Two days later…

Graham took a deep breath as he entered the main control room at six o’clock in the morning on his second day in southeast Montana. He’d left Kate sleeping in their room, kissing her temple as he encouraged her to stay in bed.

For Graham, sleep never lasted more than a few hours at a time, and from the moment they’d arrived at this makeshift office space, his stress level had escalated.

More than a dozen members of his team and the second team had already congregated at what was essentially a converted barn behind a large country estate. The main house had ten bedrooms, so there was plenty of space for everyone, and the structure behind the house, which looked like a barn to anyone approaching, had actually been turned into a high-tech office.

Already, at six in the morning, several of his team members were bustling around the room. It buzzed with activity and the hum of computers.

Dade caught his attention and waved him closer. He was standing next to a young guy Graham hadn’t met yet. He looked far too young to be a member of the second team. Graham pegged him to be in his late teens or early twenties.

Dade leaned his butt against the desk next to the kid in the computer chair as Graham approached. “Graham, this is Spencer Casey.”

Graham’s eyes shot wide. “The Spencer?”

Spencer tipped his head back and chuckled. “The one and only.”

Dade continued. “Yep. He’s the guy who’s been feeding us information and helped you get the data from the bunker preserved.”

“What’s he doing here?” Graham was confused. If the guy was working deep in the bowels of whoever the Blue Cell group was, how was he sitting in this secret office space in Montana?

“It got a little too hot inside Blue Cell’s organization,” Spencer provided.

Dade crossed his ankles and met Graham’s gaze. “Suspicions rose among his superiors the day you were caught by another hacker in Blue Cell downloading data in Colorado. He realized he was going to have to bail fast before he got caught, so when he left for lunch that day, he never went back. He didn’t even go home. He came straight here.”

Graham nodded slowly. “And you trust him?” he asked, not giving a single fuck the kid was listening. “Our entire team is at risk. Are you sure it’s okay to bring a guy who has a direct line to the enemy into our inner circle?”

Spencer smirked.

Dade smiled. “Trust me, I wouldn’t have him here if I wasn’t a hundred percent certain he was on the level with me.”

Graham narrowed his gaze, his blood pressure rising. “I was caught four days ago by his people. I could have been killed. What was he doing then?” Graham jerked his gaze back to the kid with the messy hair wearing some sort of worn gray concert T-shirt. Ordinarily, Graham wouldn’t be so distrustful, but as far as he was concerned, Spencer’s organization had gotten him captured, and it could have been much worse.

Spencer spun his chair around and stood. He had on old canvas sneakers and jeans that were covered with intentional holes. He ran a hand through the hair on the top of his head that was too long, though that part of his appearance was also intentional because the sides had been cropped short. It was undoubtedly the latest style among young people.

Spencer also looked nervous, and he shuffled his feet as he spoke, tucking his fingers into the pockets of his jeans. “Listen, I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I swear I’m on your side. The people who work for Blue Cell have lost their minds. The stories I can tell you will make you cringe.”

Graham interrupted, well aware he was still growling skeptically. “Let’s stick to the one about how you’re here and why two men tried to kill me.” Graham noticed several other people in the room had gathered closer to listen.

Spencer glanced around at everyone, swallowed, and took a deep shaky breath. “Look, Blue Cell is huge. They operate out of an underground facility in rural Kansas. I don’t have the location.” He rubbed his brow with two fingers, obviously stressed. “I’ve never been to the main building. They maintain pockets of employees all over the country, and it was another hacker in another state who discovered what you were doing. I was working out of an apartment building near Kansas City in a cramped space with four other people. My job has always been to hack into the DEEP system and keep tabs on your team.”

“If you’re able to hack so deeply into the DEEP bunker, then tell us how information is leaking out of that facility,” Graham demanded. “What about Temple Levenson? Is she inadvertently feeding info up the chain of command?”

Spencer shook his head. “Temple is clean. I can’t say what she might be doing unknowingly, but I’ve never once found her to be aiding Blue Cell.”

Graham narrowed his gaze, still unsure about this kid no matter what he said or did.

“Look, like I said, I’m honestly not the only hacker working for Blue Cell. God knows how many they have. Some other guy in some other location was assigned to monitor the computers inside the Colorado bunker that day. He caught the sudden activity on the one you were using to download data.

“I didn’t realize a sting was going on until it was already happening. I overheard two of the guys working in another room where I was located discussing you by name.” Spencer nodded toward Graham.

A hand landed on Graham’s arm and he turned to find a very pale Kate pressing into his side. Her gaze was on Spencer.

“That’s when I got worried.” Spencer licked his lips, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “I can’t explain it, but there was a distinct shift in the air in the room at the same time those two men stopped speaking, and it got eerily quiet.

“When they wandered back in, they busied themselves nervously, and that’s when I knew I needed to get the fuck out of that building as fast as possible. I left for lunch and never returned.

“I have no doubt someone was on their way to the apartment to get me. Hell, I probably would have passed them in the lobby if I hadn’t taken the stairs at a run and darted out the back door.”

Spencer ran a hand through his hair again, even though it fell haphazardly across his forehead seconds later. “I’ve been aware of other employees of Blue Cell disappearing before. I don’t know what happened to them, but I didn’t want to become a statistic. So, here I am.”

The kid spun around and pointed at the computer behind him. “The good news is that I’ve restored all of the data you downloaded in the last week.” He smiled at Graham over his shoulder. “You did a fantastic job retrieving it. Hopefully whoever wanted it to disappear believes the only copy was on those hard drives that went up in flames.”

“Have you been able to ascertain why the hell this Blue Cell organization is working so hard to derail the work of Project DEEP or who their boss is?” Dade asked.

Spencer shook his head. “Not a clue. There are so many arms to that organization that it’s impossible to follow any trail. Even the people who work for them don’t know who they work for. I have no doubt that within minutes of my escape, the entire apartment we were using as an office was wiped clean and relocated. It wouldn’t be the first time. We relocated every few weeks anyway.”

Kate gripped Graham’s arm tightly. She was leaning into him hard. He could feel her shaking against his side, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to support her.

Spencer glanced at Kate and then back at Graham. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to warn you to get out faster. I would have if I could.”

Dade shoved off the desk to his full height. “Yeah, your track record in that area sucks.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Graham asked.

Spencer turned his gaze toward Dade. “He’s talking about Zeke and Michelle. I did manage to send them a text message to get out of the bunker several weeks ago before two men followed them, kidnapped them, and tried to get information out of them, but apparently I wasn’t fast enough. They were trailed anyway. I had no way to follow up afterward either.”

Graham stiffened. What a convoluted shit show.

Spencer continued when no one spoke. “I overheard someone talking about sending a pair of guys to follow them to wherever they were going. I hoped those two guys weren’t in position yet. I was wrong.” He glanced at Kate and then back at Graham. “In your case, I was completely in the dark. I was so focused on making sure your data was secure that I had no idea anyone had found you out.” He winced.

Dade cleared his throat. “The important thing is that the data is secure, Graham and Kate made it here, and none of the good guys were killed.”

Kate nearly lurched forward. “Tushar was shot. I thought Trish was going to have a heart attack.”

“Yeah, but he’s going to be fine. Ryan touched base with his mom yesterday. Trish is still shaken up, but Tushar is healing.”

“Do we have any way to make contact with them?” Kate asked.

Dade shook his head. “Sorry. It’s not safe. I don’t trust the security level of that bunker. But they know we’re here, and they’re doing their part from the inside to be helpful.”

“Trish must be frantic,” Kate murmured. “I’ve never seen her that upset.”

“Her husband was shot,” Dade said. “It’s understandable.”

Graham had to agree with Kate, however. Dade hadn’t seen Trish that day. The woman had always been as solid as a rock when it came to the team. She had morphed into a frantic state right before Graham’s eyes. Understandable? Yes. Characteristic of Trish? No.

As Kate sighed heavily, Graham turned her away from Spencer, threaded his fingers with hers, and led her to a work station across the room. Dade had assigned the space to the two of them.

“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” Kate whispered.

“I don’t know, but I can tell you he put his life on the line to help get the data from the bunker saved. That’s enough for me.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah, you’re right.” She looked over his shoulder at the computer. “Did Dade assign us a task?”

“Several of them.”

She set her hands on his shoulders. “Then I guess we better get to work. This place gives me the creeps. The sooner we save the world, the sooner we can get back to living.”

He pulled her in close and closed his eyes. “I like that plan.”

Now, he just needed to make sure it happened before Kate lost the will to stay in Montana in hiding.

Tushar awoke with a start, his heart racing as he reached across the bed for his wife.

She immediately set a hand on his chest. “I’m right here.”

The room was dark, the only light coming from a lamp in the next room. Tushar licked his dry lips and turned toward the woman who made him a whole person. The woman he’d been married to for over two decades—three if he counted preservation. He wrapped his good arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “You okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.” She patted his chest. “We’re fine…” she whispered.

He was breathing heavily from waking so abruptly, and he turned onto his side and flattened her onto her back. He cupped her chin reverently and kissed her lips, letting his mouth trail down her neck and shoulder and then lower between her breasts.

He continued nibbling a path to her belly, nudging her shirt up so that he could kiss the soft spot that would soon be impossible to hide.

Her hands went into his hair, and she started giggling when the shadow of his beard tickled her skin. He lifted his face and smiled at her in the dim light. “How much longer do you want to keep this a secret?” he asked.

She shrugged. “As long as possible. We can’t very well tell anyone until we’ve told Ryan.”

“We have to get out of this bunker.” Tushar sighed as he climbed up her body. “We should go to your mom’s first.”

“She’s going to freak.” Trish’s smile faded quickly as he watched her slide back into that dark place of doubts. She wasn’t wrong to be concerned. They hadn’t seen a doctor yet.

It was ironic considering nearly everyone they knew was a doctor and all the equipment they could possibly need was in the bunker. Even an ultrasound machine.

But they’d discussed their options at length and decided they didn’t want to know anything. If the universe had blessed them with a child after ten years of hibernation and at the ages of forty-five, they would take whatever they got.

Trish hadn’t even taken a pregnancy test for the first several weeks. It hadn’t seemed reasonable that she could be pregnant, and she’d been in denial. It wasn’t until Tushar grew concerned from watching her vomit first thing every morning that he came to her with the test and held her hand while they waited for the results.

He remembered that moment well as he stared down at his beautiful wife. She’d stopped feeling nauseous several weeks ago. Now she had that amazing glow that never left her. He was actually surprised no one had guessed.

Until a week ago, they had been tiptoeing around keeping things to themselves, but he’d seen the panic all over her face when he’d gotten shot. It was time to get out of this bunker. It was time to talk to Ryan. It was time to catch up with the team and get his wife someplace safe.

This bunker did not qualify as a safe place to fall. It should have been the safest place in the world, but it no longer represented that. Even though he felt much calmer now that they’d proven Temple was on their side and hadn’t known about the source of the threats, the bunker still represented danger to Tushar. Either there were bugs he couldn’t detect in the lab, or some advanced technology was spying on them, or someone who worked there was a mole. It didn’t matter. He wanted out.

“I’ll work on a plan,” he told her as he leaned down to nuzzle her breasts. They were already filling out just like they had when she’d been pregnant with Ryan.

“You can use my mom easily as a reason we need to leave the bunker.”

He nodded. “Yeah, convincing Temple we need to take a day trip won’t be difficult. What makes my skin crawl is visualizing how disappointed she’s going to be in us when we don’t return.”

Trish sighed. “I know. I hate that part. We’ve known her for over twenty years. I consider her family. I know in my heart she has nothing to do with whatever secret band of people is trying to undermine the work of Project DEEP, but I’m equally aware that she stands way too close to the enemy and we can’t tell her anything.”

“Yeah. At least she realizes that now and doesn’t want to hear anything either. What she doesn’t know, she can’t inadvertently pass on.” Tushar held her gaze for a long time, soaking in the love he felt radiating off her. “I hope it’s a girl,” he teased.

“I hope it’s not born in a cave somewhere on the run,” she responded.

He reached up to smooth a hand across her cheek. “I promise that won’t happen. I’ll move mountains to ensure you’re in a safe place long before the delivery.”

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too.” He leaned down to kiss her lips, knowing their future was going to be full of happiness and excitement.

Grayson Maston’s nerves were completely frayed when his cell phone rang in the pocket of his scrubs, making him jump in his seat. He’d been tapping his foot nervously for over half an hour, keeping a close eye on the comatose woman on the gurney in front of him.

Bianca Serrano. Young. Hispanic. Petite. She’d been with Project DEEP for less than a year before the entire team had been cryonically preserved ten years ago.

They were in the back of an ambulance. An ambulance that had been sitting idle behind a strip mall for much longer than he would have liked.

He tugged the cell from his pocket, glanced at the screen, and connected the call. “Ryan. Thank God. What the hell is going on?”

“Sorry. Detective Pierce Titus is going to pick you up.”

“Who the hell is Titus? And why?” Grayson needed answers, far more of them than he suspected he was going to get, judging by how fast Ryan was speaking.

“I’ll explain later, but you can trust him. He’s going to transport the two of you to a safe location.”

Grayson’s brows shot up. “A safe location,” he repeated sarcastically. “Right.” As far as Grayson was concerned, there were no safe locations on earth.

Ryan sighed. “As safe as we can manage right now. Titus will take you to a private clinic where Bianca can be hidden for the time being. We don’t want your current driver to know where you’re going.”

That made sense, but why was Grayson on this trek with a woman he didn’t know? He himself had only been awake for two months. He hardly had his bearings. “Why am I here?” Two hours ago the majority of the scientists and doctors working in the Colorado bunker for Project DEEP had been evacuated when an explosion compromised the front gate. In a mad scramble to get everyone to safety, Grayson had been randomly assigned to leave in an ambulance with Bianca.

“Temple did her best to pair people up in the most logical manner. You’re a medical doctor. You’ll be beneficial to Bianca along the way.”

Grayson sat up straighter, his spine stiffening. “Wait. Whoa… Are you thinking I’m going to stay with Bianca for a month waiting for her to wake up?”

“Yes. That’s the plan. Sorry. We need you.”

Grayson glanced at his patient and cringed. He ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t think of anything more boring than guarding a woman he barely knew while she lay in a coma for another four weeks.

“Grayson, the reason I called is because you need to know something.”

Hearing the concern in Ryan’s tone, Grayson closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his free hand. “There’s more?”

“Yes.” Ryan sighed. “Bianca’s been abused. I seriously doubt very many people know this. Even Temple didn’t know. It wasn’t until Damon pulled her from the reanimation chamber a few days ago that he saw the scars on her.”

Shit. “What kind of scars are we talking about?” Grayson understood the nuances of abuse all too well. He wondered what would have led everyone to assume Bianca had been abused just because she had scars.

“They look like whip marks up and down her back, her butt, and her thighs. They’re old enough to have been endured when she was a child. I’m inclined to believe she won’t like anyone knowing this since she never spoke of it. Temple is arranging for a nurse to care for Bianca while you’re at the clinic.”

Grayson’s spine stiffened. Fuck. His gaze went to Bianca. His hand flew to her much smaller one where it rested against the gurney. He wrapped his fingers around hers instinctively, pain piercing his heart. Who would do such a thing? His mood switched from frustrated to concerned in a heartbeat. A moment ago Bianca had been a scientist he barely knew. Now, she was someone with a story. A story he did not like.

“Grayson?” Ryan interrupted his thoughts, making Grayson realize he hadn’t responded.

“I’m here.” He sighed. “I’ll make sure the nurse is informed.”

“Perfect. I’ll get in touch with you again as soon as I can.” Ryan ended the call without another word.

Grayson put the phone back in his pocket, returned his gaze to Bianca, and slid his hand to her wrist to check her pulse for the millionth time. She was fine. All the machines hooked up to her were working fine. Everything was fine. Except it wasn’t, and he didn’t think everything would ever be fine again. Not for any of them, and certainly not for Bianca.

Bianca didn’t move. Of course. She wouldn’t be awake for another three and a half weeks. That was how long she needed to remain in a coma so that her organs could fully become functional. No one came out of a cryostat ready to run a marathon.

For the first time since Grayson had been paired up with Bianca, he looked at her differently. He hadn’t known her well before they were preserved. She’d been quiet and reserved. Kept her head down. Worked hard. She was a brilliant scientist with a specialty in research, specifically hematology. He knew that much about her, but he’d never known a single personal detail.

Did anyone?

He swallowed back the pain he felt on her behalf now and kicked himself for not recognizing the signs. He should have known better. Reserved. Quiet. Detached. She didn’t open up to people. She didn’t let anyone get close to her.

He thought back on her situation. Unlike most of the team, Bianca hadn’t had an apartment in town ten years ago. She’d had a room inside the bunker. As far as he knew, she’d never left the bunker.

Fuck.

He had no idea how much time passed while he held Bianca’s small hand, noticing the contrast between her darker skin and his pale complexion. He’d been raised on a farm in Nebraska to blond parents who didn’t donate an ounce of melanin to either him or his sister.

Bianca’s skin was the gorgeous tone he’d always wished for while he’d slathered himself with sunscreen every day even though he still managed to burn his face and neck every summer.

He cringed again when he thought about Ryan’s words. In the time Grayson had worked with Bianca, he’d only spoken to her a handful of times, mostly because she’d never been outgoing or social with the rest of the group. A sign he should have wondered about.

Grayson was no stranger to witnessing trauma. He’d watched his sister go through years of abuse at the hands of her husband. She had married young and had two kids before she finally got away from the asshole. But in that time, she’d been beaten so many times, Grayson was sure she’d lost count. She’d taken the abuse and hidden it at first, doing so to protect her children. Her husband had threatened to kill them if she told anyone.

Grayson’s heart pounded even now remembering the broken woman who’d shown up at his parents’ doorstep one night, her small kids in the car, her lip swollen and bloody, her eye black, and her clothes ripped. She’d finally had enough and gotten the strength to leave him.

Grayson’s parents had known. Grayson himself had known. But no matter what any of them said to her, she would deny it, and the longer she was with her husband, the less she’d seen of her family. She was twenty-three when she finally got away. Grayson was eighteen and about to go off to West Point.

He tried to shake the memory of that night from his mind, but it was never far away. He remembered the welts he’d seen on her back when their mother lifted her shirt to examine them.

Jerking his attention back to the present, Grayson set his gaze on Bianca once again. She was so small. So pretty. Her dainty features and silky hair made her seem younger than she was.

Granted, she was far younger than him. Twenty-seven if he remembered correctly, eight years younger.

He suddenly felt horrible for not paying attention to her or making an attempt to befriend her. Everyone had a story. Apparently hers was horrific. She deserved better. He hoped whatever asshole had struck this gorgeous woman was currently rotting in hell.

Bile rose to his throat as he squeezed her hand. Every ounce of frustration he’d felt an hour ago for being saddled with a stranger in a coma fled the ambulance. There was no reason for him to be angry. He didn’t currently have anyplace else to be for heaven’s sake. He would do Bianca a solid and befriend her when she woke up.

Every member of their team was in jeopardy. All twenty-one of them. They needed to stick together. Help each other through this crazy time while God-only-knew who would prefer to see them dead. Someone had obviously been very careless with her life at one point. That would not happen again. Not on Grayson’s watch.

Suddenly the driver’s door opened and Grayson lifted his gaze to find a man he didn’t know climbing into the driver’s seat in place of the original driver. The man twisted around and smiled. “Detective Pierce Titus.” He held his badge and identification open for Grayson to see.

Grayson nodded.

“I’ll have you settled in a much better location in no time. Hang tight.”

Grayson wondered what the hell a better location was going to look like. Not for the first time, he doubted there was such a place anymore. Someone was securing information about the employees of Project DEEP, and that someone was wreaking havoc on all their lives no matter where they fled.

DEEP. Disease & Epidemic Eradication & Prevention. The acronym was absurdly long and tedious, but it was perfectly descriptive of what the members of the team did for the government. They researched disease. Every one of them had been handpicked from the finest schools in the country to join the team.

And every one of them was now in danger. Both the original team being reanimated and the new team who’d come on two years ago with the technology to bring back the first team.

Grayson relaxed his shoulders. For the time being, there was nothing he could do but hope Titus indeed got him and Bianca to a safe location where she could recover and rejoin the living.

Her first shot at life apparently hadn’t gone so well. Grayson made a silent vow to ensure she fared far better at her second shot. In the course of his life, he’d done a lot to help the human race. Right now, one small woman needed him. He could at least keep her safe.

He knew his boss, General Temple Levenson, was offering relocation packages to anyone who wanted to start a new life with a new name. Perhaps that would be the best plan for Bianca. Anything would be better than waking up to find out that after the horrors of her childhood, she was now on the run from an unknown enemy who apparently intended to hunt her down.

For now, all Grayson could do was protect this petite woman with his life, and then when she woke up, help her gain enough strength to start over. He could do this. He had to do this.

Three and a half weeks later…

Something very heavy was weighing Bianca down. Too many blankets? She couldn’t lift her arms, and her mouth was dry. She tried to lick her lips and found even that was difficult. Her head was pounding too. She’d never been drunk in her life, but she imagined this was what a hangover felt like.

Maybe she had the flu. She wracked her brain, trying to come up with the last thing she could remember.

Then her eyes flew open. Her heart was pounding as she glanced around the room. She was in a hospital. Machines were hooked up to her. One of them started beeping.

Seconds later a man rushed into the room from the hallway. His brows were furrowed as he approached, a smile forming on his lips as he leaned over her.

Wait, she knew him... She worked with him at the bunker. Grayson Maston. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been very sick. They all had been. Every member of her team had contracted a rare form of anemia. AP12. He didn’t look sick now.

He set a palm on her forehead and then released her just as quickly to grab something from the table at her side. “Welcome back,” he said. “A few ice chips will help with the dry lips.” He spooned a sliver of ice and held it to her lips.

The coolness soothed. She coughed to clear her throat, hoping she would be able to speak. “We weren’t preserved?” she asked. Obviously not. The last thing she remembered was receiving a shot that would put her to sleep so she could be preserved. Had someone miraculously found a cure instead?

No. That made no sense. She’d seen Grayson go into the cryostat days before her. He’d definitely been preserved. Which meant she had been too. Holy shit.

He smiled. “We were. It’s been ten years.”

Her eyes bugged out. “Ten years?”

He set a hand on her shoulder and slid it down to her wrist. “Yep. I know it’s shocking. I nearly choked when I woke up.”

She glanced down at where he held her wrist and shuddered. It had been a long time since anyone touched her so intimately. Far more than ten years.

It wasn’t that no one ever made contact with her. They did. She bumped into people in the lab. It was unavoidable. But not like this. Grayson was practically holding her hand.

She realized she was staring at the way he touched her when he suddenly jerked his hand free. “Sorry. You want some more ice?” he rushed to add.

She nodded, feeling a flush run up her face. He’d done nothing wrong. She hated making him feel bad about touching her. It wasn’t intentional. It was a kneejerk reaction she’d always had.

She watched his face as he fed her a few more ice chips. His brow was furrowed and he swallowed several times. Suddenly, she froze, the last piece of ice running down her chin. He knows. Fuck. He knows. Her worst nightmare had come to life.

Of course he knows. Everyone probably knows. She glanced around in a panic, wondering how many of her team were awake and when the sympathetic stares would begin. Pity.

She’d gone to sleep that day believing in her soul she would never wake up again. It wasn’t conceivable to imagine she would ever be revived. Even if someone eventually found a cure for AP12, there had been no procedure to reanimate anyone yet. Apparently things had changed.

Shit. This was not what she’d wanted.

Something was different about this room. She didn’t recognize it. “Where are we?”

“A clinic in southern Colorado. Safe.”

Safe? What did that mean? Why wouldn’t they be safe?

“Where is everyone else?”

“Scattered. Long story.” He reached for her forehead again, set his hand gently on her skin, and then yanked it away when she winced. He straightened to his full height and wiped his palms on his thighs. “You should sleep some more. You’ll be more alert the next time you wake up.”

For a moment, she stared at him, her heart racing as she read the pity on his face. She closed her eyes to black out his expression. Sleep was a good idea. Maybe she’d never been awake in the first place. If she was lucky, this entire weird episode had been a dream. Or a nightmare. If she was lucky, she’d go back to sleep and never wake up again.

Because she’d never wanted to see that look on anyone’s face. That was why she never spoke of her childhood to a living soul. It was why she never opened herself up to relationships with men. It was why she kept to herself and didn’t even have close girlfriends.

Fear of seeing that look had propelled her to remain private for her entire adult life. And now it was here to bite her in the ass, mocking her with some insane level of scientific research that dared to bring her back from the dead to taunt her with horrifying looks of pity from her teammates.

Yeah, sleep was the best option.

Death had been her first choice to avoid confrontation, though. She’d been at peace with death when she’d contracted AP12. She’d worked hard and been happy with what she’d accomplished in life. She’d been ready for the end, knowing she’d survived trauma most people were never subjected to in her life and had still managed to make the world a better place.

She didn’t want to be reanimated if it meant having to go through the nightmare of explaining her childhood to anyone.