by Anna Hackett
She settled in a seat, listening as the team talked and planned, and they sped toward Little Tokyo.
As they got closer, Brooks’ voice filled the truck. “Guys, we have a problem.”
“What?” Lachlan asked.
“There are reports coming in about a disturbance in Little Tokyo.”
They leaned forward to look at the screens. A male reporter with a square jaw and a grave expression appeared.
“No one knows what’s happening,” the reporter shouted. “This is unbelievable.”
Behind the reporter, plants were growing down the side of a tall building.
“Oh, no.” January gripped the armrests of her seat. Kelleson had already started using the sphere.
Thick vines were flowing over the side of the building, moving fast. As she watched, pink blooms unfurled.
“Shit,” Seth muttered.
“Smith, get us closer,” Lachlan said. “We need to find that sphere.”
But soon, the traffic increased and the truck ground to a halt. January leaned over to look out the window. Cars were trying to speed away from Little Tokyo. The roads were clogged with panicked people, and on the sidewalk, people were sprinting away and screaming.
Smith finally pulled over. “We’ll get there faster on foot.”
Lachlan nodded and opened the side door.
“Stay close to me,” Seth told her.
She nodded, and together the team moved down the street. Their strides were fast and filled with purpose, and with their all-black gear and rifles, people quickly got out of their way. They passed a street that was covered in red lanterns strung between the buildings.
They turned a corner of one building, and January gasped.
The street ahead was filled with teeming greenery. It had flowed down the side of one building and was traveling down the street, consuming cars. The street was alive with green. Several vines were wriggling like snakes.
“Fuck me,” Smith ground out.
A crack of a shot split the air. A bullet hit the wall close to Lachlan.
“Sniper,” Blair called out.
Team 52 dived to the ground. January barely hit the pavement, before Seth covered her body with his.
More shots slammed into the ground around them, and January fought not to scream. A second later, Seth’s weight lifted off her. She heard gunfire all around, and lifted her head just enough to peek.
Team 52 was all up on their knees, firing up at a nearby building.
“Got him,” Blair said.
A body fell out of a window, a man’s scream echoing above the chaos filling the street.
“No, it was me, chica,” Axel said.
“In your dreams, Diaz,” Blair said.
Everyone rose.
“We need to find the artifact,” Lachlan said.
But right now, the vines and bushes were moving toward them, fast.
“Grenades,” Smith said.
Lachlan frowned at the man. “What?”
“Use the grenades to cut a path through the vegetation. It should kill it, or at least, slow it down.”
They all nodded, aiming their CXM rifles. There were a number of muffled thumps as they fired.
Several grenades sailed through the air, landing in the middle of the incoming greenery.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
January slapped her hands over her ears as flames ignited, and watched the vegetation in the center of the heaving mass wither. But at the edges of the street, the vines kept coming.
At that moment, armed Knights of Gaia soldiers poured out of a nearby building.
“Shit.” Seth swiveled. He looked at January. “Stay here.”
She nodded and watched Team 52 engage. The team walked forward, firing on the incoming fighters. Wow, they were something to watch.
Seth spun her to face him. “Promise me. You’ll stay here and stay out of the fight.”
She nodded again. “Stay safe, 007. I’ve decided I’m going to keep you, and I don’t want that fabulous body of yours hurt.”
He smiled and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. Then he was gone, striding to join his teammates.
She watched as he joined the fight. Soon, Team 52 got close to the fighters and switched to hand-to-hand combat. Seth fought with a fluid grace, but packed a hard punch. Her man was a badass.
Her man? January let that settle inside her.
He’d hurt her, but he’d apologized. And he’d rescued her, again and again, and more than once, he’d thrown himself between her and danger.
She could work with that. Especially since she was pretty sure she was falling in love with the guy.
January blew out a breath. And spotted Mark Kelleson.
He was standing in the shadow of a nearby building, watching the fight. Behind him was a construction area, blocked off by temporary fencing. She guessed that was where they were building the new tunnel.
The man held the sphere, and she saw it was linked to some sort of electrical device.
Then he swiveled, and slipped through the fence into the tunnel construction area.
Her chest hitched. Dammit. She glanced back at Team 52. They were still busy fighting.
Shit. Shit. She couldn’t let Kelleson and the sphere get away. Seth was going to kill her.
January darted to the fence, squeezed through the opening, and followed Kelleson.
Chapter Eighteen
Seth ducked into cover, then came up, firing at the group of Knights of Gaia fighters.
“These guys are good,” he growled at Lachlan.
Lachlan nodded. “Yeah, too good for fanatic ecoterrorists. Must be hired guns.”
Seth took aim again and fired. The Knight went down with a cry.
“Lachlan, I have LAPD SWAT incoming,” Brooks said through their earpieces.
“Thanks, Brooks,” Lachlan replied.
Seth watched more vegetation spill over the side of a nearby building, like a waterfall of green. It was pretty damn amazing, except for the fact it was going to engulf everything.
“Seth.” Brooks voice. “Standby.”
He frowned. What now?
“Ah, Seth?”
January’s hesitant voice came through his earpiece. Brooks had patched her through. Seth froze, and then touched his ear. “January? Where are you?”
“Well—”
He dragged in a breath. “Tell me.”
“I saw Kelleson with the sphere. He ran into the tunnel construction zone just around the corner from where you are.”
“And where are you now?” Seth asked patiently.
“I’m following him.”
Seth cursed, long and loudly. He saw Lachlan shake his head in sympathy. Clearly, Brooks had patched January through to him as well.
“I’m not stupid,” she bit back. “I’m keeping him in sight, but not letting him see me. But, I was hoping you could get down here fast-ish, 007.”
Seth took another breath. He trusted January. She was smart, and she wouldn’t do anything rash. And she trusted him to come for her.
“Okay, hellcat. Don’t engage. I’m on my way.”
He could almost hear her smile across the line. “Hurry. Uh, and there are lots of plants already growing in here, so watch out.”
Seth met Lachlan’s gaze. “Let’s move.”
His friend nodded and barked out orders to the team.
Together, the team pulled back. They ran from cover to cover, and rounded the corner. He spotted the construction zone ahead.
“Kelleson is in the tunnel with the sphere,” Seth told them.
“How do you know?” Blair asked.
“January’s following him.”
Blair shook her head, grinning. “Damn, I like her.”
Lachlan was smiling. “I’m just glad someone else is suffering the hassle I went through when Rowan was in danger.”
Seth ignored them. They moved through the fence and fanned out. Several pieces of construction equipment filled the area, and on
e small digger was still running. The workers had evacuated quickly.
Ahead, the mouth of the large tunnel loomed.
Seth noticed a tangle of vines and plants already on the right-hand side, running into the tunnel. He lifted his weapon and entered the darkness.
The inside of the tunnel was lit with lights for the workers. His team’s boots made the quietest steps on the concrete. Then he heard gunfire ahead, and his chest locked.
He touched his ear. “January?”
“I’m okay. Kelleson spotted me. Tell me you’re close.”
“I’m close.”
He picked up speed. A side tunnel speared off to the left, shrouded in darkness. He ignored it, keeping his gaze focused on the main tunnel.
“Hellcat, hang on a second—”
Vegetation burst out of the side tunnel.
“Watch out!” Lachlan yelled.
“Fuck.” Blair whipped her rifle around and fired.
Seth opened fire. Damn, this plant growth was even more out of control. The entire team fired, lighting up the tunnel.
Suddenly, a vine snapped out and curled around Seth’s ankles. It shifted, almost pulling him off his feet. He yanked his knife off his belt, stooped down, and slashed the vine away.
When he looked over, Lachlan was covered in vines, struggling against them. Blair and Callie were back to back, firing at anything that moved. Axel was slashing with two knives, his moves fast and deadly. Smith reached over one shoulder and pulled something off his back.
What the hell? Seth frowned at the unfamiliar-looking weapon.
Smith aimed it and suddenly flames spewed everywhere.
Seth held a palm up against the wave of heat. Damn, it was a flamethrower.
As Smith moved the weapon from side to side, the vegetation burned and shrank. Seth raced over to Lachlan, cutting him free.
Seth stepped back, both of them eyeing Smith’s flamethrower. The big man shut it off.
“Thanks, Smith,” Lachlan said.
“Only you would bring a flamethrower to a gunfight,” Seth said.
Smith shrugged. “Ty asked me to test it out.”
“I want to test it out.” Blair eyed the weapon.
Then an angry feminine voice echoed from deeper in the tunnel. It was followed by a man’s shout.
January.
Seth broke into a run.
“You have to stop this,” January shouted.
Kelleson held up the sphere. It was no longer connected to the amplifying device, but that hadn’t slowed down the vegetation still filling the tunnel.
The man backed up a few steps, moving closer to a large boring machine ahead. Other construction equipment also sat nearby.
Come on, Seth. Hurry it up.
“This is the right thing to do.” Kelleson’s impassioned voice echoed in the tunnel. “I’m saving the world for the generations to come.”
“The artifact is too dangerous.” She could see the vines twisting together. They were increasing in speed.
“L.A. is just the beginning. I’ll bring down cities all across the country, and then the world. We’ll let the farms and forests grow.”
“You’ll throw the entire country into chaos.”
Any time now, 007. Where the hell was Team 52?
“But something new will rise from the ashes,” Kelleson insisted.
January sidled closer to some of the construction equipment. She saw a crate of small pieces of pipe and reached in slowly. She pulled one out, testing its weight.
Then she darted toward Kelleson, hefting the pipe overhead.
His eyes widened. “What the—?”
She swung. The pipe cracked into his shoulder and he cried out.
As January pulled back, he rushed at her. He shoved her, and she slammed into the concrete wall. The wind rushed out of her.
“You won’t stop me,” he said.
She looked up and met his eyes. They were obsessed, gleaming with zeal.
For a second, fear hit her. But January stiffened. She’d had her life stolen from her once before, and it wasn’t happening again. She was falling in love with a man who fought to keep people safe every day. He’d fought all his life, seen the worst things people did to each other and suffered for it. She wasn’t letting this asshole mess with her bright future.
January swung the pipe again.
It cracked against Kelleson’s arm and he cried out, dropping the sphere. It rolled slowly across the concrete floor.
“No!” He grabbed a handful of January’s shirt.
They grappled, stumbling down the tunnel. Where the hell was Seth? She prayed he’d arrive any second now. Kelleson spun her around.
That’s when January saw the gaping hole in the darkness ahead.
Her stomach dropped. There was a large shaft leading downward, just a few feet in front of them.
And the sphere was rolling toward it.
“Watch out!” she yelled.
A light lit Kelleson’s eyes. He swung her closer to the edge of the shaft.
One of January’s feet slipped over the edge. She stumbled, clamping her hands onto Kelleson.
He started prying her fingers off him.
She struggled, trying to get her foot back on solid ground.
“You won’t get to see my plan come to fruition.”
“Oh, shut up, Kelleson. You’re a crazy megalomaniac, not a savior or hero. The real heroes are on the way here, and they will stop you. They do hard work every day in order to do the right thing and keep people safe. The right thing for everyone, not just for themselves.”
“Enough.” He shook her violently.
January’s other foot slipped, and she screamed, gripping onto Kelleson.
He was the only thing holding her upright over the shaft. He swore, almost lurching forward and toppling them both over the edge.
Then his eyes widened. January turned her head and spotted the jade sphere rolling toward the edge of the hole.
There was a flash of movement and she saw Team 52 and Seth rushing toward them, weapons up. Thank God.
Kelleson was so focused on the sphere, he didn’t notice them. “No!”
He let January go.
Oh, shit. Her hands were wrenched off him and she dived for the edge.
Her hands hit, one closing over the sphere. But she couldn’t find any purchase. She slipped back into the shaft.
Falling backward, she pulled the sphere to her chest, her free arm windmilling.
“January!” Seth’s face twisted as he sprinted toward her. His shout echoed around her.
Then she fell down into the darkness.
Chapter Nineteen
Fucking hell. Seth raced toward the shaft. “January!”
He saw Kelleson drop down on his belly, reaching out as January and the sphere fell into the chasm.
“No!” Kelleson yelled.
Seth didn’t give a shit about the sphere. His chest was locked tight, and all he could see was January falling into the blackness. No. Dammit, no. Pure agony ripped through him. His boots hit the edge.
Arms gripped him on either side, holding him back. He saw Lachlan and Smith. He jerked against them, trying to break free.
“Let me go!” His voice was hoarse.
His gaze locked on January, his heart clenching in his chest.
Suddenly, she managed to grab hold of a narrow scaffolding board that was stretched across the expanse of the shaft. She hung there, swaying.
“Fuck.” The air shuddered out of him.
As he watched, she hauled herself up and clamped her arms and legs onto the board.
Then she sat up and shot them a thumbs up.
“Awesome,” Blair said.
“She’s okay,” Lachlan said.
Blair was clearly impressed, but Seth’s heart was hammering.
“That belongs to me,” Kelleson yelled into the shaft.
“You.” Lachlan, looking very unhappy, took a step toward the tech billionaire.
He slowly rose.
Then the crazy fucker jumped.
“Dammit.” Lachlan lurched forward to grab Kelleson, but missed.
Seth hissed out a breath, and his teammates all swore.
They all watched as Kelleson fell. He hit the same scaffold as January, gripping onto it. He sent the plank rocking.
Dammit. Seth watched January shake, desperately trying to hold on to both the bucking piece of wood and the sphere.
Seth watched as Kelleson pushed himself up to stand on the board. He put his arms out for balance, and started walking toward January.
The bastard. Seth’s jaw locked. “Smith.”
“On it.” Smith raised his rifle, staring down the scope.
January stood as well, staring at Kelleson defiantly. She tucked the sphere down the front of her shirt.
“You got a shot?” Seth asked.
Smith shook his head. “Angle’s bad. I might clip January.”
“We need to get down there,” Seth said.
“There’s a ladder over here,” Blair called out, pointing to the edge of the shaft.
Seth ran over and spotted the ladder built into the side of the shaft. It disappeared down into the darkness. He swung his rifle over his shoulder, spun, and started climbing down.
“I’m coming, hellcat,” he yelled.
“Speed it up, 007,” she yelled back.
Seth shook his head. Only January could make him want to smile in the middle of a fucked-up situation like this. Nothing stopped that woman.
He reached the scaffold plank and turned. Kelleson was close to January.
Seth stepped out carefully.
“It won’t take all our weight,” Lachlan said from behind him.
Seth didn’t care. He kept moving.
“Give it to me!” Kelleson’s shout echoed off the shaft walls.
The man lunged at January. She jumped back, setting the plank rocking.
Shit. Seth bent his knees to keep his balance.
Looking through the gloom, he spotted another scaffold plank nearby. It was several feet away.