by Anna Hackett
“You’re thinking about your sexy guy again,” Claudia teased.
“No.” But as soon as she thought of Ash, memories intruded. She shivered, feeling the ache between her thighs.
Indy sat up. “You seeing someone on the tech team?”
“No.” Marin hoped her voice didn’t sound high-pitched. Claudia was smirking.
“Civilian?”
“Ah, no.”
“So it’s a squad member, then?” Indy leaned forward and sipped her coffee. “You have a thing for a soldier?”
Marin shifted nervously. “Maybe. But I…I’m not like you two.”
Claudia’s brows rose. “What do you mean?”
“Confident, attractive, bold.”
“You’re cute and smart,” Claudia said. “Believe me, a big, tough guy would trip over himself to wrap you up and keep you all to himself.”
Marin chewed on her lip. “Really?”
Indy nodded. “All those curls, that cute, curvy body you keep hidden, and the intelligence that shines off you. They’d want to be all over that.”
“No tough guy ever has before.”
“And just how many tough guys were you in proximity to before the invasion?” Indy sipped her coffee, one eyebrow raised.
Marin tilted her head. “Well…technically, none. My dad was a professor at a university, and my mother was the ideal society wife. Always having perfect dinner parties, and hoping I’d morph into her vision of a perfect daughter.” Marin heard the bitterness and hurt in her own voice. “And of course, date and marry the perfect guy.”
Indy nodded. “The alien invasion has pushed so many different people together. Young and old, rich and poor, soldier and geek.” Then a frown appeared on the woman’s face. “Shame it still hasn’t opened some stubborn people’s eyes.”
“Just be yourself,” Claudia said. “Don’t let him boss you around.”
Indy nodded. “If he doesn’t like you as you are, fuck him. Life’s too short for that shit.” There was venom in her voice. Marin wondered who the unlucky guy was who’d pissed her off.
“He seems to like me. A lot.”
“And Ash Connors strikes me as a man who knows exactly what he likes.” Claudia winked.
Indy spluttered her coffee. “Ash? You’re sleeping with Ash?” The woman grinned. “Oh, my God, you are so perfect for him. He’s so smart but tries to downplay it.” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait…the incident outside the Enclave. He told the guys he’s into you, didn’t he? They all knew but they didn’t tell me.” Her mouth twisted. “Bastards.”
“Ignore her.” Claudia held up some armor and started strapping it onto Marin. “Here we go. Arms out.”
Marin obeyed, watching as the woman circled her, clipping things up, adjusting bits here and there.
“There. Done.” Claudia stepped back.
Marin turned and looked in the mirror on the wall. God, she looked like a soldier. Hello, PrincessBadass. Well, she looked like a soldier with wild, curly blonde hair. “Thanks, Claudia.”
“Let me show you how the controls for the armor illusion system work.” She pointed to a panel on the side of the armor.
“I worked on the project for the armor illusion system.”
“Good. And now you’ll get to see it working up close and personal in the field.”
The nerves came back full-force. “Oh, God.”
“You’ll be fine, honey,” Indy said. “You’ll have six big, over-protective berserkers sticking to you like glue.”
“Oh, God.”
“Here’s your thermo pistol.” Claudia helped her holster it and stow the extra ammunition. The Hell Squad soldier crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. “Looking good. You’ll also need some cedar oil grenades.”
Fear, dark and insidious, started creeping into Marin’s system. She tried to force it back. Cedar oil grenades were for repelling canids. Huge, slavering alien hunting dogs, with spikes and sharp teeth. When Marin was little, a neighbor’s dog had attacked her. Her father had chased it off with a bat, but she’d been afraid of dogs ever since.
Maybe Ash was right. She shouldn’t be going on this mission.
Marin let Claudia tuck the grenades into slots on her belt. She didn’t want to go out there, and she was well aware of how dangerous it was.
But she had to go.
She had to do this job, for everyone at the Enclave, for herself, for all the squad soldiers like Ash who went out there and fought every day. She had to do this to give humanity a fighting chance.
“How do you make the fear go away?” she asked Claudia.
The woman paused. “You don’t. It never goes away, and if it does, you’re fucked. You need it. You use it. Ride it, and let it make you more determined and more careful.”
The locker room door opened, and a wolf whistle pierced the air. Marin’s head jerked up, and she watched Shaw enter.
“Nothing like a group of sexy, tough women to make a man’s mouth water,” the sniper drawled.
“There should be only one sexy, tough woman you care about,” Indy said from the bench.
“I’m allowed to look, just not touch.” Shaw snagged an arm around Claudia and pulled her in for a hard, thorough kiss.
Claudia sank her hands into Shaw’s tawny hair and kissed him back.
Something in Marin sighed. They looked so good together. A perfect fit.
Shaw lifted his head. “Looking good, Curls. My woman did a bloody good job.”
Marin smiled nervously and held her arms out. “I almost look like my character in Pre-Emptive Strike.” Her smile faded. “But I know it’s nothing like a game out there.”
Indy stood and moved closer to grip Marin’s arm. “I’ll be in your ear. And my guys, they might be rough and tough, but they’ll take good care of you.”
She nodded. “Thanks.” This was it. The real deal.
“Good luck out there, Marin,” Claudia said.
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Go kick some raptor ass,” Claudia said with a wink.
Marin walked with Indy toward the Hawk hangar. They made a stop at the tech lab, so Marin could grab her field kit and get a stern pep talk from Noah. She could see he was worried and that made her nerves worse.
As they entered the hangar, Marin barely paid any attention to the quadcopters. Her gaze zeroed in on the tough group of men waiting by the closest Hawk. They were laughing and joking, all of them ruggedly attractive in different ways. She looked at Ash and his head lifted, like he’d sensed her. He shot her a small smile.
“I need to get to the Command Center.” Indy squeezed Marin’s arm. “Good luck out there.” She looked at the berserkers. “Hey, you bozos. Don’t get yourselves killed out there.”
As Indy left, Marin blew out a breath and marched toward Squad Three.
Tane looked her over and then gave a single nod. “Ready to go?”
“No,” she answered honestly.
“You’ll be fine.” Ash was there, just inches from her.
His presence steadied her.
“We’re taking two Hawks,” Tane called out. “Our bikes are stored in the back of the quadcopters. Griff, Dom, and I will be in the first Hawk, the rest of you in the other. See you there.”
Ash helped Marin climb into their Hawk. She sank onto one of the seats, trying not to fidget. Ash settled beside her, stretching out his long legs. Hemi and Levi came aboard, checking their weapons, and talking in low voices. They didn’t sit, but stood instead, and held the handholds above their heads.
The engines started up, and the vibrations rippled through the aircraft. This was it. She, Marin Mitchell, self-professed geek, was heading out onto the battlefield.
“God, I’m going to be sick,” she whispered.
A big hand touched the back of her neck and squeezed. “No, you’re not.”
She needed a distraction. She turned her head and her gaze fell on the three big bikes stored at the back of the Hawk. The vehicles were big,
tough, and dangerous-looking. Perfect for berserkers.
The Hawk rose, flying upward through a vertical tunnel of rock. They cleared the Enclave, swiveled, and headed north.
“Tell me the plan,” she said, needing more of a distraction.
“We’ll get dropped ten klicks from the tunnel entrance,” Hemi said. “Don’t want any scaly bastards to spot us. The bikes have illusion systems, and we’ll go in…quietly.” The big man snorted.
“We don’t engage unless we have to,” Ash said. “Fighting raptors will put Marin at risk. We get through the tunnels, get Marin to the hub, then get out.”
Hemi lifted his chin.
“You’ll be fine,” Ash said to Marin. “You ride with me, and stay at my side the entire time.”
She nodded, rubbing her hands over her thighs, listening to the low rumble of conversation around her. Ash was talking to Levi, but when he shifted, his big thigh brushed against hers. She hated that the armor separated them.
“If you get scared—” his voice lowered so only she could hear, his warm breath brushing her ear “—think of my mouth on you.”
Her head jerked up. “Ash—”
“I’ll be there with you, Marin. Whatever happens. I’ll be your very own personal super soldier.”
Chapter Ten
Ash felt the Hawk slowing, and knew they were nearing their drop-off point.
He didn’t usually feel much fear. Hadn’t, even as a kid. He’d grown up fearless. But with Marin beside him, he felt it now. Lock it down, Connors.
He sensed her tension, saw the fear she was trying to hide. He wouldn’t make it any harder for her. Instead, he’d do what he was good at, and help her get this mission done.
The skids touched down and Hemi yanked the side door open. They’d landed in parkland, near a lake. It was overgrown and tangled, and he watched a flock of cockatoos rise up, squawking as they flew away. The sun was setting and soon they’d lose the light. The cover of darkness would help them sneak in.
Together, the three men lowered the ramp and rolled the bikes out. Ash turned back and saw Marin scanning their surroundings. In the distance, a street flanking the park was visible. Most of the houses were charred shells. He realized she wouldn’t have been here in the ruins of the city before.
He reached over and gripped her waist. “Not pretty, is it?”
“It’s horrible. Everything empty or destroyed.” Her chest hitched. “So many people dead.”
“You lost your parents?”
She nodded. “I was working here in Sydney, not too far from the Blue Mountains. I made it to Blue Mountain Base soon after the attack. I managed to call my parents in Chicago…I heard the raptors attack their house.”
“I’m sorry, Marin.” He remembered the chaos of the invasion. He and Levi, along with several Iron King members had fought back against the raptors, helped who they could. But eventually, it had only been him and Levi left, heading west on their bikes.
“Let’s find this hub,” Marin said fiercely. “For all the people we’ve lost.”
When he led her to his bike, Levi and Hemi were already mounted on theirs. The second Hawk wasn’t far away, and Ash could see Tane and the others unloading their bikes.
Soon, the Hawks lifted off, disappearing into a camouflaged shimmer in the darkening sky. Ash climbed onto his bike and started the silent engine. He patted the seat behind him. “Climb aboard.”
He watched as her cheeks pinkened. Damn, so cute. What he didn’t need right now was a hard-on.
“Lucky we have a dangerous mission ahead, or you’d be making me think of you climbing aboard…other things.”
She settled behind him. “Quit that. I need to focus.”
Soon, the entire squad was mounted up.
“Time to ride,” Tane said. “Illusion systems up.”
“Hold on, Princess,” Ash murmured.
She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his back. Around them, his squad mates and their bikes blurred out of view. Ash flicked on his illusion system.
“Let’s roll.” Tane’s voice came through Ash’s earpiece.
“I’ve laid out the best route,” Indy’s voice sounded now. “If the drones pick anything else up, I’ll let you know.”
They took off out of the park and onto the road. Ash glanced at the screen attached to his bike controls, and kept an eye on the route. He slowly felt Marin relax into the ride. She was a sweet weight against his back. They traveled down empty streets, past buildings with gaping doorways and smashed windows. He circled around abandoned cars and bumped over rough ground.
“Squad Three, detour to the left,” Indy said calmly.
Ash followed the order, but as they turned, he glanced to the right. Marin’s sharp gasp sounded in his ear. In the distance, a lone canid stood in the middle of the street, its silhouette ominous and menacing. It was sniffing the ground, but a second later, it raised its huge head and looked in their direction. It had massive jaws, sharp teeth, and a row of wicked spikes along its back.
They turned down another street and lost view of it. Ash’s shoulders tightened, and he peered into every shadow, making sure there were no other hellish creatures around. It was only when they approached their destination that he relaxed just a fraction. They’d been lucky—not another creature, or a single raptor, the entire trip.
Ash hoped to hell their luck held the entire mission.
“Coming up on the tunnel entrance now,” Indy murmured.
Ahead, the gaping mouth of the tunnel yawned open. It was larger than the entrance they’d used for the previous mission. Here, the roads leading in were a patchwork of cracks and potholes, but once, there would have been traffic pouring in and out of this tunnel. People heading into the heart of Sydney for business, shopping, and pleasure.
Some faded graffiti covered one wall. It consisted of stylized images of the raptors and their ships. Ash wondered if the artist had survived the invasion. He felt Marin’s hands tighten on him.
Tane led them down to the tunnel’s entrance, and they drove into the darkness.
Ash flicked on his night vision.
They moved slowly down the main tunnel. Overturned cars appeared out of the gloom, and Tane led them down a descending tunnel to the left.
“You need to keep tracking Marin’s bot and follow its signal,” Indy said.
“Acknowledged,” Tane said.
Ahead, the eerie, red glow of raptor lighting filled the space. They moved deeper into the tunnel system.
“Squad Three…do you…signal breaking…” Indy’s distorted voice came through the comm line.
Damn, they were losing her.
“On…your own…luck.” Indy’s voice cut off.
It was all up to them now. They slowly rode past a converging tunnel, and Ash heard the echo of guttural raptor speech. Marin shifted behind him, and he reached down and patted her gloved hand with his own.
“Raptor patrol ahead.” Tane’s near-soundless voice in the earpiece. “Stay quiet, and keep to the left.”
The raptors appeared out of the gloom. They were standing around a drum that held a fire burning inside. They appeared at ease, although they all had their scaled weapons slung over their shoulders.
Ash’s muscles tensed as they rolled past the aliens. One lifted his head, looking their way, like he sensed something. Ash watched the raptor as his bike rolled by, his breath tight in his chest. A moment later, one of the raptors said something, and the watcher turned to reply. Ash exhaled quietly.
Then the squad was past the raptors, and headed down another wide tunnel.
“This tunnel system is amazing,” Marin said quietly. “A real engineering feat.”
Ash knew it had been needed. After the United Coalition was formed, and Sydney declared the capital, the influx of business and people had exploded the population of the already overcrowded city.
Now, it was rotting, and home to an alien species intent on killing off humans once and
for all. They’d already rounded up many of the survivors, and stuck them in alien labs—experimenting on them and turning humans into raptors.
No. They would never stop fighting back. And if Marin could hack the hub, it would give them another valuable weapon in their arsenal.
Besides, he thought, as he reached back and rested a hand on Marin’s thigh, he sure as hell had something worth fighting for now. Marin was the bit of sweet he’d been missing all his life.
A loud, scraping noise caught his ear. The sound echoed through the tunnel and Ash frowned.
“What was that?” Marin whispered.
“Don’t know.”
The squad rounded another corner, and ahead, he saw a lone raptor standing in the middle of the tunnel. A big fucker, too. Close to seven feet tall.
It was just standing there.
“I don’t like this.” Hemi’s near-silent murmur.
The raptor lifted something that it had been holding down beside its leg. Ash’s gut cramped. It was a giant missile launcher.
And it was aimed straight at them.
“Fuck,” Tane bit out. “They know we’re here. Squad Three, evasive maneuvers.”
Thump. Something shot out of the missile launcher. The projectile hit the ground only meters from the berserkers.
The missile exploded with a blinding flash. Flames roared up, filling the tunnel. Ash averted his gaze, and quickly flipped his night vision off to prevent blinding himself.
Shouts and guttural roars echoed off the walls.
“Ride! Get out of here,” Tane shouted. “They know we’re here but can’t see us. They’re firing blindly.”
“Hold on,” Ash yelled at Marin.
There was the sound of thunder made by boots on concrete, and in the next moment, an armed raptor patrol poured out of a side tunnel. Raptor poison splattered the walls, sizzling on contact.
Ash couldn’t see his squad mates, but he heard them, and knew they were trying to ride out. Ash glanced over his shoulder, and saw more raptors jogging in from the way they’d come, canids loping at their feet.
“Keep moving forward!” Hemi’s shout on the comm line.
Ash gunned his bike and shot forward. He dodged around a raptor and sped up.
