Project Terminal: Devil's Virus (3 page)

“Oh, thank God.” She threw her arms around him.

Shocked, he stood motionless. Her toned body fit perfectly against him with the promise of softness where a woman needed it…where he knew she had it—silky skin, breasts that fit perfectly in his palms… He swallowed, focusing on the stinking professor on the floor, using it to quell the surge of lust.

Max withdrew and sniffed, shoving her glasses back up her nose. “I guess we have our blood sample now.”

He wanted to take her in his arms and forget the Godforsaken mission. “Get it so we can go upstairs.”

Chapter 3

Max sucked in a breath. She’d seen Reed naked a hundred times, both in and out of the lab, so why should it feel like a kick in the stomach now? Her gaze raked down his perfect physique, broad shoulders and chest narrowing down to his hips. Any gym junkie would envy his defined abdominal muscles. And his cock was exactly as she remembered it—long and thick. She couldn’t catch her breath, and she closed her eyes, needing to shut him out. Trying to steady her galloping heart against what she wanted most, to be lost in his arms. How wonderful it’d be to feel his hard body against hers, have him drive her to the brink of insanity like he used to. No other man had ever pushed her beyond such limits. A tight ache settled in her chest and nether regions with the memories of their lovemaking.

He’d had to strip out of his clothes; the undead had a stench worse than a skunk, and it clung to everything. One of the bags they’d brought inside contained Reed’s clothes; luckily she’d grabbed it by mistake. When he’d taken off his clothing it’d been like she wasn’t in the room, a slow tease heating her blood. The polite thing would’ve been to turn away, but then again she’d wanted to appear unaffected and unimpressed. She opened her eyes and glanced around the room, taking mental inventory as a distraction. Thankfully, all the things she needed were there. They’d load up and get the hell out of the creepy place. Every shadow made her heart leap, fearing some monster hid within it. A monster she’d helped create and worse than any fictional tale.

Reed dug a change of clothes out of the bag and looked up, meeting her gaze. She couldn’t look away. A muscle in his jaw twitched and his gaze drifted down to her toes and back up again. From her peripheral vision she noted his train of thought as his erection came to life.

“Max.” His voice sounded gruff and annoyed. He couldn’t control his reactions to her; his cock had given him away. To her exasperation he moved within arm’s length, reaching out his fingers to stroke them along her jawline, a feather light touch finally settling on her bottom lip. “I hated leaving you. That was my only regret when I walked away from Project Terminal.”

“You never bothered to contact me after,” she answered, hating her quavering voice.

He cupped her cheek. “What could I say? You were devoted to the program in a way you’d never be to me.”

Her breath hitched, her throat constricting. She refused to let the tears come, she couldn’t. “I believed in the science I worked with, Adam.” His given name had slipped out, and she blushed. The only time she’d ever used it was during their lovemaking. Otherwise he’d always been Reed, or if he aggravated her, Preacher.

“And you never believed in me.” His hand disappeared. He turned away from her.

Max couldn’t leave things as they were. She stepped forward, laying her hand on his bicep. “That’s not true. I relied on your strength. I had faith, and I
did
believe in you. I listened to your warnings about R1LN, but we were so close to what we needed. I couldn’t call a halt to something I believed would save lives in the long run. I had no idea my sister would be capable of stabbing me in the back the way she did.”

Reed turned, his eyes unreadable in the lowered light, leaving her feeling vulnerable. Max focused on the hard line of his mouth, watching it soften. His hand shot out, fingers wrapping tight around her upper arm. She gasped as he jerked her against him. His lips were on hers before she could retreat. Hot with need, he delved his tongue between her teeth, seeking her submission. She met him head-on, wrapping her arms around his neck while he grabbed her butt, pulling her tight. His cock pressed into her stomach, its ridged length building heat within her core. Her pussy tightened, she needed him inside her to stop the burning lust firing in every nerve ending. She reached between them, wrapped her fingers around his girth, and stroked tip to base. Reed groaned, breaking the kiss. His head fell back and she watched his Adam’s Apple bob up and down.

“We shouldn’t.” His statement lacked conviction.

“I know,” she said, unable to stop her play. She loved the weight of him in her hand, and the temporary power she wielded. One of the few times she believed she knew the man before her was when they were together in this way. Sharing pleasure. He was a giving lover who had never put his own needs before hers. This represented the person Adam Reed was, even if he had emotional barriers she couldn’t begin to comprehend.

He growled, lifting her from her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he sat her on a lab table. The cold metal top chilled her as he stepped back. His eyes burned a trail down her torso. He leaned in, bracing his hands on each side of her hips, trapping her between. He stared into her eyes.

“This is a serious complication, Max.” The words sounded forced.

Max had to clear her throat. “It will definitely get in the way.”

“We need to stop right now.”

“Yes, we do.” She hung suspended, both fearing he’d move in or back off. Neither option seemed satisfactory with the war going on between head, heart, and loins.

“Max, I—”

A huge crash reverberated through the room, shocking a scream from her lungs. Reed whirled toward the noise, bracing his feet wide. Raspy breathing sounded from down the hallway, and Max’s heart thundered.

“What the hell is that?” she whispered.

Footfalls slapped down the hall, bare feet hitting the tile flooring. Max held her breath, unsure what to do while Reed dove for his rifle. The undead appeared in the doorway, the sad remains of a woman. Her mouth hung agape, foam dripping from her lips. Reed aimed, but it ducked down, disappearing behind the rows of tables.

“Damn it.” Reed jumped on a table and shot Max a glance. “Stay where you are.”

Max stood on the table, searching the murky corners. The thing’s breathing echoed, making the woman impossible to pinpoint. Reed jumped tabletop to tabletop, keeping his rifle trained on the floor. It seemed the undead was more clever than Max realized, keeping just out of sight. She searched for a weapon, feeling defenseless and useless to provide assistance. Nothing handy presented itself beyond a few microscopes within reach. She focused on Reed who didn’t look the least bit panicked. He moved silently without any wasted movement. He paused, and fired, the loud
pop
making her jump. She heard the scraping of nails on the tile and Reed shot again. All fell silent.

“Got it,” he said, staring down in disgust.

“Might as well take some blood from this one too.” Max trembled and had to take her time climbing off the table. “The more test samples I have, the better.”

Reed set his rifle down and went to his bag. He snatched a t-shirt and jeans while she grabbed another vial to draw blood. The corpse smelled as bad as the first and it seemed impossible she’d helped create something so abhorrent. Its viscous blood didn’t want to move through the needle and it took effort to make it work. With the job finished, she stood and found her medical case, tucking the vial inside with the other.

Reed rubbed the back of his neck. “We need to get rid of these bodies.”

“We can take them out in the woods and burn them.” Max stared at the dead body, wondering about the family the woman had left behind. “I think Damian usually ditched them out in the swamps. I’d rather burn the remains to be sure no one finds them. The virus deteriorates rapidly, but what if someone finds the corpses right after we dump them? There could be mass panic if an autopsy revealed an unknown virus strain.”

“Let’s get the equipment then we’ll deal with the corpses.”

She grabbed a microscope while Reed collected a centrifuge. The items were fragile and had to be handled gently, slowing them down. She expected the police to show up any second and didn’t know how Reed would handle the intrusion. Most likely it’d end badly for the officers.

When they had what they needed she sighed in a mix of relief and exhaustion. “This has been the longest night of my life.”

“I’ll go out and pull the Jeep up to the backdoor. I’ll leave my rifle with you in case we have another unwanted visitor.”

He left her alone in the lab, leaving the weapon on a lab table. It was quiet, eerily quiet, and she made her way to the doorway, listening to Reed’s footsteps disappearing downstairs. Shadows seemed to shift and move around her.
It’s only my imagination.
She took a deep breath in an effort to settle her nerves. Despite having the undead’s surprise attack, she couldn’t keep her thoughts from the kiss she’d shared with Reed. It’d been too long since she’d had a man. After things had broken down with Reed she’d avoided dating. The coward’s way out of dealing with heartache, justifying she’d had to focus on her career.

A small creak made her flinch and she peered down the hallway.
It’s only the building settling.
She held her breath and another creak came from the same direction.

“Oh God.” She stepped back inside the room, waiting, pressed against the wall next to the door. A squeaking replaced the creak and she recognized it as the sound of tennis shoes. Reed had worn boots. “Crap.”

Max peeked back out. The figure appeared from a room, short and lean, unmistakably female.
I can take someone this small.
It turned and started toward her, taking measured steps, stalking, keeping close to the wall. Max eyed the rifle Reed had left behind. She’d never fired a gun in her life, but it was her only hope. She tiptoed over and picked up the weapon. It was heavier than she’d expected it to be. Her hands shook as she lifted it to her shoulder, aiming it the way she’d seen Reed do, at the doorway, focusing through the scope.

She’d never killed anything larger than a housefly. The idea of firing on a human turned her stomach, and she fought down the wave of nausea. It’d be a necessary evil to keep another virus carrier out of the population.

When it appeared in the open door she froze, and her resolve evaporated. The woman turned out to be a girl who couldn’t be any more than fifteen years old. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl, her glassy stare focused on her. Max tried to pull the trigger, but she couldn’t find the courage. She simply couldn’t shoot a kid, even if the girl were already dead. The suffocating guilt had her lowering the gun and facing the demon she’d help create. Max set the gun on the nearby table. Maybe they could catch the girl, tie her down, and keep her until she’d worked out a cure? Could there be hope that this teen’s life could be salvaged? Questions tumbled inside her brain, one over the other even though common sense told her the girl was a lost cause.

The teen sized her up, stepping into the room.

“It’s okay,” Max said.

The girl tilted her head as if trying to make out the words. She wore a t-shirt with
W.S. Gifted Student Program
emblazoned on the front. Max recognized the name; the same program that’d helped her start college at sixteen.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help, do you understand?”

The girl licked her lips, her tongue dark blue.
Lack of oxygen in the blood
Max’s mind rattled. She shoved the obvious sign of brain death to the back of her mind. The virus relied mostly on the brain stem and motor cortex functioning—the most basic operative places of the brain. Higher cognitive areas such as the frontal lobe weren’t needed for the virus to multiply and spread itself, therefore they deteriorated, making the infected appear zombie-like.

The girl inched sideways around the first table.

Max broke out in a clammy sweat. “Please, let me help you.”

The girl crouched the way a cat would before pouncing.

Max had made a horrible mistake putting the rifle aside. She reached for it but the girl lunged. Max screamed, and the girl dropped to the floor at her feet, a knife sticking out of the back of her head.

Reed stood in the doorway, scowling. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 4

It took an hour to move the bodies out to the SUV and scrub away blood evidence in the college. Adam drove to a national park and piled the corpses on the ground. Max turned away while he doused them with gasoline and lit the fire. He watched her from the corner of his eye, and when the smoke from the fire drifted her direction, carrying the odor of charred flesh, she stumbled away. She heaved until her stomach emptied. Adam wanted to go to her, pull her close, and make her forget everything—this damned night, his walking away when he should’ve stayed at her side, not contacting her because of his own weaknesses.

He turned away. The dancing flames threw haunted shadows over the trees surrounding them. How would he keep his distance after tasting her again? Knowing she still responded to him with abandon like she used to. His groin ached, his cock pressing against the zipper of his jeans. He wanted to push her into the stand of pine away from the cursed fire and take her until he worked the energy out, until he got over her sweet face and sweeter taste. Their history hung over him thick as the smoke spiraling into the air. He tried to use the flames as distraction, but could only watch her from his peripheral vision. She shifted from foot to foot, her arms folded close to her chest. The khaki pants she wore accented her long legs, and her pale blue shirt set off her creamy complexion.

He’d fallen in love with her back in the days of the project, but she’d loved her work more than she could’ve ever loved him. He’d been jealous and hadn’t wanted to compete with her career. When he’d stumbled upon Doc talking with another scientist about possible uses for the R1LN virus, it’d been an excuse to run. He’d warned Max beforehand, but she’d ignored him. Mary, a Navy lieutenant who had volunteered for the enhancement process, had gotten infected with R1LN in some unknown way. Reed suspected Doc had wanted a guinea pig; her twisted mind could’ve justified murder. R1LN was the ultimate weapon to be turned loose on the enemy, letting them destroy themselves. A reasonable idea in theory, but much too dangerous—his worst fear for the project now stalked the countryside.