Page 102 of Hunted to Be Mine
I huffed. “Wouldn’t you?”
She glanced up. Met my gaze. “Yes. But I’m not a conditioned operative who’s supposed to box it all up.”
Static from the radios. More checks. Less time.
“I’m responsible for her.” The admission escaped before I could swallow it.
Mattie paused, then kept working. “Because of training? Or something else?”
Damon shifted a fraction, attention sharpening.
“Does it matter?”
“It might to Selina. And to you.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. She saw enough.
“You care about her.” Soft statement.
“I don’t have the luxury of feelings.” Automatic response.
She gave a small smile. “And yet you’re punching walls because we’re not fast enough.”
Damon pushed off from his position. “Team Alpha’s moving on the eastern warehouse. Beta goes to the western in twenty.”
“And Selina?” My newly wrapped fingers flexed.
“Limited personnel. Most are on the raids.”
“You mean they got re-tasked.”
“It’s not that simple. Oblivion’s comms are a maze. Burners, shifting encryption, dead drops. Even with our best tech and a full team, we’re guessing.”
The words hung there. I knew what they meant for her.
The secure terminal chimed. Damon keyed in his code. Dawson again, now in a private office, lights low.
“Yes, Commander. What do you need?”
“I’ve been thinking about contingencies for Dr. Crawford. I’ve got an idea. It’s risky.”
“I’m listening.” I moved closer.
“CuraNova Biotech. Mean anything?”
I dug through stripped memories. “Alzheimer’s research. European pharma.”
“Oblivion’s clean front. Perfect cover. Who questions a company working on a cure? Headquarters in Geneva. Dresner runs his legitimate business there. I’d bet some of the dirty work too.”
Damon crossed his arms. “What’s the move, sir?”
“A gambit. Specter slips into CuraNova. Gets caught in a secure area. Looks like he’s hunting Selina in a panic.”
“If they ID you, Dresner hears about it right away.”
“That’s suicide. They’ll kill him.”
“Not if they still need him. I think Dresner wants to stop ‘asset corruption.’ Another reason he took Selina.”
