Dean snapped into action, spinning around and locking the male wrist with both hands. His opponent let go of the gun he was holding and it fell on the grass. As adrenaline raced through his blood, Dean kicked the weapon away and tackled the other man to the ground in two seconds flat. Grunting, he straddled Bhram Davies and dug his elbow into the man's windpipe. "What the hell was that?" he snapped. Bhram began wheezing for air. He batted at Dean's thighs with his fists, but to no avail. He had been able to attack him earlier with his ninja moves, but Dean had the upper hand because he was now holding the man by the neck. "What the hell kind of move was that with the gun?" he demanded, sinking his elbow deeper. Thalia's sarcastic voice filled the night air. "Did you really expect him to answer you, Dean? My God, you're crushing his trachea."Good point. As the adrenaline sizzling in his veins began to dissipate, he lifted his arm and let the other man breathe. The man's face beca
Dean noticed Thalia's grip tightening over the strap of the messenger bag on her shoulder. The bag contains the water sample and the note on the research done by Dr. Matthews, but he could tell she wasn't anxious to part with it just yet. He didn't blame her. Even though he believed that Bhram didn't know anything about the Taurus project, he still couldn't fully trust the man, especially that he said, "You need to come in officially.""No way," he said emphatically. "I promise you, I will protect you. We'll take your story to the secretary of defense himself. Verano--""--might be behind this entire mess," Dean finished. "For all we know, Secretary Verano green-lit Project Taurus.""Then we contact the Bureau, place you and Dr. Ricafort in protective custody." Immediately after the words left his mouth, Bhram chuckled ruefully. "Don't bother answering - we both know you'll reject the offer."Dean just shrugged. "How do we handle this, then? I don't have the authority to negotiate
Each piece of clothing Dean had removed provided her with a new delicious body part to focus on. The tanned expanse of his chest, dusted with hair and sculpted with muscle. His trim waist, ripped thighs, and long legs. In the motel room light, the handful of scars marring his body were more visible. A white one beneath his left pectoral, a puckered one over his right hip. When Thalia asked the man about his scar, he just shrugged and said it was a sign that he had fought in a war. But in the eyes of a doctor, she knew there was more an explanation than that. The line under his pecs? Definitely caused by a blade of some sort. And the puckered scar? It was obviously a hit of a bullet.But apparently knife and bullet wounds were not a big deal to a tough guy like Dean Magallon. "Jeez, Doc, it seems like you have a desire for my body," he said and was the first to enter the bathroom. When Thalia got inside, she looked at the naked man next to her. "We don't fit here in the bathroom.""W
After a while, Thalia joined him in bed. "I just thought about how much sex can release stress," she admits. "I have never experienced that in my whole life.""Like what happened to us earlier?" He leaned over to turn off the bedside lamp, then settled on his back and pulled her closer so that her head was resting on his bare chest. "Because you are so passionate, Dean." She felt that her cheeks were red, fortunately it was dark in the room and the man couldn't see her blushing face. "That's why I feel so totally out of control.""Is that a bad thing, Doc?"She paused thoughtfully. "Before, I would have said yes, but now that I know how extraordinary it can be, I think letting go is a very good thing."She turned to the alarm clock on the bedside table, and was surprised to see that it was past midnight. But she hadn't felt tired or sleepy yet, and Dean seemed to feel the same way. "What's your favorite place that you've been?" he asked Thalia pursed her lips for a moment. "Canada.
Dean woke up the next morning to the constant ringing of his cell phone. He's been in the military for twelve years so he's used to waking up to any sound even in the middle of a deep sleep. As his arm shot out to grab the phone, he slid into a sitting position without skipping a beat. "Tell me if you have any news, Captain," he said to the caller instead of saying hello. "Yes, I do," Tatum confirmed. "Not sure if it'll pan out, though. Are you still in Georgia?""Yes."Next to him, Thalia stirred in bed. She opened her eyes and glanced over at him, covering her mouth as a yawn overtook it. "What's going on?" she murmured. "Tatum," he mouthed, before shifting his focus back to the call. "Ina really spent the night researching who is now connected to the D&N Initiative," Tatum said. "Is that the lab where Dr. Edison works?""Yes, that's right. Anyway, Ina saw a lot of people involved in Project Taurus. Some of them were scientists, epidemiologists, lab techs, and research assistan
Thalia seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief. She was also impressed by Dean's acting skills as if the scene was real. They followed Dr. Lucas on his wide balcony. Then he led them into a large den that smelled of leather, firewood and cigars. The carpet beneath their feet and the expensive artwork on the walls revealed that Dr. Lucas liked his surroundings fancy. According to the files they read from Ina, this scientist owns a luxurious villa in Greece, and also owns yachts. Thalia wondered if he'd paid for all these luxuries with the money he made from gambling, or if he'd started gambling to support his life of luxury. She suspected it was the latter. "Look," Dr. Lucas said as he flopped down in a leather armchair adjacent to a stone fireplace, "the Pentagon already contacted our lab yesterday morning after the Tuxie attacks. The director of D&N briefed us about it, and blood samples from Tuxie victims are already being analyzed in our facility. We've been working around the c
Dean can't really believe that he and Thalia succeeded their scheme against Dr. Lucas. Yet here he was, sitting in the front seat of an unmarked sedan and monitoring the movements of a rogue scientist who was about to meet a bona fide terrorist for a clandestine rendezvous. To Dean's delight, Dr. Lucas had signed that forged immunity agreement. He'd told them about the gambling debts he'd accrued over the past few years, admitted to having a bit of a cocaine problem, confessed that he'd been paid a substantial amount of dough for his work on Project Taurus, yet apparently not substantial enough to put even a chip in his mountain of debt. When the loan sharks and creditors came knocking, Dr. Lucas had panicked and done the only thing he could think of - sold a deadly virus to a terrorist group. Right, because for him that is the only way to solve his money problem. Dean just focused on the corner of the coffee shop, watching Dr. Lucas every move. The scientist was at a table on the
Dean still continues to hear the conversation between Dr. Lucas and the UFF representative. "And do yourself a favor, take the money and get out of town. You won't be in this city thirty hours from now." Dean could practically hear the smirk in the terrorist's voice. "What is it?" Thalia demanded. "What did he say?""He told Dr. Lucas to get out of town." Dean's jaw went rigid. "Dammit. I think these terrorists plan to release the virus again."When Thalia was about to speak, he grabbed her and kissed her on the lips. "Go, Doc. I'll just call you on the prepaid when I know more."Without another word, Thalia slid out the passenger door of the sedan and headed for the unmarked car they'd rented earlier today, which was parked a dozen yards away. He watched her for a moment, then shifted his gaze in time to see Dr. Lucas' contact impatiently rise to his feet. Dean started the engine and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, a rush of adrenaline entering his bloodstream. When the