The Truth is Contagious (The Contagium Series Book 4) (50 page)

“How’s she doing?” I asked Heaven when
Valencia went back into the hall, saying she had to find her
daughter.

“Not good,” Heaven told us. “She talked to
her husband last night and he denied the whole thing. He’s looking
guiltier by the minute.”

“Have they been married long?” Hayden asked,
taking a plate of pancakes.

“Almost ten years.” Heaven shook her head.
Her hair was pulled up today, revealing large hoop earrings
encrusted with diamonds. “You think you know someone and then find
out they’re responsible for the end of the world.”

She clasped her hands together, nervous. She
sat with us while we ate breakfast, asking questions about Fuller.
She brought a family photo, showing her, Fuller, and Fuller’s son
who looked like Hayden. Seeing Fuller’s face smiling up at me as he
stood beside Mickey Mouse at the happiest place in the world
brought a bit of relief. There was no way this Heaven girl was
lying.

* * *

I fell back into the pillows, clutching a
bowl of salad. “Would you judge me if I ate this with my fingers?”
I asked Hayden.

“Not at all,” he said with his mouth full. He
picked up another cookie and a glass of chocolate milk. “As long as
you don’t judge me for making myself puke so I can eat more.”

“That’s disgusting,” I said, wrinkling my
nose. “But almost a good idea. I forgot how much I love food.” I
ate several more forkfuls of salad before I put the bowl down. “I
feel sick but in a good way.”

“Yeah,” Hayden agreed and finished his milk
and cookies.

* * *

We had spent the whole day eating and soaking
in the whirlpool. It was immensely satisfying.

Then, in the evening, we’d sneaked downstairs
into another resident’s room, an older woman named Martha, per
Valencia’s instructions. She was a doctor and told us that her
suspicions rose when she was instructed by the CDC to contact them
when patients who had been admitted with headaches died. Padraic
had said something similar. Martha was also threatened to keep
everything quiet. Like me, she didn’t respond well to threats. But
unlike me, she hadn’t fought back…yet. She had been waiting for
hard evidence, and that evidence couldn’t be clearer than Hayden
and me.

Since she had witnessed crazies first hand,
fear kept her quiet when she first arrived at the Regency. Then she
started talking to a man named Gorge, a horticulturist. The more
they talked, the more they realized things didn’t add up.

Once they realized that the whole thing was a
set up, they wanted off the island. But there was no way. And they
had no way to survive even if they did get off the island. They
were stuck, living in terror under the same roof as their
blood-thirsty political leaders. She told us she tried to be
grateful that she was among those worthy of saving, but guilt got
the best of her and she’d been carefully adding more to her group
ever since.

We met a few other members of her group
within the hour.

We went over our options, coming to the
conclusion that Hayden and I must speak to Samael. If he wouldn’t
agree to let all of our survivors come here, then everyone in
Martha’s group who wanted to leave would come to our compound.
Things had changed, but the president was still heavily guarded.
The only way we would get the chance to talk to him face to face
was at the dinner party tomorrow night. Now we had to figure out a
way to crash it.

Heaven had led us back to the room. She
looked down the hall and waved us on. She pressed the button to the
elevator repeatedly as she waited not very patiently. The doors
opened and we got in. Hayden pushed the button for the seventh
floor. When the number six lit up, the elevator slowed. Hayden and
I turned into each other, standing in the corner behind Heaven.

Two young women got in. They said hello to
Heaven and pushed the button to go to the eleventh floor. One
turned around and obviously checked out Hayden. The other looked at
me.

“Hey…aren’t you Elle Wilson?” She patted her
friends arm. “Oh my God, it’s totally Elle! I had no idea you were
here!”

The friend waved her hands in the air. “They
said they were bringing in entertainment for tonight! You totally
should have won, by the way.”

I smiled. “Uh, thanks. Don’t tell anyone I’m
here and ruin the surprise.”

“We won’t,” they said in unison. When we got
out, my heart was racing. None of us spoke until we were safe
inside our room.

“Told you you look like her,” Hayden said,
face white from the close call. Heaven tipped her head. “You do
kinda look like her. She’s been out of the spotlight for a while
now; no one could say for certain she hasn’t changed.” A smile
broke out across Heaven’s face. “It will work. I can get you
in.”

* * *

I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement as
I remembered it all: the meeting, being accused of being Elle, and
Heaven’s plan to get us in. I brushed cookie crumbs off of Hayden’s
chest and lay down, resting my head against him. I listened to his
heartbeat until I fell asleep.

I closed my eye, trying for the second time
to get the false eyelash to stick. I used to be good at this. Now,
my fingers shook with anxiety and I couldn’t help but think the
whole thing was stupid. Zombies roamed the world and we were
dressing up to go to a dinner party. Looking pretty wasn’t going to
make life better.

“Finally,” I muttered when I got the stupid
fake lashes to stay in place. I touched up my eyeliner and took the
curlers from my hair, flipping my head upside down and gently
running my fingers through the spirals before spaying them with
hair spray.

I took off the white bathrobe and tossed it
on the counter. I grabbed a garment bag that hung on the door. The
bag was heavy, making me wonder that kind of dress Heaven had
picked out for me. I unzipped the bag and pulled out an evening
gown out, holding it up in front of me.

I put it on, struggling to get the zipper up
in the back. Then I turned around, looking at myself in the full
length mirror.

“Who are you?” I asked my reflection. The
woman in front of me looked elegant and beautiful, not like the
zombie hunting killer I had become. It was odd to see makeup on my
face again.

I had to admit the dress was gorgeous. It was
light blue chiffon and lace with tiny little beads sewn along the
bodice. The hem fell to the floor and a split ran up the side to my
hip. The neckline was low and the dress clung to my body, hugging
my curves then falling to the floor like a waterfall of expensive
fabric.

I picked up a jar of concealer, carefully
dabbing at the many scabs and bruises on my arms. Then I put on
dangly earrings and a matching bracelet. I took Hayden’s dog tags
off, coiling up the chain and sticking them inside the quiver.
Heaven had brought me a gaudy necklace of alternating sapphires and
diamonds. I held it up to the light, watching the sparkles dance
off the cut stones.

I set it down. I still wore my grandmother’s
necklace. The simple silver leaf hung from a thin chain. It wasn’t
flashy in the least, but I liked it. I sat on the edge of the tub
and stuck my feet into silver heels, tightening the straps. I stood
and wobbled a bit. There was a time when I wore heels regularly,
back when I frequented bars, looking for a distraction from my
unfulfilling life.

I walked to the door, getting my sea legs
back in no time. I cast one more look in the mirror, shocked again
by my own reflection. I put my hand on the doorknob and twisted,
emerging into the hotel room.

Hayden stood by the window, tugging at the
collar of the dress shirt he wore under a black tux jacket. He
turned when he heard the door open. His jaw dropped then he
smiled.

“You look beautiful,” he said and walked
over.

“You’re not looking too bad yourself,” I
said, taking him in. His hair was styled and his injuries covered
up. The tux fit perfectly and looked good on him, making me want to
rip it off and throw him on the bed.

Hayden put his hands on my arms. “I feel
fucking ridiculous.”

“You don’t look it, I promise.” In heels, I
didn’t have to reach up to kiss him. I kinda liked that. “This does
feel weird, though, I’ll agree with you there. It’s like we’re
playing dress up.”

He nodded. “These people have no idea what
it’s really like. I’d say they’re living in a fantasy world but
this is their reality.”

“Makes me sick,” I said, putting my hands on
Hayden’s chest. He looked good, downright hot in the black jacket
and white dress shirt. Was it odd I preferred him in jeans and a
t-shirt?

He gently touched a tendril of curls and let
his hand run across my collar bone. “Seeing you like this
is…weird,” he said shyly. I smiled, glad I wasn’t alone in liking
my fiancé in normal clothes. “It makes me feel very out of your
league. You’re like a model or something.” He smiled.

I slipped my hands under his jacket. “You
have no idea how good you look, do you?”

He just smiled and gave me a quick kiss. “I
am looking forward to getting you out of this fancy dress.”

“If this dress is too fancy for you, you’re
gonna hate the black lace I have on under it,” I said coyly.

Hayden wiggled his eyebrows and pulled me in.
All this talk was fun but neither of us were feeling it. Tonight
was the night, the moment that determined the rest of our lives…as
well as the lives of hundreds of others.

* * *

I picked up a glass of champagne and put it
to my lips. It was tempting to down the whole thing and calm my
nerves. But I had a fake reputation to uphold. It was easy—fun,
even—to make up lies about what I’d been up to the last few years.
The life of a sorta-famous singer wouldn’t have been affected by
the Depression as much as mine had.

Hayden stood close to my side, protectively
keeping an eye on everyone in the room. A group of people milled
about a hall, eating, drinking, and laughing while they waited for
the dinner to start. We were in a small room outside the large
banquet hall, acting as if we were enjoying the cocktail hour
before a reception.

Many of the people we had talked to yesterday
were here, which offered some comfort. Their support was the only
reason we were following through with this. We still had no
definitive plan. It felt like we were here, at this party on a Hail
Mary…our last resort and final chance to make things right.

Valencia was nowhere in sight. I scanned the
room and spotted Heaven. She raised her glass to me and smiled.
Anyone else would have seen it as a friendly gesture. It offered a
bit of reassurance. I took another sip of champagne and stabbed a
toothpick in a piece of cheese. I also had to show restraint and
not go to town on the finger foods. I freaking loved cheese.

Hayden put his hand on my back. “I thought
this was a party for everyone,” he whispered, his breath hot on my
neck.

“That’s what Valencia told us.”

He looked up then stepped in close, making it
appear as if he was whispering naughty things to his
used-to-be-almost-famous fiancé. “Then were is everyone?”

I swallowed the cheese before I was done
chewing. It lumped down my throat, making me cough. I took a gulp
of champagne to wash it down. He was right. Only about a hundred
people milled around the hall, all dressed to the nines sipping on
drinks completely unaware. I moved my eyes to the buffet table.
There wasn’t enough food to feed more than who was here. And there
was no staff serving us.

“Something is wrong,” Hayden said, fingers
pressing into my back. Nerves prickled down my spine. “We need to
get out of here.”

I put my glass down and took his hand. Hayden
stuck his other hand inside his jacket, flicking the safety off his
gun.

“Heaven!” I shouted over the laughter and
chatter. She was at the other end of the room. Keeping a tight grip
on Hayden’s hand, I pushed through the small crowd. My heart
started pounding. My heel caught on the hem of my dress and I
stumbled, recovering before anyone even noticed.
Stupid
,
impractical
shoes
.

I madly looked around. The doors we had come
through were tall, at least ten feet, and made of solid wood. They
had ornate carvings along the top, little swirls and loops. They
swung shut with an echoing boom. It shook the room, causing
everyone to cease talking and turn. Only seconds passed before the
room filled with noise again, some people laughing at their
surprise. The doors had closed by accident, of course.

“Heaven!” I shouted again. Anxiety brewed
inside. I squeezed Hayden’s hand, whirling around. “We need to get
these people out of here,” I told him.

He nodded. “We’re boxed in.”

I followed his gaze. The doors to the banquet
hall were closed as well, as they would be before a big party. It
hadn’t raised any suspicions; that was the way to do it, right?
Keep the decorations out of sight to build anticipation and then
have a big reveal. It was something Raeya would have just squealed
with excitement over.

We moved through the sea of people. Why was
everyone so calm? Couldn’t they see what was happening? Martha
caught my eye. I stopped, pushing Hayden on to try the doors. She
looked grand dressed in a gray evening gown with a black wrap.

“Orissa?” she said, putting her hand on my
arm. “You look alarmed.”

“Yeah,” I said, whipping my head back. Curls
flew into my face. “I am. Just a little.”

“What’s going on?”

I blew the loose strands away and turned to
the older woman. “Isn’t this party supposed to be for everyone at
the Regency?”

“Yes. It’s a celebration for making it
through the season. Everyone was invited.”