Page 34 of Silent Comrade
He snorted. “Glad to be the discountoption.” Muscles of his neck flexed as he tightened his hands onher sides. “I don’t like it.”
She knew the decision wasn’t the best, butit was the best decision for right now. “I’ll have bruises and aheadache in the morning. Think of it this way: if I was going todie, I would have done it in the store or in your car.”
“That is not reassuring.”
“Probably true.”
He dropped his head and slumped hisshoulders, muttering to himself as he slid his backpack onto hislap. His fist clenched and unclenched, like he wanted to reach intothe bag. His chest rose and fell several times. Finally, he lookedup. “Let’s get cleaned up.”
“Um.”
“Separately.”
“Yep. Give me a minute to wash up in here,then it’s yours. My bedroom’s right there, if you need to … unpackor whatever you … security people do.”
When he stood to his full height, thebathroom got super small super quickly. He slid past, brushingagainst her as he exited the bathroom.
Chapter Sixteen
In the tiny bedroom, surrounded by the faintscent of hibiscus and the sound of water raining down on Britt’ssoft skin as she showered in the bathroom, Red plunged the needleinto his upper arm and unloaded the syringe full of antidote. ThankGod.
Damn it all.
Relief flooded him.
Sure as shit, like donning earmuffs, thirtyseconds later his hearing dulled. He lost the ability to pinpointBritt’s exact location. His hearing remained more acute than normalhumans, but it wasn’t nearly as sensitive.
His tightly ratcheted muscles finallyrelaxed as the antidote tamped down the virus’s effects. Thinkingbecame clearer. More rational. Sacrificing full strength andsensory ability for sanity bugged the hell out of him in thissituation.
At least he wouldn’t lose his mind. Chalkone up for luck, because he had come way too close to losinghimself tonight. Weariness settled like a lead apron, dragging athis frame. He needed sleep. He couldn’t sleep.
Pulling a clean t-shirt on, he took care tocover his injury. Thanks to the virus, he healed far faster thanmost people. The antidote would slow down the process, but thecritical portion of recovery had finished by now. Tomorrow, therewould be no need for the bandages. Not that he wouldn’t keep themon. Less to explain to Britt.
A quick check on his phone confirmed thatRodeo was en route to the department store. Back at base, Stumpyhad hacked into the security cameras for the entire mall as well asthe department store and pasted sham images and video loops tocover the incriminating periods of time containing Red and Britt’sexistence.
Stumpy might have erased Lequire’s men fromthe feeds, but he saved a digital copy for the Morpheus Squad toanalyze. Stumpy had mentioned that at least one asshole hadsurvived, watching the guy stagger out of the store. That mighthave been who followed them in the truck. Red should have properlyincapacitated them both, but at the time his entire world centeredsolely on Britt’s survival.
Yeah, he’d gotten sloppy. Ignored protocol.At some point, this mission had become more than just an op. He rana hand over the worn quilt on the bed. A flash offantasy—Britt laid out on the mattress, asheen of sweat on her soft skin, delicate arms reaching for him asshe vibrated with a hunger. A bolt of pleasure laced with pain shotthrough him.
Loss of focus meant loss of life. He’dlearned that rule in Special Forces, and he’d be damned if he wouldforget it again. He should get a teammate to take over. Someone whocould be objective.No!The scream inside his head pushedhim back, making the bed springs creak. He filled his lungs.Released the air.
He rolled his neck and shoulders, mourningthe reduction in strength and stamina, but relieved that he was infull control of his impulses. At least he’d be less likely to hurtBritt.
In silence, he finished changing into cleanpants, then mentally catalogued all exfiltration options andweaknesses for the apartment. He could only hope that the earlydetection system and Stumpy’s overwatch with some extra specialunpleasant goodies for any asshole stupid enough to try their luck,would be enough to protect Britt. He texted Stumpy to ask him tostay glued to the monitors for the next hour or so.
Red wanted to focus completely on Britt. Heshould make her go to a safe house.
He also knew how it felt when personalchoice was taken away. Knew what it meant when dreams and a futurewere at risk of slipping away.
Damn it. He’d have to do his job but on herterms. He’d served in the Middle East. Changing the standard opprotocols equaled a recipe for disaster.
Red stalked in boots to the living room. Nosurprise, but Britt paced the space, in her typical constantmotion. Fresh-faced from washing up, the lack of makeup highlightedevery emotion playing out over her features. She had pulled the tophalf of her hair back, drawing his focus to her luminous blue eyes.She wore an oversized t-shirt, possibly her roommate’s. The tightsremained on. Her Doc Martens rested next to the love seat. Shepaused when he approached, her brows shooting up.
Then she crossed her arms.Uh-oh.
“Give me one good reason not to call thepolice on you, Al.”
He mourned the fact that he couldn’tproperly experience the sensation of her voice’s timbre caressinghis skin. “Besides the fact that I saved your life.” He tookanother step forward but stopped when she glared. God, her blizzardstare gave him frostbite. “Also, your sister doesn’t want you dead.That’s why I’m here. It’s pretty simple.”
