Die For You: Catastrophe Series, Book 1 Read Free Page A

human contact, he swung around for a closer look.
    He eyed her from head to toe and noted that she was young, pretty too, in that girl-next-door way with wavy brown hair and magnetic blue eyes. She wore shorts and a baggy-as-hell pink shirt that drooped off her shoulder like it was two sizes too big. He relaxed slightly. She looked normal. Like someone he would have known.
    Thank you, sweet Jesus. Not bad. Could have been worse, much worse.
    She raked her gaze all over him, also giving him the once-over. He wondered for a moment if her initial fear came from his scar.
    Their gazes collided and he lifted an eyebrow, questioning her. You like what you see? He watched her lips part and her cheeks flood an attractive shade of pink.
    His body heated in response, possessive instincts automatically clicking into place. He took a deep, calming breath. Christ, they’d only just met. His libido needed to calm the hell down. He didn’t know a damn thing about her, and he was busy trying to stay alive. So what if he hadn’t seen a living, healthy and attractive female in weeks? And he hadn’t had sex in…how many months? She looked young, much too young for what he had in mind. Like a deer caught in headlights.
    “Look, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m a woman, so I have to be careful. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
    He grunted.
    “How about we start over? My name is Rachel Donnelly, nice to meet you.” Her hand shot out.
    “Wait,” he interrupted, placing a finger over his lips and cocking his head. “I hear something.”
    The whine of an engine grew steadily louder. His jaw clenched in irritation and his fingers flew to the holster at his hip. A person of unknown intent was about to join their party? Just fucking great.
    “I hear it too.” She gasped and turned her head toward Interstate 5 south. “It’s another car!”
    Adam cursed. Why had he bothered to come home? Life had been safer and calmer fighting the Taliban.
    “No,” he said. “A motorcycle. Get back in the car,” he ordered. “Lock the doors. If something happens to me, get the hell out of here. Understood?” She nodded and ran to the Lexus.

Chapter Two
    The lone driver pulled to a stop ten feet away on a red-and-white Kawasaki motorcycle. The kind Adam detested—loud, irritating and look-at-me. He used to see them buzzing around town, darting between traffic, driven by impulsive twenty-somethings. Except this man didn’t seem so young. He had matted black hair, a scraggy beard, wild eyes and dark skin. What was he hiding inside that long, brown trench coat? Weapons or his naked penis? The guy stared at Adam, eyes blazing with the intensity of a terrorist on a suicide mission.
    His attire and stance flipped every one of Adam’s switches.
    Who was this crazy bastard?
    The man cut the engine to the bike and the freeway returned to silence. A raven cawed from above. Claustrophobia started to settle in, scratching against Adam’s chest. The stench of death assaulted his airways. He needed to get out of this city and into the fresh air and open countryside.
    Today.
    Gun in hand, he engaged the target and aimed for the T-zone, ready to take him out with one precise shot. Fuck verbal de-escalation. He had Rachel to consider. “Who are you and what do you want?” he demanded.
    The crazy bastard didn’t answer. His gaze slipped away and he opened and shut his mouth like a fish out of water, strangely silent. His eyes rolled up into his head and he slumped forward, falling to the side and sliding off the bike, crashing to the asphalt. He lay there, eyelids welded shut, not twitching a single fucking muscle.
    Adam blew out a breath. “Not again.”
    He holstered his weapon and rubbed the back of his sweaty neck. Well, that explained everything. The guy had the virus. They always lost consciousness before bleeding out. Over the last few weeks, he’d become an expert on the symptoms, watching Ruyigi infect and kill everyone on the goddamn base, city