by Anna Hackett
She frowned. “My head hurts.”
He wrapped an arm around her pulling her close. “You just rest here. Take it easy.”
She leaned into him, looking down at her bare feet again. They were raw and pink, and edged in black soot. She was vaguely aware of Hemi making a call to someone. “I got her. Yeah, she’s alive.”
Chrissy looked at her shirt and her brow wrinkled. There was a hole ripped in the middle of it. She sniffed, and all she could smell was smoke. Damn. This was her favorite top.
Memories burst through her head like an explosion of confetti. Explosion. An alien part exploding in her room. Everything going black.
Suddenly, there were running footsteps echoing down the corridor. She looked up to see Levi sprinting toward her. Ash was right behind him.
All the aches and pains exploded inside her and a huge sob escaped her. She took two steps toward Levi and then he swept her into his arms.
“Levi—”
“Fuck. Fuck.” His arms were tight around her.
“One of the parts blew up—”
“I thought you were dead, Spitfire.” He pulled her as close as possible and buried his face in her hair.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. God, his big body was shaking. “I was confused when I came to.” He leaned her back, gently probing her head.
“You got a knot back here.” His gaze dropped down. “Shit, babe, your hands are burned.”
“And my feet.” She winced. “And I’m starting to feel it.”
“We need to get you to the infirmary. Now.” He glanced at Hemi. “Thanks, man.”
“Don’t mention it. Go look after your girl.”
Levi swept Chrissy off her feet, carrying her like she was a precious bundle.
“You okay, Levi?” Ash asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am now. Thanks, Ash.”
“Go. I’ll catch you both later.” He bumped his shoulder against Levi’s. “Looks like you are going down, bro.” Ash’s voice was ripe with amusement. “And I am happy to see it.”
“Fuck off, Connors.”
Chrissy was too tired and sore to process what they were talking about. As Levi strode down the hall, she let her eyes drift closed. The next thing she knew, she could smell antiseptic, and the lights were very bright.
“Doc!” he bellowed.
Ahead, a pretty blonde in a white lab coat glanced up. When she spotted Chrissy, relief flashed in her bright-blue eyes.
“Set her down here.” Doc Emerson patted an empty bunk. Levi did as ordered, but stayed close, his hand resting on Chrissy’s arm.
The doc pulled a scanner over and then lifted a light, shining it in Chrissy’s eyes, making her wince.
“It is so good to see you, Chrissy.”
Chrissy reached for Levi’s hand and felt pain radiate from her fingers to her wrists. He set it back on the bed. “All in one piece, you mean?”
Her attempt at a joke pulled a strangled noise from Levi, and his fingers tightened on her arm.
Doc Emerson’s lips twitched and she lowered her scanner. “You have a minor concussion, and some third-degree burns. All in all, you’re a lucky lady.” The woman reached over, and lifted a huge syringe filled with silver liquid. “But I’m afraid I still need to give you a shot of nanomeds.”
“That’s happening to me a lot lately.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll heal you up in no time,” the doc assured her.
“I’m sorry for the hassle.” Chrissy looked up at Levi. “I’m sorry.”
“Quiet.” He squeezed her arm.
Looking into his whiskey-brown eyes, she barely even felt the needle as the doc injected the dose of tiny medical machines.
“I need you to rest up here for a bit,” Emerson said, wrapping Chrissy’s hands loosely with bandages. “I’ll be monitoring the nanomeds, and once I think you’re stable enough, you can go.” She patted the blanket and then moved to a nearby office.
“I’m sorry for what happened at the pool,” Chrissy murmured.
Levi blew out a breath and sat on the edge of her bed. “I was an ass. The words you used…they were the same ones my dad used to yell at me when when I was young.”
Chrissy sucked in a breath. So that’s what had triggered him.
“Every day, he’d tell me that I was useless and worthless, and that he always had better things to do. Which usually included drinking and fucking.”
She awkwardly patted his hand with her bandaged one. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. Life sucks, and you move on.”
She frowned at his matter-of-fact statement. There was always some glimmer of good in the bad, but Levi sounded like he always expected the worst.
“My mom died having my little sister.” Chrissy fiddled with the sheet. “My dad raised us, but he had no clue what to do with two little girls. I did everything I could to help. Cooked, cleaned, fixed up the messes my wild child sister left behind, became a mechanic like him so I could help in the garage.”
“Chrissy—”
“It was never enough. He always complained, or just never noticed.” She caught Levi’s gaze. “He rarely complimented my work.”
Levi cupped her cheek. “And you still grew into a beautiful, sexy, talented, and sassy woman.”
Warmth coiled through her. “And you became a relentless force of nature, despite your deadbeat dad.”
A smile quirked his lips.
She shook her head. “Well, we sure are a pair, aren’t we?”
His thumb brushed her lips. “Yeah.”
The infirmary doors opened, and Holmes strode in with Niko and Noah. Chrissy straightened, tugging on the tangled mess of her hair.
“Chrissy.” Holmes touched her shoulder. “We are very pleased to see you’re okay.”
“Thanks.”
“Can you tell us what happened?”
She nodded. “One of the alien trike parts I was examining heated up and exploded.”
Noah frowned. “They’d all been scanned and deemed inert.”
“Well, it fucking wasn’t,” Levi bit out.
She patted his hand. “We probably need to implement some extra procedures as we continue to work out how to operate the trike.”
“We can’t afford any delays,” Niko said quietly.
“But we can’t risk blowing up the Enclave either,” Noah said. “I’ll have my team work on it with the Hunter mechanics.”
“As soon as the doc clears me, I’ll get back to work,” Chrissy said.
“Hell, no,” Levi growled.
She narrowed her gaze. “You don’t get to boss me around, biker man.”
“I sure as hell do. You want me to tell them what sexy little noises you make when you come?”
She hissed in a breath. “You asshole. You won’t be hearing them again.”
There was a choked noise and she looked up to see the usually staid general trying very hard not to laugh. Niko and Noah were smiling. Heat burned through her cheeks.
“I think what Levi was trying to say, was that you need some rest,” Niko said diplomatically.
“No, what he was trying to do was stamp his claim all over me like a caveman.”
Fingers gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “You almost died. For twenty agonizing minutes, I thought you were dead.”
Her anger crumpled. She saw the agony in his eyes. “Levi.”
“Our cue to leave,” Noah said.
She didn’t watch them go, instead lifting her lips up for Levi’s kiss. He kept it gentle and she’d never had gentle from him before.
It wasn’t long before Emerson was back. She unwrapped the bandages to expose new, pink skin on Chrissy’s hands and feet. She flexed her fingers and toes, relieved there was no pain.
“Well, I think you can go, but I need you to take it easy.” The doc moved to probe the almost-healed bump at the back of Chrissy’s head. She made a satisfied, humming noise.
“Already?” Levi asked. “You
don’t want to keep her in here for more observation?”
Emerson lifted a comp pad. “I’ll be monitoring the residual nanomeds from here. She’s almost healed, so everything should be fine. But if anything does go wrong, you bring her back. For now, she needs someone to take care of her, check on her, and ensure she gets some rest.”
Suddenly, Chrissy froze as a thought hit her. “I have nowhere to go. My room—”
All her things were gone. Pain pierced her chest. Her belongings might have been meager, but they’d been hers. They’d meant the world to her. Her heart clenched.
“Yes, you do.” Levi picked her up, holding her against his chest. “You’re coming with me.”
Emerson grinned at them. “Good. Macho alpha males come in handy on occasion. You need someone to look after you, Chrissy, and Levi appears determined to do it…” All of a sudden, Emerson’s voice broke off, and her face turned pale.
“Doc?” Levi asked with a frown.
The woman pressed a hand to the bed, and waved with her other one. “I’m…fine.” She took a few deep breaths. “As long as the apple I just ate doesn’t make a reappearance.”
Chrissy cocked her head. She remembered that same look on her sister’s face. “You’re pregnant.”
Emerson gave them a wan smile. “I just found out today. Uh, keep it to yourself, please. I haven’t had a chance to tell Gabe yet.”
Levi grinned. “The man is going to freak out.”
The doctor winced. “Probably.”
“Congratulations,” Chrissy said.
“Thanks.” Then Emerson’s face went from white to green. “Ah, I’ll see you later.” With a flap of her lab coat, she was running for the bathroom.
For a second, Chrissy tried to imagine big, scary soldier Gabe Jackson from Hell Squad as a father. The image just wouldn’t appear. The man was beyond intimidating, but she had seen him with Emerson, and it was clear he was both protective as hell and madly in love.
“Come on, Spitfire.” Tightening his hold on her, Levi headed out of the infirmary.
“Where are we going?” She should probably see someone about getting new quarters assigned.
“You’re coming home with me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Levi carried Chrissy to his room. Once inside, he took her straight into the bathroom, and set her down on the closed toilet. She still looked a little shell-shocked and her face was marred with black ash.
He went to the rarely-used tub and set the water running. Methodically, he stripped her bare, and then nudged her into the water.
“Levi—”
“Just let me take care of you.” He tipped her head back, pouring water over her hair. It smelled of smoke and he wanted her clean.
He didn’t have any fancy shampoos or soaps, but he grabbed his plain shampoo and massaged it into her hair. He kind of liked the idea of her smelling of his soap. Her eyes closed, and she made a small moan.
After he’d worked the shampoo through her hair, he nudged her down into the water to rinse it off. Her hands gripped the side of the tub. He saw that they were perfectly healed, the new skin a little pink. But in his head, he kept seeing them blistered and blackened.
His jaw tightened. Images of her room peppered him. The wall blown apart, the space just an empty, black shell. And he remembered the agony of thinking she was dead.
She shifted in the bath, water sloshing against the tiles. She was alive. He stared at the rise and fall of her chest. And he was going to take care of her.
Levi cleared his tight throat. “I’m going to order you some food.”
“I’m not very hungry—”
“You’ll eat.”
Eyes still closed, a small smile tilted her lips. “Bossy biker man.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
Back in the main room, Levi took a minute to order some food from the kitchen. Then he paced, waiting for it to be delivered. He kept trying to block the horror of finding her exploded room. His hands curled into fists. Fucking Gizzida. He was laying the blame for this on those damn raptors. Next time he was on a mission, he had some extra anger to work off.
There was a knock at the door, and Levi opened it to a teen boy, who handed over a tray. Levi thanked the kid before slamming the door shut.
He’d just set the tray down on the table when he heard the sobs from the bathroom.
Jaw tight, he walked inside, and saw Chrissy hunched over in the bath, crying.
“Chrissy—”
She looked up, her eyes red. “Those alien parts are destroyed. That could mean that damn trike won’t work.” A hiccupping breath. “That could ruin the entire mission.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the trike. You’ll figure something out.”
She swiped at her eyes. “I barely had any personal things…but now they’re gone.”
The heartbreak in her face told him this was about more than losing some clothes and things. Without thinking, he toed off his boots, and without stopping to shed his clothes, he climbed into the tub behind her.
She gasped. “Levi.”
“Shh.” He leaned back against the edge and settled her between his legs. “You’re alive, Chrissy. And I’m fucking glad.”
A sob broke from her chest. “I didn’t think anyone would really care if I died. When I was with the aliens, I knew there was no one out there thinking about me.”
He wrapped his arms securely around her, pressing his lips to the side of her head. “Well, not anymore, Spitfire. I care. And there’s a young boy here at the Enclave who cares. And I know you’re friends with Taylor. She’d care.”
Chrissy started crying, turning into him.
Levi had always hated when women cried. Whenever the tears started, he usually got out fast. When his ex had cried, they’d usually been a form of manipulation.
But this time, he didn’t feel the urge to run, or fill the space with meaningless words. He held Chrissy until the tears subsided, and then he helped her out of the now-cool bath. He stripped his soaked clothes off and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he grabbed another towel and started rubbing her down.
“I never had much,” he said. “Growing up, my dad was a lazy drunk who only cared about himself.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
Levi ushered her into the room and straight into his bed. He climbed in beside her, wrapping his arms around her.
“My dad did his best,” Chrissy said. “But two girls left him baffled most of the time. He never got over losing my mother.” Her gaze flicked up to him. “What about your mom?”
Levi shrugged. “She ran off when I was a kid. She didn’t much like having a mean drunk as her old man. Especially when he knocked her around.”
“So she left you?” Chrissy’s voice rose, revealing a glimmer of his spitfire. “She left you with him?”
Levi nodded, amused at the fierce glint in her eye. “Not everyone is like you. I know you saved a kid who wasn’t even your own. I guess my mother didn’t want to be saddled with a kid. I grew up rough, but I had Ash. And when I was old enough, I learned to fight for what I wanted. Eventually, I took over the Iron Kings and cleaned it up. I was proud as hell of the bikes and cars we put together.” Even now, he still felt the bittersweet hit of the loss.
Sweet curves moved against him and Levi fought to remind himself she’d been injured.
“I read about some of your custom builds once. There was an online interview. It was amazing work.”
He smiled down at her, but then the pleasure faded. “I lost it all in the invasion. And I lost the men I considered brothers.”
A hand cupped his face. “Stuff doesn’t really matter, does it? People do.”
He nodded. “That’s right. And I’ve got Ash and my squad.” He tightened his hold on her. “We go out there and wade into the raptor muck every day. It’s not pretty, and there’s no beauty, but I always know that they have my back.”
They were silent for a while. An ea
sy silence. Levi couldn’t remember ever being in bed with a woman like this. He was either fucking or sleeping…not cuddling.
“Tell me more about your dad,” he said.
“Typical macho man. He wanted boys. He was a hell of a mechanic, and I followed in his footsteps.”
“He should have been proud.”
Chrissy snorted. “He was pretty old-school, and thought that I should be married with babies, not swinging a wrench in his workshop.” She sighed. “My sister was a wild child. I think it was her way of dealing with the loss of our mom. I always guessed that Jussy felt guilty knowing that mom died from having her. I also have a niece.” Chrissy’s voice hitched. “They disappeared before the invasion, and I had no idea where they were. I have no idea if they’re even alive.”
Levi knew that not knowing was sometimes harder than dealing with death. “You’re alive, Chrissy.” He leaned down, peppering slow kisses across her face. “I really like that you’re alive. I like the way you look, the way you smell, the way you throw sass at me.”
Her eyes were on his face. “I do not throw sass.”
“Woman, you have enough attitude for three women.” He caught her hand as she swung at him. “You’re also good at your work. Cool as ice in the field, and you swing a wrench like a pro.”
She giggled. “I only aimed for your head once.”
“The way we strike sparks off each other, I doubt it will be the only time.” He kissed her now, slow and deep. He slid his tongue into her mouth, tangling with hers. She lifted a leg, wrapping it around him.
“I should let you sleep,” he growled.
“I’m fine,” she said huskily.
He was too selfish not to have her. He needed to be inside her. “I want to watch your face this time,” he murmured. “I want to watch everything on your face when I’m inside you, when you come.”
They moved together, and he pulled her towel away. Pushing her back, he cupped her breasts, tugging on her nipples.
She sighed, moving restlessly.
When he slid his hand between her legs, she was already damp and ready for him. “All mine.” He lifted his fingers and licked. “And so sweet. So much sweet hidden under the attitude.”