Page 45 of Rupture

Comms buzzed.

“Finn, this is Luca. Did you get lost between here and the Environmental Control Hub? I can send out a search party. Maybe draw you a map. In crayon?—”

“On our way, Luca.” He kept his voice steady despite Rose’s warmth still pressed against him. “There was important business to attend to.”

“What could possibly be more important than?—”

Finn silenced Luca mid-rant. He could stew for a few more minutes.

He took Rose’s hands, still fisted in his tactical vest and pressed his lips to her knuckles, loving the sharp intake of breath his touch triggered.Then bumped his forehead to hers, sharing the same air.

Their time alone was ending, but he let the moment sink into his bones. Her warmth, her trust, the way she fit against him. He wanted more of this. And he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe, to have the chance for more moments, just like this one.

“Come on.” He brushed his thumb across her knuckles one last time. “Let’s go see what fresh fuckery Luca has cooked up for us.”

25

Rose’s skintingled everywhere Finn had touched her, sensation burning her like a brand. Her fingers traced the memory of his kiss on her forehead.

She wanted more.

The kiss they’d shared had awakened something in her. But it wasn’t just the kiss. It was how he’d taken care of her, fed her, put her needs above everything else. No man had ever cared for her like that before.

Like she was irreplaceable. Precious.

God.

She’d never met anyone like him. All packed muscle and lethal skills on the outside, but beneath that warrior exterior lay a gentleness that took her breath away. Only a few short hours ago she would never have thought it possible, but his touch, his scent, all of him threaded through her, stitching a new place in her heart, one that she never imagined existed.

One that could envision a future for the two of them beyond this mission

They turned a corner and the doors of the Environmental Control Hub became visible, yanking her back to reality.

Her sister. So many secrets. The lives at risk.

She tucked away her feelings about Finn, wrapping them carefully like treasures to examine later. Because hell, she would do whatever it took to ensure there was a later.

Finn entered the hub first, pulse rifle raised, every honed line of his body alert. The warrior was back, but she’d seen beneath the armor now.

“Stay back,” he ordered, his command holding all the protectiveness she’d felt in his touch minutes before.

Rose barely had time to nod before he pushed her behind him with a firm hand on her shoulder. He kept her in place until he was satisfied there was no immediate threat in the room.

The space was vast. Vibration thrummed up through the floor and into her boot soles. Overhead, a maze of pipes and conduits snaked across the ceiling, casting distorted shadows in the sterile light.

Massive air scrubbers rhythmically whooshed on her left. Relief made her a little dizzy. At least something was working properly.

To her right, towering cylindrical tanks reflected a shimmering distortion of the room. Between the tanks, hexagonal chambers housed rows of ultraviolet lamps that radiated sterile blue light. Water purification.

Straight ahead loomed the power distribution center, a hulking array of generators and transformers. It dominated the room like an indifferent sentinel, its surface dark except for a jagged pattern of flickering red lights. The banks of servers and control panels that should have been blinkingreassuringly with green and blue were instead an angry wash of crimson. A metallic tang soured the air.

Her eyes darted to the central screen. Data flashed through critical systems at a bewildering pace. She wasn’t an environmental engineer, but she didn’t need to be to know one thing for certain. Flashing red lights were never good.

Ahead, Luca crouched over a tangled mess of fiber optic cables, his face pale and slick with sweat. Sparks flared as he twisted the ends, trying to force a connection.

“Come on, you piece of shit,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

Another spark snapped, and Luca recoiled, throwing the cables down in frustration. “Useless junk!”

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