Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Email?!” Adele cries. “We have email here?”
“Not really,” Marcus says. “It’s only a connection with Whitman; there’s no access to anything else.”
I put a hand up. “Wait. If the other scientists left the island, why didn’t Whitman do anything? Does he think his experiment is still rolling along as planned?”
Marcus pinches his brows together in a pained expression. “McClain knew that would happen if they made it back, so ... they didn’t.”
“What?” Amira whispers next to me.
“He sank their boat,” Marcus says. “It was a submarine, and he was able to sabotage it from here. Look, you guys, we could spend all day in here on this stuff, but we need to be out there finding McClain. The life of every person in this camp depends on it.”
Niran’s usually playful expression is serious. “The shield can’t stay up without the solar array, can it?”
Marcus hesitates. “I honestly don’t know. We’ve never been in this position before. But I think we should assume we’re on borrowed time.” He scans the faces of everyone in the room. “I can’t say this strongly enough—everything I’ve shared with you in here is for this team’s ears only. Do not fucking repeat it. I don’t want panic breaking out.”
“We should divide into pairs to cover more ground,” Nova says. “I’ll take Amira, you take Briar?”
He nods. “Niran and Adele, you two pair up, and then Wyatt and Chance.”
Chance holds a fist out to Wyatt. “Let’s go cowboy the shit out of this.”
Wyatt bumps his fist, his expression stoic.
Marcus exhales heavily. “Okay, let’s all get changed and gear up. We’ll meet up at the front entrance and take Stella with us so she can turn our aromium on when we’re out of shield range.”
I squeeze Amira’s hand, exchanging a glance with her. “Good luck. Be careful.”
“You too.”
Marcus is silent on our walk to my former room in the Sub. Or maybe it’s still my room, I don’t know. He opens the door with his thumbprint and I gather the few clothes I have there.
We start the walk to his quarters then, and I search for the right thing to say the entire way there. I want to tell him it’s going to be okay, but I can’t, because it might not be. False reassurances annoy me, and I have a feeling he’s the same.
Once we get to his rooms, I go into the bedroom and close the door, changing into a clean Rising Tide uniform of canvas pants and a T-shirt. Marcus changes into a clean pair of the same pants and a gray T-shirt, his arms and shoulders filling every inch of the worn soft fabric.
“Have you ever turned your aromium back on?” I ask him.
“No.” His brow is lined with worry.
He passes me the shoulder and waist holsters he got for me from the Sub. We both sneak glances at each other as we get our holsters and weapons on. I’ve got a handgun in the shoulder holster and a machete and McClain’s knife on my waist.
Marcus is strapped with two machetes and a handgun. He also has a high-powered rifle attached to his pack. His pack is loaded with extra ammo, food, our canteens and other supplies.
“Where’s my pack?” I ask.
“You don’t need one.”
“I can carry supplies.”
He lowers his brows. “I want you traveling light. This is nothing for me.”
I decide not to fight him on it. There’s so much tension thickening the air in the room that I wouldn’t believe we’re the same two people who recently played Would You Rather in here and laughed about it.
We stand a couple of feet from each other, my chin tipped up so I can see his face. I can tell he wants to say something, but he’s just brooding silently, scratching his jaw.
“What is it?” I finally ask.
He sighs softly. “I don’t like who I am with the aromium on.” He looks away. “I guess I don’t want you to know that version of me.”
Something inside me softens at his admission. I offer him a small, reassuring smile. “I know that’s not really you, Marcus. And I know you’re using the aromium for a good reason.”
He shakes his head, agitated. “Fuck, this is hard.” He runs a hand through his hair, then meets my eyes. “Aromium amplifies attraction. That’s gonna be an issue.”
I can’t help it—my smile widens. This massive, muscled, scowling man is wrecked over this conversation, of all things.
“What can we do about that, though?”
He huffs out a groan. “I was able to control it before. I never felt like I had to have any of the women at Rising Tide.”
I shrug. “Maybe you’ll feel that way about me, too.”
He glares at me. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
My heart takes flight because even though I shouldn’t be letting this happen, it feels incredible. For a few moments, I’m not a prisoner in a tropical hellscape, racing against time to save myself and those around me. I’m just a woman, feeling light and giddy because a man I want feels the same way about me.