by Anna Hackett
“Well…” He pulled open a drawer built in under the bed. He held up his hand and the lamplight glittered off a handful of dice.
“You stashed some in here?”
“Yep.” He stroked a hand over her hair. “Let’s get you out of those bloody clothes. You can shower later after you rest.”
He helped her into one of his T-shirts and some sweatpants he had to cinch in tight at the waist on her. He’d just wadded up her bloody clothes and shoved them in the trash when the door slammed open. Noah looked over his shoulder. Marcus stood in the doorway.
“Raptors. Heading this way.”
Noah shot to his feet. “What?”
“They must have tracked some survivors as they evacuated. They have some huge saws, and they’re chopping down the trees to make pathways for their troops to move through. General’s ordered us to leave. Now.”
***
Laura sat up and then pushed to her feet. She was a little wobbly, but surprisingly, she felt much better already.
Noah scowled at her. “Back in that bed. Now.”
She shot Marcus a look. “He’s starting to sound a lot like you.” She looked back at the man she’d fallen in love with. “No. I’m feeling better. You need to be in that illusion vehicle and I’m coming with you.”
He swore and she ignored him.
“Is Hell Squad providing cover for the illusion system?” she asked.
Marcus nodded. “We’ll be in one of the Hunters. Squad Nine will be in another.”
“Excellent.” She linked her arm through Noah’s. “Come on. No time to argue.”
He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but he went with her as they hurried to the illusion system vehicle. She saw the last of the residents climbing into vehicles. Some were still crying or looking confused, but others who were tasked with certain jobs were focused on firing up engines and manning weapons.
As the convoy’s engines all started, the noise in the small space was deafening.
Noah yanked open the door on the illusion system truck. Laura climbed in the back seat and Noah got in with her. From here, they had access to the entire illusion system in the very back of the vehicle. She studied it and her eyes widened.
With all the alien tech spliced into it, the system now glowed with alternating red and orange colors. She couldn’t begin to understand what he’d done, but it was amazing. The man was amazing.
“Austin, ready to go?” Noah called out.
Laura swiveled and saw a young man sitting in the driver’s seat. She hadn’t even noticed him. “Hi.”
“Howdy,” Austin said. “Everyone buckle up.” He was maybe in his twenties, if he was lucky. He grinned. “I like to drive fast.”
“He’s the best driver on the tech team, so he volunteered to be driver for this vehicle,” Noah said.
“And I haven’t driven for a really long time.” Austin patted the steering wheel. “Can’t wait to get this baby going.”
A blare of noise, like a fog horn, came over the vehicle’s comm system. It cut off and then the general’s voice followed.
“Today is a hard day for all of us. Again, we’ve lost friends, loved ones, our home. But we’ve prevailed before. We have survived everything the aliens have thrown at us, and we will prevail again today.”
Laura reached for Noah’s hand. His fingers clamped on hers, squeezed.
General Holmes continued. “We have a plan and now we will execute it. We can all get through this if we work together, and look out for each other. That is what the Gizzida keep underestimating. Humanity’s will to survive, to be free, and the innate strengths that make us human. We care, and we love, and we will fight to protect that.” A pause. “Time to move out.”
The lead vehicle started rumbling up the ramp. Laura knew the ramp led into a tunnel that would lead them away from the base. Not far, but hopefully it was far enough to escape the notice of the raptors.
Then it was their turn. Austin gunned the engine and they pulled forward. Noah squeezed Laura’s hand one more time, then opened the window to the back of the truck. He climbed through.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I want to check everything again. Before I fire it up.”
She nodded. He was so tense, the lines etched into his face appearing deeper, more permanent. She watched his long, clever fingers move over the illusion system.
He sat back and hunched his shoulders. “Well, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”
“Tunnel exit coming up,” Austin called back.
Laura’s and Noah’s gazes locked. This was another part of what being together meant. Not just the good times and the sexy times, it was being there for each other in the hard times as well.
The vehicle drove out into the dying day’s light. Ahead, the lead vehicles were idling, waiting.
“Noah?” The general’s voice on the comm. “Ready?”
“No,” Noah muttered. He flicked some switches, dragged in a deep breath. “Here we go.”
Laura heard a hum from the machine. She felt energy fill the air, the hairs on her arms rising. She looked out the windshield, staring at the trucks ahead.
“Everything still visible,” the general said, his voice harsh. “No illusion.”
“Dammit.” Noah pressed his hands to his knees. “It’s not working.”
“Noah—” Laura tried to think of something to comfort him. Then the illusion system’s hum changed, became a little more high-pitched.
“Goddamn thing will probably blow up now,” Noah said.
“Get back in here.” She waved to the seat beside her. She didn’t want him sitting on the damn thing if it caught fire.
He climbed back in beside her.
“The rest of the convoy is coming out through the tunnel now,” Austin said.
“You tried your best, Noah,” she said quietly. “You couldn’t have done anything more.”
The whine of the illusion system increased to another, higher, pitch.
Excited voices came through the comm. A black vehicle roared up beside them, and through the windshield, she saw Hell Squad’s armored Hunter.
“Kim, you are a genius,” Marcus said on the comm. “We couldn’t see you at all as we drove up. The illusion’s working!”
Laura’s breath caught in her lungs.
Noah leaned forward between the front seats and tapped the comm screen. “General?”
“It’s working, Noah. You did it! Everyone, we’re moving out. Stick together and stay in the illusion field.”
Noah punched the back of the empty passenger seat, grinning. The general’s command vehicle pulled out first, and the rest of the convoy fell into place. Austin maneuvered them into the center of the convoy, and they were flanked by two Hunters.
Laura nudged Noah. “Nice work.”
He leaned back in the seat. “I knew it would work.”
The arrogance forced a laugh from her. She decided not to mention his tense muscles and earlier frustration.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, concern darkening his eyes.
She’d been injured, the base had been destroyed, and they were on the run. She should be a wreck.
Instead… “I’m feeling pretty darn lucky.”
He grinned at her. “Me, too, honey. Me, too. I’m a genius, I have one hell of a beautiful woman, and we’re alive. Not too bad.”
She couldn’t resist the grin on his face, and she kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and she sank into him.
Yes, despite all the bad, she was feeling like one lucky lady.
Chapter Sixteen
Shaw
Shaw Baird’s hands clenched on the controls of the autocannon. Cruz was driving the Hunter and they were flanking the illusion system vehicle. There was a tense, charged silence in the Hunter.
The convoy had escaped the aliens. Shaw figured he should be jubilant. Instead, inside he was a fucking chaotic mess.
They’d left Claudia behind.
He wanted to yell, shout and pound on something. Preferably a fucking alien raptor.
Instead, he manned the cannon, and counted each kilometer they put between them and the smoking remains of the base…and Claudia.
It reminded him of another time he’d abandoned someone who mattered. Someone who hadn’t survived long enough for him to return to get her.
His jaw clenched and he worked hard to draw in a calming breath through his tight chest and find a little bit of control. Claudia wasn’t his sister. She was a tough, badass, superbly-trained fighter.
But she was his family.
Shaw’s childhood had been…well, shitty didn’t even begin to describe it. As soon as he could, he’d escaped and joined the Coalition military. Then he’d made his own family—first with the Special Air Service and now, with Hell Squad.
Hell Squad had given him everything he’d never realized he’d needed. They meant the damn world to him. And Claudia…
The mass of rage and pain in him made his fingers flex on the cannon controls. He wanted to shoot something. He itched to unload laser rounds into the enemy. He almost wished the raptors would find them.
The fucking bastards had her. If they hurt her… The thought of Claudia Frost dead—all that tough, vital life gone—made his jaw clench so hard his teeth hurt.
He’d never told her, but Claudia was his touchstone, that one thing in the world that made sense. She infuriated him, pulled him into line when he was an ass, she had his back in a fight and she made him laugh.
And now she was gone.
A slap on his boot made him look down from the elevated cannon seat.
Marcus’ scarred face looked up. “Convoy’s free of raptor pursuit. Elle says the aliens aren’t headed this way.”
Shaw’s heart jumped. “We going to get her now?”
Marcus gave a sharp nod. “Hell yeah.”
“About fucking time.”
Marcus’ gaze was intense. “We’ll get her back.”
As his leader disappeared from view, the Hunter executed a tight U-turn. Shaw got a quick glimpse of the assorted mix of vehicles in the convoy—trucks, SUVs, cars, converted buses. Ordinarily, he’d feel a twinge of guilt for leaving them. They were innocent civilians, survivors—men, women and kids who needed his protection.
He’d joined the military to escape his crappy home, but also for the chance to protect those who were weaker. Hell, he’d been protecting people all his life—keeping bullies off smaller kids in the school playground, taking his father’s drunken slaps to protect his sister, rescuing pretty girls from the advances of assholes.
But today, he didn’t have it in him to feel more than a fleeting blip of guilt.
Claudia needed him. And while she wasn’t a civilian, and she sure as hell wasn’t weak, and she liked to tell everyone she didn’t need anyone’s protection, she was damn well getting it today.
He stared at the fading white line in the center of the road as it whizzed beneath the Hunter.
I’m coming, Frost. You fucking hold on. I’m coming for you.
***
Noah gripped the steering wheel with one hand, and stroked Laura’s hair with the other. She was slumped in the passenger chair beside him, fast asleep. Austin was in the back seat, stretched out, snoring softly.
They’d driven most of the night, and were now deep in the mountain forests, well south of Blue Mountain Base. It had been a long, slow, twisting route. There’d been a few tense moments as they’d escaped—pteros buzzing overhead, a detour to avoid raptor vehicles, and one convoy vehicle had broken down.
The people inside had been put into other vehicles and they’d abandoned the vehicle in a mountain ghost town. Hopefully, if the raptors found it, they’d think it had been in the town all along. The little town had been so pretty, and perfect…and empty.
Just ahead, he saw a Z6-Hunter cruising in front of them. Squad Nine. The other Hunter was long gone.
Hell Squad had stayed with the convoy for a couple of hours before turning back.
They were going to bring Claudia home.
Noah’s hands flexed on the wheel. The raptors had to know Claudia was a member of Hell Squad. They wouldn’t kill her straightaway. At least, he hoped not. Besides that, the woman was the definition of tough.
She’d make it. Strong women seemed to dig in and fight until they got what they wanted. No matter the odds. No matter the obstacles.
He glanced down at his own woman. Yep, he’d discovered he had a thing for tough women.
The comm crackled to life. “Swift Wind convoy, this is General Holmes.” The general’s voice was hoarse and he sounded exhausted. “We’ve identified a camping ground deep in the nearby national park. We’ll be pulling in to take a break.”
Laura stirred. “Where are we?”
“Headed into a national park campground.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I hate camping.”
Noah followed the convoy and soon, the vehicles were all pulling in and parking. Noah got out and stretched his stiff body. The general’s team had done well. The place was covered in trees, which provided good cover. But he still checked the illusion system and made sure it was operational. Not far away, a river glimmered under the moonlight.
“We need to find the doc and get her to check your nanomeds and injuries,” Noah said.
Laura nodded but was eyeing the vehicles and the people wandering around. “We’ve lost so many.”
Yeah, it was easy to see they were several hundred people short. Anger was a hot arrow through him. The Gizzida would pay. For everything.
They might have won this battle, but the war wasn’t over. If the aliens thought this would demoralize them, they were so very wrong.
General Holmes appeared. He’d lost his uniform jacket and looked tired, rumpled and stressed. “Drones are up. Finn and the quadcopters will be landing here shortly. How’s the illusion system?
“Fully operational.”
Holmes rubbed the back of his neck. “Great. I’ll let everyone know they can light small fires.”
“What’s the plan from here?” Noah asked.
“We head to the Enclave.”
The Enclave was the secret underground bunker built by the former Coalition President. Roth and Avery had been there and brought back data on it. From what Noah had seen of the schematics, it was well outfitted and secure.
It was also hundreds of kilometers away, south of Sydney. “It’s a long way to go with a convoy like this,” Noah said.
The general nodded. “But we can make it. My team has mapped out the best route, along with back-up plans, too. We’ll take each day as it comes, and move safely and cautiously toward the Enclave.”
Just having a plan and knowing where they were going made something in Noah settle. They could do this. He looked at the people around him. Spotted some kids chasing each other, playing tag and laughing. He saw an elderly couple sitting together on camp chairs someone had found for them. They were holding hands. He saw a young couple kissing, completely lost in each other.
Already, human resilience was shining through.
They’d survive.
“Well done on the illusion system, Noah.” Holmes clapped him on the shoulder. “Now get some rest. I think I’ll grab a nap too.” He strode back toward the command truck.
Another small group of people appeared in the darkness. Roth Masters, his partner, Avery, and the rest of Squad Nine. With them were Santha, with an arm around young Bryony, Devlin, and Natalya.
“Any word from Hell Squad?” Noah asked.
Santha nodded. “Elle’s in the comms truck. She’s in contact with them.” Santha’s face was grim. “The aliens have picked over the base and moved on. They don’t seem to know where we’ve disappeared to and have headed away from our direction. Hell Squad has found a few survivors.”
“Claudia?”
Santha shook her head. “But they confirmed she’s alive, and the aliens have taken her. Hell Sq
uad is on the trail.”
“And Hell Squad doesn’t stop until they achieve their objective,” Dev said.
“Hell yeah,” Roth murmured.
“We are going to light a fire and cook some breakfast,” Natalya said quietly. “You’re welcome to join us.”
Laura yawned. “I need to wash up, first.”
“And then get some rest,” Noah added. Right now, in the wake of all this, he wanted Laura to himself. “Rain check?”
“Sure.” Natalya smiled, looking like she wasn’t fooled one bit.
Noah winked at the woman, then turned Laura toward the tech truck. “Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room for both of us in my shower unit. You go shower and find some fresh clothes.” He smiled. “I stashed a few of your things in my quarters.”
“Did you?”
“I’m going to send the doc over to check on you and then I’m going to take a quick dip in the river.” People were already down there, splashing. “Then we can celebrate this whole being in love thing.”
“Sounds good,” Laura said. “Very good.” She disappeared into the truck.
Noah kept it quick. Emerson agreed to check in on Laura, and then after a dunk in the frigid water of the river, he ran around and begged, borrowed and stole the few things he needed.
Maybe he was crazy to be doing this in the aftermath of the base attack, but he wanted to show Laura that living and loving were important. No matter what.
He set everything up in his tiny quarters, listening to the shower running. For a second, memories assailed him. Laura bleeding all over the floor, both of them running through the base to escape, him praying the illusion system would work. He sank onto the bunk, surprised to find his hands a bit shaky.
More than anything, he needed Laura right now. He needed a reminder that they were both still alive.
She came out of the shower unit wearing another one of his T-shirts. She halted at the sight of him.
He sat back on the bed. “I told you some of your clothes were in the cupboard.”
“I saw them, along with the sketchbooks, pencils and paints.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
