Twelve Shades of Midnight:

by Liliana Hart

  No sooner were the words spoken aloud, when the alarms went off. Security cameras zoomed in on the various outside areas they’d been covering. Nine black-clad men rode on snowmobiles directly toward the dilapidated cabin.

  “You’re not the only one with my coordinates it seems,” Alex said. “Did you tell them?”

  “I don’t know who these men are.”

  “Whether you do or not, you’re definitely coming with me now.

  “Isn’t it safer down here? You’re in a metal and concrete missile silo.”

  “Nothing is impregnable. Remember, this was a military installation. I’m sure someone up there has the know how to hack through the new codes and get in here. When that happens, my safety system will blow this place. Now move it.”

  With each shake of the walls, Samantha ducked, expecting the ceiling to fall.

  The mortars didn’t stop. A few of the monitors went black and her dizziness increased.

  “Come on. They just destroyed their best way in, but there are other entrances. They’ll have a schematic of the silo, so they’ll find their way inside. Eventually.” He grabbed Samantha’s arm. “Fill the back with as much of the equipment and serum as you can in the next three minutes. Betray me and I’ll leave you here. Either they’re going to blow this place, or I am. I suggest you’re with me when I leave.”

  She didn’t have a choice. At this moment, she trusted Alex a whole lot more than those guys who didn’t seem to think before they launched mortar rockets. The room spun and she halted in her tracks, hoping to steady herself.

  Another concussive blast came, this time at the elevator door to the lab. The impact knocked Samantha to the floor.

  Alex ran to her.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall….” A strange dizziness kept her from rising and this time it was not from the concussion.

  “Dammit.” Alex picked up Samantha.

  She looked at him, eyes glazed with pain. “Something is wrong inside me. I’m woozy and burning up all of a sudden.”

  “Oh, God, no.”

  He met her gaze, and this time, the anguish on his face frightened her more than his anger ever had. She could feel herself changing inside. Bones popping and cracking. Her brain seemed on overload.

  “It’s your blood doing this. Isn’t it?” she whispered, clenching her teeth against a scream. “W-What will I become now?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Her hands clenched and her body shook in near convulsions. “Will I live?”

  “Maybe, but, you might not want to.”

  He lifted her in his arms then strode toward the Hummer. Once there, he placed her onto the passenger seat, then buckled her in with a gentleness he’d never shown her before.

  More alarms sounded. Alex cursed. “The silo has been breached. More mortars are blasting against the elevator doors. We’re out of time.”

  She couldn’t stop trembling. Nausea churned her stomach and tears rose in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “It hurts.”

  “Save your pity party for later, Gennaro. The next mortar is coming through that door, and unless you’re going to morph into Godzilla in the next few minutes and defend the hell out of us, we need to go.”

  She smiled tenuously. “Thanks. That helped.”

  His cheeks reddened. “Don’t mention it.”

  Chapter Five

  The huge metal door slid closed behind them, and the Hummer careened down the tunnel-like tube. The vehicle barely fit the cramped space. Despite the metal on metal sparks, Alex never slowed.

  Samantha squeezed her eyes shut, but lights flashed behind her lids and her body shook with increasing tremors. She prayed that she wouldn’t throw up. “Where are we going?”

  “There’s another escape route leading to the actual silo’s old configuration. We were in the command center that I redid as a lab.”

  More explosions came from behind them, as the intruders tried to break into the tunnel.

  Samantha peered behind them. “If they’re in the lab, they’re going to blast through to this tunnel soon, too.”

  Alex’s hands tightened on the wheel. “No, they won’t. Once they attacked that door, the countdown started. The lab is wired to blow in fifteen seconds. There will be nothing left of anyone who reached there.”

  “But, if there are other entrances, won’t the schematics show how to access those escape routes, too? There may be others waiting at the end of this tunnel.”

  “I’m sure there are.”

  “Then we’re trapped?”

  “Have some faith. I’m a Navy SEAL. I plan for emergencies.”

  The Hummer came to a stop on a circular metal pad. Alex pressed numbers on a coded remote, then another metal door opened in the wall beside them. The pad rotated slowly clockwise until the vehicle headed in the new direction.

  This section was rougher looking. Not nearly as sleek as the tunnel they’d passed through earlier. Metal, plywood, two-by-fours, and dirt made up its walls and floor.

  “I added this section piecemeal over the years so no one should know anything about it.”

  “Won’t those soldiers just follow us down that main tunnel, then break in here?”

  “I’m counting on it,” said Alex. “I have to blow the main tunnel, too, but these metal blast doors are a lot thinner, so we’ll have to hurry. I’m not a millionaire. What I’ve built won’t withstand the amount of explosives I’ve set up to bring the main tunnel down.”

  He drove the Hummer into the new tunnel. “I never expected I’d have to cut my escape this close.” He hit the remote and the blast door behind them clanged shut. Dirt fell through cracks in the plywood, sheet metal, and timber supported ceiling.

  “Are you sure this tunnel will hold up to a blast?” she asked, worried about their safety and being buried alive

  “Not a chance. When the main tunnel and the door blow, this tunnel will likely go down with them.”

  The vehicle rocked and bumped along the uneven surface.

  Samantha turned in her seat and gaped at him. “You don’t think it will last?”

  “I never planned on battalions of people coming after me, but I tried to be ready for anything,” he explained. “I figured I’d stay at the silo until I found a cure, then rejoin the world. Possibly as someone new. I didn’t expect to need this escape route, but my military training wouldn’t let me remain that defenseless.”

  Samantha sucked in a breath. “Can you be more specific?”

  “If they get through that blast door, the main tunnel will blow. That explosion will likely trigger a ball of fire that will shoot down this tunnel, too, setting everything aflame, and probably collapsing the tunnel down around us.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  Another mortar hit the door, triggering the huge explosion of the main tunnel.

  “None.” He stomped on the gas.

  Flames tore down the tunnel behind them, coming closer every second, the air temperature getting hotter and hotter.

  “Brace yourself. This won’t be pretty.”

  Samantha screamed as he sped up and headed for a rough-hewn timber door.

  The Hummer smashed through the wood, shattering the front windshield into a vast spider web of cracks, and the vehicle burst into the open, where it was consumed by flames.

  Fire flashed over and around the vehicle. Samantha hung on to the seat belt. All the windows sagged and cracked in the heat but didn’t give way.

  Alex yanked the steering wheel hard to the left and the Hummer’s smoking tires spun out on the icy terrain, but finally held. The car moved enough to escape the rest of the deadly blast, but glass flasks and vials broke all over the back storage area.

  Trees around them burned like dry tinder, the woodsy smell mixing with the scent of spilled chemicals, but Alex didn’t stop. Heading across the white shrouded ground, he spared a glance for the equipment in back. “Dammit, we lost most of the serums.”

  “It’s my
fault,” she admitted. “If I’d listened to you….”

  He remained silent as he drove across the open field away from the road. “But we’re alive. For now.”

  Samantha tried to breathe, but the air gagged her. “Will the fumes affect us, too?”

  Alex frowned. “Most likely. Everything else has.”

  She shivered, her teeth chattering hard enough to hear. The remnants of her clothes were no protection from the cold. She reached over to the dashboard and turned up the heat. Now that her adrenaline was slowing, a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her again.

  “You okay?”

  “No, I’m freezing,” she sighed. “My stomach is in my throat and I’m about to pass out. Other than that, I’m great.”

  He swung his arm over the back seat and yanked on the bag with the medical supplies and dropped it on her lap. “There are anti-nausea pills in there. The symptoms you’re having now hit me almost immediately after my last injection. Maybe your being so cold is slowing everything down.”

  Alex held out his right hand and a small ball of flame appeared in his palm, instantly warming the interior of the Hummer.

  “G-Great party trick.” Her teeth chattered, and she reached out toward the warmth. “That feels so good.

  “You can enjoy if for about two more seconds, then I’ll need both hands for the wheel.” He drove under the branches of some trees that shielded them from above. “Hold on.”

  “Why? Where are we—?”

  Alex drove the Hummer down a snowless embankment, into a churning river.

  She grabbed the bar above the door and hung on. “Are you crazy?”

  “The riverbed’s not that deep. Plus, it’s rushing water so it hasn’t frozen yet,” The Hummer smashed its way through the water, and Alex yanked the steering wheel hard to keep them in the current. “We won’t leave tire tracks this way. If a helicopter comes, we’re dead. There’s not enough rubber left on the tires for another run. They could blow any second.”

  “I assume you have a plan?” she said as the vehicle jerked over boulders and splashed through the shallow rapids.

  “I have an SUV stashed not far from here.”

  “Good. I’m going to throw up in two seconds, so we won’t want to stay in this one.”

  He grabbed a plastic bag and shoved it at her just in time.

  Mortified, she lost everything in her stomach in a very undignified manner.

  He didn’t say anything, just handed her the bottled water to rinse her mouth, then pulled out a stick of chewing gum.

  Spearmint. She’d never liked spearmint, but at the moment, it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

  Exhausted, she dropped her head against the seat. “I’m so sorry.”

  “My SEAL team got sick, too. I’m amazed you haven’t passed out yet.”

  “That’s next on my to-do list.” She groaned, holding her shaking hands to her head.

  He threw a silver survival blanket over her, followed by yet another of his jackets. “Wrap yourself up and get as warm as you can. When we stop, we might have company.”

  “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”

  His gaze slid to hers. You have no idea how much of a good time I’d like to show you, Gennaro. If things were different.

  She blinked in surprise. His mouth hadn’t moved. She must have heard his thoughts. For a while there, she’d thought she imagined those troubling flashes.

  “You’re not imagining things,” he said. “And yes, I want you,” he sighed. This mind-reading thing could end up being really irritating.

  “You must be hard up to think I’m the least bit sexy, right now.”

  “Guess that’s what three months alone in a silo will do to a guy.”

  She flicked a glance his way, considering. He was handsome in a scary, psycho, pyrotechnic kind of way.

  He smiled, then ignited another ball of flame to warm the car. “One scary, psycho, pyrotechnic SEAL at your service.”

  He leaned closer “By the way, if you weren’t my very sexy, probable mortal enemy, I’d tell you there’s toothpaste and more bottled water in the green bag behind you, should you wish to avail yourself next time we stop.”

  “Uh, thanks.” She hesitated. “Are you being a jerk, or do you really think I’m sexy?”

  “Inexplicably, Special Agent Gennaro, considering the hell we’ve been through together, I do.”

  Other than the jostling of items in the Hummer and the scrape of boulders on the metal undercarriage, the vehicle remained silent after his pronouncement.

  He supposed he wasn’t being fair laying that on her, but he really hadn’t expected the telepathy to happen again. It definitely complicated matters, but it might also let him learn the truth about her. For now, he had to figure out how to keep her out of his mind.

  “Hard right coming up.” He swerved the Hummer under a concrete ledge and drove into darkness. The tires were shot from having partially melted, then jolted across river stones, so the ride up the slope took a while. The battered tires struggled for traction, churning snow and slush into mud. Finally, they surfaced inside an old barn.

  He parked and jumped out, then threw her another bag. “There are dry clothes in there. They won’t fit, but you’ll be warm. Hurry. We don’t know when they’ll find us again.”

  She held the silver blanket strategically in place, while she yanked off the remnants of her garments. She pulled on too big sweat pants and fished through the bag, looking for a shirt.

  He tried to avoid looking her way, but not very hard.

  She scanned the barn. “They probably spread out, searching any deserted building in the area.”

  “It won’t take them long to come here. We’re still on missile silo land.” He reached into the gun case and grabbed a weapon.

  “Do I get one?”

  He hesitated. “Not yet.”

  “Still don’t trust me?”

  He cleared his throat. “No reason to yet.”

  “Read my mind, Ice Man.” She glared at him.

  The profane message she telegraphed came through loud and clear. He laughed out loud. “We have to figure out how to stop this mental telepathy stuff.”

  She found a sweatshirt long enough to wear as a dress, but before she could don it, the barn door swung open a few inches.

  A white-clad assassin raised his weapon.

  Shooter! She tackled Alex, grabbing his side arm, and shot their assailant as she went down. The man slumped to the ground outside.

  Alex turned from the dead man to the half-naked woman sprawled on top of him.

  He’d never thought of the smell of cordite being an aphrodisiac, but he sure as hell was getting fired up about Special Agent Gennaro, with her un-frickin-believable body and shooting.

  Maybe they could work out this whole mortal enemy thing, after all.

  She grabbed the sweatshirt again and swiftly covered her breasts. “No looking. No touching. Go check the dead guy.” With that, she ducked back behind the Hummer to finish dressing.

  Alex sighed. “What a romantic.” He grabbed another gun from the case and ran to the door, ascertaining that the assassin had arrived alone.

  Alex walked back. “That guy was stupid not to have traveled with someone else. They could have had us.”

  “More will come after the gunshots,” she said.

  “Dress fast, and…keep the gun. You’ve earned it.”

  She looked up at him in surprise. “Do you have a fever or something?”

  “No, I just wanted to say, ‘Nice shooting, Annie Oakley.’”

  She smiled and he felt like he’d been sucker punched.

  He took a deep breath. “And thank you for saving my life.”

  Chapter Six

  In record time, Samantha rounded the new vehicle. She’d rolled up the sleeves of a long sweatshirt and tied a rope around the top of his sweat pants. She’d doubled his socks so a pair of his boots would stay on her much smaller feet. Well, thi
s get up ought to calm everyone’s libido down.

  Alex shoved a box into the back end. “On you, anything looks good.”

  “Stay out of my head, Commander.”

  She peered into the vehicle. “You transferred all the equipment, serums and supplies already? Doesn’t look like it.”

  “This is all that would fit. Besides, we lost a lot of it when the flasks broke.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve got to go. Company could arrive any time. No telling how close they are.”

  Samantha nodded and walked to the passenger door. At least the tinted windows concealed the interior. In a lot of states, darkened windows were illegal, but she welcomed the anonymity.

  She reached up to climb into the front seat.

  “Let me help,” Alex said.

  The runner wasn’t as high off the ground as the Hummer, but this time, Alex lifted her up to the right level.

  She swore she could feel the heat from his hands through the sweatshirt and wondered what it would feel like to have those hands against her bare skin.

  I can do that later, if you want.

  She reddened with embarrassment. “Remember the no touching rule?”

  “Sweetheart, your mouth says one thing, but your mind’s telling me the truth.”

  “Let’s go with what my mouth says for now.” She slid into the seat and gave him a half-glare.

  “Got it, but if you don’t block your thoughts, don’t put it all on me.” He walked around the front of the SUV, hauled himself up behind the wheel and cranked the engine over.

  He fiddled with some kind of battery attached to the dashboard of the car.

  She rubbed her arms. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the chills and dizziness had returned. “Do you have any idea who attacked the silo?” she asked.

  “The U.S. government,” he responded, “or some faction of it.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I recognized their weaponry, their tactics, and their moves. They’d been trained like an elite Special Forces unit.” Alex’s visage darkened. “Some of them might have been part of my former SEAL team.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “I wish I could remember more.”