by Anna Hackett
But that felt like a lifetime ago. He’d been alone even before the aliens had come with their ships, and he’d been alone the two years since.
Too many deployments, the loss of too many friends, watching good men and women blown apart, had worn him out. His last few months in the United Coalition Marines had felt like someone had a boot on his back, grinding him down, until one day Nate had woken up and realized there was nothing left of him.
PTSD. That’s what the Marine Corps shrinks had said. He’d been honorably discharged, did his stint in therapy, tried medication, but he hadn’t really adjusted to life out of the military. He’d started drinking, fighting, pushed his family away.
Reaching his cabin, he slammed his axe into a log resting near the door. An ugly mix of emotion—like battery acid in his gut—churned inside him.
He’d been really fucked-up back then. Discovering that his crusty great-aunt had left him a cabin in the Australian mountains had happened at just the right time. He’d left his family and disintegrating life in Colorado behind. Being alone here had helped him find some sense of balance. Thanks to Aunt Janine, he’d regained a few pieces of himself that had gone missing.
The alien invasion had also put things in perspective. His family, like most of the world, were probably dead. He had no way to contact them anymore. Either way, he figured they were better off without him.
Nate reached up and stripped his shirt off. He grabbed a bucket of water he’d left resting there and tipped it over his head.
He was in better shape now than when he’d been an active Marine. Living off the land and spending his days out in the forest had left him fit and lean.
He glanced toward the western horizon, above the dense trees. The sun was setting, painting the sky with a pink-tinged, golden glow. He didn’t spot any Hawk quadcopters in the air today, or the distinctive, triangular alien ships that reminded him of flying dinosaurs.
But he’d seen them before. He knew that some human survivors were fighting back. Nate stared hard at the trees. Not for the first time, the thought occurred to him that he had the skills to help… He shook his head and turned to his cabin.
He liked being alone. He was better alone.
He jogged up the steps and inside the cabin. It wasn’t fancy, and as usual, he wondered if anything had changed since his aunt had first lived in it. He knew he sure as hell hadn’t spent any time decorating.
He opened some cupboards and pulled out the cooler where he kept yesterday’s food cool. He grabbed some meat and fed Blue, and then set about making his own meal.
Sitting down, he shoveled cooked meat and chopped vegetables from his garden into his mouth. In the beginning, he’d hated the silence—no voices, no television—but now, he was used to it.
After scarfing down her food, Blue had moved to her favorite spot on the rug to curl up. But as Nate sipped one of the last few bottles of beer he had, the dog rose, her body stiff. She let out an unhappy whine.
He frowned. “What is it, girl?”
Blue took a step toward the door, and this time, the cattle dog let out a growl.
The hairs on the back of Nate’s neck lifted and he straightened in his chair. He heard a noise outside, and he shoved his chair back and shot to his feet.
That sounded like…a woman’s scream.
Nate strode forward, grabbing his laser carbine off the hook beside the door. He shoved his feet back into his boots and a second later, he was pushing his way out the door, Blue on his heels.
As he raced outside, he noticed that darkness had fallen like a thick, impenetrable blanket. The moon was out, but currently trapped behind some clouds. He heard the sounds of a chase in the trees. To the left. He pivoted and started running.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom. Branches slapped at him, but he powered onward. He could hear the aliens now. Their guttural voices were pretty distinctive.
Nate pushed for more speed, leaping over a fallen log.
A second later, he reached a clearing. The clouds shifted and a shaft of moonlight speared down.
A young woman broke out of the trees. She was practically naked, except for a stained, white T-shirt that left her long, coltish legs bare. Her feet were covered in mud and blood.
Honey-blonde hair was a tangle around her face. A bloodstained face. She was also clutching a bloody knife in her hand.
Her wide eyes met his. “They’re coming!”
Nate took two steps forward and lifted his carbine. The woman headed in his direction and tripped.
He lunged and grabbed her with one hand. Their gazes met.
She had huge, brown eyes.
Then two enormous alien soldiers broke out of the trees behind her.
The bastards were big, packed with muscle, and covered in thick, mottled-gray, scaly skin. Heavy brow ridges and elongated jaws dominated their faces, along with glowing, red eyes. Each alien soldier clutched a huge, scaled weapon in their clawed hands.
Nate shoved the woman down to the ground and opened fire.
The laser fire made her jolt.
Even though she wanted to hide and cower, Ariana Matthews forced herself to look up. The man beside her was firing at the aliens, calm and focused.
Her bent knees rested on his heavy boots. The leather was scarred and well-worn. She wondered if she was in shock to be thinking about something so inconsequential.
Can’t lose focus. Can’t get distracted.
Her heart beat in her chest like a frantic, caged animal, fighting for freedom. She curled her fingers, with their broken, ragged nails, into her palms. She wouldn’t go back to the aliens’ fucking lab of horrors. She was done being their chew toy.
Ari swiveled on the ground. Her savior kept firing, and he held his weapon like an expert. He had military training for sure.
A second later, the raptors were both down—groaning and bleeding.
The man lowered his weapon and glanced down at her.
She got a good look at him in the moonlight. Rugged face, auburn hair, and thick scruff on his cheeks. He also had a wide, wide, wide chest. His T-shirt was strained to the limit, the bands of his sleeves biting into his huge biceps.
He strode toward the downed aliens, and she jumped to her feet and followed. Dispassionately, the man fired his weapon again, then crouched, checking that they were dead. She noted that the aliens were bleeding from their eyes. She knew that it was the trees that affected them. They really didn’t like the Aussie vegetation. Ari’s grandmother would have gotten a kick out of knowing the native plant life repelled the invaders.
Ari’s throat thickened. But her nan was gone now, probably like the rest of her family.
“Thank you,” she said.
The man glanced at her. “You escaped from them?”
She nodded, a shiver running through her. “I’ve been trapped in one of their labs, not far from here.” She wrapped an arm around herself. She’d seen so many people die, suffered so much.
Free. You’re free.
The man rose from his crouch.
Ari swallowed. “I’m Ariana. Ariana Matthews. My friends call me—” her voice cracked, her chest tightening. “They called me Ari.”
The man lifted his chin. “Nate Caldwell.”
A noise broke into their conversation. A stick snapping.
They both spun.
Another huge alien stepped out from behind the trunk of a large Eucalyptus tree.
It was focused on Nate, its demonic eyes flaring red. Time seemed to pass in slow motion, the alien lifting its scaled weapon. Ari knew from bitter experience that the guns fired poison that burned and paralyzed.
Nate was turning, raising his own weapon, but she knew he wouldn’t be fast enough.
Without conscious thought, Ari threw the knife she was holding.
The blade slammed into the alien’s face. It let out a loud grunt of pain. She couldn’t even find it in herself to be horrified. Instead, anger exploded inside her.
This
alien had come to Earth intent on destruction. It had kept her caged like an animal. It had cut into her skin. It had hurt her.
The alien went down, making horrible, guttural sounds. She rushed forward, brushing past a stunned Nate, and snatched up the alien’s weapon. Damn, it weighed a ton.
She wrestled with the gun, struggling to hold it up. But she managed to aim it at the alien’s chest and fired.
Poison splattered over the alien’s scaled body, the green substance burning and sizzling. The alien let out a choked scream that cut off a second later.
She kept firing the weapon. “You evil motherfuckers. You had no right to slaughter us.”
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and she jolted.
She spun, and Nate gripped the weapon before she rammed it into his gut. He had a strange look on his face.
And what she thought might be admiration in his blue eyes.
“We need to go,” he said.
She nodded, letting him take the weapon out of her hands. Ari took a step, then her knees gave out.
But she didn’t hit the ground.
Nate Caldwell swept her into his brawny arms.
God, he was so solid, so strong. It had been a really long time since someone had held her, helped her. Tears filled her eyes.
He stilled. “You just escaped the aliens, then took one down, and now you’re going to cry?”
“Sorry,” she sniffed.
He set off into the trees, shrugging one big shoulder. “Figure you’re entitled to a cry.”
“You aren’t going to do the man thing and get all uncomfortable?”
“Think I can handle a few tears. And I didn’t make you cry.” He paused. “Right?”
She swiped her hand across her face and let out a rough laugh. “Right.”
She spotted the dog waiting for them by the trees. “You have a dog?”
“Ari, meet Blue.”
“Hey, Blue.”
The dog’s tail wagged.
They traveled through the dark forest for so long that Ari was completely lost. Even with the moonlight, she had no idea which direction they were going. At university, she’d depended on her map app on her phone to get her anywhere. Boy, she had a terrible sense of direction.
Moments later, she spotted the cabin. It was old, but looked cozy. “This is your place?”
“Home sweet home.”
When Nate took her inside, she felt like she’d stepped back in time. A small, high-tech lantern set the place aglow. The kitchen cabinets had old metal latches and the counter tops were a faded shade of mustard that should never, ever have been used. The couch sagged and had a crocheted blanket resting over the back of it.
He set her down on an old, over-stuffed chair and then knelt beside her. “You’re safe now.”
Looking into his blue eyes, for the first time in what felt like forever, Ari believed it. “Thank you, Nate Caldwell.”
Hell Squad
Marcus
Cruz
Gabe
Reed
Roth
Noah
Shaw
Holmes
Niko
Finn
Theron
Hemi
Ash
Levi
Manu
Griff
Dom
Survivors
Tane
Also Available as Audiobooks!
Preview: Among Galactic Ruins
When astro-archeologist and museum curator Dr. Lexa Carter discovers a secret map to a lost old Earth treasure—a priceless Fabergé egg—she’s excited at the prospect of a treasure hunt to the dangerous desert planet of Zerzura. What she’s not so happy about is being saddled with a bodyguard—the museum’s mysterious new head of security, Damon Malik.
After many dangerous years as a galactic spy, Damon Malik just wanted a quiet job where no one tried to kill him. Instead of easy work in a museum full of artifacts, he finds himself on a backwater planet babysitting the most infuriating woman he’s ever met.
She thinks he’s arrogant. He thinks she’s a trouble-magnet. But among the desert sands and ruins, adventure led by a young, brash treasure hunter named Dathan Phoenix, takes a deadly turn. As it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want them to find the treasure, Lexa and Damon will have to trust each other just to survive.
The Phoenix Adventures
Among Galactic Ruins
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth
On a Barbarian World
Lost in Barbarian Space
Through Uncharted Space
Crashed on an Ice World
Also by Anna Hackett
Team 52
Mission: Her Protection
Mission: Her Rescue
Mission: Her Security
Mission: Her Defense
Mission: Her Safety
Mission: Her Freedom
Mission: Her Shield
Also Available as Audiobooks!
* * *
Treasure Hunter Security
Undiscovered
Uncharted
Unexplored
Unfathomed
Untraveled
Unmapped
Unidentified
Undetected
Also Available as Audiobooks!
* * *
Eon Warriors
Edge of Eon
Touch of Eon
Heart of Eon
Kiss of Eon
Mark of Eon
Claim of Eon
Also Available as Audiobooks!
* * *
Galactic Gladiators: House of Rone
Sentinel
Defender
Centurion
Paladin
Guard
Weapons Master
Also Available as Audiobooks!
* * *
Galactic Gladiators
Gladiator
Warrior
Hero
Protector
Champion
Barbarian
Beast
Rogue
Guardian
Cyborg
Imperator
Hunter
Also Available as Audiobooks!
* * *
Hell Squad
Marcus
Cruz
Gabe
Reed
Roth
Noah
Shaw
Holmes
Niko
Finn
Theron
Hemi
Ash
Levi
Manu
Griff
Dom
Survivors
Tane
Also Available as Audiobooks!
* * *
The Anomaly Series
Time Thief
Mind Raider
Soul Stealer
Salvation
Anomaly Series Box Set
* * *
The Phoenix Adventures
Among Galactic Ruins
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth
On a Barbarian World
Lost in Barbarian Space
Through Uncharted Space
Crashed on an Ice World
* * *
Perma Series
Winter Fusion
A Galactic Holiday
* * *
Warriors of the Wind
Tempest
Storm & Seduction
Fury & Darkness
* * *
Standalone Titles
Savage Dragon
Hunter’s Surrender
On
e Night with the Wolf
* * *
For more information visit www.annahackett.com
About the Author
I’m a USA Today bestselling romance author who’s passionate about fast-paced, emotion-filled contemporary and science fiction romance. I love writing about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.
I live in Australia with my own personal hero and two very busy, always-on-the-move sons.
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Website: www.annahackett.com
