Storm of Eon (Eon Warriors #7) - Anna Hackett Page 0,3

be…difficult.”

“Is she good at her work?”

“A genius with weapons systems. And no one works harder.”

Sabin nodded. “That’s all I need to know.”

“Well, be warned. She doesn’t work well with others, and she hates people in her lab.”

“I can handle the doctor. Where’s her lab?”

“Lowest-level. Lab B5.”

“Thank you.” Sabin strode out, following the signs to the elevators and down to Finley’s lab.

He was eager to get to work.

And strangely, he was eager to cross paths with the prickly doctor again.

Chapter Two

Finley pushed herself away from her computer and slumped back in her chair. Usually, her lab was her calm space, where she could focus.

Instead, she was distracted. She glanced at the computer screen. All the calculations and simulations were starting to blur.

She had to fix this problem in the targeting system, but she couldn’t damn well find the culprit. It had to be right before they could start any ground testing of the lasers, let alone orbital testing.

But her focus was scattered.

By a big, hard-to-ignore, Eon warrior.

She let out a low growl and closed her eyes. She tried a little meditation. She’d always had a hard time relaxing, even as a little girl. Her family was all normal. Normal parents. Normal siblings. Her sports-loving brothers were popular and outgoing. She was the odd one out. Her family loved her, but didn’t understand her. They’d always had a hard time keeping her stimulated. She’d skipped several years of school, but not too many. Her parents hadn’t wanted her to be a thirteen-year-old college student.

Finley had tried to fit in at school, but she’d eventually given up. She wasn’t friendly and smiling like all the other girls. She’d just spent all her time studying harder.

Then, as a young, twenty-four-year-old attending a conference in Africa, she and two of her colleagues had been abducted by a terrorist group.

Nausea swirled and she opened her eyes. Why was she even thinking about this? Her nightmares had stopped long ago, and the panic attacks were rare. Sabin was to blame for that, as well.

It was those eyes of his.

“Well, it’s no wonder you need help if you sit in your lab staring at the wall.”

Finley started, and her head whipped around.

Sabin stood in the doorway, his massive shoulders almost brushing the sides of it.

She scowled. “I was thinking.”

He wandered in and made a noncommittal sound.

“I asked you not to get in my way,” she said.

“You remind me of a garva.”

“What’s that?”

“A bad-tempered, little creature covered in armor from my homeworld of Ath. It sprays poison when threatened.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Are we going to trade insults?”

He smiled. “That wasn’t an insult. I like garvas. I had one as a pet when I was young.”

“Warrior—”

“Sabin.” He walked along one of the long benches in her lab, then paused. “You have a scale model of your weapons system.”

“Yes.” She blew out a breath. “Sometimes I find it better to imagine things in real life, not just simulations on the computer screen. That shows the design for the StarStorm satellites. They each have a solar array for power, and are equipped with lasers. If a Kantos ship approaches, we can activate the StarStorm array, and it will create an impenetrable net around the Earth. One deadly to Kantos ships. The satellites are still being built, and we need to keep testing the lasers on the ground before we head into space. I…have a few problems with the targeting system. It needs to be more precise.”

Sabin nodded. “I’d like to learn everything I can about the project.”

Finley crossed her arms. “I don’t have time to—”

“Make time. I can help, Finley. You want to protect your planet, right?”

“Of course. I just can’t stop my work though.” She grabbed a tablet off the bench and slapped it against his chest. The man was rock hard. “All the data on the project is on that. Don’t lose it, because it’s classified.”

One of his big hands circled her wrist. She suddenly realized they were standing awfully close. He was so big. She wasn’t used to feeling small and looking up at a man.

“Your heart rate increased,” he said.

She frowned. “What?” He could tell?

“I have enhanced senses.”

Her gaze dropped to his thick wrist, and the black band surrounding it. “Because of your helian.”

She had to admit, she was fascinated by the alien symbiont. She couldn’t imagine being joined to a creature that gave you increased strength and enhanced senses, and allowed you to generate armor and weapons with a thought.

“Yes,” he replied.

She yanked on her hand, and