Touched By A Marine (Book 1)

Chapter Seventeen: Kill Chip Activated

"How is he doing?" I asked Brad as he closed the door leading into Noah's room.

"He's fine. He just needs to sleep for now."

I sighed. "To think I almost lost him today."

"Come here," Brad said whispering quietly as he hugged me close to his chest.

"I'm tired of the fighting Brad. I just want this to be over with."

I pulled away from the hug as I turned on my heel and walked down the hallway to the living room where Roman was hard at work tinkering with a computer. The sun had set less then two hours ago and all was quiet around us. Parking my ass on the couch, I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. The smell of dinner cooking on the stove made my stomach growl as my mouth watered in anticipation. Suddenly a burning sensation worked it's up and down my leg until it was all that I felt. I cried out as it worsened  and soon I was on my back as Roman held me down by my shoulders.

"Brad, get in here!"

"Oh, my God." He whispered. "What's wrong?"

"The tracker." I mumbled through clenched teeth. "It must be activated."

"But how is that possible?" Roman asked. "I mean, we destroyed the security control room just before we left."

"Vlad's not stupid enough to give a couple of security guards the main kill switch." I replied, as I cried out again.

"We have to take it out then." Brad said.

"No! It'll kill me should you remove it."

"We don't have a choice, James. It's going to kill you anyways if we don't something. I'll be right back."

What seemed like an hour took only minutes, when Brad returned with a bowl of hot water, a towel, a syringe and morphine, bandages, and surgical supplies. The weight of Roman's massive body as he held me in place felt like nothing as I desperately tried to wrestle myself out of his arms and crawl away from the burning pain that was now consuming me. Brad pulled down my pants as he inserted the syringe into the morphine bottle before injecting it into my upper thigh. The drugs seemed to help relieve some of the burning but not by much. I watched as the steel blade of a scalpel sliced it's way through my skin as blood poured out like a gentle stream.

"Oh no." Brad mumbled.

"What is it?" Roman asked.

"The kill chip has been dangerously hardwired and embedded into the bone. To make matters worse, I can see a timer and it's counting down. We may only have a few minutes left."

"Let me see."

They switched position's as Roman took ahold of the scalpel and interested his fingers into my leg as he measured the dimensions of the device. Working as a Navy Seal, I assumed he knew his way around a bomb as well as a chip like this. He reached down beside him as he pulled out, wait a minute, are those a pair of Need Nose Pliers? I watched as he worked with what little light he had from the table lamp behind the couch before pulling out what looked like a tiny metal cover.

"There. I got the cover off. Looks like I can see three wires. Blue, yellow, and green."

"Shit." I said. "I'm a dead a man."

"No, you are not." Brad replied. "Roman, what do you think? Can you disarm it?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's possible. But the way this bad boy's been designed it might just kill him outright should I tinker with any of the wires."

 "James, it's your decision."

I consider for a moment. "Do it."

Taking a deep breath, Roman slowly inserted the scalpel back into my leg as I silently prayed that I would survive this. All eyes were upon him as sweat appeared on his forehead. In his mind, I could tell he was deathly afraid that my life was in his hands. One wrong wire and it's lights out for me.

"There. I think I got it." He said finally.

"You think!?" Brad exclaimed. "It's either a yes or a no. Did you or did you not deactivate the kill chip."

"Yes. It is done. Come and see if you don't believe me."

Brad laid me down on the couch as he went to inspect his brother's handiwork. "Now that the kill chip is gone. Can you take out the device it self?"

"Not here no. I don't have the right equipment."

"All right then. Sew him back up. We'll deal with the rest later."

The burning in my leg was no more as the effects of the morphine quickly worked their magic once the chip had been disabled. I grabbed a couch pillow from nearby and placed it behind my head as I watched Roman go to work on sewing and bandaging my leg. A few tugs and pulls later, followed by a white gauze wrapped around my thigh, I was carried into the master bedroom and laid flat out on the bed. The lamp on the bedside table was turned on creating a soft lighting atmosphere. Laying the sheet and blanket on top of me Roman gave a quick kiss before turning to leave the room. But not before my voice quickly carried itself through the air and reached his ears.

"Roman. Thank you. For saving my life. I know it must have been a lot of pressure on you this evening."

"You're welcome. Besides, you can thank me later once this is all said and done."

"Oh? Just how will I be able to thank you."

He shrugged. "I haven't gotten that far ahead yet."

"Well, you better figure it out, sir."

He smiled as he left the room, closing the door just a crack to leave enough light pouring in from the living room downstairs. I rolled onto my side as I pulled the covers up closer to my neck and sighed with content that sleep would eventually take it's hold on me. Soon I felt movement beside me as an arm wrapped around me and pulled me closer into a rock hard chest that was indeed shirtless and smelled like cologne. I inhaled sharply as my eyes opened, my voice barely a whisper.

"Mmmm. You smell good."

Brad chuckled. "Well I'm glad you find me so appealing."

"In more ways then one babe."

"Really? What is it? My charm? My sex appeal?"

I smiled in the darkness. "Besides that. No, it's because of your undying love for me."

Brad captured my lips in a single wet kiss that sent my heart aflame. He wrapped his arms fully around me as he rolled onto his back without breaking the connection between the two of us. I couldn't help but be a little bit devious as I pulled away and kissed down the chest of his chest. His muscles flexed and tightened as the sensual relaxation took control over him. Soon he was in heaven. I pulled down his underwear and took him whole in my mouth as he bit back a growl and arched his back as his hands dug into my hair. God, he tasted so damn good. I licked the tip in a slow circular motion, teasing him to the point of lust showing up in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, I knew he was close from the moment I heard him speak my name like a chant over and over again. He gasped as he came into my mouth, his hands desperately grabbing the blanket as he fought to keep the raging orgasm locked up inside his chest.

I licked him clean from stem to stern as I crawled back up to him and kissed the tip of his nose followed by his lips again.

"That was amazing." He said.

"It was my pleasure."