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The Talon lowered, the wash from the rotors flattening the grass as it hovered nearby. I yanked open the side door, leaped up, then held my hand out to Greer. I pulled her inside.

The others leaped aboard.

“Kai! Man the turret.”

“I’m on it.” He leaped into the main turret seat at the back. A second later, he opened fire on the monster dogs.

The Talon lifted into the night sky. We watched as Kai decimated the canines below.

“Take that, you ugly fuckers,” Marc said.

Then, he staggered and collapsed into a seat.

“Marc,” Zeke bit out.

Marc’s head lolled. “Tired…so damn tired.”

“I warned you, you idiot.” North sat beside him as Marc slumped, unconscious. Our medic quickly checked his vitals. “He’s fine. Pulse is strong.” North fished around in his medical backpack, then pressed a monitoring patch to Marc’s neck. “I’ll keep an eye on him. He needs a second dose of nano-meds and bed rest.”

I sat beside Greer, and she slumped against me.

“Well, Hunter Squad sure knows how to show a girl a good time.”

I kissed the top of her head. She hadn’t fallen apart. That strength of hers had held up. I reached out and rubbed some smeared blood off her face. Hell, it was probably my blood. “Want a job? We have a spot free.”

She laughed. “Ah, no. I like my job just fine, thanks. Less monsters, gore, and fangs.”

I hugged her tighter. “North, can you please check Greer’s ankle again?”

She straightened. “No, check his chest first.”

I shook my head. “I’m not getting checked until you’ve been checked.”

She huffed out a breath. “You’re as bad as my dad.”

I grimaced. “I really hope you don’t think of me and your dad in the same way.”

She smiled, and even with her tangled hair, and dirt and blood smeared on her face, she looked beautiful. “Absolutely not.”

North crouched in front of us. “You’ll both need a shot of nano-meds when we get back.” He wrapped a clean bandage around Greer’s ankle, and I hated every wince she made. He turned to me. “You’re next, Steele.”

I leaned back and he pulled the bandages off my chest.

Greer hissed. I looked down and winced myself. It wasn’t pretty. The claw gouges were ragged and uneven, the flesh was red and inflamed. My skin was streaked with blood.

North didn’t blink an eye and set to work. He cleaned the wounds and they stung like hell. I tilted my head back and looked at the ceiling. Greer’s fingers entwined with mine.

“I’ll give you another shot of painkillers,” North said.

I grunted. “Do it.” My mind was whirring with everything I needed to do. “I need to organize the removal of the first monster carcass from the dam. And I want the area where I killed the second one scouted. There could be more of those lizard humanoids.”

Greer squeezed my hand. “You need some rest, Jameson. Time to recover.”

My gaze traced over her face. No, all I needed was her. I smiled at her. “Kai, I’m leaving you in charge of that. I’m taking a few days off.”

She beamed at me.

Kai leaned forward in the turret chair. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of things. When was the last time you actually took time off?”