Theron: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 12)

by Anna Hackett

  “Sienna.”

  She looked up. Theron was inside her illusion and she met his gaze in the glass. Her heart clenched. “Let’s get this done.”

  “I just wanted to keep you safe.”

  She closed her eyes. “I don’t need your protection.”

  “I…” He muttered a curse. “That’s what drives me crazy.”

  It would happen again. Men just couldn’t seem to help it with her. “We’ll talk later. We have a job to do.”

  He pressed up behind her, his hand circling the nape of her neck. “Sienna, I told you I’m not easy or nice. I knew I’d screw up…I’m sorry.”

  She told herself not to soften, even as his touch sent tingles down her spine. “I’ll expect a better grovel than that.”

  His fingers brushed her skin, and she could sense that he was about to say more, but from outside the alley, shouts and carbine fire sounded. Their squad had engaged.

  “Let’s get moving.” She pressed her second hand to the glass, took a deep breath, and started upward.

  She had gone a few meters and looked down. She saw the blur that told her Theron was moving upward, slowly and steadily. Down below, she saw something explode and heard both alien weapons and carbine fire. She said a silent prayer for her squad and then focused on climbing.

  As they moved higher, the wind picked up, tearing at the tie holding her hair in a ponytail. Theron brushed close to her, moving inside her illusion. She saw his face set in hard lines. He was looking grimly at the glass and not looking down.

  Sienna glanced down and her stomach did a slow turn. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but damn, they were a long way up, and they still had a fair distance to go.

  They continued to climb, until they reached a floor where most of the windows were smashed. She peered through the opening, into what looked like a high-end apartment. She gasped. The place was filled with dozens of the same orange glowing pods—on the floor, the walls and the ceilings. Spreading tentacles were approaching the edges of the broken windows, as though they were going to start curling along the outside of the tower.

  She didn’t like the look of this at all.

  “Keep going.” Theron’s voice slipped up to her on the wind.

  With a nod, Sienna turned away from the broken glass and the ugly alien pods inside. She skirted around to an unbroken window and kept climbing.

  ***

  Don’t do it. Theron told himself not to do it.

  He looked down.

  Fuck. He wasn’t phobic, but looking at the ground so far below them made him a little dizzy.

  Grimly, he followed Sienna, just putting one hand in front of the other. He hoped to hell the geek squad hadn’t screwed up with these gecko gloves.

  He knew he’d messed up down below. He’d made Sienna think he was like every other asshole she’d been with. How could she believe he didn’t see her, all of her? He blew out a breath. Because you acted like one of the assholes.

  Damn, it was hard to watch your woman walk—or climb—into danger. But he knew in order to win back her trust, he had to rein it in.

  They passed another broken window, and Theron glanced inside at the open-plan office. Smashed comps littered the floor, and scraps of paper flapped in the breeze. The place was riddled with more of the alien pods and tendrils.

  He stared at the closest one. As he watched, he saw something move inside the pod. They had to find out what the hell these things were, but now wasn’t the time. He forced his gaze away, and kept going.

  Finally, Sienna signaled to him. “I think we’re high enough.” She was looking over to the Winton Tower. They looked to be a few stories below the top.

  She reached over her shoulder and pulled out the compact zip line launcher.

  “Hold me,” she said.

  He kept one hand stuck to the glass, and wrapped his other arm around her waist. He steadied her, as she aimed the launcher toward the neighboring tower.

  The zip line whizzed across the space and thumped into the other building. Sienna swiveled and clamped the unit onto the glass above their heads. She reached up and tested the line.

  “I’ll go first,” Theron told her.

  She skewered him with a sharp look. “This is my mission—”

  He pulled her close. “I’m sorry for my caveman instinct of wanting to keep you safe. It isn’t because I fucking think you’re a princess or aren’t capable. You are one of the most capable women I know.”

  “Theron, we’re dangling off the side of a building.”

  “You are one of the few people I trust to have my back—in a fight, at a party, anywhere.”

  Her breath hitched. “Damn you, I was going to make you grovel.”

  “I will. Later.” He brushed her jaw with his thumb. “I’m your squad mate, your friend, and now also the man who had his cock inside you. I want, no, I need to do something to protect you, even though I know you can protect yourself. It’s in my bones.”

  She sniffed. “I think it’s in your testosterone.”

  “Probably. I know you hate it when everyone looks at you and sees your pretty face, but I see you, Sienna. And I like everything about you. I see the soldier and I see the woman. A woman who will always fight for what’s right, who loves her friends, who can laugh in the middle of an apocalypse.”

  “Damn you.” Her face softened. “Okay, you can go first.”

  “Just like that?” he said, surprised.

  She smiled at him. “You explained. You didn’t just go all alpha male caveman, and demand and grunt.”

  Theron wanted to kiss her. “I probably will screw up sometimes, and the caveman will make the odd appearance.”

  “And I will ensure you regret it when you do.”

  God, she was gorgeous. Helpless to resist, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Let’s destroy an alien mind-control globe, and then get home.”

  Theron reached up and clipped the dangling line from the zip line to his belt. He took a deep breath, and cast one more glance back at Sienna.

  “See you on the other side, Big T.”

  He nodded and pressed the release button.

  He zoomed out over the open space, the street far below. He reminded himself that he was invisible. When he looked back toward the building, he could no longer see Sienna.

  Don’t look down. He turned to fix his gaze on the Winton Tower.

  But suddenly, halfway across, he started to slow. His momentum died, and he came to a stop, hanging in the middle of the zip line. Fuck.

  “Hang on, Theron.” Sienna’s voice through his earpiece. “I’m checking the zip line mechanism.”

  He blew out a breath. She’d get it sorted out. He looked at the Winton building. Through some of the upper windows, he saw raptors moving about. God, if one looked out and noticed the zip line, he was screwed.

  The seconds ticked by, feeling like minutes. Then, he started moving again. Thank God. Sienna had gotten it fixed.

  The Winton Tower approached. He jerked to a halt just inches from the glass. He pressed one glove to the window, and then unclipped himself from the zip line. “Made it.” He heard a small whine as the line retracted.

  He waited impatiently for her, picturing her clipping on.

  “On my way,” she murmured.

  He saw a faint blur in the air, and knew she was zipping across. Nerves chewed at him. Funny how he didn’t care so much for himself, but knowing she was out there, exposed above a massive drop, made his gut twist.

  But then she flickered into view inside his illusion, and her body bumped into his.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He nodded. She pressed her palms to the glass beside him. They climbed up another story toward a broken window. When they reached it, he peered over the edge.

  It opened into a stairwell. Perfect. He gestured for her to go first, and then he followed her in. They both came up with their carbines raised. He pointed ahead, and they moved toward the stairs. He kne
w they needed to go up a few more floors to reach the oura.

  They moved silently, rounded yet another landing, and headed up again. By his calculation, one more level, and they’d have the right floor.

  The squeak of a door opening above them, followed by raptor grunts, caught his ear.

  Sienna and Theron froze. He looked around. Dammit. There was nowhere to hide. They were on the landing in a stairwell, and there were no hiding spots.

  He grabbed her and pressed her back against the wall. They stood, still and silent. Theron didn’t dare draw a breath. He hoped to hell the illusion systems would hide them well enough.

  Two raptors came down the stairs, heavy boots thumping on the concrete floor. They were grunting to each other in their language. They moved past Sienna and Theron, just over a meter away.

  Shit. Another centimeter, and they’d be inside the armor’s illusion and able to see them.

  His pulse pounded. He waited for shouts.

  But the next second, the aliens passed by and continued downward. Theron released the air stuck in his lungs. He felt Sienna do the same.

  He grabbed her hand and pointed up. She nodded, and together, they continued. They reached the final landing at the top of the stairwell, and found the door ajar. Golden light washed out through the gap.

  Sienna nudged him, lifting her goggles from around her neck. They pulled them over their eyes, and then slipped inside the room.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sienna kept her back pressed to the wall, scanning their surroundings. The room was dominated by an enormous oura globe made of gold glass. Raptors moved around it, engaged in some sort of work that involved the massive thing.

  The top floor of the building had once been a restaurant, offering wonderful views of the city and the harbor. Now, most of the tables and chairs had been shoved aside, although some were still in use, covered in black raptor comp screens, and other things Sienna couldn’t identify.

  On the other side of the room were two swinging double doors, leading into the kitchen. They were guarded by several raptors. She arched her neck, trying to see inside, but could only make out raptor silhouettes.

  Theron pointed to some nearby tables and, in a crouch, they raced over and ducked down. As they both studied the oura, she pulled out one of the small explosive charges that Reed had given her. Theron did the same.

  Then he grabbed her arm, and nodded his head.

  The doors to the kitchen opened suddenly, and Sienna got a glimpse of lots of those strange orange pods all over the floor and walls. She grimaced. What the hell were they? But as the doors swung shut with a soft thump, she took a deep breath. Their mission was about destroying the oura. That’s all she could think about right now.

  Together, they crept closer to the oura. She ran her fingers over the charge. They needed to get both right onto the globe.

  Theron pulled her close, his lips pressed to her ear. “You take the charges and get them set. I’ll lay down some carbine fire and cause a distraction.” He pressed the second charge into her palm.

  She nodded, and turned her head until their lips brushed. “Stay safe.”

  He deepened the kiss and then pulled back. “You too. You get even a graze, I’ll be very unhappy.”

  She winked at him and took the second charge. Stay safe, Big T. She said the words over and over in her head, and drank in his rugged face, just one part of him she was falling hopelessly in love with. Along with his light and dark, his rough and sweet.

  Like he’d read her mind, he touched her chin. Then, he turned and hustled over to what looked like it had been the restaurant’s bar.

  As he lifted his carbine, Sienna forced herself to focus on sneaking closer to the oura. Damn, there were far too many raptors crowded around it.

  Theron started laying down cover fire.

  Raptors ran, ducked, and dived. Sienna crouched, and heard the sound of raptor weapons and the splatter of poison.

  Near the oura, most of the raptors had dived for cover. Focusing, Sienna raced toward the globe. She ducked and dodged raptors that were heading toward the mysterious source of the weapons fire.

  Suddenly, one slammed into her, stepping inside her illusion. Burning-red eyes widened. It opened its teeth-filled mouth to shout, but she yanked out her combat knife and stabbed him in the stomach. She worked the blade through his thick, scaled skin, and when she yanked it back, the alien fell to the floor groaning.

  There were only two tables between her and the oura. Sienna dropped to her hands and knees, and crawled under the tables. On the other side, she popped up, careful to keep her gaze averted from the globe. She knew the goggles helped, but if she looked directly at the golden light and got caught…then both she and Theron were dead.

  She crouched beside the giant globe. The damn thing was the size of an SUV and the top of it brushed the ceiling. She pressed one charge to the base of the oura. She quickly moved to the other side, and pressed the second charge in place.

  Done. Ten seconds. She leaped up and ran back toward Theron. Reed had promised the charges would give a small, localized explosion, but she wasn’t taking any risks. She and Theron needed to get back to the stairwell and get back to the zip line.

  Nine. Raptor poison shot through the air in front of her. She pivoted and raised her carbine. Eight. Going down on one knee, she fired at the line of raptors on the other side of the room.

  Seven. Sienna dived and landed near a table. She tipped it over and took cover behind it. Theron was still firing. Six. More poison came her way and she ducked down, hearing it sizzling through something. Five. Damn, she was pinned down.

  Four. She popped up again, firing. She saw several raptors running through the doors into the kitchen. Three.

  “Theron, run!” she shouted. Two.

  One. The explosion was deafening. The oura exploded in a shower of lethal golden glass. As the projectiles shot everywhere, Sienna ducked as low to the ground as she could.

  Raptors around her screamed and shouted.

  “Sienna?” Theron’s panicked voice in her earpiece.

  She could barely hear over the ringing in her ears. “I’m okay.”

  “We need to go.”

  She popped up and took two steps in his direction. She couldn’t see him, but assumed from the trajectory of his fire, he was still near the bar.

  The doors to the kitchen banged open. She swiveled.

  What. The. Hell?

  Sienna stood there, frozen. Several raptors were urging a…creature out of the kitchen and toward the balcony doors.

  It towered over the raptors. It had six legs like some mutated insect, but the center of it glowed orange. It had a thick, black exoskeleton, a swollen belly, and an elongated head with a toothless, round mouth that dripped drool. It skittered along with the raptors.

  And they were very clearly protecting it.

  Theron skidded in beside her. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “They’re getting away. Theron, whatever the hell that thing is, it’s important.”

  His gaze narrowed on the new alien, and the raptors hurrying it out onto the wide balcony.

  “We have to stop them.” She gripped his forearm. “This thing could be something to do with the secret weapon.”

  He glanced back at the stairwell, then muttered a curse. They jogged across the room in pursuit. When they reached the kitchen doors, strange sounds coming from inside reached her ears.

  Now what? They paused, and Sienna carefully pushed open one of the doors.

  The room was now empty, except for the alien pods. Inside the closest one, she saw a black shadow writhing. Some pods were vibrating.

  “Aw, fuck.” Theron lifted his weapon. “This can’t be good.”

  They didn’t have time for this. “Let’s—”

  The closest pod exploded, sending orange goo splattering over Sienna and Theron. The stench was horrible.

  For a second, she was worried it might be poisonous or corrosive, like
most alien substances, but she quickly realized it was just sticky, smelly, and gross.

  Something tumbled out of the pod, flopping wetly around on the ground like a fish. Then the creature managed to get up on its shaky legs.

  It growled.

  It was some sort of hybrid alien dog, like they’d seen in the town near the Enclave. Sienna aimed her carbine, looking into the creature’s soulless red eyes.

  It growled again and took a step toward them.

  Theron fired. The dog let out a wild howl that made Sienna wince. Theron shot it again, and the creature skidded across the floor.

  All the other pods were now vibrating together.

  “Theron…” Sienna took a step backward.

  The pods all simultaneously burst open, splattering goo everywhere. More animals appeared—more dogs, a mutated cat, some large birds—all covered in goo-soaked fur, feathers, and scales.

  “Go!” Theron shouted.

  They backed out the door, firing, heading toward the balcony.

  There was a roar of sound from outside, and through the glass balcony doors, Sienna watched a large alien ship fly past. It wasn’t a ptero. It was bigger, boxier in shape. Some sort of cargo ship, she guessed. It was heading straight for their building.

  “There’s an alien ship incoming,” she yelled over their carbine fire and the snarls of the animals. “Looks like it’s headed for the roof.”

  Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the building. Light flared outside, burning her eyes. Sienna staggered. The glass windows blew out, and Theron’s body slammed into hers. He covered her as glass splintered around them. She heard the hybrid animals yipping and screeching in pain.

  “Hell, what now?” Theron muttered.

  The blast was too big to have been their squad or the berserkers. Sienna nudged Theron back and they got to their feet. She stared out the window, and saw flames and smoke rising up from across the street.

  From the building they’d scaled.

  “Let’s get to the roof,” Theron said.