by Anna Hackett
“In the morning.”
“Great.” The sooner they got out there, the sooner they got back.
He made a sound and leaned back. She drank in his pale skin, her gaze snagging on his strong throat. He closed his eyes, and she took in his face. Frowning, she realized he had dark smudges under his eyes.
“You aren’t sleeping?” The question popped out of her mouth before she’d realized.
His ice-blue eyes opened. “It’s been busy. Someone always needing something, decisions to make, knowledge of the alien bombs.”
Liv bit her lip. Being responsible for hundreds of lives was clearly a heavy weight. She felt the low-grade worry of caring for herself and Freyja, but for Alexander, that was multiplied many times over.
She inched closer, feeling the urge to soothe him in some way. She touched his wrist. “You should get a good rest tonight. The trek isn’t too far, but there’s a lot of snow on the ground.”
His blue eyes bored into her, then he turned his hand over and tangled their fingers together.
“I have another meeting to attend, then I’ll sleep.”
She nodded, looking down at their joined hands.
Suddenly, screams echoed from somewhere outside.
They both leaped to their feet and Liv tightened her towel. “Something’s wrong.”
Still damp and wearing his hastily-pulled-on clothes, Alexander raced out into the corridor outside the gym. A now-dressed Liv was right beside him, her wet hair slicked back from her face.
They sprinted toward the screams echoing off the concrete walls.
He rounded a corner and found a group of people fighting. Teenagers.
Some of his security team were there, pulling the youngsters apart.
Alexander waded in, yanking two fighting boys away from each other. “Enough.”
Liv pulled some sobbing girls away from the fight. One girl was holding a hand to her red cheek.
“Enough!” Alexander roared.
The rest of the brawling kids all froze.
“What the hell is going on?” Alexander demanded.
Silence filled the tunnel, broken only by the panting breaths of the kids.
“Jakob and Oliver were arguing about the aliens,” a girl said. “About when the Gizzida would—” the girl gave a hiccupping sob “—finally kill us all.”
Alexander sucked in a breath. He saw fear in their eyes.
“Things got out of control,” a broad-shouldered teen boy said.
Alexander met Liv’s gaze. It was so steady, and she gave him a small nod. “We aren’t just sitting here waiting for the aliens to come. We’ve been working with the other bases—”
“What’s it matter?” A belligerent boy—Jakob—asked. “They’ll kill us all in the end. Why even bother trying to survive?”
One of the younger boys whimpered.
“If we give up, we’re done.” Liv stepped forward. “If we fight amongst ourselves, instead of helping and supporting each other, the aliens have beaten us already.”
The kids all turned, listening to her. Alexander wondered if she realized what a steady, calm, and unyielding aura she emanated.
“We’ve survived for two years already,” she continued. “And there are other bases out there, other survivors forging on.”
The kids all looked at the floor, shuffling their feet.
“Jon!” one girl screamed
Alexander whirled and spotted a kid they’d missed. He was sprawled on the ground on his side, and not moving.
Liv got to him first, gently turning him onto his back. “He isn’t breathing.”
“Someone call Medical,” Alexander barked.
When he crouched down, Liv was starting CPR. She pressed the boy’s chest. “He hasn’t got a pulse.”
Fuck. Alexander saw blood on the back of the boy’s head. Liv breathed into Jon’s mouth, his chest rising, then falling.
“He must have hit his head.” Alexander shifted onto his knees. “I’ll take over compressions, you do the breathing.”
With a nod, she shifted and together they worked to keep the boy alive. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the medical team arrived. They sprinted in, pushing a floating iono-stretcher in front of them. They took over and pressed monitoring patches to the boy’s neck. Soon, they whisked him away.
The crowd of teens around them was subdued.
“Everyone, back to your rooms.” Alexander rose. “No more fighting.”
As they all dispersed, he scraped a hand over his face. He hoped to hell that Jon would be okay. Alexander felt like bricks were toppling in on top of him.
A soft hand touched his arm. Liv’s fingers wrapped around his bicep and she urged him down the corridor. When he blinked, he realized that she’d led him into his office. She nudged him to sit on the leather couch against the wall.
She went over to his side table and poured two drinks of his treasured Irish whiskey. There was only half a bottle of it left. She handed him the glass, and lifted her own and swirled it around the glass.
They both knocked the whiskey back.
Alexander felt the burn, but it did little to make him feel better. “I should have realized they were feeling scared, losing hope—”
“You’ve been running yourself ragged, Alexander. You’re only human.”
“That boy, Jon, might die, or have a brain injury.”
“It’s not your fault.” She sat beside him, their knees brushing. She cupped his cheek. “You do an amazing job of holding these people together. You, no one else. How many people have you saved over the last few years?”
He grabbed her wrist, needing the connection. He stroked her skin and saw the flicker in her eyes, the way her breathing quickened.
“Liv.” He lowered his head and nipped her lips. He ran his tongue along her plump bottom lip, getting a teasing taste of her. It wasn’t enough. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her.
She tasted as fresh as a fjord. She moaned, pressing closer.
With a groan, Alexander deepened the kiss. Things immediately went from slow and gentle, to fast and wild. Before he knew it, they were kissing each other hard, and she was tugging on his hair. He spun, pressing her down on the couch beneath him.
Finally, he had Liv Bergen under him.
He drank deep, pulling in the electrifying taste of her. His cock was an insistent throb in his trousers. Her hands twisted in the back of his T-shirt and he groaned. Pure desire, pure pleasure.
Right now, he wasn’t thinking of his responsibilities, of all the lives he had to take care of, of all the plans, of the decisions to be made.
There was just Liv.
Her mouth, her taste, her strong, curvy body. She pressed hard against him, her tongue stroking his as she made small, husky noises.
Then she broke the kiss, panting. Her lips were swollen and her face was flushed.
“That…shouldn’t have happened,” she said.
He arched a brow. “Why?”
She pushed him until he moved off her and sat up.
“It was a mistake. You’re…you.”
“Yes, I’m me. A man attracted to a beautiful woman.”
Her eyes flickered. “I’m too old for you.”
He grinned. “Is that all you’ve got?”
She straightened. “I’m several years older than you, Alexander. You’re a man in your prime—”
“And you’re a woman in yours.”
“I’m a loner, and you’re a man who runs a base filled with survivors.” She ran a hand through her mussed hair. “You can have a young, fresh Ingrid.”
“I already have several hundred people depending on me. It would be nice to be with an independent woman who sees me. The man, not the leader, the boss, the person who can give them what they need. It would be nice to have someone for me, who doesn’t add to the burden.”
He saw something on her face, but suddenly he was so tired. And he had a boy to check on, a meeting to attend, and a mission to pre
pare for.
He stood. “I need to check on Jon. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Alexander—”
He didn’t stop. He walked out, feeling the mix of fatigue and frustration that was becoming his norm.
He didn’t have time for this. The bomb, that had to be his focus.
Chapter Three
It was a sunny morning. Good weather for a trek through the snow.
Liv stood outside the Setermoen Base, tightening the straps on her backpack. She had her hair braided and her favorite hiking boots on.
Freyja was sniffing nearby, making a few of the guards nervous.
Movement in the doorway made her turn. Alexander appeared, looking fine in his cold-weather gear. The white trousers hugged his long legs, and the Arctic parka would keep him warm. The sunlight glinted off his blond hair.
Liv had not slept well. She kept reliving that kiss. But she’d also relived the heavy, tired look on his face when he’d left her.
She suspected she’d gotten a true glimpse of the man beneath the leader. Something he didn’t let slip much.
He paused in the doorway, and she saw he was talking with an older couple. The woman hugged him and the man touched his shoulder. The man looked exactly how she imagined Alexander would look in a few decades. They were clearly his parents.
Two kids ran out of the tunnel, wrapping themselves around his legs and hugging him hard. Another man appeared, waving the kids off, and slapping Alex on the back. Since the man looked like a copy of Alexander—only a few inches shorter with shaggier hair, and a wide smile—it was easy to guess it was his brother.
Alexander said something to them that made them all smile. He ruffled his niece’s and nephew’s hair, then strode out onto the hardpacked snow. He spoke to the guards, who smiled and nodded. She watched the men and women stand straighter, drawing from his confidence.
She realized now how tough his role was. He was everyone’s strength. They all wanted things from him, or wanted him to make things better for them.
But who was there for him, when Alexander needed someone to lean on?
He walked toward her, his blue gaze on her face. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” She couldn’t stop her gaze drifting to his mouth.
His lips quirked and she jerked her gaze up.
The base door slammed open, and when she saw Ingrid’s slim form dashing toward them, she stiffened. The woman was dressed in tight-fitting jeans and a jacket the color of plums, with her hair falling artfully around her shoulders.
“Alexander.” The brunette threw her arms around him. “I heard you were going out…there.”
Like they were heading to Siberia. Liv gave a soft snort.
“Yes.” He carefully extricated himself from the young woman and set her back a bit.
“Can’t someone else go?” Ingrid asked.
Alexander sighed. “No, this is important.”
Ingrid stepped back. “Oh, well. It’s so wonderful that you’re so dedicated to your work.” She lowered her voice, a smile curling her red lips. “And I wanted to thank you for last night.”
Liv’s stomach curdled, even as Alexander looked annoyed.
“Ingrid—”
“It was great.” The woman went up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before shooting Liv a smug look. “See you when you get back.”
She jogged back to the entrance with a wave, then disappeared inside the base.
Liv turned and called Freyja. “We should get moving.”
She marched ahead, the snow crunching under her boots. So, he’d taken Liv’s recommendation and enjoyed the lovely Ingrid’s charms. She should be happy. Everything was exactly how it should be.
“Liv.” He grabbed her shoulder. “Are we going to run all the way?”
She was walking pretty fast. She forced herself to slow down. “Sorry.”
“About Ingrid—”
She held up a hand. She did not want to discuss that woman. “None of my business.”
“God, you’re stubborn.” He pulled her around. “Last night, I approved some social activities she wants to run at the base. That’s it. We had a meeting in my office.”
Liv swallowed, her hands flexing in her gloves. “Like I said, not my business.”
Then he smiled. He was so damn handsome that it made her heart skip a beat.
He ran a finger down her nose. “Stubborn.” Then he brushed past her, heading out to trek into the trees.
Shaking her head, she followed. They walked for a while in surprisingly companionable silence, Freyja following various scents nearby. They followed an icy road, passing through some now-empty villages.
Alexander breathed deep. “It’s nice to be out of the base.”
“But your family is there. It must be good to have them with you.”
“Yes. My parents help out at the base, and I spend as much time as I can with my niece and nephew. My brother, Leif, is an electrical engineer at the base.” A flash of sadness crossed Alexander’s face. “My other brother, Finn, is in Australia.”
“Is he…okay?” She knew that the aliens had ravaged so many countries and killed so many people.
“Yes, he’s a Hawk pilot at the survivor base near Sydney.” Alexander smiled. “He’s busy giving the Gizzida hell. I miss him.”
“You get to talk with him?”
Alexander nodded. “Every couple of weeks or so. He’s at the Enclave, and the survivors there are spearheading the fight against the aliens.” He paused. “Finn married a little spitfire of a drone pilot. In the middle of this hell, he’s happy.”
“That’s great.”
“What about your family?”
“It’s just me. My parents were older when I was born, and died well before the invasion. I was a late-life surprise.” She lifted her shoulder. “I’m used to being alone.”
“We all get used to things,” he said. “It doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.”
Liv wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. Then she glanced up at the horizon and spotted some clouds billowing in the distance. “There might be a storm brewing. We should keep moving.”
Alexander didn’t like the look of those clouds.
They hiked steadily through the trees, the snow getting deeper and slowing down their pace.
“My cabin isn’t too far away,” Liv said. “We’re right at the edge of the Polar Zoo now.”
“Do you miss your work at the zoo?” He found he wanted to know more about her.
“Yes. I loved working with the animals.” Her nose wrinkled. “Dealing with the tourists wasn’t my favorite thing, though.”
He laughed. He loved that she was so honest.
But as they trekked onward, he watched the concern in her eyes grow. She kept frowning at the swirling, thickening clouds overhead. Snow started to fall.
“We’ll need to shelter at my cabin.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” he said.
They continued on. Then Freyja froze, growling at the trees.
Liv yanked out a small laser pistol.
“What is it?” he asked quietly.
“I’m not sure.” She touched the wolf’s back. Freyja bared her fangs at the trees.
Liv crouched, peering into the thick undergrowth.
Alexander slipped his carbine rifle off his shoulder. “Liv…”
With a snarl, an animal flew out of the snow-dusted vegetation. It hit Liv and she fell back into the snow, rolling.
He saw glowing red eyes, fangs, and short claws. The animal was about the size of a dog, covered in patches of scales mixed with beige, patterned fur.
It was some sort of mutated lynx.
Freyja slammed into the alien, knocking it off Liv.
Alexander rushed over and helped her up. Her hat and hair were askew, and she had a scratch down one cheek.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Freyja!”
Alexander lifted his weapon
and trained it on the alien. “I can’t get a clear shot.” The two animals were wrestling across the snow.
Liv lifted her pistol.
A snarl made them spin. Another lynx stalked out of the trees.
Alexander opened fire. The cat leaped at him, slammed into his chest, and they both landed in the snow.
Grunting, he struggled to keep sharp fangs from sinking into his neck. Liv appeared, firing her pistol into the lynx’s face. It slumped and he shoved it off him.
They turned and saw Freyja still fighting with the first creature. The cat was smaller than the wolf, but it was clear that the alien mutation made it strong.
The two animals broke apart and circled each other. Then they attacked again. Liv fired, but the lynx leaped onto the wolf’s back, sinking its claws into Freyja’s fur.
“No!” Liv sprinted toward her pet.
“Liv!”
He watched her reach the animals, just as they tipped over the edge of the hill. They rolled down the slope in a flash of fur and fangs.
Alexander cursed and followed.
He found Liv on her knees, her gaze glued to the fighting animals farther down the hill.
“We have to help her,” she said.
He saw blood on the snow—a scarlet slash of color. Freyja’s fur was soaked in places. He couldn’t shoot or he might hit the wolf. He yanked his knife off his belt and moved in closer, waiting for his chance.
The animals were a blur of claws, fur, and blood. Then Freyja yelped.
The animals separated and Alexander dived in. He rammed the knife into the alien lynx’s side. The creature snarled, its jaws snapping at his face, claws swiping out.
Then Liv landed beside him. She thrust her knife in to the creature’s softer underbelly.
Alexander twisted his knife and a hot spill of blood hit the snow. The mutated animal died with a gurgling sound.
Panting, he pulled back.
Liv walked on her knees to Freyja, her face creased with worry. The wolf was lying on her side in the snow.
“She’s hurt badly,” Liv said, voice shaky.
The snow was falling more heavily now.
“How far to your place?”
“About an hour walking.” Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “She’s too heavy to carry.”
