When Dean was suddenly quiet, she didn't push him to continue. The pain in his eyes sent an ache to her heart, and the dull note in his voice brought the fresh sting of tears to her eyes. "But he's the one who got hurt in the end," Dean said. "One night I convinced him to go out in the middle of the night so we could go late-night fishing in the lake near our house. He didn't want to come with me, but he still thought about my welfare. After fifteen minutes without a single bite, I got bored of catching fish and decided to swim in the lake."Dean was quiet again. Thalia suddenly felt queasy. "So Maverick also accompanied me to swim in the lake. We really enjoyed ourselves while bathing, we even played a game of holding our breath under the water. I won with a time of ninety seconds. But me being me, I'm bored of our game again. But Maverick still wanted to stay in the water for a while, so I left him in the middle of the lake. When I reached the shore, I turned around to look at Mav
Dean was very grateful when someone knocked on the door of their motel room, signaling that their pick-up car had arrived. He really wanted to leave when he told Thalia everything about his past. He really didn't want to talk about that tragedies in his life. He avoided them, even thinking about them. Normally, he kept the memories locked up tight, but he couldn't really stop himself from sharing them with Thalia. He'd felt himself getting too close. His heart had been in his throat when he'd made love to her earlier. He'd felt so damn vulnerable, his emotions so close to the surface that he'd decided to remind himself what happened when he let himself love someone. But his plan backfired. He had already told Thalia about his past, his fear, and his curse. She didn't even look away while listening to his story. You are the reason why I am alive today. Her quiet words buzzed in his head and he pushed them away as he went to answer the door. Bhram sent his aide, Patrick Winslow, who
"We've got a visual on Apollo. I repeat, visual on Apollo. He appears to be asleep in the back bedroom, west side, clear shot." The hushed report came from the sniper positioned on the roof of the house bordering the terrorist nest. "Roger that. Maintain visual." Faust's voice, in that same monotone murmur, echoed in Dean's earpiece. "Visual on two tangos in the back bedroom, east side," the operative covering the side of the house whispered. "Andromeda One and Two. No movement.""Andromeda Three, Four and Five in the kitchen. Visual on back door," came another whisper. "Awake but no movement."From his position in the hedges separating the UFF nest from the neighboring home, Dean fixed his gaze on the front of the house. The light was on in the living room, and he saw someone lying on the sofa, a man watching television. The bluish light from the TV screen reflected off the glass of the large front window. "Tango in the living room. Awake but no movement," Dean murmured. "That mak
An hour later, Dean was on board the chopper after their successful operation. A ground unit was bringing Escalante and the two surviving UFF soldiers for interrogation, while the deadly vials were taken to the basement to be airlifted to the CDC. A search of the house had not turned up any more vials, and according to one of Escalante's men, all the vials in the group's possession had been in the house. That only spoke to the disorganized and highly unprofessional tactics of the UFF sect. Escalante's planning had been shoddy, his security weak, his goals unrealistic. "Very good job," Bhram Davies boomed as he greeted him at the helipad. He slapped Dean's back, and the two men headed for the door leading into the building. The rest of the team stalked past them, Faust barking orders at his men as he wiped the black paint off his face with a cotton rag. Dean did the same, he also wiped the black paint on his face with a cloth. "A joint task force is being organized in San Jose. Ev
Instead of going back to their motel room, Dean and Thalia checked into a hotel using Dean's fake identity. The only available room ended up being a suite with a huge Jacuzzi tub that brought a delighted grin to Thalia's face. Dean loved seeing her so happy, and she was much cuddlier now than usual. Linking arms when they walked, snuggling close during the car ride, planting a spontaneous and unbelievably passionate kiss on his lips in the hotel elevator. That kiss had succeeded in getting him harder than concrete, but neither of them had been in the mood for sex as they got settled in the suite. They haven't slept in the past twenty-four hours, so that's the reason why they just fell asleep when they got to their hotel room. When Dean's eyes opened a few hours later to find that it was dark beyond the floor-to-ceiling window, and he groaned with unhappiness. Thalia lay next to him, her warm ass wiggling into his groin. "What's wrong?" she asked sleepily."Imagine, we've been slee
They got out of the Jacuzzi and dried off, then they got dressed in a pair of complimentary robes instead of getting dressed. They both ended up ordering cheeseburgers and fries, along with the plate of onion rings to share. Probably wasn't smart to eat such a heavy meal at midnight, but they were both hungry, and Dean was happy to see Thalia eat well. She was always full since they were together, which was ironic considering they'd been doing nothing but traveling and hiding out in motel rooms. Still, no matter where they'd been, he'd encouraged the girl to eat right and it was obvious that she had already eaten much because his efforts showed in the rounding of her cheeks. "If you can work on a new foundation again, don't let yourself be overworked."Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Who's going to stop me?""I will." Dean shot her a mocking look. "I'm not going to hide forever. Sooner or later, me, Tatum, and Pierre, we will also find out who ambushed our unit and who wants
The next ten minutes were a total whirlwind. Thalia can't remember when she was getting dressed, but somehow she was wearing jeans and a tank top when they stumbled out of the hotel. She doesn't even remember that they got in a car, but somehow she was in the passenger seat while Dean murmured soothing words in her ear and kept a firm hand on her thigh. Her skin was on fire. Blood was still flowing from her nose, she could almost taste the coppery blood in the back of her throat and she almost gagged. As Dean drove, she didn't hear a single word from him. "Maybe...maybe the CDC developed an antidote already," she said to Dean. He sucked in a breath. "An antidote.""Maybe," she murmured again. "Sometimes they can develop one fairly fast."Yeah, right. But that will take weeks, months, and even years. She knew that, yet she refused to give up hope. After everything she'd been through, her life couldn't be end this way. Lisa. Nadine. Marc. Kelvin. Theresa. Kelsey. NasirAnd she wil
Dean immediately let go of Bhram, and the man nearly fell over before managing to steady himself. With a wave of his hand, Bhram dismissed the guards who were warily monitoring the entire exchange. "Resume your posts, men. Everything is fine here." He turned to Dean. "You know I could have you arrested for this, right?""Five minutes, Bhram. I only need five minutes."Indecision flashed across the other man's face. "I know you're worried about Dr. Ricafort. Hell, I'm worried, too. I don't know how she got infected, but I promise you, the last thing I want is for that woman to die."Dean fought the urge to grab a gun from the hip holster of one of those guards and empty an entire clip into Bhram Davie's chest. The son of a bitch had given him that water, and now here he was, he acted like he had no idea how Thalia got infected with the virus. Acting like he actually cared about her well-being? "Take me to Dr. Lucas," Dean muttered. "Now."Silence prevailed for a few moments before Bh