Chapter Five
Sienna sat at the small bar in the games room. There was no bartender at work here, you just helped yourself to something from the cooler, and cleaned up your own mess. Since they were on standby she was having a soda, but she really wanted something alcoholic. Something to dull the pain.
She looked over toward the pool tables. Cam and Hemi were locked in an epic battle, and trading insults. Tane and Roth were having a civilized game at the next pool table. And Michelle was flirting with Theron at the third table. She was leaning into him with her big, strong body, laughing her loud, full-throated laugh. He wasn’t really flirting, and his face was its usual granite mask, but he didn’t seem to mind her standing so close.
Theron was a real gentleman when it came to sex. If he’d been with anyone, he’d never mentioned it. She watched Michelle smile at him and he leaned in to take a shot.
He was thinking of sleeping with her. Sienna was sure of it. She ran a finger down her glass. She was getting his message loud and clear.
“You look like someone stole your favorite sprinkles.” Mac slid onto the chair beside her.
“It’s nothing. Over and done with now.”
“Man trouble.”
Sienna lifted her glass. “Isn’t it always? You snagged a good one. Handsome and sexy as hell, who liked you from the start and wasn’t afraid to show it.”
Mac poured herself her own soda. “It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, Sienna. Relationships take work, effort, compromise. Especially when that person is a friend, and someone you work with every day.”
Sienna realized she’d been staring at Theron, and jerked her gaze back. “It’s nothing.”
Mac rattled the ice in her drink. “It doesn’t look like nothing. And the way he watches you when you aren’t looking isn’t nothing.”
He watched her? Sienna’s chest hitched, and then she stomped down on the reaction. “He thinks I’m not right for him.”
“Most people think Theron is the strong, silent type,” Mac said. “And he is, but he’s also pretty in touch with himself and what he likes. I’ve always liked that about him.”
Sienna nodded. “He had a good family and was tight with his mom and dad. And they had a big foster family…sounds like a pretty good place to learn what you like.” Pain rose in her throat. “Apparently, that’s not me.”
Mac watched her for a long moment. “You sure you want him? Or is he just forbidden fruit?”
An old saying of her nonna’s drifted through Sienna’s head. I frutti proibiti sono i più dolci. Forbidden fruit is the sweetest.
Mac tilted her head, her gaze direct. “A man like Theron takes what’s his. Once he’s claimed it, he’ll never let it go. Doing so would shatter something inside him.”
Sienna knew that. It was part of what she liked most about him, his unshakeable values and sense of right and wrong. It was why she knew he felt so guilty about the death of his Ranger team. “I want him, Mac. I can feel the pull between us and I think it’s something special.”
Her friend nodded. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing, if the bonehead sleeps with that woman,” Sienna growled. Michelle was leaning over to take a shot, wiggling her ass at Theron. “He’s put me in some neatly labelled little box. Sweet friend and squad mate Sienna. He won’t let himself want me.”
“Okay. So how are you going to convince him that you won’t accept that label?”
“I…don’t know.” Michelle’s booming laugh rang across the room. “I could be more obvious? Dress in something to make him see me? Flirt?”
Mac shook her head. “That’s not you. You need to be you, your charming, sweet self. Talk to him and show him a little more, the stuff you keep hidden.”
“I’m not even sure what I’m hiding.” Sienna’s fingers tightened on her glass.
“What do you want, above all else?” Mac asked. “And I don’t mean the Gizzida gone for good. We all want that. What do you want for you?”
“I want someone to love me. All of me. Every corner of my soul.”
“Then you need to let him see all those corners, and you need to love every corner of his.”
Suddenly, the games room door slammed open, and Arden hurried in. Squad Nine’s comms officer was a slim brunette, with pale-brown hair, flawless, creamy skin, and a calm, soothing manner. Sienna always envied Arden’s air of elegance, but the woman also carried a deep well of sorrow that was reflected in blue eyes that almost looked violet. Sienna and the others were always trying to get her to join them and have fun, but she always politely turned them down.
Today, she looked a little frazzled.
“Roth,” Arden said. “The drone team has picked up something. A sighting of a large oura globe.”
Sienna slid off her stool. Finally.
“In the city?” Roth set his pool cue down. “Have they identified the tower?”
“No.” Arden shook her head. “It’s in the Blue Mountains.”
***
Theron leaped out of the hovering Hawk. As his boots hit the ground, he swung his carbine off his shoulder, and scanned the trees ahead.
He’d missed the scent of the mountains—green trees and dampness in the air—since they’d left it. Ahead, old, rusted rail lines ran up over the hill, trees crowding in on either side. The sun was setting, washing everything in shades of orange and gold. That also meant night would be on them soon.
As his squad pulled in tight, the Hawk quadcopter rose silently on its thermonuclear engine, its gray metallic body disappearing as its illusion system clicked on.
“Okay, listen up,” Roth murmured. “The oura was spotted in a large railway salvage yard ahead. We go in, see what the fuck the aliens are up to, and we destroy the oura.”
They set off, following the tracks. Sienna was moving beside him, her hands steady on her carbine. She was her usual focused self. For a second, he pictured her face as she’d watched him with Michelle back at the Enclave.
He’d hurt her. He watched her try to hide it, but he knew her too well. He’d purposely led Michelle on, and he’d hurt Sienna. Fuck. Theron dragged in a deep breath. It was for the best.
“There.” Roth murmured through their earpieces.
They’d rounded a curve, the tracks hugging the hillside, and ahead lay a large, dilapidated warehouse, surrounded by scrap. It looked like some sort of train graveyard.
Old, rusted train engines and carriages lay around, a few whole, but most with pieces broken off of them. There were also piles of scavenged metal and wood. Ahead, he saw the workshop was little more than sheets of metal for walls, and a roof with large roller doors that could be opened and closed at one end. There were a few grimy windows dotting the walls.
Roth took the lead, raising his hand to give them signals. They moved in tight formation toward the workshop.
As they skirted around some piles of scrap, Theron saw a flash of yellow through the dirty windows. Roth gave another hand signal, and they all reached for the special goggles that were dangling around their necks.
Theron fitted the goggles over his eyes. Noah and Marin had worked overtime to get the goggles ready and issued to the squads. They limited his visibility a bit, but he’d take that over having his mind under the control of the raptors any day.
Another hand signal. Roth wanted them to split into two groups to circle around the workshop. Theron went left with Sienna and Taylor. Roth took the right with Cam and Mac.
Theron carefully picked his way through the scrap, stepping over the rusted tracks and piles of old parts. They crossed some open ground and he ran fast, reaching the workshop and pressing his back against the sheet-metal wall. Sienna and Taylor were right behind him.
They crept along the building. There was a grimy window ahead, with cracks all through the glass. He caught the faint golden glow and made for the opening, wanting to get a better look at just what the hell they were dealing with.
But as he reached the window, carbine fire and raptor fire broke out inside.
There was the sound of breaking glass, and guttural raptor shouts.
Fuck. Roth had engaged.
Beside him, Sienna and Taylor dropped the stealth. The three of them faced the large window.
He pointed, then backed up a few steps. He started running, and then lifted an arm to shield his face. He jumped through the window, glass shattering around him.
Inside, he landed with a roll and came up firing. He was aware of Sienna and Taylor leaping through the window behind him, and he gave them cover fire.
Across the workshop, he saw Roth, Cam, and Mac taking cover behind some workbenches. They were shooting at a group of raptor soldiers.
Theron kept firing, and then spotted a large shadow coming at them out of the corner of his eye. He spun. A giant raptor was charging at him from behind a piece of equipment. The fucker was close, too close. Theron fired until the last second, and as the alien leaped at him, he dropped his carbine.
As they went down, Theron was ready. Hand-to-hand was his favorite form of fighting. Borne of one-too-many schoolyard scuffles, and his boxing training.
The weight of the raptor drove the breath out of Theron. The bastards were big and goddamn heavy. But Theron jammed his hands up. He had the advantage of the exoskeleton built into his combat armor, which gave him added strength.
They rolled across the dirty floor, bumping into something. Theron finally got on top of the beast, and reached down and yanked his gladius combat knife from its sheath. Several short, powerful stabs, and the raptor fell back beneath him, blood gushing.
Theron leaped back to his feet. As he turned, Sienna was there, handing his carbine back to him. He grabbed it and started to nod his thanks, but she was already spinning away. She went down on one knee and kept firing at the last of the raptors.
Seconds later, all the laser fire stopped.
Every raptor was down. Roth moved through the downed bodies, checking they were all dead.
Then their leader’s gaze landed on the large, flat railway wagon ahead. It was loaded with a large object, the size of a car, that was covered in a rough, canvas sheet. Dim, golden light spilled from beneath it.
Squad Nine surrounded the car.
“Keep your goggles on, and try not to look directly at the light for too long,” Roth said.
“I am not fucking being caught by that alien mind control shit again,” Cam snapped.
Theron knew none of his squad had enjoyed having their brains blanked by the oura. Luckily, he and Sienna, along with Tane, Hemi, Devlin, and Taylor, had freed them.
Roth grabbed the end of the sheet and pulled.
Theron hissed out a breath. Beneath the sheet were three sets of outdoor lights—heavy-duty sets used for night-shift work on construction sites. They’d been colored yellow and plugged into an alien power cube.
He blinked. It wasn’t an oura. “It’s a damn decoy.”
“Fuck.” Roth shoved his goggles up on top of his combat helmet. “It’s just a bunch of yellow lights.”
“This was just to get us off the real trail,” Sienna said.
Mac stalked forward, grabbed the pulsing raptor cable linking the lights to the power cube and yanked it out. The lights died, leaving the workshop in shadow. Night was falling.
“All right, I’ll call in a Hawk,” Roth said, his voice tight. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“And find out where the hell they’ve really got the oura,” Mac muttered.
Suddenly, there was the sound of something metal falling and hitting the concrete. They all spun and lifted their carbines.
“There!” Sienna shouted.
Theron saw a raptor dart out from behind some equipment and sprint out of a side door.
“Dammit, stop him! Theron and Sienna, go!” Roth ordered.
Theron broke into a run, Sienna right beside him. They charged out the door. Ahead, he could just make out the raptor running down the train tracks and into the darkening night.
They gave chase. Sienna lifted her weapon, firing on the run, but most of the shots went wide. The raptor jerked once, but didn’t slow down.
Theron pulled in air and pushed for more speed. A second later, the raptor took a sharp turn to the left and darted into the trees.
Dammit.
“Follow him,” Sienna yelled.
They crashed into the trees, dodging tree trunks. A flicker of satisfaction ran through Theron. The trees would affect the alien and might slow him down.
But, he thought with a frown, if the bastard got away, he could call for reinforcements. They had to wait for the Hawk, and couldn’t risk being surrounded.
“I think he went this way.” Sienna turned right.
Theron spun to follow her, and tripped over something. He couldn’t tell what in the shadows. Cursing, he caught his balance and kept running. But in those brief seconds, he’d lost sight of Sienna.
“Sienna!”
Where the hell was she? He strained to hear anything.
Then carbine fire shattered the twilight.
The blood in his veins turned to ice. He dodged around a tree, and ran as fast as he could.
Theron broke out of the trees and then skidded to a stop. Ahead, lay a large ravine. They were all standing at the top of a steep slope covered in rocks that was a few degrees away from being a cliff.
The raptor was standing at the very edge, teetering, arms windmilling.
Sienna was just a meter away from him, carbine aimed at the alien’s chest. She fired again, and the raptor started to fall backward.
Theron released a breath. Good riddance.
But at the last second, the raptor lunged out with clawed hand. He grabbed the end of Sienna’s carbine.
She cursed and was jerked forward. The raptor held on and yanked her over the edge.
“No!” Theron raced forward.
In the growing darkness, he saw the dim shapes of both the raptor and Sienna, tumbling down the steep slope.
Without thinking, Theron jumped over the edge, and started skidding down after her.