Project Terminal: Legacy (8 page)
Read Project Terminal: Legacy Online
Authors: Olivia Starke
“You were a victim of a random shooting. Cops are out looking for the perpetrator now.”
She grinned, but the tubes running over her face made it difficult. And she was thirsty. “Water.”
Damian obeyed, grabbing a Styrofoam cup and filling it from a plastic pitcher. He held it to her lips. “Not too much.”
The water tasted awful, but it soothed her burning throat.
He took the cup from her. “I’ve got a confession.” He searched her eyes. “I had to tell the staff you’re my fiancée so they’d allow me in ICU.”
The butterflies returned, and she indulged them a moment. “Not so fast, partner. I need wooing.” She met his grin with one of her own.
He took her hand again. “How about a real date then, when you’re out of the hospital?”
“Will I have to fight a zombie?”
He chuckled. “No, I promise, no undead.”
“Will I be karate chopped by a tall, attractive woman?”
His chuckle turned to a laugh. “No, no other women but you.”
She mulled the idea over. “Will we end up in another seedy motel?”
He made a low sound that sent shivers through her. “Now that I can’t swear against, we had such fun inside them.”
Being shot didn’t seem half bad at the moment, not with Damian at her side and a crapload of painkillers circulating in her system.
“What about Project Terminal?”
His smile faded, and he looked to the closed blinds. “I’ve got the information I needed from Headquarters, now there’s Strong Stock to contend with. I’ve called Dr. Maxwell Straight, she worked with Doug and left shortly after he did, she’s agreed to meet me there. And to find the tracking device that’s implanted somewhere inside me.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “She? And what terrible parent would name a girl Maxwell?”
He met her incredulous look and shrugged. “From what I understand, it was her father’s name and he passed away before she was born. Why? You jealous of me meeting with another woman?”
“Yes.”
His smile reached his eyes once more. “I promise I never want on your bad side. I’d face down an army before pissing you off.”
Laura harrumphed.
Damian leaned in and kissed her lips. “You’re beautiful, determined, and won’t take bullshit from anyone, even if they have a gun on you. I know we haven’t known one another long, but how could I not fall for a woman like that?”
She blinked, sure she’d misheard. “Fall?”
He took a deep breath. “I love you,” he blurted.
She closed her eyes, the drugs were kicking her ass. “I thought you said you loved me.”
He seemed frightened. “I-I did say it. I said I love you.”
Her lips curled up, and she opened her eyes. She felt like floating away. “I love you too.”
His dark eyes didn’t waver from hers, and she felt the warmth of them down to her soul.
“Okay, good.” He blew out a breath. “I thought you were going to punch me.”
She loved his teasing. And she loved him. She’d known it before they’d raided Headquarters, it’d been the reason she couldn’t let him go alone. It was why she took the bullet for him, even if she couldn’t remember doing it.
“Your family will be here sometime around morning. I found their number in your cellphone. And after talking to your mom, I see where you get your temper. I got cussed out in German, and it’s an aggressive enough language in normal conversation. I’ll probably make myself scarce before they get here, if you don’t mind?”
“Oh God, run for your life.”
Damian’s rich chuckle filled her ears, before his face fell solemn. “I thought I’d lost you, Laura, and I couldn’t see how I’d keep going.”
She laced their fingers, a bond which miles and zombies would never break. “I’m right here, and I’ll always be right here, Damian.” Her eyelids drooped, but she had to say it one more time. “I love you.”
As she drifted on the currents of sleep his lips brushed hers. “I love you too, baby.”
About Olivia Starke
Olivia Starke calls the Ozarks home. One of the most beautiful areas in the country, she loves hiking trails with her dogs, kayaking on the numerous waterways, and enjoying southern Missouri’s fresh air and sunshine.
She’s also ‘Mom’ to four dogs, a growing number of kitties that show up at her door, and four VERY spoiled horses that do little to earn their keep. Not that she’d ever hold that against them.
She’s a HUGE fangirl of
Doctor Who
and to a lesser extent
Supernatural
, and has a pretty interesting love triangle (or square?) going on in her head between the Doctor and the Winchesters.
Olivia’s Website:
www.authoroliviastarke.com
Reader eMail:
About the Project Terminal Series
Book 1:
Project Terminal: Legacy
Now Available
Book 2:
Project Terminal: Devil’s Virus
Coming Soon
Table of Contents