SharedObjectives (2 page)

Nate picked that moment to start waking up and squirming.
Much to her amazement, though, when he opened his beautiful blue eyes and saw
her, he smiled and held out his pudgy arms to her. Her baby remembered her.
Maybe they hadn’t been there as long as she feared.

She cradled Nate against her chest, hugging him tightly to
her, and did exactly what Dixie suggested. For the next two hours, she relaxed
and enjoyed the feel of her son in her arms.

By the time the helicopter landed, she’d almost drifted off
to sleep several times. Still, as soon as she stepped onto the solid ground she
felt a jolt of energy. She was free. And Nate was okay. Nothing else mattered.
She held her son out in front of her so she could look into his beautiful face
for a second before she brought him to her so she could cover him with kisses.
He was the only important thing in her life. If these people could keep him
safe, she would give them anything they wanted. Hell, she would even do it with
a smile on her face.

“Dixie told me I was to show you to your quarters.” Ben’s
surly voice interrupted her thoughts, reminding her how hard keeping a smile
might be under the circumstances.

She took a deep breath and looked at Nate again. Hard but
not impossible, she reminded herself. “Thank you.”

“Again, not doing it for you.” His voice held even more
disdain when it wasn’t competing with static and flight noise.

She wished she had the energy to be pissy back but she was
just too worn out. Besides, if she could prove to herself that she could be
nice to him, being nice to everyone else would be cake. “I don’t care why
you’re doing it. I’m grateful that you are.”

Her gaze lifted until she stared into the gentle blue eyes
she saw every day when she looked at Nate. Yeah, she was still hurt and angry
with Ben but she couldn’t hate him. Not when he’d given her Nate. It might have
been a devastating realization if she had the energy left to care at that
moment.

“I’m just following orders.”

Her laugh was hollow but it was the best she could manage.
“Aren’t we all?” She shook her head sadly and then nodded in the general
direction everyone else had gone. “The sooner you show me to my quarters, the
sooner you can be free of me.”

He murmured something that sounded suspiciously like, “If
only it were that easy,” but then started off at a brisk pace. After having to
practically jog to keep up with him, though, she quickly decided she’d misheard
him. The man obviously wanted nothing more than to ditch her. And, if his pace
was any judge, the sooner the better for him.

They came to an abrupt stop in front of a heavy metal door.
“This is where you’ll be staying. Dixie says you’re free to move about the camp
but I wouldn’t if I were you. The others aren’t very trusting.”

So she’d traded one prison for another. She rearranged Nate
so she could take the magnetic keycard from Ben. Well, if she got to keep her
son with her this time, she’d happily stay confined to her quarters. “I take it
everything I need to replicate my research will be provided?”

“We have a state-of-the-art laboratory that will be at your
disposal. Someone will be here to escort you there first thing in the morning.
And as soon as your palm has been programmed into its biometric scanner, you’ll
be free to come and go as you please.”

She swiped the key and breathed a sigh of relief when the
door popped open. “Great.” Light flooded the spacious room as she stepped over
the threshold, chasing away the last of the nervous knots that’d taken up
residence in her stomach. “I’ll be seeing you around, then.”

He cast her a doubtful look before saying, “I wouldn’t count
on it. You may be willing to help us out, but you’re still a geneticist.”

“And you’re still an unbending, closed-minded ass. It’s good
to see some things never change, don’t you think?”

Before he could answer, she nudged the door closed with her
hip. Okay, maybe being nice to him was more than she could manage right now.
She refused to take the blame for it completely though. Had he tried to be to
be civil to her, she would’ve been able to return the favor. And civil
should’ve been doable. She was here to save his freaking life after all.

Not his specifically of course. She was there to save all of
them. But, still, that should earn her a little courtesy. Did it though? No. He
couldn’t care less that she’d discovered a way to correct the flaw that made
them dependent on the NB-7 injections. Stubborn ass that he was, he’d probably
be the last one to go through the surgery because he didn’t trust her.

And what had she done to deserve his distrust? Fuck him
senseless for two weeks. Well, she’d certainly learned her lesson there.

A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts. “Who is
it?” she asked loudly. She might not have been happy with Ben right then, but
she knew he’d been telling her the truth when he’d warned her about some of the
people. There were bound to be some who were more than pissed about having her
here. And she couldn’t really blame them. Lisa might not have been one of the
people who experimented on the soldiers, but her expertise made her suspect.

“Dixie, ma’am. I brought some food for you and the little
one.”

She went to put Nate down but he immediately started
complaining. So when she opened the door she still had the little boy on her
hip. She’d been held captive in Dixie’s arms as he’d raced across the compound.
But, still, she didn’t remember him being as large or as intimidating then.
“Nate. His name is Nate.”

Dixie nodded as he carried a covered tray into the room. His
bulk seemed to fill the area, making it appear smaller. “I hope everything is
okay with your quarters.”

“Honestly, we just walked through the door when you dropped
by.” She took a second to glance around the space more for his benefit than to
actually judge it. It was a standard room. It had a small kitchenette, a
sleeping area and a work area. What more could she want? “It’s perfect. Thank
you.”

“Good. I’m glad. I respect your work immensely and want you
to be comfortable while you’re here.”

She stared at him for a second before saying, “You’re pretty
good at diplomacy. I almost believed you just now.”

He laughed good-heartedly as he crossed the room to put the
tray he carried down on the table. “You should. Believe me, that is. I really
appreciate what your research could mean for us. And I understand how
uncomfortable being here is for you.”

She followed him to the table and sat down with Nate on her
lap. “I’d imagine it’ll be a lot easier than where I was.” Nate wrapped his
arms around her neck and pulled her closer to him. “And I’m not all that
altruistic either. Everything I do to help you will help Nate when he gets old
enough to undergo surgery.”

Dixie nodded. “He’s a cute one. How old is he?”

“Just over eleven months.”

Dixie rummaged through a couple cabinets and came back with
plates and silverware. “Does his father know about him?”

“I’d rather not talk about his father. We didn’t exactly end
things on the best of terms.”

“That’s a given. If you were on the best of terms, chances
are you wouldn’t have ended things.” He took the lid off the platter and
started dishing food for both of them. “Hope you don’t mind if I stay and grab
a bite to eat with you. I’m always starving after a mission.”

She smiled with real affection for the first time in a long
time as he placed a plate in front of her. “Not at all. It’s nice to have the
company.” She hadn’t had a dinner guest since even before being taken into
custody.

“Is the food okay for Nate?”

As if on cue, her son picked up a piece of the meat and
shoved it into his mouth. “I don’t hear any complaints.”

“It’s ham, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t. After being in custody I doubt I’ll ever question
a warm meal again. I could eat sand beetles right now if they were cooked
properly.”

“There’s a proper way to cook sand beetles?” He looked at
her quizzically as he loaded his fork up with the ham. “Huh. Learn something
new every day.”

She chuckled at his response but then they ate in silence.
Once their plates had been cleared, though, they picked up their conversation
with relative ease. And when Nate finally fell asleep in her arms, she placed
him on the bed. She turned toward the kitchen expecting to find Dixie leaving
but instead he was busy making coffee.

“Ben’s wrong,” Dixie said, his back still toward her.

She couldn’t resist laughing at the statement. “He’s wrong
about a lot of things. I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”

“You’re a good person.”

She took the cup of hot salvation he held out to her and
inhaled its heavenly fragrance. “I haven’t had coffee in…” She let the sentence
die when it brought back too many painful memories of her captivity.

“You don’t want to talk about Ben?”

She took a sip and let the hot beverage soothe her suddenly
edgy nerves before answering. “Ben has his reasons for his feelings. He didn’t
know who I worked for and I didn’t know he was genetically enhanced when we
met. When it all came out, he felt the government had found a new and inventive
way to torture him.”

“It doesn’t sound as if he was exactly forthcoming with you,
either.”

“I realized it was an honest omission on his part. He’s a
techie, not a mercenary like you, so the differences weren’t quite as
noticeable. But had I been paying closer attention, I would’ve guessed anyway.
It just didn’t matter to me.”

“A lover’s genetic status wasn’t important to you?” He
looked at her skeptically. “Forgive me if I call bullshit on that one. I’ve had
women stand up and move to the other side of trains to avoid being near me. I
don’t even want to tell you what they’d do to avoid being under me.”

The loneliness that haunted his eyes was something she could
easily relate to. Suddenly wanting to comfort him, she reached across the table
and let her hand rest on top of his. “Believe it or not, being a geneticist for
the government doesn’t exactly have men beating down my bedroom door either.”
She ran her thumb over his hand affectionately. “That’s probably why I never
tell anyone what I do—did—for a living. It got to where I couldn’t stand the
wariness in their eyes. Like if they fell asleep they’d wake up in a lab somewhere.”

He cocked his head and studied her a little more closely.
“Did you ever tell Ben that?”

She looked down as she remembered the fight they’d had.
“It’s hard to see your enemy as anything else.”

“But you said it didn’t matter to you.”

She glanced over at Nate as he shifted in his sleep. “Ben
was never my enemy. I, however, was his before I ever said hello.”

“You two are going to have to work together. I can order him
to be civil. But you don’t exactly fall under my jurisdiction.” He looked down
at her hand as if it were an alien entity. “Will you be okay with that
arrangement?”

“Will we be working together a lot?” She didn’t hate Ben but
she wasn’t fond of the way he looked at her and talked to her with disdain.

“As much as it pains me to admit, Ben is the brains of this
group.” Dixie shifted nervously and, for the first time since they’d met,
looked uncomfortable. “He’s going to be assisting you.”

“I’ve already perfected the procedure. I don’t need an
assistant, just a laboratory to work in.”

He took a heavy breath in and released it slowly. “Okay,
he’s not assisting so much as…” His words died as he looked away from her
uncomfortably again. It was then that the pieces slid together for Lisa.

No longer feeling the need to comfort him, she pulled her
hand away. “Keeping an eye on me and double-checking my work.”

Dixie had the grace to look guilty before he nodded.

“I see.” She stood slowly and walked over to the door before
turning back to look at him. “Say what you will about Ben, but at least he’s
always been straightforward. His feelings about me are the same to my face as
they are behind my back.” She opened the door and gestured into the night. “If
you don’t mind. I’ve had a long day and tomorrow is going to be,” she rubbed
her temple with her free hand as a headache bloomed, “difficult.”

He rose gracefully from the table and crossed the room in
quick, even strides. “I understand.” He stopped when he stood in the doorway.
“Before I go, though, I want you to know that having Ben verify your findings
wasn’t my idea.”

She continued to rub her temple as he spoke. “Well, it sure
as hell wasn’t Ben’s. He’s under the impression we’re not going to be seeing
each other anymore. He’s pretty damn happy about that too.”

“I know. I’m going to clear up that misunderstanding as soon
as I leave here.” He ran a finger down her cheek until it rested under her chin
and then forced her to look up at him. “At the end of the day, he and I are
both just soldiers fighting someone else’s war. This order goes over either of
our heads.”

For one moment Lisa thought he might kiss her. Which was
ridiculous. They’d only just met. And, though she’d been told she was pretty,
she couldn’t be considered beautiful on her best days. With everything she’d
been through, today could easily be considered one of her worst and she
probably showed it. She shuddered to think of how she must look after weeks of
captivity and her rescue. Still, he hovered over her and his gaze locked with
hers.

In that moment, staring into his green eyes, she saw his
loneliness mirror hers and almost wished he would kiss her. Only, that would
make her the whore Ben called her. Wouldn’t it?

Before she could worry any further about the implications of
wanting to kiss him, he smiled. “You look worried. Tell me, do I frighten you?”

“No.” A shiver swept through her but it had nothing to do
with fear. His smile made her focus on his mouth and staring at his mouth
brought back the desire to be kissed.