Gabe: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 3) by Anna Hackett Read Free Book Online Page A

her hurt by his hands.
    He pulled his zipper up and stepped backwards.
    She held out a slim hand. “Stay.”
    Something inside him weakened. Resolutely, he took another step back.
    “I need more, Gabe. Talk to me. I know you’re hurting. Give me something, anything.”
    He felt a muscle tick in his jaw. For her sake, he had to find that strength.
    But turning and walking away from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
    ***
    Emerson lifted the m-scanner off the middle-aged woman. “Everything looks great, Priya.”
    The woman nodded. “I’m feeling good, too.” She glanced around the infirmary. “And I’m so grateful to be here at the base and not…” Her voice drifted off.
    Emerson patted the woman’s shoulder. After the horror of the raptor lab, she figured Blue Mountain Base was like a paradise.
    She eyed the slowly-fading scars scoring Priya’s arms. “You keep putting the med gel on those scars and they’ll be gone in a few weeks.”
    “You got it, Doc Emerson.” Priya stood. “Thanks.” She nodded her head at the open lab door. “How are all those fancy tests going?”
    “Slowly.” But Emerson’s throat felt dry as dust. She stared into the lab, her gaze falling on the empty workbench. She swallowed. In that instant, all she could think about was Gabe’s big body moving thickly inside hers. The all-consuming way he made love to her.
    Made love? She scoffed at herself. Gabe Jackson fucked her. For relief, to pound out his pain and frustration. Actually, she had no idea why he came to her. It wasn’t like he took the time to talk to her, tell her how he was feeling.
    “Nothing much to report, yet.”
    With a nod, Priya left. Emerson turned and eyed the last few patients sitting on the chairs in her makeshift waiting area near the door. One was standing, pacing a little as she waited.
    Dr. Natalya Vasin had been painfully thin when Hell Squad had pulled her out of the raptor lab. But Emerson had been pumping her with high-calorie supplements, and the woman’s face and figure were starting to fill out. Her dark hair had been shorn off, but she’d had it cut and shaped by someone in the base and now her hair accented her long, slim neck and made her look like a pixie. But what Emerson guessed was slowly leaching the anxious, worried look from Natalya’s face was working with Noah and the tech team. She clearly loved her work as an energy scientist and was helping boost the base’s current power systems.
    “Natalya.” Emerson waved her into the exam room.
    The woman shook her head. “No. Someone else can go.” Her voice held the faintest Russian accent. “Look, Doc, I really am fine. I don’t need a checkup.”
    Natalya’s anxiety poured off her in waves. Emerson knew the woman still had violent nightmares of the lab. Her scar was still visible, peeking out of her neckline, ugly and red. She’d refused treatment on it. Refused to let Emerson help much at all. Emerson had scanned her when she’d first arrived to check for anything dangerous, but apart from that, the scientist refused any further examinations.
    “Natalya—”
    A violent shake of her head. “I’ve been poked and prodded enough.” Her voice hitched. “They cut me open, scanned me, all against my will. This is my choice. No more tests, or scans or procedures.”
    Emerson’s shoulders sagged. “Okay,” she said quietly.
    With a nod, Natalya turned and ran out of the infirmary.
    Emerson sighed. Natalya had also refused to talk with the base therapist, but Emerson might just have to force the matter. She turned to the remaining patients. “Okay, Helen, you’re up.”
    The distant peal of alarms rang. She dragged in a breath and wondered if Hell Squad were headed out.
    Norah popped her head out of the office. “Doc? Call for you. I routed it to your comp.”
    “Thanks. Excuse me, Helen. I’ll just be a minute.” Emerson entered her office and tapped her comp screen. Marcus Steele’s tough, scarred face filled