Eve of Destruction by S. J. Day Read Free Book Online

asphalt. Ahead, lights attracted customers to the commissary, the parking lot of which boasted more than a few cars.
    “It doesn’t look abandoned to me,” she said. “Maybe I have an overactive imagination, but I pictured this place looking a lot different. Cobwebs and tumbleweeds. That sort of thing.”
    Alec glanced at her from the passenger seat. “You haven’t seen the best parts yet.”
    “Oh, great. Something to look forward to.”
    “Look forward to me coming back,” he purred, giving her one of his looks. He was, quite simply, ferociously sexy. And he knew it, which made him even more dangerous.
    She jerked her attention back to the road. “You’re going to get us into an accident. It’s hard to drive when your toes are curled.”
    Eve slowed to maintain the distance between the front of her car and the white van carrying the other Marks. The white Chevy Suburban behind her carried six of Gadara’s personal guards, as well as a week’s worth of provisions and all of their equipment.
    Occasionally, some of her classmates looked back at her, but never with any show of friendliness. She probably should have ridden with the group to foster solidarity, but she didn’t have the energy. She didn’t know if coming back from the dead was supposed to feel like killer PMS or not, but she was seriously cranky and sluggish.
    They drove down streets lined with homes whose architecture ranged from 1950s duplexes to 1980s single-family dwellings. The residences were all well lit, with cars in the carports and large manicured yards. She’d done some research on the place and learned that it had been established in 1917, became an official fort in 1940, and closed in 1994. Nowadays, it still served a variety of uses, both civilian and military. The homes they passed now were occupied by married soldiers attending the nearby Defense Language Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School.
    Eve lowered the window and let the crisp, salt-tinged air into the vehicle. Although the base hugged the same Pacific Coast as her condominium, the northern climate was very different. The temperature was cooler, the sky more overcast, and the trees were pines instead of palms. She wished they were riding Alec’s Harley instead, but the seven-hour ride would have been tough even for a mark-enhanced body.
    “I bet the soldiers who were stationed here loved it,” Alec said.
    “It’s a shame it’s closed. I had a friend whose brother was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He called it ‘Fort Lost in the Woods, Misery.’ I’m sure he would much rather be here.”
    “No doubt.”
    They followed the van around a bend in the road. Eve caught sight of a building with boarded-up windows and butterflies took flight in her stomach. She told herself it was a mental thing—her body wasn’t supposed to react to stress—but that didn’t help. She was nervous and scared. “So . . . Do you know anything about the training that goes on here?”
    He reached over and squeezed her knee. “I checked around while they were loading up the Suburban. Raguel has only used McCroskey a couple times so it was difficult to find anyone who has been through the experience. The two Marks I spoke with said it was a pivotal assignment for them, one that changed their perception of everything.”
    “For the better?”
    “So they say.”
    “Only two Marks?” She swallowed hard. “What happened to the rest of them?”
    Alec shot her a wry look. “They’re out in the field, doing their job. They’re not dead.”
    Eve exhaled in a rush. “Good to know.”
    “I
will
get you out of this before it kills you,” he vowed, looking grim and determined. “You’re not going to end your days marked.”
    Her reaction to his promise was so mixed, Eve couldn’t decide how she felt about it. Three weeks ago, her reply would have been, “You bet your ass.” Now, she was ambivalent. She had never in her life quit something because she didn’t like it.