Mission: Her Protection (Team 52 #1)(10)

Lachlan shoved the old memories away and focused. There was an empty office he assumed belonged to the base leader, Dr. Rowan Schafer. He had a grainy, black and white picture of her that was particularly unflattering. They hadn’t found her yet.

Smith opened the door to the attached storage room. Nothing.

Lachlan touched his earpiece. All the team wore state-of-the-art microdot communicators. So tiny they were barely visible to the naked eye.

“Clear. Whatever did this, it isn’t here now.” Lachlan glanced at Smith and the man nodded.

“Clear.” Axel’s voice.

“Clear,” Blair added. “We’re starting work on bagging the bodies.”

Lachlan nodded at Smith. They moved back through the tunnels and into the main lab dome. Benches and shelves had been tipped over and torn up. Glass crunched under his boots.

As they moved to join the others in the rec dome, something danced along Lachlan’s senses. He turned in a slow circle. The lab was silent and cold. Nothing moved.

“Boss?” Smith asked.

“Go. I want to take one last look around. See if I can find this object they discovered in the ice.”

Smith nodded and tapped his ear. “Just holler if you need me.”

After he’d left, Lachlan carefully traveled the perimeter of the dome. There had definitely been a struggle in here, and something had rampaged through the lab. He reached the back wall and noted several boxes on the floor, and a shelf leaning against the wall. A shelf?

He studied the waist-high cabinet. The shelf looked like it would fit inside. He spotted another one tossed on the floor.

His eyes narrowed. The cabinet doors were ajar the tiniest bit.

Something moved inside.

Lachlan whipped his CXM rifle up and aimed. With his foot, he kicked the door open.

A woman sprang out with a yell and rammed into him. She was tall and solid, and he staggered back into the bench behind him.

She struggled wildly. Lachlan tried to contain her flailing arms without hurting her. Then he slipped on ice and they went down.

“Fuck,” he bit out.

The woman managed to straddle him and lifted a Glock. Her hands were shaking, her blue eyes a little unfocused, but there was a look of determination on her face. Her teeth were clenched together, tightening an already strong jawline. Dark-red hair escaped from a black, knitted hat on her head.

“Hey.” Lachlan held his palms up. “I’m here to help. My team was sent to find out what happened here.”

She blinked pale-blue eyes rimmed with darker blue that looked strangely familiar. “You’re not the…thing?”

Thing? “No. Just a man.”

“You’re wearing all white…I thought…” She shook her head. “They’re dead.” Her blue-tinged lips trembled.

Lachlan realized her shaking wasn’t all fear or shock. She was dressed in dark cargo pants and a green sweater—which he was man enough to notice clung to very nice curves. However, the clothes clearly weren’t enough to keep her warm in the cool temperature.

“I know,” he said quietly.

Damn, he wasn’t usually the one calming down victims and witnesses they encountered. He usually left that to Seth or Axel. Both had enough charm to make anyone feel easy with them. Well, Seth only turned his on when it suited him, but for Axel, it was like breathing.

But for some reason, Lachlan wanted to comfort this woman.

He reached up and touched her arm. “Let me help you?”

The pistol stayed stubbornly aimed at his chest. Lachlan weighed the odds, then in a lightning-fast move, he gripped her wrist and reared up. He spun her around until her back was flush against the front of him, her curvy butt resting in his lap.

She gasped, bucking against him. She tried to wrench her arm and the gun out of his grip.

His lips brushed her ear. “Just relax. You don’t need the gun.” He didn’t want to hurt her, but he tightened his hold until the gun clattered on the floor.

Her shaking increased. “They’re dead.” A tortured whisper.

“You’re cold.” Lachlan wrapped his arms around her, sharing his heat. “We need to get you warmed up.”

She held herself stiff.

“Let me help you,” he said. “I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

She was stiff for another long second, then she relaxed into him. She turned her head, their faces only inches apart. “Okay.”

He nodded. “Okay.” She had a faint smattering of freckles he found pretty attractive.

They stayed there, him wrapped around her, for a full minute.

“I’m going to find you some warmer clothes and blankets.” Lachlan moved to stand.

Her hands gripped his wrists. “Don’t leave me.”

There was fear buried deep in her quiet words. Lachlan felt an insane need to protect this woman. “Okay.” He touched his ear. “Callie? Can you find some cold-weather clothes and blankets, and bring them to the lab? We have a survivor.”

“Roger that, boss,” was Callie’s steady response.

For now, Lachlan kept his hold on the woman. He focused on keeping her warm, and not on the curvy ass nestled against him.

“What’s your name?” she whispered.

“Lachlan.”

“They’re all dead, Lachlan.” Her voice hitched.