Desert of the Damned (6 page)

In the open doorway, Phil from administration stuck his head into the room. He was in his forties, with dark, short-trimmed hair and business casual dress. “Sorry to interrupt. Dante, you ready?”

“Be right there, Phil. Just finishing up.”

“I’ll wait outside.” The door closed.

Amy quickly buttoned her blouse, straightened her skirt and walked with Dante to the door.

“I’ll call you later,” he said. “Another night in the desert.”

It was a statement not a question. “No,” she answered. “I think it best we don’t continue.” As he was about to open the door, she realized he had her panties.

Giving her a sly grin, he slipped his hand inside his pocket. Thank God, he remembered her panties. But he pulled out a piece of gum, unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth.

Turning toward the door, he frowned for a second, then put on his professional persona the moment he opened the door. “We’ll finish this later,” he said to Amy as he smiled at Phil standing in the hallway.

“Let’s hustle, buddy. We’re late,” Phil said.

“Sorry, I’m playing catch-up today. End of the month stuff.”

Phil nodded his sympathies as the two men marched down the hall toward the conference room. Still dazed, Amy felt her heart hammering inside her chest. As she 30

Desert of the Damned

strode toward the ladies’ room, she swore silently. Good grief, she would have to work the rest of the day without panties.

31

Kathy Kulig

Chapter Four

After Amy got back to the lab, she walked straight into the storeroom to collect her thoughts and check on Sienna. A good excuse. She wanted to hide until her pulse settled down so Truly wouldn’t know what had happened with Dante. She squatted next to the box and peered inside. The kitten bobbed her head, blinked her eyes and meowed the tiniest sound. A little pang twisted inside Amy’s chest.

No. There was no way she could keep this cat. Or could she? Reaching into the box, Sienna hissed and clawed at her. Jerking her hand back kept her from getting sliced with needle-sized claws.

“What’s wrong with you? Hungry again?” The cat howled like a mountain lion cub, not a house cat. “Boy, are you ornery when you get hungry.” Amy picked up the syringe and drew up milk from the pint container and placed it by Sienna’s mouth. The kitten’s head swung around and tried to bite her. Fortunately, Amy yanked her hand away in time. “Damn it, Sienna.”

“What are you doing to your kitten?” Truly asked, the question sounding accusatory as she walked into the storeroom and crouched down by the box.

Amy glanced over her shoulder at Truly, refusing to look guilty and stood, waving the syringe in her hand. “I told you this cat doesn’t like me. When I went to feed her, she made a fuss and tried to bite me again. Here, you try.” She handed Truly the syringe.

“That must have been some meeting,” Truly said with a wink. “You’re all flushed.”

“Stop it. I am not.” Amy felt her cheeks. Was she flushed? “It’s the cat. I’m calling the Humane Society and see how late they’re open ‘til tonight.”

“I called them. They’ll take a kitten that young if they have personnel available to give it twenty-four-hour care and if they have room.”

“Great, thanks for—”

“They don’t have either,” Truly interrupted. “They said you could try a vet but they were doubtful. You could try back in a few weeks when the cat was older if you still didn’t want it. They gave me information for recommended care.”

Amy raised her arms then let them drop to her sides in defeat. “How am I supposed to take care of a kitten that hates me?”

Truly laughed and came over and hugged her. “Sienna doesn’t hate you. She just hasn’t gotten to know you yet.”

Feeling the same stubborn determination and resilience that got her through college and through two long-term relationships that went sour, Amy wasn’t going to let this kitten get the better of her. “Will you come and have dinner at my house tonight? I 32

Desert of the Damned

want to make sure I can feed Sienna. You seem to be the only one who can get near her without getting torn to shreds.”

Truly glanced down at the kitten. “But I was supposed to dance naked in the desert tonight. The waxing moon is almost full.”

Knowing Truly never missed her Earth rituals, she asked, “Well, can’t you do that at my house? I have four open acres in back with no houses around and beyond that is the Sonoran Desert.”

Truly swayed side to side, her skirt swooshing around her ankles. “That’ll work. I’ll bring prickly pear juice for margaritas if you’re cooking.”

“Are you trying to manifest anything special this month?”

Truly smiled wickedly. “Of course. A hunky guy.”

“Great, thanks.” Amy peered into the box. Sienna was sleeping again. She looked harmless when she was sleeping.

As they walked out of the storeroom and back to Chemistry, Phil from administration, who was at Dante’s door earlier, was jotting a note on her desk. A knot tightened in her stomach. Could he know what had happened in Dante’s office? It was not a good idea to be messing in one’s own sandbox. What had she been thinking?

Never again. What had Dante been thinking?

“Give me all the gory details later,” Truly whispered as she walked past and got back to the autoanalyzer.

Straightening her back, she approached Phil with her best professional manner.

“Hello, Phil, are you looking for me?”

“Amy, yes. Do you have a moment to come to my office?” He didn’t smile. Phil always smiled.

Oh God, he knows.
“Of course. What’s this concerning?” Her throat constricted to the size of a swizzle stick.

“We just finished a meeting with a representative from the park service and I’d like you to come to my office to discuss a project.”

“Project?”

He grimaced. “I know. It’ll mean an increase in workload.”

“Normally we would welcome the work but I hear our accounts have been ordering excessively high numbers of tests.”

“A little unusual but we’re fine.” She crossed her arms over her lab coat, hoping to give a professional appearance. “We may need to do some overtime if it continues.”

“I understand. Shall we?” He led the way toward his office on the second floor, a few doors down from Dante’s. She wondered if Dante would be in Phil’s office too.

Then she began to panic. She was so going to get fired. Was this a ruse to get her in his office to talk to her about her and Dante’s indiscretion? She took a breath and tried to relax. Guilty conscience, that’s all.

33

Kathy Kulig

When they entered Phil’s office, a man was seated in a guest chair in front of the desk. His hair was not as dark as Dante’s and much shorter. The man turned and stood as they entered the room, his wide-brimmed park service hat in his hand.

“Amy, this is Jake Montag from Saguaro National Park. Jake, this is our lab supervisor, Ms. Weston.” Phil pointed to a seat for Amy and began to flip through a file on his desk.

The first thing she noticed was Jake’s cowboy boots beneath his tan park service uniform. Cowboy boots were something she didn’t see often in Florida but she thought they looked very sexy on a guy.

Amy shook Jake’s hand and welcomed him. Looking her over, he smiled and his eyes widened as if he recognized her. She didn’t think she had met him before, although her mind raced through memories while her eyes were locked with his, trying to remember. Clear blue eyes, nearly the color of Truly’s deepest turquoise, shone with subtle sensuality and ruggedness. Shit. As if she didn’t have enough trouble she was getting hot for a new client while Dante wasn’t quite out of the picture yet. What was wrong with her?

Jake had that rugged strength that made her think of backpacking trips, scaling mountains and horseback riding. Then she realized she was still holding his hand.
Idiot.

She pulled her hand away and stuck both hands in her lab coat. The realization that she had no underwear beneath her skirt did not help to keep her cool.

Jake’s mouth curved in a smile, his eyes shone with an appreciative, knowing glint.

She felt heat rise to her face. They both sat and stared at Phil, who seemed to have forgotten they were there. She gave Jake an awkward smile, wishing Phil wouldn’t waste a client’s time like this.

“Would you like me to explain what’s been happening at the park, Phil? While you finish with what you’re doing?” Jake asked in a calm, professional tone. “I don’t want to keep Ms. Weston from her work.”

He was sharp. Phil’s eyebrows rose. He looked up from his file. “Of course, Amy, I don’t want to keep you.”

She smiled at Jake and thought she caught a slight wink. She guessed he was in his early to mid thirties, about her age. He had dark close-cropped hair with a few highlights. He probably spent extended amounts of time under the desert sun.

Unlike Dante, who was always edgy and moody, Jake had a calm demeanor and unmistakable sexual magnetism that probably smoldered beneath the surface until the right woman came along…

Phil closed the file and sat straighter in his chair. “This won’t take long. I’ll get right to the point,” Phil said. “Normally, the park service has the state lab handle animal testing like rabies for park animals in cases when a visitor gets bitten. Rarely does the park service need to run tests for other reasons. But this is an unusual circumstance…”

Jake turned to Amy. “We’re not sure what’s killing so many animals.”

“What kind of animals?” she asked.

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Desert of the Damned

“So far mostly mammals—deer, coyote, rabbits. The tests we send to the state lab are timely and costly. We’d like to run a series of tests locally to rule out a few things,”

Jake added.

Amy nodded. Her mind raced as she thought about the infectious agents that could infect a wide range of mammals. “I get worried when I see something jumping the species line.” Amy looked at Phil. “CDC will need to be contacted if we come up with anything. And WHO tracks zoonoses diseases.”

Jake frowned like he wasn’t quite understanding. Amy translated. “Centers for Disease Control needs to know of diseases that are transmissible from animal to human.

World Health Organization also tracks these diseases.”

Nodding in understanding, Jake rubbed his forehead. The concern was etched in his brows. “We want to rule out insecticide or chemical poisons too.”

“I have the list here of what we’ll be screening for.” Phil pulled some pages out of a file folder. “I’ll make a copy for you, Amy. I’ve contacted a veterinarian to collect blood for toxic screens. And you and Jake will be collecting specimens for parasite, bacteria and viral studies.” As he flipped through more papers, Amy noticed Jake’s questioning glance at her.

Amy tried not to show her disbelief. “Out in the field?” she asked. Please, Phil was not asking her to collect animal shit with this hunky guy. He couldn’t be that cruel.

“Yes, of course,” Phil answered. “The fresher the better. And as many varieties as possible. I’m sure Jake will help you identify which animal left the sample. Unless you can differentiate—”

“No, no. Not my expertise,” Amy interrupted. “I know microorganisms. Not animal droppings.” She glanced at Jake and he was smiling. Her face felt hot.

“I’ll be glad to help,” Jake said.

“I’ll put in an order for supplies but we should have enough in the storeroom to get started,” Amy said. “When would you like to get started, Mr. Montag?”

“Tomorrow morning. If that’s possible. And call me Jake please, ma’am.”

“I’ll get the supplies together. Where and when should I meet you?” Amy asked calmly but her hands became fists inside her pockets. She was going to spend the day with this guy. The idea was very appealing.

“I’ll pick you up here at eight. We can load the supplies in my Jeep. We’ll need to drive up in the high country. That’s where I saw most of the dead animals.”

She glanced at Phil, who seemed pleased with the plan, then back at Jake. “I guess I should wear hiking clothes then.”

He smiled. “Might be a smart choice.” Jake stood and shook her hand. Amy’s stomach tumbled and she smiled up at him.
Stand up, idiot.
She did. Okay, any woman would be a bit flustered by the outdoorsy hunk. The guy was gorgeous.

“I’ll be there.” What was she going to do with the kitten tomorrow?

35

Kathy Kulig

* * * * *

“So dump the guy, if he’s weirding you out, Amy,” Truly said as she added prickly pear juice, tequila and ice to Amy’s blender and hit the liquefy button. The roar of the appliance drowned out Amy’s retort. She nodded in agreement and continued chopping onions, slicing cucumbers, wedging tomatoes and cutting up chunks of mango. She arranged a bed of fresh mixed greens, vegetables and mango on two large dinner plates, then seasoned the thin flank steak for the grill.

“I did. At least I think I did but I don’t think Dante realizes it’s over yet.”

Truly poured her frozen concoctions into two margarita glasses. “Make it clear, put it in writing or something. Here, try my prickly pear margaritas. I got the recipe from this guy who works in a bar in Sedona.” She handed Amy a green glass with the orange drink. Amy took a sip.

“Yum. Can’t drink too many of these. I have to go out in the mountains tomorrow and collect wild animal doo-doo. With Hunky Forest Ranger, I might add.” She put the glass down as she set the table in the small dining area between the kitchen and living room.

“Good. I hope Hunky Forest Ranger helps take your mind off the old flame.” With margarita in hand, Truly strolled around the living room, examining the few desert scene prints on the wall and grinning at the misplaced wicker furniture. “Early miscellaneous with a Southwestern flavor and hint of Floridian beach cottage.”

“Cute. Since I’m planning to move back to Florida, I didn’t want to part with my furniture. It’s almost new and the company paid to move all my stuff.”

“Good Lord, I don’t imagine that’s yours.” Truly pointed to the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace, head and all. “Yuck, look at the eyes and mouth.” She kneeled down and stuck her finger in its mouth and rubbed its tongue. “Ouch!” She yanked her hand away and Amy dropped a fork.