Page 30 of Shadow Blind

He needed to find that damnable SEAL and get him into his lab, ASAP. It was the only way to figure out why he hadn’t been infected. It was the only way to patch this unexpected failure to infect. As a bonus, if the bastard was strapped down in one of his labs, nobody else could get their hands on him and use him to create a cure.

Chapter thirteen

Day 2-6

Denali, Alaska

This call wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped.

“Demi—” Aiden barely got her name out before she broke in again.

“No. It doesn’t matter how many times you ask; the answer is no.” Frustrated exasperation framed each word. “I’m not putting my life on hold and flying to God knows where, just because you want to see me.” An annoyed breath blasted the line. “I told you I have responsibilities now.”

“The cat.” Aiden scowled as he paced the linoleum floor of his isolation chamber in his borrowed surgical scrubs. The scrubs were surprisingly comfortable—soft as silk as they brushed against his arms and legs. “You can bring the damn cat with you.”

“No, I can’t,” she retorted. “I just picked him up from the vet. He’s in no condition to travel.”

Her life was more important than a damn cat.

Not that he could tell her that. She didn’t know he’d brought danger to her doorstep, or why it was imperative that she join him. Hell, he couldn’t even tell her where she’d be flying, not over the phone, not when anyone could be listening in on her line.

“It’s just a cat,” he growled, his frustration getting the better of him. “It’s not even your cat. There’s got to be a dozen animal rescues in the San Diego area. Farm it off to one of them.”

He regretted the suggestion immediately. Demi wouldn’t appreciate his cavalier attitude. But damn it, he couldn’t tell her why he needed her to fly out and meet him. Wolf had arranged a phone for him, assuring him the cell was secure. But that security didn’t extend to Demi’s phone. Anyone could be listening in on her line.

Whoever was behind that test in Tajikistan had access to WARCOM. Those fucking cameras proved that. They knew who he was. Since he’d been in contact with Hurley until Wolf whisked him away, they knew he’d survived. They’d come after him to find out why. And when they couldn’t locate him, they’d go after those he loved to smoke him out. Kait was inaccessible, but Demi was vulnerable.

He completed another circuit of his chamber and paused next to the right wall, which was constructed of smoke colored glass or plastic or something similar. He had to convince her to fly up to meet him. The safest place for her was tucked away in this secret base, surrounded by lethal warriors.

“He’s my cat now. I accepted responsibility for him.” The flat, calm tone screamed ‘pissed off.’ The angrier Demi got, the calmer and more rational she became. “I’m not abandoning him.”

Great. She’d dug her heels in.

It would help his case if he could explain why he needed her to join him. Demi wasn’t stupid. If she knew the reasons behind his request, she wouldn’t be so intractable.

“I’ve got to go.”

“Hold on a second.” This approach wasn’t working. He needed to pivot.

He reassessed his strategy. The assholes behind Karaveht’s death toll probably hadn’t tracked Demi down or tapped her line yet. It hadn’t even been ten hours since Wolf had dropped in to rescue him. But if they were listening in on this conversation…so what? If he was careful about what he told her, if he stuck to information the assholes behind the test already knew, then he wouldn’t be giving anything critical away.

Releasing a slow breath, he rearranged his talking points. “Look—”

“Give it a rest, okay?” she interrupted. “I know what this request is about.”

His eyebrows rose. He doubted that.

“You want to meet with me, so you can convince me to continue our relationship.” A soft sigh followed before she added, “Kait told me she spilled the beans. I know you know I want to break off our friends with benefits arrangement.”

Fuck. “That isn’t what this is about.”

Her voice firmed. “I haven’t changed my mind. Nor am I abandoning my responsibilities and flying off to meet with you. A face-to-face chat will just lead to sex, which will just fuck with my mind all over again.”

Before he’d found out she wanted to dump him, he’d have teased her about fucking with more than her mind. A sliver of sorrow pierced him. Was that easy, teasing repertoire a thing of the past now?

“I’m sorry, Aiden, but I really have to go.”

“Demi—” His protest came too late. She’d already hung up.

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