Page 54 of Silent Comrade
Sound blended into a loud buzz of spicy ragewhen the guy put his hands on Britt’s hips and swayed in time withher.
Red wasn’t jealous. He had a job to do.Safety was job one.
For all he knew, that asshole could be partof Lequire’s team. Could be a threat.
Sure as hell wasn’t jealousy driving Red’sdecisions, because that feeling required emotional connection, andRed had every reason not to connect with anyone, ever.
Back to the mission. Of course Britt wouldbe better protected if Red maintained a tighter perimeter. Byperimeter, that meant he needed to be pressed right up to her tightbody. Operationally speaking.
His virus rumbled inside him, eitherapproving or egging him on—hard to tell.Red the man and Red the virally enhanced soldier blended together.Given the tension ratcheting up in the muscles of his back, thebalance of sanity versus viral urges had started to tip again. Itwas way too soon. Damn it.
The guy on the dance floor took Britt’shand, lifted it, and trailed fingers up her arm until she laughed.Red’s vision flickered crimson. God help him, but Red absolutelyshould not touch Britt in this state.
Virus didn’t care. As if her presence out onthe floor tugged invisible marionette strings attached to him, Redlifted a hand toward her. Leaned forward. He had to be in contactwith her. Craved connection with a hunger that sent him reeling.Distracted him.
Distractions meant mistakes. Mistakes meantharm. Stick with protocols.
He had left mission protocol in the dustlong ago, right when she ran smack-dab into his chest in thehallway that first day.
He pushed away from the pillar.
Shouldering through the crowd, Red ignoredoffended yelps as he bumped people on his way to the knot ofdancers. A quick glance up on the balcony revealed Rodeo’s positionwhere he observed the crowd and Red. The Morpheus Squad guys wereparticularly good at identifying physical changes in each otherwhen the virus took off. His teammate’s crossed-arm stance andvigorous shake of the head guaranteed that Red would catch hell forwhat came next.
Didn’t matter what percentage of the impulsecame from the virus or from Red. He was no longer the quietpeacemaker, thinking about a problem, then negotiating to find asolution.
The man dancing behind Britt gripped herhips and eased her back against him.
Negotiation over.
Red’s vision bled until crimson strobelights pulsed against crimson house lights. Sound roared. The virusinside him raged, battering against Red’s skull, as if it wantedout.
Red would be damned if that well-dressed,preppy little bastard smeared those hands all over Britt for onesecond longer. Purely as a security issue.
He grasped the man’s wrist and applied theperfect amount of pressure. Any angry protest disappeared rightwhen a bone started to crack, the burnt-popcorn sound making Red’smouth water. Focus and cold control abruptly returned, and hisworld tunneled down to the two people in front of him, one of whomneeded to step the hell away from the other one.
“Dude?” the guy sputtered as he jumped back.“What the fuck? Back off.”
Britt’s eyebrows shot up, sparking glintsoff the hoops, a surprised smile quickly morphing to shock as shestudied Red.
Red lifted a shoulder and leaned in close tothe sweating man. “My turn. Get lost.”
“Fuck you. I was here first.”
Calm. Control. Red tamped down the virus.Hard. His unbreakable control would not crack. Not today. “Leave.”He squeezed once more on the man’s wrist until he yelped andsnatched his arm back.
“You’re nuts.”
Red leaned forward and threw every bit ofviral insanity into his voice. “You have no idea what I’m capableof, friend.”
The man backpedaled and disappeared into thecrowd.
Red turned and faced Britt. A small spacehad cleared out around the two of them. In the strobe lights, hecould guess at the target of her pissed-off expression, and itwasn’t her dance partner, Scooter McDougal, or whatever that shit’sname was. Tough. Red had a job to do. If she insisted on staying indanger, then he would stay in it with her. Simple enough.
“May I?” He managed to grit out thecivility.
With a jut to her chin, she turned her backon him and undulated toward other dancers.
The virus was having none of it.
