Jameson (Hunter Squad #1)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Greer

I watched Jameson slam the base door closed. The howling wind was instantly silenced.

Adrenaline was pumping through my system, and I tried to calm my fast breathing. “Frankie, Jordan, are you both okay?”

They nodded, water dripping off their soaked clothes. Frankie was holding a hand to her head. Her dark, curly hair was a tangled mess around her face, and her usually dark skin had a pale tint. Jordan was middle-aged, bald, and built like a tank, but he looked shaken.

I saw the rest of the Hunter Squad step into view. Each and every one of them was tall, muscular, and clad in their high-tech armor.

“My arm…” Jordan held his arm up. “It’s burning. The slime from that…thing, it burns.”

I could see his skin was blistering.

“And it hurts like hell,” he added.

“Frankie, get him down to the infirmary,” I said,

The woman nodded. “I hit my head…I’m feeling a little…” She staggered.

“Frankie,” I cried.

North lunged forward and caught her. She blinked up at him, then sagged, unconscious.

I pushed forward. “Is she all right?”

“She has a nasty lump on the back of her head.” North frowned, his gloved hand gently probing Frankie’s skull. “My guess is she has a concussion.”

“Do you have a doctor here?” Jameson asked.

I shook my head. “We’re well-stocked, but no medic.”

North lifted Frankie into his arms. “I can help them.”

Relief punched through me. “Thanks, North.”

I watched Jordan lead North down the tunnel to the infirmary. I prayed Frankie would be okay.

Then a big, broad body stepped in front of me.

“You’re bleeding.” Jameson touched my cheek. “You have a cut over your eye.”

I swiped at my wet hair. “It’s nothing.”

“It could get infected. I’ll clean it for you.”

“Here.” One of my engineers rushed forward carrying a stack of towels. “So you can all dry off.” He handed them out to the Hunter Squad soldiers.

I watched as Kai, Marc, and Zeke started toweling off their wet hair.

“Come on,” I said to Jameson. “In my office.”

I watched him swipe a towel over his brown hair as we walked down the bare-concrete corridor. I stopped at my office and pressed a palm to the lock. It pinged, and the door slid open.

Once inside, he pulled his chest armor off. He was wearing a black shirt beneath it. It was fitted and wet, and clung to him so tightly I could see the outline of his abs under the fabric.

God, don’t look at his abs, Greer . I swallowed and blew out a breath. Then I reached up and touched my cut. “Ow.”

“Sit.” His voice was gruff.

I sat on the edge of my desk, shifting a stack of files. My office wasn’t very big. There were large light panels on the wall to make up for the lack of natural light, and just my untidy desk and chair. My computer was lost in the files and schematics littering the surface.

“Sorry about the mess in here.”

“It’s fine. First aid kit?”

“In that cabinet.”

He pulled it out and opened the kit, then crouched in front of me.

My heart did a wild flip in my chest. It’s Jameson. You’re childhood friends. He’s practically your brother.

None of it worked. I was excruciatingly aware of him. There was no way I’d think of Jameson Steele as my brother.

He took out some gauze and poured some antiseptic onto it. Then he leaned in and gently wiped the cut.

“You shouldn’t have been out there, Greer.”

I blinked. “What?”

Steady hazel eyes met mine. For a second, I was lost in the green, counting the gold flecks I could see.

“When you see a giant monster, you run away. You don’t run toward it.”

I straightened. “I did my job. This is my worksite and my people. Those were my guys in danger. I’d already watched one man get dragged into the water.” My voice cracked. God, I couldn’t believe Sam and Travis were gone. “Everyone here is my responsibility, and I had to get Frankie and Jordan to safety.”

“Not if it risks your own life.”

A small laugh choked out of me. “I can’t believe you said that. Considering what you do for a living. You risk your life every day.”

His brow creased. “That’s different. I’m trained.”

I snorted. “So what? I wasn’t going to let my people get eaten by that thing .”

He put some cream on my cut, and I hissed.

“Sorry,” he said.

Now, I sighed. “I wasn’t being reckless, Jameson. But I had to help. I’m the lead engineer. This is my job. It’s vital that we establish a secure water supply for the Sydney area. Our civilization depends on it.”

“Getting yourself killed won’t help anyone.”

“Hey.” I noted the tension in his body. His shoulders were taut, the muscles in his neck strained. He was worried. I cupped his strong jaw, my fingers brushing over his stubble. He was so big. So muscular and strong. “I’m all right. You and the squad arrived at the perfect time.”

He gave a tight nod. Then he gently pressed a bandage over my cut. I swallowed. Who would have guessed such a big guy could be so gentle?

“No more fighting the monsters. That’s my job.”

I smiled. “Deal.”

He was so close, and he smelled of rain with a hint of perspiration. I liked it. Desire flared hot and quick. I fought the urge to fidget. “I haven’t seen you for ages. You haven’t called, and you didn’t return the messages I left.”

He was quiet for a beat. “I’ve been busy. You’ve been busy.”

I sensed it was more than that. “I always have time for you, Jameson.”

He leaned closer, and I felt like the temperature in my office rose several degrees.

My fingers tightened on the edge of the desk. Was he going to kiss me? My heart thudded against my ribs.

There was the rap of knuckles on the door. “Dinner’s ready.”

I recognized Marc’s voice.

“The engineers are cooking for everyone. Come and get it, or I’ll eat it all.”

Jameson leaned back, the moment evaporating. Intense disappointment flooded me.

He wasn’t going to kiss me. He never looked at me like that. I might not think of him as a brother, but I was certain he thought of me as a sister.

Suddenly, I felt dejected. Everything that had happened today crashed in on top of me.

Jameson cleared his throat. “Once the weather clears, we’ll send a drone out to check for the monster.”

“Okay. I’ve seen a few ripples in the water the last few days. That’s why I wanted to talk with you, but if I’d had any idea what we were facing…” God, maybe if I’d called Jameson earlier, Travis and Sam would still be alive.

He gripped my arm and squeezed. “You couldn’t have known. That’s the biggest problem with the monsters. They’re all different, and we never know what to expect. We’ll gather intel on this one, and then my squad and I will come up with a plan to kill it.”

I licked my lips. “You’re staying?”

“Yes.” His brow creased. “I’m staying until that monster is dead. I’m not going to let it hurt you…or your team.”

My throat tightened. “Thanks, Jameson.”

He touched my jaw. The caress was brief, but I felt it everywhere. I felt his rough calluses, the strength of his touch. He was a soldier, a warrior. I knew he’d earned every one of those calluses.

“Come on.” He took my hand and helped me off the desk. “You need to go and change out of those wet clothes.”

I tried to keep my face friendly and casual and not show how much his touch affected me. “We have a small laundry. You and the guys can dry your gear.”

He nodded. “Thanks. And don’t worry, Greer. I’ll keep you safe.”

He’d keep my body safe, what about the rest of me? The part of me that liked having him close?

Jameson

I shoveled food into my mouth. The engineers had done a good job. In our work, we burned a lot of calories, so any time someone cooked for us was good.

I glanced across the table at Greer. She’d changed into dry clothes, and I tried not to notice the way the soft, pink T-shirt hugged her breasts. She was nodding and eating as she listened to one of her engineers. Everyone was in a somber mood.

They were thinking of the people they’d lost. And Frankie in the infirmary, still unconscious. North had treated the woman, but she needed to be observed throughout the night. There was currently another engineer sitting with her. Everyone was hoping she woke up soon.

Greer patted one of her people on the back, smiling at them. She was so damn gorgeous. Her blonde hair didn’t quite brush her shoulders and had a wave to it. It was shot through with strands of gold, honey, and pale sunshine.

Shit, I was no poet. Yet, here I was, obsessing over Greer’s hair.

“Colbie landed in the ruins of the nearby town,” Marc said. “She’s got the Talon secured.” He frowned. “She said she’d sleep in it.”

“She isn’t coming to the base?” Greer asked.

“The storm’s too bad for her to get up here to the dam base,” I said. “It’s safer for her to stay with the Talon. Besides, we all know she’d never leave her beloved aircraft.”

Marc’s frown deepened. It wasn’t a usual look for him, since he was the most easy-going of us. “What if something creeps up on her? She’s alone. She could need help.”

“Colbie can hold her own. You know that.”

Marc pushed his chair back. “I’m going to call her on the comms and check on her.” He strode off to the other side of the room.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked.

Kai shrugged.

A sudden echoing clang rang through the base. Everyone froze.

Clang.

Clang .

I slowly pushed to my feet, eyeing the walls.

Clang.

Clang .

“What the hell is that?” one of the engineers said, his voice shaky.

Clang .

This time, the sound was softer and farther along with dam wall.

“The monster’s testing the wall,” Zeke said.

Everyone gasped, then silence fell.

My jaw worked. This monster was not going to go down easily. “Let’s check it out.”

Greer rose. “I’m coming too.”

I wanted to argue, but the stubborn look on her face warned me not to bother.

I strode down one of the tunnels, my squad behind me. Greer stayed at my side.

Clang .

We couldn’t wait for the storm to clear. “We need to get a drone up and see what we’re dealing with. North, Kai?”

The men nodded.

“On it,” Kai said.

“You have a drone with you?” Greer asked.

I nodded. “Colbie dropped off some of our gear when she flew us in. The guys retrieved it earlier.” We never went anywhere without extra weapons and ammunition.

A groove appeared in Greer’s brow. “Isn’t it too wet and windy for a drone to operate?”

“Calmer conditions would be better, but the drone’s designed to work in bad weather. It’s not ideal, but we’ll see what we can see.”

Kai and North reappeared, carrying a medium-size case from our gear. Kai flipped open the box and pulled out the high-tech quadcopter drone. Our tech guru, Maxim, liked to invent gadgets. He kept our armor enhanced, the Talon kitted out, and was always upgrading our weapons.

Kai and North headed for the exterior door. I heard a creak, followed by the howl of the wind.

I headed back to the long table where we’d eaten. Some of the engineers were still sitting there, looking worried.

I opened the tablet that controlled the drone. It was set in a rugged, tough casing. Marc and Zeke leaned against the wall, watching.

The screen flickered to life.

The drone flew up and I had a view of the dam wall. I spotted Kai and North, battered by the wind and rain, but staying close to the base door.

The drone moved over the dam, and the image was shaky. The wind was damn strong.

“It’s too dark,” Zeke said. “Visibility is shit.”

I tapped my finger on the desk. Where are you?

There was a flash of movement in the water.

Greer leaned forward. “ There .”

Three tentacles burst out of the water.

“Fuck,” Marc muttered.

I saw a glimpse of a large sucker mouth. Then the creature disappeared back into the water.

“We’re going to die,” one of the engineers whispered.

“No one’s going to die,” I growled. “Hunter Squad is going to do what we do best.”

Marc nodded and folded his arms over his chest. “Turn that monster into mush.”

“Okay, everyone, get to bed,” Greer said. “It’s been a rough night. The storm should clear by the morning, and we have work to do. It’s what Travis and Sam would want. We won’t let them have died in vain.”

With nods, her team left and headed into the tunnels.

Kai and North returned. Both of them were wet again.

“You saw,” Kai said.

“Yeah. It’s big and ugly.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I want two people on patrol. We’ll have to cover being one man down. Kai and North, you take first shift, since you’re already wet.”

“Yay,” North muttered. “Come on, Kaitoa. Let’s babysit the monster.”

“We’ll find some rooms,” Marc said, giving me a chin lift. “Get some shut eye.”

With a nod, Zeke followed behind his brother.

That left me alone with Greer.

“You okay?” I asked.

She scrubbed a hand over her face. “Two people are dead. I should’ve anticipated this.”

I gripped her shoulders. “How? We never know when the damn hybrids are going to appear. We all know the risks.” We’d grown up knowing the monsters were out there.

She gave me a tired nod.

I pulled her close and hugged her. She pressed her face against my chest and held on tight.

Damn, that felt good. Too good.

I cleared my throat. “So, how are things with Toby?” I tried to keep my tone even and not show exactly how I felt about the douchebag.

She looked up. “You want to talk about my love life?”

“Just catching up.”

“Well, Toby and I broke up over a month ago.”

My pulse skipped. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She spun away. “That dinner we shared was horrible. I saw some of his true colors. And then, he told me that I needed to give up my work. So I could support his greatness.”

I frowned. “What?”

“He decided I should be a stay-at-home mom and have lots of his babies. That his work was more important than mine.”

My hand flexed. “I always thought he was an idiot.”

She laughed. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“You seemed to like him, for some reason. I know that he was smart, with all his degrees.”

“Well, I don’t like him anymore, and I’ve sworn off men. I have an important job to do. I don’t need a man or sex getting in my way.”

Hearing Greer say the word sex made my cock twitch. Shit . “Right.”

She nodded. “Right.” Then she sighed. “I’d better get to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I nodded. “Good night, Greer.”

She gave me a small smile. “Night, Jameson.”

I stayed there for a long time, remembering how it felt to hold her. My hands flexed. Mostly, I tried not to think about the fact that she no longer belonged to someone else.