Part 19 (1/2)

She rolled her eyes and laughed, pus.h.i.+ng at his chest. 'Dumba.s.s.'

The high color on her cheeks made him feel better. h.e.l.l, he felt pretty d.a.m.n good.

But now they had to get back to business. Reconfigure the UV weaponry, give Lou a report on the battle with the demons, and figure out what happened with the other hunters.

Playtime was over. Back to business.

Back to demon hunting.

Too bad he and Gina didn't live in another world, another place where demons didn't exist, where they could have a normal relations.h.i.+p.

Whatever normal was. He'd like to explore a normal life sometime. He hadn't had normal since before Nic disappeared.

Only interludes of it. Like last night.

'Back to work, then,' he said.

'I guess so,' she replied with a reluctant sigh, slinging her rifle over her shoulder and turning to leave the cave.

He grabbed her then, taking in her gasp with his mouth over hers, kissing her deeply, with a longing that surprised the h.e.l.l out of him.

Then he let her go, not sure why he'd done that, knowing d.a.m.n well he shouldn't have. He didn't do emotional s.h.i.+t like that.

But Gina smiled, licked her bottom lip, and nodded, then climbed out of the cave.

Yeah, she understood.

Chapter Fifteen.

W hile Derek was busy giving Lou a report on their failure with the UV weaponry last night, Gina took the opportunity to shower and change clothes. On her way back, she ran into Jake sitting on a secluded shady hill overlooking the beach, furiously scribbling on a notepad. hile Derek was busy giving Lou a report on their failure with the UV weaponry last night, Gina took the opportunity to shower and change clothes. On her way back, she ran into Jake sitting on a secluded shady hill overlooking the beach, furiously scribbling on a notepad.

'What are you doing?' she asked, grabbing a spot on the ground next to him.

He glanced at her, then s.h.i.+fted back to his notepad. 'Taking notes.'

'Obviously,' she said with a smile. 'What kind of notes?'

'Laser notes.'

'We had trouble with the UV last night.'

'I know. I heard Derek telling Lou. That's why I'm making notes.'

She peered over his shoulder to see a few drawings and complex formulas that made absolutely no sense. 'So what is that?'

'It's an idea I have about reconfiguring the lasers.'

'Really? In what way?'

'Make a cutting tool out of the lasers instead of a flash weapon. I have the equipment here to do that. Just need some of Lou's weaponry.'

'A cutting tool?'

He looked up at her again. 'Slice and dice. Cut the demons in half.'

'Yuck. But oooh, I like the sound of that.' It would sure take care of the problem they'd encountered last night. 'How long would it take to build the weapon?'

'Doesn't take any time at all. Just a matter of sending the laser through the mechanism, and the mechanism is easy. The key is whether or not Lou will let me build and try one.'

'I don't see why he wouldn't. Have you talked to him about it?'

'No.'

'Why not?'

'He might say no.'

She rolled her eyes. 'He might say yes. You need to tell him your idea.'

'We'll see.'

Geniuses. She'd never understand them. 'Jake, are you afraid to make the suggestion to Lou?'

'I don't do people very well,' he mumbled, his hair falling over his face.

Shy. The kid was shy. That was kind of cute. 'Would you like me to go with you?'

He jerked his head up, flipping his hair out of the way. 'You'd do that?'

'Sure. I think your idea has merit. Let's see what Lou says.'

'And you can create this laser cutting machine in a day?'

Jake shrugged, pus.h.i.+ng his hair out of his eyes again. 'Yeah. Pretty much. I mean it's easy enough if I have the right tools, and I can create the remote controller easily. I can build it in a day, sure.'

Lou looked over at her, lifting his brows and nodding. 'Interesting.'

'That means we lose weaponry,' Derek said. 'Not sure I like the idea.'

'Only need a couple of the weapons,' Jake said, jamming his hands in his pockets.

'I think it's a fabulous idea,' Gina said. 'And given that the UV light weapons didn't work for us last night, it's worth a try.'

'They didn't work for anyone,' Lou added. 'We're reconfiguring them now. But still, I like your idea, Jake. I do agree with Derek that we can't really afford a shortage of weaponry, but if it's only two, then go for it.'