Epic: Book 02 - Outlaw Trigger (15 page)

“
A headache?”

“
Yeah, it’s starting to come on a little. It’s nothing to worry about—everyone gets them.”

Scott nodded. “You won’t miss much. We’ll just run some laps, then hit the weight room for a while. You want me to walk you to the room?”

She smiled and shook her head. “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s not that far—I won’t get lost.”

“
You sure?”

She gave him a look.

Scott glanced down at his outfit. Its color was darkened with sweat. She probably wouldn’t even touch it. “Do I get a kiss goodbye?”

Her lips curved. “Sure.” She leaned into him, propped her hands against his arms, and pressed her lips against his. Scott savored the lingering gentleness. He was surprised she had touched him at all. When she pulled away, her eyes sparkled. “Do you love me?”

“
I’ll always love you.”

For a moment, she said nothing; she simply stared in his eyes. When she finally spoke again, her voice was sweeter than ever. “I’ll always love you, too.”

“
I’ll see you in a bit.”

“
I’ll be there.”

Then she was gone.

It took a minute for the group to loop back around to Scott, but he rejoined them as soon as they did.

“
Everything all right?” David asked.

“
Yeah, everything’s fine. She’s got a headache coming on, so she’s going to lie down for a bit.”

“
She’s probably running off with some hot Russian guy.”

Scott laughed. “Right. Where’s Boris—is he still here?” He threw a mock-glance about the track. “He’s a chick magnet.”

Travis chuckled.

Scott set his pace again. Everything had gone as well as he imagined. She even enjoyed the Fourteenth. That was an unexpected bonus.

That statement got him wondering. Why had it been unexpected? The Fourteenth was a good group. The only knock against them was that they’d come after
Richmond
.
Richmond
had been perfect.
Richmond
set him up for a future. Then he was ripped away.

Ripped away.

That’s why he never thought of the Fourteenth as the ‘better’ group. In
Richmond
, he’d had time to settle. He’d met Charlie Squad, and everyone was in the same boat. They went out together, they failed together, and they won together. They had time to bond. There was no bonding moment in
Novosibirsk
. They’d arrived in the darkness of night, in the middle of an onslaught of rain. They’d arrived to General Thoor.

That was why Charlie Squad had felt better than the Fourteenth. That was why Charlie Squad remained a distant memory of perfection. He had never quite eased in with the Fourteenth as he had with Charlie Squad. He’d been thrown into the Fourteenth like fresh meat. All four of the
Richmond
transfers had. Their bonding moment at
Novosibirsk
had been the death of Lieutenant Novikov in Siberia.

The reality was, he loved the Fourteenth. He had more fun with them than he ever had with Charlie Squad. David, Becan, and Jayden were always a blast. They were the originals. But the others were just as good. Travis was fun to be around—he was under-appreciated, but he was sincere. Even though they weren’t with him right then, he enjoyed the company of the Russians, too. An enigmatic kind of funny, Boris the technician never lost at chess. Oleg was nothing but a clown. Galina and Varvara had a distinctly unusual chemistry that soothed everyone around them. Dostoevsky took time out to train him. Even Max was more comrade than threat.

And they had Clarke.

Things were just as good here as they had been with Charlie. It shouldn’t have been unexpected that Nicole would get along with them. He got along with them, too.

Derrick Cole flagged for his attention. “Get back to the story, man.”

Scott snapped out of his thoughts and glanced back. “What?”

“
About football. It’s good to hear about that again.”

David grimaced as Scott shook his head. “That’s it, really,” Scott said. “We lit them up from one end of the field to the next. I had over four hundred yards passing that game.”

“
What happened in the next game?”

“
Next game was great. We played Iowa. We won 17-7. I remember that game—they were singing my praises.” He couldn’t restrain his smile. “It was the first time I’d ever seen banners with my name on them in the stadium. It felt
awesome
.” He’d thrown two interceptions in that game. That was a detail he’d leave out of the story. They’d won, and that was all that mattered. “When we won, people went crazy. We knew we wouldn’t be ranked that year, but we loved playing the spoiler.”

Nicole, too, had been great. She’d always been great, but his college memories of their relationship were still vivid. She’d gone to every one of his games. Even when he wasn’t starting, she attended, just in case. She wanted to be there when he broke out. She wanted to watch him be a star.

Those were his best memories of college games. The victories were wonderful, and the locker room celebrations would always be special in his mind. But the best part was seeing her after the games. He remembered pushing through the fans and finding her embrace.

His first victory had been like that. The Southern California game. The game that wasn’t supposed to be close. When he’d jogged off the field with his helmet in the air, she fought her way through the celebratory frenzy to see him. Her little body was barely visible through the mass of school colors. But she’d done it. The look on her face was priceless. She was completely thrilled—completely thrilled for him. She was grinning from ear to ear; it was something he’d never forget.

“
It’s bleedin’ hot!” said Becan, interrupting Scott’s reverie.

Scott looked ahead and wiped his brow. It was warm, but he didn’t mind. It was better than the harsh blasts of winter.

“
I can’t believe Nicole didn’t want to join us,” David said. “I’m offended.”

Scott laughed. “Yeah, I bet you’re offended.”

“
I am.”

“
I think it’s Jay’s fault,” Becan said.

Jayden grew defensive. “What? Why?”

“
I think it’s your fault. I think she’s got eyes for yeh an’ she’s afraid she’ll run off with yeh.”

“
Aw man, be quiet.”

“
She’d have to fight off Varya, though.”

“
Maybe they could mud-wrestle,” David said. “I bet Varvara would go along with it.” He looked at Jayden. “Don’t you think?”

“
Whatever, man.”

“
Righ’,” Becan said. “I don’t mean to offend yis or anythin’, but I’d pay to see tha’.”

“
They could do it for charity,” David said.

Scott humphed sarcastically. “I’m sure Nicole would mud-wrestle Varvara for charity.”

“
They’d make a killing. I’ll pass it on to Thoor.”

“
You do that.”

“
Man, if they heard y’all talkin’ like this,” Derrick laughed.

“
No, no,” said Scott, raising his hands in defense, “see…there is no ‘y’all’ in this discussion. This is all them.”

“
Nicole said her shoulder was sore,” David said. “I bet she was practicing for the fight.”

Scott shook his head. “You’re probably right. Especially since you made up the fight idea about two minutes ago.”

“
I think Nicole would win,” Becan interjected.

“
Why would
she
win?” Jayden asked.

”’
Cos Varya’s a blonde. Nicole could probably distract her with somethin’ shiny.”

William skidded to a stop.

The rest of the group paced on for several moments before looking back at the demolitionist.

“
It’s okay, Will,” said David. “You’re not blond—you don’t have to be offended.”

William said nothing. Standing at the center of the track, he fixated his penetrating gaze on Scott.

“
Will?” David asked.

The demolitionist stood motionless. His chest heaved from the run, but his face looked far from exhausted. He looked enervated—his eyebrows were lifted and his mouth hung open. His face was drained of color. He was frightened beyond anything he’d ever experienced.

He was terrified.

Scott wiped his arm across his forehead. He’d never seen William like that before. The rest of the group stood alongside him as he took a step toward him. “Will…what’s—?”

“
What did you just say?” William asked, cutting off Scott and looking at David.

David’s mouth fell open. “Uhh…I said your name…”

“
Before that!”

“
I told you not to be offended. I was kidding.”

“
About Nicole!”

Scott slanted his head. About
Nicole
?

David turned to Scott, giving him a funny look before returning to William.

“
About her shoulder,” William said.

The group’s focus switched between David, William, and Scott. With uncharacteristic uncertainty, Scott propped his hands on his hips. He didn’t like the look on William’s face. What was he talking about? Where was he going with this?

“
I said,” David hesitated, “that she said her shoulder was sore…”

William’s eyes pained. They almost screamed in agony. He shot a look to Scott, his breathing intensifying. “Joe’s shoulder was sore!”

Scott’s initial reaction was,
Joe?
Frustrated, he turned to William. “Will, what in the world are you—?”

“
Joe Janson!”

Scott was jolted—he physically reacted before the details began to coagulate in his brain. Joe Janson? William’s partner from the Eighth, months ago? The tall black man? Why was he talking about him? Joe Janson had nothing to do with Nicole; he had never met her before. So what if they both had sore shoulders? Joe Janson was dead.

A thought entered his mind.

Was William trying to say that because Joe had a sore shoulder, and Joe had died, that Nicole was going to die because
she
had a sore shoulder? That was crazy. What kind of connection was that? That was no connection at all. But…was that how Joe had died? Scott remembered hearing nothing about a sore shoulder. It was something else…but what?

“
Joe’s shoulder was sore,” William said, “and then he went to bed.” He propped his hands on his knees, and drew a defeated breath. He looked at Scott, probing deep into his eyes. “With a headache. Joe Janson died of a headache.”

Scott felt his heart when it stopped.

“
Wait a minute,” David said. “Joe had a sore shoulder and a headache…”

“…
and then he died,” William said. “Then it killed him.”

“
What killed him?”

“
The Silent Fever.”

Becan gasped, everyone else went rigid, and Scott’s mind began to race.

Wait. There’s no connection here. William’s just coming up with things. Crazy things. Her shoulder was sore. She had a headache. That was it. Her shoulder was sore. She had a headache. That was it. Joe’s shoulder was sore. Joe had a headache.

And that was it.

Joe Janson was dead.

Scott’s mind thought enough—he was gone. The muscles in his legs exploded, and he tore off the track toward the barracks.

David, Becan, and Travis were right behind him, while Jayden darted off for Varvara. William and Derrick were left behind.

It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible. It was just a coincidence.
Please God, no…it’s just a coincidence…
He didn’t even hear the sound of his friends behind him. He registered only the strides of his feet. Every flex. Every push. Every everything.
Run! Run! She’s waiting for you. She’s in your room right now. She said she’d be there.

He smashed into somebody. Two people who were blocking his way.

He didn’t stop.

He ripped open the door to the officers’ wing. Everything around him was a blur. Shoulder. Headache. Death. Shoulder. Headache. Death. The words circled endlessly in his mind. And they connected.
Please, no! God, it’s all in my head! Please, God!
Officers careened off him as he tore down the hall.

She had been fine all morning. She’d eaten breakfast. They’d planned to elope.

When he touched the handle of his door, his world came to a halt. His fingers curled. His wrist twisted. He pushed it open and turned on the light.

Nicole was slumped on the ground. Her body lay limp as a doll’s.

“
Nicole!”

He raced to her side. She didn’t move.

“
Nicole, oh God, Nicole!”

Her body was sweaty; her hair plastered to her face. When he swept it away, he shrunk back in horror.

Her skin was devoid of color. Her once sparkling eyes stared at nothing.

“
God…no!”

Becan was the next to round the corner. He covered his mouth and stumbled back.

David and Travis came next. As soon as David saw her, he rushed to her, saying, “She’s going to be okay!”