Roth(Hell Squad 5)

by Anna Hackett

  Captain Scott’s hand gripped her weapon. Her team kept their weapons aimed.

  Marcus touched his ear. “Say again, Elle.”

  Mac was doing the same. “Shit. Arden says she’s picking up something.”

  Suddenly, someone yelled, “Alien bugs!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Avery swiveled and aimed her laser pistol. Instantly, she saw the swarm of giant bugs descending on them.

  “There are more of them,” someone shouted.

  She turned her head and saw another dark, moving cloud in the sky.

  Roth stepped closer to her and on the other side, Mac moved in. The others from Nine, Hell Squad, and the Enclave soldiers all moved together.

  “Aim for the wings,” Roth roared. “Let’s take them down.”

  “Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” Marcus yelled.

  “Hell, yeah,” Hell Squad answered. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”

  Carbines opened fire. Avery blocked everything else out of her mind, and focused on the aliens. They flittered and dodged the weapons’ fire. One got through, and slammed into the female soldier from Hell Squad. She went down shouting, and Avery saw two of her squad members leap onto the bug to yank it off her.

  Avery kept firing and the bug she was aiming at wobbled and fell from the sky.

  Bug bodies were dropping, littering the ground with their corpses.

  But for every dozen they killed, one managed to get through.

  One insect had sunk its mandibles into Captain Scott’s uniform, and was dragging the woman across the ground. She was slamming her boot into its face, but it was tenaciously holding on.

  “Kate!” Nikolai yelled.

  Roth shouldered one of the Enclave soldiers out of the way. He yanked out his knife, leapt over a dead bug, and landed right beside Scott and the alien.

  Avery’s heart hammered. She knelt, focusing her fire on anything trying to get to Roth.

  He plunged the knife into the bug, two, three times. It gave an ear-splitting squeal and released the captain.

  Roth grabbed her by the back of her armor and dragged her back to their group.

  “Help! Help me.”

  Avery turned…and saw Howell in the grip of a bug.

  It was flapping its wings, its sharp mandibles clamped around his midsection.

  She hesitated. He’d done terrible things, to her, to others.

  But the faces of his boys flashed through her head. Bastian’s face, and his lonely pain of being without his parents. Her own face, living without family. Howell might be crap, but his boys didn’t deserve to suffer. Avery would have taken a drug-addict mother over no mother anytime.

  She marched forward, firing at the bug. It jerked, twisting in the air. Howell was kicking his arms and legs, trying to twist loose.

  She got close enough to reach out one hand. “Howell!”

  He gripped her fingers. She grabbed on and aimed around him to fire at the bug’s huge, faceted eyes. She kept her finger on the trigger. Then the gun clicked impotently, and the laser cut off. The charge was depleted.

  “No.” She tugged on Howell’s hand, trying to pull him free.

  But the bug recovered, and with a flap of his wings, it rose.

  Taking Howell with it.

  Howell didn’t make a sound. His wide, terrified eyes met Avery’s, and his mouth opened with a silent scream. His fingers slipped through hers.

  She tried to hold on, but with a hard yank, the bug flew free with its prey.

  “No,” Avery cried.

  Arms wrapped around her. She leaned into Roth and watched the bug fly off with Howell, a few of its fellow survivors following right behind.

  “I couldn’t just let it take him,” she said, her voice thick. “I tried. For those boys inside, I tried.”

  Roth ran a hand over her hair. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

  The quadcopters appeared, hovering in the sky above them. The Enclave members collectively gasped.

  “That’s our ride,” Roth said.

  Avery wanted nothing more than a hot shower, and to fall into bed and curl up in Roth’s arms. Oh, and to sleep for about twelve hours straight.

  Nikolai and Captain Scott stepped forward.

  “Thank you,” Nikolai said. “After what Howell just tried to do, you could have killed us and left the others for the aliens.”

  “Not my style, Ivanov,” Roth said. “Not that I’m that cut up about Howell. We really came here to see if we could join forces. This is who we should be fighting.” He kicked the body of an alien bug. “Not each other.”

  “If your base is no longer viable,” Captain Scott said, her dark eyes glittering, “you come here.”

  “Kate—” Nikolai began.

  “No more debates and discussions, Niko. Howell’s gone. We’ve been questioning everything he’s told us, everything he’s done, for a long time now.” She straightened, her gaze meeting Roth’s and Avery’s. “I never agreed with Howell, but I tried to do my job. I’ve always had the best interests of the Enclave’s residents at heart. If the residents of Blue Mountain Base need a home, then the Enclave is open to them.”

  Roth held out a hand. “Thank you. I think if we pool our people and our resources, we can make things safer for everybody.”

  The captain shook his hand. “And if you need more soldiers, I have no doubt most of my team would be eager to be a part of your war on the aliens.” She shifted her rifle. “I’ll be first in line.”

  Avery watched Roth smile.

  “We always need good people,” Roth said. “And Hell Squad here needs a little competition to keep them on their toes.”

  From nearby, Shaw made a scoffing noise. “Dream on, Masters.”

  “Shaw, maybe you and I should have a little challenge in the gym when we get back?” Mac called out.

  Shaw rolled his eyes. “Like hell, Mac. You come down to the weapons range and we’ll have a shooting match. But no way am I letting you beat me up on the mats. You have a black belt in badass. I don’t need a black eye and broken ribs to believe it.”

  “We should arrange a secure comms line between our bases,” Roth said to Captain Scott. “So we can stay in touch.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  Avery turned to Nikolai. “Bastian…he helped us contact our team. He wants to come to Blue Mountain Base.”

  Nikolai sighed. “After what Howell did to Evelyn and Hugo…I don’t really blame him. I’ll have him brought out here. I think that’s safer than your quadcopters landing right on top of the Enclave.” He hesitated. “I’d like to talk with him first.”

  Avery still wasn’t sure taking him with them was the right thing to do, but they’d promised.

  Sometime later, the boy rushed out of the plant, his hair disheveled. He had a bulging backpack slung over his shoulder. Nikolai gripped his shoulders and the two had a quick, intense talk. Finally, Nikolai nodded and stepped back.

  Bastian jogged over. “I’m coming.”

  Roth nodded. “Sienna, can you take care of our guest, please?”

  The female soldier stepped forward. “Hey, Bastian. Ever ridden in a quadcopter?” She held out a hand.

  The young boy took her hand and followed her.

  Roth brushed at Avery’s hair. “Let’s go home.”

  Home. Avery held on tight to him, and nodded. She’d always imagined home to be this imaginary place—a cute house, with a fence and a dog in the yard. Somewhere warm and cozy and inviting. Now, with Roth, she realized home wasn’t a place.

  For her, home had become the man in her arms.

  ***

  Noah

  Noah Kim sat on the edge of his desk and tapped his comp screen. He studied the base monitoring system and saw red lights blinking. Hell, the ventilation system was playing up again. He scowled. More problems to fix.

  The rest of his tech team were already out working on jobs, so he’d have to sort this one out himself.

  His comp pinged and he
answered the incoming message. “Kim.”

  “Hi, Noah, it’s Elle. Squad Six and Squad Nine are on their way back.”

  “They find Roth and Avery?”

  “Yes. Everyone’s okay. Apparently they’re bringing a young boy back with them. Roth thinks he’ll give you a run for your money in the tech department.” There was a smile in her voice.

  Noah snorted. “Oh, yeah. I have a malfunctioning ventilation system he can fix.”

  “And Roth collected data on this Enclave with that mini-drone you gave him.”

  That made Noah sit up. He’d tweaked the mini-drone programming and wanted to see how much it had improved performance.

  “Be at the debrief in thirty minutes,” Elle added.

  “See you there.” Noah slid into his chair and as he did, his gaze caught on the stack of notes and blueprints in the center of his desk. Plans for Operation Swift Wind. He let out a long breath. There was a lot of work to do for the evac plan, and a hell of a lot of that work fell to him. They needed power, operational engines, illusion systems. He raked a hand through his hair. Pressure was a heavy load on his shoulders. The lives of hundreds of people depended on him.

  Noah closed his eyes. Hell, he had more pressure now than when he’d run a million-dollar tech company. Everyone had wanted a piece of him then too. Well, his money anyway.

  His ex-wife most of all. Nothing like realizing the woman who’d professed to love you loved your bank balance more.

  In a way, he was thankful for the alien invasion. It had stripped away the bullshit. People were their real selves. What car you drove, or clothes you wore, or how much money you had didn’t matter anymore.

  He reached back and grabbed a pair of dice off the shelf where his collection sat. His grandmother had been obsessed with her belief in luck. He rolled the small cubes between his fingers. She’d bought him his first set of dice when he was eight and he’d been collecting them ever since. He’d envied her that deep, abiding belief that selecting the right number, or positioning her furniture the right way would bring her luck in life.

  Noah set the dice back on the shelf. He’d learned the hard way that Lady Luck was a bitch and you worked to make your own luck.

  The comp lab door slammed open.

  Captain Laura Bladon stood in the doorway—all neatly-pressed uniform, stern face and red hair tamed in a braid. Noah groaned. Captain Dragon had left her lair to breathe fire his way.

  Her strides were stiff and her eyes were blazing. “The ventilation in the prison cells isn’t working, Kim. And the comp system keeps freezing up. I need them fixed and you’re in here daydreaming.”

  Noah counted to three. “No. I’m working.” He waved at the whiteboard on the wall nearby listing all the tech team’s jobs. “I’ve got comps to fix, an evac plan to work on, data from Masters to analyze. Get in line, Captain Dragon.”

  “Do not call me that. I have prisoners who need constraining and interrogating. I need our systems operational to do that.”

  God, his blood was boiling. This woman seemed capable of driving him to the edge with just a few words. “Like I said, get in line.”

  If her ears could steam, they would be now. Noah smothered a smile. Damn, he did enjoy riling her.

  She was all spit and polish in those starched uniforms of hers. Such a contrast to the vibrant red of her hair. He wondered if she was as buttoned up underneath, or if there was fire simmering quietly.

  That made Noah straighten like he’d gotten an electric shock. He had no interest in getting burned by Laura Bladon, one way or another. Absolutely not.

  She slapped her palms on his desk. “Fix my comp system, Kim.” She spun on her polished boots and strode out.

  Noah looked at the door, then the work on his desk before tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. Yep, Lady Luck just loved seeing him suffer.

  ***

  “So Howell’s dead,” General Holmes said.

  “Yes, sir.” Roth stood, his hands resting in the small of his back as he finished debriefing the general. Beside him, he could see Avery wilting before his eyes. They needed a shower and bed. Soon.

  In the corner of the conference room, Bastian was curled up in a chair, asleep. Roth had already asked Arden to get Santha and her team to check if they’d ever run across the boy’s parents.

  “Howell was taken by the alien bugs,” Avery said. “We tried to stop them…I mean, he wasn’t a good man, but I don’t think anyone deserves that.”

  Roth saw the flash of pain in her face. Knew she was thinking of Howell’s kids.

  “You’re too kind, Avery,” Marcus growled. “I say the man got exactly what he deserved.”

  “The leaders of the Enclave, Ivanov and Captain Scott, said we’re welcome if we need somewhere to go,” Roth added.

  “Is it a viable option?” the general asked.

  Roth nodded. “They’re well set up. Sunlight system, decorated tunnels, large living quarters, and they have this area they call the Garden.”

  “It’s open to the air, at the top of the escarpment and protected by an illusion system,” Avery said. “Vegetable gardens, trees, flowers. It’s beautiful.”

  “I used the mini-drone to collect data.” Roth held out his tablet and turned to Noah sitting at the conference table. “Figured you’d like this.”

  Noah took it with a nod. “I’ll pull all the data off and see what we can see. How’d the mini-drone do?”

  “Whatever tweaks you did, it worked perfectly.” Roth turned back to the others. “Howell was running the place with a mix of fear and benevolence. I think Ivanov and Scott will do a better job. If we have to evac there, it might be a tight squeeze, but it’d be doable.”

  The general sank back in his chair. “That’s if we can even get there.”

  They were all silent. Roth knew moving almost a thousand people hundreds of kilometers while being hunted by aliens wouldn’t be easy.

  “I’ve stepped up preparations on Operation Swift Wind.” Holmes rubbed the frown line between his eyebrows. “We’re still sourcing and outfitting vehicles. And our first evacuation drill is tomorrow. I want everyone ready, in case we have to leave.”

  “I really, really hope the aliens don’t attack,” Avery said. “We might catch a break.”

  Roth hoped that was true, but he had that prickle at the back of his neck. That one he got whenever a mission was about to go bad.

  Holmes nodded, his eyes looking incredibly old. “Let’s hope so, but we’ll be ready if they do.”

  Suddenly, the door slammed open and a wild-eyed woman with dark hair raced in. A tall man appeared behind her, his gaze searching the room.

  They both spied the sleeping boy at the same moment. “Bastian!” the woman cried.

  Roth’s heart clenched and Avery grabbed his hand. They watched Bastian blink awake and then spot the couple. He froze, his face crumpling. “Mum? Dad?”

  The couple moved, but Bastian was faster. He flew toward them and launched himself into their arms.

  God, it looked like the kid had received a miracle. Roth smiled, and Avery leaned her head into him. He would have given his soul to have his parents and Gwen back. He looked around the room and damned if even Marcus didn’t look moved by the sight of the sobbing boy and his parents.

  Santha appeared in the doorway, her dark hair tied back in a ponytail. She spied the family and smiled. “I see they found him. They only arrived here a day ago. They’ve been resting and I was planning to debrief them on where they’d come from, and what they’d seen.”

  Roth nodded. “They might have more useful information on the Enclave.” He watched the couple hugging Bastian hard. He understood how important it was to hold onto your loved ones and never let them go. “But let’s give them some time first.” Roth cleared his throat. “Sir, Avery and I have had a really long twenty-four hours.”

  Holmes waved his hand. “Go. Get some rest.”

  Rest was on the list, but so were a few other items
. Getting Avery under him again was one of them.

  And convincing her he really was falling in love with her, and to take a risk and be his was another.

  As he followed her out of the conference room, he wondered if facing down aliens might be an easier task.

  ***

  “Roth, I’m almost there. Don’t stop.”

  Avery gripped Roth’s shoulders as he pinned her against the tiles in his small shower. His cock was already lodged deep inside her and he was moving hard and fast.

  The water pounded over them and Avery was lost in the rush of sensations. Roth’s hard body, the warm water, the cool tiles and the hammering of his heart where his chest was pressed to hers.

  Another thrust and her orgasm ripped through her. She screamed his name, and a second later, he thrust deep and held himself there as he came.

  Spent, she dropped her head to his shoulder. She was dimly aware of him turning the shower off and carrying her to the bed.

  He sat down, lay back, and pulled her on top of him. She settled in. She could definitely get used to using him as her personal pillow. She’d always thought she loved sleeping alone, but Roth was proving her wrong.

  A hand stroked through her hair, and she pressed her lips to his neck. Lazily, she nipped at him.

  “Hey, no hickeys.” With his other hand, he swatted her butt. The gentle slap turned into a caress. “You’re mine, Avery. You’ve accused me of macho alpha male shit…and I am an alpha male.” A fierce growl. “That means I’m not letting you go. No matter what.”

  Her pulse doubled its pace. She’d never been in love before, but she guessed this breathless, scary, elated feeling she felt when she looked at Roth was it. She admired his strength, his dedication, and she wanted to see him safe and happy.

  “I’m afraid to love you,” she whispered. “What if I lose you?”

  “Hey.” He tugged her head up, so his ice-colored eyes were on hers. “There are no guarantees, sweetheart. Especially in this changed world we live in. But I think it makes it even more important to find the things that matter, and hold on to them real tight.” He cupped her cheek. “I know what it is to lose everything. But I would never trade my time with my family in order to avoid the pain of losing them.” He rubbed his thumb over her lips. “I’m not planning on going anywhere, and knowing you’re here, making my life that little bit better, that’ll make me fight harder, smarter.”