Avenged (Altered #2)(67)
That couldn’t come fast enough.
The first month of PT had been hell. He’d been lucky to walk, they’d told him. The gunshot had ripped through tendons in his thigh, done more damage than they’d even expected. It had been a hard road.
But Nick had never been one to let anyone tell him he couldn’t do something. He’d put in long hours at the gym, suffered through the worst night cramps of his life.
It had been worth it.
Now he cursed the cane because it slowed him down, and he wanted to get to Kitty. Today was a hard day for her, and the sooner he saw her and knew she was all right, the better.
When he turned the corner to the main room, he found her at one of the desks. Probably skimming the internet. They all took turns watching the news, waiting for any indication that someone was testing Solvimine. So far, they’d found nothing, but she worried.
Seeing her loosened something in his chest.
Across the room, Luke Kincaid argued with the head of their department, Dr. Elizabeth Jenkins. From the beginning, Luke and Beth had rubbed each other the wrong way. Now, they were arguing over some chemistry thing Nick didn’t understand. Or maybe he didn’t care much. Right now, he only had eyes for Kitty.
She looked up as soon as he came in the room, had probably been listening for his thoughts. Anxiety lined her face. Standing, she wrapped her arms around her stomach. When there were only a few steps between them, she asked, “How did it go?”
Without a word, he swept forward and wrapped her with his arm. He still had to lean on the cane, but he did the best he could. Dropping his head, he planted a full-scale, five-alarm kiss on her mouth. When they finally pulled away, the lines around her eyes and mouth were less pronounced, and her eyes had softened.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much.” She smiled up at him. “Tell me.”
“He got ten years in Leavenworth.” Nick had spent the morning at Jeremy’s court martial. Jeremy hadn’t been discharged from the military when he went to work for Goldstone. JAG had levied a variety of crimes against him. Absence without leave, conspiracy, unlawful separation…the list went on. The compound of the maximum punishments would have put him behind bars for nearly twenty years, but the judge had taken pity on him.
Still, a decade behind bars at Leavenworth was no joke.
Kitty’s head sagged. Her eyes closed. “I’m glad it’s over.”
He could understand that. She’d waffled, during the pre-trial phase, between feeling bad for Jeremy and thinking he should get what he deserved. In the end, she hadn’t wanted to be at the trial, hadn’t believed she could listen to his thoughts while he was tried for his crimes.
Nick was glad it was over, too. She needed closure.
He wrapped her into his arms again. They stood together, allowing the chaos of the staging area for their task force to float around them.
What had been an empty room two months ago now boasted an arsenal of computers. Next door, a lab devoted to studying Solvimine bustled with three other researchers—Beth’s team.
When Nick had joined the Army, he had expected to be a Ranger, to work in special ops. But the work that he and the rest of them were doing here went beyond classified, clear up to top secret. He couldn’t think of anything more important.
Between his recovery and setting up this base they were stretched pretty thin. Especially Kitty. Nick knew how hard it was for her to be in enclosed spaces with a group of people.
She needed a break. He hoped to give her some time to relax tonight.
“I thought you might want to get out of here for the evening,” he offered. “I already cleared it with Martins. We’ve got the night off.”
She frowned, uncertain. “Are you sure? Blue and Seth aren’t back yet, and I don’t want to leave Luke here alone…” They’d agreed that they needed to have a few people who were enhanced at the base at any one time. If a threat came, they wanted to be able to respond immediately.
“Luke isn’t alone. Kenny and Brian are here…somewhere.” Kenny and Brian had also come to work with the task force Martins had created to detect possible threats from Solvimine. A few of Fields’s other soldiers were still being cleared to work with them. Nick suspected Martins didn’t trust their motivations. They’d worked for Goldstone, after all. They’d taken orders from Fields.
Nick suspected Martins was trying to figure out what to do with them.
Or maybe Martins was waiting to see if the drug Beth was developing might work. She thought she could neutralize the effects of Solvimine. Martins would love that. The major had gotten a promotion when he was appointed to run their crazy team. But even being a lieutenant colonel didn’t sooth his anxiety.
Nick bet that Martins had never wanted to add, “wrangling a team of super-powered punks,” to his resume.
“I don’t know, Nick. I’m a bit tired…” She hadn’t been sleeping well. Even more reason they should get out of here.
“Come on, Kitty. Let me take you out.” He thought of the Italian restaurant where he’d made reservations for that night. When he’d dropped in on his way back to base, the place had smelled like garlic and sizzling meat. Two of his favorite scents.
She smiled. “Italian food, huh? Talk about playing hardball.” It was her favorite. Since discovering her pasta weakness, he’d cooked for her a few times a week, dishes his mom had taught him.