Page 103 of Lethal Game

“We’ve got a primitive camp toilet. You might have to squat.”

“Oh no, I have a thing that allows me to pee standing up. I just want a little privacy.”

“You...have athing?” She had his brain going places he never wanted to visit.

She looked at his face and laughed. “Yeah, it’s a female urination device made out of medical-grade silicone.”

“Oh.” Thank God she’d explained that.

“Here,” she said, one hand reaching into a pocket. “I’ll show you.”

“No.” He flashed the palms of both hands at her. “Not necessary. I believe you.” He led her to their primitive toilet, then turned his back while she did her business.

Her grin was almost smug as she entered the low-slung sleeping tent in front of him.

Henry and Stalls were already asleep, their gear, packs, and weapons taking in most of the available space.

Sophia gave them a long look, shook her head, and turned around to crab-crawl out.

“Hey,” Con said in a whisper, following her. “Where are you going?”

“To sleep in the lab tent.”

“Is that safe?”

“I’m a little nervous about leaving all the equipment and samples unattended. Not that any of the samples have tested positive or anything.”

“That’s not an answer, and that’s not like you at all.”

She sighed and stopped walking.

He stopped a couple of feet away, expecting her to talk to him, but she moved in closer. Close enough that he could catch a hint of something coconut-scented. Her shampoo?

“Okay, I’m just going to say this and hope you don’t fall over laughing.” Her voice was low, tight, and it quivered on the last word. She swallowed hard and said, “I can’t sleep in a space that small with a bunch of guys I don’t know. I looked at them in there and it seemed deliberate, you know? Them taking up so much space. There wasn’t room for me in there the way it is now, let alone you too.”

She was right. Those two assholes could have organized themselves better. “It’s my fault,” he told her. “I should have made sure that when they sacked out, they’d done so like professional soldiers, rather than like a couple of weekend warriors who don’t know any better.” He smiled at her surprised face. “So, let me ask again. Is sleeping in the other tent safe?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

The interior of the lab tent had a blind turn before it branched out in its starlike shape. It meant no one could just look in from the outside and see equipment, you had to go in and around before anything became visible.

Con and Sophia lay down on the floor in the center of the tent. It was warm enough out that a bedroll wasn’t strictly necessary. While sleeping in full gear was uncomfortable, it shouldn’t have stopped him from falling asleep. Hell, he’d slept through gunfire and wicked air turbulence.

Nope, what kept him awake was the soft snore of the woman who slept two feet away in front of him.

And the smell of coconut.

***

Stepping in sand isnot soundless.

Con came awake all at once at hearing more than one person moving around within a few feet of the tent. Their movements and whispered words were hardly stealthy. He counted at least three, maybe four or five different people. People who were inside the perimeter Macler and Norton were supposed to maintain.

Con rolled to his feet, carefully and quietly, then he put a hand on Sophia’s shoulder. She didn’t immediately wake, so he gave her a little shake.

She came awake with a soundless start and stared at him for a moment before she took a breath.

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