Page 44 of Scarred Sunrise

“No, none at all. It never crossed my mind. Smith is such a common name, and I presumed his was an alias anyway.”

“Will you tell me about it when you have more time?”

“Yes, of course. I have no secrets I want to keep from you, Liz.”

Her face broke into a grin at that, lighting up the dark corners of his soul. His mouth covered hers even over the smile, and he breathed in the joy she brought him. Her body instantly responding as she leaned into him, he swallowed the sounds she made, wanting every one of them for himself. He nipped her lip before pulling away, the arousal in her eyes making him groan as his dick responded.

A small line appeared between her brows. “Wait, what did you think I was going to say?”

Smithy felt foolish admitting it, but he’d vowed to be honest with her no matter how much of wet lettuce he looked. “I thought you had finally figured out how much better you could do and were dumping my ass.”

Liz stood abruptly, almost knocking his head off. “You’re such a dumbass, Whittaker Smith. How could you believe that after everything I’ve said to you?”

“If it makes you feel better, I wasn’t going to let you.”

“It does, but only marginally, and only because I was worried about you all night and I’m glad you’re in one piece.”

The door opened, and Zack and Ava filed in, along with Daniel and Meg, Dane, Lucy and Jace with baby Harlow, Nate, Drew, Aubrey and finally Will with his laptop in his arms. Smithy kept Liz close as the others settled, his fingers threaded with hers.

Zack took his seat and scanned the room as if he were trying to find the words. “Last night when we raided the lab on Cosa, we discovered three things. The first was John Smith. It seems he snuck onto the Isle and hid in the water until the last minute and then under a thermal blanket, therefore evading the IR. The second was two computers filled with information.”

Smithy felt Liz squeeze his hand in silent support.

“John told us that due to the Kodi initiative to make sure all military personnel are protected against seasonal viruses, every single one of them now has an implant inside them that Rhea Winslow can activate at will to put them under her control. We don’t know the mechanics as yet, but hopefully the scientists Zin and Kanan are questioning will be able to shed some light on that.”

“What was the third thing?” Lucy asked, her eyes moving to Liz and their linked hands, before smiling.

“John Smith is apparently my father, which is why Rhea Winslow targeted me.”

Drew shook his head. “Wow, this is all so fucked up.”

“So what’s the plan now? We have to stop her. If she gets control of the British Military, we’re all screwed.”

Nate looked as green as the rest of them felt. The British military was one of the best in the world—the best in his opinion, and if Rhea got control of them, she’d be almost unstoppable.

The air was thick with the unimaginable horror that seemed to hang over all of them as the facts and possibilities played in each and every person’s mind.

Smithy glanced at Liz, who rolled her lips between her teeth in an effort at a smile.

“Each and every person in this room has been affected by the evil this woman has created. It’s been a long few years for this team, but I believe that together, we can do this. We can beat her and end the threat. It won’t be easy, nothing we ever do is, but this is more than a job now, it’s survival.”

Smithy felt Zack’s words deep in his soul like a battle cry, which essentially it was. If this didn’t work, the alternative was hell for them all and so many more millions.

“What do you need from me?” Liz spoke beside him, sitting up taller, her spine the strongest of them all.

Zack smiled, a proud look on his face. “I need you and Smithy to work with Meg and the other scientists. Figure out a way to stop this. We’re running out of time for a vaccine, so we need a way to reverse the drug if it gets out.”

“I’ve already got that, but we would never get it manufactured in time to save all the people it would effect.” Meg looked distraught at the thought she couldn’t save everyone.

“Maybe not but it’s a start. Let me speak to a contact of mine and see if we can get that set up and running asap,” Ava said as she wrote some notes on a sheet of paper.

“In that case, Liz and Smithy, help Will go through the data from the flash drive. Everyone else, find that rig and find Rhea Winslow. If we lock her up, this ends and we can go back to our normal crazy jobs.”