Page 73 of Rogue Mission

But he’s already out of sight. Doing whatever it is they do.

I’m about to ask where we’re going when there’s suddenly a doorway opening in front of us.

“How did you do that?” I ask with wonder.

Justice said this house was full of the latest tech bells and whistles—listing things I’ve never heard of—but this still takes me by surprise. This place is right out of an action movie.

“Marshall or one of the others, hit the switch.” Camile moves with fluid intensity as she enters the hidden room, turning on lights, hitting a code on the wall panel.

“They can control everything in this house from their phones.”

A large, heavy door slides closed behind us. Presto-chango.

The air shifts around us. A quiet hiss filling the space. My ears pop, surprising me.

“Wait…is that depressurization?” I ask.

Allison looks up from something she has in her hand and gives me a fast grin. “Only you would know that.”

“You can take the scientist out of the lab, but you can’t take the science out of her. Now, what can I do down here to help?”

There’s no way I can stand around and watch all of them work. I’ve never been one to laze around, and that just wouldn’t sit right with me given that everyone else is part of this operation.

Operation? Mission? I don’t know the lingo.

But they’re protecting me. Protecting all of us. Fighting to complete their job of solving the case that involves a man that has done something bad.

On top of the very important job of getting Beast back.

“I’m going to help in every way I can,” I announce.

“Can you handle a weapon?” Camile asks, moving to a cabinet that hugs one of the long walls. There she enters a code,presses her palm over a panel, and puts her eye against a small round screen.

Oh my god. I really do want to help but I’m totally out of my league here. Don’t they have something sciencey I can do?

“Uh…define a weapon.” I stammer, still a little shocked at the speed at which we’ve gone from standing in the living room to being inside some kind of black-ops bunker, gearing up for war.

“A gun?” she asks, over her shoulder as she moves things around.

“A heat gun?” I shrug, because I don’t know what else to do with my body right now.

My muscles are twitchy. And a little sore from being with Justice. But I cannot think about the amazing sex right now.

“Probably nothing with projectiles,” I admit. “I think I’d need practice so I don’t shoot anyone I’m not supposed to. I could maybe mix up some chemicals to make a bomb?”

They both gape at me.

“I mean I could. I know all the stuff that explodes when you combine it.”

“Do not say that to Justice,” Allison warns. “He would lose his shit if he thought you were going to make explosive devices.”

Camile gets a really big smile on her face and I am stunned at her resilience. She says, “Beast, Marshall, and Truck on the other hand will freaking love having you on the team. Not that they can’t make that stuff, because SEALs do all that, but I bet they will get all down in the weeds with you and geek out on chemical reactions.”

“You think?” I ask, suddenly not feeling so out of place. Maybe I can contribute.

Camile shoves a tall canister into my hands. “Yep. How about aerosol cans?”

“That’s a yes…” I look down at the label, confusion wrinkling my brow. “Are we expecting a bear?”