Special Forces Rendezvous

chapter 9



They didn’t reach Cambridge until two o’clock in the morning. Julia was thoroughly exhausted as she climbed into the queen-size bed of their hotel room, yet while Sebastian passed out the second his head hit the pillow, she couldn’t seem to sleep no matter how hard she tried. It had been an action-packed day and her brain refused to shut off.

Earlier, they’d landed at a small airport near Albany that catered to cargo airlines, then took a cab to a car rental agency to secure a vehicle. She’d rented the car under her new name—Julie Francis—and the clerk at the desk hadn’t batted an eye when Julia handed over her fake driver’s license. Three hours later, she and Sebastian had checked into this hotel, and now here she was, wide awake, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what horrors tomorrow would bring.

The events of the last couple of days continued to run through her mind like reruns of a bad sitcom. The clinic was a pile of ashes. Her friends were dead. Her life was in danger. And in between those gruesome images were snippets of actual joy—making love to Sebastian on the plane, their easy conversation, the surprisingly entertaining drive to Cambridge.

But it was the lovemaking part that hogged most of her thoughts. She still couldn’t believe she’d instigated that incredible encounter. Stripping, challenging him to give in to the attraction between them. And what followed had been the most intense, amazing, thrilling sex of her life. She’d given Sebastian complete control over her body, a realization that continued to astound her. She never relinquished control, not in her professional life and not in the bedroom, and yet she’d let Sebastian take charge earlier.

And he’d shocked her by knowing exactly how to bring her pleasure without her having to direct him the way she’d done with previous lovers.

Rolling over on her side, she studied Sebastian’s sleeping face. His features were more peaceful than she’d ever seen, his sensual mouth relaxed. She was tempted to run her fingers along the defined line of his jaw, stroke the stubble growing there, trace the outline of his sexy lips, but she didn’t want to wake him. Instead, she closed her eyes, eventually falling into fitful slumber.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, the sun was streaming in through the gauzy white curtains across the room. Sebastian’s side of the bed was empty. Yawning, Julia sat up and glanced at the bathroom door, which was ajar. The shower was running, wisps of steam rolling out from the crack in the door.

Her heart somersaulted as she imagined Sebastian standing naked under the spray, water coursing down his muscular body, sliding over his golden skin and perfectly defined muscles. She was tempted to join him in the shower, but a glance at the alarm clock showed it was almost nine o’clock, and she knew they needed to get going as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, the water shut off and Sebastian appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but a white towel that hung low on his trim hips.

A jolt of heat seared right through her clothes and made her skin tingle.

“Morning,” he said, his gray eyes meeting hers.

“Morning.” She slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “Do I have time to take a quick shower, too?”

“Of course.” The corners of his mouth curved. “I would’ve asked you to join me, but you looked so damn peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I was tossing and turning all night.”

“By the way, I drove into town while you were sleeping and picked you up a few things,” he told her. “Toothbrush, hairbrush, clothes. I had to guess at your size, so hopefully it all fits. I left everything in the bathroom.”

Julia was touched. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I figured you were probably getting tired of wearing that same see-through shirt all the time.” Those gray eyes smoldered with desire. “Not that I’m complaining. I love that shirt.”

“Of course you do.” Rolling her eyes, she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Because she wasn’t the type of woman who spent an inordinate amount of time on her appearance, she was ready to go in less than thirty minutes. She’d put on one of the outfits Sebastian had bought her, pleased to find that the jeans fit perfectly. She paired them with a V-neck black T-shirt, ankle socks and the new pair of running shoes she discovered at the bottom of the shopping bag. She braided her hair in her usual no-nonsense style and grabbed the sunglasses she’d also found among Sebastian’s purchases. The man had thought of everything.

The sunglasses came in handy once she and Sebastian walked out of the hotel lobby and stepped outside. It was a beautiful, sunny day, much hotter than usual for mid-May in Massachusetts. As they strode to the hotel parking lot toward their rental, she noticed Sebastian examining his surroundings as if he couldn’t quite understand what he was seeing.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

He seemed distracted, his silvery eyes focused on the lampposts lining the sidewalk running parallel to the lot. “What? Oh, nothing’s wrong. The return to civilization is jarring, I guess. I couldn’t fully appreciate it last night because I was so damn tired, but now...” He shook his head. “It’s weird being back.”

“Are you from Massachusetts?” she asked, realizing he’d never actually told her where he was from.

“Nah, I was raised in Virginia Beach. Haven’t been back there in years, though. When the unit wasn’t on assignment, I was living in an apartment in Richmond.”

He started the car and drove out of the lot, shooting her a sidelong look. “So this guy’s lab is directly on campus?”

Julia nodded. “It’s right past the natural history museum, on Oxford Street. I’ll tell you where to go once we get closer.”

As they set out toward Harvard’s Cambridge campus, she toyed with the end of her braid, praying that Frank wouldn’t ask too many questions when she showed up at his lab with a potentially deadly water sample. She didn’t have to worry about Frank not being there—using Sebastian’s “secure” smartphone, she’d spoken to a receptionist in the biology department who’d confirmed that Dr. Matheson was on campus and would be all week.

“We need to be careful today.” Sebastian’s voice hardened as he uttered the warning. “How close are you with this guy?”

“Close enough. Why?”

He didn’t look happy about that. “Okay, listen up, Doc. At this point, we have to assume that the general in charge of the Esperanza cleanup has contacted his superiors. They know you escaped, and they probably assume you’re hiding out somewhere in San Marquez. With that said, these people aren’t stupid. They’ll have placed tails on everyone you know in the States, and tapped their phones, just in case you make contact. So, I repeat, how close are you and the professor?”

“We’re good friends. I have lunch with him whenever I come home.” A tremor of fear traveled along her spine. “Do you really think they’ll be watching Frank in hopes that I come to him for help?”

“Good chance. Which is why we need to take certain precautions.” His tone became dry. “And just so I don’t come off like a moron when we meet this man, maybe you can tell me exactly what it is a microbiologist does?”

She cracked a smile, knowing he was trying to take her mind off the scary scenarios he’d just painted. “Well, Frank’s expertise actually lies in virology, which is a subfield of microbiology,” she explained. “Basically, he studies viruses.”

“How viruses work, how they spread—that type of stuff?”

“Pretty much, except it’s more complex than that. He also focuses on the virus’s evolution, the way it interacts with the host organisms, the way it reproduces. And along with that, he tries to develop more efficient ways to isolate a virus and culture it so it can be studied.” She laughed. “Most of it is way over my head, too, so trust me, you won’t be the only one feeling like a moron. And Frank tends to get very lecturey when he’s passionate about something, so be prepared.”

“Lecturey?” Sebastian echoed with a grin. “Do all doctors just arbitrarily make up words like that?”

“Yup. Oh, turn left up there,” she ordered.

He slowed down as they navigated the campus. Thanks to the great weather, students had flocked outdoors, littering the school’s manicured lawns, milling outside the gorgeous ivy-covered buildings. Julia fixed her gaze out the window, watching as people hurried by, carting textbooks or chatting on cell phones as if they had no care in the world. Sebastian was right—it was weird being back home. After living in Valero for six months, Julia now felt disoriented as she stared at the beautiful historical buildings and happy young faces and modern conveniences like phones and laptops and tablets.

Sebastian didn’t stop right away—he did three passes around the block before his rigid shoulders finally relaxed. She’d noticed his hawk-eyed gaze doing a thorough sweep, though she had no clue what he was looking for.

“Parking!” she exclaimed when she spotted a black Honda beginning to move away from the curb. “Take the spot. You don’t understand how miraculous this is. You won’t find anything closer and we can walk the rest of the way.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sebastian pulled into the space without question.

His vigilance only intensified as they got out of the car. When he popped a pair of aviator sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, Julia couldn’t see his eyes anymore, but she had no doubt he was still inspecting every inch of their surroundings. And she knew he could probably whip out his gun in a nanosecond; she’d seen him tuck the black Beretta under the waistband of his snug jeans before they left the hotel. He’d offered her a weapon, too, but she’d declined—she was a decent shot, but guns made her nervous.

Five minutes later, they climbed the steps of the building that housed Frank Matheson’s lab. Julia was hit by a wave of nostalgia as they entered the familiar lobby. She suddenly flashed back to her college days, remembering how eager she was to finish medical school, how excited she’d been for her residency at Boston General. She would’ve worked in the same hospital as her father if that heart attack hadn’t taken him from her. And then, only two years later, Mia was gone, too.

Her heart ached as she pictured her sister’s face. God, she still missed her. She wondered if her mother thought about Mia as often as Julia did. Probably not. Darlene Davenport didn’t do emotions. The woman was carved from a block of ice.

Julia led the way to the stairwell. Frank’s lab was in the basement of the building, and the fluorescent-lit corridor was empty as she and Sebastian headed down it. They reached a pair of double doors, one bearing a bronze nameplate with Frank’s name and field.

She entered the lab without knocking, same way she’d done when she was a student here and Frank Matheson was the biology professor who’d taken her under his wing. They’d become close friends over the years, Frank treating her like the daughter he’d never been able to have. He’d once confessed over drinks that he was sterile thanks to a bad case of the mumps he’d had as a child. His wife had left him as a result and rather than remarry, he’d thrown himself into his work.

“Jules?” Frank was agape when he spotted her in the doorway.

She smiled sheepishly. “Hey, Frank.”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Sebastian’s observant gaze doing another sweep, and his shoulders stiffened when Frank Matheson made a beeline for Julia. He took a protective step toward her, ready to come to her rescue if need be.

But Julia wasn’t scared of the man dashing toward her. Frank looked every bit the mad scientist: a head of gray hair sticking up in all directions, wild brown eyes and a beard that seemed to devour his face. Rather than a white coat, he wore brown corduroy pants and a blue button-down with the tails sticking out.

“What are you doing here?” he exclaimed after he’d hugged her so tightly her lungs pleaded for oxygen. “When did you get back from San Marquez?”

“Late last night.”

Frank narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Sebastian. “And you brought a friend.”

She knew her former professor didn’t like having strangers in his lab, so she quickly introduced Sebastian, finishing with, “I’m sorry we just showed up like this, but we really need your help, Frank.”

His bushy gray eyebrows furrowed. “Should I be worried?”

Never one to sugarcoat, Julia let out a sigh. “Yes. Can we sit down?”

With visible concern, he gestured for them to follow him to the other end of the spacious laboratory. Several long tables filled the space, covered with every piece of equipment known to man—microscopes of various sizes, centrifuges, rows and rows of test tubes. Large refrigerated cabinets housed an array of vials containing samples in an assortment of colors, and the stark overhead lighting was nearly blinding.

Frank led them to the only table in the lab that wasn’t overloaded with stacks of paper or equipment. He sat on one of the tall metal stools, while Julia and Sebastian settled across from him.

Without a word, Sebastian placed the water sample from Esperanza in the center of the table. They’d transferred it into a durable plastic vial, and Sebastian had been keeping it on his person since they’d left San Marquez. A second sample had been left behind with Tate, just in case something happened to this one.

Frank cocked a brow at the vial. “What’s this?”

“That’s what we were hoping you’d tell us,” Julia said flatly.

“I’m confused here, Jules. I thought you weren’t coming home for another three months. Why aren’t you at the clinic?”

“First, I need to know, has anyone come around asking about me?” she asked, shooting him a grave look. “Cops, military, government officials?”

“What? No.” Amazement trickled from his voice. “Should I be expecting someone?”

“Maybe,” she admitted. “People might be looking for me, Frank. And if anyone comes by, you can’t tell them I was here.”

“All right. Now I’m worried. What’s going on, Jules?”

With a heavy breath, she gave him the short version of the story. He interrupted more than once, and several times his eyes widened or his mouth fell open. She knew how farfetched it all sounded, yet to Frank’s credit, he kept his skepticism to a minimum.

“Are you sure those people died from a virus, Jules? You said so yourself, you never saw the bodies.”

Sebastian spoke up. “The men in charge made several references to a virus. And like Julia mentioned, this wasn’t an isolated incident. The same virus, or one similar to it, was released ten months ago in another village.”

Frank was looking increasingly alarmed. “And there’s nothing more you can tell me about it? Modes of transmission? Incubation period? The ways in which it manifests?”

“We don’t know much.” Lines bracketed the corners of her mouth. “Potential symptoms are nosebleeds, foaming at the mouth, coughing maybe. We really don’t know. That’s why we came to you. We need to find out everything we can about this thing.”

Her former professor rubbed his chin, those brown eyes growing distant as he gave it some thought. “I don’t like this,” he finally said. “You should go to the police. If those villagers really were murdered, not to mention everyone at the clinic, you need to inform the authorities.”

“We can’t.” She shook her head in frustration. “Those soldiers were discussing the idea of killing me and blaming it on a virus! We can’t involve the police in this. The people in charge will just swoop in and orchestrate another cover-up.”

Frank shifted on his stool, looking extremely reluctant.

Sebastian, who hadn’t said much during the discussion, leaned forward and rested his elbows on the tabletop. “Look, Dr. Matheson, I understand where you’re coming from. Normally when people wind up dead, you call the cops, they investigate, catch the bad guys and case closed. But whatever’s going on here, it’s bigger than that. Someone is going to great lengths to keep the testing of this virus on the down low, and now that Julia knows the truth about what happened in the village, she’s a target. Do you understand?”

Worry erupted in the older man’s eyes. Julia had to hand it to Sebastian—he’d homed in on Frank’s weakness: the affection he felt for his surrogate daughter.

“Are you really in danger, Jules?” Frank asked quietly.

She nodded.

He reached for the vial and turned it over in his hand. “This won’t be easy,” he confessed. “There might not be enough of a sample here. When viruses are present in water, it’s typically in very low numbers. It’s far easier to detect a bacterium, or a parasite, as opposed to a virus.”

Her heart dropped. “But you can do it, right?”

“I can try.” He stroked his salt-and-pepper beard in a contemplative pose. “I suppose you want this done as soon as possible?”

“As fast as humanly possible,” she said ruefully. “And when I say this is life or death, I really frickin’ mean it.”

Both men chuckled, and then Frank grew serious again. “I’ll do my best, but if you’d paid any attention in my class, you’d know that detection using cell cultures takes time.”

“How much time?” Sebastian asked sharply.

“A few days, a few weeks.” The scientist shrugged. “The cells must be observed for signs of cellular destruction, and some viruses need as long as two weeks of growth before I can reach any conclusive results.”

Sebastian looked as frustrated as Julia felt. “Is there any way to speed up the process, Doc?”

For a second she thought he was talking to her, until she noticed those intense gray eyes focused on Frank. She experienced an odd spark of disappointment at the realization that Sebastian was so quick to assign the same nickname to someone else.

Call her pathetic, but she’d enjoyed feeling special.

“I can combine the culture with molecular detection,” Frank said thoughtfully. “Molecular methods often produce results in only twenty-four hours. What I can do is use reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction—”

“And you lost me,” Sebastian interrupted with a laugh.

Julia grinned at her old friend. “Just skip the explanation and give us the bottom line—will this combination of methods produce definitive results?”

“It should.” Frank sounded confident. “Let me get started on this right now. I can keep you apprised of any progress I make—do you still have the same cell number?”

She swallowed a lump of sadness, deciding not to mention that her cell phone, along with all her belongings and all her friends, had burned right along with the clinic. She quickly banished the heartbreaking memory.

“No, but you can call Sebastian’s phone.” She glanced at Sebastian, who quickly supplied the number.

“Do you need to write that down?” he asked when Frank didn’t reach for the notepad and ballpoint pen next to his arm.

“I have a head for numbers, young man. Don’t worry, I’ll remember it.” To illustrate, Frank recited the phone number without a single error.

Sebastian stood up and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a slender black flip phone and handed it to Frank. “Use this phone when you contact us. It’s a disposable, and it can’t be traced.”

The professor slid off his stool, his expression taking on that glint of focused intensity Julia had seen so many times before.

Knowing he was two seconds from entering “science world,” she rounded the table and gave him a quick hug, overcome with a rush of gratitude. “Thanks, Frank. I owe you one.”

He planted a kiss on her forehead. “You know I’ll do anything for you. Now skedaddle. Give me some time to work on this.”

She took a step away, then halted. “I don’t need to tell you to keep this quiet, do I? Discretion is key.”

“Don’t you worry, Jules. My lips are sealed.”

* * *

Two days later, Julia paced the carpeted floor of the hotel room, biting on her bottom lip and trying hard not to panic. It had been eight hours since Frank’s last call and she was getting worried. She and Sebastian had been twiddling their thumbs in this room for what was beginning to feel like an eternity.

“Why hasn’t he called again?” she demanded.

Sebastian was lying in the center of the bed with his arms propped behind his head, wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants the same dark shade as his eyes. His bare chest gleamed beneath the dim ceiling lamp, but not even his deliciously tight six-pack could ease her distress. Last time Frank checked in, he’d sounded incredibly distracted, and she’d also picked up on a quiver of fear in his voice.

“I’m sure he’s just running some more tests,” Sebastian answered. “Yesterday he said he was following up on a hunch, remember?”

“I remember.” She gnawed on the inside of her cheek. “He’s scared, Sebastian. I heard it in his voice today. It must be about the results.”

Sinking down on the edge of the mattress, she studied Sebastian’s unruffled expression and shook her head in dismay. “Why don’t you look worried?”

“Because worrying achieves nothing. I don’t operate on what-ifs. I focus on facts, on what’s right in front of me. And right now, we don’t know much of anything.” He held out one muscular arm. “C’mere. Let me distract you for a bit.”

Immediately, a rush of warmth flooded her body. It was official—she was addicted to this man’s touch.

When he yanked her against him, she melted into him like butter on a hot pan, wondering why she transformed into a completely different woman when she was in Sebastian’s arms. He brought out a sensual, uninhibited side she never knew she possessed.

“You taste like chocolate and strawberries,” he murmured as he slanted his mouth over hers in a deep kiss.

“That’s because you made me eat an excessive amount of both for lunch,” she reminded him.

“Just trying to fatten you up a bit.” He said it teasingly, then cupped her breasts over her shirt.

Julia shivered, feeling utterly wanton as she rubbed her hardening nipples into his palms. She loved the way he touched her. Loved the mind-shattering sensations he evoked in her, the new and unfamiliar responses he summoned from her body.

He shoved his hands underneath her butt and lifted her onto his lap. The ridge of his erection pressed into her mound, making her moan. He was always so hard, so ready. It was liable to give her an ego, how turned on he got whenever she was around.

With heavy-lidded gray eyes, he peeled off her T-shirt and tossed it aside, then tackled her bra. “I need to taste you, baby.”

Baby. He only called her that when they were in bed, and she found herself eagerly anticipating the moments when those two rough syllables exited his sexy mouth. But nothing was as thrilling as the wet suction of that mouth as it closed around her nipple.

Sighing with pleasure, she closed her eyes and gave herself over to his erotic ministrations. His tongue came out to lick her nipple, flicking against the puckered bud before he sucked it hard, bringing a jolt of heat and a sting of pain. Sebastian slid one hand between her legs and stroked her over the thin material of her leggings, his tongue continuing to tease and torture her aching breasts.

As her muscles tightened and her sex quivered, it occurred to her that she’d had more orgasms in the past two days than in the past five years combined. And when Sebastian dipped a hand into her leggings, pushed aside the crotch of her panties and stroked her damp folds with skilled fingers, yet another orgasm blew through her, making her sag into his broad chest as she shuddered with pleasure.

How did he always manage to make her come apart without warning like that?

She stared at him in wonder, about to ask him that very question, but then she glimpsed the expression on his face and her breath hitched. Raw, hungry lust. Taut features. Glittering gray eyes. He wanted her, and a part of her still couldn’t fathom how a gorgeous warrior like this would be drawn to a scrawny, frizzy-haired workaholic like her.

Rolling onto her side, she cupped the bulge in his sweatpants, eliciting a low groan from him. “I’m really enjoying this fling,” she murmured, running her hand up and down his hard length.

“Me, too.” His eyelids grew heavy as he thrust his erection into her hand.

She stroked him for several lazy moments before tugging on his waistband to pull down his pants. With her body still loose and relaxed from her climax, she didn’t feel the urgency to have him inside her. She was in the mood to explore now, to tease him the way he liked to tease her, to torment him the way he tormented her.

He wasn’t wearing anything beneath his pants, and his erection sprang up to greet her, long and thick and weeping with desire. Smiling, Julia crawled between his legs and encircled his shaft with one hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

Sebastian groaned.

Pleased with his reaction, she decided to drive him crazier—she lowered her head and wrapped her lips around his engorged tip.

He jerked off the bed, a hoarse curse leaving his lips.

“Baby, you’re going to kill me,” he muttered, one hand coming down to slide into her hair. She’d left it unbraided, and he twined several long strands around his finger before cupping the back of her head to bring her closer.

Julia took him deep, loving the husky noises he made, the way he moved his hips to the rhythm of her strokes. She used her mouth and tongue and hands to send him over the edge.

Sebastian was struggling for breath by the time she released him. “C’mere,” he said roughly.

Julia clambered up his strong body and kissed him, laughing when he flipped her on her back and hovered over her, his gray eyes glimmering with hunger. “That was incredible, Doc.” He dipped his head to nibble on her ear. “Now give me five minutes of recovery time, and then I’m going to—”

A ringing cell phone interrupted him.

“Answer the phone,” he finished wryly.

He jumped off the bed and swiped his phone from the chest of drawers on the other side of the room. “It’s Frank,” he announced.

Julia shot off the bed, all playfulness and desire flying out the window to make room for the dread that filled the air. She listened to Sebastian’s side of the conversation, all two words of it, then frowned once he hung up. “What did he say?” she demanded.

“He wants us to meet him at the lab.”

Sebastian swiftly reached for his Beretta and unloaded the clip to check his ammo, while Julia stuck her feet into her sneakers and grabbed the messenger bag she’d bought at the campus bookstore yesterday. Her new IDs were stashed in there, along with the gun Sebastian had demanded she carry.

“Did he say anything about the sample?” she asked as they hurried out the door.

Sebastian’s jaw was tight. “All he said was for us to get there ASAP.”

It was hard not to freak out after hearing that. She’d been friends with Frank long enough to know that he didn’t throw around orders like ASAP unless absolutely necessary. The man must be in a real panic.

Julia was doing some panicking herself on the way to Harvard. She nervously tapped her fingernails on her thighs, wishing Frank had provided a few more details over the phone. Whatever he’d discovered, it couldn’t be good.

Sure enough, when she and Sebastian flew into the lab twenty minutes later, the frantic look in her former professor’s brown eyes was impossible to miss. This afternoon he’d opted to wear his white coat, and to Julia’s alarm, she glimpsed a reddish stain under his right breast pocket.

Was that blood?

“Thanks for getting here so fast,” Frank said somberly, leading them toward the back of the laboratory.

Julia felt the color drain from her face as they approached a table with half a dozen cages on it. The cages were small and covered with protective plastic wrap, and each one contained wood chips, a plastic wheel, and a dead mouse.

Or at least she thought the mice were dead. Those white motionless lumps could be sleeping for all she knew.

But Frank’s forbidding expression said otherwise.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” she said bleakly.

“Bad?” Frank shook his head, looking both astounded and horrified. “Let me put it this way—if this virus found its way into a major water supply? The results wouldn’t be bad. They would be catastrophic.”