Samhain Publishing

Martina woke to the thrumming of rain on the Jeep’s roof. The downpour pounded overhead, and sheets of water hit the ground like a fall of arrows, bouncing off the road and splashing in the puddles that had already formed in the sandy soil. All the nearby vegetation had turned black.

Next to her, Chase sat staring at his hands. A crimson glow emanated from his palms, lighting the bones and the fine network of blood vessels in his fingers.

“Oh, God.”

“No, no…” He shook his hands out, and the glow subsided. “I’m okay. I’m just experimenting.”

“With what? How long have we been out?”

“A couple of minutes. The engine won’t start.” He reached across her body and shoved the passenger door open. “Get out. We shouldn’t stay with the Jeep.”

Her first instinct was to argue, but she clamped her lips closed over her protest and followed his lead, lurching out into the driving rain. The force of the storm stole her breath, but she commanded herself to join him at the front of the Jeep. He slid his arm around her. His touch seared her through her clothes.

“This way,” she said. “The rendezvous point isn’t that far.”

“And just who are we rendezvousing with anyway?” Chase moved deliberately, one foot in front of the other, but the set of his body, the subtle dominance he exerted, told Martina he wasn’t going to follow her blindly anymore.

She stiffened, unsure of how much information to give him at this juncture. None of it would sound credible. Then again, most of what they’d experienced in the last two hours certainly wasn’t credible by anyone’s standards.

After another few steps, he stopped. The rain pelted them relentlessly, but when he turned his dark gaze on her, he seemed utterly oblivious to nature’s temper tantrum. “Look, I get the whole ‘top secret’ business, but it seems I’m in this thing up to my neck. I want answers.”

“We don’t have time for this right now.” Martina glanced back toward the Jeep. Though it sat only a few yards behind them, the curtains of rain made it appear as no more than a bulky shadow. Fear of Dobbs’s wrath and the destructive powers of Acheron set her insides churning. “Please. We have to keep moving.”

“No.” Calder crossed his arms over his chest. “For all I know, I’m dead no matter what I do. What’s the harm in sharing information with a dead man?”

Martina glared at him. The horrendous vision from her dream played through her mind. Would she have to watch Chase Calder turn to ash and fade away on the wind? Would the same thing happen to her?

“I will. I’ll tell you everything, once we’re safe. You just…have to come with me to the rendezvous point.”

He shook his head. Drops of rain flew from the saturated ends of his hair. Rivulets of water ran down his face and dripped off his chin and his sensuous lips. Her resolve faltered, but before she could relent, he turned his back on her and lumbered down the road.

Deep down in his gut, Chase had no real desire to abandon Martina Sanchez by the side of the road in the blinding rain, but he had no other leverage to get what he wanted from her. None of the events of the past few days made any sense to him. The whole incident seemed like a bad dream from which he couldn’t awaken.

Turning his back and storming away was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but he didn’t see much of a choice. He wouldn’t amble blithely to his death just because a beautiful woman led the way.

He’d made it about ten yards when the wet slap of her footsteps caught up to him. He forced himself not to slow his stride until she scurried in front of him and blocked his path. “If Dobbs finds us, he’ll kill us both. He won’t wait to see if Acheron has side effects. And what’s worse, he’ll probably choose one of the men on the base as his next test subject. He needs to be stopped.”

Dark, pleading eyes met his. The driving rain had flattened her unruly curls to her skull and plastered her thin robe and night dress to her curves. In the gray light her skin looked like sculpted alabaster, sleek and so touchable, but Chase refused to allow her apparent vulnerability to mask her deception. She was much more than what she seemed. Rather than indulge his growing desire to touch her, he forced himself to meet her hard stare. “Sorry if I sound callous, but right now the only hide I’m worried about saving is my own. I have a life back in San Francisco that I’d like to get back to in one piece.” He tried to move past her, but she sidestepped to keep herself right in front of him.

“If we split up, you’ll have my people searching for you, too. You might be able to elude Dobbs on your own for a while, but you won’t ever be safe at home in San Francisco, and eventually you’ll get tired of running.”

“I’m already tired of running.” He wanted to say more, to launch into a diatribe about the time he’d spent running from his own uncertainties and his own mistakes, but the deep rumble of an approaching vehicle silenced him. Instinctively he stepped toward her and swept her into his embrace. Twin headlights from a long-distance semi cut through the deluge, bearing down fast on their position.

Chase’s heart thudded. The sound of it in his ears almost drowned out the steady thrum of the rain. Could Dobbs have commandeered the rig? Out here in the middle of nothing, they had no refuge. The Jeep was too far back, and they’d have to run toward the approaching truck to reach it, anyway.

A moment of truth collided with a moment of clarity. “That’s my ride,” he said. He’d take his chances on whoever was in the truck.

“What? No. You can’t just—”

“I’ve got to get away from here. You can come with me or stay behind. The choice is yours.”

She glanced down the road, and her expression pinched with worry. “I told you, I’ll give you all the information you want as soon as we’re somewhere safe.”

He slipped away from her, reluctant to separate himself from the heat she radiated despite the rain. He couldn’t let his attraction to her sway him, though. This was all about survival.

“Get yourself to your rendezvous point, Doc. Or stick with me and we’ll work something out, on my terms.”

She hesitated, biting her lower lip in a way that made him want to drink the rain off her skin. Finally she sighed, but said nothing.

Chase began waving his arms. He didn’t want to stand in the middle of the road. With visibility so poor, he had no desire to test the truck driver’s reflexes or the condition of the semi’s brakes.

The headlights flashed an acknowledgment of their existence, and the massive vehicle slowed down. Chase tossed what he hoped was a cavalier glance in her direction. “Last call, Doc.”