Page 37 of Deadly Strain

“Yeah, ours. As far as all the guys are concerned, you’reourdoctor.”

“So, what we did earlier, that was you takingcareof me?”

He watched her face, trying to determine how she really felt about it. Was there an ember of anger there? He couldn’t tell. Had to be sure. “That was a man showing a woman how gorgeous she is.” He hesitated, waited for her to respond, but she seemed deep in thought. Embarrassed.

Shit. Her whole family was in the army, one way or another. He’d kissed her first. “When we get back to base, I’ll talk to Cutter, get reassigned.”

Her startled gaze reconnected with his. “What?”

“You’re too important to the training mission. I’m replaceable, you’re not.”

“What the hell kind of bullshit is that?” Now she sounded angry.

“I crossed a line...”

“I sprinted across it.” She poked him in the shoulder. “You tried to slow me down, but I distinctly recall dragging you along with me for the ride.”

He snorted. “I started it.”

“I finished it,” she told him, glancing at his groin. “You’re not telling Cutter anything.” She stopped, frowned and asked, “Unless...do you want to be reassigned?”

“No.” Hearing her claim her actions and defend him, settled something prickly in his gut. “Not a chance. Of course, we have to get out of this mess first.”

She shook her head. “I know how creative you are, Sharp. I’ll bet you ten bucks you’ve got a plan already.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I’ve played chess with you too many times not to know you’re a man who plans two moves ahead.”

“Predicting what my opponent is going to do on a chessboard is a hell of a lot easier than in combat, or even poker.”

“Touché.” She put the first-aid kit into the backpack, then faced him and glanced at his leg. “Pants?”

The woman wasn’t going to give an inch. “So, are we good or not?”

“We’re good,” she said after a moment or two. “It’s just...” She sighed and swallowed hard. “Earlier, when I freaked out...Ireallyfreaked out. I had no control over myself and that’s not me, but I can’t seem to stop it from happening. I hate it. How can I do my job if I’m...” She shook her head and pressed her lips together. “I’m damaged.”

What had fucked her up so bad? “Hey, no harm, no foul. Feel free to freak out whenever you need to. You’ve earned a free one or two. Hell, I’ve seen you knock a Marine off his feet who was too amped up on adrenaline to realize his flesh wound was bleeding buckets. That guy was twice the size of you, but you didn’t back down when he got all mouthy. You told him if he didn’t cooperate, you were going to fix it so his wife never had to use birth control again.” Sharp wished he could choke whoever put that look of despair on her face. “We’re all damaged, and fair warning, Doc, I have a protective streak a mile wide. I reserve the right to stick with you no matter how hard you flip your shit.”

She nodded, but he could tell from her jerky movements she was already regretting telling him as much as she had. He had to get her refocused on their situation, demonstrate that he could keep his mouth shut and be the man she could count on.

“Okay.” He gave her a sharp nod. “Here are our priorities. Stay alive and out of sight.” He ticked off finger after finger. “Watch for a rescue and/or retrieval team. Get the samples to your lab. Save the world.”

She looked at him like he was a few bullets short of a magazine. “Save the world, huh?”

He winked. “That’s what puts thespecialin Special Forces.”

“Ham.” She rolled her eyes. “So, how do we achieve our priorities?” She gestured at the cave around them. “We seem to be alive and out of sight. What about the rest? If we don’t get these samples to the lab within the next twenty-four hours...” She paused, tensed, then continued, “The anthrax attack in the village was probably a test. To see how the strain would perform in a relatively controlled environment.”

“It performed too well.”

“It could kill hundreds, even thousands inhours. We have no time to waste, but we’re stuck here.” The last word was spoken in a frustrated tone bordering on anger and sorrow at the same time.

***

People were going todie. A lot of people, and there wasn’t a damn thing Grace could do about it. If the person who’d created the anthrax strain in her samples were within her grasp, she’d cheerfully choke them to death.

Sharp looked at her like she was some kind of pity case. Maybe she was, but she was also a doctor and a soldier. She’d be damned if she’d allow some backroom herbalist who believed he could create and control a plague let his monster loose on anyone he pleased.

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