Page 75 of North

I understood my parents better now. They were so committed to each other. I’d seen how in love they were. Now, I knew how they felt.

“Move in with me?”

Jess blinked. “Really?” Her hand pressed against my chest, tracing over my ink.

I nodded. “I want to be with you. I want to live together, make memories together. I want to fight beside you, watch you work. I want us to be together.”

She cupped my cheek. “That sounds like a good deal.”

“I felt the click from the moment I first saw you. I fought it.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” Her tone was dry. Her fingers scratched over my stubble. “I understand, North. Loving someone is a risk. You open yourself up. I lost my mom, then my dad, but I wouldn’t ever give up the moments I had with them. And I want all the moments with you.”

“I’m going to love you, Jessica Ramos. If you let me. You’ll be mine, and I’ll be yours.”

The look on her face made my chest fill with warmth.

“That sounds like a really good deal,” she murmured. “I accept. And yes, I’ll move in with you.”

Feeling so fucking happy, I lowered my head and kissed my woman.

Jess

I circled the lab bench,staring at the full, intact cocoon.

We’d collected samples from the orchard and warehouse, and managed to transport this cocoon intact. We were running a battery of new tests on it.

The x-rays showed that there was a kangaroo inside. The animal was still alive.

Curiosity and excitement sparked inside me. We had to discover what the cocoons did. We had to stop whatever the monsters were trying to do.

I had no idea if they had a conscious plan or were just driven by instincts. I tapped my nails on the bench. But I’d find out. I’d find out everything.

And Hunter Squad would stop them.

“Jess?” One of the technicians turned a comp screen my way. “These are the latest test results.”

I looked at the screen and studied the data. I frowned at her. “The animal is in some sort of stasis.”

The tech nodded. “Almost like a coma. Its vitals are stable, but slow. Slow heart rate, slow respiration.”

This cocoon was definitely designed to keep whatever was inside it alive.

“Send these results through to Maxim as well. He was going to take a look at them.” I was hoping the engineer and his genius IQ could help shed some light on this.

There was the rap of knuckles and I glanced up. North stood in the lab doorway.

My belly swooped. He wore jeans, and a light-gray T-shirt. Both molded to his muscular form. My gaze snagged on the tattoo on his arm. God, he looked good.

And he was all mine.

“You’re a lucky woman,” the tech murmured.

North walked toward me. I met him halfway and gave him a quick kiss. “Hey.”

“Hi. I’m here to report that our request to move into one house was approved.”

“That’s great.”

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