Bloody Kisses by Virginia Nelson, Saranna DeWylde, Rebecca Royce, Alyssa Breck, Ripley Proserpina Page A

they’ve trained and employ for this kind of thing?” It didn’t make any sense, not unless they hoped to eliminate all the evidence of what had happened here, including Elizabeth.
    “Polidori locked down the satellite comm. A parting gift, I guess. The uplink has to be reset on site and manually sent.”
    “SWAT can’t do that because?”
    “They’re already on the way. Apparently, some of the subjects are trying to walk to the mainland. This thing with X was a coordinated attack. Several other facilities were hit with other things. The installation in Siberia was hit with a carnivorous form of anthrax. Everyone has to do their part. I guess this is mine.”
    “I’ll go with you,” he offered.
    She touched his arm. “You’ve already done your part. Now, you’re free.” Elizabeth exhaled heavily. “And I don’t want them to catch you. I think Lin knows that you’re here.”
    He nodded. “With all the tech on the island, I’m sure this place is wired with heat sensors and everything else you’d need to survive an apocalypse. Doesn’t matter though. I’m going with you.” He grinned. “And you can tell me not to all you want, but I’m going anyway.”
    The look on her face was something akin to pain. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her. “Hey, it’s okay, Elizabeth. We’ll get through this.”
    “It’s just… you didn’t leave me, Adam. Everyone leaves me, and it sounds so overdramatic to say, but I’d rather you do it now.”
    “As opposed to when?”
    “As opposed to when I’ve come to depend on you.”
    “Yeah, well, I already depend on you. Maybe you’re not sure about what happened between us, but I am. I don’t want to give that up. Do you? And I may be a monster, but I’m not a piece of shit. I wouldn’t leave you here to fight by yourself. No matter if I wanted something more from you or not.”
    “You can’t mean that. It’s just chemistry. Science. People who experience trauma together—”
    “Maybe this will disturb you, Dr. Wollstonecraft, but today was not trauma for me. I killed what needed killing. That’s part of who I am. What I am. This isn’t trauma. It’s a connection.”
    “A spark?” she asked hopefully.
    “It’s a goddamn electrical storm. I’m not letting go of you.” For the first time, he’d gotten something he wanted. Adam hadn’t known how badly he wanted her until she’d been in his arms. He hadn’t reconciled the little girl she was with the woman she’d become.
    He was now her creature in all ways. In giving him his freedom, giving him the choice to serve her. He’d follow her into Hell.
    Or a Bureau 7 facility infested with zombies.
    Whichever came first.
    Adam still couldn’t believe she’d given him his freedom. It had been like dropping one-hundred pounds of chains that had been wrapped around his neck for the whole of his existence. Now, they were gone. His purpose wasn’t to serve; his purpose was whatever he wanted it to be. He’d never felt like his life was a gift, not until this very moment.
    She pulled several pairs of fatigues and boots, t-shirts, and other essentials from a storage bin. “Hey, look at this. You’re right. They were prepared.”
    Elizabeth shrugged the lab coat off and dressed.
    He liked watching her slide those fatigues up her long legs. He liked looking at her body, her face. He even liked watching her tying her boots.
    The idea of her going anywhere near the facility twisted him up. He was afraid for her. He’d never felt that for another creature before.
    “I’ll do it for you,” he blurted. “Just tell me how. You can stay here. Safe. I can do the rest.”
    “You’ll need a staff fingerprint to access it.”
    “I can take it off one of the dead.”
    “Adam, I’m going. I need to go and help set this right.”
    “I knew you were going to say that, but I had to try.” He had this insane urge to tranq her, put her on the boat and haul her back to Trieste and chain her up in the deep, dark,