Project Genesis by Michelle Howard

looked like, the expression on her
face revealed it all. Not even the Rekabians had brought to the surface such a
mix of emotions on the face of the woman he craved. One more black mark against
his name to prove Vin Michaels didn’t warrant any semblance of happiness.
     
    ***
    Frozen muscles
held Helen immobile. Gone was her easy going lover with his silken whispers and
erotic touch. In his place stood a man Helen didn’t even know. Didn’t want to
know as evident by the unspoken threat of his words lingering in the air.
    “I won’t talk
about you or your men.” She couldn’t control the way her voice quivered. Vin
let her go but Helen kept her phone in her pocket and forced her arms to remain
loose at her side when she wanted to wrap them around her waist and rock. The
soothing gesture would have been too telling. “How soon can I go? Now would be
ideal.”
    The loud sound of
a screeching alarm cut off whatever he’d prepared to say. Helen jumped and
found herself up close and personal with the muscles she ogled earlier, hands
planted on his shoulders. Vin sat her aside immediately and strode to the
closet. He dug around and came out with a black shirt which he pulled over top
of the white tee. He tucked the hem in his waist and added the heavy utility
belt.
    His lightweight
body armor spread over his body an instant later. Passing her with a light
touch to her hair, the gesture at odds with his threat moments ago, he trekked
back across the room to dig through a pair of discarded black pants. Finding
what he sought, Vin stuck a small black circle and loop around his ear. He
pulled a large metal case from under the bed and removed a handheld gun in a
holster which he proceeded to strap to his left thigh. Next, he removed the
larger weapon she remembered from the attack at her office.
    He stood in one
fluid motion. A warrior preparing for battle. Giving in to the need, Helen wrapped
her arms around her waist and followed him into the outer room. The alarm
continued its discordant notes. She barely noticed the sofa, TV and table
set-up. “What’s going on, Vin?”
    His every action
conveyed urgency. “I’m being sent out.”
    Sent out, as in
leaving? Adrenaline shot through her veins and a sense of spiraling out of
control made her stumble.
    Someone thumped
loudly on the outer door. “Ten minutes,” a rough masculine voice shouted.
    Helen thought it
might have been Harkum. She reached out and grabbed Vin’s arms. “You can’t
leave me here. You said I could go home if I promised.” She didn’t want to stay
here. Not with this lover turned enemy.
    His face said it
all. The tough mask of a man she thought she knew. “I’m sorry. I have to go.
I’ll take you home when I get back.”
    Slowly, Vin pulled
her hand away from his sleeve and stepped back. They stared at one another.
Someone pounded on the door again. Fear churned through her veins yet Vin
continued to watch her with his unwavering stare. By some miracle, she found
the strength to accept his answer. “Okay.”
    Vin hurried to the
door, jerking it open. His eyes bored into hers, sincerity blazing. “I should
have called.” Not wasting another moment, he left followed by the sound of
multiple boots running down the hall.
    The door closed
quietly behind him.
    Helen pushed back
fear and worry. Time for that later. She needed to know what was going on and
the best way to do that was to see what the news hounds were saying. Helen
raced around the coffee table, grabbed a complex looking remote and turned on
the television. Media coverage poured forth. She clicked several times. The
first three news channels all had the same feed scrolling at the bottom of the
screen.
    ‘Rekabians
attack.’ Click.
    ‘Earth in
jeopardy.’ Click.
    ‘The end has
come.’ Click.
    Impossible. Helen
sank onto the sofa and turned up the volume. The anchor stared intently into
the screen as he dispassionately reported on the deaths around the world.
Helen’s eyes zoomed