Chapter Six
The quadcopter’s engines were silent but the wind rushing past the open sides was a constant roar in Elle’s ears.
She gripped the bar attached to the roof and tried to keep her balance. She half-expected a raptor ship to appear beside them. Shaped like giant flying dinosaurs, they’d been nicknamed pteros after pterosaurs or pterodactyls.
But the Hawk’s pilot would have the copter’s illusion system running. It didn’t completely cloak the Hawk from view but it messed with its signature on raptor scans, blurred them a bit on visual, and used directed sound waves to distort any noise and make the enemy think the copter was somewhere other than its present location.
It didn’t make her feel much better. Fear was like a slow-eating acid in her veins. She could only hope no one noticed how badly her hands were shaking.
The rest of Hell Squad lounged around her. She wouldn’t say they were relaxed, just focused. Shaw gripped the edge of the door, staring out toward the horizon, his long-range laser rifle clutched securely in his other hand. Claudia sat at the back, checking her carbine. For the third time.
Cruz sat quietly, staring at the floor, his lean, handsome face composed, while Gabe and Zeke murmured to each other in the back. And Marcus was leaning into the cockpit, talking with the pilot about their landing zone.
Elle fiddled with the edge of her armor. She looked the part, even if the armor was a little big on her, and her tiny, high-tech earpiece felt foreign. And the armor took a little getting used to. Because of the exoskeleton built into it, it helped her move faster and jump higher. Still, she felt like a little girl playing dress-up.
They had to get those data crystals. Everyone was depending on her to get them there.
She lifted her arm. The shiny, portable comp screen was strapped securely to her wrist. It showed the location of the library where Roth and his squad had seen the crystals. She’d be doing some of her usual job on the mission, but the rest of it was in Noah’s hands. He’d volunteered to be their temporary comms officer for this trip.
She swallowed, trying to clear the giant lump in her throat. She’d faced down Marcus to come on this mission, and now her nerves were eating at her like hundreds of tiny ants.
Looking for a distraction, she glanced out the side of the Hawk at the ground below.
Destruction. As far as the eye could see.
Sydney had been the shining capital of the United Coalition—the combination of several Commonwealth countries including Australia, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Since advanced supersonic travel had made the distance between the member countries negligible, they’d chosen the beautiful Australian harbor city as their new capital.
It had been a center of commerce, arts and culture. Once upon a time, the city center had been filled with huge, towering spires that housed all the global companies headquartered there.
Now all she saw on the horizon were a few shattered shards still reaching into the sky, like bony fingers, pleading for salvation.
Directly below the quadcopter, bathed in the afternoon sun, was what had once been the suburbs. At one time, alive with families and life. The whole area was now just rubble. The raptor hunting parties had cleared out any stranded survivors a long time ago. Arching her neck, Elle thought she saw the area that had been her parents’ estate, just north of the city. Her home.
It was so surreal to see the extent of the devastation. It left her feeling hollow.
She’d hidden for several weeks after the first waves of alien attacks. But eventually, she’d found the courage to flee the city—that remained under siege—with a small group of stragglers. They’d found some cars and a small amount of fuel, escaped an attack by the raptors, and were finally picked up by Hell Squad at the foothills of the Blue Mountains.
She still remembered Marcus surveying their small group. He’d been so…intimidating. She’d wondered at the time if he ever smiled. Her lips quirked at the memory. He did smile. Not often, but when he did it was worth the wait. She glanced at him now and saw he was no longer talking with the pilot. Instead, he was watching her with an intensity that made her feel like she was naked.
She glanced away, and looked again at the view below, but now all she could think about was that kiss.
Hot, possessive and so, so good.
The kiss of a man who wanted a woman.
But he was acting professional, so she would, too. For now.
Find the crystals, decode the map, destroy the raptor comms hub. That’s all she could allow herself to think about right now. She knew that many people back at base thought that if they managed to destroy the raptors or drive them away, life would go back to the way it had been before.
With the destroyed city staring back at her, she knew things would never be the same, ever again. Her shoulders sagged under the empty feeling of chances lost, of what had been.
But at the same time, Elle realized that she didn’t want to go back to the person she’d been before. She didn’t want to be the shallow, self-absorbed Ellianna Milton who’d never finished her university degree, who’d partied all night, and still lived with her parents because it was convenient, and free.
Her gaze zeroed back to Marcus. His dark head was bent now and so she looked her fill. She’d changed. Over the past year, she’d seen people with values that mattered. People who risked their lives for others, no questions asked. And who did it over and over again. The kind of person she wanted to be.
She fiddled idly with her armor for a minute before she realized a fastening wasn’t quite done up and it gaped under her right arm. She jiggled it, trying to get it sorted, without success. She huffed out a breath. Some soldier she was, she couldn’t even dress herself.
She lifted her head and saw Claudia smirking at her. Dammit, the other woman might be a trained soldier, but that grating grin made Elle want to smack her.
“Let me.”
Marcus stepped in front of Elle. His hands brushed hers away and he snapped the fastening closed, his fingers brushing her side for a second. She sucked in quick breath.
He ran his hands over the molded carbon fiber pieces, checking them. “A little big but not bad.”
“Claudia found it for me. Not sure why, I don’t think she likes me,” Elle muttered.
“She doesn’t like anyone.” Amusement underscored his tone. “But actually I think she likes you just fine. She told me you’re the best comms officer she’s ever had.”
“Really?” Elle was floored. “But she’s always laughing at me. Not out loud, just these little smirks—”
A snort from behind Marcus. Oh God, she’d heard.
“Princess, that’s for Marcus’ benefit, not yours.” Claudia stepped into view, her carbine slung over her shoulder. “I just love seeing him squirm.”
Elle frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Shut it, Frost.” Marcus turned his back on Claudia, blocking Elle’s view of the other woman. “Did you find a weapon?”
Elle slipped a hand into the side holster on the armor and withdrew a small thermo pistol.
He took it, checked it, handed it back to her. “It’ll do. It isn’t too heavy for you and it’s easy to use. Just point and shoot. You have extra ammunition?”
She put the pistol away and nodded. She had a stash of thermo bullets. When fired, a chemical reaction was triggered in the bullets that made them heat up to scorching temperatures. Hot enough to penetrate tough, scaled skin.
“I’m nervous.” The words slipped out of her.
He set one finger under her chin and tilted it up. His green gaze was steady. “Nerves are good. You go in cocky, you get yourself killed.”
“Okay.”
He looked at his heavy-duty watch. “Five minutes until we land. Ready?”
No. A part of her wanted to curl up and stay in relative safety on the Hawk. She straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t that girl anymore. Besides, Marcus would be by her side.
“I’m ready.”
He turned to the team. “Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?”
“Hell, yeah!” Elle raised her voice to mix with the rest of the team. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”
***
Marcus activated his combat helmet and once it was in place, leaped the couple of meters from the hovering quadcopter to the cracked concrete. He kept his gaze up, searching for any waiting raptors.
Around him, his team also hit the ground. They crouched low, guns up, and headed for cover.
Marcus turned and held his arms out for Elle. She didn’t hesitate to jump. He caught her slight weight, took an extra second to hold her close, then set her on her feet. “Let’s go.”
They jogged toward what had once been a shopping mall. Now the large sign above the doors hung lopsided, and all the windows in the triple-story building were broken. In the parking lot, cars were piled on top of each other and tipped over, as though they were nothing more than toys that an angry child had kicked.
Or an angry rex.
“It’s so quiet,” Elle whispered.
Yeah. Too quiet.
They were ten meters from the safety of the mall entrance when raptor fire ripped across the ground in front of them. Elle skidded to a halt, throwing her arms up.
Marcus didn’t stop to think. He tackled her to the ground and rolled them into cover behind a car.
They stopped with him on top of her, both of them breathing heavily. He gripped her face in his gloved fingers. “Elle, you okay?” God, she hadn’t been hit, had she? Standard raptor weapons shot high-velocity poison that burned and paralyzed, while their snipers shot razor-sharp projectiles made of a bone-like substance. Either was deadly. He felt the racing drum of her pulse in her temple.
“I’m okay.” Her words were breathless as her hands clamped over his wrists.
Shit. He was twice her size and squishing her. He rolled off her and crouched. “Stay down.” He lifted his carbine and sighted a raptor sniper on the roof. He heard his team returning fire and through the scope, the reptilian humanoid came into view. For a second, Marcus wondered if the scientists’ theories were right. That this alien was what the Earth’s dinosaurs might have evolved into over millions of years if they’d survived.
He gave his head a tiny shake and blocked everything out. It was second nature. “Get the job done” had always been his motto, one he’d learned from his Marine father. Marcus sighted the head of the ugly raptor, right between his red eyes. One, two, three. Marcus pulled the trigger.
There was a spray of blood and the raptor fell backward out of view.
“Let’s go.” He yanked Elle up and pulled her toward the others.
“A little welcoming committee,” Cruz said.
“Yeah.” Marcus nodded at his second. “They know we’re here.” He glanced at Elle. “Time to do your stuff. Where to?”
She studied her little screen, her brow furrowed. “Through the mall. The library’s situated on the street on the other side.”
“Let’s move.” Marcus motioned them on.
“Wait.” Elle reached up and pressed her fingers to his face. Her touch was electric, he froze.
“You got nicked by something.” Her finger ran over his stubbled cheek.
He clamped a hand over her wrist, held her touch to his cheek for the briefest second before he pulled it away. “I’m fine.”
She nodded and stepped back. Over her head, Marcus saw his team all grinning at him like idiots.
“Into position.” He growled the command, but inside he felt a little glow of something he couldn’t focus on right now. He studied Elle’s dark head. He had to keep her safe.
His team moved into their positions. They were a motley crew but Hell Squad got the job done. The rules had changed since the invasion. Now a little rebel thinking was needed because that was what they’d become in their own world.
Elle kept pace beside him. As they moved through the mall, past shops with their windows still displaying their wares, she mimicked the others on the team, staying in cover. Moving fast. He knew she had to be afraid, but she was steady. Good girl, hang in there. A quick learner, his Elle.
Not yours, Steele. They moved through the old food court. All the chairs were empty, but the tables were still covered in old trays and fast-food wrappers. Like people had only just left moments before.
Where the hell were the raptors? Marcus clutched his carbine tighter. He almost wished for an attack. It would make him less nervous.
They made it to the other end of the mall, but Marcus’ neck was tingling. This was far too easy. They were deep in raptor territory, close to one of their key installations. No way they’d let them just waltz in.
“Razor sharp, Hell Squad,” he murmured. “They’re here somewhere.”
They stepped out onto the street. It was deserted except for twisted steel, rusting cars and rubble.
Marcus warily led the team out, Elle close at his side, moving into the open. He’d be happy when they were back in cover.
Suddenly, Shaw yelled, “Canids!”
Fuck. Marcus saw the pack of fast-moving creatures racing toward them.
Canids were the equivalent to raptor hunting dogs. The damned things had a row of sharp spikes along their backs and a mouth of teeth that made razors look dull.
And they loved gnawing on humans.