Page 106 of Specter Bred

I pinched his nipple.

Hard.

"Ah, shit!" he yelped, jerking upright. "What the hell, Firecracker? What was that for?"

"Listen."

He blinked at me, groggy.

"Listen to what?"

Right on cue, another tortured cry tore through the room, loud enough this time that even Hayes’s beta hearing caught it. His face turned pale.

"What the fuck was that?" Hayes whispered, fully awake now.

Before I could answer, Graves’s voice thundered through the wall.

"Contact left! No... no, no!"

The raw panic in it sent a chill down my spine.

Something was wrong. I had heard Graves angry, cold, and violent. I had heard him bark orders and tear recruits apart without hesitation. But I had never heard him like this.

There was real pain in his voice.

And fear.

Hearing it from a man like him, a man who always seemed untouchable, made my stomach twist.

"Medic! Fucking medic!"

His voice cracked on the last word.

Then louder.

"Man down! Reaper, stay with me! Stay the fuck with me!"

The words hit me like a round to the chest, and before I could think, I threw back the covers, my bare feet hitting the floor.

"Wait, Maeve!" Hayes hissed.

But I was already moving.

I yanked one of Sammy’s oversized shirts over my head, grabbed my service weapon, and crossed the room fast, heading straight for Graves’ room next door.

Sammy stumbled after me, half-dressed and fumbling into his pants, nearly tripping over himself before catching his balance.

"Maeve, don’t," he whispered again as I reached for the handle.

My hand stalled.

Then Graves’s voice tore through the door.

"We’re hit! Fall back! FALL THE FUCK BACK!"

Pure instinct took over.

I threw the door open, gun raised, sweeping the room for an attacker.