by Anna Hackett
Whatever they had to do to drive the Gizzida away, they had to do it.
Marcus was talking with Elle over the comms. Then he slammed his palm into the dash.
Not good.
“We lost three vehicles,” Marcus ground out. “Fifteen people in total. Including two kids.”
Dammit. Shaw felt the hit and it made his focus laser sharp.
“The raptors are on to us. Alien vehicles are swarming in this direction.” Marcus heaved out a breath. “Pretty sure not all the convoy will make it to the track to Yerranderie.”
“And we can’t lead the aliens there. We need to sneak in,” Cruz added.
“We need somewhere to hide,” Gabe said.
Shaw eyed the big man. “How the hell do we hide an entire convoy of vehicles?”
“Maybe the limestone caves near here?” Claudia suggested.
Elle’s voice came through the comms. “They aren’t big enough, and far too rough for vehicles.”
Shit. Shaw tapped his fingers against the autocannon screen. “Another resort? Somewhere with lots of buildings?”
Marcus shook his head. “If it’s on a main road, they’ll come through there and likely find us.”
“What about a mine?” Shaw said. “The Enclave is in an old mine. Anything like that around here?”
Elle made a humming sound. “Good idea. Checking now. Wait, the general thought of something…”
Holmes’ voice came through next. “I just remembered. There’s an old railway tunnel near here. Elle, can you pull up the info, please?”
“On it.”
“From what I remember,” Holmes continued, “It was part of the old railway back in the 1800s. Then it was replaced and fell out of use. I remember it because the Army used it to store chemical weapons during World War II. Mustard gas, I think.”
Shaw screwed up his nose. “We really want everyone packed into an old tunnel that stored chemical weapons?”
“The storage was cleaned up after the war. Besides, I don’t have any better ideas.”
“I’ve got it,” Elle said. “The Stonebrook Tunnel. It’s narrow, but all the vehicles should fit. It’s not long though, about seven hundred meters.”
“Tight squeeze,” Shaw murmured.
“I’m sending coordinates through to all vehicles. The entrance is quite well hidden and overgrown. This could be an excellent place to lose the raptors.”
There was a focused silence as the convoy raced toward the tunnel.
“Spot any raptors?” Claudia asked.
Shaw shook his head. “Nothing.” And he didn’t like it.
They turned off the main road and bumped along a narrow overgrown track. The tunnel entrance—an old-fashioned stone arch—appeared ahead.
“It’s blocked with a steel fence and gate,” Cruz called out.
“Ram it,” Marcus said without hesitation.
Cruz accelerated and the Hunter bashed through the fence. The old metal crumpled under the force. The Hunter skidded to a stop.
The tunnel was round at the top and littered with puddles below. Shaw checked through the cannon scope to ensure there were no signatures of unwelcome visitors. In the darkness, the scope had switched to night vision and the tunnel was displayed in shades of green.
“Clear,” Shaw called.
“Okay, everyone out, set up a few lights,” Marcus said. “And direct traffic.”
As they climbed out, the other vehicles started driving in.
Shaw watched them, and briefly grabbed the back of Claudia’s neck and squeezed. She shot him a faint smile, and they got busy.
Shaw directed vehicles in, helped the others to remove items off the buses and large trucks so they could squeeze into the small tunnel. The old railway tracks had been removed, thankfully, but the tunnel was tight. He could imagine trains of the past chuffing through it.
Soon everyone was in. Squad Nine brought up the rear, hiding any tracks and covering the entrance with some more branches to hide it.
Then there was a hushed silence.
They all waited, muscles tense, taking short breaths.
Shaw heard a baby start crying, someone was trying to calm it. The general was walking the tunnel, speaking quietly to people, exuding his authoritative calm. It seemed to help.
Surprisingly, Shaw also saw Liberty walking among the groups. She flirted with the men, talked with the women and hugged kids. The woman was a natural at working a crowd.
Then he heard a sound outside. He traded a glance with Claudia. They knew that sound.
Pteros.
There were other sounds—the rumble of vehicles, the roar of a rex. Then the explosions started.
Shaw’s muscles stretched to breaking point. Had the bastards found them?
People whimpered and cried. He murmured to those closest, heard others on the squads doing the same, trying to calm people.
“You need to stay quiet,” he said.
Claudia gripped his forearm. He couldn’t feel the full force of her touch through his armor, but he knew she was holding on hard.
“The bombs aren’t falling directly on us,” she said.
He cocked his head. She was right. They sounded close but not right on top of them. Marcus and Cruz appeared from the gloom and a second later, so did Reed and Gabe.
“They’re trying to smoke us out,” Shaw said grimly.
Marcus nodded. “They don’t know where we’ve gone. We wait them out. Keep everyone calm.”
Shaw walked the line of vehicles with Claudia. “Hell of a day, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Suddenly a little body appeared in front of them. Someone knocked politely on the knees of Shaw’s armor. He cocked a brow at Claudia before crouching down.
The little girl was tiny. He guessed she was six or seven, only because he remembered Krista was six when she lost her teeth and had a massive gap in front like this girl. “I can’t find my mummy.”
“Hey, don’t worry,” he said with a smile. “We’ll help you find her.”
Her face was solemn. “Thank you.”
“Come on, sweetheart,” Claudia touched her shoulder. “Let’s head down the line of cars and we’ll soon find your family.”
The girl nodded, then held her arms out to Shaw. “Up.”
With a bewildered smile, he picked her up and set her on his hip.
As they walked, the girl pointed at Claudia. “I want to be a soldier like her one day.”
Claudia made a choking sound.
Shaw smiled. “She’s pretty awesome, isn’t she?”
The girl nodded.
Claudia shook her head. “Baird, don’t encourage her.” She gave him a not-so-light tap on the back of his head. He could always judge how angry she was by the strength of her hits. This was nothing.
The little girl knocked on Shaw’s shoulder.
He swallowed a laugh. “Yes.”
The girl leaned in and in a loud whisper said, “I think she likes you.”
“Yeah, she does. I like her too.” He lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “I’m going to keep her.” Fear, excitement…and something else that was equal parts warm and bright filled his chest.
“And make baby soldiers?”
He choked now and heard Claudia laughing. “Well…we’ll see,” he managed.
“They could be soldiers with me when they get big,” the little girl continued.
It just about broke Shaw’s heart. That this little girl was daydreaming of fighting instead of being a doctor, an artist, or a scientist. He took the girl’s small hand. “You know what? She fights, we all fight, so when you get bigger, you won’t have to.”
The little girl considered this. “If the aliens go away, then maybe I could be a sailor instead. I miss the beach and the sunshine.”
Damn, it felt like a giant fist was squeezing his insides. “Hell, yeah.”
“Mummy says I shouldn’t say hell.”
Claudia laughed again and Shaw cleared his throat
.
“Your mum’s right,” Claudia said. “And look, she’s just spotted you.” A harried-looking woman was bearing down on them. “Listen to her, okay?”
The girl nodded, and wriggled for Shaw to set her down. With a final look between him and Claudia, she raced toward her mother.
“Yep,” Shaw said, “Hell of a day.”
“I’ll take this over being a prisoner,” Claudia said.
He stood and looked at her. She was staring at the end of the tunnel. “Hey.” He grabbed her arm. “You are not going back there.”
She nodded. “And we’ll make sure that little girl, and all the other innocent people in here don’t end up prisoners, either.”
“That’s the plan.”
Her direct gaze hit his, serious and stormy. “I can’t go back.”
“You aren’t going back.”
“Shaw…if he takes me again—”
“Not going to happen, dammit.”
“If he does…” Her jaw worked, her hand clamping down on his arm. “You take the shot. Don’t leave me there to suffer.”
All the air left his lungs. “No.”
“You’d let me go back to chains and torture?”
“No, damn you, I’d save you! I’ll never stop coming to get you and you’ll damn well hold on because you are the toughest person I know.”
“Shaw—”
“No.” He grabbed her shoulders, shook her a little, then yanked her into his arms, armor, carbine, and all. “You are the most special person I know. Sexy, tough, badass…and I’m in love with you.”
The last words came out in a rush.
She looked up at him, her gaze running over his face. “You okay? Sounds like you lost your breath on those last words.”
“Are you giving me hell when I’m trying to tell you I love you?” He shook his head, fighting a smile. Only Claudia.
“Well, you know, you were all macho alpha male, then you kind of ended with breathy teenage boy.”
“I love you,” he grumbled. “Although I’m starting to wonder why…”
“Sexy, tough and badass, remember?”
“And a ball buster.” He straightened. “Claudia Evangeline Frost—”
She shifted, her gaze narrowing dangerously. “How the hell do you know my middle name?”
“I know everything about you.” He rubbed a thumb over her cheek and wished he wasn’t wearing gloves. “Claudia, I love you.”
“Jesus, I think you got it right this time.” She pressed into him. “I love you too.”
“I know your dickhead ex and what happened before has made you wary, I get it. I’ll do my best, every damn day, to show you how much I love you.”
“God, Shaw, if you make me cry, I’ll hit you. I trust you. Always.” She cupped his face as best she could with gloves and armor on. “And some day, I will make you see you didn’t fail your sister. You’ve thrown yourself into warzone after warzone to protect others…I understand why. And I’ll be right there beside you, protecting your ass while you do it.”
His throat went tight. Shit, if she made him cry, he’d never live it down. “Claudia—”
Outside, the explosions and noises stopped.
Inside the tunnel, a hushed, frightened silence fell.
“Later.” She gave his cheek one last touch.
“Later.” Together, they rejoined their squad.
Marcus had his arms crossed, an unhappy look on his face. “I’ll be happy when this is over and we’re at the damned Enclave.”
Shaw understood more acutely now how Marcus felt. Marcus no doubt wanted Elle out of the convoy and someplace safe. Shaw understood, because he felt exactly the same way about Claudia.
“Holmes wants us to stay put here until the drones show the aliens have moved on.” Marcus nodded at them all. “We need to keep everyone calm and quiet until then. Got it?”
They all nodded.
“And as soon as we get the all clear, we’re heading for the road to Yerranderie.”
The final leg of this chase out of the mountains.
Shaw grabbed Claudia’s hand and squeezed. They were almost there.
***
Holmes
“Everything is going to be fine.” Adam Holmes patted a young man on the arm, then smiled at a sobbing woman nearby.
“General? Are they going to find us?” a man called out.
Adam marshalled his features into a confident look. “We just need to stay hidden and quiet. Think of the Enclave. Once we get there, we’ll be safe.”
As he stared into the frightened, tired faces of his people, he felt the weight of a heavy stone lodge in his chest.
They’d been through so much, survived the invasion, lost their loved ones, been injured. Now they were on the run, being hunted down like animals.
And he was the one holding their survival in his hands.
Again, he felt the weight of responsibility resting on him, so heavy he was worried it would drive him to his knees. He’d lived with responsibility his entire life, thrived on it and made a successful career in the military from it. Hell, his ex-wife had accused him of being married to the job and loving it more than her.
But this…he turned and looked down the length of the old, dank tunnel and this hardy but worn group of survivors. This was a weight he’d never dreamed he’d have to carry.
Gritting his teeth, he circled around a truck. Suck it up, Adam. These people need you. There wasn’t much room between the truck and the stone wall, but for a minute, he had a blessed moment of peace and privacy.
There was no one needing a decision, or help, or delivering bad news. For a second, he tried to just breathe.
He rested his back against the metal of the truck and let his head fall back and his eyes close. His neck and shoulders were so tight and had been plaguing him for weeks. The headaches weren’t great, either. He should probably try to get more than three or four hours of sleep at night, but there was always so much to do.
There was a sound and he opened his eyes.
The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen stood two meters away.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
Adam didn’t know Liberty Lawler very well. He appreciated, of course, that she was tall, with dangerous curves, and a fall of long, blonde hair. He was also aware she’d had an excellent little underground black market of beauty products at base, and now saw to it that the convoy members got soap, shampoos, and other toiletries. He had no idea how she got her hands on stuff, but he figured she was smart and resourceful.
He’d also heard she enjoyed spending time with the single soldiers.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
He nodded. “Just…needed a minute.”
“Honey, we all need more than that.”
His jaw tightened. “I’m well aware. I’m trying my best to ensure everyone gets that.”
She took a step closer. “That wasn’t a complaint, General. You’re doing a great job of keeping us all alive.”
“We aren’t safe yet.” And he knew they would never really be safe, or have a future, unless they found a way to fight the Gizzida off and get them to leave Earth.
She touched a hand to his chest. “One step at a time. That’s all we can do. One foot in front of the other.”
He nodded. This close he could smell her perfume. She smelled like something lush and spicy, and it made him think of sex.
Sex. There was a foreign concept. Adam couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex.
Liberty tilted her head. “It must be hard, being in charge, making difficult decisions.”
She had no idea. And he wasn’t going to talk about it. He’d made a promise to himself that everyone was already burdened enough without him dumping more on them. The squads and their leaders went out and fought every day. They were the real heroes.
“Things are difficult for everyone.”
She studied him, and her big blue eyes seemed to delve right past his defenses. “Gen
eral…if you don’t bend a little, you might break.”
His hands clenched into fists. “I’m fine.”
“Isn’t there someone you can talk with—?”
“No. Like I said, I’m fine.”
“You’re strung pretty tight.” Her fingers flexed on his chest.
“There are always difficult decisions to make, people’s lives on the line.” The words tore out of him before he clamped his mouth closed.
“My grandfather was this crusty old farmer,” she said with a fond smile. “He always used to tell me that it was the darkest right before the dawn. But that if you just held on a little longer, the sun would come up.”
Adam managed a nod. “But he wasn’t in the middle of an alien invasion, was he?”
Her full lips tilted. “No, he wasn’t.” She reached up and touched Adam’s hair.
He hadn’t had time to worry about it. It was now brushing his collar, well past military regulation length, and he knew the brown strands had far more silver in them than they used to have.
“I can cut this for you,” she said.
It was nice to have someone offer something personal. He hadn’t had a personal conversation, or worried about something as trivial as his hair in over eighteen months.
“Thanks. Once we’re somewhere safe—”
“You can’t put everything off until you’re safe.” She stepped back. “You can have food and water and be breathing, but survival doesn’t matter much unless you’re living, too.” Something dark crossed her features, then was gone in a blink. “Don’t forget to live, General.”
And with that, she disappeared around the truck.
It was a nice thought, but Adam was a realist. A leader sacrificed so his people could have the things they deserved. He couldn’t live, couldn’t be friends with the people on the other side of the truck, couldn’t drink and laugh and love with them. Not when he might have to make a decision to leave some behind to save the rest, or send one to their death to save the convoy.
He just didn’t have that luxury.
But he was going to make damn sure his people could live.
He glanced at his watch. The face of his Rolex had cracked sometime during the invasion, but it still worked perfectly.
