Page 102 of Lethal Game

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir, are gloves and masks enough to protect us from the disease?” Stalls asked.

“None of the healthcare workers have gotten sick, so yeah. Dr. Perry is ordering more safety gear, but that’s just a precaution.”

He saluted them and they saluted back.

Con went back inside the lab tent and found Sophia cleaning up and shutting things down. “Done?” he asked.

“For now. It’ll be a few hours until the morning supply drop. A good time to get some sleep.”

“Excellent.” He took up a position where he could see her and the entrance while she finished.

After a few seconds she looked up from what she was doing. “Are you waiting for me?”

“Where you go, I go.”

She glanced out at the silhouettes of the two Marines guarding their small encampment. “Why do I feel like we’re outmanned and outgunned?”

“More men isn’t always the answer. If we come storming in with a couple of platoons, these people would have felt like they were in a police state. Since that’s what most of them are running from, we would’ve had a lot more trouble from the refugees.”

She scowled at him. “People are still dying. We may still have trouble.”

“It is what it is.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “All we can do is our jobs.” He dropped his arms and took a couple of steps closer to her. “Stay focused. I won’t leave you vulnerable for any length of time.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she said, her voice vibrating with tension. “Every time you step in front of me to protect me, I want to scream. You’re the one in danger, not me.”

“It’s my job to stay close to you, to protect you.” He tried to catch her gaze, smile and ratchet her apprehension down. “Four sisters, remember? They’d kick my ass if I let you get hurt in any way.”

“Ha,” she said lifting her chin. “I bet you’ve been standing in front of them, taking the punch or the hard words, since you could walk.”

This woman’s intelligence stunned him and turned him on. “Who? Me? Never.”

“Oh yeah?” She narrowed her eyes and poked him in the chest. “Give me their phone numbers.”

Her request caught him off guard and he laughed with real humor for the first time in...months.

Since the explosion.

He’d come out of that injured in a way no one could see, no one could heal. He’d been filled with so much anger and self-destructive guilt he had actively looked for ways to get revenge or get killed, preferably both.

Sometime since he met Sophia, he’d changed. The reckless rage had been transformed into purpose. She had given him a new reason to be human again. Given him something to fight for, instead of against.

For the first time since the explosion, he felt a sliver of fear for himself. What if he died? Who would protect her then?

He gave her all four phone numbers, and made a mental note to talk to his sisters about Sophia. Tell them how special she was, how fragile she was. How strong she was.

As she added the numbers to her contact list, her shoulders came down a fraction.

She’d been stressed.

He should have noticed sooner, but with all the crap going on and all the dying happening a stone’s throw away, he’d misinterpreted her body language.

“I have one other question,” she said as she put her phone away.

“Shoot.”

“Where can I use the bathroom?”

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