Read Online Project Terminal: Legacy by Olivia Starke - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Olivia Starke
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inside a Humvee. He revved the engine and gravel spit around the tires as he sped into the night.
* * * *
The steady beep beep beep drew Laura from sleep. She blinked against gummy eyelids, frowning at the incessant noise.
Warmth covered her hand. She focused on the sensation, realizing fingers held on to it. She looked through the haze, trying to make out a figure standing nearby.
“Laura, baby, can you hear me?”
Her throat hurt, but she tried to answer anyway. “Uhhh.”
“Laura, it’s Damian. You’re in the hospital with a collapsed lung, but the doctor says you’ll be fine.”
The words stumbled through her brain. She felt floaty, a pleasant feeling, and she gave over to it.
When she woke again, soreness gnawed her chest. She opened her eyes and grimaced against the flood of light hitting her eyeballs. It took several tries to figure out where she was. Not her bed. Not at her parents.
The hospital? “Oh God.”
She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her and hands pushed her back to the pillow.
“Take it easy, you’ll be in here a few days.” The familiar baritone voice teased her memory.
“Damian?” She focused on him standing over her. God, she sounded like a woman who’d smoked for ninety years. “What’s happened?”
“You’re in the hospital, you have a collapsed lung.”
She dug through her memory, but came up empty-handed. “How?”
“Retrograde amnesia, you may not actually remember how it happened, but you took a bullet for me, Laura. And I’ll never forgive you for that.” He softened the words with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
She remembered running through the building where Damian had rescued her, but nothing else. She frowned.
He looked panicked. “Are you hurting? We can up the painkillers. I’ll get a nurse.”
She grasped his hand. “No, I’m high as a kite as it is.”
It did hurt to breathe, and she felt like an elephant sat on her chest, but she wanted to be awake. If awake, she got to be with Damian. “What did you tell the doctor?”
“You were a victim of a random shooting. Cops are out looking for the perpetrator now.”
She grinned, but the tubes running over her face made it difficult. And she was thirsty. “Water.”
Damian obeyed, grabbing a Styrofoam cup and filling it from a plastic pitcher. He held it to her lips. “Not too much.”
The water tasted awful, but it soothed her burning throat.
He took the cup from her. “I’ve got a confession.” He searched her eyes. “I had to tell the staff you’re my fiancée so they’d allow me in ICU.”
The butterflies returned, and she indulged them a moment. “Not so fast, partner. I need wooing.” She met his grin with one of her own.
He took her hand again. “How about a real date then, when you’re out of the hospital?”
“Will I have to fight a zombie?”
He chuckled. “No, I promise, no undead.”
“Will I be karate chopped by a tall, attractive woman?”
His chuckle turned to a laugh. “No, no other women but you.”
She mulled the idea over. “Will we end up in another seedy motel?”
He made a low sound that sent shivers through her. “Now that I can’t swear against, we had such fun inside them.”
Being shot didn’t seem half bad at the moment, not with Damian at her side and a crapload of painkillers circulating in her system.
“What about Project Terminal?”
His smile faded, and he looked to the closed blinds. “I’ve got the information I needed from Headquarters, now there’s Strong Stock to contend with. I’ve called Dr. Maxwell Straight, she worked with Doug and left shortly after he did, she’s agreed to meet me there. And to find the tracking device that’s implanted somewhere inside me.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “She? And what terrible parent would name a girl Maxwell?”
He met her incredulous look and shrugged. “From what I understand, it was her father’s name and he passed away before she was born. Why?
* * * *
The steady beep beep beep drew Laura from sleep. She blinked against gummy eyelids, frowning at the incessant noise.
Warmth covered her hand. She focused on the sensation, realizing fingers held on to it. She looked through the haze, trying to make out a figure standing nearby.
“Laura, baby, can you hear me?”
Her throat hurt, but she tried to answer anyway. “Uhhh.”
“Laura, it’s Damian. You’re in the hospital with a collapsed lung, but the doctor says you’ll be fine.”
The words stumbled through her brain. She felt floaty, a pleasant feeling, and she gave over to it.
When she woke again, soreness gnawed her chest. She opened her eyes and grimaced against the flood of light hitting her eyeballs. It took several tries to figure out where she was. Not her bed. Not at her parents.
The hospital? “Oh God.”
She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her and hands pushed her back to the pillow.
“Take it easy, you’ll be in here a few days.” The familiar baritone voice teased her memory.
“Damian?” She focused on him standing over her. God, she sounded like a woman who’d smoked for ninety years. “What’s happened?”
“You’re in the hospital, you have a collapsed lung.”
She dug through her memory, but came up empty-handed. “How?”
“Retrograde amnesia, you may not actually remember how it happened, but you took a bullet for me, Laura. And I’ll never forgive you for that.” He softened the words with a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
She remembered running through the building where Damian had rescued her, but nothing else. She frowned.
He looked panicked. “Are you hurting? We can up the painkillers. I’ll get a nurse.”
She grasped his hand. “No, I’m high as a kite as it is.”
It did hurt to breathe, and she felt like an elephant sat on her chest, but she wanted to be awake. If awake, she got to be with Damian. “What did you tell the doctor?”
“You were a victim of a random shooting. Cops are out looking for the perpetrator now.”
She grinned, but the tubes running over her face made it difficult. And she was thirsty. “Water.”
Damian obeyed, grabbing a Styrofoam cup and filling it from a plastic pitcher. He held it to her lips. “Not too much.”
The water tasted awful, but it soothed her burning throat.
He took the cup from her. “I’ve got a confession.” He searched her eyes. “I had to tell the staff you’re my fiancée so they’d allow me in ICU.”
The butterflies returned, and she indulged them a moment. “Not so fast, partner. I need wooing.” She met his grin with one of her own.
He took her hand again. “How about a real date then, when you’re out of the hospital?”
“Will I have to fight a zombie?”
He chuckled. “No, I promise, no undead.”
“Will I be karate chopped by a tall, attractive woman?”
His chuckle turned to a laugh. “No, no other women but you.”
She mulled the idea over. “Will we end up in another seedy motel?”
He made a low sound that sent shivers through her. “Now that I can’t swear against, we had such fun inside them.”
Being shot didn’t seem half bad at the moment, not with Damian at her side and a crapload of painkillers circulating in her system.
“What about Project Terminal?”
His smile faded, and he looked to the closed blinds. “I’ve got the information I needed from Headquarters, now there’s Strong Stock to contend with. I’ve called Dr. Maxwell Straight, she worked with Doug and left shortly after he did, she’s agreed to meet me there. And to find the tracking device that’s implanted somewhere inside me.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “She? And what terrible parent would name a girl Maxwell?”
He met her incredulous look and shrugged. “From what I understand, it was her father’s name and he passed away before she was born. Why?
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