Free Awakening (Earth Evolution Series Book 4) by KD Jones Page A

the door as it slipped out of sight.
    *****
    Squirrel moved back out of the gym as quietly as possible. Her heart felt broken over Quinn’s words. I’ve worked too hard to let anything get in my way, especially someone I just met. She was in his way, keeping him from going on missions that he wanted. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t belong with Quinn on the command ship but she also didn’t belong on Earth anymore. There wasn’t anywhere for her. Once more, she was all alone.
    “Lihali, are you okay?” Tagar asked with concern.
    “I’m going back to my quarters to rest. I don’t want to be disturbed, by anyone.”
    “Did you speak with Quinn?”
    “No, he’s busy with his cousins.” She didn’t say anything else as they went back to her quarters. As she entered the door, she turned back to Tagar. “Could you show me how to change the security on my door? I want to be the only one who can unlock it.”
    “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until Quinn comes by to help you do that?”
    “I don’t want to see Quinn right now.”
    Tagar looked uncomfortable but he helped her reset the security alarm. Only she would have access. As soon as Tagar went outside into the corridor, she locked the door and broke down into tears. All her emotions rose up and overwhelmed her.
    She knew it was too good to be true. Good things never happened to her. First she lost her memory, then she almost died in that blast, found out she didn’t belong to a family, and then she fell in love with a sexy alien only to find out he thought she was holding him back. Squirrel had nowhere to go and was wanted by no one. She didn’t know what she was going to do.
    *****
    “Father was only trying to get you to think about what you would be signing up for. I can’t stand to be apart from Maggie and Milly; I would worry too much about their safety and could make a mistake, jeopardizing not only my life but also those of my team. I’m not missing anything by taking less dangerous missions because I know that what I was given is a gift and precious. Missions can come and go but people, those I love, cannot be replaced,” Liam told him with emotion.
    Kyle moved up and placed his hands on Quinn’s shoulders. “Liam’s right. The closer that Rachel gets to her delivery date, the more I want to remain close to her. I help Father and Liam plan out the missions so I am part of things. I’m learning that it’s equally as important to be behind the scenes looking at it from a distance as it is being on the front lines. It can be just as dangerous because we’ve already faced one attack on board. The dissension here must be uncovered, but we can all work together to discover where the problems lie without endangering you.”
    “So I should just accept doing less than I am capable of because I don’t want to put her in danger?” Quinn was calmer and a lot of what his cousins were saying made sense to him.
    “Rachel calls it working smarter not harder.” The men shook their heads at that.
    “I don’t know what I should do,” Quinn admitted.
    Liam looked him the eyes. “Let me ask you this: if you went deep undercover on a mission and something happened to Squirrel, how would you feel?”
    “Devastated,” he whispered automatically. He would be devastated if something happened to his Lihali while he was gone. She was more important to him than any mission. He was falling in love with her—no, he had already fallen.
    “How do you feel about her?”
    “I’m in love with her.” His answer was immediate.
    “Could you live without her?”
    “Never!” Everything fell into place. He knew that his Lihali was the most important thing in his life, a precious gift. “I can’t lose her.”
    Liam patted his shoulder. “Then tell her that.”
    Where was she at that moment? She was supposed to have a checkup today with Jared but he hadn’t taken the time to see if she was all right. A sudden need to be with her was strong. “I