Kate motored down the corridor toward the Command Center, sipping her coffee. After her sleepless night, she was going to need a lot of caffeine today. A vague headache pounded at her temples as she headed to the meeting with Niko and Holmes.

She entered the Command Center, nodding at the people manning the desks. The only bright spot this morning was that Kendra and Felipe were being released from the infirmary in a few hours.

Now, she had to deal with the alien landmine situation, and stop herself thinking about Manu.

Apparently, she couldn’t make a single right move with that man. Hell, any man. Her life was a testament to that. Taking another long gulp of coffee, she pushed all thoughts of Manu out of her head and moved toward the conference room.

Through the doorway, she saw Niko standing at the head of the table. He nodded at her and she stepped inside and spotted General Holmes.

And Manu.

His face looked like granite as he gave her a brief, impersonal nod.

“Morning,” Kate managed.

“Take a seat, Kate,” Niko said. “How are your people?”

Kate sat, watching as Niko and Manu did the same. “They’re being released from the infirmary today. I’ve given them both a couple of days off to rest.”

Holmes stood, his hands clasped behind his back. As always, his posture was perfect. The man radiated authority. “Let’s talk about this bomb. Manu’s been analyzing the remains, along with the debris Squad Three brought back from the mountains, so I asked him to join us.”

Manu leaned back in his chair. “It’s more of a landmine. I don’t have a lot to tell you yet. I need more time.”

Kate fiddled with her coffee cup. Did the man’s presence have to take up the entire room? She did not like the fact that he wasn’t really looking at her. He was sort of looking through her, and dammit, it hurt. All because of that ill-advised encounter in the kitchen.

“How could they possibly have planted it so close to the Enclave?” Niko’s voice snapped Kate out of her thoughts.

“The drones didn’t detect any aliens close to the base,” Kate said. “So, the answer is…I don’t know yet.” The image of Felipe’s burned face flashed in her head. “But I’m going to find out.”

Holmes nodded. “We also need to scan all the area surrounding the Enclave. We have to make sure that there are no more of these devices.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m already putting plans in place for a search. It’ll take time.”

The general’s handsome face turned considering. “I have all the squads busy at the moment. Those not on security patrol are working to discover where the aliens have moved the black octagon device.”

Kate fought back a cold shiver. The octagon device was a priority. The Gizzida had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden, and she knew it was vital they find it and figure out what it was designed to do.

“And Noah’s team is busy as well,” Holmes said. “Working with Emerson, they’ve had some breakthroughs isolating what in the trees affects the Gizzida.”

She blinked. That was great news. “Really?”

The general nodded. “It’s actually eucalyptus trees that affect the raptors. Or more specifically, the active ingredient in eucalyptus oil. It’s called cineole.”

Manu leaned forward. “Noah’s had me configuring some grenades to hold the cineole oil. Might have some working grenades to test soon.”

“Kate, you’re down two people,” Niko said. “And I already know you’ve doubled-up on base security since last night.”

She nodded again. “It’s okay, I’ll—”

Niko held up a hand. “Manu and his team will assist you with the landmine search.”

Her gut cramped. Great. “If you think that’s best. I’ll get to work.”

She gave them a nod and stood. She made a beeline for her office. As she entered the security room, her team looked up, took one look at her face, and got busy with their work again. Damn, she needed more coffee.

In her office, she’d just circled her desk when Manu appeared in the doorway. She stood there, feeling stiff and awkward. “I can do this search by myself—”

“You need help,” he said.

Kate released a breath. “Fine. I’m going to mark out a search grid. Once it’s done, I’ll send it through to you.”

“I’ve got my guys working with the tech team. We’re trying to rig up a scanner to detect the materials used in the landmine.”

He was keeping this businesslike, so she could do the same. A part of her—a deep, buried part of her—felt a burning flash of disappointment. But this was for the best. “That makes sense. The drones didn’t detect this thing, so it’s clearly something different, or it was buried too deep in the ground for the drones to pick up.”

He gave a brisk nod. “We’re working to make sure the new scanner can penetrate far enough.”

“Great. So, let’s meet in two hours. By then, I’ll have the search grid planned, and hopefully you’ll have a scanner to test.”

“It’s a date.” Without another word, he pivoted and headed for the door.

Screw this. Kate moved fast, striding past him and blocking the door. A voice in her head was screaming at her to let him go, to leave this alone. But she just couldn’t leave it like this, and she wasn’t a coward, dammit.

“Don’t you ever put words in my mouth again. What you accused me of last night was something I’ve never said, let alone thought.”

His jaw tightened.

“I’ve admired the hell out of the way you dealt with your injury. The work you did before was important. But the work you do now is vital to this base. You may not be out there fighting the aliens with your bare hands, but it still counts.”

His face hadn’t changed. Fine. She’d said her bit.

She straightened and moved out of the way. “I need to get this search sorted out.”

She moved to her desk and sat in her chair. She felt his gaze on her, and when she looked up, he was staring at her, his face unreadable.

“You aren’t defined by what your damn leg is made of, Manu.”

Another beat of silence, then he turned and left.

Kate released a long breath. Damn alpha males. Manu hid his well, under his easy, sexy smiles and competence, but it was there.

Along with the demons that he kept hidden.

* * *

Manu walked through the long grass, swinging the scanner from side to side. It looked like an old-school metal detector.

Kate moved ahead of him, once again in her carbon fiber armor, her gaze alert. She was holding her carbine easily.

Gorgeous. Tough. Strong.

The words she’d said to him in her office had rattled around in his head all morning. He’d fucked up with her. It was clear she didn’t let anyone under that armor of hers, and he’d made a small chink. But because of his own shit, he’d screwed up, and he was pretty sure she’d been busy shoring up any weaknesses.

Well, he was just going to have to work hard to get back in.

His ma had always said he was determined when he wanted something—like a boulder rolling down a hill. She said his kind of determined was spelled the same as stubborn.

His ma would like Kate. She’d always appreciated intelligence and maturity.

“Anything?” Kate asked.

“Nope. Nothing on the scans.”

Kate nodded. “I hope that means there aren’t any others.”

“Something tells me we won’t be that lucky.”

She grunted. “I don’t believe in luck anyway.”

“So, you were engaged?” Manu asked.

Her blue gaze narrowed on him. “A long time ago.”

“Was he Army as well?”

“Firefighter.” Her tone was stiff.

Manu’s brain created the image of some buff firefighter holding a smiling Kate in his arms. But he remembered what she’d said about him. Manu had already determined the man was a dick. “What happened?”

“It didn’t work out.” Her tone was as cold as the Arctic.

Manu grunted. “My ma was itching for one of us boys to get married and give her grandbabies.” He felt that familiar grief at the thought of his mother. “We continue to disappoint her.”

“My parents were older. And they didn’t really care if I married or not.”

He frowned. “They must have been proud of your career.”

She shrugged. “They owned a deli. They just seemed bemused when I joined the Army.”

“And this idiot ex of yours? Was he proud of your work?”

“At first. Until he wasn’t.”

God, she was buttoned-up tight. Getting anything out of her was like pulling teeth. “Kate—”

She spun, eyes blazing. “He wanted a wife to come home to every night, who’d cook a nice meal and suck his cock when he was in the mood. I worked just as hard as him, I didn’t need a second job caring for him, as well.”

“That’s not what a marriage is supposed to be like.”

“He expected me to give up my job, have babies, and play house.”

“What happened?”

“Well, he decided a boring, passionless, workaholic wasn’t for him. Instead of manning up and telling me how he felt, he knocked up another woman.” Her nose wrinkled. “The cute, twenty-year-old daughter of a friend of ours.”

Manu grunted. Yep, guy was a clueless dick. “He sounds like a dumb bastard.”

“She was a former cheerleader, who giggled non-stop and spent what I assume was several hours doing her hair and make up every morning.”

The guy had cut Kate in more ways than one. Manu knew there were plenty of guys who couldn’t handle a strong, competent woman. Luckily, he wasn’t one of them. “Sounds to me like you were better off without him.”

“That is one thing we can agree on. Now, can we not talk about this anymore?” She crouched, studying a patch of dirt where the grass had died.

“Have dinner with me tonight,” Manu blurted out.

Her head jerked up and she shot to her feet. “No.”

“I want to apologize for being a dick.”

She looked back at him, those blue eyes steady. “It’s not necessary.”

“It is, but I also want to.”

“No.”

He moved closer to her. “I know you want to.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Did you take up mind reading?”

“No, but I’ve taken up studying Kate Scott.”

Her lips pressed together. “I don’t—”

The scanner gave a low beep and they both stiffened.

Kate surveyed the ground. “We’re standing on a dead patch of grass.”

Frowning, Manu swept the scanner across the dirt. The beeps grew louder and more frequent.

“There was another strange patch of dead grass yesterday,” said Kate. “I saw it out on patrol.” She lifted her head. “There are a few of them around.”

He narrowed his gaze. “There’s another one over there. And there.”

They moved carefully to another patch of dirt near a small hillock of rocks. They kept their boots on the thick, green grass.

He waved the scanner over the patch of dirt and the device went wild, beeping frantically.

“Fuck.”

Anger and concern lined Kate’s face. “I’ll report in.” She lifted her hand to touch her earpiece.

Suddenly, poison splattered the grass nearby. As he heard it sizzle and burn, Manu dropped the scanner and dived toward Kate. She was already dodging, and together they hit the ground and rolled.

“Kate! Manu! Raptors in your area.” Indy Bennett’s voice shouted through the comm line. She was the berserkers’ comms officer and on duty today. “They appeared out of nowhere.”

“We see them,” Manu answered.

Kate came up on one knee and started firing at the rocks. Manu whipped his carbine off his back, taking aim.

The scaly, reptile-like heads of several raptors were peering carefully over the rocks. The bastards had good cover, while he and Kate were out in the open.

“Cover me,” he shouted.

She intensified her laser fire and Manu took off running. He zigzagged, dodging poison spray, and raced closer to the rocks. He yanked a grenade off his belt, activated it, and lobbed it into the cluster of rocks.

Three. Two. One.

Bang.

The grenade went off and guttural shouts filled the air. Several bulky, raptor bodies flew into the air.

“Manu!”

Kate’s shout made him spin. He spotted a raptor down on one knee. The bastard was aiming his weapon right at Manu. Shit. Manu lifted his carbine…

And saw the laser cartridge die. He pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

Fuck.

Kate sprinted across the grass and dived. She smacked into Manu and they rolled across the ground.

Right behind them, poison sprayed the field, burning holes in the dirt and grass.

Kate rolled off Manu. He yanked out his backup Shockwave pistol and they both came up firing.

“Cover me this time,” she said.

She jumped up, breaking into a sprint. She moved like a panther, strong and fast, while he laid down cover fire. Damn, he could watch her run all day.

He kept firing and watched Kate leap onto a large rock. She jumped into the air, legs kicking to take her higher, and she fired on the other side of the rocks. Manu saw raptors fall.

Landing in a crouch, Kate turned to face a final raptor. The alien bared sharp teeth, but Kate fired at close range, and the raptor fell heavily to his knees. With a vicious front kick, she slammed a boot into his chest and drove him backward.

The field was quiet.

Manu rose and walked over. He scanned the raptor bodies. None were moving.

“Nice work, Captain.”

She shot him a faint smile.

Suddenly, a soft, skittering noise caught Manu’s ear. He moved, lifting his pistol. A small, sinew-like ball circled the rocks. The damn thing had legs. What the hell? As it got closer, he saw red lights blinking on it.

“Bomb!” he yelled.

Kate backed away quickly, but the bomb followed her.

She dived and rolled to her feet. The device kept following. “Rahia!”

This time, Manu yanked his shotgun off his back. He aimed at the bomb, but he needed a clear shot. The damn thing was practically between her legs.

“Kate, move!”

“Do it.” Her eyes met his, absolute trust in her gaze.

Fuck. He fired and Kate jumped backward.

Boom.

The bomb splattered into goo-covered bits. Kate staggered and fell on her butt, but she bounded back up and ran toward him.

“You okay?” He grabbed her arm.

She nodded.

They turned and scanned the battleground. Manu sucked in a sharp breath. The ruined bomb parts were heating up and turning red.

Shit. Manu tightened his grip on her and dived, pulling her with him. They went down hard in the grass. He covered her body, pinning her to the ground.

Boom.

The blast shot debris, dirt, and grass all over them. He kept Kate pinned down, even though she was struggling to get free.

“Get off me.” She shoved at him.

They both sat up. A tiny crater was all that was left behind by the bomb. Kate cursed.

“You’re welcome,” Manu said.

She elbowed him. “I don’t appreciate you jumping on me like I’m some princess in need of a bodyguard.”

“Well, it’s a nice body, and I have plans for it.”

She stared at him for a beat, her gaze narrowing. “In your dreams.” She shot to her feet.

He rose, as well. “I’ve had plenty of those about you, Kate.”

Her lips parted, and something moved through her eyes.

But then shouts echoed behind them. He turned his head and saw her security team rushing toward them.