Hero for Hire (11 page)

He led me by the hand to the bed. I took the condom from him, tore the package open and slid it down his length, enjoying the way his cock jerked as I touched it. His breath came in ragged gasps as he caught my hands, stilling them. When he pressed me down onto the bed, I wrapped my legs around his hips, welcoming him all the way inside me.

I gasped, the sound trailing away into a satisfied sigh. He felt so wonderful filling me, heating me, touching me. I followed his rhythm, rocking with him, slowly at first, building sensation with the movement until I thought my insides had melted and I might explode into a million brilliant bits at any moment.

Rafe whispered my name as he moved, supporting himself on his elbows so his lips were next to my ear. He told me I was beautiful, how happy he was to be with me, how warm my body felt under his. My desire grew as his voice gained gravel with each thrust, and as I came, I cried out, calling his name. He gathered me closer,
 
thrusting again, joining me with a growl.

We lay sated in each other’s arms, our breaths growing regular even as our hands began to wander again, touching, exploring, reassuring ourselves this had just happened. We were together, at least for now. His touches slowed and his breathing became more regular, until his hand lay still on my belly, his other arm holding me close.

I watched him sleep for a little while, fixing the image in my head for later when I wouldn’t see him anymore. I wrapped my courage, my strength and determination around me like a cloak, and slid out of his arms. I kissed him once at the temple, as much of a goodbye as I was fated to have, then dressed quickly before creeping back to my room. Stopping at the little writing desk, I rummaged through it until I found a pen and paper.

Rafe,

I’m terribly sorry I put you and yours in danger. I know you think you can rescue your boys, but believe me, this is the best way. Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine. I’ll send your boys home and I will find the cure, I promise.

Please know you mean the world to me. I hope you forgive me for sneaking away like this. I hope that one day, when the world is different, I will find you again.

I sat at the desk, chewing the end of the pen. How honest did I really want to be? I ran a thumb over my eyebrow as I decided. Even if I was sneaking out of his home in the middle of the night, the least I could do was be honest in this letter. I put the pen back to paper.

With all my love,

Gwyn.

I folded the paper in half and wrote Rafe’s name on one side. I stood it up on the desk so he’d see it when he came in. I turned, picked up my shotgun and my bag, and walked out the door.

I got out of the mansion, down the hill and through the gate without running into anyone. I had no doubt my leaving would be reported quickly to Rafe, so I drove the fastest route to Paragon. By the time I got there, the very first hints of dawn reached pink fingers over the horizon.

At the lab, I stopped in front of Building Twenty-One where I honked my horn a couple of short blasts, followed by a long one. Miriam would come once she knew I was there. She’d been dying to get her hands on me since I left. I probably hadn’t been gone long before she figured out she didn’t have the talent or knowledge to fix the mess she’d made. The Infected in front of the building all turned, drawn by the noise. With all of them loitering around, there was no way I wanted to step out of the car alone.

When I got no response, I honked the horn again. Rolling down my window, I climbed up to the roof of my car, shotgun in hand.

“Miriam! Get down here. Bring those boys with you!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

My heart pounded in my ears, but I didn’t feel nervous at all. I was keyed up, ready to fight, as if I could flatten anything or anyone who dared to get in my way. I had my plan all worked out. God help anyone who tried to derail it.

“Miriam! Hurry it up! We don’t have all year!” As the echoes from my voice faded into the maze of buildings that was Paragon Pharmaceuticals, I finally saw movement behind the glass.

I raised the shotgun to my shoulder, but when the door swung open, Miriam stepped out using Rufus as a shield. Someone else followed her, shoving Randy ahead of him.

Miriam had a gun pressed to Rufus’ temple. My eyes ranged over him making certain he was in one piece. He seemed frightened, but he held it together better than Randy, who looked as though he was three seconds from flipping out.

I grimaced at Miriam, my best attempt at a smile, but I had so many scores to settle with the evil cow that a grimace was the best I could manage. “Miriam. It seems the apocalypse hasn’t been kind to you.”

She growled– seriously, growled at me. I shook my head, taking in the decay that had altered her appearance since I’d seen her last. I twitched my shotgun when she stepped toward the car. “No, I’d prefer you stay where you are, if it’s all the same to you.”

She grinned at me, her lower lip cracking with the movement, sending a trail of blood down her chin.

I waved the shotgun a little more forcefully. “Let the boys go. If you infect them, I’m going to be upset with you. My guess is, you don’t want me to be upset with you, correct?”

Miriam swiped at the blood running down her chin. “I knew you’d come.”

“Call off this crowd and I’ll come down from here.”

She hissed, waving at the Infected loitering in front of the building. They scattered, leaving an open space between my car and the front door of the building. I climbed down from the roof of the car, careful not to lose sight of Miriam as I did.

“Now let the boys go,” I said as I faced her.

She released her hold on Rufus, but the other guy held on tight to Randy. Rufus ran toward me. “Gwyn! You can’t go with her, she’s a zombie. She’ll kill you.” I caught him against me in a hug, his warm little body giving me the confidence to see this through.

I held one hand up to Miriam. “Give me a minute.”

Turning my attention to Rufus, I told him, “I’m going to find a cure for everyone, but to do that I have to go with Miriam. Don’t worry. She needs me so she won’t hurt me, okay?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think this is a good idea. Rafe’s gonna be really pissed.”

I swallowed a smile. “I know he is. But I have to do this. So what I want you to do is take my keys. They’re going to release Randy. I want you to give him the keys and help him get home, okay? Try to be very careful.”

Miriam yelled again. “Come on Gwyn! This is the slowest hostage exchange ever. Are you coming or do we need to bite the other boy?”

I turned to see Randy flip out, flailing his arms and legs spasmodically.

“Come on, Miriam, you know that wasn’t necessary.”

She grinned again, sending fresh blood down her chin. “I know. But it was fun. So are you coming or not?”

“You know I am.” I handed Rufus my shotgun. The thing was almost as long as he was tall, but he held it competently. “Cover me, okay?” I pinched his chin. “Thanks buddy.”

Turning back to Miriam, I projected my voice. “Let him go. I’m coming. But you’re to let them leave freely or you won’t get a thing from me.”

“Whatever, Gwyn. You know I don’t need a couple of stupid little boys. Now come on over. You have work to do.”

I shrugged. Heading her way, I paused as I passed Randy. “Take my car and get back to the mansion. Be careful, and tell Rafe not to come after me. I’ll be fine.”

Randy stared at me. I wasn’t sure he’d understood a word. He seemed to be in shock, but I couldn’t help him now. He’d have to find it in himself to get home. I pushed him toward my car, before I turned back to Miriam. Chances were I’d never leave this place, no matter what I told the boys. But I’d do my best to find a cure before I let anything bad happen to me.

When I reached Miriam, she wrapped a large hand around my wrist, dwarfing it. As she pulled me into the building, I looked back at the boys. They were in the vehicle and it was moving, so at least they’d be okay.

They had to be okay.

But as for me? All bets were off.

Chapter 6

I snugged the rifle butt to my shoulder, then sighted the target at the end of the field, picturing Miriam’s face as I squeezed the trigger.

“Hey Rafe, you’re wasting ammunition, you know.” Doc’s voice interrupted my concentration.

I blew out an exasperated lungful of air.

“You can’t sneak up on a person like that, Doc,” I growled between clenched teeth. “What if it had been a real battle situation? I could have missed. That could have cost one of our lives!”

Doc just rolled his eyes at me. “You could hit your target in the dark with your eyes closed. It wouldn’t matter if there was a marching band playing behind you.”

I turned back, sighting again. “I’m going to rescue her, Doc.”

“We’ve been over this at least a thousand times in the last few weeks. You can’t go rescue her. She asked you not to.”

I’d never been so pissed off as when I’d read Gwyn’s note the morning after she left. I couldn’t believe anyone could be so stupid. I figured she’d only added one more person to those I’d have to rescue, but when Randy and Rufus walked through the door back from Paragon, I’d never been so relieved, or grateful. It took a lot of guts for her to go back there, so I was determined to see her safe. If nothing else, I owed her for the boys’ lives, but more than that, I just couldn’t get her out of my head. She was part of our family now. She belonged here.

I squeezed off a round, hitting the target dead center, then turned to glare at Doc.

“Looks like we’ll go over it a thousand and one times.”

Doc crossed his arms over his chest glaring right back, not in the least intimidated by me.

“I know you like her, Rafe, but she’s not one of the boys. You didn’t adopt her. You’re not responsible for her. She’s an adult capable of making her own choices. She’s tougher than she looks, you know. Besides, Miriam needs her, so she’ll be safe.”

I leaned down, bracing my free hand on my thigh, until I was eye to eye with Doc.

“Yeah, she asked me not to come after her, but I’m sure she didn’t plan beyond rescuing the boys. She’ll only be safe until she finds the cure. Then what? You didn’t see that bitch, Miriam. She’ll get her kicks out of killing Gwyn, so I’ve got to go get her.”

“Give her a little more time to do her work, Rafe.”

“I’ll go with you to get her back,” a voice said from behind us.

Doc and I both turned, surprised Rufus had snuck up on us. I smiled, resting the rifle barrel on my shoulder.

“You sure you want to go back there, big man?”

Rufus’ little chin came up, the look on his face unmistakably determined.

“I’m not afraid, Rafe. Besides, Gwyn belongs here. I miss her.”

I glanced down at Doc to find him frowning at Rufus. All I could do was grin.

“I don’t suppose I can change your mind,” Doc grumbled, not even meeting my gaze.

“Nope. She’s got as long as it takes me to go to her old lab and collect her things. We’ll set her up here where she can work safely. After that I’m going after her.”

Doc finally turned to look at me. His brows came together and his mustache twitched as he considered my proposition. In the end, it didn’t matter if he approved or not, I’d still do it one way or another. He knew that, but I’d rather have him on board.

Finally, he nodded one quick jerk of his head. “Fair enough.”

* * * *

I checked the straps binding the most recent test subject to the table. They were sufficiently secured, but the way the Infected growled and thrashed still made me nervous. Grabbing a syringe from the nearby table, I verified it was properly filled with the newest version of the vaccine, upending and flicking the vial with a finger to force any air to the top of the needle. The Infected strained against the straps, but didn’t loosen the bonds despite his size. Leaning forward, I slid the syringe into the spongy upper arm tissue, typical of an Infected in the later stages of the disease.

He screamed and rattled, like I’d shot him up with arsenic instead of what I hoped was the cure for his condition.

“It’s okay. I’m trying to help you,” I said, but his bloodshot eyes didn’t register either me or my comment.