Beneath the Fallen City - A Dystopian Fantasy Romance

Chapter 5

"We finished running the additional security scans last night. The problem is going to be traveling outside our monitoring areas."

Carl nodded at Cruncher's assessment and took another bite of food. He glanced around the table at his crew and considered his options. They couldn't close up shop while they waited for a resolution of the issue with Ramiro. No matter what he decided, their productivity would take a hit.

Xantham leaned over, swiping a fruit stick off Jinx's plate. She glowered at him and snatched it back, bopping him on the head in the process. Ignoring their antics, Carl turned back to Cruncher with the intention of continuing their conversation. He fell silent at the older man's expression.

"Hot damn." Cruncher's jaw dropped.

Carl looked up to see Kayla striding into the room. With a cheerful "Good morning," she flashed a smile to the group and headed toward the cabinet that stored their prepared meals.

Carl swallowed and couldn't help but gape as she bent over the cabinet. Her shorts hung low on her waist and hugged her curves seductively. The small top was low cut and accentuated her breasts while leaving her midsection bare. Oblivious to the reaction she'd caused, she pulled out one of the breakfast meals and programmed the computer to heat it.

"You're going to have to beat off the potential recruits if they get a look at her."

Carl eyed her appreciatively, silently agreeing with Cruncher's comment. It was more than her appearance though. There was such an effortless sensuality to her movements. Something about her captivated him, and judging from the reactions of the other men in the room, he wasn't alone.

Elyot was close to drooling, and Xantham nearly fell out of his chair trying to get a better look.

Jinx looked at the men in mock disgust. "You know, I don't remember getting that kind of reaction when I wore the same outfit."

Xantham's eyes didn't leave Kayla. "Much love to you, Jinx, but you don't have a body like that."

Jinx rolled her eyes, taking a large bite of her fruit stick. Carl cleared his throat, and Xantham had the grace to look abashed. Kayla brought her food tray to the table and sat down.

"Sleep well?" Carl leaned forward, watching while she uncovered her plate.

Kayla nodded. "Yeah. Those privacy dividers are nice. I didn't mean to sleep so late."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You haven't missed anything."

"Oh, thanks again for the clothes, Jinx. I'm hoping Veridian will be here this morning with my things."

"Yeah, thanks for the clothes, Jinx," Xantham echoed, putting his head in his hands to gaze at Kayla.

Jinx kicked him under the table. He jerked upright and grimaced at her. Jinx turned back to Kayla and smiled. "Anytime, Kayla. Ignore Xantham. He was dropped on his head when he was a kid."

Kayla arched a brow, then looked at the faces seated around the table. "So where are Lisia and Zane? Did they head to the ruins?"

Jinx looked slightly uncomfortable and so did the men. "Uh, Lisia wanted to get out of camp for a bit. They're running the perimeter to check for security flaws."

Kayla cocked her head. "Oh?"

Before Jinx could reply, Carl pushed away his plate and changed the subject. "Kayla, I have some commlink appointments this afternoon, but before that we're going to run some preliminary tests on the new equipment. If everything is quiet with Ramiro, we're planning on going underground tomorrow to see how some of these new toys handle. You interested?"