Page 11

Chapter 11

Giva lay in Dax’s arms, relishing the closeness, selfishly wishing they could stay there longer. Hidden. Safe.

The man cared about the world with its tenuous hold on peace and the lives of twenty-five million people whose lives could be destroyed with the push of a button.

Or, in this case, with the scan of an iris and then a push of a button.

“How easy is it to replace a biometric scanner?” Giva asked.

“I don’t know. If we were in a big modern city like New York or LA, it might be possible to locate and replace one within a couple of hours.”

“In Croatia?” she asked.

His arms tightened around her. “I doubt anyone would keep such a device in stock here.”

“I overheard Maas say he could have one flown in overnight,” Giva said. “That would give us time to get out, notify the team and get back to stop Maas from setting off the EMP.”

“If he can’t fix the one I broke, first,” Dax said. “For all we know, he could’ve fixed it already.”

“In which case, he would already have sent the EMP,” Giva reasoned. “We’d be too late to stop him. But if we leave now, we could get help and stop him from doing it again.”

“We’re not going anywhere until those guards come back through.” Dax shifted backward enough to give her some space.

Giva turned over to face him. “What will you do if the Nexus Collective’s plan goes through?”

Dax shook his head. “I’d do my best to let the world know who exactly was responsible and hope they believed me.” He brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “Maybe we’d avert a world war.”

“And if nothing you can do will prevent a world war? What then?” she whispered, fascinated by every move his lips made as he spoke.

“I’d gather the people I love, my sister and my brothers in arms and find a tiny island no one remembers and live out my life away from all the bullshit of war and killing.” He leaned close and brushed his lips across hers. “Would you come with me?”

Her heart swelled with warmth. “Would you want me to come? We just met a few days ago.”

“I feel like I’ve known you for much longer than that. Like the minutes we’ve been together equaled days. A crash course in getting to know you.” He grinned. “I like what I know so far.”

Her chest tightened. This man had lost the love of his life once already. “Do you believe there is only one right person for you in the world?” she asked softly.

His brow creased. “What do you mean?”

Giva shrugged. “After losing your wife, do you believe you could ever love again?” Giva held up her hands. “Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to declare your undying love for me. I just wonder if you believe there could be another person you could love as much as the one you lost.”

“My mother once told me that, when I was born, she couldn’t imagine loving another child as much as she loved me. She was afraid when she got pregnant with my sister that she wouldn’t love her as much as her first child. It worried her until they laid my sister in her arms, and she realized her heart was capable of loving more than one child.”

“Children are different than wives and lovers,” Giva said.

“True, but the principle still applies. The human heart is capable of so much love if you’re open to it.”

She wanted to ask but couldn’t... Would you have room in your heart to love me?

Giva had been so heartbroken over the loss of her family that she’d gone all in with her military training. Being a woman in a male-dominated career, she’d avoided the pitfalls of love, afraid of having her heart broken by loss or betrayal.

Now, lying in Dax’s arms, she realized what she’d been missing. The connection. Having someone to share life’s moments with, both good and bad. Knowing someone had your back and she would have his. Someone who wouldn’t judge her for not being soft and feminine enough. Someone who cared what happened to the people he loved and about innocent strangers who had never asked to be part of a war.

Someone like Dax.

Her heart stopped for a moment as she stared into Dax’s eyes. Then it beat so fast it made her head spin. She opened her mouth to speak some of the thoughts flying around in her head but closed it again.

Too soon.

If she told him she was having feelings for him, he could spook and run in the opposite direction. He’d obviously loved his wife very much. Though he talked about humans having room in their hearts to love so many more, was he ready to be open to more? To her?

He had asked her to join him on the island with all his friends and loved ones.

A seed of hope sprouted in Giva.

Dax’s brow wrinkled, his lips quirking on the corners. “You look like you have a thousand thoughts running through your head. Care to share?”

She almost burst out with a nervous laugh. Giva clamped her lips shut to keep that from happening. When she had control of her thoughts and mouth, she said, “Just going through different scenarios of how we can handle the situation.”

It was a lie. She should have been thinking about their options and how they could get back into the command center and destroy the system and device Maas had created to send EMPs to specific targets.

“Even if we are able to shut down this attempt,” Giva said, “what then?”

Dax’s brow furrowed. “Maas has more than 7000 satellites in orbit. I’m not even sure how many of those he equipped with the ability to send electromagnetic pulses. We’d have to locate and destroy those.”

“Dmytro is very good at computers, hacking and the like. Is he good enough to locate the satellites and effectively disable them?”

“I don’t know. We have to stop Maas first, then gain access to his data and programs. There are a lot smarter people than me who could make that happen. They chose me for this job because of my looks and combat skills.” He grinned.

“Same.” Giva reached out and brushed the lock of hair that had fallen over Dax’s forehead. “But you’re much better looking than Evan Maas.”

“Flattery will get you anywhere you want to go.”

Giva trailed her fingers from his forehead, across his temple and down to follow the line of his jaw to his mouth. “What if I want to stay here?” she whispered and leaned in to press her lips to his.

His arms tightened around her, crushing her to his chest as he claimed her lips in a hungry kiss.

She opened to him, meeting his tongue thrust for thrust. For a moment, she forgot where she was and the danger they faced. She pushed the weight of the world to the back of her mind and lost herself in the kiss.

When he finally raised his head, he smiled down at her.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about that king-sized bed and a rain check.”

“We have to get out of here alive before you can collect on that rain check,” she said.

Dax nodded, his smile fading. He glanced around the desk, skirting to the door the guards had gone through.

“Has it been long enough?” she asked, not ready to leave his arms, but knowing they couldn’t stay hidden forever. “Do you think they’ll come back?”

“They’ve been gone a while. Maybe they’re outside, searching the streets for us,” he suggested.

“If that’s the case, that would make four less guards we have to fight our way through.”

He nodded. “A pistol and a stun gun aren’t much when we’re up against guards armed with submachineguns and military-grade rifles.”

A heavy weight settled on her chest. “We’re going back to the command center, aren’t we?”

“I’m going back. I need you to stay here and watch for the opportunity to get out when you can. You have to get to the team and let them know what we found.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere without you. We’re partners in this gig.”

He captured her face between her palms. “Twenty-five million people need one of us to get out and spread the word. I’m going back to do what I can to stall or stop Maas from starting World War III. Promise me you’ll get out and let the team know what’s happening…? I need to know you’ll do this.”

“And you need someone to have your back,” she insisted.

“You heard Maas. If they recapture you, Maas will use you to get to me.” Dax’s gaze held hers. “I’d tell them anything they wanted to know to keep them from hurting you.”

“You can’t,” she said. “The needs of the many... You know the saying. My single life is insignificant compared to the lives of millions.”

“It’s significant to me,” he said. “Promise.”

“If I don’t?”

He sighed. “You’re a stubborn woman.”

“You’re a stubborn man.”

“It broke my heart when I lost my wife.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I don’t know if I could live through losing another person I care so deeply about.”

A smile curled her lips. “You care about me?”

He nodded. “More than I thought I could.” Dax snorted softly. “Against my better judgment. I don’t know how it happened so fast, but it did. Please,” he begged, “don’t die.”

She cupped his face in her hand, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye. “I’ll do my best not to. Whatever this is between us...I want it to last.” Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Forever.”

They kissed and clung to each other like lovers about to take their last breaths.

As much as she hated leaving Dax, she knew he’d be better off going in alone. If they tortured her, he’d cave. Once they had the information they wanted, they’d kill both of them anyway. Then, there would be no one to warn the world.

“I’m going for help,” Giva said.

Dax nodded. “I’m going back to stall or stop Maas.”

Giva pushed the pistol toward him. “Take it. You might need it more than I will. A pistol is better than nothing against a submachine gun or semi-automatic rifle.

He shook his head. “Too dangerous. I have the stun gun and the plastic knife. I’ll be creative.” He winked, rolled out from beneath the table and held out his hand to help her up. He gave her the code for the keypads and then gave her one last, hard kiss.

He turned and headed back toward the command center, disappearing through a door into a narrow, stone passage.

For a moment, Giva stared after Dax, a hard lump lodged in her throat. Would they live through the night? Of course, they would.

She refused to believe otherwise.

But first, she had a job to do. If she was to help him, she had to get out quickly and return with the cavalry.