Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jameson
I kept firing until the last canine threatening Greer was down.
I sprinted across the clearing, kicking the carcass of one monster dog out of my way. My body was filled with aches and pains, especially my chest, but the shot North had given me was holding back the worst of it. I knew I’d feel it later.
Greer was all that mattered. I needed to get to her.
“Greer.”
“God, Jameson.”
I held my arms up. “Let go and I’ll catch you.”
“I’ll hurt your chest.”
“You won’t. I’ll always catch you. Let go.”
She did, and I caught her in my arms. Then I kissed her, pulling in the taste of her.
She was alive.
I’d been so afraid, knowing that she was in the bush alone and that the dogs were hunting her. When I’d heard the blaster fire, my blood had run cold.
“Are they all dead?” she asked shakily.
“No.” Even as I answered, distant barking echoed in the darkness. “Not all of them.”
Her face blanched. “There are more?”
“The howls are bringing more out of hiding.” Kai held out a blaster. “I think you dropped this.”
Greer took it with a shaky smile.
“We need to stay ahead of them.” I stroked her hair back. “Colbie is on her way.”
Greer nodded. I put her down and she winced.
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s just a scratch.”
I saw blood on the torn bottom of her pants. “North.”
The medic crouched. “It’s not as bad as Jameson’s scratches, but it’s deep.” He fished out an injector and pressed it to Greer’s calf. “This will help.”
“Can she run?” I asked.
“I’ll run.” She set her shoulders back. “I have no plans to be monster-dog dinner.”
The growls and snarls of the dogs were closer now. Too damn close.
North finished wrapping a bandage around her ankle and rose. “That’s all I can do for now.”
Nodding, I took Greer’s hand.
“Hunter Squad, let’s get the hell out of here.”
We ran. The trees blurred in the darkness as we sprinted. Greer was limping, but she didn’t stop or slow down. The dogs got louder. Fuck . I heard them crashing through the bush.
We hit a clearing and I spotted an old building. It looked like some sort of maintenance structure. Maybe for the dam. It was dilapidated, and nearby were some mounds of sand and gravel that had weeds growing out of them.
We were halfway across the clearing when the pack of dogs broke the tree line.
My gut clenched. There were dozens of them.
So many. Too many.
Greer gasped. My squad turned and opened fire, all of us walking backward. I gripped my carbine as I sprayed the monsters with laser fire. Greer fired her blaster. I looked over and met Kai’s gaze. I saw my own thoughts reflected in his eyes.
There were too many for us to fight.
We weren’t going to make it.
Fuck that.
I never gave up. My parents had taught me that. I had too much to live for. My friends. My family. And this beautiful, strong woman fighting beside me.
I ripped my last grenade off my belt and tossed it.
Boom .
It exploded, several of the dogs yipped in pain.
But more kept coming.
Then a light speared across the clearing, blinding us.
“About damn time,” Marc said.
The Talon swung into view overhead. The small auto-gun on the front of the quadcopter swiveled and laser fire traced across the monster dogs.
“Let’s go!” I yelled.
The Talon lowered, the wash from the rotors flattening the grass as it hovered nearby. I yanked open the side door, leaped up, then held my hand out to Greer. I pulled her inside.
The others leaped aboard.
“Kai! Man the turret.”
“I’m on it.” He leaped into the main turret seat at the back. A second later, he opened fire on the monster dogs.
The Talon lifted into the night sky. We watched as Kai decimated the canines below.
“Take that, you ugly fuckers,” Marc said.
Then, he staggered and collapsed into a seat.
“Marc,” Zeke bit out.
Marc’s head lolled. “Tired…so damn tired.”
“I warned you, you idiot.” North sat beside him as Marc slumped, unconscious. Our medic quickly checked his vitals. “He’s fine. Pulse is strong.” North fished around in his medical backpack, then pressed a monitoring patch to Marc’s neck. “I’ll keep an eye on him. He needs a second dose of nano-meds and bed rest.”
I sat beside Greer, and she slumped against me.
“Well, Hunter Squad sure knows how to show a girl a good time.”
I kissed the top of her head. She hadn’t fallen apart. That strength of hers had held up. I reached out and rubbed some smeared blood off her face. Hell, it was probably my blood. “Want a job? We have a spot free.”
She laughed. “Ah, no. I like my job just fine, thanks. Less monsters, gore, and fangs.”
I hugged her tighter. “North, can you please check Greer’s ankle again?”
She straightened. “No, check his chest first.”
I shook my head. “I’m not getting checked until you’ve been checked.”
She huffed out a breath. “You’re as bad as my dad.”
I grimaced. “I really hope you don’t think of me and your dad in the same way.”
She smiled, and even with her tangled hair, and dirt and blood smeared on her face, she looked beautiful. “Absolutely not.”
North crouched in front of us. “You’ll both need a shot of nano-meds when we get back.” He wrapped a clean bandage around Greer’s ankle, and I hated every wince she made. He turned to me. “You’re next, Steele.”
I leaned back and he pulled the bandages off my chest.
Greer hissed. I looked down and winced myself. It wasn’t pretty. The claw gouges were ragged and uneven, the flesh was red and inflamed. My skin was streaked with blood.
North didn’t blink an eye and set to work. He cleaned the wounds and they stung like hell. I tilted my head back and looked at the ceiling. Greer’s fingers entwined with mine.
“I’ll give you another shot of painkillers,” North said.
I grunted. “Do it.” My mind was whirring with everything I needed to do. “I need to organize the removal of the first monster carcass from the dam. And I want the area where I killed the second one scouted. There could be more of those lizard humanoids.”
Greer squeezed my hand. “You need some rest, Jameson. Time to recover.”
My gaze traced over her face. No, all I needed was her. I smiled at her. “Kai, I’m leaving you in charge of that. I’m taking a few days off.”
She beamed at me.
Kai leaned forward in the turret chair. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of things. When was the last time you actually took time off?”
“Never. But I have a good reason to now.”
Greer
Humming to myself, I finished putting snacks on the plate. Then I added some of the donuts I’d made yesterday. Yum . Luckily, we’d been burning off plenty of calories.
I grinned. I was standing in Jameson’s kitchen, which looked like it didn’t get much use. I was wearing one of his T-shirts. It swamped me, covering my naked body.
My scrapes, scratches, and bruises from the fight with the monsters had healed over the last three days. Now, I only had a few bruises from Jameson’s fingers, scrapes from his stubble, and I was sensitive in certain places. I bit my lip. He’d lived up to the promise of keeping me naked in his bed. We’d spent most of the last three days there, and I’d loved every second of it.
And I was falling in love with him.
It was amazing .
“What’s taking you so long?” He appeared in the doorway, shirtless, wearing only a soft pair of dark-blue, sleep pants.
Hello, muscles . I drank him in—his heavy chest, strong arms, muscled abs. I’d spent a lot of time stroking and kissing that body. Thankfully the nano-meds had healed him up and there were only a few pink lines left to show that he’d been injured. I knew that even those marks would be gone soon.
We’d survived.
“I’m adding a few donuts to the plate,” I told him.
“Mmm, I love your donuts.” He circled the island, and his arms wrapped around me from behind. He kissed the side of my neck, and I leaned into him.
“Almost as much as I love you,” he murmured.
I spun and kissed him. “I’m falling hard and fast for you too, Jameson Steele. A part of me is kind of glad that aquatic monster turned up.” I felt some sadness mixed with guilt. “But I still miss Sam and Travis. It doesn’t seem right to be this happy when they’re gone.”
He cupped my cheeks. “Life goes on, baby. Our parents taught us that. It hasn’t been easy since the alien invasion, but we’re making strides. One day, all of the monsters will be gone, and we’ll be safe. I’m dedicated to making that happen. I’m looking forward to the future.” He grinned. “I’m looking forward to the day you give up your job and have lots of my babies.”
I slapped his chest. “Very funny.”
He gave a low chuckle and lifted me up on the counter. “I want you, Greer. In my life. One day, we’ll get married and have babies. I think we should just start with one, and see how it goes with our work.”
“I’d like that,” I murmured. I wanted sturdy boys with hazel-green eyes, and little girls with their daddy’s smile.
“From here on out, it’s you and me.” He rubbed his nose against mine. “Us. We’re going to make a life together. I’ll make you happy, and I’ll love you every way I know how.”
“I’ll be your friend, partner, and lover, Jameson. Yours. At your side, no matter what. I’ll love you the way you deserve.”
His mouth took mine, and within seconds, the kiss deepened.
“Right now, I think we need to go back to bed,” he murmured against my lips.
“What about the food?” I gasped. His lips trailed down my neck and I dropped my head back.
He snatched up a donut and ate it in two bites. “We’ll get it later.” One big hand snaked under my shirt, sliding up my thigh. “I have tastier things to eat right now.”
Just then, a chime rang through the house.
Jameson muttered a curse.
“Is that the front door?”
“Whoever it is will go away,” he growled.
I heard a beep as the front door opened.
“I hope you’re all decent,” Sasha’s voice chimed.
“Because we’re coming in,” Kai said.
I scrambled off the counter, tugged the hem of the shirt down, then finger-combed my hair. Jameson muttered another curse, just before the kitchen filled with people.
Hunter Squad, along with Sasha and Colbie bustled in.
Sasha set some plates on the counter, and Kai went straight to the fridge with a bag.
“We’ve got everything we need for a barbecue.” Kai grinned at us, his teeth white against his brown skin.
“I don’t want a barbecue,” Jameson complained.
“Too bad,” Sasha said. “You two have been holed up in here long enough.” She grabbed some glasses from Jameson’s cupboards, then whipped a bottle of white wine from her bag. “Greer, would you like a glass?”
“Sure.”
Jameson wrapped an arm around my middle. “Don’t encourage them.”
“Greer, you are glowing.” Marc grinned at me. “Something must agree with you. Can’t be our grumpy leader.”
Jameson growled.
“Don’t mind Marc.” Colbie perched on a stool. “He’s only been awake for the last three hours. He’s been unconscious the rest of the time.” She shot him a narrow look.
“Just getting my beauty sleep, sparrow.”
She sniffed. “It didn’t work.”
“But you’re all healed?” Jameson asked.
Marc nodded. “One hundred percent, boss man. Nothing can slow me down, especially not a giant tentacle monster.”
Behind him, North gave Jameson a small nod.
“We’ve got meat that needs to go on the grill,” Kai said. “And I begged my sister for some salad greens from the gardens. She took pity on me and made us a fresh salad.”
“I brought bread rolls and a pasta salad,” Colbie added.
“I’ll go and start the grill.” Zeke headed for the back door to the patio.
“I’ll open the beer,” Marc said.
Jameson sighed. “You guys aren’t going to leave, are you?”
I knew he wasn’t really annoyed. His squad mates were his friends, his family.
“Nope,” Marc answered cheerfully. “Besides, you and Greer have had more than enough sex for now. You need to eat.”
I stifled a laugh.
“Fine.” Jameson gripped my waist, then lifted me.
I let out a cry as he tossed me over his broad shoulder. “Jameson!”
“We’re going to get dressed. Don’t wreck my house while we’re gone.”
I heard everyone laughing as he carried me down the hallway. His hand slid under the shirt and caressed my butt as we headed back to the bedroom.
Laughing, I felt light and love fill me.