Two Evils

by Christina Moore

  “I think the moment he sees them, he’ll know that they’re fully aware of what the serum does. He’ll know that they’re aware not all of them got it,” Billie continued. “There’s no way they’d consent to resuming the testing, not even to keep themselves from going to the stockade.”

  “Looks like we gotta start praying like religious zealots that Eddie’s sister finds something, then,” said John.

  “Bitch please,” Billie retorted. “I’ve been doing that since I came up with the idea.”

  

  When she visited Kevin in his room in ICU, John went with her. From the brief look of horror that crossed Billie’s face as she got her first look at her brother, he knew that old memories were haunting her once again. But she shored up her nerve and stepped fully into the room, and he found himself feeling proud of her. Just yesterday she had frozen in place at just the reminder of where she’d spent her engagement weekend with Travis. She’d seemed fragile upon their arrival in Hocking Hills. Being forced to confront her memories—even if just a fraction of them—seemed to have done wonders for her, though. She seemed so much stronger than she had been only 24 hours ago, and he felt confident in his belief that she was finally on her way to true healing.

  They didn’t stay with Kevin long. Whether he could hear her or not, Billie assured him that the men who had captured him and their dad (they’d simply met at the house for lunch, according to Thomas) had been taken care of. Yes, they were dead and she had been the one to kill them, she explained amidst the beeping of the heart monitor and the hiss of the ventilator, but he didn’t need to worry about her. At the curious look John had sent her way, Billie informed him that the three brothers not in the military—Andy, Kevin, and Teddy—all worried unnecessarily about her conscience given how many lives she had taken.

  Tommy—the Navy SEAL—didn’t. Because he knew what it was like to live with knowing a life had ended by your hands.

  After her turn to visit, they returned to the waiting room and the rest of her family. Thomas insisted that his children go home to get some rest, that he and Stella would remain with Kevin through the night and that they’d be notified if anything changed. None of them wanted to go, but each relented, being forced to admit that they were feeling the first stages of exhaustion. John knew she’d probably deny it if asked, but he could also tell that Billie was feeling the effects of her fight with Andre—the way her eyes pinched at the corners and how she kept rolling her head to the sides were sure signs that she was in pain. So he was glad when her father had suggested she, Andy, and Teddy go to the house and get some sleep. Rest, he mused, would do her wonders.

  He expected that she would ride back with Andy and Michelle or with Teddy, but when they all left she walked to his car with him. And when he pulled up across the street from her father’s house, once again parked in front of the empty house across from it, he left the engine running as he believed he would be going home to his apartment. Billie surprised him when she asked if he’d mind spending the night with her.

  “I’m not talking about having sex, either,” she quipped tiredly. “I just… I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind terribly actually just sleeping with me. I miss feeling a warm body next to mine in the bed. It always did help me fall asleep faster, and alone my mind’s just going to race with what ifs.”

  He knew his expression as he looked at her was one of shock. Her request was so entirely unexpected that he couldn’t think of how to respond. Billie apparently took his silence for rejection, as her face fell and her movements as she reached to undo her seatbelt were jerky. “Nevermind, forget I asked.”

  John reached for her, taking her face in his hands and leaning across the console to kiss her. Not a deep, passionate kiss—just a sweet touch of his lips to hers. “I wouldn’t mind at all,” he replied at last.

  Billie smiled and he shut off the Charger’s engine. They got out of the car and walked up to the house together as Andy was showing Michelle inside—Teddy had already charged in. Billie’s brother did not question his remaining presence, merely nodded to him as if he’d been expecting he would be there all along. For the briefest of moments he feared that the crime scene cleaners had left something untouched, but a surreptitious glance into the dining room showed nothing out of the ordinary, save for the broken chair lying on its side against one wall.

  “They did a damn good job,” Billie noted softly from beside him. “I think Teddy, Andy, and Michelle would have been devastated to see all the blood, even if none of it belonged to the family.”

  John nodded, turning away when she did to follow her up the stairs. Once in her room she shut the door, then tiredly took off her jacket and laid it on the back of a chair. She next removed her belt, laying the holstered Sig and extra magazines inside the nightstand drawer before turning and sitting on the edge of the bed to remove her shoes.

  “If I wasn’t suddenly so damn tired, I would sleep naked,” she mumbled. “But that would get you a little too excited, and I just don’t have the energy for sex.”

  John chuckled as he joined her on the edge of the bed to remove his own shoes. “You assume I am still interested in sex after the shit we’ve been through today,” he told her with a yawn, suddenly becoming aware of his own fatigue. “Though in that vein, if I were to sleep naked, you’d be all over me like white on rice, no matter how tired you are.”

  “You sound awfully sure of yourself,” Billie retorted as she reached around her back underneath her shirt. John watched her deftly unhook her bra, then reach up her sleeves to pull the straps down, removing it completely through her left sleeve without once flashing him.

  When she noticed him staring, she frowned and asked, “What?”

  “I am always fascinated by how easily women can do that,” he said. “Yet we men tend to have such difficulty with those damn things.”

  Billie grinned as she wadded the bra and threw it at him. “That’s because you men types ain’t got no skills…though you didn’t seem to have a problem with it yesterday.”

  John picked up the garment from the floor and tossed it onto the chair where her jacket was, then reached behind her and pulled the bedcovers down. “Okay, now I know you’re tired—you’re not being your usual pithy self.”

  Billie waved off his words and dropped onto the bed. He stood and pulled the covers the rest of the way out from under her, then lifted her legs up and slid them so that her feet, at least, were tucked in. He next rounded the bed and climbed in beside her, slipping an arm over her waist to spoon himself against her. With a soft giggle, Billie wiggled her ass against him as though to get a better fit, and she sighed contentedly when he, on impulse, snuck a hand under her shirt to cup her breast. She took hold of his hand and held it there, and it wasn’t long before both of them were fast asleep.

  

  Billie started to wake feeling very warm. In the next instant she realized she was not alone in the bed, and briefly wondered if she and Sergei had drunk too much tequila.

  Then full consciousness dawned, and she remembered where she was and with whom. The last few days came back to her in a rush, and she remembered last night asking John to just sleep with her. For a moment she could not believe her own audacity, until she realized that for the first time in over a year, she had slept the whole night through. Though her head and neck ached a little, she felt very well rested.

  Not wanting to disturb him, she decided to just lay there a little while longer, and noticed that sometime during the night she had turned and wrapped herself around him. John was on his back with one arm under her head and around her shoulders. Her head was on his chest with one arm pinned between them and the other holding him around the waist, their legs twined together in such a manner that if she moved even an inch, she’d graze his groin…which was spouting impressive morning wood.

  Unable to help herself, she giggled at the sight. John’s other arm snaked around her and gave her a squeeze. “What’s so funny?” he mumbled sleep
ily.

  “Nothing,” she replied, looking up to find him watching her. “I just, uh… I was just realizing how well you must’ve been sleeping.”

  He lifted his head and looked down at himself, then looked back to her with a tired grin. “I swear he’s got a mind of his own.”

  “Apparently,” she replied, then carefully rolled away from him and threw her legs over the side of the bed.

  “I smell coffee and bacon. If we want the chance to actually get any, we’d better hurry downstairs—Teddy’s a wolf when it comes to food,” she told him as she sat up and stretched.

  John laughed and rose from the bed. “I’d better run out to my car first—I think there’s still something in my bag that’s not water-soaked or blood-stained.”

  Billie walked over to the small dresser across the room, pulling clothes out of a few drawers and tossing them onto the bed. “Better get to it,” she said with a grin, then dashed across the hall to the bathroom.

  After relieving her bladder, she returned to her room and quickly dressed. When she descended the stairs she found her brothers and Michelle in the dining room. The broken chair from yesterday had been removed, presumably outside, and the table was covered with dishes of eggs, bacon, toast, sausage, and pancakes. There were gallon jugs of milk and orange juice on either side of the carafe of coffee.

  “Who did all this?” she asked as John was coming out of the half-bath in a fresh polo shirt and jeans.

  “I did,” said Michelle. “Andy has been telling me it wasn’t necessary, but I’m a chef—I can’t help cooking. Besides that, feeding yourselves is the last thing any of you should be worried about, so I’m happy to do it for you.”

  Teddy, who had a little of everything on his plate, lifted his fork in her direction. “I ain’t complaining,” he said cheerfully.

  “You never complain when you don’t have to cook,” Andy pointed out. “Only when you have to clean—which you’ll be doing by yourself for being such a smartass.”

  Billie laughed as she at last took a seat at the table. Andy and Michelle were next to each other on the other side, and Teddy was seated on the end opposite of where their father usually sat. John moved to the last empty chair and asked, “Is this seat taken?”

  She shook her head, fighting a grin as she reached to fill her glass with orange juice. “I don’t think Casper the Friendly Ghost is going to be joining us for breakfast, Spy Boy,” she joked lightly.

  John grinned as he sat and began to fill his plate. Billie exchanged light conversation with her brothers and Michelle as they ate, John speaking up when asked or interested. The topics were unimportant everyday matters, as no one really wanted to discuss why they were all together.

  She had just decided to indulge in a second glass of juice when the phone rang. Everyone froze and looked at one another, then Billie set the juice back on the table and rose to answer it. She walked to the phone fighting to keep her breathing calm, telling herself that it was not bad news over and over like a mantra as she reached for the phone.

  “Ryan residence, this is Billie,” she answered when she put the receiver to her ear.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” said Rebecca’s voice on the other end. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be there, but I didn’t know how else to contact you, so I looked you up in the phone book. You weren’t listed and there are a ton of Ryans in there, but then I remembered Eddie telling me your family’s names once, so I decided to try calling every Thomas Ryan in the white pages. Your dad is like, third out of fifteen Thomas Ryans.”

  Billie chuckled. “We Irish are prolific, and Thomas is a popular name,” she replied, and behind her she heard both Andy and Teddy sigh with relief. “But I daresay you didn’t call to discuss the procreation habits of the Irish population of Virginia.”

  Rebecca laughed a little and then sighed. “No, I certainly did not,” she said solemnly. “I’ve been thinking about what you told me yesterday—hardly got any sleep over it. I admit that I must’ve picked up the phone to call my mom half a dozen times or more, but I stopped myself before I dialed. I remember the looks on everyone’s faces, the grave expressions you all wore. You truly believe that General Wainright is up to something sinister, and I believe you’re right: he must be if he hasn’t even bothered to inform the families of the dead that their loved ones are gone. I didn’t want to put my mother at risk—Eddie would come back from the dead and kill me for it, so I didn’t call.”

  The younger woman sighed again, and Billie waited for her to continue, suddenly feeling on edge. “I want to help,” Rebecca said at last. “And I’m going to do it today.”

  NINETEEN

  Billie called for John, telling him in a hushed tone when he came to her side that Rebecca had agreed to help them. John then took the phone and gave Rebecca his cell number, instructing her to call the moment she found anything, or to let them know if she’d found nothing at all.

  When they returned to the table, Andy regarded them with a neutral expression. “I take it that call means you won’t be coming to the hospital today?”

  Shaking her head as she slipped into her seat, Billie said, “No, I’ll be there.”

  Teddy looked at her then. “Does that have anything to do with what happened yesterday?”

  “No, I already told you it’s an unrelated matter,” she replied. “It is, however, very important, so I may have to leave the hospital at some point.”

  “Have you rejoined the CIA or something?” her younger brother pressed.

  Billie glanced sidelong at John. “No, I haven’t.”

  “This has something to do with that guy John was fighting with yesterday—Gabe, the one from your recon team. Is that right?” asked Andy.

  Stifling a groan but allowing herself a sigh, Billie looked between her brothers as she said, “Yes. As a matter of fact, the whole team is involved. But that is all that I can tell you right now. The less you know, the safer you’ll be.”

  Andy and Teddy exchanged a glance. Poor Michelle simply looked lost, and Billie felt sorry for her to be caught in the middle of such a confusing exchange. The rest of the meal was conducted in silence, and when it was finished Teddy dutifully loaded the dishwasher and set it, then they all climbed into their vehicles and headed for the hospital.

  In the car, John got a call from Rex. His friend informed them that he had arranged for Dr. Stone to return to the safe house to see Wayne, as she wanted to treat him for withdrawal to see if it would ease his symptoms. She also wanted to take a look at Darren’s shoulder wound to make sure it was still healing well. Billie was relieved that she was so dedicated to taking care of the team, though if Darren’s behavior of the day before was any indication, she was going to have her hands full with him.

  Upon their arrival, Thomas expressed gratitude to Michelle and kissed her cheek when she handed him a canvas bag with a change of clothes in it. “You’re welcome,” she said with a blush, “though if your son didn’t have me along, you’d be stuck wearing yesterday’s clothes for another day.”

  Stella laughed then. “It takes a woman to think of the small things, my dear. Had you not brought him something, I would have eventually forced him to go home and change.”

  Michelle grinned and agreed with her. Thomas and Andy both seemed relieved to see that the two women were getting along, and Billie surmised they were glad it was one hurdle overcome. It meant that future family get-togethers—happier ones—wouldn’t be fraught with tension. Billie found herself liking them both as well, as they were doing an excellent job of keeping her father and brother occupied and not thinking too much about the seriousness of Kevin’s condition.

  While her father was in the men’s room changing, Stella informed them that Kevin’s condition had not changed through the night. “Which is good news, really,” she said. “He hasn’t gotten much better, but he hasn’t gotten any worse. There is good news in that there’s no sign of the swelling around his spine the doctors were worried about, and so far there’s n
o sign of infection. The doctor also told us that so long as he responds well to being weaned off the ventilator, he may only need a lot of rest and recuperation and should make a full recovery. His condition has been upgraded to stable, though he’ll remain in ICU until after the ventilator is removed.”

  Billie sighed with relief—it was indeed good news. However, her brother’s stable condition meant that there wasn’t much for any of them to do there. As much as she loved her family and wished to lend her support, she suddenly felt superfluous. She felt like she should be out doing something. Still, she took her turn visiting with Kevin as he slept, telling stories from their childhood to pass the time. John, who had of course accompanied her, found some of them funny and some of them downright shocking.

  “What can I say?” she said with a mischievous grin. “Before Teddy came along, Kevin was my closest playmate. Sure, he wanted to hang with the older boys, to be seen as one of them, but the fact that I liked helping him with his pranks cemented our relationship.”

  “And I bet that being the only girl got you out of a lot of trouble,” he mused with a grin.

  “Indeed it did,” she replied. “Of course, when Mom found out that Teddy was a boy, I admit to being disappointed. I’d wanted a sister to commiserate with about my brothers being pains in the butt.”

  “What changed your mind about him? I’ve noticed you two seem very close.”

  “Hero worship,” Billie replied succinctly. “Tommy, Andy, and Kevin were already teaching me to defend myself, even when I was just a little girl. They taught me a little too well, as one day, when Andy had decided to pick on little three-year-old Teddy, I stepped in to defend my baby brother and kicked Andy’s ass. Teddy’s idolized me ever since, and now we’re the best of friends.”