Page 34 of SEAL's Tempest
Tempest rolled her eyes, but it only made him laugh.
ChapterThirteen
As Josh concentrated on Quinn’s sign language through the dusty haze, his gut knotted. The last explosion had damaged something in the circuits and triggered the self-destruct countdown. It could have been worse. If the failsafe had blown, they’d all be dead. But now they had mere minutes to get the fuck out of there.
Quinn signed eight minutes until detonation.
Josh sighed. It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
Quinn signed that there was no guarantee the failsafe wouldn’t go off when they opened the steel door. There was no way to fully assess the damage behind the steel plates.
Fuck. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Tempest. It wouldn’t stop him from doing it, but he’d give his right nut not to have to share that bit of information.
She wasn’t a civilian, though. She was one of them, and she’d handle it like a pro, like the rest of the team.
“Falcon 5, clear copy,” Josh said into the comms when Quinn finished and gave him the thumbs up.
“It’s not good, is it?”
Josh hadn’t realized Tempest stood next to him. He didn’t know if it was a blessing or not that she couldn’t read sign language. It would have saved him from having to tell her.Chicken shit.
“No, it’s not. But we didn’t blow up yet, so that’s a plus.” He forced a grin, but she wasn’t buying it. “The good news is they’ve already cleared all the new debris from the last blast, and they have the door clear.”
“What’s the bad news?” Tempest met his gaze as she inhaled a deep breath and tightened her shoulders. His warrior princess was back.
“The blast damaged the circuits, and the countdown has started for the self-destruct mode. We have about seven minutes before it goes off.”
“Lucky can’t stop it?” Tempest’s gaze darted darting between Josh and the monitor.
“Nothing he tried has worked, and we’re running out of time.”
“Okay. Are they going to open thatprakeiktasdoor so we can get out of here before we’re blown to bits?”
“No one is blowing up. Go grab your pack. As soon as Quinn gives the signal, we’re pushing that door open and running. Don’t stop until you’re clear, no matter what. Okay?”
Tempest nodded, but as she walked behind him, he heard her gasp. Fuck.
“You’re hurt. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“It’s nothing. I’ve had much worse. I’ll take care of it as soon as we get out of here.”
“It’s bleeding. Let me bandage it at least.”
“No time, baby. We need to blow this popsicle stand.” Josh didn’t want her worrying over him; they needed to get out of there.
Tempest nodded and grabbed the packs that they’d left next to the couch. Josh couldn’t wait to get the fuck out of there, but he would always have happy memories of that couch. Maybe he should get an orange couch for his living room.
“We’re about to explode. If you’re thinking about sex, just stop.” Tempest rolled her eyes as she tossed him his pack.
Josh chuckled. “I’m a guy in case you forgot. We spend ninety-nine point nine percent of our lives thinking about sex.”
Tempest didn’t know joking was normal for him. He never panicked under pressure; none of them did. They’d crack jokes up until they end and then do it as their ghostly selves. There was no other way to react. Life could be over in a heartbeat.
After shoving a six-pack of water into his pack, he slid it over his shoulders. Tempest had done the same thing.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” Tempest replied, her voice firm.
