The Judas Contact (Boomers Book 1) (25 page)

“Done now?” she asked again.

“Yes.” He peered at her. She set the coffee cup down, expression relaxed.

“Okay, then. No.” She turned the chair and went back to her screens.

“What do you mean, no?” Garrett frowned. He’d expected some sadness, maybe even a few tears, not a nonplussed, blunt ‘no.’

“No refers to a negative response to the offer on the table. I’m not going anywhere. Thank you for being so thoughtful, though. Can you hand me that clipboard over there?” She pointed to the stand with different filing boards she’d created since the rescue. He scooped up the requested one, set it on the table, but flattened his hand on it.

“I know what ‘no’ means—but what do you mean? It’s not safe here.”

“It’s not safe anywhere, honey. The world is a big bad place run by big bad men and populated by bigger, badder assholes.” She tugged the chart, but he didn’t release it.

“Exactly. You need to be somewhere safer.”

“Safer than with a paramilitary unit with special abilities that include shifting into inanimate objects, telepathic control, stormy winds that can carry a dozen people, and a guy who can literally kill with a touch?” She pursed her lips. “Seriously?”

“That’s not the point.” He scowled at her. She was supposed be sad, but willing.

Patting his hand, she gave him a sympathetic smile. “Garrett, I love you. Do you get that? I
love
you. There is no place safer for me than with you. Now, if you don’t love me or you’re bored with my rather vanilla understanding of sex and my refusal to play sex, ties, and video tape, then let me know now. But whether I’m in your bed or simply in the lab, I’m not leaving. That woman in there needs me. Those men upstairs need me. Your team needs me.”

His gut jerked and he glanced down at her hand on his. It was the second time she’d said she loved him and it scrambled his brains just as much. “It’s not safe for you here.”

“It’s not safe for me anywhere. We don’t get a lifetime warranty on safety. We don’t get guarantees. We take precautions, we make plans, we trust. It’s all we can do. So you can try to get rid of me, but Rory and Michael told me I could stay and Simon’s on board, too. That’s three votes. How much do you want to bet I can convince the others?”

He stared at her. Stubborn. Willful. Brilliant. Woman.

“I promise to try to drink your coffee more often.” She nudged him, a smile curling her lips. “And I’ll even make you that terrible omelet now and again.”

It wasn’t safe.

People close to him died.

His mother died.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Quiet, firm, and resolute, he turned his gloved hand over and caught her fingers. “Ever.”

“Then don’t try to make me leave because I don’t need a chip to tell me where my home is now. I’ll just keep coming back.”

His heart squeezed. “I can’t convince you, can I?”

She shook her head slowly.

“There will be rules.” He tried for stern, but the growing smile on her face warmed him from head to toe. “Firm rules. Rules even you can’t bend.”

“I’m fine with rules. I love rules.”

“And when I’m in the field, you have to remain behind secure doors. You go nowhere without back up. Ever.”

“Define back-up.” Her soft chuckle and teasing grin punctured his ire, and he leaned his forehead down to touch hers.

“I love you, Doc. It would kill me to lose you.”

Her smile grew sunnier. “Another reason to not send me away.”

“Yeah.” He sighed and glanced around the room. The sick feeling in his gut passed. She wasn’t leaving. “Can I help you in here today?”

“Actually…” She nodded. “You can round up the team. I need samples from everyone. We’re going to need those DNA markers and I want to reset the chips, one at a time. Or at least discuss it.”

Garrett chuckled. “Can I reset Michael’s? I want to see him drop like a rock.”

She laughed and leaned up to kiss him. “We’ll see. Now shoo. I have to work.”

He watched her flip the chart open and turn back to the computer, the crinkle between her brows deepening. She continued to stroke the dog with her foot and to sip her coffee, while her mind whittled away at the latest test results and theories.

I told you she wouldn’t go, Garrett.
Simon’s voice murmured into his mind.

She deserved the chance.
But he wasn’t sorry that she said no.

Understood. Now get up here and help us unload.

Garrett caressed a hand down the length of Ilsa’s blonde hair. Her distracted smile warmed him again. Things were changing for the Boomers.

And this was one of the best changes yet.

On my way.

###

End of Book One.

Don’t miss Book Two,
Deadly Genesis.

Heather Long
likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books.

OmniLit / All Romance eBooks, LLC

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