A Darker Shade of Dead Read online

  “Wow.”

  “You can say that again.” Mari sat back in her chair as Sandra kept looking at the images. After a few minutes of silence, she, too, sat back. Slowly, she became aware that Mari was staring at her.

  “What?” Sandra asked self-consciously.

  “Just curious.” Mari’s expression spoke of suspicion, not simple curiosity. Sandra felt her stomach clench.

  “About what?”

  “Since I got here you haven’t seemed overly concerned about contamination. Is there something you haven’t shared with us?”

  Sandra sighed heavily. “I guess it’s obvious now that I’m immune. I felt it was safer to hide that fact for as long as possible.”

  “From us?”

  “From everyone,” Sandra admitted. “You have to understand, before I joined this team, I was on my own. I was working in the private sector, making my own way. I didn’t want the information getting out to the wrong people. I could have made a very big target for some very bad guys if it had been known. The alternative was turning myself into a lab rat for the military. Neither idea appealed, so I forged my own path.”

  “How long have you been immune?”

  “From early on.” Sandra felt it wisest not to go into too much detail. “I realized pretty quickly that some of the original science team was bonkers. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, so I kept my immunity a secret.”

  “You can’t keep that secret any longer, I’m afraid.”

  “I realize that,” Sandra admitted. “I’m just glad I was able to help Matt.”

  Mari’s eyes narrowed as she grinned. “So you’re on a first-name basis with him?”

  Sandra realized her mistake and couldn’t control the telltale flush of heat in her cheeks. Mari only laughed softly.

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer,” Mari assured her. “I won’t pry. We all have our little secrets. This situation is hard on everyone. You and Matt deserve to have some happiness.”

  “It’s not like that,” Sandra protested weakly. She would have said more, but Matt began to twist and turn on the bed. His back spasmed once more, and both women moved to help him.

  They watched over him the rest of the evening, but he didn’t convulse anymore. His back spasmed from time to time and they took a few more images of the progress his body was making in repairing itself. The data they collected could be very valuable to her research but Sandra didn’t really care. She wouldn’t rest easy until she was certain Matt would be okay.

  Mari was a big help. She coordinated with the rest of the team and at some point had food delivered. She placed cup after cup of hot coffee in Sandra’s hands and didn’t ask any further embarrassing questions about her relationship with the commander.

  Sandra was glad of her presence. She wouldn’t leave Matt’s side until he was awake and she was sure he’d be all right.

  The hours seemed to drag on until finally, just before dawn, Matt’s eyes opened.

  “Sandra?” His voice was raw but it was music to her ears.

  “I’m here, Matt.”

  His blue gaze searched for and found her. His relief was visible as the tension left his shoulders.

  “You’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. How do you feel?”

  He seemed to consider. “Not good, but not bad, either.” He sat up slowly, grimacing as he went. “The serum worked?”

  Good. He remembered what had led up to this. It was a good sign for his neural activity.

  “Like a charm.” She gave him a wobbly smile. Her relief was profound. Seeing him sitting up and taking stock of his internal condition was more than she’d hoped for. He seemed to be recovering much faster than Sam had.

  “How’s the back?” Mari’s voice intruded from the other side of the room and Matt’s head swiveled to her.

  “Why? What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” Mari assured him, stepping closer. “But one of the benefits of immunity is radically increased healing. Sandra and I monitored some rather startling changes to your lower back as your body processed the contagion and the serum. I’m just wondering how it feels to you.”

  Matt shifted his hips on the bed, side to side as he took stock of his spine.

  “It doesn’t hurt. There’s some soreness, but not the pain I’m used to.” His gaze turned back to Sandra, his eyes widening slightly with a sort of cautious hope. “Is it healed?”

  “We think so, yes.” She loved being able to deliver such good news. “You’ll be the best judge of how you feel, but Mari and I have been looking at the scans all night and it appears your body has regenerated the injured disk tissue. I want to get an MRI to do a finer inspection but it looks good from what little we can see using this machine.” She gestured toward the small rolling console they’d been using throughout the night.

  He looked around the room. “I’m in your quarters?” he asked Sandra.

  Suddenly she felt defensive. “It was the closest uncontaminated place to put you.”

  Matt nodded, his mind no doubt going over all he could remember of the night before.

  “What time is it and where’s my phone? I need a sitrep.”

  “Simon’s downstairs with the cleanup team,” Mari volunteered. “He stuck around to guard the place and to be here when you woke. I’ll call him.”

  Sandra opened the drawer of the bedside table where she’d placed some of Matt’s gear. She handed him his watch and phone.

  “Your wallet and other personal items are in here.” She pointed to the drawer. “Your clothes were taken away by the cleanup team for disposal except for what you’re wearing.” They’d left him in his boxers. “Sam brought over a change of clothes for you last night. He figured you’d need a new uniform when you woke up, but frankly, I wasn’t expecting you to be up and around today. It took Sam several days to recover.”

  “But you improved your serum after you saw how it worked for him, didn’t you?”

  “I did, but the version I gave you last night was untested. I really don’t know what to expect. I’d like you to take it easy until we’re sure you’re not going to have an adverse reaction.”

  He shot her a look as he levered his feet to the floor over the side of the bed. She jumped up to help him, but he shook her off.

  “Where did you say my clothes were?”

  “Matt, this is—” Sandra began to object, but Matt waved her to silence.

  “I don’t have time for a long recovery. Even if I have to crawl there, I’ve got to get back to the office today. Or do you want me to be replaced?”

  There was something going on here. He was too adamant. There had to be a damn good reason he pushed himself so hard.

  “Okay,” she said in a slow, deliberate manner as she walked toward the dresser where she’d stowed Matt’s clothes in an empty drawer.

  Her back to Matt, she caught Mari’s eye. A silent communication passed between them. Mari realized something odd was going on, too.

  A knock at the door interrupted the tense atmosphere. Mari opened the door to admit Simon.

  “Good to see you up, Matt.”

  “Good to be up.” Matt sighed as he sat heavily on the side of the bed. “I need a sitrep, Si.” Matt was bare chested and wearing only his boxers, but Simon made no comment.

  For the next few minutes Simon reported on the activities of the night. Neither man seemed to mind the presence of the women as they discussed everything in military shorthand that Sandra barely followed. When he finished his report, Matt asked a few short questions, all the while struggling to hold himself in an upright position.

  At least, that’s what it looked like to her. He was putting a brave face on it, but Sandra could detect signs that Matt wasn’t as steady as he’d like them all to believe.

  “Order the combat team off duty for some downtime in a staggered schedule. I’d like someone near Dr. McCormick at all times.” Matt’s order took Sandra by surprise. She turned to look at him, his clothing piled
in her hands as she stood near the dresser. His gaze pinned her in place as he continued. “You and Mari can go, Si. I know it’s been a long night for you both. I appreciate the way you both stepped up to the plate while I was out of commission.”

  “Anytime, Matt,” Simon answered. Sandra could hear the respect Si had for Matt in his voice even though the words were simple enough.

  “If you need anything,” Mari said to Sandra as she gathered her things and headed toward the door with Simon, “just call.”

  Sandra merely nodded, realizing she was going to be left alone with Matt. No doubt the significance of that wasn’t lost on either Simon or Mari. Matt wasn’t doing anything to hide his intent stare, either. A showdown was coming and this little bedroom was going to be Ground Zero.

  Chapter Seven

  “If you’ll just bring me those clothes…” Matt let the sentence hang. Sandra was clearly distracted, probably dreading the confrontation to come. He had no such reservations. With consciousness had come memory, followed by anger and an intense feeling of betrayal.

  Sandra had lied to him. Oh, she hadn’t lied straight to his face, but she’d definitely lied by omission. She hadn’t told him she was immune to the contagion. She hadn’t trusted him enough. Maybe that was his fault, but he was still irritated by the fact that she hadn’t told him the entire truth.

  She walked slowly in his direction, his uniform cradled in her arms. When she bent slightly to drop the clothing at his side, he grabbed her forearms, startling her. Her wide green gaze flew upward to meet his accusatory glare.

  “Why, Sandra?” She remained mute and he tightened his grip in frustration, shaking her slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone.” He saw the fear in her eyes. “It was an accident. At first, I didn’t realize what had happened, then after…it was clear I’d be in danger from some of the other scientists if they knew I was immune from the contagion.”

  “How long?”

  He could see tears gathering in her eyes, and he realized he was holding her arms too tightly. Was he hurting her? He was angry, but he didn’t want to cause her pain. He let go of her arms as if she burned him and she backed away from him slowly.

  “Almost from the beginning.”

  He didn’t like the nebulous way she phrased her answer, but he let it go for now. She was still withholding facts from him, but there were more issues on the table. He’d circle back around to the issue of timing eventually.

  “Tell me about Jennings.”

  He noted her sharp intake of breath. She was afraid. Was it leftover fear from being confronted by a zombie in her own workspace? Or was there more to it than that?

  “You probably know he was part of the original science team. I haven’t seen him since the group split up and we all went our separate ways.”

  “What else do you know about him?” He’d have to chip away at her to get at the full truth.

  Dammit. He didn’t like this at all. Of all the people on his new team, he’d thought he could trust her. But he’d been wrong before. There was already one spy on his staff. Maybe there were more.

  What did he really know about Sandra McCormick anyway, besides the fact that he found her almost irresistibly attractive? He shouldn’t have let his desire for her influence his opinion of her abilities or loyalties, but he realized that’s just what had happened. He’d been willfully blind where she was concerned from the beginning.

  “He was a competent genetic engineer but kind of a jerk. He always rubbed me the wrong way, and when I began to fear some of the others, he was on the short list of people I wanted to avoid.”

  “I’m going to need you to write down that list for me.” His gut churned, knowing she’d been holding out on him from the beginning.

  She nodded tightly. “All right.”

  “You don’t seem too enthusiastic.” As a distraction, and also because he had to get moving, he unfolded his clothes and slowly pulled them on. “I’m going to start thinking you don’t want to play on my team.”

  “Believe me when I say there’s no other team I want to be on.”

  “Why should I believe you? Tell me that.” He stood to pull on his pants and felt himself wobble. Sandra checked her own forward motion before she got to his side, but it was telling that her instinctual move had been to help him. Regardless of her other roles, she was first and foremost a compassionate woman.

  “I didn’t mean to withhold information from you, but by the time I was approached to be part of your operation, I’d already been approached by others with less desirable aims. Secrecy had become a way of life.”

  “Someone else tried to recruit you?” Matt felt his anger rise once more, and it gave him strength to shove his arms into his shirt.

  “You knew Dr. Sellars had approached me before Captain Beauvoir came to me in New York. I didn’t deny that.”

  “Who else?”

  “Rodriguez.” The name came from her lips grudgingly. Matt recognized the name. There was a Rodriguez on the original research team. He’d been one of the lead scientists.

  “When?”

  Sandra sighed and sat heavily in the chair Mari had been using. It was set a few feet from the bed, closer to the door than the chair Sandra had been using on the other side. Worry shrouded her face—that beautiful, bewitching face that had snared him so completely. Damn.

  “Do you remember the flat tire I got on the way here?” Matt didn’t like the sound of this but didn’t interrupt. “The tire didn’t blow out on its own. It was shot out.” He really didn’t like the sound of that. “Rodriguez and some goon of his ran me off the road. He wanted me to join his team. I refused. He began threatening me around the time the patrol car showed up.”

  “You called the cops?”

  “First thing.” She nodded shakily. “As I pulled off the road I dialed nine-one-one. Luckily Rodriguez talked long enough that he couldn’t do anything worse than just threaten me before help arrived.”

  “Dammit, Sandra!” He wanted to hit something but was still weak as a kitten. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me about this long before now. He threatened you. Didn’t you think it was important to share that fact with me?”

  She looked even guiltier as she met his gaze.

  “That isn’t the only time he threatened me.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Remember the day you met up with me in the base cafeteria? That guy I was talking to? He was a messenger sent by Rodriguez. I think he was the same guy who was driving the car that ran me off the road. He was about to make a scene before I saw you enter.”

  “Same question.” He was fast losing patience. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t want a cloud hanging over me. I know you had your doubts about me when Xavier and Sarah first asked me to treat Sam. Just by virtue of my being part of the original science team that developed the contagion, I was already under suspicion. I didn’t want anyone to know that some of the old team members had been in touch with me.”

  “But it would have given you more legitimacy to have been honest with me from the beginning.” He shook his head at her reasoning. It didn’t make any sense…unless…

  Shit.

  “What did you do, Sandra?”

  It was the question she’d been dreading, but the time had come to pay the piper. At least part of the balance. She’d try to hedge her bets if she could. She’d give Matt part of the truth. The part she could bear to reveal.

  “Back before I realized what he was up to, Dr. Sellars contacted me. I’d just started my new job on Long Island and I didn’t realize what a slimeball Sellars was. Unlike Rodriguez, who’d always rubbed me the wrong way, I got along well with Dr. Sellars. He was at least polite to me when we worked together before.”

  “We already knew Sellars e-mailed you, but you denied any involvement with him when the team first contacted you.” The suspicion in Matt’s eyes nearly broke her heart.

  “I didn
’t tell you the whole truth. While it was true I’d turned down Dr. Sellars when he invited me to dinner to discuss joining his research, that wasn’t the only communication I’d gotten from him.” She took a deep breath before continuing. She hated this. “Several weeks before, Dr. Sellars asked for my help with a chemical equation he was working on. He didn’t say what it was for and he only gave me the part he was having trouble with. Like a dope, I solved his puzzle for him and somehow Rodriguez found out. I began to suspect, when I first examined Sam, that the equation I’d solved had to do with the so-called improvements Sellars made to the contagion. I felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner. Rodriguez knew I’d helped Sellars. He was trying to use the information against me. He threatened me with exposure.”

  “What did you decide?”

  “I was at an impasse. I refused outright to help him in any way, but I really didn’t want you to know what I’d so foolishly done. I didn’t want you to look at me the way you’re looking at me right now.” Her voice broke, much to her chagrin. She turned her face away, cut deeply by the accusation in Matt’s gaze.

  “You were going to let him blackmail you?”

  “No!” She shot to her feet, her body demanding action when her heart was in turmoil. “I refused him over and over. I wouldn’t have willingly helped him.”

  “Then what were you going to do?” Matt’s voice was quieter, closer. She turned her head and found him standing a foot behind her. He’d moved silently, dogging her tracks. He looked stronger now than he had just moments before.

  “I didn’t know what to do.” She turned completely to face him. “I was letting it ride until something forced my hand, I guess.” She felt tears gather in her eyes as remorse set in. “But I never expected anything like what happened last night. I didn’t want to put anyone else’s life in danger and I certainly didn’t want you to be attacked by a creature sent to kill me.”