Chapter Eight
8:55 p.m.
“Fuck.”
She had to agree with River’s assessment. “That’s about the size of it.”
“And it’s resistant to the antibiotics used to treat it, right?”
“Yep.”
River swore a long, unbroken sentence. “What’s our plan?”
“You two get yourselves sorted out,” Dozer told them. “Meet me in ten minutes by the decontamination tents so I can assign you some people to assist.”
“Will do,” River said.
Ava waited until Dozer was gone before answering River’s question. “Contact Ben White. He’s the decontamination team leader. If the dorm is location zero and not the coffee shop, we’re going to need him.” She got to her feet and deposited the remains of her MRE and water bottle in the appropriate trash containers.
River was right behind her. “I left my M24 with Bill. I need to pick it up.”
“You left your weapon with a man you just met?”
“I left my weapon secured in a lockbox with a professional of the CDC.”
“Really?” She pointed at herself. “Member of the geek brigade here. You didn’t sound all that happy to leave it with him, to rely on one of us for…what did you call it?” She arched a brow. “Oh yeah, help with your weapon.”
He grinned at her. “There’s help, and there’s help.”
“From Bill?”
“I’m working with him on this mission. That makes him a brother.”
She couldn’t stop a snort from escaping. “I’m working with you, too. Does that make me your sister?”
His response was immediate. “Fuck, no.”
“What am I, then?”
“My mouse.” His voice was low and rough, and it sent a heated arrow through her.
Allowing him to use a pet name for her was a bad idea, no matter how much parts of her liked it. “I am not your rodent.”
“But you are mine.”
What did he just say? “Excuse me?”
He met her gaze squarely. “My partner. My responsibility.”
It sounded reasonable, sort of, but there was a thread of heated steel in his tone that said his commitment to keeping her safe went further than it should. “Have you always been this territorial?”
The look on his face was one she hadn’t seen in almost two years. Raw, heated, and focused solely on her. “Nope.”
He wanted her?
No, it had to be her own feelings of attraction toward him reflecting back at her. Anything else was crazy. She wasn’t pretty or witty or a girl who knew how to flirt, not even with Adam.
She and Adam had dated since their last year in high school. They’d been lab partners in chemistry class, and that relationship carried on after school. She went to university, got her medical degree, then specialized in microbiology. Adam had gone into the military, and though they didn’t see a lot of each other due to his frequent deployments, their relationship had been comfortable.
Easy.
This partnership with River felt…different.
More.
He’d made a point of putting her in charge, not something Adam had ever done. How long could it last?
“Men are confusing,” she muttered to herself.
River laughed and nudged her shoulder with his own. “And women aren’t?”
She rolled her eyes. “You are a twelve-year-old.”
“Guilty.”
She stopped to face him. She couldn’t afford to have him question her authority once they picked up their escort. “You’ll back up my orders to our law-enforcement partners, won’t you?”
His brows rose, the smile slid off his face, and then he nodded slowly. “Whatever you need, Mouse.”
The sincerity on his face melted the uncomfortable ball of ice in her chest. “Okay.”
She started walking again. They were rapidly approaching the CDC’s decontamination area in the parking lot. There was just one more thing she needed to say before anyone else was around.
“If you must call me Mouse,” she said quietly, “please don’t do it where other people can hear.”
“Giving a fellow soldier a nickname is a sign of trust,” he replied just as quietly. “A sign to everyone else that we’re a team.”
“Well, my mental nickname for you is Mr. Smooth, but I doubt you want the Homeland agents calling you that.”
“Mr. Smooth?” he asked in a very quiet voice.
Her stomach dove into her shoes. Shit. How stupid was that? She could see it on his face. Surprise. Comprehension. Speculation.
Me and my big mouth.
“Could you just forget you heard me say that? Please.”
“That kind of…confession gives a man a lot to think about,” he said, his voice a heated whisper. “Don’t think I’ll be able to forget.”
She glanced at him and had no problem recognizing the wicked desire on his face. A ball of ice formed in the place where her stomach used to be. “I…I just screwed up big time, didn’t I?”
He froze, then frowned. “What?”
She threw her hands up in the air. “The way you looked at me just now, like I’m some bimbo throwing herself at you for…for meaningless sex.”
“Huh?” He stared at her with his mouth open.
“How could you not lose respect for me? I objectified you the moment I met you.” She swallowed hard. Pull yourself together, you twit. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” he asked, his frown that of a man who’d completely lost the thread of a conversation. “For what?”
“Haven’t you been listening to me?”
“Sort of,” he answered without hesitation. “I’m still stuck on the sex you mentioned.”
Yep, she’d destroyed all hope of working with River as two equal professionals. God damn it.
She’d lost her mind as well as her judgment. She’d really thought River was a good guy. A dependable guy. A safe guy. “I’ll tell Dr. Rodrigues to assign someone else to ride herd on me.”
“What?” He pulled her to a stop and leaned down into her personal space bubble. “Like hell you will. I’ve got your back.”
“But, you just admitted to being distracted by sex.”
“I can compartmentalize.”
He was too close, too intense. She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t respect me anymore.”
He followed. “How the fuck did you arrive at that conclusion? I respect you more than anyone else here.” He gestured toward his own chest with one thumb. “I’ve seen you in action.”
“But you just said—”
“I was surprised. A man doesn’t hear every day a woman he thinks is hotter than hell say she thinks the same about him. Maybe not more than once in a lifetime.”
“Oh.” But did he respect her? “So, you’ll follow my orders?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You won’t try to…” How to ask if he could put the attraction stuff aside? She wasn’t ready for this. Might not ever be ready to have any kind of relationship with another soldier. A man who would always put someone else’s safety above his own.
The lust faded completely from his face, replaced by a lopsided smile. “I’ll be whatever you need me to be.”
The sincerity in his voice soothed frayed nerves. She studied him. There was an openness to his face and posture that told her he was telling the truth.
“Okay.” She let out a breath. “Okay. Right now, I need you to be a soldier. We’re fighting a war most people can’t even imagine, let alone see. We don’t even know who our enemy is.”
He stepped back, nodded decisively, and said in a firm voice, “Yes, ma’am.”
She could do this. “Get your fancy rifle. I’m going to call Ben White.”
River saluted, then trotted off while she made the call.
“Looks like our escort is here,” River said as he returned with his rifle a few minutes later. “You’ve got this, Mouse. Remember, you’re giving orders, not suggestions. They’re here to help you, not the other way around.”
“Okay.” She strode toward the gathering group of men, River keeping pace with her on her right.
A dozen men were gathered outside vehicles ranging from the black SUVs Homeland’s agents seemed to drive to marked police cars. One face in particular stood out from the rest.
Agent Geer watched Ava and River approach with a contemptuous twist to his mouth. “Don’t tell me you two are running this operation.”