Midnight Fever (Men of Midnight #5)(80)
He was going to be so pissed.
If she was successful, she'd have to calm him down.
If she failed, it wouldn't matter because she'd be dead.
This time, walking out the door, she didn't pay attention to the cameras. She didn't need to.
There was an internal passageway to the auditorium and conference venue, but Kay wanted to walk along the road. Feel the sun and smell the air. Because maybe it would be the last time she ever felt the sun on her face.
No. No use thinking like that. She was sure of her reasoning and she was sure of Felicity's skills. This was going to work and her revenge was going to be complete.
And then she was going on to lead a long and happy life with Nick.
But still, she gulped in the fresh air, lifted her head to catch the sunshine, glanced in shop windows on the way. Feeling terrified, determined and angry.
The conference hall entrance was around the corner from the hotel. The building itself was stepped back and the entrance was a two-story atrium. Inside was a reception hall where conference attendees met and mingled. Poster sessions lined the walls.
It was the last day of the World Virology Conference and the place was buzzing.
Inside was all virology, all the time.
Her people.
She looked around fondly at the very unlovely people who prized brains over looks. The men all but wore lab coats. Lab coats probably would have been an improvement over the wrinkled, rumpled polyester sports jackets that male scientists seemed to privilege. The women were frumpy, too. Most with messy hair and no makeup and not a malign thought in their heads. Friendly souls, mostly, who worked themselves into the ground in the hopes of providing a tiny brick in the wall of human knowledge.
Her tribe, and she loved them.
It was early. She walked around, greeting people she knew. It wasn't that big a world. Most of them knew each other from their graduate student days and she caught up on work and life with a number of people. One woman, a researcher for NASA's extraterrestrial life program, gave gentle condolences for Priyanka's death. Unexpectedly, tears sprang to Kay's eyes.
Oh God. She still wasn't over it. She looked away, blinking furiously, then brought her gaze back to the woman, who was looking at her kindly. She placed a hand on Kay's arm, a gentle touch. "She will be missed," the woman said, and Kay nodded, a lump in her throat.
It reminded her why she was here. Because evil men had killed her best friend and removed a bright, wonderful soul from the world.
For money.
And they were playing with a fire that could burn down the world.
For money.
Goddamn them.
She stood in front of a poster. Mutation Analysis of the ATP7B Gene. She knew two of the authors, genial nerds working at a research center at Biopolis in Singapore. Hard workers, very smart.
Her cell pinged. An incoming text.
She swiped, read.
Where R U?
Asshole. Trying to be young and hip. Two could play at that game.
poster sessions
He'd want to be private. Sure enough …
Meet u Rose Bar in 10
The Rose Bar was the evening cocktail hour gathering hole. No one would be there this morning. Most would either be in the breakfast room or the coffee bar, chatting, networking before the sessions began.
She replied.
Gr8
Ten minutes later, she felt a tap on her shoulder, turned and smiled into the bright blue eyes of her boss, Frank Winstone.
The director of the CDC.
"Hello, Frank. Thank you for coming."
Nick smiled in his sleep, opened his eyes a crack, then closed them again. They wouldn't stay open.
Post-op collapse. Not to mention post-op sex. Though sex with Kay was anything but routine, he knew enough to realize that every hormone in his body was wrung dry. No matter, he could relax. His mind wasn't functioning well but he knew he wasn't on duty, today or tomorrow. Tomorrow was the furthest he could stretch his mind to anyway.
Lazy thoughts flitted through his mind, in no particular order. He was hungry. He wanted pancakes for breakfast and a whole pot of coffee. He really needed a shower. His dick was hard. You'd think it wouldn't be but it was. Maybe because of the smells in the bed. The smell of Kay and sex, a unique combo he was going to relish for the rest of his life. Today at some point, they needed to get home.
He reached out his hand to pull in warm woman and found a long stretch of cool sheet instead.
Hmm.
She was in the bathroom. He needed to go, too, but it could wait. First, he wanted an early morning kiss. And, well, his dick was hard. It shouldn't be, but it was.
Finally, his senses kicked in, one after the other. There were no sounds coming from the bathroom, none. People made sounds in the bathroom. The usual, plus water splashing, either in the sink or the shower.