“I want to introduce you to my colleague.”
Norah was still trying to make out what the two computer nerds were analyzing when she finally turned in the direction John was gesturing.
Her heart skidded painfully. The haze that was already rampant with the hot Louisiana air built to a thick, heavy fog, until her eyes threatened to cease functioning altogether. The sweat, which Norah had already accepted as a new staple of her being, quadrupled around her neck. And she could nearly hear the world around her coming to a screaming stop. Crouched on the ground, her back facing Norah, was Chase Fucking Durgin.
Chapter Three
“Chase, come over here and meet—”
Norah was still dumbstruck, staring at the outline of the broad shoulders and the short, wild hair she knew so well many years ago. The dreaminess of the moment made it feel like minutes, hours even, but it was probably only seconds before the woman turned around, the same piercing, molten green eyes she remembered confirming there’d been no mistake in what Norah had seen or heard.
“—Norah…” Chase had even less time than Norah did to process the ghost standing in front of her, and the ruddy pink of her cheeks quickly shifted to a white as bland as the desert sand.
“You already know each other?” Maybe it was due to his advancing age, but John seemed oblivious to the tension between them that was thicker than any Louisiana summer heat.
Neither of them answered. They only continued to stare, Norah noting that her shock had quickly evolved into a whirling nausea deep in the base of her stomach. She still wasn’t entirely sure this nightmare reunion was happening. After all, she’d had similar dreams on a semi-regular basis during the last fifteen years.
“We do.” Chase was the first to speak, her voice raspier and more harried than Norah remembered.
Norah’s arms were still plastered to her sides, her back stiff, her breathing controlled, but only by force of sheer will. The same band of sweat that began to suffocate her when she first glanced at Chase was further escalating, and she worried that John, Jamie, or worse, Chase, might notice the growing dampness around her collar. She had to do something. Chase certainly wasn’t going to. Norah held out her hand, her arm straight as plywood, and offered it to Chase. Another beat of silence sneaked through, and finally, Chase seemed to take the hint, bringing her hand to Norah’s and lightly grasping it.
A vaguely familiar hum began where their fingers met and climbed up Norah’s arm until she was weak, her skin buzzing. As soon as she could, she released Chase’s grip, but their gazes were still tethered, and Norah had to physically retract her stare. Not knowing what else to do, she focused on her boots, trying to regain sensation in the hand that had just touched Chase again after so many years.
“Chase and I went to medical school together, actually.” When Norah looked up again to speak, John and Jamie were staring at her as well, everyone obviously expecting some sort of explanation. This was so fucking typical of Chase, to stand back and let Norah take the heat. The shock and, dare she even say it, magic, of seeing her old girlfriend again exploded into a puff of anger that grew inside her chest, reminding her exactly why she’d spent so many years resenting this woman.
“Is that right, Chase?” John asked. Norah got the sense he’d finally sniffed out the awkwardness of the meeting and was trying to correct the course.
“That’s right.” Chase nodded blankly, but she hadn’t taken her eyes off Norah. They were the same intense, thrilling eyes Norah had always loved. But she spotted a sense of sadness in them, an apology Norah had been waiting over a decade for.
“So you already know each other. That’s fantastic,” Jamie chimed in, not quite as clued-in as John. “Dr. Durgin and Dr. Grimm—”
“Chase and John. Please,” John said.
“Chase and John will be your point people at the CDC. You’re all infectious-disease doctors, and even though you have different backgrounds, I’m sure we can work together to figure this thing out.” Jamie was as cheerful as a PBS show, gleefully oblivious to the anger and confusion rising in Norah’s chest.
John smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”
The silence resumed, each second more uncomfortable than the last.
“Well. I guess that’s all for now. Why don’t we reconvene in an hour and discuss where we are with symptomology. I’ll have two of our epidemiologists come along, and we can start trying to nail down the incubation period.”
Norah reminded herself to thank John later for taking the lead and moving the pleasantries forward. After all, they were here to do a job. People an hour away were dying. This was no time for Norah and Chase to unpack their old baggage.
The other three nodded at John’s suggestion and began to disband, John and Chase going one way, Norah and Jamie the other.
“Just one more question.” Chase’s voice was now firm and full of the arrogant authority she always thought she was entitled to. The others stopped and turned to her. “Who is actually in charge here?”
By the time Norah was safely tucked away back in her tent, she was so furious her vision had blurred. During the entire walk back to the army base, she’d remained quiet, not wanting Jamie to know anything about her tumultuous past with the CDC’snewest infectious-disease stud. The palms of her hands ached, and she realized she’d been digging her nails in so fiercely they’d left pits in her skin that were nearly bleeding.
“Fucking Chase,” she muttered, opening and closing her hands to try to stretch some of the throbbing out. This was fine. Norah would do her job, and Chase would do hers, and they would both go home and resume life as usual. John hadn’t answered Chase’s question about who was in charge of the operation. And with three equally qualified, equally credentialed doctors working the same gig, someone had to be at the helm, didn’t they? The steam in Norah’s brain built all over again, and her hands began to tremble. Of course, Chase would think it should be her. Just like she thought she should be the one to get the slot at Georgetown. Just like she always thought her career was more important than Norah’s. Just like she thought her career was more important than their relationship—and more than Davey’s death.
Norah hated everything about the way she was feeling after seeing Chase again. It was dark and complex and far more than even her years of therapy had prepared her for. The worst part was that the first thing she felt when she laid eyes on her was joy. Much to Norah’s absolute chagrin, she’d felt purely elated. It was Christmas morning. A manifestation of everything you’d been secretly hoping for right in front of you. Her heart soared, and butterflies came out of nowhere, their wings beating so hard they could have lifted her off the ground. Ballads about love echoed in her ears, and her happily-ever-after had been written. Norah hated that this was her first feeling when she saw Chase. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. As soon as Chase spoke, all the anger and disappointment and misery came in and wiped out every good feeling she was trying not to feel. Chase had instantly become nothing more than a pest again. One who had tried to ruin Norah’s life and would never get the chance to do so again.
“You all right, kid?” There wasn’t exactly a door to knock on outside of Chase’s tent, but she had a feeling if there had been, John wouldn’t have knocked anyway.
“Fine. Why?” She was pacing the length of the tiny 6x8 space, mumbling to herself in a tone she hoped was too low for him to hear.
“You just seemed a little rattled by that meeting with the captain back there. You sure there’s nothing more you want to tell me?”
