Levi took a long sip of his homebrew beer and dropped back into a chair.

The rec room was humming tonight, with Enclave residents out for a drink, some cards, or a game of pool.

“Damn, that’s good.” A beer and a soft chair. He’d take his pleasure where he could after a tough mission.

Ash sat down beside him, pulling his woman into his lap. Pretty, geeky Marin smiled, her cheeks a little pink as she pushed her blonde curls out of her face. Glasses were perched on the end of a cute nose.

Levi grinned. His friend was completely whipped, and Levi was happy for him. Like Levi, Ash had grown up rough, and life had thrown plenty of shit at him. He was a good man—the best. Ash deserved a pretty geek girl who made him happy.

Not that Levi wanted the same thing. Love and beauty…it didn’t hang around him for long. Hell, his dad hadn’t set a great example. Damien King’s idea of family was slapping his kid in the face when it suited him. You are good for nothing, boy. I’ve got better things to do. Levi’s hands tightened.

His bitch of an ex-wife hadn’t loved him, either—Tiff had loved his cock and his bank account.

Nope, love and beauty were not for Levi King. He’d accepted that a long time ago.

Tane, showered and dreadlocks tied at the back of his neck, leaned against a nearby high, round table. Griff and Dom were with him. They were talking about the steg and its capabilities. Levi knew Tane had briefed the general on the new alien vehicle.

“Where’s my beer?” Hemi’s voice boomed behind Levi.

Levi looked over his shoulder and saw Hemi with his arm around his woman. Cam was a long, tall drink of gorgeous, dark-skinned woman.

Tane pushed a bottle across the table. “Cam, need anything?”

“No thanks, Tane.” There was a faint Scottish burr to her voice.

Hemi grinned. “I just gave her everything she needed.” He moved his hand behind Cam.

Cam gripped his thick wrist, her eyes narrowed. “If you slap my ass, Rahia, we are going to have big problems.”

“But it’s such a fine ass.”

The Squad Nine soldier shook her head, cupped Hemi’s bearded cheeks, and yanked him in for a hard kiss. “I’m due to meet Mac, Taylor, and Sienna…try to stay out of trouble.”

“Never.” Hemi winked at her.

With a sigh, Cam left with a wave.

Levi leaned back, listening to his friends shoot the shit.

“Hey, Levi.” A pretty blonde named Jennifer appeared, shooting him a friendly smile. “Thought you might want some company.”

Usually, after a mission, Levi was more than up for company of the female kind. He lifted his drink, his gaze moving past her. “Not tonight, sweetheart.”

Jennifer’s mouth opened, then with a shrug, she headed off.

“You sick?” Ash asked, eyeing him. “Coming down with something.”

“No.”

“You never blow off a woman.”

“Drop it, Ash.” But Levi recognized that look in his best friend’s eyes.

“And there sure are plenty of them interested in bedding a sexy, bad boy berserker,” a feminine voice drawled.

Indy stood with one hip cocked. The tattooed, out-spoken woman did and said what she wanted, when she wanted it. She was the only comms officer who’d been able to keep up with the berserkers. She was also a family friend of Griff’s. The man had been best mates with Indy’s brother, and he still felt the need to look out for her…which she didn’t much appreciate. Right now, Griff was glaring at Indy’s back.

With a laugh, she sat on Levi’s lap. “Don’t worry, Levi, I’ll run decoy and protect you.”

He smiled, easing an arm around her. Indy was attractive, but she was like a sister to him…if he’d had a sister.

“I’m out of here.” Griff set his half-finished beer down.

Indy arched a brow. “Oh? Hot date?”

Levi didn’t do subtle, but even he was picking up the vibes. He glanced at Ash, who arched a brow.

“Going to catch up with Manu at the firing range.” Griff shoved his hands in his pockets. “See you later.”

The oldest Rahia brother was a former berserker. Toughest guy Levi knew. Manu could fire any weapon and charge into a fight without a single flicker of fear. Levi swirled his beer. Manu had lost his leg on a mission that had gone to fucking hell and it had put him off active duty. But he managed to rule the firing range with an iron fist.

Looking up, Levi spotted a flash of auburn hair and straightened. Chrissy strode across the room, heading for the self-service bar. She had bulky gray coveralls on, but had the top of them down and the sleeves tied around her waist. Her tight white tank made him slide his tongue across his teeth.

She smiled at someone and he saw a streak of grease on her cheek.

Fuck. When had the sight of grease on a woman’s skin turned him on? He watched her grab some cans of soda from the fridges, then head back toward the door, winding around some chairs and tables.

Her head lifted and their gazes caught. Her blue eyes narrowed before they flicked to Indy nestled in his lap.

Damn, he wanted her. And he couldn’t wait much longer. She might want to ignore the pull, but he didn’t.

“Hey, Chrissy,” Ash called out. “You guys still working on the Hunters?”

She paused, her arms full of cans, and nodded. “Yep. Cleaning up after you guys.”

There were deep laughs.

“How’s the damaged Hunter?” Tane asked.

“Damaged. I already have our armor plating guy fixing the outer panels, but the damage to the engine is extensive.” She glared at Levi. “You could take a little more care, King.”

Indy snorted and Levi pushed her off his lap. “You could make sure the damn thing doesn’t stop in the middle of a firefight.”

Chrissy tossed her head back, red hair sliding over her shoulders. “I downloaded the engine stats. You rev it too much and you’re hell on the steering—”

“Fighting aliens, babe. It isn’t a Sunday drive.”

He heard snorts and poorly smothered laughter from the guys.

She ground her teeth together. “You still don’t need—”

He stepped closer to her. “It’s dangerous out there.”

She took a step closer, her eyes full of fire. “I know that. I was locked in an alien prison, remember?”

His boots bumped hers. “If we’re ever going to beat them, we need reliable gear or we’re dead.”

“Then have more respect for it,” she hissed. “You somehow melted the engine. It looks like a hot poker was shoved through it—”

“Then you need more protective plating.”

She drew up. “I don’t tell you how to lob a grenade, so don’t tell me how to do my job, biker man. I don’t care if you were king mechanic of a badass biker garage before the invasion.”

Damn, she was something. Her cheeks were flushed, her blue eyes spitting fire, and that mouth…she always had something to say. He grinned.

An annoyed, aggravated sound came from her throat. She lifted her arm and threw a drink can at him.

Levi caught it an inch from his face. His squad mates broke out in guffaws.

“That wasn’t nice.”

“I’m not nice,” she snapped.

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Neither am I.”

She pulled in a deep breath, then spun and strode out.

“Damn,” Hemi said. “You two should sell tickets.”

Indy fanned her face. “I’m heading back to my room for some alone time.”

“Shit.” Levi shook his head. “I need another beer.”

* * *

“Pass me the wrench,” Chrissy said, holding out her hand.

The tool was set gently in her palm. She glanced over at her offsider and smiled.

Max grinned back. He was a sturdy boy of five with a mop of dark hair. She’d helped rescue him from the Gizzida and they’d been firm friends ever since. He lived with a lovely foster family here in the Enclave, but she hung out with him whenever she could.

She leaned back into the Hunter engine, working to loosen some of the melted parts. She was pretty sure there was more damage in here that she couldn’t see.

Chrissy pulled off a melted bit of metal and the memory of her showdown with Levi in the rec room reverberated through her head. The man managed to light the fuse on her temper faster than anyone she knew.

Shaking her head, she handed the ruined part to Max. “Set it over there for me. With the pile of other damaged parts.” Max happily complied.

He loved sitting with her while she worked and over the weeks, it had been so good to see his solemn face start to relax and his smile start to blossom.

She tugged off more parts, listening to Max talk about his schoolwork. He loved math, and tolerated reading and writing. Art and music were fun, and playing sports was his favorite thing.

A hammer banged on metal nearby. She couldn’t see him, but she knew her fellow maintenance team member, John, was working on the torn side plating. The tall, thin man was a genius at that sort of work. It wouldn’t be beautiful afterward, but it would be functional, and that was all that mattered.

“Max?”

They both looked up. Max’s foster father, Jonas, was standing at the bay doors, smiling.

“We need to get home for dinner, Maxie,” the man said.

Max hopped off his perch beside her toolbox. “Bye, Chrissy.”

She held her arms out. “I’m a bit grimy…”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t mind.”

She held him tight and breathed him in. This is what they were fighting for. Chrissy vowed that she would do anything to keep this boy safe and give him a fighting chance. He’d suffered enough.

Watching him take his foster father’s hand and skip out left a smile on her face. She went back to work on her engine.

Another hour slipped by, and the Hunter hangar slowly emptied of workers as they headed back to their quarters.

“How’s it going in there?”

Chrissy straightened, pressing her hands to her lower back to ease the aching muscles. Another maintenance mechanic, Rebecca, stood beside her. This week, Bec’s shoulder length hair was colored pale pink, framing her round face. She changed it every week. Chrissy had asked her about it, and Bec had told her that before the invasion she’d always wanted to dye her hair, but hadn’t because her work would have frowned on one of their engineers with blue or pink or green hair. Since the invasion, the young woman had vowed to dye her hair every week with her own homemade dyes.

“Progress?” Bec asked.

“Slow progress. Whatever happened, it burned everything in the back of the engine to shit.”

“What can I do to help?”

Chrissy picked up her portable comp and tapped the screen. “I’ve made a list of the replacement parts I need. Can you print them out for me?”

Bec manned the 3D printer they used to manufacture small parts. She eyed the screen.

“Sure thing. Shoot the list through to me and I’ll get to work.” Her nose wrinkled. “Hopefully I’ve got all the metal we’ll need for them.”

“Running low?”

“Always.” She tucked some pink hair back behind her ear, her gaze on the engine. “Hey, I saw you updated the rotor and changed out the insulation. The changes were genius.”

Chrissy grinned. “Thanks. I like to tinker in my spare time.”

Bec rolled her eyes. “You should be having fun in your spare time.”

“Heard you were having fun with Eric from the tech team.”

A wide grin. “He’s shy and gets tongue tied around me. It’s so cute. I’m meeting him for dinner. Don’t work too late.” The woman headed off with a wave.

Chrissy went back to work. She had no one to meet for dinner and she wanted to get this Hunter operational.

She’d pulled off most of the damaged parts. She pulled her scanning device off her belt and flicked it on. It made a few beeps, info filling the small screen. Then she heard it emit a loud, long beep. She frowned. There was an abnormal power spike. She leaned in farther to get a closer look.

All of a sudden, something small, black, and slimy leaped out of the engine compartment at her.

What the hell?

Chrissy threw her hands up in a defensive motion, and felt slimy tentacles snake along her scanner and wrist. The thing looked like a small, black octopus. Its gelatinous head turned and two red eyes stared balefully at her.

Alien eyes.

Suddenly, the thing moved, aiming for her face.