“No, I am not,” Alex shot back. “‘Phobe’ implies that there is an irrational fear. I have a very rational fear of germs. They can make you very, very sick. There is no phobia about it.”
“It’s good to have a wariness about getting sick, but germs are everywhere no matter what,” Kyle said. “And some of them are actually good.”
“No germs are good,” Alex answered, wagging a finger at him.
His stomach twisted into a tight knot as he tightened his grip around Ava’s shoulders, his frown deepening. “Are you sure we couldn’t just hack into the security system at the hospital and monitor this from there?”
“I’m sure. I need to see how this is progressing, see if it’s responding to any treatments, maybe try a few of my own. And most importantly, we need to put a stop to the spread of this,” Kyle answered with a bob of his head.
“Most of that information, I could have hacked for you from hospital records. And we could have called them. Or texted them.”
“Alex is also a phone call-phobe,” Ava answered with a giggle.
“That is a phobia, yes. There is no reason ever to call me, especially unexpectedly. Anything you have to say to me can be put into a text so that I can deal with it when I have the bandwidth to do so.”
Ava patted his knee as she laid her head on his shoulder. “I always text you, Ace.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I know, Sparky. It’s what I love most about you.”
Sebastian crinkled his features, glancing in the rearview mirror. “That’swhat you love most about Ava? That she texts you?”
“I love other things, too. Like her brains and her beauty, and that she loves gaming and me.”
“Solid list, Mav,” Kyle replied as some of the woods gave way to signs of life.
“I thought so,” he said with a grin as he patted Ava’s arm.
“And here I thought you’d go with something cheesy like I love everything about Ava.”
“I do,” Alex answered, his stomach flip-flopping as a sign for the town popped up in front of them. “Ugh, here we are Germlock Falls.”
“The motel is on the outskirts, so maybe we’ll get lucky with proximity,” Ava answered.
“But you’ll be going into the bullseye here. Maybe just Shadow and Doc should go.”
“I’m going,” Ava answered. “But I do think you should stay at the motel. You’ll be much more comfortable there.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Ava,” Sebastian said.
His smirk grated on Alex’s nerves. The man was always too close to Ava, always too cocky. It didn’t help that Kyle had been subtly encouraging Ava’s involvement in this mission. Alex knew they all cared for her, but no one else seemed to understand the risk she was putting herself in.
Ava rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head as she glanced at Alex.
“Hey, Doc, umm, not to sound paranoid or anything, but what are the odds that this virus interacts with the drug they somehow got into Ava’s system?” Alex tried to suppress a shudder as the nightmare scenarios raced through his mind again.
“The Neuroprisol-X with a modified flu virus?” Kyle shrugged as he rubbed his chin. “It’s doubtful there would be any interaction.”
“What about with the drugs you’re giving her to counteract the Neuroprisol-X?” Alex asked.
Kyle frowned, shaking his head. “No. Outside of Ava’s immune system possibly being a little low from all of the stress or maybe a drug side effect, and that’s a minimal risk, no.”
He shifted in his seat, wanting to trust the man but worry still coursed through him.
“I’m fine, Alex. Well, outside of the fact that a behavior-modifying drug may still wreak havoc on me, I’ll be okay.”
“Maybe you should stay back with me at the motel, babe.Stay nice and safe from all the germs with your compromised immune system.”
“I didn’t say compromised. I said lowered. Those are two different things,” Kyle answered.
