Chrissy followed Levi down the corridor, her body still tingling.

What the hell had she been thinking?

She’d let Levi King bend her over a Hunter and bang her brains out. Even now, she could smell him—that dark musk—and feel the press of cool metal under her cheek as he powered inside her with that big cock. As she walked, her damp thighs rubbed together, and her still-swollen lady parts were more than happy.

Jeez. Staring straight ahead, she refused to look at him. He didn’t talk and neither did she. But she made herself a silent promise that she wouldn’t touch him again. Ever.

They rounded the corridor leading into the Command Center and Chrissy prayed she didn’t have sex hair. The glass doors opened, and inside, she saw the other squad members had already gathered for the meeting. Levi grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room.

“Let go,” she growled, trying to pull away from him, but he held tight.

“Levi.” Ash waved them over.

Chrissy didn’t miss the way the other man’s gaze dropped to their linked hands. She tugged again, and this time, managed to get free.

Chrissy quickly spun away. She needed some space from Levi. He was like a magnet, or a whirlpool…no, a black hole. He pulled her in, against her better judgement, like a vortex she couldn’t escape.

God, she’d let him fuck her. And it had been the best sex of her life. She was so screwed.

She quickly found a space not far from Squad Nine, and leaned against the wall.

“Okay, let’s get started.” General Holmes’ voice rang out over the room.

Everyone quieted.

“The drone team has been working overtime to explore the flooded area at Port Botany.” Holmes nodded to a pretty redhead, with hair a few shades darker than Chrissy’s, standing nearby. Lia was head of the drone team. “And the tech team also sent in a small spiderbot on one of the drones.”

The big wall of screens filled with images. Chrissy paused, staring at the submerged port. She could see giant cranes tilted over, protruding from the water like dead branches.

What the hell were the aliens up to? One screen was filled with video footage. It showed a line of alien trikes approaching the submerged area. She eyed the rugged, black vehicles, each with their three big spikes mounted on the front.

Chrissy had a small collection of parts off the alien trikes that she’d accumulated. She played with them in her free time, to see what she could use. The mix of organic and tech was fascinating, but creepy as hell. She figured that the more they understood the alien vehicles, the better chance they had of using that information against the raptors.

Then she saw something else at the end of the alien convoy. She leaned forward. God, it was massive. This had to be the steg that Levi had mentioned. Holy cow, it was huge, and she would hate to see that saw headed in her direction. Her hands itched to see inside its engine. It was ugly, but it clearly packed a lot of grunt and power.

The vehicles were headed straight for the water, and they weren’t slowing down. She frowned. A makeshift ramp had been fashioned from ruined concrete and sheets of metal. One by one, the vehicles drove down the ramp and into the water.

“What the hell?” she heard Levi mutter.

“They are definitely hiding something under there that they don’t want us to see,” Tane said quietly.

Chrissy tapped her foot on the floor. The Hunters could withstand a lot, but they certainly weren’t waterproof. She wanted to know exactly how the aliens sealed their vehicles to be watertight, and how their engines worked under the water. That was info she could use.

Holmes nodded. “The spiderbot was able to go into the water. Let’s see the footage.” He inclined his head at Elle at her workstation.

Another screen filled with wobbly video. It showed a glimpse of tiny, metal legs, as the spiderbot skittered across the ground. They watched it plunge into the water and darkness filled the screen. It took a few seconds, but shapes appeared in the gloom. In the distance, an orange light shone in the murkiness.

The spiderbot started zooming forward, moving through the water quickly.

The alien convoy came into view, traveling slowly down the submerged ramp. She spotted the back of the steg, with its unique armor plates sticking up off its roof. It had no problem driving through the water.

“Ahh, shit,” a gravelly voice clipped out.

Chrissy glanced at Marcus Steele’s scarred face. The man looked very unhappy. She turned back to the screen, and that’s when she realized what it was they were all looking at. There was a huge orange dome under the water.

“What is it?” she asked.

Lots of gazes moved her way, and she was sure they were wondering why she was at this meeting, surrounded by squad soldiers. She was wondering as well.

When she saw Levi looking at her with a half-smile, like he was thinking of what they’d done on the Hunter, she quickly looked away, heat in her cheeks.

“We destroyed a dome like this one in the Hunter Valley,” Marcus said. “It had an alien lab in it.”

She grimaced. An alien lab with poor humans trapped inside, being transformed into aliens in giant tanks. Staring at the screen, she watched as the spiderbot got closer to the dome. The alien vehicles moved toward a large doorway in the side of the dome.

“It’s heavily guarded,” a deep voice said. It belonged to Roth Masters, leader of Squad Nine. “Lots of weapons lining the door.”

“And look,” Roth’s second, Mac Carides pointed, “there are raptor patrols in the water.”

The humanoid raptor aliens came into view. Chrissy frowned. These ones were different than the regular raptors—more streamlined, with a different-shaped head.

“They’ve been bred for the water,” Marcus said with a scowl.

God, was it possible that these raptors could breathe under the water? She saw they were holding small propulsion devices that moved them through the water quickly and easily.

“Shit,” Mac said. “What was that?”

A dark shadow sliced through the water, just out of clear view. Whatever it was, it was big.

Marcus and Roth traded a weighted look. “Probably the aquatic alien we encountered last time we entered this area.”

“We’ll just have to feed it Shaw again,” Marcus’ second, Cruz, murmured with a grin.

The sniper smiled. “It was no match for me.”

Beside him, Claudia snorted. “Maybe it choked.” She tilted her head. “But I am rather partial to you now, so perhaps we can come up with another plan.”

On the screen, the bot started swimming along the dome, doing a lap.

Lia moved forward. “We’ve analyzed the footage of the dome. There appears to be only one way inside, and that’s through the door that the vehicles used.”

“We need to know what the hell the Gizzida are doing in there,” Holmes said.

Chrissy stared back at the screen, an idea forming. They had to get in that thing. It was risky…

She thought of Max. He deserved a chance at a real life.

“How the hell are we going to do that?” Levi muttered.

Her heart thumped. Yeah, she had an idea. But would it work?

When she looked up, she saw that General Holmes was looking at her.

* * *

Levi stared at the orange dome. He had a bad feeling about this. In the Iron Kings, his instincts had saved the club too many times to count. He often threw caution to the wind and went strictly with his gut.

The aliens were done messing around with humanity. They were getting serious.

Whatever the raptors were hiding in that dome wasn’t going to be good, and they had to get in there and see. Getting into a heavily protected, underwater dome wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

“I can get you in there.”

Chrissy’s voice made Levi stiffen. What the fuck?

He looked at her, taking in her messy hair. Hair he’d messed up from having his hands in it while he’d fucked her. Instantly, he thought about being balls deep inside her. She was so damn tight, and those luscious curves of hers… He hadn’t come that hard in a long time. Hell, ever.

Holmes nodded. “I’m listening.”

Levi’s attention snapped back to the conversation at hand.

“I can get you an alien vehicle. You can use that to get inside.” She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “A squad can drive right in.”

Levi watched the general’s chiseled face, and realized this was exactly why Chrissy had been invited to this meeting. Holmes was smart, always one step ahead.

It pissed Levi off. “How the hell can you get a vehicle?” he snapped.

Chrissy’s head whipped around, her auburn ponytail flying. She glared at him. “I need to sabotage a trike and steal it. It’ll take me a bit to work out how to operate it, but I’ve been studying the remnants of one, and I have a basic understanding.”

“Sabotage an alien vehicle…” Levi went still, considering just how up close and personal she’d need to get.

Chrissy nodded, looking back at Holmes. “I’ll need a squad to take me into the field. I need to lie in wait for a trike. If someone can cause a distraction, I can get under one of these alien vehicles and disable it.”

Levi’s hands clenched into fists. She wanted to go into the field? Into a fucking firefight and climb under an alien vehicle?

“That is a fucking bad idea,” he growled.

Her eyes narrowed. “It’s a fucking brilliant idea.”

“I agree with her,” Holmes said.

“What?” Levi spun. He wanted to punch something, preferably Holmes’ perfect face. “She’s not made to be out there.”

“Screw you, King. I can do this. And I was out there for months with those damn aliens. I want to help, or we might all end up dead anyway.”

Damn. He had to admit the woman had balls, even if her idea made him crazy.

“Levi.” Tane’s quiet voice. His squad leader gripped Levi’s shoulder. “Cool it.”

Holmes cleared his throat. “I’ll select a squad to accompany Chrissy into the field—”

“If she sets foot outside the Enclave, Squad Three is with her.” Levi didn’t give a fuck what the orders were.

The general scowled. “I give the orders around here, King.”

Chrissy stood, her glare white-hot on Levi. “You have no claim over me.”

“Yes, I fucking do,” he goaded her. He sure as hell wasn’t shy or discreet. He was more than happy to tell people exactly what they’d done on that Hunter if he had to.

An annoyed look dominated her face, and she crossed her arms over her chest. Levi could feel his squad mates staring at him, no doubt wondering what the hell he was doing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ash looking at the ceiling and trying to hide a smile. He was doing a piss-poor job of it.

“We’d like to protect Chrissy,” Tane said.

Holmes nodded. “Fine. Plan it out. Get us an alien vehicle.”

The meeting was over and the crowd started to disperse.

Chrissy shot Levi a look that should set him on fire and stomped toward the door.

“If you’re trying to get into her bunk,” Tane said in a bland tone, “this is a fucked-up way of going about it.”

“She is pissed,” Ash added cheerfully.

Levi didn’t care. She’d be protected, no matter what. “She sets foot outside this base, the berserkers have her back.”

Tane nodded. “Okay, so let’s plan this sabotage mission.”