Delta: Retribution by Cristin Harber Page A

The Romatar men brought her a sandwich, coffee, soda, all without her asking, because food was fuel, and it kept her going. And then she had to go.
    “Excuse me.”
    Ross turned from the latest project she had given him. “Yes?”
    “I have to go to the bathroom.”
    He looked over at the bossy guy who’d brought her in there. The man jutted his chin. “The project is progressing?”
    “Yes.”
    The man nodded. “How much longer?”
    Ross turned his head to her.
    She shrugged. “A couple hours, maybe?”
    “Not good enough.” Stepping forward, he brandished his gun as though it would make her not have to pee. Exact opposite, really. “Two more hours. Tops.”
    Her stomach turned. “I don’t know if—”
    The man shook his head and shouted down the hallway. Another shout sounded in response, all in Spanish, and she had no idea what they were saying. The bossy guy’s phone rang, and he grabbed it, chattering fast. He hung up with a glare.
    In the background, a gunshot rang out, and all the blood rushed from her head. She was dizzy. Nauseated. Ready to pass out.
    “Go to the bathroom, but finish in two hours.” The man’s harsh glare almost blinded her.
    Tears ran down her face. Did they shoot Trace? Did they kill him? Was he hurt? “What happened?”
    “That was your incentive to work faster.”
    Her insides hurt. Her mind was spinning, and she could barely walk. “Did you kill him?”
    “No. Not yet. I suggest you hurry and finish.”
    She looked at Ross, who pointed her to the bathroom.
    Hurrying in and out, she was back at her lab table, and the tears hadn’t stopped yet. She could hardly see the work in front of her for all the tears. “Please. Can you tell me that he’s okay?”
    “Work!”
    Sniffling, her breathing was labored and too fast. “I can’t. Please. Just—”
    “He’s alive. Work faster, and you can save him.”
    She nodded. Work faster. She could do that. “And he’ll be okay?”
    The man nodded. “Finish.”
    Ross whispered, “I can get them to drop him at the hospital. We’ll be on a plane out of here before you get through the front door. Just finish. I have to save my kids.”
    Ross’s kids and her boyfriend. What evil bastards. “They’ll save him?”
    “It’s your only chance.”
    She could do it. Saving Trace was the only thing that mattered. They weren’t that far from a hospital. Marlena closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then worked like hell. So what if she made a weapon? They weren’t going to use it today. They were going to sell it, right? So Titan or the military or someone could go find it.
    An hour later, she stood up. “Done! Take him to the hospital. Please.”
    The man nodded to Ross, who nodded back. “It looks like it will work.”
    “We test, then we’ll see.”
    “What!” she shrieked. “No! If he’s hurt, he needs a doctor. You said—”
    The man walked toward the hall. “Test it. I’ll be back.”
    Tears were back in her eyes. Her stomach hurt. It could take hours to test it. And even if Trace was still alive… she hadn’t heard sounds of pain. What if they just killed him and—
    A loud explosion rocked the building. The vibrations shook her off her feet and scattered the work on the table. Eyes wide, she watched Ross hunker onto the ground then jump up, grabbing all their work and running out the door.
    “Wait! Ross! No.” He wasn’t supposed to be the guy who wanted it. He just wanted to keep his family alive. He was a victim, as she was. Except he had just stolen what she had worked on. Shit .
    And what was that blast?
    The others in the room had scattered. She was alone, scared, not knowing which way to go or why things were exploding.
    Trace limped into the room, blood dripping down his arm. His jeans were red and his face angry. “Mar. You okay?”
    She nodded, running to him. “God, what happened?”
    “Let’s go.” He put a small gun in her hand. “Point and shoot. Just don’t shoot me.”
    It felt cold and