Protocol

“We’ll die,” I said, choking up.“I won’t let that happen.”'Dr. Cassia Hayes has spent months at Biotech giant Baker and Pryor, working tirelessly to create a vaccine for a pathogen she knows only as Variant-13. Her research is fruitless, her stress level is unreal, and the only bright spot in her day is her ongoing flirtationship with the janitor, Elias Correa. They kissed once, months ago, but neither of them has crossed the line since, and the tension between them refuses to fade.When the pathogen is released into the facility, Cassia learns two things very quickly:The virus is far more dangerous than she's been led to believe.And Elias is not a janitor.He's the only roadblock between her and the black-ops unit sent to terminate witnesses.Forced into hiding, together Cassia and Elias become fugitives in a city on the edge of a full-blown outbreak.

Someone released the virus on purpose, and someone else wants them silenced. If they want to survive, they must return to the place from which they barely escaped.Cassia is the only scientist left with the knowledge to create a viable antidote. Elias is determined to get her out...again.

With nowhere to run except into each other, their attraction turns into something that they can no longer ignore.But time is of the essence.If they fail, they die.“I’m scared, Eli,” I confessed. “I’m really scared.”“I know, but you don’t need to be,” he said. “I’ll be with you.”