by Anna Hackett
“If she sets foot outside the Enclave, Squad Three is with her.” Levi didn’t give a fuck what the orders were.
The general scowled. “I give the orders around here, King.”
Chrissy stood, her glare white-hot on Levi. “You have no claim over me.”
“Yes, I fucking do,” he goaded her. He sure as hell wasn’t shy or discreet. He was more than happy to tell people exactly what they’d done on that Hunter if he had to.
An annoyed look dominated her face, and she crossed her arms over her chest. Levi could feel his squad mates staring at him, no doubt wondering what the hell he was doing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ash looking at the ceiling and trying to hide a smile. He was doing a piss-poor job of it.
“We’d like to protect Chrissy,” Tane said.
Holmes nodded. “Fine. Plan it out. Get us an alien vehicle.”
The meeting was over and the crowd started to disperse.
Chrissy shot Levi a look that should set him on fire and stomped toward the door.
“If you’re trying to get into her bunk,” Tane said in a bland tone, “this is a fucked-up way of going about it.”
“She is pissed,” Ash added cheerfully.
Levi didn’t care. She’d be protected, no matter what. “She sets foot outside this base, the berserkers have her back.”
Tane nodded. “Okay, so let’s plan this sabotage mission.”
Chapter Eight
Twenty-four hours later, Levi was still stewing over Chrissy and the mission. He slammed his locker door closed with a loud bang that didn’t soothe any of his dissatisfaction.
He’d helped Tane plan the mission. It was a typical, slightly crazy berserker mission…and he didn’t want Chrissy anywhere near it.
He lifted his carbine and checked it over with practiced ease. He was still shirtless, but decked out in his lower-body armor, carbon fiber molded over his cargo pants.
He was taking Chrissy into enemy territory, to sabotage and steal an alien vehicle. Fuck.
Memories drifted into his head, just as they had when he’d been lying alone in his bed last night. Chrissy, gloriously naked, bent over that Hunter. Her tight little body taking him, and her cries echoing in his ears.
Levi blew out a breath and focused. All around him in their squad locker room, his squad mates were getting prepped. Tane and Ash were already in full armor, checking their weapons. Dom was sitting quietly in the corner, checking his knives. Hemi was still slapping armor on. Griff was mostly naked. Levi’s gaze snagged on the man’s bare back and some wicked scars. A ragged one ran down beside the man’s spine, before heading for his side. Levi guessed he’d gotten it in prison. It was hard for a cop to survive on the other side, trapped among the people they’d helped send to prison. But Levi knew that Griff was tough to the bone—and he’d gone inside well-trained and knowing what to expect.
Chrissy wasn’t trained. She was going out there and had to know there was a chance she’d end up dead or captured.
Levi grabbed his upper armor and slammed it into place.
“Bro, you need to dial the anger down a notch.” Ash appeared beside him.
“Not gonna happen.”
His best friend rolled his eyes. “We’ll take care of her. I know you’re interested in her, but from the way she glares at you, I don’t think you’re in, yet.”
“I was in when I was balls deep inside her,” Levi growled. Shit, he could still taste and smell her. She was the prettiest, freshest, and sexiest thing he’d ever had. She stood up to him at every turn, challenged him, and sure as hell lit a firestorm inside him.
Ash’s eyebrows rose. “She slept with you?”
Levi smiled darkly. “There was no sleeping, brother.” Then his smile dissolved. “Once. It was one wild, angry fuck. I want more.” A lot more.
“Let’s roll,” Tane called out, swinging his carbine over his shoulder.
Everyone grabbed their weapons, and together, the berserkers headed out into the corridor.
A woman ran up the hall, almost skipping. Marin made a beeline for Ash and leaped into the air, trusting him to catch her. Levi watched his friend catch his woman and swing her in close for a kiss.
“Be careful out there,” Marin said.
“I will,” Ash promised, his gaze soft.
Levi felt his shoulders tighten. He wondered what it was like to have someone who truly gave a damn whether you lived or died.
“Hello, ladies,” Indy drawled through their earpieces. “I’m testing our comm line, and then it’s time to get your mighty fine, armor-clad asses on a Hawk.”
Griff growled. “That woman has no respect.”
When they turned into the Hawk hangar, Levi saw maintenance team members rushing around and prepping the lead Hawk. The quadcopter was made of dull, gray metal, with four shrouded rotors. Fast, maneuverable, and tough, they’d been the backbone of humanity’s fight against the aliens.
But Levi’s eyes barely took the Hawk in before settling on the redhead waiting beside it.
She was wearing armor, and talking with Taylor, one of the Squad Nine soldiers. The other woman was talking intently, giving Chrissy tips or a lecture—Levi couldn’t be sure. When Taylor lifted her head and spotted the berserkers, she quickly leaned forward and hugged Chrissy, before she hurried away.
As Levi reached her, Chrissy turned to face him and lifted her chin. She looked composed and calm, with several tools strapped to her belt. Cool as a fucking ice cube.
“Ready, Chrissy?” Tane asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she answered.
The side door of the Hawk slid open, and a man’s face appeared, topped by pale, shaggy hair. “Welcome to Erickson Air. I’m Finn, and I’ll be your pilot today.”
Finn Erickson, Hawk pilot extraordinaire, smiled at them. When his gaze fell on Chrissy, his smile widened.
Levi frowned. The man was lucky that Levi knew he had his own redhead—Lia from the drone team.
As the others climbed aboard, Levi grabbed Chrissy’s arm. She looked back at him.
“I’ve got something for you,” he said.
She shot him a suspicious look. “You have nothing I want.”
He gripped her arm more firmly and she tugged against his hold. He pulled her close and caught her scent. Something sweet with an undertone of the engine oil from the Hunters. He liked it.
“Now I know you’re lying. I bet if I stripped that armor off you, your hard nipples and damp panties would prove you wrong.”
Her eyes flared. “Screw you—”
“You already did. You still feel me between your legs, Spitfire?”
Chrissy straightened. “We have a mission.”
“We do. And I’ll keep you safe out there.”
“I can look after myself, King.”
“I know.” He handed over the laser pistol he’d grabbed for her. “This is for you. It’s probably a little too big for you, but I know you can handle it. It packs a punch, just like you do.”
She stared at the weapon.
“Just in case,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said grudgingly, as she took it.
“It’s all charged up. Just point and shoot.”
She nodded. “I haven’t used this particular model before, but I’ve done some shooting in the past.”
“Good.”
Together, they turned to the Hawk. Levi gripped her waist and lifted her aboard. He leaped in after her, and watched her strap into a seat.
His gaze went to the cramped back of the Hawk. Two of the modified bikes they used were crammed in the back—his and Tane’s. A second Hawk would be dropping off Dom’s and Griff’s. These bikes had little in common with the Harleys and custom rides he’d worked on before the invasion. These babies were covered in armor-plating and weapons.
Soon, the squad was settled and Finn’s voice came from the cockpit.
“Everyone, please take your seats, and strap in or find a handhold. We’re all
out of peanuts and pretzels, and the flight attendants will not be around to serve drinks, but sit back and enjoy the ride anyway.”
Seconds later, the quadcopter lifted off, traveling up through a vertical tube cut into the rock. Then, they cleared the opening and there was nothing around them but blue sky.
As the Hawk turned and zoomed forward, Tane turned to face them. He was standing, holding a handhold above his head.
“I’m gonna recap this once more. We’re heading to a road that we know the alien vehicles patrol, just north of here. It’s secluded and surrounded by trees. They usually pass through pretty fast and don’t stop.”
Levi knew that there was something in the trees that the raptors reacted to and disliked. The geek squad was still trying to work out exactly what that was. They knew the alien canid dogs hated cedar oil, but still hadn’t determined what affected the raptors.
“Let’s go over the steps again,” Tane said. “We find a spot on the road and dig a hole in the center. Like a hunting blind that we can camouflage.”
And like hunters, they’d wait patiently inside for their prey.
“Chrissy, Levi, and Hemi will hide inside,” Tane continued. “The rest of us have the job of making sure an alien vehicle stops right over the hole.”
“How?” Chrissy asked.
It was Dom who leaned forward, his dark eyes as black as night. The slightest smile tilted his lips. “Explosives.”
Chrissy shook her head. “Right. The berserkers don’t do anything subtly, do they?”
Tane ignored her muttered comment. “Once we get the vehicle stopped, Chrissy pops up beneath it, and works her magic to sabotage it. Those of us providing the distraction will take off on the bikes into the trees. We want the aliens to follow us, and willingly abandon the vehicle that’s not working. We can’t have them knowing that we have appropriated it.”
There were nods all around.
“Coming up to the landing zone,” Finn called out.
Levi watched Chrissy’s hands clench together. Now, he could see the hints of nerves. She was heading back into alien-controlled territory. She knew there was a chance she could be captured again.
Her gaze flicked up and she spotted him watching her. She lifted her chin.
She’d do it. There was steel under those curves, a confidence he found irresistible, a courage that scared the shit out of him. There was no way she was going to let the aliens win.
And Levi was going to make sure she was back, safe and sound, in the Enclave by nightfall.
Chrissy’s boots hit dirt, and she glanced back at the hovering quadcopter, watching the rest of the berserkers leap off with practiced ease.
Her borrowed armor felt awkward and unfamiliar, but from the scars and scratches on the men’s gear, she knew wearing armor was as familiar as breathing for them.
The second Hawk appeared, hovering beside the first one, and the berserkers worked fast, setting up makeshift ramps and rolling the bikes out. She’d seen the big, modified bikes loads of times, parked in a corner of the Hunter hangar. But she’d never seen them in action.
As the Hawks lifted off in a silent gust of air, she felt a rush of nerves. This was it. Even if she wanted to, it was too late to change her mind. She wasn’t safe behind the sturdy walls of the Enclave.
Swallowing hard, she took in their surroundings. Trees, a dirt road, and overgrown grass growing through a tumbled-down wire fence. It was too easy to remember the raptors chasing her through several yards of abandoned houses. She’d almost lost them, but they’d caught her scaling a fence. Her gloved fingers curled. Right now, she felt horribly exposed. Her chest tightened, and she tried to drag in some breaths. She so didn’t need a panic attack right now.
A raptor isn’t going to jump out from behind a tree, Chrissy.
She fingered her tools. Besides, she was surrounded by berserkers. She let her gaze linger on each one of them. Tane scanned around with his composed face. Beside him, Hemi stood, cradling his carbine and smiling. But she didn’t miss the serious glint in his dark eyes. Griff had already sat on his bike, his gaze on the trees. Dom stood just behind Griff, and was turning a knife over in his gloved hand.
Then she looked at Ash and Levi. It was almost possible to sense the closeness between the two men. She’d heard they’d grown up like brothers, and had run the Iron Kings together. They had a slightly different edge to the other berserkers. One that said they fought hard and partied harder.
“Squad Three,” Indy’s voice came over the comm line. “You have thirty minutes until the alien vehicles are due.”
“Acknowledged,” Tane murmured.
“Helmet on.” Levi appeared and brushed the neck of her armor. The retractable helmet slid into place, covering her hair.
“Thanks.” She could do this. She was determined to do this. To give the survivors—to give Max—a chance.
She heard a rustling noise in the grass and she started. She turned to see a kangaroo jump out of the trees. It stared at them for a moment, then it bounded over the broken fence and hopped away.
Her shoulders sagged.
“Hey.” Levi cupped her chin and tilted it up. “You’ve got this.”
She swallowed. “I know. Just some bad memories resurfacing.”
He stroked her cheek. “I’m not letting any alien fucker close to you. And I’m definitely not letting them take you.”
Something inside her trembled. It had been a long time since someone had looked out for her. Even before the invasion, she’d worked hard to pull her weight at the garage, and prove herself to her dad and make things easier for him. The rest of the time she’d spent cleaning up her sister’s messes.
Levi could be infuriating sometimes, but on this, she believed him one-hundred percent.
“You’ve got the pistol I gave you,” he said. “That’s backup if you need it. But I’m going to do my best to make sure you don’t.”
Damn, she hated when he was nice and thoughtful. “Thanks. Levi…I mean it.”
Suddenly, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t a long or deep kiss, and before she could react, he lifted his head. “You’ve got this.”
God, had Levi King just comforted her? She nodded and glanced at the others. Jeez, they were all avidly watching them. Of course, these were men who made no pretense at having manners or tact. Tane’s face was its usual blank mask, Griff and Dom looked curious, and Ash and Hemi were flat-out grinning.
“Okay,” Tane said, swinging a leg over his bike. “Mount up. We’ll ride along the road until we find the best place for an ambush.”
Hemi climbed on behind his brother, Ash sat behind Griff, and Dom was solo on his own bike. Levi climbed on his bike with a flex of his thighs and patted the seat behind him.
“You’re with me, babe.”
She climbed on, refusing to admit she was a teeny bit excited to ride the bike. “Don’t ‘babe’ me.” She gingerly gripped his armor-clad body.
Levi revved the engine. “You’d better hold on tighter than that.”
She saw Tane speed away, the others following. A cloud of dust rose into the air. Apparently, the berserkers didn’t do slow. She tightened her hold.
And Levi took off.
Chrissy clamped her arms around him, the wind rushing into her face.
Oh. God.
Exhilaration filled her. She loved the safety of the Enclave, but she had to admit, she missed the wind in her face sometimes. And the chance to move.
Levi took a corner fast, leaning them into the turn, and she leaned with him. They caught up with the others, the engine of the big bike throbbing beneath them. She tightened her legs on Levi, feeling the heat of his hard body.
Soon, Tane pulled them to a stop on a straight stretch of the road shadowed by trees.
Levi braked hard and Chrissy was pushed against him. He turned the bike off and glanced back at her.
Chrissy just sat there, her skin warm and her body humming.
His
eyes widened. “Fuck. Don’t look at me like that.”
She swallowed. “I can’t help it.”
He lowered his voice. “Your panties wet?”
“None of your business.”
“They are,” he growled.
They were. And her nipples were hard nubs against her armor.
He leaned closer, his warm breath brushing her cheek. “Well, I can’t take you for another bike ride safely outside, but when we get back, I’ll let you climb on and ride me.”
Her pulse stuttered. She had a clear mental image of him stretched out beneath her, with her riding him hard and taking that big cock deep. She blew out a breath. “I doubt that would be quite as much fun.”
His white teeth flashed. “Liar.”
“Shovels out,” Tane called out. “Let’s dig.”
Chrissy climbed off the bike, forcing her mind onto the mission. At least her fear had receded. The men took a moment to debate the right spot in the center of the dirt road. Chrissy stayed on the sidelines, watching them work together. They might be rough, but they were a team. She suspected this was a side to the berserkers that most people in the Enclave never saw, or wouldn’t even guess existed.
Griff and Dom started digging with the sonic shovels, carving into the hard-packed road. After a few minutes, they swapped with Ash and Levi. She watched the flex of muscles in Levi’s arms as he worked.
Instantly, she wanted him again. Her system was fully revved. When she got back to the Enclave, she’d have to see Liberty. The general’s partner was the person in charge of the underground market of beauty products, condoms, and apparently vibrators. Chrissy closed her eyes for a second. God. Focus, Chrissy.
“Guys, the alien convoy is getting close,” Indy said. “Ten minutes. And you have three vehicles incoming.”
“Three?” Tane said, his voice unhappy. “It’s usually two. Why the change?”
“I don’t know, boss-man.”
“Any sign they know we’re here?”
“Not that I can detect.”
Tane nodded at the rectangular hole they were digging. “Speed it up. We’ll have company soon.”
The men finished digging the hole. It was narrow, running along the road, and only a couple of meters long. It was just deep enough for three people to sit in. It reminded Chrissy of the old mechanic pit back at her father’s garage.