Page 90 of Lethal Game

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

Con shifted his weight from one leg to the other and had to stop himself from knocking Len on his ass.

Sophia glanced at Con, then examined Len’s face and calmly said, “Apology accepted, but ifhedoesn’t believe your sob story—” she pointed right at Con “—neither do I. Don’t try to get into my good books with that shit again.”

Len’s jaw dropped then he started laughing. “You two are quite the team, and look at me, I’mlaughing.” He walked away, shaking his head, eventually disappearing into the hospital tent.

Sophia sighed. “What a pain in the ass.”

“I’ve got to agree with you there. I don’t think leaving the Army has done him all that much good.”

She gave Con her complete attention for a moment. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

She arched a brow at him, then turned to get back to work.

Trust.

A chill settled over him despite the desert heat.

He hadn’t questioned her ability to read him or give Len an appropriate answer, and she’d noticed.

Trust bound people together. He could already feel the invisible bonds between them squeezing his diaphragm.

He cleared his throat. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Sure. Could you ask Dr. Blairmore if it would be possible for me to take some fresh blood samples from some of the sick?”

“How many do you want?”

“Three. Based on ages. So, one from a child under twelve, one from an otherwise healthy adult, and one from someone older than sixty. Wait.” She opened another bag and pulled out disposable masks and gloves. “Wear a mask at all times and gloves if you think you might have to touch something over there. Coughing doesn’t seem to be an issue, but it’s better to be proactive. Can you give our guys some of these as well?” She looked around. “Where are Smoke and River?”

“They’re looking over the entire camp. Macler and Norton are on patrol.” Con handed out a couple of masks and sets of gloves to Henry and Stalls before he put on his own mask and gloves.

He took a good look around on the short walk to the hospital tent. Things had quieted down now and few people seemed to be moving about. The other side of the tent was another story.

There was a line-up of people waiting to get in, with a couple of aid workers wearing masks and gloves dealing with them.

Dr. Blairmore was listening to the heartbeat of an old man who looked like he hadn’t eaten in a month. Len was standing close by also wearing a mask and gloves. He tapped the doctor on the shoulder after he was finished with the old man and pointed at Con.

The doctor came over. “What?”

“Dr. Perry would like to take three new blood samples, from a child under twelve, a healthy adult, and an older person.” Con looked around at all the people in the tent. “These people are used to you. It might be best if you take them.”

“Whatever gets us help faster,” Blairmore said in a belligerent tone.

It was a struggle not to snarl at the man. “Awesome.”

Blairmore turned and walked a couple of steps back to his patient, but stopped and glanced at Con over his shoulder. “Would it be possible to look at her equipment?”

Not fucking likely, but playing nice might help keep the man out of Sophia’s hair. “I’ll see what she says, but she’s determined to identify the pathogen as quickly as possible and might not welcome other inquiries until after that’s done.”

Blairmore didn’t reply, just nodded and went back to his patient.

Con returned to the lab tent to find all her benches organized with analyzers, a centrifuge, a microscope, slides, and other lab tools. “Ready to work?”

“Yes. The blood samples?”

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