by Anna Hackett
Marcus was right behind him and he heard the rest of Hell Squad running too.
Gabe had enough presence of mind to skid to a halt before he reached her and lift his weapon. He rounded the last row of tanks.
Ahead, the one-eyed raptor was holding Emerson in front of him, dragging her backward.
The bastard. Fear was a rock in Gabe’s chest.
She was fighting, kicking, and twisting her body. But her struggles were nothing to the large raptor. He dragged her around another tank and out of view.
Gabe took a step forward, then paused.
“Gabe.” Marcus was right there beside him. Cruz flanked him on the other side.
“That fucker has Emerson.” Gabe’s voice was a harsh rasp. “I have to get her back.”
“We will,” Marcus said. “By working together.”
Gabe closed his eyes, trying to calm the rampant, out-of-control feeling inside him. Emerson had helped him learn that working together made him stronger, not weaker.
He looked at his team and nodded. “Together.”
Claudia squeezed his arm. Shaw slapped his shoulder. Reed nodded.
Gabe looked forward, his hand’s tightening on his weapon. “Let’s get her back.”
Chapter Sixteen
Terror clawed at Emerson.
Memories assaulted her, but this time was different. This time, she was fighting back. She kicked and twisted her body, making it as hard for the raptor as she could.
He made a guttural sound and dropped her on her knees. Before she could move, he swung a large palm and backhanded her.
Pain exploded in her cheek and she cried out, her eyes watering. In that second, she was back at that other time this alien had kept her captive. The time he’d beaten the fight out of her.
That wasn’t going to happen now. Not this time.
Surrounded by the tanks, and the shadows floating inside them, her anger burned like a flame. And somewhere nearby was Gabe, her man, who would be going crazy knowing this one-eyed bastard had her.
The raptor grabbed the back of her armor and dragged her forward. When he finally stopped, he tossed her roughly on the ground and she caught herself on her hands and knees before she smacked the concrete.
“You are…intelligent.”
Her head jerked up. Hearing him speak English in his raspy voice gave her shivers.
“I have seen…you are a healer.”
“Yes. And I’ll use everything I have to end this.” She stabbed a finger at the closest tanks.
He smiled. At least, she thought the baring of sharp teeth was supposed to be a smile.
“Can’t end this.”
Arrogant bastard. She bit her tongue. Mouthing off at him wouldn’t help. She needed to use those brains he’d admired to get herself out of here.
“You will make a good addition to the Gizzida,” he said.
What? Panic surged, closing her throat.
He barked out a command and one of the raptors by his side reached up and opened the top of an empty tank. Then One Eye started dragging her toward it.
“You intrigue me.” He nodded to another raptor who stepped forward, holding what she guessed was a raptor version of a syringe. The center of the bone-like needle was filled with orange liquid. “A healer, like me.”
Emerson struggled. “No way. I like being human.”
“You will—” he frowned, clearly searching for a word “—forget.” He ran his hand over her blonde hair. “It will be a shame to lose this.”
She kicked out at his knees. Hard. This time she was fighting for herself. For Gabe and their love. For her humanity.
She kicked again. The raptor stumbled and let out a grunt. He grabbed at her and she dodged, slapping his arm away.
Then he grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up.
Tears pricked her eyes, her scalp burning. He held her up until their gazes met.
“You will be stronger. More intelligent. With your skills, you can help us.”
“Never.” But even Emerson heard the desperate tremble in her voice.
“Once, I was like you. Weak. Afraid. Now…I am Gizzida.”
Gabe’s face flashed in her mind. She’d just claimed him. She wanted more.
Screw this. She twisted and slammed her palm up into the raptor’s face.
She surprised him, and her palm landed hard on what passed for his nose. Something broke inside, and blood gushed. He dropped her, his roar reverberating through the tanks.
Emerson landed hard, pain shooting up her tailbone. But she scrambled up, knocked into the nearby raptor, and snatched the needle out of his claws. Then she swung around and slammed the needle into her tormentor’s good eye.
He howled. He swung out with a closed fist, catching her temple. The blow sent her skidding across the floor.
It took a second for Emerson to draw a breath. When she looked up, One Eye towered over her. He yanked the syringe out. His eye was streaming blood, but it was fixated on her, so she guessed he could still see. He growled and snatched an alien weapon off the nearest raptor soldier.
Then he headed her way, lifting the gun.
Her stomach clenched. Oh, God. Her hand went to her neck and closed over the necklace Gabe had given her. I’m so sorry, Gabe.
Gunfire sounded. She flinched. But there was no pain.
She looked up.
And saw Gabe, surrounded by Hell Squad, bearing down on them.
The raptors were returning fire, but were being picked off one by one by the human soldiers.
The tank behind her shattered, and a torrent of fluid washed over her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Gabe launch himself at One Eye. The raptor and the man fell to the floor, rolling.
Emerson scrambled over to them, staying low to dodge the gunfire. Gabe was on top of the raptor, pummeling the alien with steady, hard hits.
But from her vantage point, she saw One Eye draw a large, jagged knife and hold it by his side.
Emerson got her feet under her and dived.
The raptor raised his arm to strike Gabe, but Emerson grabbed his elbow, twisting the knife away from Gabe.
She struggled to hold the raptor’s arm. God, he was strong. He shoved at her, staring at her with his bleeding eye. Too strong. Her muscles strained. The raptor turned the knife until it was pointed toward her chest. She felt her arms tremble under the pressure.
Then Gabe’s arms surrounded her, his big hands covering hers.
Together, they pushed. They forced the blade back around and the raptor’s eye widened, a hoarse sound escaping his throat.
Emerson and Gabe forced the blade into the raptor’s chest. It sank deep. She watched his body twitch, then go still. His red eye closed.
Dead. It was over.
She spun and flung herself at Gabe. She wrapped around him, feeling his hard, solid presence. “Oh, God.”
“Emerson.” He buried his face in her hair.
His arms were so tight around her, she could barely breathe. She didn’t care.
His hand tangled in her hair. “Jesus, when I saw he had you…”
“I’m okay.” She cupped Gabe’s tough, beloved face and kissed him.
He kissed her back, and she felt emotion pouring off him.
They were surrounded by hell, but right here, in each other’s arms, they were making their own piece of heaven.
***
Gabe walked behind Emerson, staying within arm’s reach, as they walked through the dome, checking the last of the tanks.
He wasn’t letting her out of his sight. Not for a long time. Maybe not ever.
“Okay, two more tanks we need to empty.” She pointed. “That one and that one.”
Not far away, two of her team were overseeing the traumatized survivors. Some were sobbing, others just stared, shell-shocked. One man was rocking back and forth.
Up on the tank, Shaw heaved a teenaged boy out and handed him down. Gabe laid the boy on the ground and Emerson checked him. She sank back on her heels and shook
her head.
“Last one,” Roth called out from the next tank where one of his team was pulling out a woman.
Roth took the limp woman. The fluid was dripping off her. Suddenly, she snapped awake. She took one look around and hit out. She caught Roth in the face and he dropped her. She landed in a crouch, and in the next breath, launched herself at Roth.
Gabe raised a brow. Damn, for someone who’d been floating in a tank for who knew how long, she could move. Gabe watched as Roth countered the woman’s well-trained moves. He was blocking her hits, trying not to hurt her, and he took a few head-turning blows.
She spun in a roundhouse kick and Roth caught her leg and twisted. He took her to the ground, holding her down with his bigger body. She bucked beneath him.
“Enough,” Roth said sharply. “We’re here to help you.”
She slowed, but kept fighting.
“Dammit. I don’t want to hurt you,” Roth bit out. “Tone it down or I’ll have the doc knock you out.”
“Date.” The woman’s voice was raspy, clearly not used for a long time.
“Date?” Roth frowned.
“What’s the date?”
He rattled it off and the woman blanched. “No.” She fell back on the ground, her gaze focused up at the dome. “No.” A tortured whisper. “They invaded.”
The fight went out of the woman and Roth’s body softened as he pulled her up, murmuring quietly.
“What the hell is she talking about?” Gabe ground out.
Roth glanced up. “Not sure we want to know.” When the woman started shivering, he hitched her. “For now, it’ll have to wait.”
“These poor people,” Emerson murmured.
Gabe looked at her. She was watching the woman, then Emerson’s gaze drifted to the tanks surrounding them, now filled with floating bodies no longer suffering and in pain.
“We did what we could,” he said.
She gave a tired nod. “I need one of these tanks.”
Gabe waved Marcus over and relayed her request. Marcus nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
Emerson and Gabe headed toward the survivors. “They’ll never be the same.”
“No one’s the same. They can make a new life for themselves if they choose.” He squeezed her hand. He’d chosen. “Alien apocalypse or not, life can still be pretty fucking amazing.”
She smiled. “Charmer.”
He nodded at Shaw and Claudia who were now arguing over the best way to move one of the tanks. They were going head to head, arms waving in the air. “None of us are alone. Not unless we choose to be.” He’d been on the loner path, but not anymore.
Emerson leaned her head against his arm for a second. “I need to supervise getting the survivors loaded into the Hawks.”
“And I promised to help Reed set the explosives to blow this place sky high.”
“See you soon?”
“Count on it.”
Chapter Seventeen
Reed
Reed set the backfire charge at the base of a tank in the center of the dome. The aliens and their fucking facility could go to hell.
He moved along, judged the distance, and set another small charge. The round metal disc had two tiny windows on it. One showed a line of glowing blue and the other a line of glowing red. When the two lines met…boom.
The sobs of one of the survivors rang in his ears, making his jaw tight. So much damage, so much pain, so much heartache. He thought of another alien torture survivor. One who’d wept in his arms, big brown eyes drowning in pain. Yeah, he liked blowing things up, but this job he was doing now was mostly for her.
“Reed?” Gabe’s deep voice on the comm. “Mine are all set.”
“Cheers, bud. I have a couple more and then I’m finished.”
“Tell me if you need any more help.”
Reed smiled. Gabe already sounded more mellow. All thanks to the love of a good woman. Reed thought a hard man like Gabe more than deserved all the softness and happiness the doc would give him.
Ahead, Reed saw the rest of his team wrestling one of the tanks out the door. There was a whole lot of cursing going with it. Damn, he was glad he’d found Hell Squad.
He’d spent months after the invasion traveling south from the Great Barrier Reef. Thanks to the aliens, his dream diving vacation had turned to hell. He’d heard rumors from other survivors about Blue Mountain Base, where any remaining military had gathered and were fighting back.
He missed his SEAL team. He hoped some of the boys and girls had made it. But other than his fellow SEALs, he’d not had many attachments. His elderly parents had passed a few years back, and while he’d never lacked for the company of women, there had never been a special one.
The water had been his mistress. And the outdoors. Anywhere he could breathe in fresh air. Freedom was a fundamental right he believed in to the bone. His hand tightened on the charge. He knew what it was like when someone stole it from you.
He pulled in a breath. He had a place at Blue Mountain Base and on Hell Squad, fighting these aliens out to steal humanity’s freedom…and that felt pretty darn good.
And, if he was patient enough, he might also convince the woman who fascinated him to be his.
Reed shook his head and cursed mentally. She was a long way from ready for the force of what he had to offer. His fingers curled into fists. He had to have some control, and give her time.
He set the final charge.
Reed headed back to the group.
Marcus raised a brow. “All done?’
Reed nodded. “Say the word and this place will be smoldering ashes.”
“Good.”
“Shaw and Claudia need help with that tank?”
Marcus snorted. “You want to steer well clear of those two. I left them fucking arguing about how to get the damn thing into the Hawk.” He jerked his head. “Help the doc get the last of the survivors loaded.”
Reed helped carry an unconscious pre-teen boy out to the Hawks. Soon everyone was loaded and the Hawks lifted off. Reed lifted the controller in his hand and thumbed the button.
He made eye contact with Marcus. His boss nodded.
Ka-boom time. Reed pressed the button.
A second later, the Genesis Facility exploded. A huge blue ball rose into the air above the shattered dome. The heart of the cloud turned a brilliant red.
The secondary explosion ignited and the dome simply ceased to be. As the edge of the shockwave hit the copter, the Hawk rocked a little. Reed gripped the handle above his head.
For you, my brown-eyed girl.
***
“Last one settled.” Emerson puffed out a breath and dropped into her office chair. Her very bones were aching with exhaustion.
She’d personally checked out the twenty-seven people they’d managed to extract from the tanks. They were all now tucked up in infirmary beds. Most were not sleeping soundly, except the ones she’d had to sedate. She suspected most of them wouldn’t sleep soundly for a long, long time.
Emerson logged out of her comp. “I’m out of here.”
Norah raised her brows. “Excuse me? Dr. Workaholic Green isn’t going to spend the night hovering over her newest arrivals? Or poring over medical files? Working herself to the bone?”
Emerson shot her friend a mock-scowl. “Funny. And no. They have a good team watching over them, headed by an opinionated, sometimes-pain-in-the-ass nurse. And I have a man to get home to.”
“And a fine hunk of man he is.” Norah’s eyes got a faraway look. “The man’s intensity is a little on the scary side, but the way he looks at you…damn.”
Yes. Emerson smiled to herself. Damn.
She raced back to her quarters and took a quick shower to wash the last of the mission away. She’d just finished tying her favorite silver robe around her when she heard someone moving about in her living area. She headed out and stopped in the doorway.
Gabe had showered, too. His black T-shirt clung to his fabulous body and his jeans shap
ed his magnificent ass.
Mine. All mine.
He looked over his shoulder, his gaze drifting over her, the faintest smile on his lips. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She walked toward him. “How was the debrief?”
“Long. The patients?”
Her happiness dimmed. “We lost one. Some I had to sedate. They have a long way to go.”
“But first they have to choose to fight for life.”
“Yes.” She smoothed her hands up his chest. For all the horrors of their new world, she was so incredibly happy life had given her Gabe Jackson. “I like you being here, big guy.”
He gave her a slow smile that made her insides melt.
“I was thinking I’d make some space in my closet for your things.” When he didn’t say anything, nerves crept in. “That’s if you want to move in, I just thought—”
He cupped her cheeks and nodded toward the door.
She saw the duffel bag she hadn’t noticed before with a box beside it filled with a few things. Her tight chest eased. “Oh. Well, then.”
“Already handed in my quarters, so you’re stuck with me now,” he said.
Emerson thought being stuck with Gabe Jackson was a pretty good situation to be in. When she saw a bandage peeking out above the neckline of his shirt, she frowned. “Are you hurt? Why didn’t you tell me?” She yanked the neckline down.
“Not hurt.” He covered her hands with his, and gently moved them aside. Then he ripped the bandage off and pulled the neckline down for her to see.
Her heart leaped into her throat. “Oh, Gabe.”
Under the names of his grandmother and brother was a new word, etched into his skin in the same coiling script as the others. Emerson.
She traced the edge of it. “Who did this?”
“Shaw. Guy’s pretty good.”
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” Gabe was so in love with her.
He caught his hands in her hair and dragged her head back. “Every time I look at you, there is so much I want to say.”
“Just say it, Gabe. I don’t expect you to turn into a talker. I just want you to be yourself.”
He took a deep breath. “I love you, Emerson.”
Warmth flooded her chest. “I know.”