He’d been so fucking afraid.

Ash opened his mouth, sliding his tongue against Marin’s. She kissed him back eagerly, with no reservation. His. Alive. And in his arms. At the sound of a throat clearing, they broke apart.

Tane shook his head. “We have a mission. I need everyone back in the game. We need to get to that hub.”

Ash nodded. The sooner they got the job done, the sooner he could get Marin out of this hellhole. He stroked a hand down her back. “Ready?”

He saw fear flash in her eyes, but then she set her shoulders back. “Ready.”

Fucking fierce. He led her back down the tunnel with the others to where they’d stashed their bikes. He stepped inside the bike’s illusion and helped her on behind him.

He pulled her arms snugly around him. “Hold on tighter this time.”

She nodded against his back.

Once again, they were moving. This time, they traveled in single file, hugging one wall. In the distance, he could hear raptors. They knew his squad was in here, and they were searching for them.

A part of Ash wanted to turn his bike around and get Marin out. But she had a determined look on her face, and he knew her well enough to know that she was committed to seeing the mission through to the end.

Finally, Tane pulled them over. He was looking at the screen on his wrist. “We need to go through that doorway, and down some stairs.” He pointed to a door set in the tunnel wall. “We’ll pass through some maintenance corridors, and then we’ll reach the spider bot’s location.”

And the hub.

They hid their bikes, leaving the illusion systems running. Then Hemi and Griff pried the door open. Soon, they were heading down a set of stairs. It was dark as hell, and Marin gripped his hand hard. But near the bottom, a dull, red glow filled the stairwell.

They stepped through a doorway and into a narrow corridor. Ash hissed out a breath.

More of those huge organic cables were running along the corridor. They were the same width as a man, pulsing, the red light in them glowing brighter with each pulse.

“Jesus,” Marin breathed. Her expression was equal parts horror and curiosity.

“Come on.” Tane stepped over a cable, and continued down the corridor.

Farther down the tunnel, Ash’s boot stuck to the floor. What the—? He lifted his boot, and eyed the ugly black crap on the cement.

“Sticky shit,” Levi said, lifting his boot as well. “What the hell is this stuff?”

“Probably don’t want to know,” Dom drawled.

Tane clicked on a flashlight. All of them froze, and Marin gasped.

The floor, walls, and ceiling of the tunnel were covered in a sticky, web-like substance. Hemi reached up and touched it. It stuck to his glove like chewing gum.

“I don’t like this,” Hemi said.

Dom pointed. “Look.”

Ash spotted the small, glowing, red pods dotted over the walls. They’d seen similar ones that were filled with animals, but these looked tiny in comparison.

Dom lifted his combat knife. He moved closer to the pod, leaning forward to study it.

Suddenly, the pod burst open and a black river of tiny insects poured out.

Except they weren’t ordinary insects, they were alien insects.

More pods burst, and Ash shoved Marin behind him. A cloud of insects hit him in the chest and face, and he batted at them. He felt tiny stings as they nipped at his flesh. Around him, his squad mates were slapping at the bugs and swearing.

Ash swung his carbine around, and fired at the remaining pods on the wall. The rest of the squad started firing, too.

Levi let out a shout. Ash slapped more insects off his face, felt them trying to crawl into his nose and mouth. Through the curtain of critters, he saw his friend had fallen. A giant swarm of the insects engulfed Levi. The man was thrashing around on the ground.

Hell, no. Ash stumbled over to his friend, and thrust a hand through the insects. They’d chewed through his glove, and he felt them nipping at his skin.

“Watch out,” Marin yelled.

Ash saw a blinding blue light fill the tunnel. Marin was holding up her portable comp, and a bright blue light was coming from it.

The alien insects all swarmed for it. Ash’s pulse raced. Marin.

She set her comp screen down and stepped back. The insects covered the light in a writhing mass. Marin calmly tossed a cedar oil grenade into the center of the tiny creatures.

Thwump. The grenade exploded, and the evergreen scent filled the air, along with a mist-like spray.

Some of the insects shriveled up and died, while the bulk of them scuttled away into the darkness.

Ash reached down for Levi. His friend grabbed his hand and Ash yanked him up. Levi uttered a stream of curses, spitting out insects. His cheeks were covered in blood.

“Good work, Marin.” Ash grinned at her.

“How did you know it would work?” Tane asked, slapping at the last few insects on his armor. He was bleeding from above his left eye.

“I set my comp to emit a bright light, including some ultraviolet, which attracts insects. Like on a bug zapper.” She scooped up her comp, checking it over. It was covered in a heavy-duty case and not damaged. “I made an educated guess about the cedar oil grenade. I’ve been reading some of Doc Emerson’s notes on how she believes the cedar oil affects alien physiology—”

Ash yanked her into his arms and kissed her. “I love it when you talk geek.”

She smiled, then she looked past him, her eyes widening. “Look.”

She wriggled to get down and hurried past Ash. The cables traveling along the corridor turned downward, disappearing through the floor.

He moved up beside her and glanced down. It looked like some sort of access tunnel, which was clogged with the alien cables.

He studied the opening, and spotted a metal ladder attached to the side of the vertical tunnel.

Marin tucked her comp screen away and lifted her gaze to Ash’s. “We need to go down there.”

* * *

The squad’s boots echoed on the rungs of the ladder as they all descended into the darkness.

Marin was in the middle of the group. Tane had taken the lead, followed by Hemi, and then Ash. She was wedged between Ash and Levi. Griff and Dom were bringing up the rear.

The men were tense and quiet. It was so damn dark. She had the night vision lens over her left eye, but she wasn’t used to looking at everything in shades of green. It was disorienting.

Then she heard Tane and Hemi talking in low-pitched tones. They’d reached the bottom.

A moment later, strong hands gripped her waist and pulled her off the ladder. Ash set her down, and she took a second to find her bearings. She looked around and realized that they were standing in a large underground room. There was a noticeable humming sound, and ahead lay a massive pile of cables. They were piled on top of each other and tangled. It almost looked like an ugly vine had grown out of control.

“Take a look around,” Tane said. “But be careful.”

Marin checked her comp screen. “The spider bot is in here somewhere.” She stepped over some cables, staying close to Ash. “If you find anything that looks like a computer interface, he’s likely to be there.”

The men fanned out.

Marin stepped over another cable, searching the space. She spotted some old equipment, rusted and dented, but didn’t see anything that looked like an alien interface. She poked around. “This looks like the controls for part of the ventilation system for the tunnels.”

“Hey.” Griff turned around, his face hardening. “Something touched my leg.”

Everyone turned around, searching the green-tinted darkness. All Marin saw was the tangle of cables all over the floor. Then she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned, peering into the shadows. There. Something was moving. She heard the sound of a body dragging over the ground.

“There’s something moving over there in the darkness,” she said.

The berserkers whipped their carbines up, moving forward. She felt the menace radiating off them.

Then she saw the movement again and her eyes widened. It wasn’t something. It was the cables. “Watch out!”

One huge cable whipped up off the ground, like a giant snake. It waved around, just meters away. The squad shouted, and carbine fire sounded, lighting up the space. Marin squinted at the bright flashes of green light.

Suddenly, another slightly slimmer cable lifted up and wrapped around Marin like a rope.

What the hell? She struggled against the cable. She’d studied smaller versions in the lab, and knew they were blended with organic tech. But they merely carried power and information, they weren’t alive.

Except somehow, these cables were sentient or programmed.

She would have found it fascinating, if the damn thing wasn’t trying to squeeze her to death.

The cable moved again, and jerked her off her feet. A scream caught in her throat, and she found herself being waved around in the air.

“Marin!” Ash shouted.

There were more shouts and carbine fire. Suddenly, the cable tightened, starting to squeeze her in its grip. Pain grew in her chest. “Stop.” The word came out as a whisper.

“It’s crushing her.” Ash’s deep voice reverberated off the walls.

Tears welled in Marin’s eyes. The pain was horrible. All she wanted was Ash. His arms around her, his big body against hers. She did not want to die when she’d only just found him.

Dammit, she wanted to live.

Marin struggled, fighting through the pain. The cable tightened more and her vision wavered.

Then the cable jerked. She opened her eyes, fighting to focus. She saw Ash leap up on the cable, climbing toward her. He was holding a huge combat knife.

He ran up the cable and when he reached her, he crouched down.

“You came for me,” she said.

“I told you I was your own personal super soldier. Hold on, I’m getting you out of there.” He lifted the knife and stabbed at the cable.

The cable started waving wildly through the air. Ash stabbed again, using the knife to hold onto the cable. Behind him, Marin saw more of the cables rising up and waving around. They were starting to look like the tentacles of some giant octopus.

The cables shifted, and beneath them, she glimpsed a jagged hole in the concrete floor, as though acid had eaten through it.

All of a sudden, the cable around her loosened and she felt herself falling. She heard Ash’s curse and saw him falling with her.

They were plummeting toward the hole in the floor.

Marin screamed. As they shot downward, Ash’s arms wrapped around her.

* * *

Ash crashed into a spongy cable, Marin landing on top of him. Shit.

He wrapped his body around Marin’s, as they rolled and finally hit concrete. Ash shifted and sat up.

“Marin?”

“I’m okay.” She sat up, looking a little dazed.

Ash touched her cheek, needing to feel her skin. “Anything hurting?” The damn alien cable had squeezed her hard. She could have broken bones or internal bleeding. He patted down her armor, checking for any cracks.

“Everything’s hurting. But it isn’t so bad now.”

Her armor was intact, so it had protected her from the worst of it. He pulled out his flashlight, and clicked it on. He shone it around. There were cables everywhere—down the walls, across the floor. Thankfully, these fuckers weren’t moving.

He aimed the light up, and his jaw tightened. The cables had moved again, and completely covered over the hole they’d fallen through. They were cut off from the others. He touched his ear. “Tane? You there?”

Nothing.

“Tane? Squad Three?” Ash shook his head. “Comms are cut off.”

“Look at that.” Marin scrambled up and moved across the space.

That’s when Ash spied a glowing box. It was made of a tough, black substance, and covered with red lights.

“That what you’ve been looking for?”

She nodded. “It’s an access point to the hub. And look. Hello, little guy.”

Ash spotted the spider bot, its body pressed flat against the base of the box. Marin pulled out her portable comp screen, and pressed something against the box.

Moving closer, Ash gripped his carbine—which he thankfully hadn’t lost in the fall. He kept a close eye on the nearby cables. He wasn’t taking any chances.

He watched Marin totally lose herself in her work. She tapped at the screen, the light illuminating her face. As she worked, her muscles relaxed. She was completely in the zone.

He loved watching her use that big brain of hers.

“If the aliens hadn’t invaded, what would you be doing?” he asked.

She looked up. “I had my own startup company. We were making cutting-edge, experimental tech.” A distant look crept into her eyes, a smile on her face. “It was a fun, creative place to work. I was set to be a millionaire.”

He could see it. And it reminded him that she was way out of his league.

“But I don’t dwell,” she said. “Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, I know we have to find the good, enjoy it, protect it. We still have good here, right?”

He stared at her face. “Right.”

“And you? What would you be doing?”

Ash shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I tried a lot of things, and most of them didn’t work out, except for the Iron Kings.” He thought of the brothers who hadn’t made it. “I don’t dwell, either.”

“I know what you’d be doing.” Marin paused her tapping. “You’d be riding a sexy motorcycle around, and be surrounded by gorgeous women.”

Ash put a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “There’s only one gorgeous woman I’m interested in.”

She stared at him for a second before she looked back down at her screen. “I might be starting to believe you.”

She kept working, and Ash looked up, wondering what the hell his squad mates were doing. They had to be fighting to find a way in. Ash felt sweat beading on his face. In fact, the temperature had risen, and he felt a trickle of sweat slide down his back.

He looked back at Marin, and saw she was breathing heavily.

Shit. That was it. There was no air down here.

“I’m in!” Marin bounced on the balls of her feet like an excited kid. “All the way in. We can access the data, and have the spider bot relay it back to the Enclave. There are still a few hoops to jump through, but I’ve opened the door.”

He smiled. “I appreciate the non-techspeak. Good work, Marin. I never doubted you.”

Her gaze narrowed on his face. “What’s wrong?”

So much for his poker face. “There’s no air getting down here.”

Her mouth dropped open. “No air?” Her chest heaved and she swiped a hand over her sweaty brow. “God. You mean we’re going to suffocate?”

* * *

“My squad will find a way to get us out,” Ash said.

Marin felt panic trickling into her veins. All the elation at accessing the alien data hub evaporated. “I don’t want to die.”

He gripped her arms. “We are not going to die.”

“I…I want to get this data. I want us to beat the aliens. I want…”

He stepped closer. “What do you want, Marin?”

If they were going to die, she may as well be truthful. “You.” She swallowed. “I want you.”

“Princess.” His voice was a slow, sexy drawl.

“I like sex. I wasn’t sure I was very good at it, but with you…it’s so good.”

“Marin—”

“But I don’t just want you for hot sex. You’re smart, and brave, and I just want you, Ash.”

“Feeling’s mutual, Princess. I want you naked in my bed. I want you begging for my cock. I want to sit beside you in the lab and watch you work.”

She licked her lips and his gaze zeroed in on the movement. He groaned.

Her chest felt tight, and she had to fight to drag in a deep breath.

“Hey, relax.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down to sit on the floor. Then he looked at the cables. “I’ll see if I can find a way out.”

She watched him try to climb up higher, poking at the cables. None of them budged. Then he pulled out his carbine, aimed, and fired.

A cable shot out and slammed into Ash. It sent him flying.

“Ash!”

“I’m okay.” He pushed to his feet. He lifted his weapon, and tried again.

Another cable whipped up and tried to wrap around him. Ash dodged and rolled. The cable settled back to the floor.

“They must be programmed to protect themselves,” she said.

Ash muttered something under his breath, and headed back to her.

“What if we die here?” she said quietly.

“Not gonna happen,” he growled. He tugged her onto his lap and kissed her.

Instantly, all the thoughts rushed out of her head. She pushed into him, kissing him back. Her hands crept up into his hair.

She was completely lost in the kiss. Lost in him.

“You’ll just have to keep kissing me,” she murmured against his lips. “To keep me calm.”

He laughed. Such a good, sexy sound. “I could do that.”

“And I’ll try not to think about sitting among giant, killer alien cables and running out of air.”

“Hey. Good thoughts, remember.” He nipped her lips.

“Good thoughts. Right.” She closed her eyes. “I’ll think about sex, instead. With you.”

He laughed again. “God, you’re something, Marin.”

The minutes ticked by, and soon she found herself blinking. She was so tired. She leaned into Ash, resting her head on his broad shoulder. “You’re sure they’ll come?”

He tugged her close. “Absolutely.”

“I could fall in love with you,” she said.

He jerked. “Princess—”

Her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. She probably shouldn’t have made that confession to a bad-boy biker like Ash, but she was too tired to care. Besides, she was pretty sure she’d already started falling for him.

“No, Marin. Stay awake.”

She mumbled something. Then, an annoying buzzing sound reached her ears. She had no idea what it was, but at this point, she was past caring.

The sound grew, and suddenly, something splattered down from above, hitting the floor nearby. Ash jumped to his feet, pulling her with him. Now she realized it was a sharp, buzzing sound.

As the cables shifted again, Ash dived on top of her, covering her with his body. They both looked upward.

Marin watched as a chainsaw cut through the cables above.

“Woo-hoo!” A wild shout. A hunk of cable fell down, flopping on the floor. Other cables pulled away, retreating.

Hemi’s bearded face appeared in the gap above. “Anyone need a rescue?”