Page 77 of Smoky Lake

“That would be very helpful.” The doctor gave a brisk smile. “We have four children who are sick right now, and we’ve taken over a floor of the old boardinghouse to care for them. Strict quarantine, of course. The problem is that with an unknown virus like this, we just don’t know how contagious it is.”

“How are they doing?” Ani’s dark eyes filled with concern.

Watching her, Gil’s breath caught. How could she be so damn beautiful in the middle of a medical crisis in a military tent? Once again he experienced that odd time-shift moment of disbelief that he’d only met her a few days ago. She wore the same suede jacket he’d first seen her in, that indelible moment on Lachlan’s porch. An entire lifetime had passed since then.

“Feverish, headachy. Most are okay, but one child has a particularly bad case.”

Victor reappeared, tucking his phone into his pocket. He looked positively ill, thought Gil. Had he gotten bad news? Or was all that Milagrosporos in his bloodstream catching up with him?

Ani caught Victor’s eye, as if urging him to speak up. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

The doctor swung her attention to Victor. “As for you, Victor Canseco, we’ve been hoping to talk to you. We’d like to retrace your steps, list everyone you came into contact with, that sort of thing. You might have had an asymptomatic case when you left the Ninuk area.”

When Victor didn’t answer, Gil turned toward him and nailed him with a look that promised all kinds of living hell for the scientist if he didn’t speak up. Victor ducked his head, then nodded.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll give you everything you need. I might be even more help than that. All I need is…well, I need to get out to Smoky Lake and see if there’s anything left of my research. There might be something helpful there.”

The doctor frowned at him. “I’m sorry? What are you talking about?”

“I can explain better when I have my notes. I became curious about the virus after I left Ninuk. I have some theories, put it that way.”

He was still being so damn cagey. Gil watched Dr. Christianson wrestle with the question of whether to yell at Victor or accept his help. He could sympathize, since he’d felt exactly the same ever since Victor had reappeared.

Finally she came down on the side of getting help. “Fine. You go find your research. I assume you’re talking about the Institute? It’s almost completely destroyed.”

Victor visibly flinched. “I know.”

Watching him closely, Gil came to a disturbing conclusion—Victor knew exactly who had destroyed the Institute and why. He felt guilt about it. What more was he hiding? Plenty, Gil thought.

The doctor tilted her head at Gil. “Will you go with Canseco? I can’t spare anyone from here, and I don’t want to send anyone into the wilderness on their own.”

“I can handle—” Victor began.

Gil cut him off. “I’m going with you. That’s final.”

Victor obviously knew when he’d lost. He nodded grudgingly.

Dr. Christianson gestured toward a military Jeep outside the tent. “Ani, Sergeant Thomson will take you to the boardinghouse. Gil and Victor, we have some four-wheelers you can use.”

They all trooped out of the tent. Victor beelined toward the four-wheelers parked in the grass next to the lot.

Gil hesitated before following him. For the first time in days, he and Ani were going to be separated, and that thought gave him a deep pang of worry. They’d been at each other’s side ever since she showed up on that floatplane — unless you counted the hours he’d spent sleeping off his fever. Even then, he’d always known she was there.

Was she going to be okay out there on her own?

Idiot, she was fine the previous thirty years of her life.

More to the point, was he going to be fine? He laughed at the idea of even asking that question, one that had never crossed his mind before now.

“What’s funny?” Ani murmured as she shaded her eyes from the sun. Her skin glowed like dark honey mead.

“It’s nothing. Just me wondering if I’m going to be okay on my own now that we’re parting ways. Not sure I ever had that thought before.”

She stopped on the gravel; he did too, and they faced each other. He cupped his hands around her face and brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. She was so beautiful. She surveyed him gravely, her dark gaze soft on his face. “When this is over…”

He waited for her to finish the thought. She licked her lips nervously. “This is awkward. There’s something you should know about me that I haven’t mentioned.”

His heart twisted, and he tried to imagine if there was anything in the world that would change his feelings for her. He came up empty. “I know everything I need to know, Ani.”

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