ManOnFire Read Free

decoy theory. This passage had room to squat in, way too much room for its obvious function. Running lights high on the sides clicked on and off as Wells shifted position. Motion detectors, light strips—this went somewhere, and someone had wanted to make sure it wasn’t found.
    Wells waited for her to pull into a crouch and flick her visor open. He placed one gloved finger to his distracting lips and then shuffled down the tunnel without making so much as a whisper of sound. Amanda followed, but she kept her rifle and her eyes shifting back toward the opening as they went. She trusted the squad to hold the hall, but she also trusted fate to deal her an unexpected surprise at any turn. A merc expected anything and kept ready.
    The duct tunnel turned to the left at a ninety-degree angle. The floor stepped down a good two feet and the next segment allowed for walking upright. The commander stood and waved her forward, but she held the crouch. The bend blocked her view of their retreat, and she snuggled the assault rifle up to her shoulder and backed after him.
    He still used the private comm and his voice whispered inside her helmet, “Man?”
    “Yeah.” The visor would have hidden her blush. With it up, she fixed her eyes on the floor and inhaled to a slow count of six.
    “This is it.”
    That cooled her cheeks. She looked at Wells and at the fortified door he examined. It constituted the end of their particular heating duct and she’d have bet her retirement the prime minister hid on the other side. “You should have brought Kaboom.”
    Unfortunately, he’d left the demolitions expert in the courtyard with Hicks.
    Wells curled his lips into a thin smile. His eyes sparked, reflecting the light strip for a split second. “I’m guessing the minister has to open it from the other side.”
    “So we just knock?”
    “Helmet off.” He didn’t wait for her to comply, but just closed his visor and waited until she’d pulled her helmet completely free.
    She turned her attention back to their rear, listened and heard the distant hum of laser fire that would either keep their path clear or seal it on them.
    For the door, she spared a quick examination between backward glances. The native metal was resilient enough, and she’d guess this panel to be a good three times thicker than what they’d faced so far. The outline of mag-locks dotted the frame as well and she’d put her money on some kind of laser alarm system. Wells was right. Someone would have to let them in. She aimed her muzzle back the way they came and thanked her luck that the door wasn’t her problem.
    Wells was. She chewed her lip and squinted at the gleam of empty duct. He did things to her, like it or not, and she’d better get them under control before her wandering thoughts cost her her whole head. She’d had the best training a merc could get. Losing it over a little injection of hormones wouldn’t impress her new boss—particularly since he was the target. Wells would consign her to her quarters for thinking even one of the thoughts she’d had since they embarked. He’d fire her outright.
    The man was sharp, all business, and she’d have bet he made love like an Amarylian tiger, damn it.
    “Man?”
    “Sorry!” She whipped back around. Wells had his helmet off. He wore an expression she couldn’t read. It felt like trouble, as if he’d read her mind, and her damn cheeks warmed again. “So.” She reined it in. They had a job to do. “How do we get in?”
    “We knock.”
    “Really?”
    “In a manner of speaking.” Sparks again. She’d never seen the man quite so unguarded. Amusement frolicked, unmasked, across his features. He set his helmet on the ground, tucked up against the door and spoke with more volume than was necessary to reach only her. “Transmit on my mark, Chicken.”
    Amanda waited. She kept her eyes moving to the door, back down the hallway, to Wells’ face. Nothing happened. Wells kept silent and Chicken, she