Something was up and it was making her damned nervous. They should’ve all been inside by now, relaxing. Instead Alex had her well back from the safe house and Marshall and Sean hadn’t given the all clear yet. And despite his calm exterior, Claire knew Alex was on full alert. His posture was tense, his eyes watchful. Her nape tingled in warning.“What’s going on?” she demanded, half turned in her seat so she could see the safe house behind them a block and a half down the street. The neighbors had been talking to Marshall and Sean a minute ago, then they’d bolted back into their garage and closed the door like a rabid animal was chasing them. Marshall and Sean had disappeared into the backyard. Now Marshall had come back around the front of the house, only this time she could tell from the position of his arms that he was holding a pistol in his hands.What the hell? “Did they find something?” Her heart rate accelerated. If Marshall was in any danger, she

Sean and Alex were across the street directing the crowd back from the safe house and doing an initial sweep of the property when the first responders finally arrived. Police cruisers roared up and cops swarmed the area. One officer came over to her and Marshall to help and she filled him in on what had happened and explained that they were working for the L.J Corp, while others talked with Alex and Sean and worked to get all the bystanders back to a safe distance in case another device went off. Marshall’s ID was in his wallet but hers was back in her purse, on the floorboard of the SUV she’d been in with Alex.When the ambulance arrived Marshall was none too pleased about being herded toward it but she and the cop assisting her gave him no choice. He flat out refused to get on a gurney though, and stubbornly sat on the tailgate while the paramedics checked him over. She stood back a ways with the officer and overheard one of the medics say something about a chest tub

Marshall glowered at her, like a kid pouting because he didn’t get his way. “This is fucking stupid.”Stupid? Really? Sighing, she stood and walked to the window that overlooked the parking lot to get a grip on her emotions. It was dark out now, a bright half moon hanging in the clear night sky. Everything was so calm out there. Made it twice as surreal considering the hell they’d been through today. She’d come so close to losing him forever. So close. Her throat tightened.“Claire.”Schooling her features into a calm mask, she turned her head to look at him. “What?”He reached out a hand, his expression contrite. “Come here.” He said it so softly, his deep voice holding that intimate tone she couldn’t refuse, let alone ignore.Crossing to him, she sank down carefully onto the edge of the mattress close to his hip and slid her hand into his. Marshall closed his fingers around hers and stroked his thumb over the ba

It was a dusty day as the silver plane nosed down through billowy clouds on its way to kiss the ruined earth. A united gasp went up from passengers as they saw the raw, brown, smoking soil that would normally be covered in patchwork patterns of an industrious agricultural people. But what was missing was the green. Sean clenched his jaw, grinding ice, and rocked to the loud metallic music of selection number seven on the in-flight radio. He held his breath.Looks like a flooded and bombed-out valley.He wasn’t used to seeing Alaska look like a wasteland. Wastelands got you killed or killed your friends. They never healed. Nobody loved them.He stared down at the remains, and, as incredible as it was, he still loved this place.He’d never felt alone before. Completely alone. He’d missed so much, being away on deployments, but he had always had home to come back to. Even as he clowned around on new york, home was always

Sean drove the mclauren, onto base without uttering a word. Phoenix was safely kenneled, as he had been during the flight home. His incessant barking was background music to Sean. He’d take the dog to the vet today, and start working on someone to look after him while he was overseas.Monique would have been the obvious choice, but not now. He was reluctant to face the attractive tattoo artist, even though she was easy about asking what was on his mind. Something had shifted. The sobering reality of being utterly alone was hard to get used to. Sorrow hung like a black cape over his shoulders. He wished he could just go to sleep and not wake up.But then, who would feed Phoenix? Had the mutt saved him from himself?The guard at the shack wasn’t Dorian, or any of the other regulars. The kid looked like he was all of seventeen, and Sean didn’t have the heart to mess with him.“Thank you for your service, Mister,” the boy