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Kai stood and shook the water off.

A moment later, Jameson appeared at the ladder. “Kai.” He handed the electro weapon up to the other man.

I stared at Jameson, a million emotions storming around inside me. He’d almost died.

He reached the top and straightened, running a hand over his head and shaking off some water.

“Are you all right?” My voice was tight.

“Yeah.”

I strode up to him. “Are youinsane?” I smacked his chest. “You dove into the water with a giant monster.”

“I had to save Lisa. And we needed to get the electro weapon.”

“You risked your life. You almost got eaten.” I realized my voice had risen several notches.

“Hey.” He grabbed my hands, holding them to his chest. “It’s okay, Greer. I’m okay.”

I wasn’t. I couldn’t get a hold on my emotions.

All I could think about was losing him.

“Take a deep breath,” he said.

I managed to drag one in, then another. That’s when I saw a deep scratch on his neck and shoulder. It was smeared with black, oily, monster blood.

“You’re hurt, and you’ve got monster goop on you. It could be poisonous.”

“North will?—”

“No, he’s busy with Lisa. I’ll look at you.”

Jameson eyed me. “All right.” He looked at the people hovering nearby. “Everyone, that’s it for now. Let’s regroup.”

I took his hand and tugged him toward the base door.

CHAPTER TEN

Jameson

Ilet Greer pull me into her quarters. Tension was vibrating off her.

She’d been scared.

For me.

My dad had scared my mom plenty of times. He’d told me that he let her process it by staying silent, and giving her whatever she needed.

Greer pressed the door control and it slid closed.

“Take your armor and clothes off,” she said.

“Ah…”

She reached up and started unfastening my chest armor. “No arguments. Get in the shower, Jameson. We need to get this muck off you.”

“Okay.” I stripped off my armor and set it against the wall. In the bathroom, I shed my wet clothes and stepped under the spray.