Jameson (Hunter Squad #1)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Greer

F ighting off my general feeling of disquiet, I focused on working on my tablet. I was sitting in the shade on the dam wall, my team working, and Hunter Squad on security detail.

There’d been no sign of the monster since this morning. I nibbled my lip, filled with edgy worry. The monster shouldn’t have been meeting with other monsters. I still couldn’t believe it. They weren’t that smart, and they couldn’t communicate with each other. They didn’t work together. They were just hungry, wild, mutated beasts.

I’d heard stories of the Gizzida growing up. The alien species had been smart. Dad loved to tell us about all the fights Hell Squad and the berserkers had gotten into. My parents were heroes. They’d helped save the world.

I’d also heard plenty of stories of the hybrid monsters left behind, as well. But by all accounts, most were singular and solitary. The presumption had been they weren’t clever, just mindless killing beasts. We’d never seen any evidence about them being smart enough to work as a group.

If they were working together now…

No . An icy shiver skated down my spine. Hunter Squad would kill this monster, end of story. I’d get this project finished and the dam operational.

I looked at my team. They were all still reeling from the loss of Travis and Sam, but they were doing their jobs.

There was a whoosh of sound above, and I looked up. The Talon stopped in the air, hovering, then I watched as it lowered onto a grassy area nearby.

It looked like Colbie was back with Maxim.

I glanced at the dam plans again. There were some tweaks I wanted to make to the design. I’d get Frankie and Jordan to check it over with me. As I tucked the tablet away, I saw Jameson walking my way and my heart knocked against my ribs. Why did he affect me like this? I just wanted to keep looking at him.

Fighting the urge to tug at my clothes, I rose and straightened my shoulders. Jameson Steele was not my focus.

He would never be mine.

Ignoring the shot of pain from that thought, I turned to face him. His gaze met mine, and I shot him a breezy smile.

His brows drew together.

“I’m back.” Colbie walked over to us, bouncing as always.

Right behind her came a handsome, dark-haired man. Maxim was tall and lean, his dark hair a little long. He looked like he should be a pirate marauder, or a spy, or something else, dark and ruthless. Someone who worked in the shadows.

He saw me and smiled. “Greer.” He lifted me off my feet and smacked a kiss to my lips. “Beautiful as always.”

I rested my hands on his shoulders. “And you’re as charming as ever.”

“Maxim, we have work to do.” Jameson’s terse voice.

“There’s always time to kiss a beautiful woman, my friend.” Maxim shot me a wink. “Especially a smart one.”

I couldn’t help but smile back. His harmless flirting felt nice.

Behind me, Jameson growled. I glanced back and frowned at him.

“We have a monster to kill,” he said.

Maxim nodded and set me down. “Show me what we’re dealing with.”

We walked across the dam wall to where Kai was standing, surveilling the water.

“We haven’t seen the asshole for a while.” Kai crossed his arms over his chest.

“It’s there,” Jameson murmured. “Lurking.” Then, he pointed across the water.

In the center of the dam, a tiny ripple suddenly bubbled. We waited, and for a full minute, nothing happened. Kai picked up a rock and flung it. It sailed through the air, then landed with a splash.

Four tentacles peeked out of the water.

“Hmm. It looks big.” Maxim’s gaze narrowed. “Sasha said you want to electrocute it?”

“I don’t want to contaminate the water,” I said. “We have good filtration systems, but…”

Maxim nodded. “Understood. Monsters are filled with nasties.” He stroked his jaw. “I can devise something to electrocute it.”

“Good,” Jameson said. “Get to work.”

Maxim jerked his head. “Kai, help me bring my gear from the Talon.”

“There’s a lot of it,” Colbie warned.

“A genius needs his tools,” Maxim quipped.

“We have a decent-size workshop you can use,” I said. “It’s all yours. It has a roller door to the outside on the far end of the dam. I’ll go and open it for you.”

“Perfect,” Maxim said.

I watched Maxim, Colbie, and Kai head back to the Talon. They started pulling crates and bags out of the quadcopter’s cargo hold. I headed for the workshop, put the code into the lock, and the large roller door slowly rumbled open.

“This should do,” Jameson said.

I jolted at the sound of his voice. I hadn’t heard him follow me.

“The quicker Maxim gets this done, the quicker my team can get back to work.” I shifted some stuff on one of the workbenches, stacking it to one side.

Jameson sighed. “Greer?—”

Maxim stepped inside, his lean body silhouetted by the sunlight. He looked around at the workbenches and nodded. “Good.” He set a toolbox down and barked orders at the others carrying in his equipment.

It wasn’t long before he was setting his gear up and plugging in several devices. Soon, he got lost in his work. I knew from experience that once Maxim was in the zone, nothing else existed for him.

I got it. I felt the same way about my work.

That’s exactly how I wanted a man to feel about me. Like nothing else existed.

My parents had a love like that. They often fought—sometimes spectacularly—but they made up just as passionately. Dad had risked everything to rescue my mom during the invasion.

I wouldn’t settle for anything less.

I glanced at Jameson. His back was to me, and for a moment, I greedily took in the slabs of muscle. Then I made myself turn away and head back to my team.

“Jordan, come and see the changes I want to make to the design.”

Jameson

I stopped in the doorway, watching Maxim work. The man stood at a bench, with metal wires and electrodes and who-knew-what lying in front of him.

He hadn’t heard me. I shook my head. Maxim was well-trained and could fight, but this was his true passion.

Turning, I looked out the open roller door. My gaze glanced over Greer’s people. Everything had been quiet this afternoon.

Too quiet.

I spotted Greer. Again, she was ignoring me.

I slid a hand into my pocket. I hated this tension between us. I wanted her to smile at me.

When Maxim had kissed her earlier, I’d almost lost my shit. I knew it had just been friendly, but I didn’t want any other man’s lips on hers. I blew out a breath.

I had to stop thinking about her.

Kai walked over to me and gave me a chin lift.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“No sign of our friend.”

“It’s not far away.” I could feel it close by. Skulking. “Any luck with the prints from the monsters it met with?” I’d sent Kai and Zeke out to see if they could find the other monsters.

Kai shook his head. “I tracked them into the forest, but the ground got too dry, and I lost them.”

He was the best tracker I’d ever seen. He had an uncanny ability to read tracks and signs, to sense things. An ability he’d no doubt inherited from his alien mother. Selena Rahia’s species had been the enemies of the Gizzida and she’d been taken prisoner. Kai’s father, Tane, had rescued her and they’d fallen in love.

Selena had all kinds of amazing skills, all linked to nature. While Kai and his sister hadn’t inherited all of their mother’s abilities, they still had ingrained skills I knew had to have come from their mom.

If Kai couldn’t track the monsters, no one could.

“Okay, keep me posted. I’m going to check on Maxim.” I strode inside the workshop, my eyes adjusting to the lower light. We needed this weapon. The sooner the monster was dead, the sooner we got out of here.

Away from the temptation of Greer Baird.

“Maxim? Maxim?” Nothing. His dark head stayed bent over some metal and wires.

I thumped my fist against the workbench.

His head jerked up, annoyance on his face. He had a small device over one eye, which I guessed was filled with specs and info.

“What?” His voice was terse and grumpy.

“How’s it going?”

He turned off the small multitool in his hand. “It would go faster if you didn’t disturb me.”

I was used to Maxim’s temperamental moods. “I need an update.”

My friend flicked up the eyepiece. “Fine. It’s coming along.” He pointed to a metallic, spherical device about the size of a basketball, resting on a stand on the workbench.

I frowned. “It’ll generate enough power to fry our monster?”

“Yes.” Maxim’s gaze slid away from mine.

I sighed. “What’s the catch?”

“It needs to be inside the creature for maximum effect.”

My mouth flattened. “Inside? We need to get it to swallow it?”

“Yes.”

“Jeez, Maxim, that won’t be easy.”

He shrugged. “That’s your job. I’ll design it, you find a way to get it inside the creature.”

I rubbed my brow, feeling a headache forming. “Fine. When will it be ready?”

He leaned against the bench, crossed his arms, and narrowed his gaze. “In a rush to get home?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Anything to do with our delectable head engineer?”

I took a step forward. “Why are you calling her delectable?” I barely held back a growl.

“Because she is.” He gave me a shit-eating grin. “And because it annoys you.”

I wanted to hit him. “Get back to work.”

“Why don’t you tell her how you feel?”

I stiffened.

“You’re pining for her?—”

“I’m not pining.” Fuck, why did everyone keep telling me that? “Just focus on the job, Maxim.”

“You have feelings for her.”

He wasn’t going to drop it. I blew out a breath. “She’s smart and gorgeous and going places. I’m just a grunt.”

Maxim frowned. “You don’t think you’re good enough for her?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “She deserves the best. And anything between us would risk a family mess.”

“She does deserve the best, Jameson. She deserves a good, honest man who’ll love and protect her. Who’ll put her first.”

“Just get back to work.” I turned to leave.

“Jameson?”

I paused, my fists clenching, but I didn’t look back.

“She watches you back.”

Heaving in a breath, I walked out, but Maxim’s words were like a punch to my gut.

Did she? She’d sure as hell kissed me back. Kissed me with a hungry desire that still had my gut tight and my cock half hard. I shook my head. Evening was falling and I had a job to do.

“Listen up,” I said, raising my voice. “Everyone needs to finish up now. I don’t want anyone out here after dark.”

There were nods, and I watched as some of Greer’s team started packing their tools and gear away.

Greer appeared. Her face was set in blank lines. Like she was about to talk to a stranger. “Dinner will be ready soon. Colbie and a few of my guys are cooking up a feast. Something to try and keep everyone’s spirits up.”

“Sounds good. I want everyone inside soon.”

She nodded.

“Maxim’s making progress. The electro device will be ready tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

“Yeah. Hopefully, your monster will be dead tomorrow, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

She clenched her hands together. “Sounds like you can’t wait to get away from here.”

I frowned. “That’s not it. I thought you’d be happy to have the situation resolved.”

She pasted a smile on. “Of course, I will.”

Something inside me snapped. “Enough with the fake smiles, Greer.”

“It’s the only smile you’re getting.” She spun.

I grabbed her arm. “Hang on. I apologized for the kiss. I was out of line.”

She jerked her arm away and spun back to face me. Her face was furious. “I didn’t want a stupid apology.”

My chest felt tight. I hated seeing her upset. “I hate this distance between us. You’re important to me, Greer.”

A spasm crossed her face. “Just not important enough.” She looked away and her shoulders sagged. “Just go, Jameson.”

“No.” I took a step closer. “I shouldn’t have touched you, shouldn’t have kissed you?—”

She made an angry sound and gripped the front of my shirt. “I wanted you to kiss me, you big oaf. I’ve wanted it for a long time.”

My brain stopped working. What?

She shook her head, went up on her toes, and kissed me.

I didn’t think, I just reacted. I hauled her close and kissed her back.

She made a hungry sound, and the kiss turned fierce. We attacked each other. I loved the taste of her, loved the sounds of her moans.

Then she pulled back.

We were both panting.

“That’s what I wanted,” she said breathily. “Not a damn apology.”

What the hell?

Then she turned and stalked away.