Read Online Emma: Part Three by Lolita Lopez - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lolita Lopez
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try.”
“They may not be big enough to put you in the infirmary, but I sure as hell can,” a raspy, pissed-off voice snarled from the open doorway. Emma glanced at their savior and was immediately taken aback by the terrible scars on his face. This had to be Adam Gray. But why was he here?
Emma decided she didn’t care what had brought him to her front door. Relief washed over her as Gray stormed into the house and slammed his chest into the other soldier’s. It was like watching two wild beasts fighting for dominance as Gray cowed the younger soldier into submission and forced him into the corner. “What the hell are you doing in this house?”
“My job!” The soldier shot back. “General Gage sent me for the new female.”
“Gage?” Adam seemed surprised. “What does Gage want with her?”
“That’s above my clearance level. I just do what I’m told.”
“Yeah? Well I’ve known Gage since Gulf Point, kid, and I know that he wouldn’t allow a single one of his SICOs to put a hand on any woman, human or cyborg. What do you think he’s going to say when he finds out how you’ve treated these two?”
The soldier swallowed with obvious nervousness and didn’t answer.
Shaking his head, Gray said, “You’re new to the Outpost, kid, so I’m going to lay out the facts for you. That girl?” He pointed to Rio. “She’s General Adamson’s daughter. She also belongs to a Zed team tracker.” Adam nodded. “Yeah. Judging by the look on your face, you know what kind of men become trackers. If Jace finds out you touched her, he’ll rip your arm off and beat you to death with it—and General Adamson will let him.”
Emma’s mind reeled as she tried to take in everything Adam had just said. Rio belonged to Jace? If she belonged to him, was it some kind of arranged marriage type thing? Those sorts of arrangements were actually fairly common in the Outlands. When she was younger and her father had been alive, he had even considered matching her up with one of the younger sons of their far-flung neighbors.
“Get out,” Adam said, taking a handful of the other soldier’s uniform shirt and swinging him toward the door. He shoved him hard and right out of the house. “I’ll bring Emma to headquarters myself.”
Alone in the house with Adam and feeling safe, Emma and Rio lowered their makeshift weapons and set them aside. Wondering what had just happened, Emma turned to Rio and asked, “What the hell is Seek-Oh?”
“S-I-C-O,” Adam Gray spelled out for her. “It stands for Special Investigations/Covert Ops. You want to stay as far away from them as possible.”
Rio grumbled, “They ought to pronounce their name like psycho because they’re all a bunch of paranoid loons.”
Emma shouldn’t have smiled at that jab, but it was too hard to stop. Her smile faded when Adam turned his full attention to her. He seemed irritated, and she felt the need to apologize. “I’m so sorry about all this.”
His mouth settled into an even more irritated line. “You don’t need to apologize. I told Max and Jack I’d keep an eye on you. I should have come by earlier today and brought you with me to the shop where you would have been safe.”
“But then I would have missed out on breakfast with Rio,” Emma said, hoping to put him at ease.
It didn’t work. He seemed perpetually tense and grumpy. He gestured to her clothing. “You need to change, and be quick about it. We need to get you to HQ before they send another SICO squad down here.”
“Okay.” Feeling anxious and scared, she hustled upstairs and put on a pair of new pants and a loose fitting shirt that looked similar to the undershirts Max and Jack wore. She found a pair of boots and some socks among the clothing they had chosen for her. The boots were a little big but they would have to do.
Downstairs, she found Rio poking at the almost-finished radio and Adam standing in front of a window like a sentry, his massive arms crossed in front
“They may not be big enough to put you in the infirmary, but I sure as hell can,” a raspy, pissed-off voice snarled from the open doorway. Emma glanced at their savior and was immediately taken aback by the terrible scars on his face. This had to be Adam Gray. But why was he here?
Emma decided she didn’t care what had brought him to her front door. Relief washed over her as Gray stormed into the house and slammed his chest into the other soldier’s. It was like watching two wild beasts fighting for dominance as Gray cowed the younger soldier into submission and forced him into the corner. “What the hell are you doing in this house?”
“My job!” The soldier shot back. “General Gage sent me for the new female.”
“Gage?” Adam seemed surprised. “What does Gage want with her?”
“That’s above my clearance level. I just do what I’m told.”
“Yeah? Well I’ve known Gage since Gulf Point, kid, and I know that he wouldn’t allow a single one of his SICOs to put a hand on any woman, human or cyborg. What do you think he’s going to say when he finds out how you’ve treated these two?”
The soldier swallowed with obvious nervousness and didn’t answer.
Shaking his head, Gray said, “You’re new to the Outpost, kid, so I’m going to lay out the facts for you. That girl?” He pointed to Rio. “She’s General Adamson’s daughter. She also belongs to a Zed team tracker.” Adam nodded. “Yeah. Judging by the look on your face, you know what kind of men become trackers. If Jace finds out you touched her, he’ll rip your arm off and beat you to death with it—and General Adamson will let him.”
Emma’s mind reeled as she tried to take in everything Adam had just said. Rio belonged to Jace? If she belonged to him, was it some kind of arranged marriage type thing? Those sorts of arrangements were actually fairly common in the Outlands. When she was younger and her father had been alive, he had even considered matching her up with one of the younger sons of their far-flung neighbors.
“Get out,” Adam said, taking a handful of the other soldier’s uniform shirt and swinging him toward the door. He shoved him hard and right out of the house. “I’ll bring Emma to headquarters myself.”
Alone in the house with Adam and feeling safe, Emma and Rio lowered their makeshift weapons and set them aside. Wondering what had just happened, Emma turned to Rio and asked, “What the hell is Seek-Oh?”
“S-I-C-O,” Adam Gray spelled out for her. “It stands for Special Investigations/Covert Ops. You want to stay as far away from them as possible.”
Rio grumbled, “They ought to pronounce their name like psycho because they’re all a bunch of paranoid loons.”
Emma shouldn’t have smiled at that jab, but it was too hard to stop. Her smile faded when Adam turned his full attention to her. He seemed irritated, and she felt the need to apologize. “I’m so sorry about all this.”
His mouth settled into an even more irritated line. “You don’t need to apologize. I told Max and Jack I’d keep an eye on you. I should have come by earlier today and brought you with me to the shop where you would have been safe.”
“But then I would have missed out on breakfast with Rio,” Emma said, hoping to put him at ease.
It didn’t work. He seemed perpetually tense and grumpy. He gestured to her clothing. “You need to change, and be quick about it. We need to get you to HQ before they send another SICO squad down here.”
“Okay.” Feeling anxious and scared, she hustled upstairs and put on a pair of new pants and a loose fitting shirt that looked similar to the undershirts Max and Jack wore. She found a pair of boots and some socks among the clothing they had chosen for her. The boots were a little big but they would have to do.
Downstairs, she found Rio poking at the almost-finished radio and Adam standing in front of a window like a sentry, his massive arms crossed in front
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