Free Relentless by Suzanne Cox Page B

here. Sure, it was a tropical paradise. A hot and humid one. Sweat trickled down the side of my face. I tried not to think about it, reaching out to ruffle the leaves of a dark green bush as we walked by. The white metal roof of the lab was visible just ahead through the trees.
    Myles opened the door then stepped back to let me go in first. From the small foyer, we couldn’t see into the lab. Myles pressed a button near the large steel door that led into the actual lab. Somewhere in the distance, I heard buzzing. A female voice crackled over the speaker next to the button.
    “Yes?”
    “It’s me, Myles. Can Alexis and I come back?”
    “Sure, I’ll be right there.”
    Myles glanced at me but didn’t say anything as we waited. The door creaked and shivered as the locks released, then it swung open.
    “Hey!” She put her arms around Myles and hugged him. “Come on in, Alexis.” She waved at me with a pair of clear plastic safety glasses she held in her hand.
    I followed behind Myles. Lana was chattering about viral samples and DNA, but I was just trying to take it all in. The first time I’d seen the lab, it had been a little overwhelming. The second visit didn’t make me feel much different. This definitely wasn’t your average high school science lab. I noticed Lana calling across the room, and a door on the back wall opened.
    When I’d first realized I was a werewolf and met some of the male werewolves, I had begun to wonder if they were all the most handsome men on earth. But I’d come to find that many of them were regular-looking guys. Much like Daryl, who had came across on the boat with us and who I now spotted in the far corner of the lab. I waved at him, and he lifted his hand to acknowledge us but immediately went back to whatever he was working on. The guy who came through the door was not like that. I recognized him immediately because he’d eaten with us in the dining hall one night, though he hadn’t been back. He was not average. Tall and lean, he seemed like he’d be more at home in a magazine advertising expensive men’s underwear. Even the dark-rimmed glasses he wore didn’t detract from his looks. If anything, they gave him a more intellectually gorgeous appeal. I glanced at Myles. Lana worked in the lab with that? And he wasn’t jealous?
    “Alexis Miller, this is Robert Garrett.”
    He took my hand, his long, slim fingers clasping around mine. I could feel the strength there. Even though he wasn’t as big as Myles, he was still a werewolf, still powerful.
    “Hi.” I didn’t know what else to say, so I just stood there, letting my hand fall to my side when he let it go.
    “We’re about to head out to Key West,” Myles said. “Sure you two don’t want to go?”
    “We’re really at a critical point with these new samples that Robert brought in,” Lana said as Robert nodded in agreement with her.
    “Is it a new strain of virus?” I asked.
    Lana had been tapping her safety glasses against her leg, and now she stopped, placing them on the table. “Very new and different from others we’ve been seeing.”
    Beside me, I could almost feel Myles’ body tense as he spoke. “Different how?”
    Robert turned to him. “Different in that we think this virus is being manipulated somehow by the Fenryrians.”
    I frowned. “Why would they do that?”
    “To get a virus we can’t kill,” Lana responded.
    “So you don’t think you’ll be able to get an antiviral to work against this one?”
    Lana sniffed. “Of course we will. That’s why we’re at a critical point. I think we’ll have something in a day or two.”
    “I guess we’ll let you get back to work then.” Myles turned, and I followed him to the door.
    Glancing back, I could see Lana and Robert bent over some papers on one of the lab tables, their blond heads almost touching, as they seemed to both be talking at once.
    We passed through the second door, leaving the cool air conditioning of the lab behind.