The Omega Team_His Pryze to Claim

by Aliyah Burke

  “Agreed. The fire is going to show them where we are.” He rose, lifting her along with him.

  Holy shit that’s impressive. I can barely stand on my own and he’s getting up holding me in his arms.

  “Damn,” she whispered.

  Cullen slid her down his body and she admired the muscles beneath his tuxedo shirt.

  “I will explore this body when I can do so properly,” she whispered.

  “It’s a date,” he said, grasping her hand and squeezing briefly.

  She smiled until above them there were voices shouting to one another and flashes of light through the darkness. Liz scanned the wreckage, eyes a bit sore as she looked. He backed out of the space with her he’d been in.

  “Radio’s busted,” he told her as he peeked into the burning vehicle. “So is the one phone I see. I can’t get in there further, this thing is going to blow. We have our guns, so that’s a good thing.”

  “Awesome,” she said with way more enthusiasm than she felt. Liz touched the corner of her mouth and frowned when her fingers glided through the tacky blood. “Where to?”

  “Any idea where we are?”

  “I should but damned if I can recall.”

  He gave a sharp nod. “Let’s go.”

  Those two words were gruff and laced in iron.

  In the flames, she observed his features. He moved his gaze from their mangled car to the ravine they’d gone down, then off into the darkness.

  She waited. This wasn’t her element and she understood completely if she were to get out of this, her trust had to be in this man. So, she gave it freely.

  With his free hand, he loosened the knot at his neck then gestured at her.

  She remained silent, nodding her understanding.

  He slipped away and Liz followed him into the dark.

  After fifteen minutes or so, her mind was growing more muddled by the minute, she reached out to touch him.

  He stopped instantly. “What?”

  “Is there a direction here?”

  “We’re circling back up to their vehicles.”

  “I do feel as if we’re going in circles. I guess it’s good to go back to their vehicles, but if they’re out to kill us, won’t they leave someone up there?”

  “Maybe one or two but that won’t be a problem.”

  Taking out two armed men seemed like a problem to her, but then she wasn’t Cullen. Again, her trust was in him.

  Her touch went from his back to his chest when he turned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Lightheaded. Side’s a bit sore and I could really use my flask for a drink. Feeling cold.”

  He drew her tight to him, sharing his warmth. But something more. He hadn’t relaxed. That didn’t bode well for them.

  Resting her head against him, she asked in low tone, “We can’t go back up no,w can we?”

  “No. We have to push on. I managed to hit the OnStar before we went over. They should be sending emergency to our last known location.”

  “In the meantime?” Liz knew the answer, she was out here with him and not with her fellow officers who were expecting her. Damn it, she wanted to be there with them.

  “We find shelter. This storm is getting much worse.”

  She burrowed closer to him absorbing more of the heat coming through his soft cotton shirt. Clenching her left hand, she willed the light headedness away. It didn’t work.

  “Let’s go lateral.”

  She really wanted to sleep but was trying to keep her complaints to herself. He surely wasn’t feeling all that peachy himself. Pretty damn sure, we went over the same down mountain. “After you.” God, she would be just fine in his arms. With great reluctance, she moved out of his embrace. He was much more cautious as they went. Time blended into one big haze as she followed behind Cullen.

  “Here.”

  She couldn’t see a damn thing. “Here what?”

  “A place for us to hole up.”

  Spots danced before her eyes and she trailed him inside the small outcropping. While glad to be out of the snow both on the ground and that which still fell in fat heavy flakes, she was still cold.

  She leaned against the side wall, legs more than a bit wobbly.

  “Get some rest.”

  God would that she could. Sleep sounded divine but even she knew in her state that falling asleep was foolish and rubber stamping her death certificate.

  His statement led him moving her forward a bit and placing his jacket around her shoulders. How he knew where she was, she couldn’t tell. Then again, to her own ears it sounded like she was breathing like a freight train.

  Oh, God this wool tux jacket provided such warmth.

  “What about you?”

  “I’m going to set some warnings in case they grow near. I’ll be back.”

  She sank to the floor and envisioned she was somewhere warm. Liz waited for him to return, using his jacket and doing her best not to fall asleep. “He’s only got a thin cotton shirt on, he’s going to freeze.”

  “Nice to know you care, Liz.”

  “Of course, I do, you’re hot as hell and I haven’t fucked you yet.”

  His laughter filled the small space. “Also, extremely good for me to know.”

  He settled beside her and she leaned against him. “You should take your jacket back.”

  “You keep it.”

  “No. Take it back, I’ll just stay close. I’m not cold anyway.” Was it her imagination or were her words slurring?

  “Liz?”

  “Yes?” That was a definite slur. Quite possibly some hiss in it as well. She couldn’t see him but when he straddled her legs, there was no ignoring where he may or may not be.

  He put his hand inside the jacket to her sides and swore. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were bleeding?”

  Her eyes refused to stay open. “That could be dangerous.”

  “I feel glass and you’re not making a damn lick of sense.”

  “Just peachy, thank you very much.” She had something else to say, something important to tell this hunk of a man on her legs. But the words wouldn’t come, no, darkness came first and overtook her.

  αβ

  Cullen released a string of curses as her entire body became boneless. He had to see to fix whatever damage had been done. The fire would be a risk, but one he had to take. It was necessary or she could possibly die out here before they even had a chance at being rescued. Feeling along the wall, one he lay her down in his jacket, he discovered a small alcove within the cave.

  Not too much later, he lay her beside the small sputtering fire. He undid the Velcro straps of her bullet proof vest. Her side was soaked in blood.

  “Fuck.”

  Maneuvering her so he could get skin access, he spied a jagged piece of glass deep in her side. He reached in his pocket for the Leatherman he always carried. Flipping it open, he held the tips of the needle nose pliers in the fire to sterilize them by heat.

  “This is going to hurt, Liz.”

  Although she remained unconscious, he still treated her as if she could hear and respond.

  Using the sleeve of his shirt, he removed the Leatherman. The blood still flowed and he waved the pliers around, encouraging them to cool faster.

  He couldn’t wait any longer. Rising over her, he spread open the wound. Putting the pliers in, he clamped it around the edge of the glass, made slick by her blood.

  He slipped twice before he managed to get it free from her flesh, dropping it to the ground, he used more of his shirt to staunch the flow.

  “What I wouldn’t give for a needle and thread.” Since that was out of the question, he fully removed her vest and ripped out the backing that had been against her clothing. That’s what he used to pad the injury and knot it off.

  He drew his tux jacket back around her to have her remain as warm as possible. One hand on the woman slumped against him and one on the Glock she’d handed him, he settled in to wait. Once he was situated, he kicked di
rt over the small glow that had assisted him with Liz.

  The fire hadn’t been so much about heat as it had been sight. There wasn’t any more he could do for her now. The rest was up to her. An hour passed before she stirred. Cullen settled his hand over her mouth and put his by her ear.

  When she stiffened, he murmured, “I need you to remain quiet. They’re still out there somewhere. Nod if you understand.”

  Her head moved slowly against his chest and he removed his hand.

  “What happened?” Her voice was low but strong and calm.

  Thank God, she’s a woman who isn’t panicked by this situation.

  “You passed out from blood loss.”

  “That sucks. Explains the pain in my side. And the fuckers who did this?”

  “Still out there somewhere.”

  She shifted against him. “What’s the plan, oh mighty fearless leader?”

  He couldn’t help the smile. Hell, this was his kind of woman. She could joke at a time like this. No crying, no screaming. “We hunker down here, hopefully this weather sends them back.”

  “Yes. Blizzard conditions.”

  “What about heat?”

  “Are you cold?”

  “Not as much as I thought I’d be. But I have your jacket. How cold are you?”

  “Been worse.” He was cold, no denying it. But he also hadn’t lied, he’d been a lot colder before and could comfortably function in these temperatures. At least long enough to get her rescued. “You’re sharing heat.” He had his hands in the coat pockets and she was a toasty thing. Regardless, he wasn’t a fan of her being in front of him.

  “I can’t keep my eyes open.”

  “So, talk to me, Liz. I need you to stay awake now.”

  “You talk,” she countered. “I’ll listen.”

  “Nope. Tell me about your childhood, about growing up with Sheri.”

  So, she did.

  Occasionally he had to remind her to stay awake but she never complained. He was worried by her voice growing weaker. When her teeth started chattering, he quickly started another fire with the extra wood he’d brought in earlier.

  Cullen shifted her closer to the meager flames, pleased she could still sit up on her own. The barrel of her HK stuck out from the cuff of his jacket.

  Her dusky skin looked paler and he was even more concerned. “Stay here.”

  Instead of answering, she closed her eyes.

  “Stay awake, Liz.”

  She cracked her eyes open. “What’ll you give me if I do?”

  He crouched before her and cupped her cheek. Skimming her lips with his thumb, he canted his head to the side. “You stay awake until I get back. And alive and you pick whatever you want.”

  Her lids fluttered. “Do you make a lot of promises?”

  “Only ones I can keep.”

  A ghost of a smile lifted her lips. “I’ll remember that.”

  He chucked her under the chin. “See that you do.” Cullen stepped to the edge of their small cave, grateful the light was hard to see. The snow hadn’t let up yet, still coming down heavy.

  He needed to go to the road but with her injury it was a risk. And not a favorable one. The cold, the strain all around endangered her further.

  Nothing gave him an uneasy feel, aside from the normal need to fortify his position.

  “A few hours more and we move.” That was all the rest he could afford her.

  Once he felt confident their prints were covered by snow, he turned back to the tiny space he’d left Liz.

  Coming around the corner, he found her aiming a gun at him. “I see you remained awake.”

  She yawned. “Barely, but now you owe me.”

  “So I do. What are you claiming as your reward?”

  “You’re single, right? No significant other or anything of the sort?”

  Christ his cock went rock hard at that question. “Correct.”

  “Then I pick a night with you.”

  Fuck yeah!

  Chapter Three

  “How far?”

  Cullen paused, turning to her. “Can you go on?”

  “Working on it.” Her words were full of strain as she struggled not to pass out from her exhaustion. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult. The thin air, blood loss, and the bumps and bruises from the crash had all added up to her needed to sleep.

  “Not far to the road now.”

  I swear that’s what he said twenty minutes ago.

  He squeezed her hand and got back to climbing up.

  Liz wiped the sweat from her face and dug deep for any remaining energy she may have missed. Now was the time for it step up and be a team player.

  Moments blurred into one another, as she fought not to slow Cullen anymore.

  “Here we are.”

  The best words she’d ever heard. Somehow, they’d made it to the road. Panting, she braced her hands on the ice-cold metal if the railing, grateful for the wool jacket from Cullen.

  He has to be freezing.

  A car moved by slowly and with its edge of light she ogled her savior. Snow dotted his dark hair and had soaked through his shirt. But damn if he didn’t appear alert and ready for whatever was tossed at them next. Only a few minor cuts showed from the accident.

  “Let’s get a ride.”

  “God, I thought you’d never ask,” she quipped

  He lifted her over the railing, mindful of her injury.

  Flashing lights cut through as she watched him stop a plow. Cullen helped her inside the warm vehicle then climbed up after her.

  Liz stayed tight to him, soaking up all the heat she could.

  αβ

  The men talked around her but all she could focus on was Cullen’s arm around her and the heat pouring from the vents. She gave herself over to exhaustion.

  “I have no clue who it was, Gray. She’s State Patrol, I’m not even sure they were after me and not her.”

  Liz woke to Cullen’s statement. She cracked open her eyes and glanced around. Hospital. The smell and sight gave it away in a heartbeat.

  “Yes sir. I’m not leaving her side until it’s figured out. What they want and who they are, not to mention who they are after. Elizabeth Pryze with a ‘y’ not an ‘i’ in her name. Yes, sir.” He hung up and rubbed the back of his neck.

  She took in his appearance. Dark green scrub top and gray bottoms. His hair was no longer wet.

  Cullen turned in her direction. The moment their eyes met, he walked to her and sat on the bed.“How are you feeling?”

  “Sore. You?”

  “Warm.”

  She took his hand and squeezed. “Thank you for saving my life.

  He dipped his head closer. “It was entirely my pleasure, officer.”

  “Do we know who and why yet?” She yawned but damn it, she wanted answers. She also wanted to kiss this man.

  “No. All current leads are being run down. Your CO has been notified as well as your family.”

  “Where are we?”

  As he filled her in, she fought off another yawn. “I have a cabin we can use, not too far from here. We can headquarter from there.”

  “No way, you’re not leaving here.”

  “Fuck that. If they are after me—or you— we can’t risk the people who are here. Besides, I’m stitched up.”

  “You’re safer here,” he began.

  She sat up and swung her legs over.

  The moment she stood, he clamped a hand on her wrist. “Are you purposely ignoring me?”

  His calloused fingertips and palm played havoc on her senses. New spirals of fire grew and wove through her veins. Her body’s response to his touch was in a sense violent. Jarring but not in a bad way. A sexual one. Made a certain part of her very wet and another dry as a cotton field.

  “Yes,” she forced out between her cracked lips. “The argument isn’t worth a damn thing and doesn’t hold any water in my book.” Standing toe to toe with him, she placed her hand on his chest. “We don’t know wh
o they’re after, may as well join forces and figure it out.”

  He dropped his gaze to where her hand settled on his shirt briefly before meeting her gaze once more. Cullen shifted his weight then backed her up to the cool white wall of the room she’d been placed in. “Have people after you, Liz?”

  Holy shit, his voice was so low and deep it danced on her clit, shooting rockets of pleasure through her.

  She knew, knew, he was speaking in terms of what they’d just gone through but damn it all, her body was completely focused on the need for sex with this man. Wrapping her fingers in his shirt, she tugged him nearer until their mouths were barely a hairsbreadth apart. “Hopefully at least one.”

  Oh god, he was going to kiss her. Please, please, please. At the last second, he turned his head, so his lips brushed her cheek. Fuck!

  “Trust me, this one’s got you.”

  Hell yeah, damn near orgasm worthy. “So, then we head to the cabin.”

  He barely blinked. “No.”

  “Yes, come on, Cullen. Are you scared to be out in the middle of nowhere with me? You’ve done it once before.”

  He gripped her waist on her uninjured side. “This isn’t a game, Liz. Someone wanted to kill us.”

  “I reckon they still do, unless they’re confident we’re already dead. Aren’t you interested in who is trying to kill you?”

  His fingertips made it to her skin, somehow, she wasn’t sure how he’d found his way beneath her hospital gown but it was driving her to distraction. “That’s a long ass list, baby.

  “Then let’s pare it down.” She smiled at him. “Come on, soldier, what do you say?” Liz dragged a finger up his chest. “Wanna be alone with me for a while? I do believe you owe me a night.”

  “Need some help out of that damn hospital gown?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “You’ve already found a way under it. Why do I need to take it off?”

  “So, you can get dressed and we can get the fuck out of here.”

  Sounded like a plan to her.

  She didn’t have anything much to put on so she shoved back into her torn, dirty jeans and ripped shirt. With a sobering breath, she traced the hole the shard had made in the fabric before it penetrated her skin.

  Sitting on the bed, she winced as she bent to tie on her boots.