A slow grin crept across his face, and my stomach did unwarranted flip-flops. “You can have one if you promise to come back tomorrownight.”
His tone and expression told me he was deadserious.
I sighed, tying my gross hair into a top knot in a vain attempt to look even remotelycute.
“Mr.Striker—”
“Ouch.” He clutched his chest. “You went all ‘Mr. Striker’ onme.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He had a good sense of humor. Where was the sleep-deprived dick I’d met twelve hoursago?
“Damien,” I corrected myself. “Look, I really like your family, and I want to help with this cause, but I have my own family to worry about.” This wasn’t like protecting an old, fat, rich guy and his wife and kids. This was like lying over a bomb and hoping it wouldn’t go off and blow your body to bits. Damien attracted sentries, for Christ’ssake!
He stepped forward, brandishing a tablet with a rough sketch of the device he’d been wearing last night, a bunch of numbers and code I didn’t understand running down the screen. “It worked. Well, basically it worked, but backward. Jeremy is making the new prototype now, and I’m sure it’ll be the one. Youhaveto help me, Kit.” He paused, taking a deep breath and then releasing it. “I can’t test this prototypeandworry about my family at the same time. If we do this, then we can end the DreamWars.”
My heart hammered in my chest. Ending the Dream Wars was a fantasy, something I never allowed myself to even think about. I mean, it wouldn’t really end because the ghouls would still be alive, but to be able to wear a wrist cuff and they couldn’t touch you? They might dwindle off and die of starvation or something. I’d read a study that estimated the grunts could go a week without food and the sentries about a month, but that wasit.
I looked up from the tablet and met his striking blue-eyed gaze. I didn’t know what to say, I’d lost my ability to be professional around thisman.
“Please,” he begged. “I’ll let you boss me around as much as you want.” He said the last part with a smuggrin.
Freakingcharmer.
I smiled. I’d been doing that a lot around him. “Well, that’s happeningregardless.”
His eyes fell to my lips and I froze, the urge to run away was strong. “I’ll talk to my team.” I sidestepped his muscular form and pushed my way out of theroom.
I needed to stay focused and unbiased. Damien flirting his way into my decision-making wasn’t going tohappen.
* * *
While Maxine wason her date, I went with Ronnie, Brisk, and Nox to the Depo. It was like Costco for weapons and survivalstuff.
Ronnie was tossing some med stuff in our cart. You didn’t even need to prove you were a doctor to get most medical items nowadays. Only for the really strong meds, and even then you could show Sal, the owner, a gnarly wound and he’d sell it to you anyway. He was asofty.
“So, are we going back tomorrow night?” Ronnie asked nonchalantly while inspecting a package ofgauze.
I scoffed. “Four sentries, Ronnie!Four.”
She puffed air out of her lips. “I know. If you hadn’t been able to contact Tatum, we’d probably all bedead.”
I shivered thinking about it. Some parts of the Dream Wars were dead zones to my connection with Tatum for whateverreason.
Ronnie threw a tube of cream at me. “Put this on your rash.” She pointed at the angry red rash that had popped up after the black tarry blood of the sentry had stuck to mychest.
I grabbed the tube and lowered my voice as Brisk and Nox spoke to Sal over at the grenade counter. “You know, he might be able to stop this. That arm cuff did something, and he thinks with a few tweaks it would be ready for production.”Am I on Damien’s sidenow?
Ronnie nodded. “I know. But his brother is a risk, andhe’sa risk,andsentries are now riding the fuckingGaladrias.”
Oh God. I’d somehow forgotten that since we’d awoken. Like a dream, some details were fuzzy until you thought about them later, and then they were crystal clear. Ronnie was my sounding board. She never got biased. Just stated thefacts.
I grabbed a pair of Kevlar shin guards, a little skull with a pink bow printed on them. Tatum would love them, so I threw them in thecart.
Facing Ronnie, I shrugged. “Maybe we retire. We paid off the loft last year, and we have enough in savings to buy ammo for the next decade. Probably won’t live longer than that,statistically.”
Ronnie looked horrified. “Jesus, you went doom and gloom realfast.”
I chuckled. “Sentries are riding Galadrias. They’re adapting like they always do. They took out half our population in ten years, so there should be none of us left in another ten.” I was just stating thefacts.
