Marie Harte - Roane

“It’s been a long day. We’ll postpone a full debrief until tomorrow,” Doc said before turning to Caitlyn. “After dinner, Kelly will show you to your room.” Caitlyn put up no protest and shoved a fork into the salad Kelly had prepared. Which made Roane wonder where the cook had gone.

“Doc, what happened to Diego?”

“Family emergency. It checked out.”

Yet Roane sensed the same unease the rest of the men felt. They all stared at Doc until he relented.

“He’s working on something I assigned him. When I’m ready to tell you about it, I will,” he finished coolly.

Roane grinned. “Sure thing, Doc.” Irritating the boss always pleased him. Why, he couldn’t say. But ruffling Doc’s feathers made the man seem more human and less a scientific genius with a limitless wallet.

They spent the rest of the meal as usual. Zack and Ace annoyed one another and flirted with Kelly, who ignored them in favor of someone else -- Caitlyn. Doc and Derrick talked baseball while Hale waxed on and on about the newest hottie waiting tables at The Ugly Mug, one of his favorite stops in town.

Under his breath, he described her with awe. “She has the nicest tits. Really full. Long-ass legs that wrap around a body just right.” Hale groaned and sucked down his beer. “But best of all, she’s actually intelligent under all that blonde hair. Likeable, too, especially while she’s blowing you. Friendlier gal I’ve yet to meet.”

“For God’s sake, Hale, you sound like you’re in heat.” Roane huffed in disgust. All this talk of long legs and big breasts made him think of Caitlyn when he needed to concentrate elsewhere.

“In lust, maybe. I think we already did ‘in heat,’ bro.” Hale smirked.

“You look in her direction again, and I’ll rip that smug grin right off your fucking face,” he whispered harshly, knowing the other Circs could hear him. Caitlyn, thankfully, seemed absorbed in whatever Kelly was saying.

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Hale whispered. “You’re wrapped too tight. Easy, Roane. I’m just kidding around. I like Caitlyn. She seems like a nice girl.” My nice girl, the beast in Roane snarled.

“Roane, did you see the Cubs beat the Braves today?” Derrick shook his head. “If you’re not careful, you’re gonna lose a shitload of money to me. Betting on the Braves. Man. Then again, no one ever claimed you were the sharpest tool in the shed.” Derrick chuckled, and Roane reluctantly left Hale alone as he finished his dinner.

He caught Caitlyn eyeing him with uncertainty. The small smile he gave her didn’t seem to instill any more confidence.

“Wow, Kelly. That was great.” Caitlyn placed her napkin on the table by her half-eaten plate of food. “It’s been a long day, and I’m beat.” She smiled at Doc. “I really appreciate all you’re doing for me. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to get some rest now.” Doc stood, gentleman that he was. He glared at the rest of the table, and they shot out of their chairs to their feet. “Have a good night’s rest, Caitlyn. We’ll start more testing tomorrow. Sleep in and relax. You’re safe here.” She nodded her good night to the others but paused when she faced Roane. “Good night, and thanks.” Quickly turning on her heel, she joined Kelly and left the room.

Silence lingered. Roane glanced away from the women’s exit to find everyone watching him. “What?”

Doc narrowed his gaze. “A little possessive, aren’t we?” Not “we,” professor. Me. Roane ignored the taunting voice in his head. “Not at all.”

“Good. Because Caitlyn is very new to all this, despite her background. She’s a newly turned Circ, just maturing.” Doc waved them to sit and continued when they did. “I expect she’ll go into heat a few more times this week before she settles.” Roane’s internal temperature skyrocketed at the news.

“And that’s going to cause problems if you’re feeling possessive.”

“It’s just because we’ve found a female.” Roane lied through his teeth, not yet ready to announce how he felt when he didn’t understand it himself. As leader of this ragtag band of genetic anomalies, he was expected to be strong, in control. Battling his inner beast was hard enough. Fighting his new instincts to claim Caitlyn bore close watching.

“Uh-huh.” Hale rolled his eyes. “That’s why any of us even try sniffing in her direction and you’re ready to tear our heads off.”

“Not any of you. Just you, Hale, because you’re an ass.”

Derrick snickered. “He’s got you there. You are an ass.”

“Shut up.”

“No, really,” Zack added with a smile. “You’re too arrogant and too horny. And if you look at Kelly the way you look at Caitlyn, I’m going to rip off your balls --”

“And feed them to you one by one,” Ace ended, smiling though his suddenly sharp teeth.

Doc sighed. “This is getting ugly.”

“It’s too many damned females around,” Derrick muttered. “They’re always trouble.”

“That I agree with.” Hale nodded.

“The addition of a female Circ is bound to cause problems,” Doc said thoughtfully.

“And interesting dynamics. I want the five of you in Lab A first thing in the morning. No arguments.”

The men groaned but agreed. Doc called the shots. The head man at his little “compound,” his money paid for their survival and the roof over their heads. Granted, they fulfilled their end of things by dealing with Pearson Labs and their misfits, but without Doc, it’d be a hell of a lot harder to pool their resources while fighting against Elliot Pearl.

“Yeah, yeah.” Roane stood and stretched, deliberately taking his time. A man in control of his beast and his urges. “I’m turning in. I’ll see you idiots tomorrow.”

“That’s Mr. Idiot to you,” Hale joked. “Later, Romeo.” Roane flipped him and the others off as they gave him crap about going to sleep early.

He walked down the hall to his room. Opposite the passage leading to the elevator shaft, his room was in another wing on the ground floor of the three-storied living quarters.

Doc had spared no expense when building his small fortress. They lived on thirty acres of private land bordered by two farms. A half hour from the ocean, they also had water access should they need an escape route. In the years they’d lived here, they’d made a home for themselves. Despite dealing with Hale’s rabid sex life, Zack and Ace as they irritated the hell out of one another, and Derrick’s cautious approach to anything resembling trust, Roane didn’t want to be anywhere else. Here he had purpose. A family.

He didn’t even mind Doc’s constant prodding. The man had more of Roane’s blood in bags and vials than Roane had in his entire body, but he knew Doc only wanted the best for the squad. Shit, if it weren’t for Doc, they probably wouldn’t have lived through the hell at the end of Project Dawn.

Uncomfortable with the notion, Roane was just about to slam the door shut on his bedroom and his thoughts when the notion to see Caitlyn grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.

The minute he rounded the corner toward her hallway the scent of heaven hit his nose.

He immediately raced toward Caitlyn, sure he’d have to fight off the others, only to see her standing alone with Kelly in the doorway of her room. Her eyes widened when she noticed him, but other than that, she said nothing to alert Kelly to his presence.

“If you need me, I’ll be staying down the hall tonight. Third door on your left past the bathroom. It’s not that confusing, really,” Kelly said with a laugh. “Five rooms total in this hallway. Doc practically lives down in his lab. So I’m the only other one who occupies a room here when necessary. The guys are all by themselves around the corner and down another corridor. Just holler if you need me.”