Night Shade

When chance gives him a second shot at being all he can be, Matt grabs it with both hands – just like the sexy doctor who is technically under him on the team. What he really wants is her, under him, in his bed...

She holds a terrible secret…

Tapped for a classified military program, Dr. Eileen McCormick has nothing left to lose. Bad enough her genetic experiments were used to turn innocent victims into zombies. Worse still, a ruthless ex-colleague is threatening to expose her unless she joins his sinister research project. Now the only way she can set things right is to develop an antidote under the watchful blue eyes of Commander Matt Sykes.

An uncompromising man…

Matt’s penetrating gaze, unnerves her and attracts her in equal measure. The Navy Commander has a sixth-sense for lies as well as danger. Eileen may be the only person who can eradicate the zombie virus before it reaches epidemic proportions, but he still can’t let her passionate determination affect his steely cool...or keep him from discovering where her true loyalties lie.

She is a target. He’s her protector…

As the clock ticks down, Matt and Eileen’s uneasy trust may be their only way to avert catastrophe - if it doesn’t get them killed first. Eileen is terrified of her former colleagues and drawn to Matt’s compelling kisses. The commander will uncover all her deepest secrets, but can they survive the revelations?

* Note: Previously published under the title “A Darker Shade of Dead”

She managed to pull into the base entrance only a couple of hours behind schedule. She stopped at the guard shack to identify herself and show the papers she’d been given, inviting her here. They searched her car and before they were through, Matt Sykes showed up, a concerned wrinkle between his brows.
“I heard you had some trouble on the road,” he said as he walked up to her. “Glad to see you made it here all right.” He shook her hand, and she could tell he was moderating his strength so he wouldn’t crush her fingers.
That was considerate. She’d shared too many handshakes with men who didn’t realize they were crunching her bones in their gorilla grips. It was nice to see the commander was thoughtful enough to consider such things.
“How’d you know about the flat tire?” She blurted out the question before she thought better of it.
“You’re too important to this team to take chances with, Eileen.” He tugged off his sunglasses, pinning her with his compelling, dark blue stare. “The minute that trooper ran your I.D., it sent up an alert that reached my desk a few minutes later. If you’ll recall, I was against your driving here all by yourself. It would’ve made more sense to fly. We could’ve had you here in an hour.”
“Yes, but I would have had to leave my car and all my possessions behind. Or worse, let them be sorted and packed by strangers.” She made a face just thinking of such an invasion of her privacy.
“You let us pack up the rest of your stuff to put in storage. I don’t see the difference.” He truly didn’t. She could see it in his expression. Typical of a man. He wouldn’t think twice of letting a stranger handle his jockey shorts. She noticed he didn’t comment on her car, he merely looked at it quizzically.
“Trust me. There is a huge difference. I brought the things with me that I didn’t want to leave in storage. My clothes and other personal stuff.”
He looked at the relatively empty backseat with one raised eyebrow. “You travel light.”
She had to chuckle at his hopeful tone. “It’s all in the trunk.”
He wandered the few feet over to the back of the car where an MP was letting his dog sniff the contents of her open trunk. It was filled with boxes and a few garment bags that contained a portion of her wardrobe and personal items. The dog hopped down, having found nothing objectionable, and the MP stepped away. The car had been cleared for entry to the base.
“Interesting choice of vehicle.” Finally, Matt commented on the land yacht. It had taken longer than most, which was impressive. But in the end, everyone was curious about the giant old vehicle.
“It was my dad’s,” she said simply. The short answer seemed to satisfy him. He only nodded briefly and put his sunglasses back on, hiding his gorgeous denim-colored eyes.
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to your lab. You’ll be quartered in the same building. I’ll show you the best place to park and help get your stuff inside.”
“That would be great. Thanks.” Eileen was impressed at his offer of assistance. He really was making her feel welcome. It was more than she’d expected.
Too bad it was under false pretenses. At least on her part. The scene with Rodriguez had kept replaying in her mind as she’d driven the last miles to base. She didn’t know what to do. She certainly didn’t want to work for the bad guys. Rodriguez was a worm. No, he was lower than a worm. He was scum. She wouldn’t throw her lot in with him no matter what.
But how could she avoid having him spill the beans about what she’d done? She was in deep trouble and couldn’t see a feasible way out. Not yet at least. She’d try to play along for now and hope something changed before Rodriguez decided to force her hand.
Commander Sykes hopped back into the utility vehicle he’d driven to the gate and led the way through the maze of buildings. She would need a map to find her way around until she got her bearings. After a lengthy drive through several outlying areas of the large base, he finally pulled into a spacious, mostly uninhabited lot and parked his jeep near a side door to one of the buildings it bordered.
Eileen parked the Caddy beside him and got out, stretching the kinks out of her back. It had been a long ride. She wasn’t used to road trips—or being run off the road, for that matter. Things in her life had definitely taken a turn for the strange and frightening. She was doing things and dealing with people she never would have before. She didn’t like it at all but had no idea how to go back to the way things used to be.
She and that first scientific team had let the genie out of the bottle. Now she had to do everything possible to cram it back in and make certain it could never escape again.
Eileen opened her trunk, noting three muscular, uniformed men rounding the corner of the building. She thought nothing of them until they veered in her direction. Matt greeted them and turned to face her, with the imposing group ranged behind him.
“These are a few of the men you’ll be working with,” he informed her. “You probably remember Captain Beauvoir and Private Kauffman from the op on Long Island.”
“How could I forget?” She shook hands with Beauvoir and Kauffman as they stepped forward. “How are you, Captain?”
“Very well, thank you, ma’am.” He favored her with an intense smile. Xavier Beauvoir was one heck of a good-looking man. Shaggy blond-streaked brown hair, sparkling whiskey-colored eyes, and a physique that just wouldn’t quit. He’d run the operation on Long Island. The man was sharp as a tack despite his lazy Cajun drawl. Still waters definitely ran deep with him.
Matt continued the introductions. “This is Simon Blackwell. He’s a retired Navy SEAL, now working for us on a contractual basis. He’s one of my men from Quantico.”
She understood what that meant. No doubt this Blackwell fellow had been involved in the initial infestation. If he was still involved, he was more than likely naturally immune to the contagion.
“Good to meet you.” She shook his hand as well, feeling guilty all over again about having released the first round of monsters. If not for her stupidity, this man would never have been exposed to the contagion. He’d probably lost friends to it, too. All because of her.
After the introductions, each of the guys picked a few boxes or bags out of her trunk and headed for the entrance to the building. She was surprised. She’d assumed that Matt had volunteered to help her carry her belongings. She should have realized he had volunteered his men to help her instead. Why would a Navy commander waste precious time moving boxes and bags when he had a troop of men at his beck and call to do the work?
With the men doing the heavy lifting, it took only two trips back and forth to bring all of her belongings inside. Matt had gone in with her, showing her to a small dormitory-style room and giving her a key. He stayed inside, talking with her while the men schlepped her stuff up to her room.
“Your lab is fully equipped and waiting for you in the subbasement of this building. You can access it from the flight of stairs down the hall, but you’ll need your base I.D. and this key.” He handed her another old-fashioned metal key on a small ring. “I’d like to take you over to get your base I.D. as soon as you’re settled so you can have access to every area you need right away.”
She looked at her watch. She was totally beat, but she understood his reasoning. Chances were she couldn’t really go anywhere without base identification.
“I can go now, if that’s convenient.” She gave in to the inevitable even though she would rather have taken a few minutes to recuperate from her long drive.
Matt grinned. “Perfect.”