Page 47 of Jacob

“Let me think about it,” she hedged. “If we’re both alive at the other end of this, we can talk about it.”

“I promise you—” Jacob began, and a soft bell rang.

The pilot had the same voice pilots had all over the world. Authoritative, absolutely calm, completely deadpan. They’d have that voice even if the plane were spiraling down in flames. “Prepare for landing in twenty minutes. Weather in Zelenograd is sleeting, current temperature 5°. A storm front is moving in, forecast of a couple of inches of snow. Mr. Black, I’ve been advised that a car will be waiting for you on the tarmac.”

“Buckle back up,” Alex said and watched Jacob’s frustration with secret glee. He was used to people doing exactly what he said. Let him stew a little. She sat back, picked up her iPad and started reading theVirology Journal.

ChapterTen

Jacob bit back his frustration when he saw Alex settle into her seat and start to read a scientific journal on her tablet. For her, the discussion was over.

He thought he’d died and gone to heaven when she said she was unhappy at the CDC. Because in the back of his mind, he’d already been planning his move.

Jacob was a planner. Short term and long term. And already he was making plans to redirect his headquarters from San Diego to Atlanta. It would make things awkward because he’d be pretty far from the military installations he usually worked with and not on a coast, but what the hell. He’d dealt with more difficult problems. He could live and work out of Atlanta if he had to.

And it was clear to him that he’d have to, because he wasn’t ever going to leave Alex’s side again. Life had tossed her his way when he’d been too much of a fucking coward to go after her before, and now he was going to hold on tight because he wasn’t getting a second chance. He’d already fucked up for eighteen years by not having the nerve to approach her. Not going to happen again.

So: Atlanta, much as that was going to be a pain in the ass.

And then it turned out that maybe relocating wouldn’t be necessary! Oh man, he’d nearly jumped out of his seat when it was clear Alex wasn’t happy at the CDC. With her credentials, there’d be plenty of jobs for her in San Diego. There were a number of pharmaceutical companies, she could teach at the university. No problem.

And then the bombshell. Alex and two brainiac friends were working on better hazmat suits! Every time Jacob had to send a team into harm’s way with bioweapons in the mix, he sweated. He still had nightmares about watching Rojas and Zabrinsky die a horrible death after exposure to ricin in Syria. Those suits would protect his guys. One less thing to worry about.

God.

And what he wouldn’t give to have Alex’s two friends on board. He envied ASI their Queens. Maybe he could have Queens of his own. Brainiac females who solved problems and, incidentally, brought the beauty quotient up.

Yeah.

Jacob slanted a look at Alex, but she was engrossed in whatever she was reading, not paying him any attention at all. Ironic. He’d had a couple of women who’d fixated on him, wanted his complete attention all the time, and it had grown very old very fast. And now he was sitting next to the woman he wanted more than any other on earth and she was ignoring him.

It was genuine. At the moment, she wasn’t paying him any attention at all, scrolling through her tablet, looking for something.

Another soft ping that didn’t distract her at all. She gave no sign of even hearing it.

He pressed a button in the arm rest and the screen lowered from the ceiling, Nick’s face filling the monitor. Jacob had to nudge Alex in the ribs. Her head came up, eyes unfocused. She frowned at him. “What?”

He indicated the screen with his head.

“Oh.”

“Talk to me, Nick,” he said without taking his eyes off Alex. He turned to the screen. “I assume you have news.”

“Yeah. I know you guys are landing soon, but I thought I’d give you a sitrep on the situation on the ground. I spoke with air control at the airport and your flight’s details will be erased as soon as your plane touches the ground. There will be a car on the tarmac, and he’ll drive to the bottom of the stairs. You shouldn’t be exposed for more than a minute and we’re blocking the security cameras on that side of the airport until you are in the vehicle. Here’s your driver.” On the screen appeared an ID, Mikhail Bogdan, 36. US citizen. Hard face, close-cropped black hair.

Jacob nodded. “He was with us in Singapore last year. Good man.”

“That’s right. He’s one of two operators who will be assigned to the two of you and to Dr. Hethering when we’re not with her. Two others will spell them, in 12-hour shifts.”

To his side, Alex shifted in her chair. Jacob flashed her a warning look, but she didn’t say anything.

Good. This was non-negotiable. He wasn’t going to fuck around with her safety.

“Okay.” Jacob frowned. “Any leads?”

“One, maybe two. We’ll go fishing tomorrow.”

“We can’t go fishing today?” Alex asked.

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