Guardians: Away Mission Book 2 of the Guardians Saga COMPLETED except for edits

Heads Will Roll... Ch. 11.2

"I tripped. When I reached out to steady myself, I must have popped a stitch or two," Alex said.

Rile and Cale said nothing at Alex's cover story.

"Cale, fetch the first aid kit. Let me see, Alex." Gabe gently pulled up the edge of her shirt. "You're right. The edge of the wound is open. Hand me the gauze." Gabe dabbed at the wound once he had the gauze and Alex sucked in her breath. "I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" she asked.

Gabe didn't see the hope in Alex's face, but Rile and Cale did.

"That you were hurt," Gabe replied, still dabbing the wound.

"Oh," Alex said.

That hope just died.

"It's part of the job description," she continued.

"No, it's not. You should have stayed inside the Institute as ordered," Gabe said.

"This is my fault now?" Alex, still in sparring mode, jerked away from Gabe and grabbed three staffs from the wall.  "Prove it."

She tossed staffs to Rile and Gabe. "If it hadn't been for your girlfriend, I wouldn't have gotten hurt." She made a quick jab at Gabe's midsection.

Cale groaned, but Rile smiled.

"We need to go," Cale whispered to him.

"I've been waiting for this argument so I can enjoy it," he whispered back.

"And take advantage of it," Cale whispered furiously but stopped when Gabe spoke.

"Cla wasn't my girlfriend. I had a mission to accomplish and I did," Gabe stated and this time Alex was able to clout him across the head.

"Oh, what you endure for the mission." Alex's staff hit Gabe's staff so hard that it was almost torn from his grasp. "There must be a high supply of Guardians if you have sex to save the world." Alex's side swing caught Gabe in the ribs.

Rile chuckled, "Good one."

Cale snatched up his own staff and tried to jab him. "Let's go back to our apartment, now."

"I wouldn't miss this for a portal back home. You go. I'm staying," Rile replied, swatting away Cale's staff.

Gabe sighed. "That didn't come out right. It's different for males. There was much going on and there was this irresistible physical compatibility."

Rile's eyes widened and Cale cringed.

"This is way too much information," Cale said. "As the humans say."

Alex swept Gabe's feet and he landed with a thud. "That's what this is about: sexual attraction," she accused the prone form.

Gabe clambered back to his feet. "No, it's not."

"Keep digging, Gabe, the hole is almost deep enough," Rile crowed.

"You're not helping, Rile," Gabe said.

"I'm not trying to help," Rile replied with a thrust that Gabe expertly parried.

"Cale, was this 'physical compatibility' irresistible? Did you and Deela-" Alex started.

"No, we did not! Leave me out of this," Cale called as he ran and hid in the kitchen.

"Alex, I'm sorry." Gabe sounded angry, not sorry, and he gripped his staff with whitened knuckles. "The circumstances what they were and the mission what it was, I did what I had to do."