Chrissy leaned over the table in her room, studying the schematics spread out on its surface. She rubbed the back of her neck and breathed deep. She had a candle burning, and its vanilla scent filled the room. She loved her space. After months spent locked in cages by the Gizzida, having some privacy and some nice things that were hers meant a lot to her.

Ugly, black memories clawed at her throat, and she breathed in vanilla again. The throaty voice of her favorite singer filtered in from the music speakers. Once the memories receded, she looked at her work again.

She’d been scribbling some ideas for upgrades to the Hunters. Upgrades that would stop those icky alien creatures from infiltrating again. Absently, she rubbed her now-healed wrist.

She needed chocolate. Heading over to the tiny kitchenette, she raided her stash. Some of it was homemade, while a couple of bars had been pilfered from the ruins of the nearby towns. She popped a square of raspberry-infused dark chocolate in her mouth, and took a second to savor the taste.

During those months in captivity, she’d had nothing. No privacy, no bed, no place to call home, no clothes except the rags on her back, and barely enough food to survive. No hope.

There certainly hadn’t been any small pleasures, like chocolate.

Every day at the Enclave, she reminded herself of how lucky she was. So many people hadn’t made it, and so many people were still raptor prisoners.

Sitting back in her chair, she looked again at the Hunter schematics. She thought of that ugly little octopus creature and rubbed her wrist again, feeling a phantom pain. Doc Emerson, who ran the medical team, had given her a shot of nanomeds. The microscopic medical machines had done their work in a few hours.

And then, her thoughts turned to her rescuer.

No. She wasn’t going anywhere near thoughts of him. She did not need Levi King and all his sexy, annoying bikerness in her head.

There was a knock at her door, and happy for the distraction, Chrissy jumped up to open it.

A tall, athletic woman stood on the other side, her dark, red-tinted hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“Hey, Taylor.”

“Hi,” Taylor Cates answered. “I heard what happened, and thought I’d come and check on you.”

“Come on in.” Chrissy had been friends with Taylor ever since the Squad Nine soldier had helped rescue Chrissy and others from the aliens. A faint shiver ran down Chrissy’s spine. She was grateful every day that Taylor, and her lover, Devlin, had helped her, little Max, and several others escape.

She held up her block of chocolate and Taylor took it with a grin.

“I’m fine now,” Chrissy told her friend. “The nanomeds fixed me right up. But I do not want to mess with those icky aliens again.”

“Well, I’m glad you were able to kill that thing.”

“He’s currently being dissected and studied by the medical and tech teams,” Chrissy added.

Taylor glanced at the table, and the spread of paperwork and the glowing screen of Chrissy’s portable comp.

“I’m working on how to keep these slimy parasites out of my Hunters in the future.”

The other woman nodded. “Heard you had some help from a sexy berserker.”

Chrissy made a choking sound. “You mean a cocky, arrogant asshole?”

Taylor’s lips quirked. “He’s all those things, but there is also the hard, muscular body, sexy goatee, hot man bun, mouthwatering tattoos—”

“Hello?” Chrissy coughed and waved a hand in front of her friend’s face. “You have a man, remember? A gorgeous, handsome, suave British man.”

Taylor grinned, warmth filling her gaze. “I sure do, and I’m not giving him up. But that doesn’t mean I can’t look at other sexy specimens.”

Chrissy studied that warm look on the other woman’s face. Love. Chrissy had never been in love, and dammit, a part of her was stomp-her-feet-and-pout-in-the-corner envious of Taylor.

“I am a woman with a pulse,” Taylor continued, with a wink. “And even though I get to snuggle up with the sexiest, most handsome man in the world every night, Levi King is the kind of bad boy your mother warned you about.”

“My mother died young,” Chrissy said, “but I don’t need anyone to warn me off King. He’s arrogant—” she held up her hand, ticking off her fingers “—overconfident, and annoying. Did I mention annoying?”

Taylor’s lips twitched. “Maybe. There’s a whole lot of protesting going on, though.”

Chrissy’s eyes bugged out, but before she could retaliate, the ground started to shake. Chrissy gasped and Taylor reached out, gripping the edge of the table.

What the hell?

Chrissy bent her legs to keep her balance, her stomach clenching. Everything in her room rattled and clattered. Something fell off a shelf and broke with a crash.

Taylor gripped Chrissy’s arm and pulled her down to the floor. They crawled in under the table.

“Are we under attack?” Chrissy asked.

Taylor tilted her head, her gaze narrowed. “The alarms aren’t going off, so I don’t think so.”

The shaking finally slowed and then stopped. Chrissy looked around the room. “Earthquake?”

Taylor jumped up. “I’ll find out. I have to go. I’ll catch you later, Chrissy.” At a run, the squad soldier was gone, racing out the door.

A curtain of dust fell from a crack in the ceiling and Chrissy coughed.

Then she thought of Max.

Without hesitation, she rushed out the door. The corridor was filled with confused and frightened people.

“Please go back in your rooms,” Chrissy called out, keeping her voice calm. “The squads will have everything under control. The general will update us.”

“What happened?” someone called out.

“Are the aliens attacking us?”

The aliens had attacked one end of the Enclave a few weeks back and everyone was still jittery.

“The alarms aren’t going off,” Chrissy repeated Taylor’s words. “Everything will be fine.” Please don’t make me a liar, universe.

Chrissy hurried down the hall, stopping to calm a few more people, before she reached the door to Max’s foster family. She lifted her hand and knocked.

A moment later, the door opened to show a middle-aged woman, with a makeup-free face and curly, brown hair pulled up in a messy knot on top of her head.

“Hi, Chrissy. So glad to see you.” Relief crossed Patricia’s face. “Do you know what’s going on?” The woman jiggled a sobbing, year-old baby on her hip.

“I don’t, but it doesn’t appear to be an alien attack. I thought I’d check on you guys. Max?”

Max rushed out and threw his arms around Chrissy’s waist. She braced herself to balance his weight. He pressed his dark head against her belly.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. “You okay, big guy?”

The boy nodded and looked up. “Are you?”

Her heart melted. He was such a good kid. After everything he’d been through, he was still always thinking of others.

“I’m okay.”

“Ruby is a bit scared, though.”

Chrissy glanced through the door, and spied a sweet girl of about three, with cute chubby cheeks, clutching a teddy bear. The girl was usually beaming with a cheeky smile, but there was no sign of that happy expression right now.

Another girl around Max’s age was sitting beside Ruby with frightened eyes.

“Come on.” Chrissy gripped Max’s hand. “Why don’t we let Pat sort out the baby, and we’ll play a game, or something.”

Suddenly, there was the sound of static from the speaker system, and General Holmes’ deep voice came across the comms system.

“Your attention, please. Everything is okay. We are not under attack. I repeat, the Enclave is not under attack.”

Chrissy let out a long breath.

“So what was that shaking?” Max asked.

“Maybe it was an earthquake,” Chrissy said.

Max’s bottom lip quivered. “I hate not knowing. Not knowing if it’s the aliens.”

She pulled him in for a hard hug. She knew what he meant. She’d spent hours in her cell, imagining what terrible things the raptors had planned. Sometimes, not knowing was the worst thing of all.

General Holmes continued to speak with his composed, commanding voice, urging everyone to go about their normal business and stay calm.

“We’ll know what happened soon enough,” Chrissy said.

But she saw the worry in the boy’s eyes. A boy who’d already been through so damn much.

Determination filled her. “I’ll find out everything I can and let you know, okay?”

The worry lines bracketing his mouth relaxed. “You promise?”

She crouched to his level. “I promise.”

A small smile crossed his face. “You always keep your promises.”

“I sure do. Now, how about that game?”

Chrissy stayed with Max’s foster family, helping entertain the kids, until they were all smiling again and playing with their toys. Pat and her husband, Jonas, were saints, taking in so many parentless kids and showering them in unrelenting patience and love.

When Chrissy left, she searched for Taylor, but couldn’t find the squad soldier anywhere. Damn, she’d been hoping to get some information.

Huffing out a breath, she headed in the direction of the Command Center. Her plan was to find someone to ask for any extra information. But when she reached the glass doors, she saw that the place was full of people, and everyone was distracted and busy.

Then, she spied a tall, muscular man heading down the corridor. His shaggy brown hair, streaked with gold, glinted in the natural lighting system of the Enclave.

“Shaw,” Chrissy called out.

Hell Squad’s sniper paused and looked over his shoulder. A charming grin tipped his lips up. “Hey, Chrissy.”

“Do you know anything about what’s going on? Can you tell me anything?”

Shaw’s face turned serious. “Holmes is keeping a lid on it until we know for sure. Right now, they’re still gathering information.”

“It wasn’t an earthquake?”

He looked apologetic. “I can’t say yet.”

So it hadn’t been a natural phenomenon, after all. Chrissy gritted her teeth. She needed to know. Her imagination was working overtime, her pulse pounding.

She nodded at Shaw. “Thanks anyway.”

She turned, striding down the corridor. She decided to check on her Hunters, although she was certain that they’d be fine, parked in their reinforced hangar.

As soon as she entered the bay, she heard the clang of a tool hitting metal.

She paused. It was coming from the corner of the space the berserkers used to store their big, upgraded motorcycles. The damn things were covered in armor-plating and weapons. They screamed “apocalypse.”

Rounding the line of Hunters, she spied a very fine ass in a worn pair of jeans, and a messy man bun.

Her gaze narrowed. She knew someone who might give her the information she wanted.

And she was going to get it. Now.

* * *

Levi worked on the grease line on his bike, not worrying that his hands were covered in the stuff. He was pretty sure he had grease in his veins. His biker name had been Gears for a reason. He was always tinkering with upgrades to make the bikes they used better in the field. Made sense to make them faster and add more firepower.

He set his tool down and grabbed another. For a second, he could almost imagine he was back in the garage behind the Iron Kings clubhouse. He’d turned the club from drugs and prostitution, to designing custom-built bikes and cars. He’d bled and fought to do that, with Ash by his side. They’d made something, and he’d been proud of the name the club was building in custom rides. Proud of the work they’d done.

Then the Gizzida had destroyed it all.

Levi scraped his knuckles on metal and cursed. He watched blood well on his torn skin. Life never made things easy for him and he never expected it would.

“Hey.”

He looked up and saw Chrissy striding across the hangar toward him. His gaze slid down her body, looking at the way her dark jeans hugged her curves. Instantly, his cock stirred.

Looking up, he let himself watch the faint jiggle of her breasts as she walked. Well, maybe life gave a little bit of beauty and ease when it suited her.

“I want to know what’s going on.” She put her hands on her hips.

“Afternoon to you too, Spitfire.”

She rolled her eyes. “We both know you don’t give a crap about manners.”

Levi reached over and grabbed a rag, wiping his hands. “True.”

“What was the shaking? Was it an explosion? An earthquake? Were aliens responsible?”

He held up a palm. “I can’t say. General will update everyone.”

“Levi—”

“Holmes is keeping things under wraps until we know more. Doesn’t want people to panic.”

Levi watched her blow out a frustrated breath.

“So he’s banned you, or anyone, from saying anything?”

“Yeah.”

She stepped closer. “You don’t care about the rules. You slide under them, step over them, bend them, ignore them, or flat-out just break them.”

There was fire in her eyes and it lit up her face. Her cheeks were flushed, and damn, she was something. Her face would look like this if she was spread out on his bed, with him busy working his way down that luscious body.

“Why are you so worked up about this?”

She spun away, her moves jerky. When she looked back, he saw something dark moving through her eyes.

“I was a prisoner. For several long months.” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

Levi’s gut tightened. He knew what she’d been through. He couldn’t stand knowing the aliens—bigger, stronger, more powerful—had imprisoned women, children, elderly people. Hell, anyone. He’d always hated bullies, and watching stronger people take advantage of weaker people just because they could made him angry. A man beating his woman, someone abusing a child, fucking aliens killing and torturing women and children. It all pissed him off.

“I’ve just come from comforting a small boy who was a prisoner of the raptors. He wants to know what’s going on because he’s afraid. Every night, he goes to bed, thankful he has a bed, but wondering if the raptors will come and take it away. If he’ll end up back in a cage.” She pulled in a shuddering breath. “I know that when he gets into his bed tonight, his mind will make up all kinds of crazy situations to explain what happened today.”

Something told Levi it wasn’t just Max who would be doing that. “You’re safe, Chrissy—”

She threw out a hand. “When the lights go out, your brain makes up far worse nightmares of what’s hiding in the dark.”

Levi had the strange feeling of wanting to chase the darkness away for her. He frowned. Yeah, you’re a regular hero, King. “The general will share soon.”

She huffed out a breath, and then stepped closer until she was pressed against him. Levi found himself with his bike at his back, and an angry woman at his front.

“I don’t know why I thought there was a streak of decent under the asshole.”

He raised a brow. “You think name-calling will get you what you want? You should have tried a blow job.”

Her eyes flared. “You’re a dick.”

“Yeah. Been called worse.” He grabbed her, spinning her until she was pressed against his bike. She squeaked, and he leaned over her, sliding one thigh between hers. She slammed her hands against his chest. His shirt was unbuttoned and her fingers touched his skin.

“I do follow the rules, Chrissy. Mine.”

Her chest was heaving, her gorgeous breasts pressing upward. Damn, he wanted to see them bare. See what shade of pink her nipples were, and run his mouth all over them.

Her hands flexed on his chest, and he saw her gaze drop to his pecs, then his abs. He smiled. “I can see how much you want me.”

Her gaze flicked up, a stubborn look settling on her face. “Screw you.”

“Yeah,” he continued. “I see you wondering how my hands would feel on you.” He moved his hand, letting his fingers drift down her arm. They left a faint smudge of grease on her skin.

“You have no shame,” she ground out.

“No. And I know you’re wondering how my lips would feel on that honey-smooth skin of yours. Maybe closing over one of your hard nipples.”

“You’re delusional.”

“You can’t lie to me,” he murmured.

All of a sudden, her hands slid downward. When they reached his belly, he sucked in a breath.

“You have nothing I want, King.”

“Liar, liar.” He closed one hand over her breast, rolling her nipple between his fingers. Her lips parted and her hips shifted. Then she sank her teeth into her bottom lip.

“You’re wondering how my cock would feel sliding into you.” His voice was a husky growl. “How much I’d stretch you out.”

“Asshole.” Her voice was husky too. She pushed against him. “Let me go.”

Levi knew no one would ever accuse him of having polished manners, but they’d also never accuse him of taking a woman against her will. Even if the woman in question did want him.

He stepped back and her legs dropped back to the ground. She put her hands down to slide off his bike.

“Damn.” She yanked her hand away from the bike. When she lifted it, he saw blood on her finger.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. Just a small cut.” Shooting him a venomous look, she strode past him and back toward her Hunters.

“Chrissy?”

She paused, but didn’t look back.

“Sleep with the light on tonight.”

She was silent for a second. “It doesn’t stop the nightmares.” She strode away.

Levi shoved his hands on his hips and watched her go. His cock was hard as a rock, but it was the other unfamiliar emotions churning in his gut that he wasn’t so sure about.