Her Fierce Warrior (X-Ops #4)(24)

That wasn't a very comforting thought.

As Angelo crossed the well-tended courtyard between the buildings, a  cold wind kicked up, and he stuck his hands in the pocket of the  lightweight jacket he'd borrowed from Landon's closet.

While John might think Minka was making amazing strides when it came to  controlling her hybrid nature, Angelo wasn't so sure. She seemed fine  now, but that was because he was the only thing keeping her from  crashing and burning completely. He didn't like to think about how bad  and how far she was going to fall when he got yanked out from under her.  Even if things worked out and he stayed longer than even John wanted  him to, at some point, he'd go back to Special Forces. He was terrified  at the thought of how Minka would handle that.                       
       
           



       

A herd of office drones were wandering out of Zarina's building when  Angelo got there. As he waited for them to file past him, he was struck  by how closely his relationship with Minka was beginning to mirror that  of his mom and dad's in some ways. He and Minka weren't married, but  there was a strong connection between them he didn't quite understand.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. He'd spent his whole  adult life avoiding getting involved with a woman who might come to  depend on him. Now, he'd stumbled across one in the middle of nowhere,  and suddenly he was hip deep in the very situation he'd been trying to  avoid. He only prayed his relationship with Minka-whatever it  was-wouldn't end the way his parents' had.

God, anything but that.

He blinked back tears as he entered the building, telling himself it was  the wind. As he weaved through the maze of hallways, he forced himself  to think of something less depressing. Like how much fun he and Minka  had had last night.

He'd let Minka shower first, then sat outside the door, chatting with  her about the movie. He'd tried his best not to look, but the lure of  Minka being so close, knowing she was naked and wet on the other side of  the shower curtain, was hard to resist.

He'd only taken a quick peek, or so he told himself. When he saw her  silhouette against the wet curtain, it was stunning-all curves and high  peaks-and if Minka hadn't suddenly bent to turn off the water, he wasn't  sure he could have stopped himself from joining her. Forcing himself to  look away from that rounded bottom was one of the more difficult things  he'd ever attempted. Even through the shower curtain, he could see her  ass was spectacular.

Minka had eyed him curiously when she'd walked out of the bathroom  brushing her long hair. Probably because she could hear his heart  thumping like a runaway elephant. But she hadn't commented on it.

His shower had been much shorter-and colder-than Minka's. He didn't even  want to imagine how embarrassed they'd both be if she curled up on top  of him to sleep only to find a hard-on in place of the comfy human  mattress she expected.

Even so, Minka had crawled around on him for a few minutes, kneading his  chest with her slender fingers until she found a position she liked.  Then she'd gracefully coiled herself alongside him, her left leg bent  and resting casually across his cock, which was barely contained by his  boxer briefs. Her tank-top-covered breasts-without the confines of a bra  like earlier in the day-had pressed lovingly against his abs, her cheek  and flower-scented hair resting on his chest right below his chin.

His cock had hardened of its own accord, but Minka only nuzzled even  closer to him, pressing her thigh against his erection and dropping off  to sleep. He, on the other hand, hadn't fallen asleep for a long time,  but he wasn't complaining.

Angelo was so immersed in his erotic daydream he didn't realize he was  lost until he almost walked into a women's restroom. Swearing softly, he  turned around to retrace his steps, hoping to find something that  looked familiar. He was just about to break down and ask somebody for  directions to Zarina's office when he heard Minka scream his name.





Chapter 8


If the sound of Minka shouting his name hadn't propelled Angelo into  instant combat mode, the feral growl that immediately followed sure as  hell did. He took off running. Shit. That growl meant Minka had  completely shifted into her hybrid form, and if he didn't get to her  fast, she was going to get hurt or hurt someone else. He didn't want  either to happen.

Angelo mentally kicked himself in the ass for being so stupid. He should never have left her alone. It was too soon for that.

As he sped down the hallway toward Zarina's office, he spotted Minka  disappearing around the far corner, a man he didn't recognize chasing  her. Another man stood outside Zarina's office, a pistol in his hand.  Angelo didn't even hesitate. He didn't care if the guy was packing a  freaking M4, he wasn't keeping Angelo away from Minka. But the barrel of  the pistol was too round and too thin to be a normal gun. It was a  tranquilizer gun. And Angelo had a pretty good idea what it was for.

How the hell had this guy gotten here before him?

Then Angelo saw Coleman step out of Zarina's office, his face a little  pale, the front of his suit jacket shredded. Coleman must have somehow  gotten Minka alone and done something to scare the hell out of her.  Angelo didn't know what Coleman had been up to, but since the man was an  asshole, it was probably something worth kicking his ass over. Angelo  sorely wanted to stop and beat the shit out of the man right then, but  he didn't have time. He had to catch up to Minka before she got out of  the building-or someone shot her.                       
       
           



       

At Angelo's approach, the man with the dart gun turned and lifted his  hand in the universal symbol for "back off." The three parallel  scratches across the guy's face weren't serious, but they were deep  enough to show that he'd tried to get in Minka's way.

"Stand down," the guy ordered. "We have this under control."

Angelo lowered his shoulder and put it right in the middle of the man's  chest, sending him flying. The guy hit the linoleum floor, thumping his  head so hard he was probably out cold before he finished sliding down  the hall. The dart gun went flying, bouncing and skipping along until it  came to a stop in a corner.

Coleman shouted something, but Angelo only slowed enough to turn down  the hallway where Minka and the guy chasing her had gone; then he put on  speed, frantic to catch up to her.

While he couldn't see either of them, it wasn't hard to figure out which  direction they'd gone. Minka's growls and snarls, mixed with shouting  as workers realized there was a hybrid loose in the building, was better  than a tracking beacon.

The corridor he was running down abruptly opened into a wide-open office  space filled to the max with those fabric-covered cubicle dividers. He  scanned the area, trying to find Minka.

A blur of movement to the right caught his attention, and he raced in  that direction, passing several members of the DCO's security team  herding people out of the building. Beyond them, the guy who'd been  chasing Minka was sneaking around the cubicle walls, a tranquilizer gun  in his hand. Angelo had no idea what was in those darts, but he had no  intention of letting that jackass put one in Minka.

Angelo caught up with the guy just as he entered a small, open area. The  man must have sensed him coming because he spun, trying to get the dart  gun up and pointed in his direction. Angelo blocked his arm, intending  to strip the weapon out of his hands and end the altercation quickly,  but the other guy was faster than he expected. He immediately disengaged  and shoved Angelo back with a palm strike to the chest, then brought  the weapon up to shoot him. Angelo jerked aside just as the gun released  a hiss of pressurized air and sent a dart zipping over his shoulder.

Fuck.

When the guy brought the weapon up this time, Angelo grabbed his wrist  and twisted. Knowing the man would almost certainly go for another  strike to the chest with his other hand, Angelo braced for it. The blow  hurt, but more importantly, the dirtbag had left himself open to a  counterattack. Angelo threw a good, old-fashioned haymaker, aiming for  the sweet spot on the left side of the guy's jaw, then ripped the dart  gun from his hand, tossing it aside and driving his fist solidly into  the man's gut. To make sure the guy wouldn't be getting up anytime soon,  Angelo lifted him and heaved him over the nearest cubicle-dividing  wall. The asshole landed with a crash that probably meant someone was  going to need a visit from IT.

Angelo spun around, searching for Minka.

He didn't have to look far. She stood on the far side of the open area,  her eyes glowing bright red, claws and fangs out, looking pissed off as  all hell. Had the sounds of fighting attracted her, or had she smelled  him and come running? Angelo hoped it was the latter.