by Anna Hackett
Her nails scored his shoulders and she tried to climb up him, to get closer. His hand gripped her thigh and pulled it around his hip. He ground his very hard erection against her and her cry was swallowed by his mouth.
So. Good. Santha stroked her tongue against his. Her nipples were so hard they hurt and she was wet and aching between her legs. She wanted him. More than she’d wanted anything in her life.
Then he pulled back. He rested his forehead on hers, panting a little.
Santha struggled to get her brain working and get air into her burning lungs. She wanted to drag him down on the floor and tear those jeans off and see if his cock was as thick as she imagined. “Why are we stopping?”
“You were hurt. I shouldn’t be pawing you like this.”
She raised a brow. “The bugs fixed me better than I was before. I’m perfectly healthy.” She moved her hips against him to make the point. And okay, she liked teasing him. His groan was music to her ears.
“But mentally, you need time.” He stepped back, winced and adjusted his jeans. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of base.”
Santha stared at him and stayed where she was. Mainly because she needed the wall to hold her up until her legs stopped feeling like jelly. She was stuck between feeling mad he’d stopped and feeling pleasure that he was looking after her. Again.
Finally, she straightened. “I’d prefer we get naked—”
He groaned again.
Oh, yeah, the evil part of her liked that sound. “But if you’re too busy being noble and that isn’t an option then I’d like to get straight to work planning the recon missions.”
“Tour on the way to work.” He gestured to a folded pile of clothes on the next bed. “I found some stuff for you to wear. Hopefully it fits.”
After Santha changed into the plain black trousers, simple T-shirt the color of wine, and some canvas shoes—all of which fitted her perfectly, attesting to Cruz’s experience sizing up women—she walked alongside him as they wandered the tunnels of the base. It was early morning and lots of people bustled around, starting their day. Despite the bare-concrete walls and the industrial look, she was surprised that the place felt almost…cozy.
He showed her the dining room and adjoining rec room. Someone had found old movie posters and hung them on the wall beside a huge projection screen. The other side of the room had a line of impressive high-tech games. In one corner, she spotted a guitar leaning against the wall, along with some other instruments. Above them, someone had taped a photo of Cruz playing guitar.
She moved closer. He looked so…lost in the playing. He leaned over the guitar, holding it like he might a woman, his eyes closed.
She glanced over her shoulder. “You play?”
He shrugged and looked away. “Yeah. But I haven’t been playing much lately.” He headed for the doorway. “Let’s keep going.”
Lots of people called out to Cruz. She noted everyone looked at him with respect…and some with a little awe. And many of the women watched him with feminine appreciation…and some, outright hunger.
Santha’s stomach clenched. How many of them were his regular playmates? How many knew the feel of those hard muscles, had traced those sexy tattoos with their tongues?
“The school’s through here.”
His voice snapped her out of her unpleasant thoughts. It was none of her business who he slept with. And if she decided to play with him, well, she only wanted something hard and fast and temporary, so it didn’t matter. She followed him into another tunnel.
They walked past a few rooms with doors wide open. Inside were bunches of kids of differing ages. In the first, solemn teenagers hunched over tablets. A boy noticed them and waved at Cruz.
Cruz lifted a hand. “Leo and his girlfriend were living in those train tunnels near the airport. We rescued them after that mission to destroy the raptor comms hub.”
“Can the base hold many more survivors?”
They passed the next room. Tiny kids were bouncing around, squealing and giggling. Bright, hand-painted pictures graced the walls. Santha couldn’t help but smile at their simple joy. They didn’t seem worried about an alien apocalypse.
“We have about a thousand living here, and there’s room yet,” Cruz answered. “A lot of tunnels are still closed up or being used for storage. We stockpile any supplies we’re able to scavenge, and also store any art or valuables we’ve rescued for safekeeping.”
Santha wondered how many of the humanity’s treasures had been annihilated by the raptors.
“There’s also a hydroponics garden for growing food, and research areas where the scientist work on projects like power, weaponry and medicine. And just up ahead is geek land, also known as the comp lab. Noah Kim’s our resident genius. He’s responsible for all our comms systems and our drones.”
“I’ve never seen any of your drones.”
“They aren’t big enough to be noticeable. After the raptors destroyed all the satellites, we had to find another way to get imaging and intel.” His face turned grim. “We lost a lot of good soldiers in the first few months because of a lack of intel. After the attack, Noah spearheaded the project to adapt small experimental drones to take high-res images and feed them back to base.”
“Amazing.”
“Here we are.” Cruz stopped at a door with a sign hanging on it that said, Shh, genius at work.
She raised a brow. “Humble, is he?”
“Noah’ll just tell you he’s stating a fact. Guy’s not afraid to tell it how it is.” Cruz pushed open the door.
Santha stepped inside. “Whoa.” There were bits of electronic…stuff…everywhere. Benches lined one wall and were overflowing with computer parts, tools and wiring. There were a few battered metal desks with huge comp screens on them, and people working hard at them.
At one desk, a good-looking man wearing glasses looked up. He had some Asian heritage and midnight eyes in a lean face with high cheekbones. They were making genius computer geeks well these days. She didn’t know if he wore his dark hair long by design or he’d just forgotten to get it cut, but he’d tied it back at the base of his neck, giving him a rakish look.
“Hey, Noah,” Cruz said.
“Cruz. Who’s your friend?”
“Santha Kade, this is Noah Kim. He and his team keep the lights on and the power running. Wish you’d do something about the hot water, though. A few hours a day isn’t enough.”
Noah snorted. “It’s on my list. Along with the five hundred other things we need. Once I can squeeze some more power out of the solar panels, I’ll…” he drifted off and offered Santha a wry grin. “Sorry, I have a bad habit of going into details these grunts never want to hear about.”
She wandered closer. “Cruz was telling me they’re lucky to have you. You repurposed the drones.”
“Yep.” He opened a drawer, pulled out something the size of his hand and set it on his desk. “This one’s in for maintenance. Had a nasty run-in with a bird.”
Santha picked it up. It looked a bit like a miniature Hawk with four rotors. “It’s so small.”
“All the better for the raptors not to notice them. And I’ve rigged them with illusion systems.”
She set it down. “What did you do…before the raptors came?”
“Worked in R and D for a private tech company.” He grinned. “And ran my own online company. Made my first billion by the time I hit twenty-five.”
Cruz made a scoffing sound. “Billions don’t matter anymore, boy genius.”
Noah gave him the finger. “What do you do, Santha?”
“I kill raptors.”
He raised a brow. “Well, you’re in good company. Cruz and his Hell Squad buddies are the best at that.”
She caught Cruz’s gaze. “Yeah, I know.” She looked away and spied a row of dice on a shelf. “These are great.” She reached out for the closest one—it looked old and made of green glass.
“I wouldn’t touch those if I were you, or you’re likely
to end up with the ventilation in your room mysteriously not working,” Cruz said.
She snatched her hand back.
Noah smiled. “My collection. I don’t let anyone touch them except me.” His smiled dissolved. “Only thing I brought with me from…before.”
Santha thought of the picture of Kareena tucked in her pocket. “I know the feeling.”
Noah talked a few more minutes about the base’s computer systems before Cruz pulled her out of the lab.
“Guy’ll talk your ear off about computers.”
“What’s up next on the tour?”
“The Operations Area. Where all the military operations are run from. The drone operators are based there, as well as the communications officers who provide comms to each squad in the field. Ours is Elle. She’s magic.”
Santha heard a warmth in his voice and remembered the woman who’d been with them on the mission in the airport train tunnels. “She’s with Marcus, right?”
Cruz smiled. “Oh, yeah. Has the big guy wrapped around her elegant little finger.”
Santha smiled, too. “And you’re happy about that.”
“Yeah. Marcus is one of the best men I know. He deserved some happiness.”
Santha’s smile evaporated. And that stuff was in short supply these days.
He showed her to a secured door marked “Operations.” He pressed a palm to an electronic lock. It beeped, and the door retracted.
Inside, was a large room with rows of drone operators in front of live-feed screens and uniformed people hurrying between computer terminals.
“We call that the Hive.” He led her to another room off the main tunnel. “We’re in here.”
Inside, more large screens lined the wall, each one filled with aerial images of the city. All her research had been stuck to the walls, recreated almost perfectly.
Hell Squad lounged around the room.
Marcus stepped forward. “You look better.”
Santha nodded. “I feel better. Thanks for getting me out.”
Shaw sauntered forward with a smile. “Anytime you need a team to go into hell, we’re there.” He touched a finger to her chin. “You look really good.”
Cruz made a growling sound. “Back off, Baird.”
Shaw lifted his hands, his face filled with mock fear.
Santha fought off a smile. “Good shooting with that ptero.”
The sniper gave a little bow. “I’ve been blessed with several skills.” He waggled his eyebrows. “If you ever want to shake Neanderthal man here, I’ll show you what else I’m good at.”
Claudia made a gagging noise from where she leaned against the wall. “God, you’ll hit on anything and anyone, won’t you.”
Shaw ran his tongue over his teeth and winked at Santha. “Just the pretty ones, Frost. And the nice ones, which is why you’re excluded.”
Claudia made a rude sound and shot him the finger.
Someone cleared their throat and Santha looked over at the man in front of the screens. He was a little older than her and carried an air of authority and command. He had a handsome face, like movie-star handsome, and a dash of gray at his temples that suited him. His khaki uniform was pressed and neat.
“I’m General Adam Holmes.” He rounded the conference table. “I’ve very happy to see you’ve recovered.”
Ah, the boss. “Santha Kade and I’m pretty happy I recovered, too.” The general held out a hand and they shook. He had a firmer grip than she would have guessed. Behind her, she felt Cruz step up close to her. She resisted rolling her eyes. He should just beat his chest and toss her over his shoulder.
“Thank you for sharing your intelligence with us,” Holmes said. “The sooner we can locate and rescue these prisoners the better.”
There was a sharp edge to his voice that made her study him again. She got the impression Holmes could be just as dangerous as the Hell Squad members in the right situation. And she suspected plenty of people underestimated him, blinded by his neat façade.
“Then let’s get to work,” she said.
They all settled into the chairs around the table, gazes on the big screen. A pretty brunette handed Santha a handheld comp controller with a smile. “I’ve scanned as much of your data into the comp as I could.”
“Thanks. It’s Elle, right?”
“That’s right.” She gestured to the screen. “Everything’s in the directory marked Santha.”
Santha studied the list of files and pulled up her maps.
Holmes leaned forward. “You have incredible data. And you’ve survived in the city alone for a year, attacking the raptors and assisting Squad Six.”
Squad Six? She blinked. Right, that must be Hell Squad’s official designation.
Shrewd blue eyes watched her. “I take it you weren’t a schoolteacher or business executive before the invasion.”
She gave a wry smile. “No.” She glanced at Cruz. “I was a police officer. With SWAT.”
Cruz nodded. “Makes sense. You have the skills and training, knowledge of the city…and the guts.”
God, she felt so flattered by his words. Like some schoolgirl. She turned back to the screen. “I’ll start with the main raptor installations. I haven’t quite determined what they all are yet, but some are clearly for storage, some are bases where they appear to live and work, others are complete mysteries. I can only guess some of them are research stations where they gather data on us and the planet. Possibly, they’re carrying out tests on our technology and resources.”
“We’ve seen that they’re studying our languages, trying to decipher our books, files and scientific information,” Elle said.
Santha nodded. “It’s what I’d do if I ever invaded someone. Let me show you a few locations that seem larger and more well-used. I’m guessing that’s where they’re more likely to hold prisoners.”
They clicked through maps, everyone calling out theories and suggestions. Elle was furiously taking notes on a tablet. They narrowed down a long list of possibilities.
“I’ll move onto the aliens themselves.” Santha pulled up her photos.
“I’ve been working on their language,” Elle said. “They call themselves the Gizzida.”
“Ugly name for an ugly species.” Santha pointed to the screen. “You’re familiar with the main fighter raptors. We also have the rexes.” Santha didn’t hide her distaste as she stared at the picture of the giant T-Rex-type alien. “Thankfully, there seem to be only a few of those. The canids.” Another two images appeared—a picture of a canid pack and a close-up of one roaring. “And you saw the hellion canids in the airport train tunnels.” The image changed to one of the mutant canids with red, glowing bellies filled with an acidic poison.
“Hell Squad told me the canid repellent spray we’re creating now came from you,” Holmes said.
“Yes. It’s based on cedar oil, which is toxic to reptiles. I tried a lot of things to see if anything repelled them and this seems to work. It won’t kill them or stop them for long, but they don’t like it.”
“We’re starting field tests soon, so thank you.”
She nodded. “I also took these pictures very recently.” It showed raptors moving an enclosed box the size of a car. “It was rocking violently and I could hear snarling.”
“Another type of alien?” Holmes said with a frown.
“I think so. But I never got to see it.”
“How many boxes like that?” Cruz asked.
“About a dozen. And the raptors seemed nervous. Didn’t like dealing with them.”
Shaw flopped back in his chair. “Great. Why do I get the impression we do not want to know what’s in that box?”
“We’ve also seen a very large raptor,” Cruz said. “A super-raptor. He carried a flamethrower and spoke some English.”
Santha nodded. “I’ve seen one but didn’t get any images of it. I called it a flamer.”
“Works for me,” Cruz said.
Santha clicked up another image and watched
everyone frown.
“That’s just another raptor,” Cruz said.
“Look again.” Staring at the commander’s face made Santha’s blood boil.
“It’s taller and leaner than the other raptors,” Elle said.
“Good. You’ll also note the smoother skin that’s several shades darker than a regular raptor.”
“Still looks like a raptor to me,” Claudia said.
“It is. But I also think it’s a female raptor,” Santha said.
Everyone hissed in breaths.
“A female?” Holmes repeated.
“Yes. And she appears to be the one in charge in this area. The commander.” Santha caught Cruz’s gaze. He was watching her intently. “And I want her dead.”
Chapter Six
Cruz could almost feel the rage pumping off Santha. “Why? Why do you want this one dead so badly?”
“She’s in charge of destroying our part of the world. Our city!”
He studied the stark lines of Santha’s face. “That’s true. But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“She killed my sister.”
He saw the way Santha’s hands curled into fists. She was barely hanging on. “You saw?”
“Every second.” Her eyes squeezed shut. “It was about a week after the invasion. A raptor patrol caught us in the street. I fought, but got a tiny splatter of their fucking poison on me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t even speak and got tossed by a raptor. I ended up under a car.” She dragged in a breath. “They beat my sister to death and there wasn’t a single thing I could do about it.”
Madre de dios. Cruz closed his eyes for a second. He knew what it felt like to watch someone you cared about die. They’d all been there when Zeke had fallen. But at least they’d been fighting back.
“They didn’t even leave me a body to bury.” Her green gaze caught Cruz’s, glimmering with unshed tears. “They dragged her away like trash and the commander just stood there like she was watching a mildly inferior show.”
