She pushed to her feet, her gaze going to the monitor that had timed out and gone dark. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “I need to do more to stop that virus from being released.”
“Our hands are pretty much tied until we learn more about who and what we’re up against.”
She pushed a hand through her hair. “I feel responsible.”
“You did what you had to.”
She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. “If anyone dies because of my work, I won’t be able to forgive myself.” The first tear that slipped down her cheek wrecked him.
He pulled her into his arms. “You’re breaking the rules,” he whispered against her hair.
Her laugh choked on a sob. “How so?”
“I told you...I don’t do tears.”
Her fingers curled into his shirt as tears dampened the fabric. “I don’t usually cry,” she said. “My father always said that emotions shouldn’t interfere with science.”
“Emotions show that you care,” he said, stroking a hand over her curls. “Don’t be ashamed of caring.”
She leaned her cheek against his chest, her muscles relaxing in his arms. “I studied contagious viruses so that no one would have to feel the loss of someone they loved because of an unavoidable, highly contagious virus. I wanted to prevent deaths, not cause them. I was so close to an antiviral that would stop the virus from spreading when they gutted the CDC. So close. Now there’s no one working on it. If Vasquez releases it, people will die before we can come up with a way to stop it.”
“Then we have to stop Vasquez from releasing it,” Crusher said.
“Vasquez will have moved the virus from the compound by now. If Krauss is the scientist working on the virus, he could be anywhere in the world.”
“Swede will come through with the information we need.” He tipped her chin up and stared down into her eyes. “In the meantime, you need rest. We’re both running on fumes.”
She nodded. “Okay.” She slowly leaned back.
Reluctantly, Crusher lowered his arms to his sides. Now that she wasn’t pressed against him, his strongest urge was to pull her back into his arms. He’d like holding her—more than he cared to admit to himself. How had his asset become more of an asset to him in such a short amount of time?
“Uh, if we want to get some rest, we can’t do it in this room.” Marta’s cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, and she didn’t meet his gaze.
“Oh, yeah. Right.” Crusher stepped out into the hallway. “I’ll just see if our hostess is ready to show us the guest room.” He hurried down the hallway, feeling a little off balance. Marta had that effect on him.
He found Liza in the kitchen. All the dishes had been cleaned and put away. A stack of bedding was stacked on the table.
“Oh, good,” Liza smiled from where she stood in front of the coffeemaker. “I’m about to call it a night and wanted to make sure you two were set before I did.” She poured water into the back of the machine and set the empty pot on the burner. “I figured you might want coffee in the morning.”
Marta entered the kitchen behind him. “You don’t have to go to any trouble for us.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Liza said and set the timer on the machine. “It’ll be ready by five in the morning. If you follow me, I’ll show you to the guest room. It’s part of the house but has its own entry.” She gathered the bedding, then showed the way out onto the back wraparound porch to walk around to the side of the house. A separate driveway led up to another set of stairs and the door to the guest room, with a light shining brightly overhead.
She pulled a key out of her pocket, unlocked the door and stepped inside. “It has its own bathroom, so you won’t have to come back into the house. If you want to be let into the house, just call me—the number is listed on the back of the door. Some guests like a late-night snack. I sleep lightly.”
“We won’t bother you,” Crusher said.
“It’ll just be nice to sleep on something besides dirt,” Marta added.
Lisa frowned. “Oh dear, it sounds like you two have had a rough time.” She turned to Crusher. “Seriously, the sofa in the living room is long and comfy. You’re welcome to sleep there.”
He shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine on the floor.”
“If you change your mind,” she pointed to the back of the door, “my number’s there.”
“Thank you,” Crusher said.
Liza stepped back through the door. “If there’s anything else I can do, don’t hesitate to ask. Royce did so much for Stewart and me, I’ll be forever in his debt.” She turned and walked away.
