Flameout by Keri Arthur

Author:Keri Arthur
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-06-02T10:35:34+00:00

CHAPTER 9

The high-pitched scream of a train whistle blasted, accompanied by the screeching of metal against metal as it tried to stop.

“Jackson!” I screamed, and dove for the railing.

All I could see was train. I had no idea whether Jackson was under it or not. I ran to left and leaned over the railing farther, desperately scanning the track for any sign of life or blood or—god help me—body parts. There was nothing. Just sparks that danced like giddy fireflies as the train came to a shuddering halt.

Then a flash of movement caught my eye to the right of the train. Jackson, striding across the tracks, his jeans torn, shirt filthy, but very much alive and unhurt. And he had the satchel in his hand.

Tension fled, and I took a deep shuddering breath. I hadn’t realized until that moment just how much I’d actually come to care for the damn man.

He looked up and gave me a wave, his grin wide as he motioned to the nearest platform. I gave him a thumbs-up then ran back through the concourse to meet him. There was little point in even trying to find Amanda—she’d long disappeared into the crowd.

Jackson met me near the exit gates.

“You,” I said, grabbing his shirt and dragging him close, “just about gave me a heart attack. Don’t ever do something like that again.”

“Like you wouldn’t have done the exact same thing had our positions been reversed.” He dropped a quick kiss on my lips. “And Superman is not the only one who’s faster than a speeding bullet—or fast-braking train, as was the case.”

I snorted then glanced past him. Security guards were heading our way. “Unless you want to spend some more time twiddling your thumbs at a police station, we’d better get out of here.”

After a quick look over his shoulder, he caught my arm and guided me quickly but efficiently through the crowd. It didn’t take much time to lose the guards, and once we had, we headed back to the car. Jackson shoved the key into the ignition then opened the satchel. It had two compartments, and both were stuffed full with paper.

He pulled out one lot and handed them to me. “You check those; I’ll check the rest.”

I quickly flicked through the paperwork. It was mostly handwritten stuff and reminded me somewhat of the notebooks Baltimore had given me to translate into readable English when I’d been his research assistant. I couldn’t see any mention of the virus in any of it, though, just a whole lot of mumbo jumbo about DNA strands and misshapen molecules.

“Anything?” I said, glancing at Jackson.

He shook his head. “Nothing that jumps up and screams red plague virus. But you’re the research assistant. You tell me.”

He handed over the notes, and I scanned them quickly. They were much the same as mine. “I think what we might have is pre-virus notes. They’re talking about vampire DNA and misshapen molecules, from what I can gather.”

“No mention of the virus?”

“Not that I can see.

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