AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My arm presses against his massive biceps as we start to move. I keep my gaze straight ahead, heart thundering in my ears, and hope like hell he’s giving me the same courtesy.
“I think I’m going to need that handcrafted cocktail at that restaurant tonight,” I say, trying to make light of the uncomfortable situation. “What was it called?”
“The, uh, Round Robin,” he answers. “Yeah, alcohol sounds damn good right about now.”
“Keep your gaze straight ahead, Maddox,” I warn him.
“Take your own advice, Shaw. I saw you trying to sneak a peek at my package.”
My mouth drops open. “I did not!” I can’t help it. I glance over, looking up at him, and instead of the smug expression I’m expecting to see, Maddox gives me a reassuring look full of encouragement.Ugh!How can he be so human at a time like this? I need his arrogant alpha complacency right now. Not thisit’s all gonna be okay, I got youbest buddy behavior. The worst part is I can’t tell which would actually put me more at ease in this situation, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
“Move closer together, please,” the man in the hazard suit tells us, lifting the hose.
Swallowing down my embarrassment and covering myself as best as I can, I turn, take a step back and bump into Maddox’s extremely hard, very naked body.Oh, God.I’m so much shorter, especially without my heels, and his firm ass presses against the middle of my back.
His skin is warm and I gasp when a cold spray of water hits my body. Two more people appear in hazmat suits and start scrubbing us both down with some kind of harsh soap. It smells bad and feels worse. After a few minutes of enduring that mortification, we’re rinsed off again like a couple of dogs who found the neighborhood mud hole.
“Okay,” Mr. Hose Dude says and tosses us each a towel. “There are scrubs in the locker room over there. Go put them on and wait for Dr. DeLazzer to come get you.”
Grateful for the towel, I wrap it around my wet body while Maddox secures his around his waist. Once we’re covered, I go into the next room and slip on the blue-gray scrubs and paper shoes left out for us.What do they think we might be infected with?I wonder, starting to get anxious. I want some answers and luckily Dr. DeLazzer appears pretty quickly and guides us to another room.
There are two twin beds and a small table between them. Frowning, I look over at DeLazzer, who takes a seat on one of the beds. “What exactly is going on here?” I demand, placing my hands on my hips. Frustration and anxiety are running rampant inside me, dueling for control, and I feel like punching someone. Or I’d settle for kicking DeLazzer in the junk right about now for not being completely truthful and upfront.
“The reason I hired Slater Security is because I feared this would happen.”
We wait for him to continue. I know I’m radiating pissed-off vibes, and Maddox is practically vibrating with pent-up aggravation. When DeLazzer finally starts talking, he does nothing to make either one of us feel any better about this situation.
“I’ve been working on several things over the last few years, and one of them is a highly contagious virus. Those men tried to steal that virus and kidnap me, and you stopped them. I can’t thank you enough.” He releases a small sigh. “Unfortunately, you may have been contaminated in the process.”
“If it’s so contagious then why are you in here with us?” Maddox asks.
“It’s only transferable through direct contact with the liquid. When the vials broke, you may have had some splash on you. We felt it best to take all necessary precautions, just in case.”
“Exactly what kind of virus are we talking about?” I ask.
“It’s namedVelox Mors which means Quick Death, but we nicknamed it the Black Widow virus.”
“Why?” I ask, dreading his answer.
“Because not long after a person is infected, they develop distinctive red spots just like on the underside of the Black Widow spider’s abdomen.”
A shiver runs through me.
“I’ve been studying its effects on infected subjects,” Dr. DeLazzer tells us.
“That man…” I say, remembering the poor soul covered in sores behind the plastic draping. He looked like a creature from the zombie apocalypse.
“He’s infected,” Dr. DeLazzer confirms.
“What do we need to know?” Maddox asks, voice steady. He’s going into problem solving mode. Just the facts, work through the issue.Good.This Maddox I can deal with.
“We need you to stay in thisquarantine area for the next 24 hours.”
“What?” My jaw drops. “Twenty-four hours?”
“Together?” Maddox asks.
He says it like it’s worse than the virus and I toss him a glare. This Maddox I don’t want to deal with.
