Southern Regions (Southern Desires Book 4)

by Jeannette Winters

  Marina closed her eyes, not able to look at Kevin for fear they’d see how she felt about him.

  One of the men walked over to the cooler and got some water. She waited. If only one drank it, then the others would know it had been infected. Instead of drinking it, he walked over and threw it in Kevin’s face.

  Kevin shook his head as he came to. Thank God. Then she realized they probably only woke him to use him against her. Nothing these men were doing was done kindly.

  “Captain Collins, so nice of you to join Dr. Brimlow and me. We were just about to discuss her giving us her masterpiece. Would you care to tell her what we’ll do to her if she chooses not to cooperate?” JT asked, his voice filled with threats.

  “Do what he says,” Kevin said in a muffled voice.

  The man who doused Kevin with the water clenched a fist and punched Kevin square in the jaw. Marina winced as she watched his head snap backward. God. Please no more.

  “Let me give him some water. It’s hot in here, and he’s suffering,” Marina begged JT, hoping he’d fall for it.

  “Let him suffer. It’s only going to get worse. Trust me, Dr. Brimlow. Captain Collins already knows his fate. Yours is still . . . negotiable.”

  “Then may I have a drink? If you haven’t noticed, I need to keep it extremely hot in here, or the specimens will begin to break down.” He said nothing. “If I pass out from heat exhaustion what good am I to you then?”

  JT nodded, and the men let her go. She started toward the cooler. Marina could see Kevin’s eyes widen with fear. You figured out what I put in it, didn’t you? She wanted to tell him everything was going to be all right. The truth was she didn’t know herself. They only had the vaccine in them for a little over twenty-four hours. Was that long enough to protect her from the virus? Was she going to be the first person to face what she created? If so then everything is lost. They have the specimens, and no one is left to stop them.

  She grabbed a cup and held it out. “Would you like some? It’s only going to get hotter in here.”

  One of the men stepped forward, and JT said, “No! You drink it first.”

  Marina shrugged as though she didn’t understand what his concern was. Unfortunately, it was the same one she had. Filling her cup with the water, she downed the contents. She could see Kevin watching every move she made. The pain in his eyes was almost too much to bear. He still didn’t know she’d inoculated herself when he wasn’t looking. He waited for her to drop.

  She didn’t want to wait too long in case that was exactly what was about to happen. “If you want some you know where it is.”

  Marina watched JT nod and the men one by one filled a glass and drank it down. JT stood near Kevin watching his men. Come on, JT. Drink. Please drink.

  He didn’t move from Kevin. If he didn’t drink, she knew she had no way to overpower him. He might not be armed, but his physical strength was enough. All would be lost if JT didn’t drink the water.

  Marina decided to keep her distance from JT. Once his men started to drop, he might come after her. She looked at the clock and started the countdown. She knew it’d happen very quickly, usually within two minutes. With their overheated state, she anticipated a quicker response.

  Since she was the first to drink, she would know if the vaccine worked. Looking at Kevin, she saw his eyes tear up. It was killing her not to tell him, but there was nothing to say. She needed to make it past that two-minute mark first.

  Once she did, she said, “Captain Collins, I hope you know, neither of us are going to see my mother anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for the promise you made me.”

  He looked puzzled for a moment then he seemed to catch what she was saying. That was just in time as one man dropped to the floor and the others quickly fell, one after another. JT started toward her, but Kevin swung his leg out, pulling JT’s legs out from under him. He got up and slapped Kevin across the face.

  “You haven’t won. I will finish this bitch off, and then my next stop is your sister, Casey.”

  Marina refused to let it end this way. JT’s line of cruelty needed to be stopped. She reached down and pulled the gun out of one of the men’s hands. As JT turned to face her, she cocked the gun and took the safety off. “Stop, or I’ll shoot.”

  JT laughed. “If you were going to, you’d have done so already.”

  Taking slow steps, he came closer to her, stepping over his men in the process. Before he was in reach, Marina pulled the trigger. Her hands were barely able to control themselves as the force vibrated through her body. Blood began to run down JT’s chest, his eyes wide as he fell backward onto one of the assailants.

  Marina froze in place, shaking uncontrollably, staring at JT. She couldn’t believe she’d pulled the trigger, taken a person’s life. Even knowing how evil he was, she still felt sickened seeing him there. As her world started to fade to black and the room started to spin, she heard Kevin’s soothing voice calling to her.

  “Marina. Marina, look at me, it’s okay. It’s over. Marina look away, listen to my voice and look into my eyes, please baby,” Kevin said, trying to snap her out of her daze.

  Slowly the room stood still, as his sweet voice cocooned her in its warmth. She turned to him, recognition dawned on her, and she remembered he was still tied up. Marina very gently and with trembling hands put the gun on the counter and went to untie Kevin. Her hands trembled as she struggled with the knot. Eventually, she loosened it enough for him to free himself.

  Kevin pulled her onto his lap, holding her close. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you or anyone else anymore.”

  Marina looked around the room, and all she saw was a sea of bodies. “No, Kevin, it’s not over.”

  She got up from his lap and went over to check the pulse of the first assailant. There was none. Moving on she continued to check the rest of the bodies. The same result. The immediate effects were as she’d believed they’d be. What wasn’t expected, was it would leave them incapable of breathing, as the muscle of their lungs and heart also stopped working.

  “What have I done?”

  Kevin reached out for her and pulled her back to him. “You saved our lives. And countless others by ensuring the virus didn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

  She looked up at him. “Kevin. It’s worse than I’d predicted. It kills. I kill.”

  Tipping her chin up so she was forced to meet his gaze, Kevin told her, “It may kill, but you, Marina, protect. Or do you look at me with disgust, as a murderer?”

  “No! Why would I?” She was shocked he’d even suggest she’d think of him as anything less than a hero.

  “You don’t realize it now, and it won’t feel like it for a long time, but what you did was heroic. I thank you. My family will thank you. And the world should thank you.”

  She looked around again and tried to see it through his eyes. He was right. She couldn’t do so now. Hopefully one day.

  Then she was filled with panic as she saw there was water on the floor. “Kevin, lock the door. Hurry!”

  He looked at her and then rushed to do as she requested. When he returned to her, she grabbed his hand and said, “This isn’t over Kevin. Not at all.”

  “Tell me, Marina, what am I missing?” Kevin asked, looking around the room.

  “I put the virus in the water cooler.”

  “I figured that much out. Also figured out you injected the vaccine in yourself. I’m so fucking angry that you took that risk, one I didn’t want you to, and so fucking grateful that you did because I couldn’t picture my life without you.” Kevin’s words may have sounded harsh, but his touch was so sweet and gentle as he touched her cheek.

  I love you too, Kevin. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted. Marina needed to make him understand. “The virus is in the water. No one can come in contact with this. I know I said it has to be ingested. But I miscalculated before, and these men are dead. What if I was wrong about other things too?”

  “Marina. S
top and think. What do we need to do? Tell me, and I’ll do it,” Kevin said in a take-charge tone.

  She closed her eyes and thought back to everything she’d learned. Marina had never destroyed the virus because she needed to know a vaccine would work first. Now she had that. “We need to destroy the virus. I need all the water we can gather from the floor and we need to bring it to a roaring boil. High heat will kill it, even in water.”

  “I can do that. What else?”

  The next part was so much more difficult for her to say but it was needed. “These . . . bodies . . . they can’t leave here. We can’t have them buried or autopsied. Not with them being contaminated with the virus.”

  “High heat.”

  “Yes.”

  “I can handle that. Looks like this entire place is about to go up in flames.”

  There was one final thing she needed to tell him. Something urgent about herself. “Kevin. I’m . . . since . . . I ingested the virus.”

  “I know. And you almost gave me a heart attack watching.”

  “You don’t understand. Like these men, I have the virus in me.” Kevin’s eyes widened as he grasped what she was trying to say. “I could be potentially as deadly as these men are.” He grabbed her hand, squeezing so tight it almost hurt. She wasn’t going to complain. “I’m not sure what’s worse, the pain of what happened, or the knowledge of what we’ll never have.” She chocked back the tears.

  “What do you mean, what we’ll never have? You’re talking like . . . like you’re not sure the vaccine is working. Tell me, what’s going on? Are you—?”

  “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know. Right now all I can do is protect everyone, including you.”

  “We can do that together,” he said, pulling her closer to him.

  Shaking her head, she said firmly, “This is something I need to do alone.” She pulled her hand from his.

  “That’s not happening, Marina. I’ve promised you, and I don’t break my word.”

  “Kevin, you don’t get it. I need to put myself in quarantine. No contact with anyone. For all I know, I carry the virus within me. Until I’m positive I won’t bring harm to anyone, I need to go into seclusion.”

  Kevin’s expression became very serious, and she didn’t know what he was going to do. The only thing she could do was hope he understood she was doing this out of love. Nothing more.

  “Falling for you was simple. Thinking of us not together is scary as hell. So you have two choices, Marina. Either you tell me you don’t love me and want me out of your life, or you take my hand and finish what we started, together.”

  He stood there watching her. She knew what her heart wanted. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him she didn’t love him, not even as a lie. She needed all the love she had in her heart. It’s the one thing that can’t be denied or killed. “Kevin do you know what you’d need to give up? Your freedom. You’d be stuck someplace without any human contact until I could confirm there is no further threat.”

  Kevin laughed and said, “Marina I’m not a scientist, but I can guarantee if I’m locked away with you, there will be a hell of a lot of human contact. If not, then I’m doing something wrong.”

  Marina couldn’t believe at a time like this Kevin brought a smile to her face. “It could be six to eight weeks before I know anything.”

  Bending down, only inches from her mouth, he muttered, “I was hoping you’d say months, but I’ll take what I can get.” He kissed her lightly then pulled away. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as tight as her weak body would allow. “Okay, Captain Collins, I’m all yours. So where to? Back to the bayou? Trust me. No one is going to bother us there.”

  “I was thinking someplace a bit more romantic.”

  Marina looked up at him. “Secluded, not romantic. This is not a vacation.”

  “When you have the right connections, it can be both.”

  There was banging on the door of the lab. Marina felt Kevin tense, turning so she was standing behind him. He bent and grabbed the gun from one of the assailants on the floor. She thought it was over but forgot there could be more outside.

  “You’re surrounded. You’re not getting out of here alive,” Mark barked from outside the lab.

  “Mom’s not going to be happy to hear that,” Kevin said as he lowered his gun. He started to open the door, and she touched his arm.

  “Kevin. We are in quarantine, remember? Even from the ones we love.”

  “Mark. Marina and I are okay. How about you guys?” Kevin asked.

  “We’re good. I underestimated Derrick. Don’t let his New York office job fool you. He’s a bad ass with a gun,” Mark said, his voice sounding relieved.

  “What did you expect? I’m a Texan,” Derrick added.

  Marina rolled her eyes. They were all at death’s door a short while ago, and now the men were laughing as though it was any other day. Nothing they were talking about was going to get anything accomplished. Just when she was about to give up, Kevin began rattling off a bunch of instructions to Mark. Right down to a fueled chopper and all the supplies one would need for a very long excursion. About time.

  She wiped the sweat from her brow. I hope wherever we go it’s cooler than it is in here. I’m done with temperatures over a hundred.

  As Kevin talked through the door to Mark, he had an arm around Marina’s waist. She knew then it didn’t matter if he asked her to travel to the sun with him. She’d follow him anywhere, just as he would her.

  Chapter Twenty

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  While traveling to their secret quarantine destination, Marina spent time studying her formula data, feeling somewhat better that she’d had no immediate life-threatening effects from the virus, however the long-term effects were yet to be known. Kevin, refusing to tell her where he was taking her, worried her for a brief time. Then she thought back to all the places she’d been over the last decade. It was one concrete box after another. Her job required sterilization, but something infectious had overflowed, changing her way of life.

  In her short time with Kevin, she found he was full of surprises. Having her travel to their destination blindfolded, after she finished her research, was a bit much. This was the first time she had control over her life; it was hard relinquishing it again. When she’d put up a fuss, he found a way to convince her to wear it willingly. Role play. Looking forward to it.

  A lovely breeze wrapped around her. She had to hang on to him as they made their way up a steep hill, climbing many steps. The only sounds she heard were birds. “Kevin, when can I take this thing off?”

  “Patience. We’re almost there,” Kevin said, holding her hand and leading the way.

  “This would be a lot easier if I could see where I was stepping.”

  “Good try. If you take it off now, the deal is void; I’m not wearing it later,” Kevin said teasingly.

  “I promise, what you’ll be climbing won’t be stairs,” Marina said seductively.

  “I’m looking forward to it. Okay, we’re almost there. A few more steps.”

  She’d hike the tallest mountain if he asked her.

  When they stopped, he took her by the shoulders, turned her into position, and she waited. “Now?”

  She felt his hands come up behind her. He slowly lifted the blindfold. This wasn’t what she’d envisioned seclusion to be like. She’d never seen anything so lovely. No matter where she stood there was a spectacular view. They were so high up on a mountain, with nothing but trees and wilderness below. Everything was green and lush.

  “Kevin, this . . . is beautiful. But we can’t stay at a resort.”

  “We’re not. This is private property. No one is stopping by, trust me.”

  She turned to him and asked, “How did you find this place?”

  “It belongs to Don. This is where he and Bailey were hiding when things were hot and heavy. Since there’s no longer a hit on Don’s life, he can
return to the States.” Pulling her into his embrace he continued, “Which means we have this place all to ourselves for as long as we want it.”

  “You mean need it,” Marina corrected him.

  “No. I mean want it.”

  Marina wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped up on her tippy toes. “He might not get it back.”

  “What do you say we explore this place?”

  She grinned. “I was thinking about doing some exploring of my own.” Marina ran her hand down his chest, over his stomach, and stopped at the button of his jeans. “And I won’t even make you wear the blindfold this time.”

  His body tensed at her touch. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to a bedroom. She didn’t care where they were as long as she could touch him. “I don’t suppose you remembered to have condoms put on that list of necessities you gave your brother, did you?”

  Kevin reached into his pocket and pulled out a foil packet. “They were at the top of the list.”

  She reached out, took it from his hand, and tossed it on the bed. “I like the way you think.”

  Kevin pulled his T-shirt over his head and threw in on a chair nearby. “There may be a few other things you like about me by the end of the day.”

  She licked her top lip as he continued removing his clothing. Marina wanted to reach out and touch him, taste him. She’d yearned for him since their first encounter. Instead, she pulled off her own shirt and tossed it with his. Then she unbuttoned her jeans, sliding them over her hips and stepping out of them. Standing before him in only a lace bra and panties, she pushed past any remaining insecurities, unhooked her bra, and tossed it to him. Then she placed her thumbs inside the lacy strap of her panties and seductively swayed her hips, inching the black lace lower until it slipped from her fingers onto the floor.

  Stepping forward she whispered, “What were you promising me, Kevin?”

  He pulled her roughly against him, his cock hot and hard, pressed against her stomach. He claimed her lips, kissing her feverishly. Their tongues hungrily searched each other.

  Kevin carried her to the bed, his lips never leaving hers, laying her on her back, his body weighing heavily on hers. Marina let her hands run down his back, enjoying each ripple of muscle, tensing at her touch only to stop as she cupped his sweet round ass. Damn, you look great in jeans, but feel amazing out of them.