The Becoming: Ground Zero by Permuted Press, Jessica Meigs Read Free Book Online Page B

at reading body language and expression, a skill he often wished he had. She was as sharp as a razor blade, and it never failed to drive him crazy. Just trying to figure the woman out was an adventure in and of itself.
    “Yes, I do,” Avi confirmed. Ethan didn’t take his eyes off of Remy, watching her reaction. She accepted a towel from Brandt and began to dab the dirt and blood off her face absently. She didn’t respond to Avi’s words whatsoever. “I need help.”
    Avi’s words sparked something in Ethan’s chest. He gritted his teeth. He needed to take control of this situation. He was the one in charge here, not Avi. The last thing he needed was some random woman throwing the entire group, the group he’d fought to mesh into a strong cohesive unit, into disarray.
    “She wants us to take her into Atlanta,” Ethan interrupted.
    The silence was palpable. Ethan could feel it sitting on his skin, making him itch. Theo shifted uncomfortably. Gray and Cade looked impassive. Brandt clenched his fists at his sides, his jaw tight with suppressed emotion. Ethan wondered what they were thinking. He would have bet that Remy knew. If only she would look somewhere other than at Avi.
    “Why?” Remy asked.
    Cade stayed silent, opening a bottle of water with a sharp crack. Ethan startled at the sound and shot her a dirty look, but she ignored it, wetting the end of Remy’s towel and handing it to the woman. Ethan had to give the Israeli woman credit; she could have spoken up and said something right then or at any point prior to that. But she’d obviously decided to allow Avi to explain her reasons herself. The ability to keep her mouth shut was admirable, and Ethan wished it were a quality everyone in the group possessed.
    “I believe there’s more to the story than what we’ve been told,” Avi explained. “I think the government is covering up something about this virus, and I think the answer to what that something happens to be is in Atlanta.”
    Ethan rolled his eyes again, doubt seeping into his brain. He still couldn’t believe this woman had the nerve to suggest something so risky. And he couldn’t believe he was even allowing her to present the asinine idea to the rest of the group.
    “Atlanta is pretty …” Theo trailed off. Ethan looked at the other man and frowned. Theo studied a cut on Remy’s forearm attentively, dabbing at it with a square of clean gauze. He didn’t look up as he added, “Atlanta isn’t a city we go into. Georgia isn’t even a state we go into.”
    “I know,” Avi said. She leaned against the staircase railing and crossed her arms. “I’ve been informed of that already.” Her eyes lit on Ethan; he stared back at her unblinking, challenging. “I think it needs to be done, but I can’t do it alone. And I thought maybe we could be of some good to people who are still trapped inside the city.”
    Brandt hovered behind Cade, trying to help clean Remy up. He looked up at Avi’s words and shook his head. “No. No, no, no . You have no idea,” Brandt said, his voice quiet but hard. He fell silent and turned his back to Avi.
    Ethan was glad he had an ally in Brandt. He really should have expected that, though; he knew that Brandt would have some problems with the very idea of going into Atlanta and would offer a straightforward refusal. Brandt was the only one who had experienced the city on a personal level. Needless to say, Brandt did exactly what Ethan thought he would do.
    “But don’t you want to help people?” Avi asked. Desperation edged into her words, and Ethan barely fought back the smirk threatening to spread across his lips. Desperation meant she was losing her argument and knew it. “Even if just by getting me into the city and helping me get what I need?”
    “Where exactly in Atlanta do you want to go?” Nikola spoke up.
    “She wants to go to the CDC,” Remy said thoughtfully. “Don’t you?”
    Avi nodded slowly. “Yes. You’re right. I need to get