresser where she’d stowed Matt’s clothes in an empty drawer.
Her back to Matt, she caught Mari’s eye. A silent communication passed between them. Mari realized something odd was going on, too.
A knock at the door interrupted the tense atmosphere. Mari opened the door to admit Simon.
“Good to see you up, Matt.”
“Good to be up.” Matt sighed as he sat heavily on the side of the bed. “I need a sitrep, Si.” Matt was bare chested and wearing only his boxers, but Simon made no comment.
For the next few minutes Simon reported on the activities of the night. Neither man seemed to mind the presence of the women as they discussed everything in military shorthand that Eileen barely followed. When he finished his report, Matt asked a few short questions, all the while struggling to hold himself in an upright position.
At least, that’s what it looked like to her. He was putting a brave face on it, but Eileen could detect signs that Matt wasn’t as steady as he’d like them all to believe.
“Order the combat team off duty for some downtime in a staggered schedule. I’d like someone near Dr. McCormick at all times.” Matt’s order took Eileen by surprise. She turned to look at him, his clothing piled in her hands as she stood near the dresser. His gaze pinned her in place as he continued. “You and Mari can go, Si. I know it’s been a long night for you both. I appreciate the way you both stepped up to the plate while I was out of commission.”
“Anytime, Matt,” Simon answered. Eileen could hear the respect Si had for Matt in his voice even though the words were simple enough.
“If you need anything,” Mari said to Eileen as she gathered her things and headed toward the door with Simon, “just call.”
Eileen merely nodded, realizing she was going to be left alone with Matt. No doubt the significance of that wasn’t lost on either Simon or Mari. Matt wasn’t doing anything to hide his intent stare, either. A showdown was coming and this little bedroom was going to be Ground Zero.
Chapter Seven
“If you’ll just bring me those clothes…” Matt let the sentence hang. Eileen was clearly distracted, probably dreading the confrontation to come. He had no such reservations. With consciousness had come memory, followed by anger and an intense feeling of betrayal.
Eileen had lied to him. Oh, she hadn’t lied straight to his face, but she’d definitely lied by omission. She hadn’t told him she was immune to the contagion. She hadn’t trusted him enough. Maybe that was his fault, but he was still irritated by the fact that she hadn’t told him the entire truth.
She walked slowly in his direction, his uniform cradled in her arms. When she bent slightly to drop the clothing at his side, he grabbed her forearms, startling her. Her wide green gaze flew upward to meet his accusatory glare.
“Why, Eileen?” She remained mute and he tightened his grip in frustration, shaking her slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t tell anyone.” He saw the fear in her eyes. “It was an accident. At first, I didn’t realize what had happened, then after…it was clear I’d be in danger from some of the other scientists if they knew I was immune from the contagion.”
“How long?”
He could see tears gathering in her eyes, and he realized he was holding her arms too tightly. Was he hurting her? He was angry, but he didn’t want to cause her pain. He let go of her arms as if she burned him and she backed away from him slowly.
“Almost from the beginning.”
He didn’t like the nebulous way she phrased her answer, but he let it go for now. She was still withholding facts from him, but there were more issues on the table. He’d circle back around to the issue of timing eventually.
“Tell me about Jennings.”
He noted her sharp intake of breath. She was afraid. Was it leftover fear from being confronted by a zombie in her own workspace? Or was there more to it than that?
“You probably know he was part of the original science team. I haven’t seen him since the group split up and we all went our separate ways.”
“What else do you know about him?” He’d have to chip away at her to get at the full truth.
Dammit. He didn’t like this at all. Of all the people on his new team, he’d thought he could trust her. But he’d been wrong before. There was already one spy on his staff. Maybe there were more.
What did he really know about Eileen McCormick anyway, besides the fact that he found her almost irresistibly attractive? He shouldn’t have let his desire for her influence
his opinion of her abilities or loyalties, but he realized that’s just what had happened. He’d been willfully blind where she was concerned from the beginning.
“He was a competent genetic engineer but kind of a jerk. He always rubbed me the wrong way, and when I began to fear some of the others, he was on the short list of people I wanted to avoid.”
“I’m going to need you to write down that list for me.” His gut churned, knowing she’d been holding out on him from the beginning.
She nodded tightly. “All right.”
“You don’t seem too enthusiastic.” As a distraction, and also because he had to get moving, he unfolded his clothes and slowly pulled them on. “I’m going to start thinking you don’t want to play on my team.”
“Believe me when I say there’s no other team I want to be on.”
“Why should I believe you? Tell me that.” He stood to pull on his pants and felt himself wobble. Eileen checked her own forward motion before she got to his side, but it was telling that her instinctual move had been to help him. Regardless of her other roles, she was first and foremost a compassionate woman.
“I didn’t mean to withhold information from you, but by the time I was approached to be part of your operation, I’d already been approached by others with less desirable aims. Secrecy had become a way of life.”
“Someone else tried to recruit you?” Matt felt his anger rise once more, and it gave him strength to shove his arms into his shirt.
“You knew Dr. Sellars had approached me before Captain Beauvoir came to me in New York. I didn’t deny that.”
“Who else?”
“Rodriguez.” The name came from her lips grudgingly. Matt recognized the name. There was a Rodriguez on the original research team. He’d been one of the lead scientists.
“When?”
Eileen sighed and sat heavily in the chair Mari had been using. It was set a few feet from the bed, closer to the door than the chair Eileen had been using on the other side. Worry shrouded her face—that beautiful, bewitching face that had snared him so completely. Damn.
