by Anna Hackett
Screw this. Sick of watching and feeling helpless, she started the trike’s engine. Her hands clenched on the controls.
The alien lifted its foot, aiming directly at Levi.
She accelerated fast, the trike shooting forward. She saw Levi’s head snap up. She aimed right at the alien’s other leg.
She dodged some boxes and picked up more speed.
Chrissy rammed into the alien.
The impact was bone-crunching, and she was tossed forward. She looked up and saw the creature teetering.
Fall. Fall. It hung there for a second, swaying slightly back and forth, and started to plummet backwards. Chrissy grinned…until the creature kicked out its leg.
Its huge foot slammed into her vehicle.
The world upended, and she rolled over and over. Chrissy squeezed her eyes shut and ducked her head. Glass smashed with a hard crackle, and she felt a sharp sting on her face, followed by a hard knock to her shoulder.
The trike came to a stop on its roof. Pain throbbed through her and she opened her eyes.
The windshield was completely destroyed, and from what she could see of the trike, it was dented and twisted.
She pulled in a shaky breath. But she was alive, and she was pretty sure nothing was broken. Was Levi okay?
The door was wrenched open with a screech of metal.
Smiling, she looked up, expecting to see Levi.
Dread filled her, and her heart thumped in her chest.
A raptor leaned down and grabbed her armor at the back of her neck. With a grunt, he dragged her out of the vehicle.
Chapter Sixteen
Levi sprayed carbine fire at more incoming raptors. He had to get Chrissy.
“Plan B!” Tane shouted.
Plan B was to blow stuff up and make a mess. They were all carrying small charges with a localized blast radius. The theory being that they could blow shit up and not bring the entire dome and ocean down on their heads.
But right now, Levi didn’t give a fuck about the mission. Chrissy had blazed past like some damn warrior woman and crashed the trike into the damn ogre. Shit. Be okay, Spitfire.
A raptor got close and Levi kicked him, spun under the alien’s swinging arm and jabbed an elbow into the raptor’s chest. Some close-range fire of the carbine, and the enemy was down.
“Ash!”
His best friend spun, face lined with sweat. “I got to get to Chrissy.”
Ash nodded. “Got your back, bro.”
“And Ash? I go down, you promise me you’ll get her out.”
Ash’s eyes flashed. “You aren’t fucking going down.”
“Promise me.”
“Fuck yeah, I’ll get her out,” Ash ground out.
Levi nodded. Ash would never let him down. More raptors charged forward with a thunder of boots. Alien poison sprayed, and Levi ducked it. He crouched down behind some crates. Then he darted out, keeping low, and heading closer to the crashed trike.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ash steadily fighting his way closer to him.
Another ogre roared from nearby. Levi spun and looked up. The creature was batting at its chest. Levi squinted and spotted Dom scaling the creature, ramming his knives into the beast to help him upward.
Fuck. Levi watched Dom climb up onto the ogre’s shoulder, ignoring its clumsy swings. Then he leaped into the air and rammed his blade into one of the alien’s eyes.
The creature staggered backward, letting out a pained cry. It started to topple over…
Dom leaped off and hit the ground with a graceful roll. A second later, the ogre’s head exploded.
Levi kept moving, ducking and weaving through crates and equipment. Most of it was black or made of bone, and some of it blinked with red lights. Finally, he caught a glimpse of the trike. His hands clenched on his carbine. The vehicle was battered to hell, and resting on its roof.
Then his blood ran cold. A raptor was dragging a struggling Chrissy out of the vehicle.
Levi fought the instinctive need to instantly charge in. The bastard raptor shook her, and Levi caught a glimpse of her terrified face. He knew that she already had so many bad memories, and this had to be bringing them back.
Fuck this.
He jumped up, moving forward and firing. Several raptors shouted, running in his direction.
Come on, assholes. Viciously, he took down another raptor and crashed past a second one.
“Levi, wait!” Tane shouted.
“I have to get to Chrissy.”
“Wait. We’re right behind you.”
Levi knew his squad was coming. Behind him, he heard several muted booms from their explosives. He paused, and saw the raptor shake Chrissy again. Then the alien lifted his weapon, pointing it at her head.
Fear, slick and oily, oozed in his gut. “No!”
Levi charged forward. He couldn’t wait for his squad. He’d almost lost her once already, and there was no way in hell he was letting her die here.
The raptor spun, its demonic red gaze narrowing on him. The alien shifted his weapon, taking aim at Levi. Levi huffed out a sharp breath. Instead of the usual weapon that spat green poison at them, this was a deadly crossbow, filled with wicked, needle-sharp, bone projectiles.
As the raptor fired, Levi leaped onto the top of a parked trike. He ran across the roof, hearing bone bolts ping off metal. Then he vaulted off it.
“Levi! Stay back,” Chrissy screamed.
He felt something hit his chest. He winced, but thankfully the projectile hadn’t pierced his armor. Something winged his arm, making his left bicep sting, but he ignored it.
He didn’t care. He had to get to his woman.
He was running full pelt now. He heard carbine fire, knew his squad was giving him cover fire. They’d pick off as many raptors as they could. Ash and the berserkers always had his back.
There was another volley of projectiles. He felt a sharp pain in his ribs and he stumbled.
“Levi!” Chrissy’s panicked scream.
He didn’t stop, bringing his carbine up in one hand, and his laser pistol in the other. Another projectile hit him, this time, tearing through his armor and into his left thigh.
Agony.
His leg went out from under him, and he went down on one knee. He gritted his teeth through the shooting pain and heard Chrissy scream his name.
* * *
Chrissy struggled against her captor’s hard grip, fighting back tears.
Levi was coming for her—charging toward her like some kind of wicked, avenging angel.
She watched him push back up to his feet, wavering slightly before he started forward again.
Coming for her. Fighting for her.
The raptor beside her took aim again.
No way. She rammed into him. “You aren’t killing him, asshole!”
The alien turned and backhanded her. The blow lifted her off her feet, and she slammed into the overturned trike before sliding to the ground. Winded, she searched for Levi.
He was still firing and limping forward. His face was set in hard lines, determination radiating off him. She knew he’d never stop. The rough edges and cockiness didn’t change what he was—a true hero.
And then she realized something that sucked the last of the air from her lungs. She was falling in love with him.
The raptor stepped forward, raising that deadly weapon again. She had to stop him.
Chrissy fumbled on her belt and yanked out the pistol Levi had given her. She lifted it, hands shaking, and aimed.
She pulled the trigger. Her aim was crap, but she still hit him. The raptor jerked and turned. Now, he turned his weapon on her.
“Not today, fucker.” Levi leaped onto the raptor’s back. They both crashed to the ground. Chrissy scrambled backward, watching them wrestle. Then she pushed to her feet and hurried over. When she had the perfect shot of the raptor’s back, she fired.
The alien roared, and tossed Levi off him. Levi whipped his carbine up and started firin
g. Chrissy moved in beside him, adding her pistol to the barrage.
Together, the two of them advanced on the raptor. With another roar, the alien fell to his knees, and a second later, he went down.
God. Chrissy spun and threw her arms around Levi. He pulled her close, holding her so tight she couldn’t breathe.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I am now.”
She pulled back and spotted a bone projectile sticking out of his thigh. Bile rose in her mouth. “Oh, God. We need to get that out.”
“It’ll have to wait for now.” He turned, his face turning granite hard. “First priority is getting out of here. Now.”
She turned and followed his gaze.
Oh. God.
The berserkers were running at full speed toward them. Explosions detonated behind them, backlighting them with gold flames.
And through the flames, every alien in the dome was mobilizing and moving right behind the squad.
Her stomach dropped. They were trapped in the middle of the alien dome with no way out.
* * *
Levi’s squad mates arrived, surrounding them.
“We need a way out,” Tane growled, looking around. “And we need it now.”
Levi looked at the horde of incoming aliens. They needed it yesterday.
“We could steal another vehicle,” Chrissy suggested.
“They’ve barricaded the main door.” For once, Hemi’s face was serious, their dire circumstances reflected in his dark eyes.
Tane shook his head. “They’d blow us to hell as soon as we got close.”
Levi scanned the dome, his jaw tight. He was not letting Chrissy die here, and he hadn’t fucking planned to die today, either.
“Holmes said there was only one way in and out,” Griff said, his voice gruff. “And we can’t reach Indy for more options.”
“Setting off the last of our charges,” Dom said, holding up a small detonator. He touched a button.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Boxes and raptors flew into the air. Guttural shouts and screams filled the dome.
Levi looked at Chrissy and saw she was staring upward.
“Look.” She pointed up. “Over there.”
Levi followed her gaze, scanning the gantry scaffold she was pointing to. A large crane was attached to the side of the dome and surrounded by bone-mesh walkways. There were several ladders leading up.
“What?” he said. “We use the crane to smash a hole through the dome?” They’d all drown before they got out.
She shook her head and pointed again. “The hole.”
“Shit,” Tane said quietly.
That’s when Levi spotted them. Up on the gantry, two water raptors carrying propulsion units in their clawed hands, were reentering the dome through a small, circular opening.
“The drone team missed that,” Tane said.
Levi grinned. “We can use the propulsion units to get to the surface.”
“And everyone has their breathers,” Tane said.
The tiny units clamped into a swimmer’s mouth and let them breath for a certain period of time. Levi yanked his off his belt and helped Chrissy do the same.
She grimaced. “What about that giant aquatic alien?”
Yeah, he didn’t like knowing that massive carnivore was out there, swimming around. Hell Squad had tangled with it once before, and Shaw had nearly lost his life.
“Let’s hope it’s sleeping,” Levi said.
“We don’t have any other options,” Tane said grimly. “We’ll have to risk it.” He looked around, eyeing his men. “Squad Three, let’s climb that gantry, and get the hell out of here.”
“Time for a swim,” Hemi said cheerfully.
They raced toward the nearest ladder.
“Hemi and Griff, we need cover fire,” Tane ordered.
Smoothly, both men swiveled and lifted their carbines.
“I have some smoke grenades,” Hemi said with a wide grin.
Griff nodded, pulling grenades off his belt. “And I have some frag ones.”
“Let’s make a mess,” Hemi said.
As Tane started up the ladder, Levi urged Chrissy toward the first rungs, and tried to block the pain in his leg. It was as if a hot knife was slicing into him, over and over. He locked his jaw and forced himself to move. He’d make it. No matter what.
Chrissy moved upward, climbing fast. He took a millisecond to appreciate that armor-covered ass. Yep, he was getting her out of here. Then he was finding a bottle of bourbon and keeping her in his bed. For a week.
He started up, blocking the agony. Dom and Ash started up the ladder right behind him. He could hear Griff and Hemi firing, and then the bang hiss of a smoke grenade, followed by the thump of the exploding frag grenade. He looked down, casting one last glance at the strange octagon device.
We’ll be back for you.
When he pulled himself onto the platform, Chrissy was crouched nearby. Her gaze was glued on Tane, who was fighting the two water raptors.
“Holy hell,” she murmured.
Yeah, Tane was a force of nature. Levi watched the squad leader with a mixture of respect and envy. It was hard, rough, and dirty fighting. Tane’s face was lethal and focused, and when he fought, he was all strength and power. With a few more lethal blows, he slammed one raptor headfirst into the metal railing with a clang. Then he gripped the second alien, spun, and tossed the raptor off the gantry.
He looked back at them, thoroughly calm. “Come on.”
Levi pushed Chrissy ahead. Behind him, Dom and Ash were giving Hemi and Griff cover fire as they climbed. Some raptors were returning fire and he heard projectiles hitting the platform nearby. He pushed Chrissy ahead of him, shielding her body.
Reaching Tane, they stopped beside a row of the propulsion units stored against the dome wall.
Tane grabbed one and hefted it. “Damn, it’s heavy.”
As the others joined them, Tane shoved the unit at Griff.
“Two people for each unit. I’ll take one myself.” He hefted another unit and handed it to Hemi.
When Tane handed one to Levi, he gritted his teeth. It was fucking heavy, and his leg screamed, threatening to fail. But then Chrissy was there, lifting the other side and helping him carry it.
They turned to the black, circular doorway. It was a couple of feet wide, and made of a rubbery substance that they’d have to squeeze through.
Suddenly, a roar echoed around them and one of the ogres slammed a fist into the platform nearby. The structure crumpled and tilted. Levi grabbed onto the railing.
“Go! Go!” Tane yelled.
Griff and Dom shoved their breathers into their mouths, then pushed through the rubbery membrane with the propulsion unit and disappeared.
“Go, Tane,” Hemi ground out. “You have the intel.”
A muscle ticked in their leader’s jaw. “You’d better be right behind me.” He turned and pushed through.
“We’re up, Spitfire.” Levi leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “Take a deep breath, and remember all those naughty, dirty things I want to do to you when we get home.”
Hemi leaned in from behind them. “I want to hear more about these naughty, dirty things.”
Chrissy shook her head, elbowing Hemi playfully. Then the ogre roared again and she turned back to face the membrane. “I’m ready.”
“Hold on tight to this thing.” Levi pressed her hands down to the handholds on the unit. “And remember, I’m with you. All the way.”
He moved in behind her, caging her in between himself and the propulsion unit.
Then they both put their breathers in their mouths and pushed through the membrane.
For a second, it felt like being smothered by a latex blanket. Then the water hit Levi’s face.
Chapter Seventeen
Chrissy’s heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears.
She dragged in air through the breather, staring ahead through the pitch-black water. Levi flicked on a light
on the propulsion unit and it cut through the darkness. She felt his hands touch something on the unit. It vibrated, and they powered up through the water with a wash of bubbles.
As they moved, fish darted out of their way, and ahead, she saw the shadows of Griff and Dom, and Tane, not too far above them.
But damn, it was so black and suffocating.
Already, she felt a tickle in her lungs. She wanted to wrench the breather from her mouth and take a huge breath. Instead, she focused on Levi. His protective arms were tight around her, and she moved one hand to grip his wrist.
A flash of movement to her left made her turn her head. She saw nothing but black. When she turned back, she bumped against Levi and the breather fell from her mouth.
No! She almost lifted a hand off the propulsion unit, but fought the urge. Levi hadn’t noticed and she didn’t want to worry him. She focused on holding her breath.
But it wasn’t long before her lungs started to burn.
Don’t open your mouth. Don’t open your mouth. God, she couldn’t hold her breath much longer.
How much farther? She looked up, but couldn’t tell if the surface was getting closer.
Then, something sliced through the water to her right, and she turned her head. Without any goggles, her vision was blurry, but in the gloomy light from the unit, she caught a clear glimpse of a giant shadow cutting through the water.
It was bigger than any shark she’d ever seen.
Oh, God. Primal fear clamped down at the base of her neck. She felt Levi tense, and knew he’d seen it, too.
Chrissy kept searching the water. Where the hell was it? She prayed the damn thing wasn’t behind them. She caught another glimpse of it to their left, huge flippers carving through the water. This time, it was close enough that she saw a giant mouth filled with rows of sharp, wicked teeth. It disappeared with a flick of a solid, forked tail.
She felt sick. Jeez, one damn killer alien after another.
She kept turning her head, fighting the need to open her mouth. Her chest was in agony, and her head felt like it was stuck in a clamp. Her lungs were at the breaking point. She couldn’t keep her mouth closed any longer…