“You’re a giver, Sami,” he drawled.
She shivered at his sexy tone. “If we keep this facility, I’ll probably need to stay here and keep working on the computers.”
“Shouldn’t you concentrate on what you’re doing?” he asked, curiosity in his tone.
It probably did seem odd to somebody who didn’t work the way she did. “My brain and fingers are working, and sometimes if I concentrate on something else, talk a little, magic happens.” It sounded weird now that she tried to explain, yet she knew he wouldn’t judge her. Not Tace.
“Odd, but okay—let’s chat. If you want to stay here at the Bunker and work, if the place remains secure, then we’ll stay here.”
She blinked and kept typing. He’d said “we.” The little word warmed her throughout, even though she’d wanted to sound so strong and sure of herself in this conversation. The Texan had the power to hurt her, and he was smart enough to know that fact. “Hmm.”
He chuckled low. “You didn’t think we’d live in different places, did you?”
She narrowed her gaze and ran code through her mind. Time to try something else. “Vanguard needs a medic, Tace. They need you.” So did she. Man, she needed him at her back and in her heart. It was much easier to admit that truth to herself than out loud. She’d almost lost him and frankly still could, if the enzyme wasn’t at full strength. Yet duty called her right here and right now—these computers and the information locked inside them were what she could give to Vanguard. To the people who’d taken her in and given her a home. “You and I are needed in two different places.”
“Then we’ll split our time and be useful at both places. But where you go, I go, baby.” His voice roughened. “Unless you don’t agree?”
“I agree.” Even though his tone said he would insist, she already agreed. Maybe he needed reassurance just as badly as she did. Although he was better at stating his feelings—his wants and needs—much better than she was. Finally, a bad boy who could stand on his own two feet, which was a first for her. “Just wanted to make sure.”
“Be sure, then,” Tace murmured. “This is a weird time to be discussing this, but when I told you it was you and me, I meant it.”
She couldn’t imagine her day without him, and the idea of sleeping alone for the rest of her life made her sad. Well, sleeping without Tace pricked tears to her eyes. “I don’t want to give up being one of the soldiers.” Her voice quavered.
“You don’t have to, although you’re the most valuable computer person we have. Is it that you don’t want to be out of the inner circle, or is it that you want to keep scouting?” he asked, his voice deep and so masculine.
She tried another set of codes, her mind working the problems. Tace had zeroed in on her fears with impressive accuracy. “Both, I guess.”
“Then do both. Although I think the computer aspect will take a lot of time for a while, and that still means you’re in the inner circle. Don’t worry. Vanguard is family, Sami,” Tace said.
“Yeah.” She breathed in. Jax had said the same thing. Finally, she’d found a place where she actually belonged—all of her. She wished her family could see her and meet Tace. Her dad would’ve liked Tace Justice, she was sure. The dull ache of missing all of them would never go away, but the family she had built after Scorpius offered comfort.
Her breath quickened, and she focused on the screen. Ah, there it was. She leaned forward, rewriting code and creating a back door. Should’ve known—they’d used her original security measures with slight enhancements. “I can get into anything here.” Yeah. Lazy bastards. Files began opening on-screen in rapid succession. She wanted to turn on the other screens, but conserving energy was still paramount.
Her eye caught a file, and she clicked a couple of keys.
Her fingers froze.
She blinked. Her chest seized. “Oh God.”
Tace hurried toward her, lowering his chin. “What is that?”
She leaned over and typed rapidly, bringing up schematics and finally, a graphic of a digital clock, its big red numbers counting down. “It’s a facility failsafe,” she whispered, her hands shaking even as she typed. “Get Jax. Hurry.”
Tace ran from the room.
She flipped through files and brought up a coded schematic file, taking several precious moments to go through the first back door she’d set up, almost surprised when she made it. They’d never realized she’d left herself a way back in. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Tace ran back into the room with both Jax and Greyson on his heels. “What’s up?”
She hit PRINT for one of the files, turning around. “There’s a failsafe in place that they set off before they escaped. Doctor Ramirez commanded the facility, and he used his codes to activate it.”
Tace leaned in to look at the computer. “Everything will shut down?”
She gulped and shook her head wildly. “More than that. The level below C, right under the room with the computer servers, is rigged with explosives, and in exactly fourteen minutes, the bomb will blow.”
“Will it take out the entire building?” Jax asked, his jaw clenching.
She shrugged and typed quickly, bringing up the explosives list and bomb details. “I don’t know anything about explosives.”
