Page 76 of Jude

She inhaled sharply and kissed him again. “You remember that when I am old and haggard and complaining about you leaving your socks on the floor.”

“Are you planning to be around for that long?” His grip tightened on her waist.

“You can count on it.”

Jude bent and covered her mouth with his, sliding his tongue in to meet hers.

Sophia cleared her throat loudly.

Jude broke their kiss and looked up.

Sophia stood in the doorway of her office, her arms folded over her chest. “When you’ve finished molesting my patient, I suggest you leave. Otherwise, I’ll insist you have a second round of treatment.”

Jude pressed another kiss to Octavia’s lips. “Can the patient have bed rest away from the medical bay?”

Sophia nodded. “So long as she’s appropriately monitored. Checks every two hours.”

“I don’t need monitoring,” said Octavia. “This serum is great. And the pain relief Daisy gave me means I can barely feel the laser burn.”

“You need someone to look after you in case there’s a complication,” said Sophia. “The serum will be doing its work, but you still need to be monitored.”

Jude looked at her. “You can stay with me until you’re recovered. If that’s okay with Sophia. I want whatever’s best for Octavia.”

“That’s fine by me,” said Sophia. “One less patient clogging up the beds is not a bad thing. Daisy, unhook Octavia from the IV. Make sure she comes back tomorrow for a check up.”

Daisy nodded as she got to work. “You shouldn’t feel any ill effects from the serum. If you get sick or dizzy, come back here right away.”

“I will.” Octavia held her arm out as Daisy unhooked the IV. “I’ve got someone keeping an eye on me. He won’t let me get away with anything.”

Daisy grinned and ducked her head. “It’s good to have someone like that.”

Jude wrapped his arm around Octavia’s waist, feeling like he was handling a precious package. They left the medical bay and took their time walking toward his quarters.

“Once we figure out where the vaccine is being manufactured, I’ve got a network of listeners who can help,” said Octavia. “We can use them to pass on warnings about the vaccine and destroy any supplies that might already be in circulation.”

“That will be crucial if it’s already out there,” said Jude.

“We should do that now.” Octavia turned to Jude.

He shook his head and tugged her along the corridor. “We need more information before we send anything out. We can’t panic people before we know everything.”

Octavia sighed but then nodded. “It sounds as if the State are still making the vaccine. We might have intercepted this in time.”

“There have been no reports of mass deaths or sickness. The State will want this to be coordinated. I bet they’ll promote the vaccine as some super cure to get people ready for it. They’ll have to vaccinate over a short time frame. They can’t risk people realizing what’s going on or they won’t get vaccinated.” Jude unlocked his quarters and they walked in.

Octavia sagged against him. “There’s so much to think about.”

He held her up as he led her toward his bed. “No more thinking for you. You get some sleep. We’ll figure this out. Kade needs to work his magic on the rest of the information. Once that’s fully decoded, then we’ll have our answers, and can figure out how to stop them.”

“I still want to help.” She turned toward him.

His heart clenched as he saw the worry in Octavia’s eyes. He needed to get rid of that look. “You have helped. You’ve done more than you need to. No more fighting.”

***

THE EXHAUSTION ANDfear Octavia had held back for so long surfaced in a breath-stealing rush. She felt her legs give way beneath her.

Jude’s strong arms caught her as she sagged against him again.