The next morning, Marin walked into the Command Center a few minutes before the meeting. The glass doors whispered open, and her gaze snagged on all the screens. She loved the energy of the Command Center…there were always too many people, and a sense of carefully controlled chaos.

People were tapping at comps, leaning over comp screens, huddled in small groups deep in conversation, or moving back and forth through the room. This was the hub of all the operations at the Enclave. If a squad was out in the field, the mission was monitored from here. Straight ahead, she spotted Noah standing near a comp, with a petite brunette seated in front of it. Elle Steele.

“Good morning,” Marin called out, as she approached.

Noah raised his eyes, his dark gaze zeroing in on her. “You look…relaxed.”

Damn, did her panty-melting orgasm from the night before show? “I slept well.”

Her boss tilted his head, his expression curious. “Are you seeing someone?”

“What? No.” Her voice came out a little high-pitched, and her cheeks tingled in embarrassment. Clearing her throat, Marin focused on the comp screen. “Hi, Elle.”

Hell Squad’s comms officer smiled. “Hi, Marin.”

“You’re looking over the data I decoded off the cubes?”

The woman nodded. “There’s some great stuff here.”

“I’m glad it can help.” Elle was the closest thing they had to an expert in the raptor language.

“There are a few places I’m still not sure about.” Elle scrolled, and pulled up some of the slash-like raptor text.

As Elle asked questions, Marin leaned over, closer to the screen, excitement trickling through her. She loved the challenge of decoding a problem, of untangling strands, and working things out. She loved testing herself.

“I still have a few more cubes that I’m working to break the encryption on,” Marin said. “But do you see this?” She pointed. “And this? There are several references to a central data hub.”

Elle sat back, frowning, and Marin bit back a small sigh. Even with her brow furrowed and her lips pursed, Elle was so pretty. Her hair was neat and shiny, and her figure so slim and elegant. Marin pushed a stray curl back behind her ear, then tugged self-consciously on the hem of her shirt. Her mother had dreamed of Marin being similar to someone like Elle. Pretty, polished, and poised.

Marin let out a breath. Her mother was gone. Both of her parents were. She’d already grieved for her loving but workaholic father, and her complicated mother. There was no need to reopen old wounds.

The world had gone to hell, and Marin knew she was smart and skilled. She helped, in her own way, to fight back against the aliens. She imagined taking her imaginary pink carbine to her past insecurities.

“You’re right.”

Elle’s voice broke through Marin’s daydream.

Elle smiled. “There are some very clear references about a data hub. This is really important.” Excitement underscored the woman’s voice.

Marin nodded, Elle’s energy contagious. “Imagine, a central repository of all Gizzida information.”

“So where is it?” Noah asked.

Marin’s shoulders sagged and she shook her head, the curl she’d tucked away falling forward again. “That’s the only thing I haven’t figured out, yet. So far, the location hasn’t been listed on any of the cubes.”

“Maybe it’s in the cubes you haven’t decrypted yet?” he suggested.

Just then, the doors behind them opened, and two men strode in. Marin straightened. They might be very different in appearance, but they both caught a woman’s gaze and kept it.

General Adam Holmes and Niko Ivanov were the co-leaders of the Enclave. The general had created Blue Mountain Base, and saved so many lives in the process. He was tall, with an aristocratic face, and hair going gray at the temples. He exuded authority.

When Blue Mountain Base had been attacked and destroyed by the aliens, General Holmes had been the man to lead them safely to the Enclave. Niko was the civilian leader here. He was an artist, with dark, sexy looks, and an air about him that hinted he knew his way around more than a paintbrush. Marin recognized dangerous when she saw it.

Noah stepped forward. “Let me tell you what Marin found.”

The men listened intently, their faces sharpening.

“We need to find this hub,” Holmes said.

“That’s why I’ve arranged for Squad Three to join us this morning,” Noah said. “They saw something on their mission yesterday that could give us more information, and maybe even lead to the hub.”

Squad Three was coming? Marin pressed her suddenly sweaty palms together. The doors whooshed open again.

When the berserkers entered a room, they dominated it.

Tane strode in, his face set in an emotionless mask. Hemi stood beside him, with a grin on his bearded face. Marin, like most residents of the Enclave, had watched Hemi’s dogged pursuit of the sexy female soldier, Camryn, from Squad Nine. The woman had given him the runaround for a while, but they were now a happy couple.

Behind Tane and Hemi came Griff, Dom, and Levi. The three men were talking quietly. Levi, with his trademark man bun, winked at her. Ash brought up the rear.

Marin shivered, but it had nothing to do with fear. Every time she saw him, she was struck again by how gorgeous he was. He was tall and built, with a movie-star-handsome face, and blue eyes that made her think of turquoise. And that ink that covered both his arms made her want to drool. All those fascinating colors and images. Today, she spotted a bird in flight, soaring high.

Even as her belly tightened, she mentally shook her head. You’re a geek, Marin. He’s not for you. Life had clearly taught her that geek girls did not snag sexy bad boys.

Ash lifted his head and his gaze landed on her. He shot her a smile and her belly flip-flopped.

An absolutely stunning woman breezed in behind the berserkers. Her face was striking rather than beautiful, but she had long, dark hair, and jeans filled out with amazing curves. She walked with a hint of swagger, and oozed confidence. She also had colorful tattoos trailing down her arms, more delicate than Ash’s, and mostly vines filled with roses. She was holding a stainless-steel travel mug.

“Hey, where’s my coffee?” Levi called out.

Indy Bennett, Squad Three’s comms officer, poked out her tongue. “Get your own coffee.”

Ash reached out and slung an arm around her neck. “You’re mean.”

Indy slapped a kiss to his cheek. “Only when it comes to my coffee.”

“You’re late,” Griff muttered.

Indy waggled her brows. “I had a good reason.”

Griff scowled. “Which asshole’s head do I have to bust, now?”

The woman cocked her hip. “Just because you were my brother’s best friend since you could walk, doesn’t mean that you’re my brother, Griff Callan.” She spun, heading over to one of the comps. “I’m a big girl, in case you haven’t noticed.”

The way Griff’s gaze fell to Indy’s jean-covered ass said he’d definitely noticed.

“I noticed, sweetheart,” Ash said with a wink.

Indy blew him a kiss.

Marin shrank back. Of course, Indy was the kind of woman who was perfect for a man like Ash. Sassy, confident, and gorgeous. They’d look beautiful together.

Marin stiffened her spine and shoved her hands in the pockets of her baggy jeans. She couldn’t think about that right now. Time to focus on the reason they were here.

* * *

As Holmes started talking, Ash couldn’t help but sneak a look at Marin. God, those curls. He watched them bobbing around at the back of her neck. He wanted to sink his hand into them. Feel how soft they were.

“—need to find this data hub,” Holmes was saying. “Marin, why don’t you tell us exactly what you found?”

Marin stepped forward and cleared her throat. “I found the data on the cubes that your squad found in the creeper breeding ground you destroyed.” Her gaze flicked to Ash before moving away. “The information includes references to a central data hub. It seems to be storage for all Gizzida information.”

Shit, this was huge. The murmurs of Ash’s squad mates rumbled around him.

“So, you mean things like their maps, troop numbers, base locations?” Tane said.

“Everything,” Marin answered. “Including other locations around the planet, their strategy, and there are references to a single Gizzida leader. Their queen.”

“A queen?” Holmes leaned forward.

“Shit,” Noah said, staring at the raptor language on the screen.

This data could turn the tide in their fight.

“But the problem is, I have no idea where the hub is located,” Marin continued. “I’m still decoding some of the cubes, but from what we have, I can make some assumptions. The hub would need lots of power, and would be heavily protected.”

Tane crossed his muscled arms over his chest. “Yesterday, we went in to investigate a large power spike in the city. There were several raptor patrols in the area.”

“There weren’t when we were finished,” Levi said with a grin.

“True.” The corner of Tane’s mouth rose. “But we also found something unusual.”

“Pulling up the images you took now,” Indy said, tapping at a comp.

Ash watched Marin stare up at the images on the big screen on the wall. She tilted her head, concentration on her face. He didn’t bother looking at the pictures of the thick, ugly raptor cables. Instead, he looked at her.

Elle stood. “Are they power cables?”

“Could be,” Noah said. “If they are, it would mean this hub is underground.” He reached past Elle and tapped on the comp screen. “We need maps of the area—”

Elle elbowed him out of the way, then her fingers flew across the keyboard. “This part of Sydney had lots of offices, and there was a nearby shopping mall.” She lifted her head. “There were several underground parking structures.”

“And there is the Sydney Advanced Distributor Tunnel System,” Tane added.

Elle’s eyes widened. “Of course! It would also be really close by.” Schematics appeared, showing a massive network of traffic tunnels. “It was built to ease traffic congestion eleven years ago. It’s quite possible this data hub could be anywhere in there.”

“We need to go in and take a look around,” Ash said.

Marin’s gaze flicked up to his. For a second, he was caught by clear blue eyes. “That’s dangerous. The tunnels are massive.”

“It’s what we do.”

Holmes nodded. “Squad Three, you’ve been to this area before. I want you to go in. Recon only.” A resigned look crossed the man’s face. “I guess what I’m really asking is, can you go in and not engage the aliens?”

Hemi snorted. “We can do both.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t warn them. If they think that we’re getting close to their hub, they might move it.”

“If it is even down there,” Niko said.

“We can do it,” Tane said.

“I have some tech I’ve been working on,” Marin said.

When all the gazes in the room moved to her, Ash saw Marin pause. Then she set her shoulders back. “I have a small device that I’ve invented that can travel autonomously, and will hunt down any comp system to spike into. If it’s successful, it can transmit the data to a nearby drone and relay it to us.”

“That sounds brilliant, Marin,” the general said.

“I haven’t tested it in the field yet—”

“Consider this a field test,” Holmes said.

“I’ll take it in,” Ash said.

Tane nodded. “We’ll prep to leave in two hours. Can you have it ready by then?”

“Yes.” Marin nodded.

As Tane, Hemi, and Indy started to hammer out the mission details, Ash wandered closer to Marin. Her fresh, soapy scent hit him. No perfume for Marin.

She glanced up at him through her eyelashes, watching him cautiously. He liked seeing if he could provoke a reaction, and she was definitely skittish. He wanted so desperately to tell her that he was SuperSoldier3. He wanted her to be as easy with him in real life as she was over the game.

“You’re in my personal space,” she said tartly.

“I like it here. When can I get this tech of yours?”

“I need to do some more work on it. I need at least an hour.” She tucked a curl back.

“Then can you bring it down to the squad locker room just before the mission?” he asked.

She nodded, and sidestepped around him. “Sure. I’d better get to the lab and get to work.”

Ash breathed her in. Why the hell was soap and warm skin such a turn on? “Do I make you nervous, Marin?”

She lifted her chin. “Why would I be nervous?”

He moved closer. “I don’t know.” He reached out and fingered one of her curls. So soft. “So, me touching you doesn’t make you nervous?”

She swallowed. “No.” A small muscle twitched beside her lush mouth.

“Good. I only like making a woman nervous when I have her naked.”

Her eyes boggled. “What?”

He grinned at her. “See you in an hour, or so.”

Ash spun to head out of the Command Center. Across the room, he saw Levi watching him and Marin with an interested gaze.

Ash tossed his friend a salute. He had a mission to prep for, and was going to spend it looking forward to the chance to get close to a certain sexy tech genius.