Chapter Seventeen
Lights shone in Elle’s eyes, but her vision was blurry, fuzzy.
Even the noises reaching her ears sounded muffled, as though they were coming through water.
“Fuck!”
She thought it was Cruz’s voice, but she wasn’t sure.
A handsome face leaned over her. But she couldn’t move, couldn’t talk.
Where is Marcus? She needed Marcus.
People talking. Then raised voices. “We’re losing him!”
“Gotta move.”
The snarls and guttural shouts of raptors.
Elle felt her body being jostled around. But everything felt so heavy, every muscle in her body made of lead. Marcus. Marcus! His name echoed in her head.
Her eyelids drooped closed and she couldn’t pry them open again.
***
“Ellie? Wake up, querida.”
The coaxing voice brought Elle out of the fog. She glanced at the pipes running overhead along the ceiling. She shifted and realized she was lying in a bed.
In the infirmary.
Back at the base.
She sat up, fighting the sheet covering her. “Marcus?” Where was he? She glanced wildly past Cruz and saw the other beds all lined up in a row.
They were empty, sheets pulled neatly over them.
Elle gripped Cruz’s shirt. “No!” He couldn’t be gone, not just as she was getting her chance.
“Hey, calm down.” Cruz set his hands on her shoulders. “Your head took quite a knock.”
“Marcus?”
She saw Cruz’s lean face harden.
“Oh, no.” She shook her head, felt a tear on her cheek. “He’s dead.” She’d failed him, too.
“Hey.” Cruz rubbed a thumb over the teardrop. “No crying. You know Marcus is too tough to die.”
Something unfurled inside her. Something bright. “He’s alive?”
“Yeah. Lucky bastard nearly didn’t make it.” Cruz tapped her nose. “We found you both unconscious. The bomb had proximity security to stop anyone tampering with it once the countdown started. Knocks everyone in range out cold. Marcus had just about bled out, we lost him there once or twice—”
Elle made a choking noise.
Cruz hurried on. “But I pumped him full of nano-meds. Those little buggers kept him together long enough for us to get out, grab those kids you found, and get far enough away before the bomb went ka-boom.”
Elle pushed Cruz away and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She was only dressed in a large T-shirt, but it hit her at the knees and covered enough. “Leo and Clare are okay?”
Cruz smiled. “Gorging themselves on anything and everything in the dining room. Well, when Clare pulls her nose out of whatever book she’s found.”
Elle stood, and gripped the bed as her knees wobbled. She needed Marcus. She had to see for herself that he was okay. “Where is he?”
“You need rest, querida.”
“Where?”
Cruz let out a gusty sigh, but he was smiling. “You two are perfect for each other. Stubborn to the bone.” Cruz helped her take a few steps, hovering at her elbow. “He refused to stay in bed too, and watching you sleeping was making him crazy. I think he was worried you wouldn’t wake up.”
“Cruz,” she snapped at him.
“He’s on the roof. Quadrant Two.”
Elle hobbled through the tunnels, shocked that she felt so weak. But the burning need to see Marcus pushed her on.
She reached the ladder to the surface. It took her a while to climb it, since she had to stop for a few breaks to catch her breath. The door at the top was open and finally she stepped out into the crisp, pre-dawn air.
Out on the eastern horizon, murky light was just starting to tint the day.
And she saw the silhouette of the man who’d captured her heart.
She broke into a run.
Soldier that he was, he heard her, even though she hadn’t made a sound. He spun.
“You shouldn’t be out of bed.” He closed the gap between them and pulled her in close.
She pressed a cheek to his chest. “Same to you.”
“I couldn’t…” His gravelly voice cracked. “I hated seeing you so still.”
“I’m not the one who got hit by a raptor gun blast. You’re okay?” She slid her hands up over his shoulders. Then she pushed back, her hands going to the hem of his T-shirt, tugging it up.
Oh. The reality of him always stole her breath. Probably would when they were both old and gray as well. She splayed her fingers over the hard ridges of his stomach. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. And not even a scar from his wound. He was so…hard and strong. Warm and alive.
She moved her fingers, caressing that impossibly hard stomach. He hissed in a breath.
To affect this strong man with such a slight touch…
“I’m a hundred percent. Emerson put me back together.” His hands cupped Elle’s cheeks. “Elle.” He leaned down and took her mouth.
Sensation washed over her. The cool air on her bare legs, the heat of his hard exploration of her mouth, and the burn of desire searing her belly.
With a groan, he grabbed her, lifting her like she weighed nothing. She wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I love you, Marcus.”
“God, sweetheart, I love you too.” His arms tightened around her. “You’re mine now. I’m not letting you go.”
“Good, because I’m going to hold on to you too. Whatever happens, whatever we come up against.” She stared at his tough, scarred face. A face so precious to her.
She knew for all the horrors that had happened, this she would never change. The chance to become someone she liked, the chance to have this man’s love.
And she knew with him by her side, she could meet whatever challenges came their way. Together.
***
Marcus breathed in Elle’s unique floral scent.
Alive. She was alive, warm and soft in his arms. Thank God. He never wanted to see her lying still and pale like that in a bunk again.
“I have a lot of plans for you,” he murmured against her lips. “And they involve not getting out of my bunk…for a really long time.”
“Yes.” She nipped at his bottom lip, her smile a little reckless and a lot happy. Then it slipped away. “It seems so wrong to feel so incandescently happy when the world around us has fallen apart.”
He cupped her bottom, pulling her in close. “We have nothing to feel bad about. The bomb we planted, it crippled the raptor communication in the area. You did it, Elle.”
“We did it. For Zeke.”
The thought of Zeke hit Marcus under his ribs. “Yeah, for Zeke.” Rest in peace, buddy.
“It won’t keep the raptors down for long, will it?”
“No, we know they’re working to regroup, but for now, they’re running in circles, confused. It’s a good start and we’ll keep fighting. For our chance to live.”
She ran a palm over his shoulder. “It won’t be easy.”
He cupped her cheek. “No, it won’t.”
“You and Hell Squad will keep going out there, fighting, risking your lives.” Her voice hitched.
“Hey.” He forced her gaze to meet his. “I have something to come home to now, someone to live for.”
She nodded.
“It’s always darkest before dawn, sweetheart.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “But even the longest night always ends.”
She smiled. “I never thought Marcus Steele would say something so poetic.”
“Don’t tell the guys.” He smiled back, stroking her cheek. “For now, we just have to find whatever light we can, hold on to it, and use it to guide us until the sun comes up.”
“I think I’ll just hold on to you instead. You’ve been my anchor ever since this all happened.”
“Elle…” A light in the sky caught his eye. He looked up above her head, and surprise rocked him. “Shit, look, sweetheart. How’s that for a guiding light?”
He set her on her feet, spinning her so her back was pressed against him. Damn, he was so happy she was his. He wrapped his arms around her as she arched her neck.
There, burning across the darkness, was a comet. A brilliant, white-blue flash in the black sky.
She snuggled into him. “Beautiful. They were considered omens in the past.”
“Well, we both know it’s just a hunk of space rock.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “But I’d like to think it is an omen—one of better things to come.”
Elle spun and grabbed Marcus’ hand. “I can think of some better things we can do right now.”
He let her tug him back toward the door. “Sweetheart, I think the dawn is breaking for both of us.”
---
I hope you enjoyed Marcus and Elle’s story!
Hell Squad continues with CRUZ, the story of Hell Squad’s sexy second-in-command and the mysterious Santha Kade. Read on for a preview of the first chapter.
Don’t miss out! For updates about new releases, action romance info, free books, and other fun stuff, sign up for my VIP mailing list and get your free box set containing three action-packed romances.
Click here to get started: