Hot Zone (24 page)

Gabriel said, looking steadier now, “Tucker.”

Now I was confused. “I told you. He’s a friend. How do you even know about him?” But as I finished the question, I realized exactly how he knew. Tim, Nick and Ryan. The guards/spies.

Gabriel had recovered and seemed like himself again. He could apparently see that I’d figured it out. “Are you two a couple?” he asked bluntly.

“I … you know, that’s completely none of your business.”

He ignored my statement. “Tim said you sleep alone, and he thought that Tucker was actually interested in someone else near the end, but it was obvious that he feels strongly about you.”

I opened my mouth, and then shut it. What could I say?

Gabriel said softly, “I think I could get it out of you.”

I gave him a look that I hoped showed what I thought of that. “You can’t keep doing that to me.”

“Can’t I?”

I didn’t say anything.

He shook his head suddenly. “Madde. It takes so little effort on my part to find out straight from Tucker if I wish.”

I gritted my teeth. He was right, of course. “He isn’t my boyfriend, and we aren’t a couple. He’s a friend. A close friend.”

“Good,” he said.

“I don’t understand you,” I said quickly. “You told Tim and company not to let anyone touch me. I thought you meant for no one to hurt me. Okay, that I could understand, so is that what you meant?”

Gabriel considered me. “I meant what I said.”

“Why would you care?”

He looked at me as if I was an idiot. I was feeling like an idiot, so I guess that shouldn’t bother me. He went back and sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. I eyed him suspiciously. “Look, I’m not seducing you, I’m tired.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Little did he realize how it affected me when he acted so human
.
I glanced at the couch, which was a historical piece, and didn’t look as if it would tolerate anyone actually sitting on it. I went to the bed and perched on it, leaning against one of the posts at the foot of the bed. He silently laughed at me. Now that I took a good look at him, he did look tired.

My phone buzzed. I answered it immediately. “Yes?”

Tucker sounded relieved and pleased. “I thought I’d let you know what happened. We told them that we were very scared of Gabriel and of them, and we’d do whatever they wanted. Their demands are ludicrous; you would laugh yourself silly if I had time to list them. We’ve bought ourselves some time now to decide what to do. So, my question to you is: Is Gabriel going to let them go around using his name? It probably isn’t good for business on his part.”

“Um, I don’t know. Let me ask him.”

“Oh, so you two are still together. That’s just great.” He sounded anything but thrilled.

I ignored that, looking at Gabriel. “Do you want to do something about the men who are going around extorting people using you as leverage?”

“Yes, I do. Tell your friend I … no, Carl Thornton will call him within the hour, and they can discuss my response.”

I relayed that to Tucker.

Tucker said slowly, “You don’t want him to talk to me.”

“No. I don’t. But I guess it’s your decision, ultimately,” I said.

Tucker hesitated. “I suppose I shouldn’t. Fred called us, you know. That’s how I knew you were with him. He’s … well, I guess I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“I’m sorry, Tucker, I shouldn’t have let them get anywhere near each other.”

Tucker’s voice was stiff. “It’s not
your
fault.”

I was looking at Gabriel now. He was looking comfortable and relaxed, but his eyes were watching me carefully. I said deliberately to both of them, “It isn’t his fault what he does to people, Tucker.”

Tucker snorted. “Yeah, well, tell that to Fred.” I didn’t have much to say after that, and we said our good-byes and Tucker hung up.

I noticed Gabriel take out a phone and press one button. “Carl? I want you to handle something in Catfish. It seems some enterprising men have decided to take advantage of my fame, and are extorting from the people there. Call this number.” He looked at me and I showed him my cell with Tucker’s cell number on it. He reeled off the numbers. “And talk to Tucker. Make this problem disappear, Carl.” He ended the call. He looked at me. “Happy?”

I nodded. I tried to remember what we had been talking about. Oh yes, Tucker. “Gabriel, seriously, do I ask you if you have a girlfriend?”

“No. Are you asking now?” he said with a small smile. His head was tipped back against the pillows piled against the headboard. He kicked off his shoes.

“No, of course not. Because it’s none of my business,” I said firmly.

“Hmm,” he said. “But do you wonder?”

There was no way in all the pits of hell I was going to admit that I did. “No.”

He laughed again. “You are such a liar.”

I didn’t comment. He’d let his eyes close, and now opened them. “What? No righteous anger? No demands that I leave you in peace?”

I shrugged. “You’re obviously tired. Why don’t you go to bed?”

“I am in bed,” he said, smiling. He yawned. “Tell me about this runner you know. I’m intrigued.”

I knew he was changing the subject, but let it go. I felt a little sorry for him. It couldn’t be easy having all the responsibility. I didn’t have one thousandth of his responsibility, and I could barely handle it. I began to tell him about Chris and Pewter, and he responded with the occasional question. He was silent for a time while I talked, his eyes closed, and I smiled as I wondered if he was asleep. I stopped talking and he opened his eyes. “Sorry, I thought you were asleep.”

“I’d like to be,” he said.

“Go ahead. You’re the one in charge, after all.”

He shrugged and pulled out his cell again. He pressed one number and said, “Raine, I’m going to be busy for the next two hours. Reschedule my meetings.” He ended the call and grinned at me. He looked so much younger when he did that. My heart flipped over. He patted the bed near him. “You have to be as tired as I am, or close. If you nap, I will too.”

“But I—”

He cut me off, frowning severely. “You said I should sleep.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s blackmail.”

He shrugged again, scooting down on the pillows so he wasn’t sitting up anymore. “I’ve done worse. Come on, Miss Moreton.”

I snatched a pillow from next to him, and brought it to the end of the bed, where I curled up.

He laughed tiredly. “Ah, sleeping at my feet, just like a faithful dog.” He closed his eyes, and then opened them. “Stay.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. I was really tired. Maybe, though, I should call Fred to see how Jacob was. I suppose that no news was good news. So thinking, I fell asleep.

Chapter 15: A Lab and a Job Offer

I felt the bed moving and mumbled something about getting up in five minutes. I heard male laughter and opened my eyes a little warily. I was not at the end of the bed. Not only had I apparently moved up to sleep next to him, I had draped myself over him. He was grinning at me. “I need to get up.”

I sat up, wondering what time it was. Gabriel looked a little rumpled and infinitely gorgeous. I looked away deliberately. “Uh, how did I end up here?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You decided to take a nap.”

“Not on the bed, I mean here
.
”
I pointed to the place I was laying.

“Who knows?” he said with overdone innocence.

He was getting up and leaving, and I hadn’t even asked him any questions. “Gabriel, can we end the whole guard thing?”

“No,” he said easily, stretching. My mouth went dry. He was really getting to me.

“Why? I’m not in any danger.”

“And you base that assumption on what? That your home has been visited by raiders? That someone punched you?”

“It’s a dangerous world. Are you going to get everyone a body guard?” I challenged.

“No, just you.” He beckoned to me. “Come here.”

Warily, I got off the bed on the opposite side and padded around it to stand near him. I noticed someone had taken off my shoes. I really must have zonked out. He looked down at me. “Do you know you’re beautiful when you sleep?”

I stared at him. “Uh…”

He seemed to be fighting off a smile. “You’re so very docile.”

I rolled my eyes.

“And quiet.”

“Yeah, well, I’m awake now, so watch out,” I said a little grumpily.

He took my hand. “Jacob is stable for the time being.” Gabriel watched me carefully as he gave me this news. “The doctors think he has the same illness we all had after the bioweapons.”

I gasped. Fifty percent had died! And Jacob was only a baby, how could he possibly live through it? Gabriel squeezed my hand to bring my attention back to him. “He has an even chance, the doctors tell me. He’s young, but on the other hand, they know a lot more than they did before. Believe me when I say that if he can be brought through this, they will do it. They understand my interest in this matter.”

I was still feeling a little sick. He said, “We have to be able to have children, or we’re in more trouble than we are right now. You did the right thing to bring him here to me. I’ve brought in some researchers that are at the top of the field in diseases.”

That caught my attention. “What? You got them to come here? How?”

“I can be persuasive, as you know. But it wasn’t that hard. This is a chance for them to do research in the middle of a place that needs them desperately. I offered them unlimited funds and the freedom to work on whatever angle they wanted. Scientists actually contacted me.”

“Why do you want them here?” I couldn’t see Gabriel doing anything without a reason.

“Let’s discuss that over lunch. I want you to meet me in my office at noon. That’s only three hours from now. Can you stay out of trouble for that long?” he challenged.

“I think I might be able to,” I said dryly.

“Good.” He gave me an appraising look, leaning down to brush his lips against my temple. “Don’t be late,” he warned, turning to the door and leaving.

I sighed and checked my phone, which was warning of impending battery failure. Maybe someone around here had a toothbrush and a charger that would work on my phone. It was a common kind of phone. I left and wandered down to the main floor where things were in full swing. I saw people busily going here and there, and felt a little lost and left out. This was not my place, and these were not my people. I went to a person who looked less busy than the others. “Hi. I, um, stayed here for a while last night, and I don’t have a toothbrush.” I was acting and sounding like a dope. I tried to pull myself together. I decided to start over.

“I’m looking to find a toothbrush and someone who could loan me a cell phone charger. I was a guest here last night, and since I came here quickly, I didn’t pack anything.”

The young dark-haired woman nodded. “I can help you with the toothbrush, but I’m not sure about the charger. Let me see what kind of phone you have.”

I showed her my phone, and we began to wander about looking for a similar phone. By the time the phone was charging, I realized I could go and visit Jacob quickly before I had to be back here at noon. I went back to the woman (who had told me her name was Ashley) and asked her if I could borrow a car. This time she looked a little surprised and I realized I’d asked for more than she thought a guest should get.

I gave her a pleading look. “I brought in an infant last night who is very sick at the hospital right now. I want to see him.”

“Oh, well, I don’t know,” she said. “Let me see what I can do.”

I agreed, since there wasn’t much else I could do except for stealing one, and I doubted Gabriel would be too thrilled about that. It was sort of interesting to think about, however. There was another reason I didn’t want to do it. I’d been eavesdropping on some of the conversations, just bits and pieces, really, and I was getting the feeling that rules were strictly enforced here, and people didn’t get a second chance. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I suppose we’d been lucky that we hadn’t had any crime within our little community so far. I did wonder, however, what Gabriel planned for the extortionists who had visited Catfish Lake. He’d said that Carl should make the problem disappear. What, exactly, did that mean?

I wandered around the grand house, amazed at how much had been accomplished. I asked people what they did and got some good ideas to take home with me. I couldn’t believe that Gabriel had known how to do all this. I wondered for the umpteenth time what he had done before that made him so very capable of leading now.

I checked the clock and saw that I still had nearly an hour before lunch. I went outside and noted the Minnesota spring was here in force today. There was a saying here in Minnesota that if you didn’t like the weather, wait a bit. Springs were fleeting, and often winter held on until summer pushed it out of the way. I walked around a little, enjoying the mild breeze and the sun.

There was a bench near what had been the gardens—they hadn’t survived the aftermath very well. The bench was still here, though, and I sat, thinking I’d call Fred before the meeting. I also needed to call the house, but figured after the excitement the night before most would still be sleeping. That’s when I saw the dog.

She was skinny and looked a little shy at first. It was a Labrador retriever, I thought, but smaller than your average lab. She was just a bit bigger than a cocker spaniel. Maybe she was just a puppy. I’d usually been good with dogs, and I hadn’t seen many of them since the bombs. Not sure why that was. Maybe they went crazy too.

I put out my hand and told her I wouldn’t hurt her. She sat and tipped her head as I spoke. I imagined that she was considering whether I was a big liar or not. She stood and walked resolutely over to me and sat in front of me, her tail, slightly plumed, wagging. She was completely black, not a speck of white anywhere. I put out my hand, in a fist in case she decided to bite me, and let her sniff me. She sniffed delicately, and then put up her paw as if to shake my hand. I grinned. This was a dog that’d been trained. I wondered who she belonged to.

I rubbed her ears and told her that she needed to find an owner who would feed her. She put her head on my knee and gave me a soulful look. I kept talking to her, and she did a good job of pretending she understood. I told her about Jacob and how I had driven here the night before. I was telling her about my cell phone charging when I suddenly realized how this would look to someone else. I stood up. So did the dog. I headed back towards the house, and she followed at my heels. As we got closer, a guard at the door scowled at me, or maybe it was at the dog. Either way, I didn’t really like it.