V-Day: (M-Day #4) (31 page)

What was he infected with? The perverted asshole strain of Men-V?
He seemed almost tame compared to some of the I-Men I
’
d come across in the wild.
“
Get off me, Marshall. Now.
”
I wanted to roll my eyes at myself. It was pointless to tell him to back off. I was going to have to make him.

Just as he lifted his face to maul my mouth or something, I knocked my forehead into his nose. He grunted in pain as blood erupted, causing him to loosen his grip ever so slightly. It was enough for me to break free. I immediately made my hand into a fist and jutted my thumb sharply into his throat. He sputtered as he attempted to catch his breath. I pivoted on my heel and dashed past him. I didn
’
t get more than ten or twenty feet before he tackled me to the ground.

“
Fucking bitch.
”

For the first time ever, I relished my short hair when Marshall tried to get a fistful and came back empty handed. I scrambled to get out from under him, but he used his body weight, again, to press his advantage over me. I
’
d been trained to go up against men twice my size. Usually surprise and speed were what worked for me, since most men underestimated a woman in a fight. But I
’
d lost all tactical advantages with how Marshall had me positioned on the floor. He grabbed the back of my t-shirt and ripped, and I could do nothing to stop him.

“
You
’
re mine now. You hear me? Mine!
”
His teeth tore into my shoulder. I screamed. The wound burned and throbbed, the muscles around it contracting sharply.
“
Now you
’
ll be able to run but you
’
ll never be able to hide.
”

“
You
’
re dead.
”
Relief punched through me at the sound of Zee
’
s voice.
“
Dead.
”

Marshall let go of me and jumped to his feet.
“
You can
’
t kill me! I
’
m invincible now!
”
Marshall roared, spittle flying from his mouth.
Oh yep, there
’
s the I-Man zeal for life I
’
ve come to know and hate.

Zee moved so fast I barely saw him. The next thing I knew, Marshall was in a headlock.
“
Any last wishes?
”
Zee growled.

“
Wait. What? I
—“
Marshall
’
s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started to convulse.

“
Zee! Stop! Stop! He
’
s having some kind of seizure like Riley did! Don
’
t hurt him!
”

Reluctantly Zee released him, setting him none too gently on the ground. I
’
m pretty sure it took everything in him not to kick him despite what I
’
d said.
“
You okay?
”

I stared at Marshall while trying to reach his bite mark on my back.
“
I guess. But him being infected brings up a whole new set of concerns.
”

“
I don
’
t like being trapped here without an exit route. When is this cleansing scheduled?
”

“
I need to talk to Martha, and we need to get him to the lab to get his blood drawn. Can you bring him?
”

Zee tossed Marshall over his shoulder and frowned at me.
“
I don
’
t like the disorganization of this operation. You led me to believe that things were
…
different. I don
’
t just take orders from anyone.
”

I rolled my shoulder, wishing the throbbing would stop.
“
It seemed different before I left and I
’
m not sure if things changed or it was all wishful thinking on my part.
”

Ethan
’
s eyes widened as I entered the lab with Zee in tow carrying Marshall.
“
He
’
s infected.
”
I pointed at Marshall so there
’
d be no mistake.
“
He attacked me as a full blown I-Man and then he dropped into a seizure just like Riley did before he was cured...or whatever he is.
”

“
What happened just before his seizure?
”
Ethan demanded.

“
He attacked me.
”
I turned around so he could see the bite mark on the back of my shoulder.

“
And what does he have in common with Riley?
”

“
Nothing as far as I can tell.
”

Zee slammed Marshal down on the top of the workstation.
“
You can take care of him from here. My sister needs to have her wound dressed.
”
He grabbed my arm and dragged me behind him.

“
Hey! What
’
s going on?
”
I could tell it was more than Zee wanting me to get a band-aid for my shoulder.

“
Not here,
”
he whispered.

He continued tugging me along after him until we got back to the cluster of rooms we
’
d been assigned. He opened the one that I knew was his and Max
’
s, and shoved me in.
“
I
’
ll be right back, don
’
t go anywhere.
”

I glowered at the door when he slammed it shut behind me.
“
I forgot how pushy he is.
”

“
How could you forget that?
”
Max laughed.

“
No, seriously, how do you put up with my brother?
”
I couldn
’
t help but ask.
“
I mean, you seem normal, not like some weird submissive.
”
Max raised her eyebrows at me. My face heated.
“
I may have read
50 Shades of Grey
.
”
I averted my gaze.
“
I was curious.
”

“
You and Nyx are going to have so much fun driving Ty insane. He has no idea how bad it
’
s going to get for him.
”

Before I could respond, Zee barged into the room with Nyx, Ty, Evo, and X on his heels.
“
Sit,
”
he ordered everyone. Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, everyone obeyed.

From her position on the floor Evo asked,
“
So what has your panties in a twist?
”

“
I
’
m not sure how exactly it works, but Vi
’
s blood is the answer. Her blood has the cure or is the cure, I
’
m not sure which one.
”

“
Are you insane?
”
I blurted.

“
Wait
…”
Ty stood, his eyes glazing over.
“
We knew the answer would be in the blood somehow
…”
His voice trailed off as he got lost in thought. A few seconds later he snapped his fingers.
“
Zee
’
s right, Vi. Think about it. Riley bit you right before he miraculously was cured.
”

“
The I-Man just now bit her before seizing like Riley,
”
Zee interjected.

“
But Riley
’
s still infected. They tested his blood.
”

“
Infected like us, maybe?
”
Max asked.
“
Maybe something in your blood
—”

“
It
’
s all her blood or close to it
…
listen!
”
Ty rolled up to the balls of his feet and bounced in excitement.
“
Listen! Listen! Listen!
”

“
We
’
re fucking listening!
”
Evo shouted.
“
So spill it!
”

Ty grinned.
“
Zee was only half turned, and he
’
s Vi
’
s half brother. He infected Max. The original vaccine was made from Zee
’
s blood too, which X got. His strain stabilized out to something new, but still not quite an I-Man thanks to the origins. X infected Evo with the same strain.
”

“
And I infected myself using Zee
’
s blood!
”
Nyx jumped up, clapping her hands.
“
And of course you are Vi
’
s twin so
…”

I thought back to my rapidly healing leg wound. Somehow I
’
d almost forgotten about it. And for a short span of time I
’
d felt off, my thoughts muddled and my body compelled to think only of sex with Riley. Maybe I
’
d been infected on some level after all. Maybe my blood just kept everything stabilized. If my blood did what Ty was claiming in such small doses to everyone else
…
well
…
I had a whole body full of the stuff.

“
Oh my God!
”
I covered my mouth with my hand.
“
My blood.
”
Part of what Doctor Greensley said to me the last time I saw him echoed in my head.

“
You need to be ready, Vi. And remember, your blood is the answer.
”

“
The answer to what?
”

“
You
’
ll understand soon. I can
’
t tell you any more now. I have to go. I have so many things still left to do.
”

“
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
”
I wanted to kick my own ass. All the guilt, all the death
…
I could have stopped it all from happening if I
’
d figured it out sooner. He
’
d practically spelled it out for me.
“
How could I have been so stupid?
”
I wanted to cheer and cry at the same time. It seemed so obvious
…
now. But unlike in books and movies, when you
’
re thrust into the middle of things, sometimes even the seemingly obvious
…
isn
’
t. They are too many other things for the mind to focus on
…
and then
…
stupid happens.

“
It doesn
’
t matter.
”
Ty threw his arms around me and lifted me off the ground.
“
We have the answer now.
”

The lights switched off to glow red and loud buzzing filled the air.

Evo groaned.
“
Of fucking course. I mean, I kind of expected something like this to happen, didn
’
t you guys? It
’
s about par for the course with us.
”
She began pulling out pieces of a large gun, hidden in her clothes. She quickly assembled it, grinning.

X shook his head, his eyes full of admiration.
“
Have I told you how much I love you lately?
”

“
What? Did you expect me not to be packing?
”

I shifted nervously, a bit confused.
“
What exactly do you guys think is going on?
”

“
Ummm
…
I-Man attack. Duh.
”
Evo deftly loaded her gun, checking it over with practiced proficiency.

It took me a moment to process. An alert or alarm could mean just that
…
to be alert
…
to be wary. It could have to do with the I-Man that Zee had brought to the lab...it could also mean exactly what Evo was thinking. Panic gripped me.
“
Riley! He
’
s locked up. We have to get him out.
”

Evo glanced at X and he nodded.
“
I
’
ll get the rest of the guns and arm everyone. You go with her.
”

Evo nudged me with her shoulder.
“
Come on. Let
’
s go get your man out of jail.
”
She smirked.
“
At least it
’
s not X locked up for once. He does need saving a hell of a lot.
”
She winked at X who rolled his eyes.

I glanced back at Ty, who was murmuring in Nyx
’
s ear. He lifted his gaze to meet mine, and we had one of our silent conversations. I
’
d be safe with Evo and I
’
d see him soon.
“
Okay. I
’
m ready. Lead the way.
”

Out in the hallway everything was cast in the same eerie red glow. Evo and me cautiously made our way towards the stairs. I wasn
’
t sure exactly where Riley was being held, but there were only a few options, and all of them were on the lower levels of the ship. The buzzing of the alarm was louder than it
’
d been in the room, drowning out any chance of hearing what was going on around us. I thought maybe I heard some yelling, but I couldn
’
t be sure.

Our feet pinged loudly on the metal stairs as we raced down them as quickly as we could. I let Evo lead the way since she was the armed one. My palms practically itched with the need for my own weapon, and I would be getting one soon
—
as soon as I knew Riley was safe.

Evo narrowed her eyes, and tilted her head before waving at me briefly to follow her. She must have heard something that I couldn
’
t and I didn
’
t bother to question her. We dashed down another set of stairs and to the end of another hallway. As soon as we turned the corner, all hell broke loose.