by Anna Hackett
***
Shit. Mac looked around, but she knew they were short on options. She saw Roth doing the same.
Suddenly, Niko wrenched open a door. “Inside.”
“What?” she exclaimed. He wanted them to go down in the ship?
“We’ll head down and then come back up on the other side.”
“This is crazy, Niko. We have no idea what we’ll meet down there.”
He raised a brow. “You have a better idea?”
No. She didn’t.
Roth nodded. “Let’s move.”
They headed down the stairs, careful not to make any sound. The interior of the alien ship glowed with an eerie red light, and echoed with an incessant hum. They moved carefully down a long hallway. It was flanked by doorways made of a glowing amber glass. Mac could hear voices through the doors—grunts, screeches and screams.
Then, she heard the thump of boots on the floor ahead of them. Damn. She froze and signaled the others.
“In here.” Niko nodded toward an open doorway and stepped inside.
The room was filled with pipes and organic-looking cables traveling up to the ceiling. The cables were pulsing. The team moved through, sometimes having to turn sideways to squeeze into narrow gaps. Mac was careful not to touch anything, but she did bump into a cable. A sticky, clear goo clung to her armor and she grimaced. It looked like snot.
“Raptors,” Devlin murmured urgently. “Hide.”
Heart hammering, Mac squeezed in between two bits of equipment. Niko was close by, looking cool and calm. She wondered how many times he’d had to hide, with his enemies bearing down on him.
They all stood there, silent, waiting for the raptors to pass. Finally, the aliens moved on.
Mac blew out a breath and climbed out of her hiding spot. She could tell Niko was good at this. It was easy to see how he’d become one of the most infamous assassins in Russian Intelligence.
But she’d also seen him talking to Enclave members, laughing with children, and creating his beautiful artwork. He was good at those things, too.
They quietly moved out of the room and up a set of stairs. Soon, they came out a door and were back out on the deck, glorious sunshine beaming down on them.
And just ahead, was the nest.
But it was empty. No drone killer.
Roth signaled and they moved cautiously toward the nest. As they got close, Mac heard strange noises coming from inside it. What the hell?
She touched the side of the nest, going up on her toes to look over the side—
Suddenly, something dived out of the air with a screech. She felt the sharp sting of claws at her face, the drone killer in front of her, flapping its wings and attacking.
Mac fell to the deck, trying to evade those wicked claws.
“Mackenna!”
Laser fire exploded nearby, then she heard the bird screech again and take off with a flap of wings.
“Target it!” Niko called out.
Mac rolled. She saw the men all firing upward.
But movement behind them caught her attention. Raptors were pouring out of the door they’d used as an exit. She raised her carbine and opened fire.
The drone killer circled around and came back down, landing right near Mac. Its bright-green eyes bored into her.
As Niko and the others spun and started firing at the raptors, Mac lifted her weapon and aimed it at the bird.
Then, she hesitated, just for a second. Damn. It was almost beautiful, regal…
She couldn’t afford for it to live, but she was well aware that it was a victim, too.
“More raptors,” Roth yelled.
Mac could hear the thundering of boots on metal. Projectiles whizzed past her head and she ducked.
“Fuck. There are too many,” Niko shouted. “Have the rest of your squad and Hell Squad move in. The drone killer is the priority. Take it down.”
Mac saw Roth waving a hand in the air, giving the signal to the others.
Mac looked back and saw the drone killer had hopped up into its nest. Damn. She stood, moving closer. A spray of raptor poison made her curse and dodge back. Something rammed into her, tackling her out of the way. Niko pushed her down and then rolled to his feet. He turned, aimed his carbine and kept fighting.
She’d pay him back later for that bit of alpha-male heroics. But right now, she had to get to the drone killer. Take it down, and then they could escape.
She reached the nest, leaning over it—
Thump. Something hit her in the left shoulder. She jerked, falling to her side. Thump. A second hit, in her right shoulder. Pain exploded through her.
She’d been hit. She looked down and saw two bone projectiles sticking out of each shoulder. The kind of projectiles favored by raptor snipers.
“Snipers!” she yelled to the others.
Mac tried to move, the pain making her eyes water. Then she slumped back. The projectiles were pinning her to the nest.
She heard a noise and looked up.
Straight into the green eyes of the drone killer.
Chapter Fourteen
Niko traded punches with a huge raptor.
He knew if the damn thing landed a solid hit, he’d go down and not come back up.
He stepped back and launched into a hard roundhouse kick. It collided with the alien’s ugly face and sent it stumbling. He swung his carbine around and took the raptor down.
Niko looked around for Mackenna and spotted her.
His blood ran cold. No. She was down and pinned to the nest.
He started pushing through the fighting to get to her. A raptor got in his way and he wasted no time killing it.
When he looked again, he saw the drone killer was striking at Mackenna with its sharp beak. She was rolling her head from side to side to avoid its blows.
Dammit. Another raptor stepped into his path.
It fired its weapon and the poison hit Niko’s carbine. He saw it melt and sizzle, and he threw the now-useless weapon aside. He reached in and pulled out his knives.
He spun, jumped up, and slammed the knives into the raptor’s neck, wrenching them back out as the raptor fell to the ground.
Once again, Niko rushed toward Mackenna. He saw the drone killer aiming right at her face. She was yanking on the projectiles, trying to free herself, her face contorted.
He pushed for more speed, but he knew he couldn’t reach her in time. He was running, shoving raptors out of his way.
Suddenly, something flew past him and straight in Mackenna’s direction, distracting the drone killer.
Lia’s drone.
The drone hovered, spun, then raced away. The bird lifted off in pursuit.
Niko covered the last few meters to Mackenna. Beside the ship, he saw the two Hawks materialize. The rest of Squad Nine and Hell Squad were all leaping out onto the deck.
“Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” Marcus’ distinctive voice.
“Hell, yeah,” came the chorus of replies. “The devil needs an ass-kicking!”
As the reinforcements joined the fray, the fighting intensified.
Niko reached Mackenna. “Hang on.”
Her pained gaze caught his. He gripped the first projectile and pulled. She groaned, long and loud.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Get the other one out,” she rasped.
He gripped it and yanked.
Quickly, he fumbled and pulled his field first aid kit off his belt. He found some absorbent gauze and pressed it against her shoulder wounds.
Suddenly, she rolled to her side and lifted her carbine. The laser whine was loud in his ears.
He looked back and saw a raptor had been charging up behind them. It crashed down beside them on the deck.
“Thanks.”
“Any time,” she replied.
A loud squawk pierced the air. The drone and the bird zoomed past overhead.
“We’ve got to take it down,” Mackenna said.
Niko started to nod, but th
en he heard a sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
A deep, demonic growling.
He’d never seen one in real life, but he knew instantly what the alien doglike creatures were.
Canids.
“Cedar oil grenades,” someone shouted.
Niko saw grenades being lobbed at the dogs. “Damn. We have to go, Mackenna. We’re out of time.” He heaved her up, and seeing the amount of blood she’d lost made his jaw lock. She grimaced.
“Maybe Shaw can shoot the drone killer from the Hawk,” Mackenna suggested.
“We can try that. Just focus on getting out of here.”
Niko urged her forward, and together, they hobbled towards the nearest Hawk.
He saw Hell Squad was pulling back. All of a sudden, a raptor tossed a grenade. It clanked against the ground and rolled.
“Grenade!” Niko pushed Mackenna down, covering her body with his.
The explosion was deafening. Niko’s ears were ringing, all the sound around him muffled.
He realized when he didn’t feel any pain that they’d been out of the blast radius. Thank God. He leaped to his feet and pulled her up again.
They ran into Cam and Roth who gave them cover fire.
“On board,” Roth said. “It’s too hot.”
“The drone killer isn’t down yet,” Niko told him.
“Shit.” Roth’s face was serious. “Get aboard. We’ll find a way to take it down.”
Just before they climbed into the Hawk, Lia appeared on deck.
“What are you doing off the Hawk?” Niko demanded.
“My drone, it’s hit something near the nest. It’s stuck.”
Niko’s mind raced. Losing another drone wasn’t ideal, but the deck of this alien ship was too dangerous. “We’ll have to leave it.”
Lia shook her head fiercely. “It’s close. I can get it. Circle around, give me some cover fire, and come back for me.” She ran across the deck.
***
Finn
Finn watched as Hell Squad and Squad Nine climbed aboard the other Hawk.
Looked like he’d have no passengers for the journey home. Lia had scrambled out with a shout about getting in the other Hawk with her drone.
Then he spotted a small figure running across the deck.
He sucked in a breath. Lia.
What the hell did she think she was doing? He moved his Hawk closer, until he was hovering just off the side of the alien ship. It took him a second, but he spotted the drone hooked up on some sort of tower structure not far from the drone killer nest.
The other Hawk moved toward the back of the ship, laying down laser fire. The raptors were firing back and the canids were loping in that direction.
They were trying to pull the aliens off Lia and her crazy mission to grab the drone.
With his pulse drumming, he saw her reach the drone. She climbed up on a box, but before she could grab it, the drone killer flew out of nowhere and straight into her. She fell the few meters to the ground, landing flat on her belly.
Finn saw the bird start pecking at her, clawing at her armor. She threw her arms over her head, trying to protect herself.
Dammit. He needed to help her. The other Hawk was busy keeping the raptors occupied. In a split second, he made his decision. Finn put his Hawk on auto-hover, grabbed his laser pistol, and leaped onto the deck a few meters below.
He rolled and then ran in Lia’s direction. When he reached her, he batted at the drone killer.
“Get off of her!”
With a screech, the bird flew up in the air and toward its nest.
Finn crouched. “Lia? Are you okay?
She lifted her head and nodded. She only had one small trickle of blood at her temple. “Boost me up so I can reach the drone.”
He grabbed her around her small waist and lifted her upward. He decided not to point out that his face was practically buried against the curves of her ass.
“I’ve got it!”
She held the drone out with a smile.
Then Finn spotted the drone killer racing toward them.
“Lia, watch out!” He shot at the bird, saw it veer away.
He heard raptor fire behind them. Finn spun Lia, trying to shield her with his body. Poison splattered across the tower structure in front of them. It caught the hovering drone killer in the chest.
With a God-awful screech, the bird flapped its now-dissolving wings and fell over the side of the ship into the ocean.
Finn ducked, pulling Lia down with him. “This way.” He led her around the nest until they had a straight run to his Hawk. “I’ll lay down some cover fire, and you run back to the Hawk.”
She looked like she was going to argue.
He pressed a finger over her lips. “No. Don’t argue, just run.” He released her and lifted his laser pistol.
As he fired, he saw her run, arms pumping. He fired at the incoming raptors and saw laser fire from the second Hawk spray across them. Thank God.
He was about to leave, when he heard a noise from the nest. Frowning, he looked inside.
And saw a tiny little drone killer chick.
Fuck. It was tiny and kind of fluffy. Suddenly, it leaped up out of the nest, and into his hands.
Then he heard raptor grunts from nearby, and the clink of a grenade as it rolled across the deck. Time to go.
Finn spun and ran towards his Hawk. The grenade exploded behind him, but he just kept running.
Ahead, he saw Lia climbing one of the ropes up into the Hawk. Finn jumped onto the railing and leaped off the side of the ship. He grabbed the rope, swinging wildly, and scrambled up.
Once he was aboard, he slammed the side door closed. He grabbed Lia by the front of her armor, dragging her up on her toes. “Never go into a combat zone again.”
She lifted her chin. “Screw you, Erickson.” Then she reached out, yanked him in close and kissed the hell out of him.
Before he could comprehend what was happening, she pulled back. “Now, get us out of here.”
Finn just stared at her dumbly, his body still reeling from that kiss. Her face was completely unreadable, and he had the most painful hard-on he’d had in a long time.
“Finn!” She slapped at his chest. “Get us out of here.”
He shook his head to clear it, and climbed into the cockpit. Below, he had a perfect view of where the nest had been sitting. It had been completely destroyed by raptor poison.
He touched the controls and the Hawk shot forward, away from the alien ship. He let out a harsh breath.
Then, Finn felt a movement on his chest. He looked down…and saw the drone killer chick pop its head up out of his pocket.
It chirped at him.
Ah, hell. He shoved it back down into his pocket. He didn’t have time to deal with it just yet. Lia climbed into the copilot seat.
“Mention that kiss and I’ll deny it,” she said.
Finn ignored her and fell in with the other Hawk. Time to head home.
He wasn’t going to think of that kiss. Nope. Not once.
He was not going to think about soft lips, a sleek little tongue, and that sweet honeyed taste.
Nope. Never.
Chapter Fifteen
Mac leaned back against Niko as their Hawk traveled back to the Enclave. She hurt like hell.
Taylor was leaning over her, working to stop the bleeding from one of Mac’s wounds. Niko held a wad of blood-covered cloth over her other shoulder.
All around them, the Hawk was filled with big, armored bodies. They were covered in spatter and sweat, but they were all jubilant. She saw Shaw fist-bumping with Reed. Sienna knocking her hip against Theron. Marcus and Roth were talking, and both had faint smiles on their faces.
“We did it,” Mac murmured.
Niko’s lips brushed her ear. “We did. The drone killer is gone.”
They’d seen the bird get hit. Watched it slam into the water and disappear.
“You were magnificent,�
� Niko murmured. “Born to fight.”
“I think you’re biased.” Pain speared through her shoulders and made her back arch.
“Maybe.” He looked up at Taylor. “Can you give her something for the pain?”
The other woman nodded. “Here you go, Mac.” Taylor put a pressure injector against Mac’s neck. “That’ll take the edge off.”
“I’ll owe you a bottle of that wine you like,” Mac said. “My man is connected at the Enclave. I’m sure he can snag me a bottle.”
“An entire box if you stop her from hurting,” Niko promised.
“Your man, huh?” Taylor said with a smile, placing a bandage over Mac’s shoulder.
“Yep.” Mac tilted her head back, looking into sexy green eyes. “I’ve decided to keep him. He feeds me, spoils me with daily—”
Niko pressed a hand over her mouth. “She react badly to meds?”
Taylor grinned. “Yep.”
He stroked her hair. “Just relax, Mackenna. And maybe don’t talk.”
She snuggled into him. He was warm, so strong, and so hers. “Okay.”
By the time they reached the Enclave, the meds had worn off enough that she wasn’t in agony but she could also think straight again. She let Niko help her off the Hawk and when she spotted the other Hawk descending, she breathed a sigh of relief. Finn and Lia had made it.
General Holmes was striding toward them. “Well done. All of you.”
“Thank you, sir,” Roth said.
The general nodded at Finn and Lia as they reached them. “And you two…thank you. Without your hard work and bravery, the drone killer wouldn’t have been eliminated.”
“I’m just glad it’s gone,” Lia murmured.
“Ah, we may have a tiny problem,” Finn said.
Mac leaned against Niko, wondering if she’d ever heard such a hesitant tone from the Hawk pilot before.
She watched Finn reach into the top pocket of his flight suit…and pull out a tiny bird.
Everyone in the hangar went quiet.
The tiny, fluffy, black bird chirped at them.
Lia spun to face Finn. “Are you insane? You brought a baby drone killer back with us!”
“I didn’t plan it. It jumped in my pocket and I was kind of too busy saving your ass to notice it.”