Calculated Contagion Read online

  “Measles,” he whispered.

  “They’re spreading it. On purpose.” Dani gestured to a sink outside the room. “Wash up, and tell me how your team can help us isolate them.”

  The doctor walked over to the sink and methodically scrubbed. He toweled off his hands and spoke into a radio. A minute later, three security guards were at the door. He spoke a few words to them in Romanian and they stood on either side of the door, ready. Dani handed them gloves and masks, which they put on without question. More than one even looked grateful.

  “How long are they supposed to be in there?” Dani asked.

  “All morning.”

  Tyler nodded. “Your guards will watch them until we can neutralize them?”

  “No, they will arrest them one by one as they take breaks. I will bring them to my office and your team can take them away.”

  “That’s efficient,” Dani said, wryly.

  “Now that they are taken care of, I must secure my patients. Do you still need my assistance?”

  Tyler shook his head. The doctor gave them a small wave and a nod of gratitude. The doctor’s cool detachment was surprising, but he, like them, had a job to do. Dani looked at her watch. Still too little time had passed–it’d be another half an hour at least before they had CIA help. There were four men in the room and none of them were Stanislav. She’d never forget his face. She’d never felt more like prey until she met that man. Her kidnapper, Andrei, was a close second and he was lurking somewhere outside the building. As if fighting with the same thoughts, Tyler looked towards the east end of the building and then back at her.

  “Tyler, take me to the records room, let me lock the door from the inside, and you get Andrei. Come back when you’re done and we’ll get out of here.”

  Tyler furrowed his brow in response, as she watched him weigh the safest place to take her. She thought the doctor was on their side but wasn’t willing to risk her life by trying the buddy system with him. Being alone in a familiar place with a lock on the door was her best option under the circumstances. He grabbed her hand and they walked quickly to the records room.

  “Keep the door locked and don’t open it for anyone but me. If something happens to me, the CIA team will be here inside of thirty minutes. They’ll have ID and know me by first name and call sign.”

  Dani swallowed hard, one hand on the door handle. “Stay safe.”

  “I plan to.”

  “Take these.” Dani pulled a pair of blue gloves from a box on the wall and placed them in Tyler’s hands. He seemed weirded out and touched at the same time. Dani entered the dusty records room and closed the door behind her. She chose this place because she knew how to get out of the hospital from here on her own if something should go wrong. She flicked the lock shut and hid behind one of the tall bookshelves.

  Dani sat on the cold floor and willed her heart to stop pounding in her ears. It stubbornly refused. Waiting for Tyler to return was a strange combination of terrifying and boring. Sooner than she expected, she heard the sound of the door being unlocked. Tyler must have procured a key from their new doctor friend. She peeked around the outside of the bookcase and then leaned back, trying not to gasp out loud. Why was Stanislav here? Shouldn’t he be out infecting people or something?

  Stanislav slunk into the room. He ran a finger along the wall until he reached the date of records she had so recently sorted through. Unlike her, he knew what names to look for, and he looked around the room for a moment before pulling out a lighter and setting them on fire in the trash can. Once burned, he sprayed into the trash can with a fire extinguisher. He seemed angry, which immediately put Dani’s guard up. Maybe he had a source at the hospital who knew she was there? Of course, he had a source. The doctor in charge of crisis management was taking orders from the head of the hospital to falsify patient charts. She pressed herself against the wall, harder, squeezing her eyes shut and willing him to leave. Footsteps indicated that her wish would be granted soon, until they paused and came back towards her. She cracked her eyes open, letting out a scream that was quickly muffled by a rough hand over her mouth.

  “Ms. Christensen. I thought we taught you a lesson. My associate assured me he took care of you. Ah well, now you can both die together.” Stanislav’s voice was even with almost no trace of emotion. Now that his plan was foiled, he was still going to try and terrorize people. Oh great, he was adaptable.

  Her hands were roughly jerked behind her, and without anything else to restrain her, he used one large hand to grip her wrists, too hard, and led her to the door. She felt a pressure in her back and realized it was a knife. Her captor obviously didn’t think that she might be wearing a bulletproof vest, and she thanked her lucky stars that Tyler had the foresight to insist upon it. If he plunged the sharp edge into her back, the vest might not help, but it kept her from feeling the full extent of the pain he intended.

  “Ms. Christensen, I will explain what will happen to you. I will lead you out to my associate, and in return for your compliance, I will make your death a quick, painless one.”

  Dani battled for brain space against her emotions as she tried to stay objective and formulate a plan. Despite his calm exterior, he was acting emotionally, not just killing her on the spot. She could use it to her advantage. She had just a few minutes to figure out how she would overcome her stronger adversary with no weapons. Hospital security was now guarding four of his allies, and Tyler was capturing Andrei. It was just her and this man. The last time it was one against five hundred. This time, she had much better odds.

  Taking a deep breath, she took careful steps in front of her captor, just as she had when she was being led out of the hotel. But this time, she was a little wiser. If she didn’t do something soon, she would die. Simple as that. No one was lucky enough to escape twice. She slowed her pace but received an angry growl in response. She resumed her previous speed, unwilling to push her captor any further. As they approached the expansive and empty vaccination clinic room, it became clear that the crowd had dispersed. He muttered quick words in a foreign tongue. His accented English sounded different from that of his allies. She had to stay alive, to tell Tyler in case it was important. When he led her through the doorway, precious space opened up around them. Dani whirled and began to kick and punch furiously. Stanislav roared in response and tackled her, swiping his knife in her direction. She ran to the only weapon in the room–a large surgical lamp. He looked past her for a moment and she swung it as hard as she could at his head. A thunk told her she’d found her target, and Dani began to back up until she ran into a person who grabbed her arms. She screamed and prepared to defend herself once again.

  “Easy, Dani. It’s me.” Tyler rushed past her to snap handcuffs on the semi-conscious Stanislav. He spoke into a radio he pulled from his pocket. “Cam, I’ve got him cuffed. Andrei is neutralized outside and spending time with one of ours. Four more on the inside being guarded by locals. Go make sure they’ve got them under control.”

  Dani felt her hair being pushed back away from her eyes. She’d squeezed them shut after Tyler restrained her enemy. When she opened them, it became clear that the reason her knuckles ached was because she was still grasping the lamp she’d wielded as a defensive weapon. A gentle hand removed the lamp from her grasp. “Nice work, Dani. Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head and her whole body began to tremble. “He was going to kill me.”

  “And you kept him from doing that. Good job.” Tyler wiggled the small radio in the air. “I have good news. The cavalry arrived, so you don’t have to whack anyone else with that lamp.” Dani tried to laugh at the absurdity of the statement, but tears flowed down her cheeks. Tyler pulled her close. “It’s over, Dani. It’s over.”

  As Dani’s eyes adjusted and her heart rate slowed, she became brave enough to look at the man who wanted to kill her. Restrained but not bleeding, he looked weaker. Amazing how much less threatening he was when he didn’t have the upper hand. Her wild attempt at self-de
fense hadn’t been pretty, but she hadn’t let him win. Her heart rallied a little with the victory.

  Dani was unsure how much time passed before Cam jogged into the small vaccination clinic. She did a double-take before remembering that Tyler had said Cam’s name earlier. Of course that meant he was here, but she was in the midst of surviving yet another attempt on her life, and it hadn’t registered. Technically, it was just the second attempt by the same group of people, so it was really just a continuation of the first attempt. There was no need to be dramatic about it.

  Dani felt Tyler’s arm on her waist, leading her through the door. They were joined by Cam on the walk back to the safe house, as if they were all walking home from a nice lunch at one of the cafés surrounding the hospital. The whole experience was surreal. When they returned, the safe house was swarming with new residents.

  “Glad you guys could make it.” Tyler clapped one of the men on the back. “Your team did a good job on the clean up over there. I think the doctor gave us all of the leads we need, but we’ll keep an eye on things for a while, just in case.”

  “Yes, sir,” the man agreed before leaving the safe house. Apparently, they weren’t planning on sticking around.

  Cam said, “Dani, thanks for your help back there. Good judgment on the doctor. You saved a lot of pain and a lot of lives. We were able to quarantine the men and believe we minimized any exposure. We’ve got a team working with the locals to quarantine them where the medical staff felt it was necessary. Andrei wasn’t showing signs or symptoms–he might have been vaccinated and was the only one with direct contact with the crowd. So, even with quarantine, not many people will likely be anything more than inconvenienced. We were also able to find Stanislav’s ally at the hospital and turn him over to local officials for questioning. You did good, kiddo.”

  Dani didn’t feel like she’d done anything other than survive, but if she were in Cam’s shoes, she’d probably say something similar. So she kept it simple. “You’re welcome. And thank you for coming to help when you did.”

  “Just wish I’d been here sooner to see it in person. It isn’t every day someone knocks out an international badass with a hospital lamp.” Cam winked at her and then threw a shoulder into Tyler. “Five minutes, Eagle.”

  * * *

  Tyler tried to find the right words but faltered. Dani was dirty, traumatized, and beautiful. And if he said something stupid, he’d never see her again. Irrespective of the success of the operation, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for that. “Thanks, Dani. Thanks for everything.”

  Dani turned her head to the side, as if trying to understand what he meant. A smile crept onto her features. “Says the guy who has been keeping me safe.”

  “It was a team effort. I’m sorry I put you in danger.”

  “You didn’t. It was my choice.”

  Cam tapped his watch from behind Dani. Tyler swallowed. “Dani, I have to go…clean some things up elsewhere. I hope it’s not too presumptuous of me, but I’d like to see you again.”

  “Is that possible?” Dani’s face brightened, and despite the smudges of dirt across her cheeks, just looking at her about knocked him flat on his back.

  “I’m gone. A lot. And I have to talk to Morgan, but with as much travelling as I do, I can spend my time off anywhere. I’d like to set up a little home base in Minneapolis, so I could talk you into a date or two in the next few weeks. If that’s not too much too soon.”

  Dani’s smile was wide now. “I hear there is an apartment for rent, near mine. I bet you could check it out. Their building took a bullet through a window, and they’ll probably offer a good deal, considering.”

  “Oh? Is there a neighbor next door I could take out to dinner or something?”

  “I think that could be arranged.” The smile reached her eyes.

  Tyler leaned in, pressed his lips to hers, and pulled Dani closer. A knock on the door brought them back to the present.

  Tyler leaned his forehead against hers. “Duty calls.”

  “So soon?”

  “It’s related. We found a new lead to Stanislav’s allies in Russia and we’re going to go chase that rabbit trail for a while. See if we can find your conniving coworker. The usual. The immediate danger is gone. Now we just have to make sure we tie up loose ends.”

  “Is that code for shooting people?”

  “No, that’s code for making sure that we didn’t miss any other major players. We’ll handle it as diplomatically as possible.”

  “Does that mean shoot people nicely?” She was messing with him now. Tyler grinned.

  “No. I’ll see you as soon as I can.” He pulled her close one last time.

  “Stay safe, Tyler. Looking forward to being more than your neighbor.”

  “Me too, Dani. Me too.”

  Note from the Author

  Thank you, dear reader, for joining my characters and me on this adventure! If you enjoyed this book…

  1. Leave a review on Goodreads, Bookbub, or your favorite book retailer. Even a short review is a great way to help other readers find this book!

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  4. Check out the rest of The Calculated Series! An excerpt from Calculated Sabotage is included at the end of this book.

  Calculated Extortion (Prequel Novella)

  Calculated Deception (Book 1)

  Calculated Contagion (Book 2)

  Calculated Sabotage (Book 3)

  Calculated Reaction (Book 4)

  Calculated Entrapment (Book 5)

  BONUS MATERIAL

  If you enjoyed Calculated Contagion, please enjoy the following excerpt from Book 3 in The Calculated Series, Calculated Sabotage.

  1

  Quinn King raised her gun and looked down the sight. She relaxed her shoulders, let out a breath, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet passed through the center-chest X and the paper target fluttered. It had been six days since Rory, her friend and sometimes-partner, had been murdered. It had been four days since her boss had officially rejected her request to find her friend’s killer, reminding her that Rory’s death had not yet been ruled a murder. It had been three hours since Quinn had decided to investigate her friend’s death independently, orders be damned.

  Quinn shut her eyes tight, then opened them. She fired again. The bullet passed through the same neat hole in her target as the previous rounds. Quinn emptied the rest of her magazine into the X on the head of her target. She reloaded her weapon with a fresh magazine, pulled the slide to chamber a bullet, and slipped the Glock into the holster on her back.

  Quinn removed her ear protection and rolled her neck. The range master nodded at her, a small grin of admiration sneaking across his face. He knew her as Amy and had asked her out a few times. He was clearly former military and just attractive enough to not be obnoxious about it. He seemed like good people, but she just didn’t need the complications right now. She had work to do and it would start with a flight across the country.

  Contrary to popular mythology, even “lone wolf” CIA operations officers were expected to work well on a team. Quinn met Rory shortly after she started at the CIA, and they’d hit it off immediately. Rory had the charm to recruit foreign assets, and Quinn was the patient, strategic one. Some might call Quinn paranoid, but careful often looked like paranoid to the untrained eye. Within a few months of meeting, Quinn and Rory began to work on most of their operations together. However, it wasn’t always practical to work on a team. Which was how Rory ended up dead and how Quinn ended up sorting through the wreckage. She rubbed a hand down her face. She considered putting a few more bullets through the holes on her practice target, but before she could reach for her gun, her phone buzz
ed against her hip. She didn’t need to look at the name to know the Director of Special Operations was calling. The only people who had this number were Rory and DSO Dan Floyd.

  “Hey, boss.” Quinn absently rubbed her neck and scanned her surroundings. The crowd was pretty thin today, but the pops from the guns firing around her kept her from fully focusing on the call.

  “How are you holding up, Falcon?” Dan’s voice was carefully neutral.

  “That’s my name this month? Hm. I like it.”

  “I was thinking Bluebird, but it’s too cute. You scare me a little, Falcon.”

  “Ha. Like anyone could scare you.” When asked about his own reputation, the DSO would only shrug and say he could neither confirm nor deny the stories. He scared the bejesus out of the new operations officers. Quinn respected him, and what’s more, she liked him. As long as he didn’t coddle her.

  “You’re awful calm if you’re in the middle of a shootout. Are you at the range again?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You want to talk about it?” Dan’s voice softened.

  “No, sir. Not unless you’ve changed your mind.” Quinn shifted her weight and put her free hand on her hip.

  “We have a team on it, Falcon. Look, I can get you in with a counselor. What you’re feeling is perfectly normal.”

  “With all due respect, you’d have to drag me in unconscious, sir. However, now that you mention it, I think I need to take some vacation time soon.” Quinn turned around to check her back. Still just a bunch of cops and civilians practicing their aim. Their targets had more scatter than hers.

  “I was afraid of that. I haven’t authorized you to investigate Rory’s death. Or pick up where she left off. Even on your own time. As I recall, I told you no. Multiple times.”