LOGIN"You won't," Dimitri said."You don't know that.""No," Dimitri agreed. "But I believe it. And I need you to believe it too."Eve closed her eyes. She felt his hands on her shoulders, pulling her close. She felt his heartbeat against her cheek as he held her. She felt the warmth of him, the solidness of him, the reality of him.And she felt the terror of knowing that in three days, all of that might be gone."If you die," Eve said against his chest, "I will find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you myself."She felt his chest move with something that might have been a laugh or might have been a sob."Deal," he said quietly.Mike cleared his throat. "I'm going to head out. Let you two...." He gestured vaguely. "Talk. Or fight. Or whatever happens next."He walked to the elevator, paused, and looked back at Dimitri."Seventy-two hours," Mike said. "Don't waste them."The elevator doors closed, leaving Eve and Dimitri and Nonna in the penthouse.Nonna disappeared into her room
Eve felt something crack inside her chest. "You're just going to do it. No matter what I say.""Yes.""Even if I beg you not to.""Yes.""Even if I leave again."Dimitri's expression finally shifted, something raw and vulnerable crossing his features. "Don't.""Don't what?" Eve asked, her voice breaking. "Don't leave? Don't beg? Don't try to stop you from killing yourself?""Don't make me choose between you and saving millions of lives," Dimitri said quietly. "Because we both know how that ends."The truth of it, the brutal, devastating truth...settled over the room like a shroud.He was right. If The Covenant deployed that virus, millions would die. Including her. Including Mike. Including Nonna. Including everyone she'd ever known or loved.And he was telling her that he could stop it. That he was the only one who could stop it. That all it would cost was him walking into a facility that might kill him."I hate you," Eve whispered."I know," Dimitri said."I hate that you're doing t
POV: EVEEve was pacing when she heard the elevator.She'd been awake since 4:47 AM, the exact moment Dimitri had left the bed without explanation. Business, he'd said. A temple kiss and nothing else.That was three hours ago.Three hours of cold coffee, unanswered texts, and the growing sense that something was very, very wrong.Nonna was in the kitchen, pretending to prepare breakfast but actually watching Eve with that knowing expression that said she understood more than she was letting on."Cara," Nonna said gently. "Sit. Eat something.""I'm not hungry," Eve said, her eyes fixed on the elevator doors."You've been pacing for an hour.""He's keeping something from me," Eve said. "Again."They both remembered what it took to bring her back.The elevator chimed.Eve stopped pacing.The doors opened, and Dimitri stepped out. Mike was behind him, and that....Mike being there....immediately told Eve this wasn't a normal business meeting.Dimitri's eyes found hers across the room. His
"You're not a scientist," Thomas said."No," Dimitri agreed. "But I'm a businessman with extensive pharmaceutical connections. A man with resources. A man who could provide things The Covenant needs....funding, equipment, political connections.""They'll vet you," Marco said."Let them," Dimitri said. "My cover will be bulletproof."Mike walked to the window, his back to the room. His shoulders were tight."You're asking to be infected," Mike said quietly. "You saw the data. Two-week incubation. Ninety percent mortality rate. You're asking to die.""I'm asking to do what needs to be done," Dimitri said."No," Mike said, turning around. "You're asking to leave Eve. You're asking to break her. You're asking to destroy the only good thing that's ever happened to you because you've decided you're the only one who can fix this."The words hit harder than Dimitri expected."This isn't about ego," Dimitri said."Isn't it?" Mike asked. "The Devil. The man who controls everything. The man who
Claude's fingers moved across the keyboard, pulling up additional data. The younger tech specialist's face was tight with exhaustion, but his eyes were sharp."Location still unknown," Claude said. "James doesn't have access to that level of operational planning. He's classified as a test subject, not personnel. But the facility is operating under the assumption that Stage Four trials conclude on day fourteen.""Which means deployment happens immediately after," Marco said, his voice flat. "Day fourteen or fifteen. Maybe less if they're ahead of schedule."Dimitri looked at the screens....at the facility layouts, at the personnel rosters, at the cold mathematical projections of what would happen if a bioweapon with a two-week silent incubation period was released into an urban population center.Millions dead within a month. Possibly tens of millions if it spread internationally before detection."James has one more transmission window," Thomas said. "Day fourteen. Before expected fie
POV: DIMITRIThe call came at 4:47 AM.Dimitri was in his apartment bed, Eve asleep beside him, when his encrypted line lit up. Thomas. Communications specialist. Only called at this hour if the world was ending."We have it," Thomas said without preamble. "The burst transmission. Full data package. It's... significant."Dimitri was out of bed before the words finished leaving Thomas's mouth."How significant?" he asked, already moving to the walk-in closet, already reaching for clothes."You need to see this in person Boss."Which meant it was that significant."Thirty minutes, Bring it to the office" Dimitri said. He ended the call and dressed in the dark, not wanting to wake Eve.She stirred slightly as he was leaving, reaching for him in sleep."Where are you going?" she mumbled, not even fully awake."Business," he said, temple kiss to her forehead. "Sleep. I'll be back."He didn't wait for a response. Just left her in the warm bed and headed for the elevator.***The drive to V
She had. She really had."When?" she asked. "When do you think... when would you want...?""To marry you?" He smiled. "When the six months are up. When you've had time to truly know what you're choosing. When there's no doubt in either of our minds that this is forever."Four and a half months.Fou
The arousal was shameful and involuntary and made absolutely no logical sense, and it was there regardless, coiled low in her stomach alongside the shock, the two things existing in completely contradictory parallel the way they had since the warehouse.She heard the shower run.She heard it stop.
POV: EVEThree days after Mike left, Eve had started to believe things might actually be okay.Not perfect. Not simple. But okay.Mike had stayed for dinner that first night....had eaten Dimitri's pasta in near silence, had answered Eve's careful questions about London in short sentences, had looke
POV: EVEShe'd moved to the living room by the time the afternoon light started going golden, tucking herself into the corner of the large grey sofa with a different contract....one she was actually managing to read this time and a second coffee that had gone cold twenty minutes ago.Dimitri was in







