Page 28 of The Alien's Private Redemption

The bathroom was small, barely enough room for the shower, sink, and toilet, but Zoric wasn't going to leave her alone so he squeezed himself into the confined space. Angela leaned heavily against the sink and her head bent forward. Zoric could feel her exhaustion beating at him and had to fight the urge to carry her back to the bed.

Finally, she leaned forward and turned on the water, letting it run over her fingers to test the temperature. He could taste the rising heat in the air and worried it would get too hot. When she leaned forward for the washcloths next to the sink, he handed one to her so she wouldn't lose her balance.

"I don't know why I'm so tired all of a sudden," Angela complained while she ran the washcloth under the water. "I didn't really do anything all day."

Zoric settled his hand on her back, the contact made him feel better than just standing there did, and Angela didn't object. "Didn't you? I would think searching for memories while someone poked around in your head would be considered something. As well as having a trigger hit and removed. Even if you survived without the need for medical intervention, that takes energy."

Angela shrugged and ran the washcloth over her face, removing the layer of soap she'd just applied to her skin. Hecould smell the scent of the soap, the oil from her skin, and the layer of sweat and dirt that had accumulated during the interrogation. And under all of it, a smell that was only her.

"I guess," she said. "But I think you and Ae-cha did most of the work for that."

"But it was in your brain," he pointed out. "If you have surgery, the surgeon may do most of the work, but you're going to be the one who needs more time to recover."

She dropped the used washcloth in the sink and he handed her a dry one. He didn't know how he knew she would want it but he did. When she'd finished patting her face dry, she turned back to the bedroom and he couldn't restrain himself any longer. He had her in his arms, close to his chest, for the few strides it took to get her back to the bed.

"Take off what you need to be comfortable under the blanket," he instructed and she made a face.

"I still don't need your help," she said.

"Which is why I'm not helping, I'm waiting for you to get comfortable so I can see that you're resting before I go and check in with Colonel Schuh."

"Oh," she said, and blinked. "I forgot you needed to do that. I thought you were going to join me."

"I have no greater desire right now than to do just that," Zoric told her. "But I have other duties to carry out and I do not wish to delay them more than necessary."

She nodded and pulled her shirt off. When she struggled to push her pants past her hips, he could feel her frustration across their Bond. Instead of grabbing the fabric the way he wanted to, he lifted her and let the friction with the bed do the work. With a wry smile, she reached under the back of her undershirt then leaned forward and pulled her bra straps down her arms.

"That's a handy trick," he said, making note of how she'd done it.

"The joy of wearing a bra," she told him. "You get to learn things like that."

Angela laid down on the bed, her breath leaving her in a sigh of surrender, and her eyes closed. Between one breath and the next, he could tell she'd fallen into a deep, healing sleep.

His body ached to join her, to hold her while she slept, and it was with great reluctance that he covered her with a blanket and made his way to the door. The guards were waiting in the hall and they didn't make a move to stop him.

Chapter 13

Angela didn't know how long she'd slept, when the vibrations woke her up. The lights were off in the room and she suddenly realized there were no windows for natural light. Air currents brought the sharp smell of chemicals along with the slightly stale scent of recycled air.

They were subtle, at first, something she shouldn't have noticed as a human. But she'd realized that her Bond with Zoric had increased some of her senses. The absolute darkness of the room was broken by the hint of light at the bottom of the door. It was just enough to get a feel for where everything was in the room.

The vibrations that woke her came up the frame of the bed from the floor. With a shaking hand, Angela reached out to touch the wall. It was faint, a mere hint of movement, but she could feel the vibrations in the wall. She wondered, for a brief moment,if they were getting an earthquake. Had any of the other humans felt it? Her spotty memory of what earthquakes looked like on a graph didn't match what she was feeling.

Somebody isn't happy about you being here,the voice in the back of her head warned.Somebody might be willing to do something about it.

It was second nature to reach across her Bond to Zoric and let him feel what she did. His surprise at her reaching out was quickly followed by concern at the vibrations.

Nobody else has mentioned an earthquake, he sent. His voice in her mind sounded strange and far away.

I think we're under attack, Angela sent back.

From who?

I don't know but I think almost this entire compound is underground. There are guards on the doors but there's no way to guard the walls.

Zoric's concern turned to alarm and Angela started pulling on her clothes. What was left of her exhaustion had fled and she was running through scenarios while she got dressed in the dark.

It's not an earthquake,Zoric sent.I'm on my way.

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