The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(42)

Taking another long sip, Lindsey straddled his hips and grinned down at him. This time she did the pouring, and he lifted his head to catch the stream running off her elongated nipples.

“I’m really, really drunk now,” Lindsey confessed.

“You don’t have duty tomorrow, right?”

“No, do you?”

“Not until the afternoon.”

“Plenty of time to sober up then.”

Lindsey shook out her hair, finally freeing it entirely. It was still a bit damp, but looked insanely sexy. Her wetness against his stomach was making him hard again. He was convinced she was going to be the death of him.

Their wristlets chiming simultaneously startled them, and Lindsey accidently spilled some liquor on her as she quickly activated the screen. Torran sat up and licked her arm to catch the trickles of tequila before checking his own wristlet. The saltiness of her skin tasted good with the liquor.

It was a city-wide announcement.

“So he surrendered,” Lindsey said, relief in her voice.

“It’s the right thing to do.” Torran read the release from the government swiftly. It was carefully worded, but it was clear President Cabot would not be swayed from portraying Admiral Kirkpatrick as a traitor.

“Who’s Legatus Martel?” Lindsey glanced at Torran curiously.

Catching up with her reading, he said, “That was the title Admiral Kirkpatrick was supposed to have before they granted him the right to keep his former rank. Martel is a name I’m not acquainted with, but she must be the new leader of the SWD.”

“Marilyn Martel.” Lindsey frowned. “So is this one of President Cabot’s appointees?”

“Most likely.”

Lindsey ran her fingers gradually through her hair. “It’s a familiar name though.”

“No inclusion of her bio. Weird.”

Lindsey lifted her eyes and pouted. “Very.”

“We’ll worry about it tomorrow,” Torran said, his fingers tracing down her arm gently.

“More unknowns. I hate not knowing something.” She frowned, her fingers tightening on the neck of the bottle.

Carefully selecting his words, Torran said, “Well, sometimes the unknown isn’t bad, right?”

Cocking her head to regard him, her somber expression was a little unsettling. Then he realized she was actually quite deep in thought. Her eyes were fixated beyond him. It was a look he’d seen on her face when they’d been outside the wall. It was almost like watching a computer at work: cold, aloof, dealing with the facts. She blinked once and her focus was clearly back on him.

“Well, I like the known better,” she said teasingly. “Like when I wondered what was in those jeans of yours and now I know.”

Torran melted into her kiss. He didn’t even mind when the tequila bottle toppled over and soaked the blankets. Dragging her into his arms, he told himself he was just having fun, but already the cracks around his heart were letting her essence slip in.



*



Lindsey awoke with a start. It took her a second to comprehend it was her wristlet vibrating that had awakened her. Activating the screen, she saw the message was incoming from her secret program. Instantly, her heart started to beat wildly with excitement. Still a little tipsy from the tequila, she edged out from beneath Torran’s long leg and arm and scooted to the ladder.

Once on the main floor, she sat at her computer array beneath the elevated bed, and she logged into the program. After several long, excruciating seconds, the message downloaded. It was from Maria. Twisting her mouth, Lindsey quickly scrolled through it. The message was short, but worrying.

Lindsey, Dwayne and I need to talk to you and Commandant Pierce ASAP. Call tomorrow at exactly 1600 hours.

Realizing she needed to be careful with how many times she contacted Maria, Lindsey hesitated, weighing whether or not she should respond or just wait until the designated time. Finally, she typed in a short note signaling she’d received the message and logged out of the program. Gnawing on her thumbnail, she stared at the screens. She wanted to hack into the SWD and government sites and search out information on the new Legatus, but didn’t dare do it while Torran was around.

“You look worried.”

Lindsey gazed upward to see Torran peering at her over the rail of her bed.

“I’m always worried in the back of my mind.” With a sheepish smile, she shrugged slightly. “Well, not worried exactly. I’m always got some fixation lodged in the gray matter.”

“Sort of like you got a computer program running in the back of your mind sorting things out?” Torran ventured.

Surprised that he got it so right, Lindsey gazed at him in awe.

“You get a look in your eyes. Like you’re processing something.” Torran slipped over the side of the bed and dropped down. “Considering your very nice computer display, I’m going to guess that you’re good at working with them, too.”

“My father was a programmer. He taught me everything I know.”

“But you had the natural talent, too, huh?”

“You can say that.” Lindsey uneasily shifted her weight on her chair, not willing to let Torran too far into her personal headspace.

“But you’re a grunt. Not a programmer.”

Lindsey swiveled toward him and shrugged. “I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to follow in someone else’s footsteps but make my own path.”