“I’m not sure they thought that we would figure this out, Ace. So, I’m not certain this is a trap. I think, for once, we’re ahead of the game here.”
Alex shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I don’t feel ahead of the game.”
Ava rose and crossed to him, wrapping her arms around him. “I know. And I don’t think we ever will until we’re rid of them completely. And even then, I think we’ll have an adjustment period where we’re always looking over our shoulder.”
“I’d rather that than this. Ava, I’m worried.”
“So am I.” She leaned forward to give him a kiss on the lips. “But we are together, and we are fighting back.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ace. Now, let’s get some sleep. We’ll decide what to do in the morning after Kyle calls in to get the latest news.”
“Please, please, please stay here no matter what that news is,” Alex said as she pulled the covers back and fluffed her flat-looking pillow then disappeared into the bathroom with her bag.
“We’ll see, Ace. We may need to stop there and make sure everything is under control.”
Alex huffed out a breath as he rummaged through his bag for sleepwear, tugging off his clothes and changing before she slid between the sheets.
Ava emerged from the bathroom a few moments later and slipped into bed next to him, cuddling close.
He wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. “Good night, Avs.”
“Good night, Ace.”
He sucked in a deep breath, trying to slow his racing mind, but he couldn’t manage to fall asleep. Too many disaster scenarios raced through his mind, accompanied by a nagging ache in his neck—probably from sitting in that stupid, poorly designed chair.
Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, he dozed off, his dreams filled with flu-ridden zombies chasing him and Ava through the small town of Hemlock Falls.
When he finally awoke, his clothes were drenched in a cold sweat, and his neck was stiff.
Ava was already awake and in the shower when he dragged himself out of bed and fiddled with the crappy coffeemaker to brew something he hoped was drinkable.
When she popped out of the bathroom, he’d already drank half a cup, still barely awake.
“Good morning,” Ava said with a kiss to his cheek as she poured herself a cup. “You look rough, babe. No sleep?”
“Barely,” he answered. “Hopefully, a shower will help. Let me know what Doc finds out when he calls.”
“Okay,” she answered.
He dragged himself into the shower, allowing the hot water to cascade over him, though it did little to ease his sore muscles or wake him up. When he climbed out, he felt no better.
He pulled on his clothes and stumbled out of the bathroom, finding Ava, Sebastian, and Kyle all in his room.
“Whoa, babe, you look worse than you did when you went in,” Ava said as she hurried to him.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I didn’t sleep. How’s it looking at the hospital, Doc? Can Ava and I have a free pass to stay home?”
Kyle frowned at him, his eyes narrowing. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m tired. I didn’t get much sleep. And I have a stiff neck from that stupid chair they have. Remind me to bring my own chair next time I have to save the world from a deadly virus.” He tried to grin, but he felt too exhausted to even do that.
“Babe, you’re burning up,” Ava said as she pressed a hand against his cheek.
“Probably hot from the shower,” he murmured, his head starting to pound with a dull ache at the temples.
“Uhh, you may want to sit down, Mav,” Kyle said.
