Page 75 of Airborne
If you can’t persuade him to stay, ask if he’ll see me before he leaves.
Will do my best.
The pain meds made her sleepy, but before she gave in to rest, she wanted to process what Chad had experienced since the virus unleashed. The events bombarding his life grew worse, and the persistent topic of why refused to leave her alone.
The FBI had scores of agents across the country on the case. Dead ends sent agents scrambling in many directions. Until the FBI found the person, another area of the country or world could experience an outbreak. The person had gained access to the aircraft, unleashed the virus, and done what? Rode the wave with feigned concern? Attempted a suicide mission? Survived with an antiviral?
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
HEATHER WOKE TO THE SOUNDof the door’s click. Jordan walked inside the hospital room, and Chad staggered behind. She stopped audible alarm. The right side of Chad’s face was swollen in blue and purple, sure to darken. A white bandage wrapped around the back of his head. Jordan assisted him onto a small sofa near her.
“Chad, you should be in a hospital bed.”
“I’ll schedule a neurologist appointment in Houston.”
“There are plenty here.” She bit her tongue to avoid an argument. “I’m sorry you were attacked.”
“My own fault. Agent Rivera warned me the wrong people could track me down.” He relayed the conversation with Agent McNally from New York’s FBI.
“Can we talk if you feel up to it?”
“Why? Haven’t we said it all? This—”
“Chad, Heather,” Jordan said, “I’ll be in the hallway to give you two a few minutes alone. Good thing neither of you is ingood enough shape to kill the other. If I hear screams, I’ll come running.” He left the room and closed the door.
His humor should have eased the tension, but instead the walls closed in. She vowed to think before she spoke. She’d shed enough tears, both grief and anger. No crossing her arms over her chest or touching her face. “I regret the way I spoke to you earlier. No reason for my rudeness. I was cruel, and I’m sorry.”
“I deserved it. Both barrels.”
Twice he’d admitted fault, a rarity for him. “You flew a long way to turn around and head back.”
He wrung his hands, and she sensed the wheels turning inside his super-IQ brain while he managed pain.
“You need evidence to confirm I had no part of the virus,” he said.
“Guilt seems inconceivable. The man I married wouldn’t have considered a horrible crime, but you changed with your... ambitions.”
“So there’s doubt.”
“I wish there wasn’t.”
He leaned forward as though he planned to stand, then shook his head. Pain emitted from his eyes. He needed hospital care. “I thought a face-to-face would strengthen my resolve to follow through with my original plans, but I’m not so sure. I’m confused.”
Whatever he said had to be his words. She’d made life easier for him since they’d met. They shared the same name, but they were strangers.
He massaged his temples. “Should have told you this before. On my last trip to Africa when Paul contracted Ebola and I couldn’t save him... grief and failure leveled me.” He stared at her with moist-ridden eyes. “Treating the symptoms for those who are nameless is difficult, but Paul and I had worked alongside each other for three years. Before he slipped into coma, he cried for me to end his misery. His tears were mixed with blood.”
The memory clearly ripped raw. “Bleeding from every orifice of his body. I’d seen it many times yet not on a close friend. I’ll never forget it.Never.Paul died leaving a widow and two small kids. I returned home and visited Tami. She begged me to find a cure for Ebola... to never give up. To protect you from the torment she was going through. What if the tables were turned? What if I died trying to help others, and you were left to raise our child or children alone?
“From the moment I left her house, I planned how to slowly dissolve our marriage, how to push you away. When you said you wanted to start a family, I couldn’t wait any longer.” Chad shook his head, the anguish pouring from his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I pleaded for you to talk about Paul’s death.”
“Couldn’t. Words refused to come. Paul didn’t want to accompany me on that trip because his daughter was having her first dance recital. I persuaded him to have Tami video the performance. If it hadn’t been for me, he’d be alive today, and I wouldn’t feel obligated to keep the promise.”
“I’m not Tami,” she whispered.
“I know that now. Once the decision was made, I applied at the CDC and landed the job. Then the virus with the threat on your life, a baby on the way, and my possible role in the virus. Rather ironic. The woman I wanted to protect got caught up in a deadly virus.”
