Levi sipped his second drink, watching Manu and Griff fighting it out at the pool table.

Suddenly, a massive explosion of noise roared through the rec room, shaking the walls. Levi dropped into a crouch, and saw his friends do the same. He heard glasses fall and shatter, followed by screams.

Fuck.

“What the hell?” Griff yelled, gripping the pool table.

“Explosion,” Manu said.

Levi leaped up. “That was inside the Enclave.” He raced for the door.

People were shouting and screaming.

“Help these people, Manu.” Levi tore through the door, Griff and Dom right behind him.

When they broke into the corridor, he smelled smoke. They turned a corner and he saw Marcus sprinting down the hall.

“Stay in your rooms,” Marcus yelled at the people peering out of doorways. “Stay calm.”

“What happened?” Levi asked.

“Don’t know yet,” Marcus said in a gritty voice.

“Gizzida?” Griff said.

The head of Hell Squad shook his head. “There’s been no breach in security. The explosion was down in the accommodation area.”

Accommodation area? Levi frowned, as he, Griff, and Dom fell in behind Marcus. They jogged down the ramp to the lower level.

Ahead, smoke was billowing in the corridor. In the gloom, he spied the compact form of Kate Scott. The woman and her team all had fire extinguishers, and were putting out the last of the flames.

“Need any help?” Marcus yelled.

The woman shook her head, her bluntly cut hair brushing her jaw. “The blaze is under control. Thankfully, the explosion was localized.”

Levi scanned the corridor. A twisted metal door lay on the ground, along with the remnants of what looked like a table. Worried people were gathered at the end of the corridor, looking on. Then he took in the now-destroyed room. The wall and door had been blown out, and the contents were now all charred, blackened remains.

“Whose room?” he asked.

Marcus shook his head. “Don’t know.”

Something tickled along Levi’s senses. “Whose room is this?” he called to Kate.

She glanced back with a frown. “Chrissy Hagan, one of the Hunter mechanics.”

Levi felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him. Like he’d just taken knuckledusters to the gut. He locked the shock down, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Where is she? Was she inside?”

“I don’t have time for this—”

“Where is she?” he roared.

Kate’s gaze flickered with understanding. “We’re searching for her. No one can say if she was here.”

Levi pressed his hands to the back of his neck. No. She couldn’t have been in there. “Saw her about an hour ago. She was coming back here to work on some alien vehicle parts…”

Sympathy washed over Kate’s tough face. “There’s no sign anyone survived this explosion.”

“Levi?” Griff moved up beside him, watching him intently. Dom did the same on the other side.

He knew what they were doing. They’d lock him down if he lost his shit.

“You find a body?” His voice cracked.

Kate cleared her throat. “The blaze was too hot for—”

“Did. You. Find. A. Body.”

She flinched at his tone. “No. But there is unlikely to be one.” Pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Levi felt lightheaded and pressed a hand to the wall.

He could hear Griff talking, but to Levi, the words were muffled. His gaze went back to the ruined room and he couldn’t look away.

Chrissy couldn’t be gone. She couldn’t.

But a mocking voice inside his head laughed. He’d never gotten to keep anything good in his life. Of course, he couldn’t hold onto her. The voice sounded a lot like his father’s.

“Levi.”

Ash’s voice broke through the haze. The one person who’d been there for him all his life. Ash gripped Levi’s shoulder and squeezed.

A massive, horrible feeling clawed at Levi like a wild animal. It welled inside him and he threw his head back and let out a vicious, pained roar.

* * *

Chrissy wandered down the corridor, dazed, her ears ringing.

She wasn’t quite sure what had happened. She’d woken up in the corridor with her table on top of her. All she’d known was that she needed to get away.

Frowning, she pressed her hand to her sore head, and winced. Her hands hurt, too. She looked at them, and then her bare feet. Both were burned and blistered.

What happened? She bit her lip. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t remember. She stumbled roughly into the wall. She wasn’t sure which way to go.

Something had exploded. Max. She had to get to Max. He’d worry, and she didn’t want him to worry.

She rounded a corner, and bumped into a hard body headed in the opposite direction. Big hands steadied her, and she looked up into Hemi’s bearded face.

There was naked relief in his dark eyes. “Fuck. It is so good to see you, sweetheart.”

She frowned. “My head hurts.”

He wrapped an arm around her pulling her close. “You just rest here. Take it easy.”

She leaned into him, looking down at her bare feet again. They were raw and pink, and edged in black soot. She was vaguely aware of Hemi making a call to someone. “I got her. Yeah, she’s alive.”

Chrissy looked at her shirt and her brow wrinkled. There was a hole ripped in the middle of it. She sniffed, and all she could smell was smoke. Damn. This was her favorite top.

Memories burst through her head like an explosion of confetti. Explosion. An alien part exploding in her room. Everything going black.

Suddenly, there were running footsteps echoing down the corridor. She looked up to see Levi sprinting toward her. Ash was right behind him.

All the aches and pains exploded inside her and a huge sob escaped her. She took two steps toward Levi and then he swept her into his arms.

“Levi—”

“Fuck. Fuck.” His arms were tight around her.

“One of the parts blew up—”

“I thought you were dead, Spitfire.” He pulled her as close as possible and buried his face in her hair.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. God, his big body was shaking. “I was confused when I came to.” He leaned her back, gently probing her head.

“You got a knot back here.” His gaze dropped down. “Shit, babe, your hands are burned.”

“And my feet.” She winced. “And I’m starting to feel it.”

“We need to get you to the infirmary. Now.” He glanced at Hemi. “Thanks, man.”

“Don’t mention it. Go look after your girl.”

Levi swept Chrissy off her feet, carrying her like she was a precious bundle.

“You okay, Levi?” Ash asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am now. Thanks, Ash.”

“Go. I’ll catch you both later.” He bumped his shoulder against Levi’s. “Looks like you are going down, bro.” Ash’s voice was ripe with amusement. “And I am happy to see it.”

“Fuck off, Connors.”

Chrissy was too tired and sore to process what they were talking about. As Levi strode down the hall, she let her eyes drift closed. The next thing she knew, she could smell antiseptic, and the lights were very bright.

“Doc!” he bellowed.

Ahead, a pretty blonde in a white lab coat glanced up. When she spotted Chrissy, relief flashed in her bright-blue eyes.

“Set her down here.” Doc Emerson patted an empty bunk. Levi did as ordered, but stayed close, his hand resting on Chrissy’s arm.

The doc pulled a scanner over and then lifted a light, shining it in Chrissy’s eyes, making her wince.

“It is so good to see you, Chrissy.”

Chrissy reached for Levi’s hand and felt pain radiate from her fingers to her wrists. He set it back on the bed. “All in one piece, you mean?”

Her attempt at a joke pulled a strangled noise from Levi, and his fingers tightened on her arm.

Doc Emerson’s lips twitched and she lowered her scanner. “You have a minor concussion, and some third-degree burns. All in all, you’re a lucky lady.” The woman reached over, and lifted a huge syringe filled with silver liquid. “But I’m afraid I still need to give you a shot of nanomeds.”

“That’s happening to me a lot lately.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll heal you up in no time,” the doc assured her.

“I’m sorry for the hassle.” Chrissy looked up at Levi. “I’m sorry.”

“Quiet.” He squeezed her arm.

Looking into his whiskey-brown eyes, she barely even felt the needle as the doc injected the dose of tiny medical machines.

“I need you to rest up here for a bit,” Emerson said, wrapping Chrissy’s hands loosely with bandages. “I’ll be monitoring the nanomeds, and once I think you’re stable enough, you can go.” She patted the blanket and then moved to a nearby office.

“I’m sorry for what happened at the pool,” Chrissy murmured.

Levi blew out a breath and sat on the edge of her bed. “I was an ass. The words you used…they were the same ones my dad used to yell at me when when I was young.”

Chrissy sucked in a breath. So that’s what had triggered him.

“Every day, he’d tell me that I was useless and worthless, and that he always had better things to do. Which usually included drinking and fucking.”

She awkwardly patted his hand with her bandaged one. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. Life sucks, and you move on.”

She frowned at his matter-of-fact statement. There was always some glimmer of good in the bad, but Levi sounded like he always expected the worst.

“My mom died having my little sister.” Chrissy fiddled with the sheet. “My dad raised us, but he had no clue what to do with two little girls. I did everything I could to help. Cooked, cleaned, fixed up the messes my wild child sister left behind, became a mechanic like him so I could help in the garage.”

“Chrissy—”

“It was never enough. He always complained, or just never noticed.” She caught Levi’s gaze. “He rarely complimented my work.”

Levi cupped her cheek. “And you still grew into a beautiful, sexy, talented, and sassy woman.”

Warmth coiled through her. “And you became a relentless force of nature, despite your deadbeat dad.”

A smile quirked his lips.

She shook her head. “Well, we sure are a pair, aren’t we?”

His thumb brushed her lips. “Yeah.”

The infirmary doors opened, and Holmes strode in with Niko and Noah. Chrissy straightened, tugging on the tangled mess of her hair.

“Chrissy.” Holmes touched her shoulder. “We are very pleased to see you’re okay.”

“Thanks.”

“Can you tell us what happened?”

She nodded. “One of the alien trike parts I was examining heated up and exploded.”

Noah frowned. “They’d all been scanned and deemed inert.”

“Well, it fucking wasn’t,” Levi bit out.

She patted his hand. “We probably need to implement some extra procedures as we continue to work out how to operate the trike.”

“We can’t afford any delays,” Niko said quietly.

“But we can’t risk blowing up the Enclave either,” Noah said. “I’ll have my team work on it with the Hunter mechanics.”

“As soon as the doc clears me, I’ll get back to work,” Chrissy said.

“Hell, no,” Levi growled.

She narrowed her gaze. “You don’t get to boss me around, biker man.”

“I sure as hell do. You want me to tell them what sexy little noises you make when you come?”

She hissed in a breath. “You asshole. You won’t be hearing them again.”

There was a choked noise and she looked up to see the usually staid general trying very hard not to laugh. Niko and Noah were smiling. Heat burned through her cheeks.

“I think what Levi was trying to say, was that you need some rest,” Niko said diplomatically.

“No, what he was trying to do was stamp his claim all over me like a caveman.”

Fingers gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “You almost died. For twenty agonizing minutes, I thought you were dead.”

Her anger crumpled. She saw the agony in his eyes. “Levi.”

“Our cue to leave,” Noah said.

She didn’t watch them go, instead lifting her lips up for Levi’s kiss. He kept it gentle and she’d never had gentle from him before.

It wasn’t long before Emerson was back. She unwrapped the bandages to expose new, pink skin on Chrissy’s hands and feet. She flexed her fingers and toes, relieved there was no pain.

“Well, I think you can go, but I need you to take it easy.” The doc moved to probe the almost-healed bump at the back of Chrissy’s head. She made a satisfied, humming noise.

“Already?” Levi asked. “You don’t want to keep her in here for more observation?”

Emerson lifted a comp pad. “I’ll be monitoring the residual nanomeds from here. She’s almost healed, so everything should be fine. But if anything does go wrong, you bring her back. For now, she needs someone to take care of her, check on her, and ensure she gets some rest.”

Suddenly, Chrissy froze as a thought hit her. “I have nowhere to go. My room—”

All her things were gone. Pain pierced her chest. Her belongings might have been meager, but they’d been hers. They’d meant the world to her. Her heart clenched.

“Yes, you do.” Levi picked her up, holding her against his chest. “You’re coming with me.”

Emerson grinned at them. “Good. Macho alpha males come in handy on occasion. You need someone to look after you, Chrissy, and Levi appears determined to do it…” All of a sudden, Emerson’s voice broke off, and her face turned pale.

“Doc?” Levi asked with a frown.

The woman pressed a hand to the bed, and waved with her other one. “I’m…fine.” She took a few deep breaths. “As long as the apple I just ate doesn’t make a reappearance.”

Chrissy cocked her head. She remembered that same look on her sister’s face. “You’re pregnant.”

Emerson gave them a wan smile. “I just found out today. Uh, keep it to yourself, please. I haven’t had a chance to tell Gabe yet.”

Levi grinned. “The man is going to freak out.”

The doctor winced. “Probably.”

“Congratulations,” Chrissy said.

“Thanks.” Then Emerson’s face went from white to green. “Ah, I’ll see you later.” With a flap of her lab coat, she was running for the bathroom.

For a second, Chrissy tried to imagine big, scary soldier Gabe Jackson from Hell Squad as a father. The image just wouldn’t appear. The man was beyond intimidating, but she had seen him with Emerson, and it was clear he was both protective as hell and madly in love.

“Come on, Spitfire.” Tightening his hold on her, Levi headed out of the infirmary.

“Where are we going?” She should probably see someone about getting new quarters assigned.

“You’re coming home with me.”