Sawyer

by Theresa Beachman

  Julia squashed a sting of anger. She could play games, if that’s what he wanted. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Yes, you do. Beth and your friend, Sawyer.”

  She bit her lower lip, keeping her voice measured. “That’s old news. Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Ah, if you already knew they were together then I’m wasting my time. Beth spoke about him. He made quite an impression. Before, you know, the invasion.”

  Julia breathed in sharply. Together?

  Sawyer’s words echoed in her head. He’d been working. Beth had been his target. He hadn’t mentioned being in a relationship with her. Understanding dawned as everything clicked into place. The expression on Sawyer’s face. How upset he’d been. Her stomach cramped.

  Darr continued, his dark eyes absorbing everything. “Sawyer must be devastated. To lose a lover, to watch her die like that…well.”

  Julia glanced away. Her face stung, raw and exposed. Her heart raced, and her lips parted as she fought to hold it together. She halted at her lab door. Lovers. Sawyer had kept the truth from her. Betrayal stung, forcing her to close her eyes for a second. But then, maybe I gave him no other option by holding him at a distance?

  She composed herself, locking her emotions under wraps in the consummately skilled way she always did. She fished a key from her pocket, the snick of the oiled lock clicking under her hands. “I have to go now.”

  An inscrutable smile twitched the corner of Darr’s lip. He leaned on the doorframe. “I’d like to see what you have in here.”

  “We both know that’s not going to happen.”

  He scanned the empty corridor around them. “No one’s around. I won’t tell. Besides, aren’t we in this together now?”

  Julia’s hand twitched to slap the shadow of beard on his cheek.

  “I might be of use.”

  Julia raised her eyebrows.

  He held his hands up. “Seriously.”

  She blinked, scrutinizing his raw-boned face as she bit the inside of her lip. “How?”

  “In the last couple of months, the water supply for our hydroponic beds became opaque with organic sediment. It’s more like soup.”

  Julia stared at him, waiting. She thought about the green, shimmering algae that had covered Sawyer’s body when he’d climbed out of the water after fixing the coolant system, but she remained silent. He was going to have to do better.

  Darr contemplated her scowl. “You’re hard work.” A broad smile finally graced his face. He was a different man when he smiled. He kept talking. “The water temperature in the tunnels around Crossness has risen by several degrees.”

  Her thoughts connected. Wading through the sewers to get Crossness. Fingers trailing in the lukewarm water, noticing it but not understanding the implications.

  “The density of alien plant life in the sewers has also increased in the last few months, faster than you would expect from natural colonization. It’s more like the area has been seeded. Some of the plants have demonstrable properties of thermogenesis.”

  “Thermogenesis?” She failed miserably to keep her voice casual as he folded his arms now that he knew he had her attention.

  “Yes. The plants generate heat to raise the temperature of their environment to what they prefer, in this case, by a few degrees. Some Earth algae have benefited too, preferring the increasingly Mediterranean temperatures of parts of the London Sewer system.”

  Julia’s pulse quickened. She pushed her anger at Sawyer to the back of her mind. There was no point in pretending anymore. “And?”

  “If alien vegetation prefers warm water, maybe the Chittrix and Scutters do too? Warm, sediment-rich water for them to swoop through unseen. What’s not to like?” He hesitated, sizing her up. “The thermogenic plants aren’t a coincidence. I’m making an educated guess that it’s colder in the sewer system than it would have been in the primary hive. Even Earth insects need warmth to aid incubation of larvae and eggs. I haven’t got the equipment to examine the composition of the water but I’m guessing the algae may infuse it with proteins. Proteins that might nourish alien eggs and larvae.”

  She gave him a long, slow look. They were at an impasse with the Chittrix. Nobody knew where the aliens were nesting and they needed all the help they could muster. If they didn’t start working together as humans and fighting the Chittrix instead of each other, they might as well give up now.

  Darr pre-empted her, placing his hand on the door handle, his expression questioning. “Shall we?”

  25

  Sawyer ground his teeth in disbelief as Julia stepped inside her lab, allowing Nathan Darr to hold the door open for her. Rational thoughts obliterated his normal inhibitions, short-circuiting his socialized behavior, as he marched down the corridor, anger making his boots pound. His hands tensed, contracting into compact balls, as he visualized punching Darr smack in the face.

  He stalled at the now closed door to the lab, as a litany of unanswered questions flooded his mind. What was Darr doing in Julia’s research lab? And what was she doing inviting him in? They knew nothing about this man or his people. It was only a matter of hours since they had been tied up by Darr’s men. Sawyer’s jaw was still tender from where Darr had clipped him and knocked him to the floor.

  And the rest. Beth.

  His hand clenched the door handle, his conscience loudly berating him. He hadn’t been honest with Julia. He hadn’t lied, but he had kept the truth from her, fearful of losing her, of her judgment. That she would think less of him as a man because of his flawed decisions.

  The choices he’d made in the past, he’d thought were the right ones at the time, choices that served the greater good in the long term. He had never intended to use Beth; it had just happened. And she had loved him, and he thought he loved her, but he’d been foolish and naïve. And, of course, the time had come when he’d been forced to choose between her and removing her drug-peddling, life-sucking, bastard brother from society.

  His forehead touched the cool wood of the door. He was a mess.

  He imagined telling Julia what he’d done. That he’d sacrificed Beth to convict her brother. That he hadn’t been straight with her when she’d asked him directly. He wasn’t proud of any of it.

  Fuck.

  Sawyer grabbed the handle, and stalked into the room.

  Julia flinched as the door opened, jerking back from her desk where she’d been standing next to Darr. Darr looked up and gave Sawyer a long once over, carefully folding his arms across his chest.

  Sawyer slowed, his eyes never leaving Darr’s as they sized each other up.

  Julia’s hand rose to her chest as the door slammed shut, unnaturally loud in the silent room.

  “Damn, you frightened me.” Julia gave him a faltering smile.

  Sawyer scrutinized Darr. The man was leaning with his hip against the desk like he owned the place. “I saw you both come in here. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  Julia ran a hand through her hair and adjusted her glasses. She pointed to a pile of paperwork on the desk that Darr was reclining on. “We’re fine. Nathan was just sharing some ideas with me about identifying the location of the Chittrix nest.”

  Nathan? She was on first-name terms with the man who would have happily killed them only hours ago? He worked the muscles in his jaw, fighting the urge to throw Darr into the corridor.

  “Is that in everyone’s best interests right now?” Sawyer ground out. He let his hand graze the SIG resting at his hip.

  Julia bristled, straightening her spine. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  “Maybe I’ll escort Mr. Darr up to the communications room where he can share any insights with Garrick.”

  Julia took a step toward him, her tone adamant. “Sawyer, we were just speaking. If we’re going to find the nest, we need to work together. Share information. Garrick will support me on that.”

  Sawyer looked straight past her, eyeballing Darr. “I’m sure. Let’
s go see him, shall we.”

  Darr pushed off the desk, his hands raised in conciliation as he strolled toward Sawyer. “I don’t want to be the source of any problems.”

  He stopped in front of Sawyer, only inches between their bodies. “May I?”

  Sawyer grunted and shifted the bare minimum to let Darr pass.

  Darr made to move, inclining his head, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. “You know you’re the reason she’s dead.”

  Sawyer rocked on the balls of his feet, his pulse soaring. He visualized pounding Darr’s head into the worn linoleum floor. Repeatedly.

  He glared. “The Chittrix killed Beth.”

  Darr’s eyes glittered with suppressed emotion, his words were barely more than a hiss. “No. You killed her. We lived there safely for nearly a year, and then you people turn up, and suddenly there’s Chittrix, and Scutters, and Beth is dead.”

  Sawyer dug his nails into the palms of his hands, fighting his instincts. Julia was watching him, and he didn’t want to disappoint her.

  “She’s dead because of you,” prodded Darr.

  Sawyer’s nostrils flared. “You think you can just—”

  Julia stood abruptly, holding up her hands in a time-out sign. She stepped up to them, glaring at one and then the other. “Guys. There’s work to be done.”

  Darr’s face hovered in front of Sawyer, bright with pleasant anticipation. He wasn’t going to be dissuaded.

  Sawyer wanted to indulge him. His hands curled and uncurled repeatedly. “You should leave. Now.”

  Resistance corded the muscles in Darr’s neck. “I’ll leave when I’m ready.”

  Beth’s face flashed in Sawyer’s mind. The Chittrix lunging for her before detonating into wet alien shrapnel. He was light-headed, distant from his body as the last of his self-control fizzled and died.

  “Bastard.” The words burst from Sawyer as anger propelled him forward.

  He grabbed Darr round the waist and threw him against the lab workbench. Darr landed on his back, scattering papers and glass vials to the floor with a crash. He rolled to his side, on his feet like quicksilver.

  “You got this coming.” Darr shouted. He seized Sawyer by the shoulders, knocking him off-balance and with a clean, fast swing, punched Sawyer neatly in the face.

  Sawyer reeled as pain erupted across the bridge of his nose. He stumbled, grunting as he righted himself, his tongue dabbing tentatively at the fresh split in his bottom lip. Hot blood flooded his nostrils and dripped down the back of his throat.

  Fucker.

  In quick retaliation Sawyer smashed his fist into Darr’s chin. Flesh compacted, and bones shifted satisfyingly under his attack. Darr staggered, fighting to regain his precarious balance. He let loose an animal bellow as he dove forward, grabbing Sawyer in a painful hug.

  Connected, the two men sprawled to the floor, Sawyer landing sideways with a bone-jarring jolt. Darr scrabbled onto his feet, launching with a howl onto Sawyer’s back, claw-like fingers groping for his windpipe and compressing his airway.

  Sawyer fell backward, letting his weight crush Darr underneath and breaking his grip. He rolled and grabbed Darr by the scruff of his collar and screamed in his face, grief pouring from him in a torrent. Unleashed, he laid into Darr, punching him repeatedly, relishing the eruption of blood as he pummeled his frustration into the other man.

  Julia screamed, “Sawyer, stop!”

  Through the red mist, Sawyer realized Darr was no longer fighting back, his hands raised defensively.

  Julia lunged between them, tearing them apart. Sawyer hesitated as her fingers gripped his arm but Darr didn’t. He lashed out at Sawyer, but his aim flew wide and instead connected with Julia, knocking her backward.

  She crashed heavily into the workbench, a thick rivulet of dark blood instantly marking her forehead. She raised a wobbly hand to her scalp, her fingers coming away sticky and wet. She stared at them, her eyes unfocused.

  Sawyer stumbled, tripping over Darr’s feet in his desperation to get to Julia. He skidded to his knees in front of her, horrified at what might have been. He reached out to touch her, but she recoiled and smacked his hand away.

  “Don’t touch me.” Her voice cut him like a laser.

  What had he done? “Jesus, Julia—”

  Darr shifted behind him. “God, I’m sorry…”

  Julia shook her head and pulled herself up from the floor, hanging on to the worktop for support. Her voice was venomous. “Leave. Me. Alone.”

  The gash on her forehead oozed and she blinked and tried ineffectually to wipe it from her eye with a shaky hand.

  Panic stained Sawyer’s words. “We have to get you checked out.”

  “I’m fine,” she said, emphatic.

  Sawyer spun to face Darr. “You’re lucky she only cracked her head.”

  He took a step toward the scavenger, but Julia screamed, “Enough!” The end of her word wavered, and she sagged against the worktop before sliding to the floor, mumbling a confused jumble of words.

  The pain in her voice washed over him, churning up his insides. He had done this, through his own stupidity. This was entirely his fault. Sawyer ignored her protests, bending and sweeping her off the floor. She struggled briefly and then sagged into the cocoon of his arms. Her hair brushed the underside of his chin, filling his brain with her soft scent.

  He blanked Darr as he yanked the lab door open. It took all his strength just to keep moving. He kissed the top of Julia’s hair as he carried her, the heat from her scalp burning his lips. She murmured something indistinct, her words blurred by pain and concussion.

  He ran with her, rushing her to the bright, white light of the infirmary. By the time he arrived, his shirt was dark with blood. The shock on Jamie Edward’s face as he crashed through the door with Julia in his arms only confirmed what Sawyer knew to be true.

  His world was twisting out of control and the darkness he’d fought for so long was dragging him under and tearing everything apart.

  26

  Julia had to squint at the grainy feed from the video link to see Darr and two of his men leaving the Command Base. Leven and red-haired Jakub walked away without a backward glance, their weapons slung over their shoulders, but Darr craned a final look, his angular face expressionless.

  The remaining survivors of the Chittrix attack at Crossness station had chosen to remain at CB, including the two young girls, Megan and Katie.

  Anna peered over Julia’s shoulder.

  “Good riddance.” She clicked the visual link off with a firm thumb press.

  Violet pushed back from the digital map she was scanning at a nearby computer station. “Are they gone?”

  Anna pivoted on the desk. “Gone, although I doubt it’s the last we’ve seen of Mr. Darr.”

  Violet grimaced. “He’s bad news.” She pointed at Julia with a chewed pen. “How’s the head?”

  Julia raised a tentative hand to the thick dressing on her forehead. Edwards had taped the wound shut, reassuring her it appeared worse than it actually was. It throbbed like hell, but at least it had stopped bleeding. “I’ll live.”

  “Have you spoken to Sawyer?” Violet asked, quirking her eyebrows into a nonchalant expression.

  Julia ignored the implication in Violet’s voice, but she shot a glance at Anna. Had she mentioned anything to Violet? Anna gave the tiniest shake of her head.

  “He went to see Garrick after he took me to the infirmary. I’ve not seen him since.” Julia twisted her fingers in her lap. The straightforward relationship she’d worked to establish with Sawyer was unraveling right before her eyes, and she was helpless to stop it.

  “I don’t know what to say to him. I’ve never seen him like that. It freaked me out seeing him so worked up. He was agitated, like he had this itch, and the only way he was going to ease it was through hitting Darr.”

  “From what you’ve said Jules, Darr provoked him,” Anna said.

  “Yes, I know. He was upset about…Beth, the woman t
hat died.” They were together, and he kept it from me. She straightened in her seat, running a hand through her hair. Her fingers caught in fuzzy knots. God, she wanted to slip into a hot bath and forget about the world.

  “He knew her from before. He worked undercover for the Met, and his evidence led to her conviction. He’s messed up about it. He hasn’t forgiven himself for what happened. Now it’s too late, and it’s eating away at him.” Julia rubbed her stinging eyes and glanced over at Violet, but the other woman had returned to her computer screen and was absorbed in flicking through historical underground maps.

  Julia softened her voice so only Anna could hear. “I’m hopeless. I don’t know what to say to him because I’m crap at relationships.”

  Anna frowned, her eyebrows creasing under her blonde hair. “Is that what this is now? A relationship? Because before, you were adamant that was the last thing it was.”

  Julia hesitated. “No. It’s just…I have feelings for him, of course. I worry about him.” She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable under Anna’s scrutiny. “We all do,” she justified.

  Anna stared at her so long Julia squirmed. “Don’t look at me like that, Anna,” she muttered.

  “I’m not,” Anna replied, deadpan.

  “You are. I’m confused. I don’t know what I want. Realistically, we’re better off without each other if we can’t just keep it as friends, because we’re both hopeless. He’s messed up. He needs something else, something I can’t give him.” Her chest was tight as she wished the reality was as easy as the statement.

  “I saw the expression on his face when he arrived to speak to Garrick,” Anna replied. “I don’t think he’s confused, more like terrified about what he feels for you.”

  Julia looked away, a lump forming in the back of her throat. She didn’t want to hear this. “I just want to keep things simple. That’s the only way forward. I can control my research, it’s the one thing that’s going to make a difference around here.”

  Anna touched Julia’s hand. “That’s a lonely way to live.”