by Anna Hackett
She waited a few seconds. The howls and snarls of the canids filled her head.
Nothing.
Come on. She frowned and tapped the analyzer screen. The command cube should be communicating with the other cubes, passing along the virus that would burn them out.
But the lights on the pyramid of cubes kept blinking merrily. Like they were laughing at her.
Dammit. She snatched the cube off, knelt, and jammed it onto another at the base of the pile. Still nothing.
Crouched there, the sounds of Hell Squad fighting the canids ringing in her ears, she felt a choking sense of failure creeping in. That horrible, helpless feeling that she knew all too well.
Then she heard a guttural grunt.
She looked up.
From behind the red velvet curtains, a raptor stepped out, his weapon aimed at her head.
Chapter Nine
The terror in Natalya’s scream sent an icy chill through Reed.
He spun, and took in the situation in an instant. Horror exploded within him and he charged toward her and the raptor. He was running at full speed, but he already knew he was too far away. “Shaw!” he bellowed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Reed saw the sniper spin, assess the situation in one second flat and lift his rifle.
“Fuck,” Shaw shouted. “I don’t have a shot. She’s in the way.”
The raptor loomed, unmoving, over Natalya, making her appear so small and delicate in comparison. Reed had no idea why the bastard was hesitating, but he was thankful. Reed pumped his arms and leapt over a piles of boxes. He had to get to her.
The raptor said something, his words harsh and guttural.
Natalya stayed where she was, frozen. But then she opened her mouth...
And spoke back in raptor.
Reed almost tripped over. He stumbled, regained his balance, and came to a skidding halt just meters away from her and the raptor. He lifted his carbine, staring down the sights.
“Holy fuck,” Shaw whispered.
“For once, I agree with you, Shaw,” Claudia murmured in response.
Reed heard a roar in his head, like static. He stepped closer, half his attention on the alien, half on Natalya.
The raptor spoke again, raising his voice.
Natalya spoke in raptor again, then she gasped and stumbled backward. Her hands were splayed against her chest and she hit the floor. Then she started violently flopping around.
Shit, she was having some sort of seizure. Reed aimed his weapon and shot the raptor. The alien’s body jolted at the laser hit. The rest of Reed’s team opened fire, too.
Then he ran to Natalya’s side. His hands hesitated over her for a second, but one look at her pale face, her convulsing body, and he grabbed her. He laid her flat.
“Claudia?” He looked up. “You got something to stop this?”
The soldier stared at him for a second, before she nodded and hurried forward. Seconds later, she was injecting Natalya with a drug to stop the seizures.
Come on. He cupped her head to stop it hitting the floor. After what felt like an eternity, the violent shudders slowed and she went limp.
“The cube didn’t work.” Marcus was scowling and eyeing Natalya like she was a threat. Then he crouched and snatched the cube that had fallen from her hand.
Reed slid his arms under her and stood, cradling her to his chest.
“Marcus?” Elle’s voice. “Two inbound raptor patrols. And it looks like they’re mobilizing nearby troops. You need to get out of there.”
“We haven’t achieved the mission…and Natalya…”
“I heard.” Elle’s voice was grim. “General Holmes is sending in a Sentinel.”
Marcus cursed. “We’re going to bomb the place?”
Reed knew the large Sentinel bomber drone carried a lot of fire power. It wouldn’t leave anything behind but a small crater.
“Yes. This location is too close to Blue Mountain Base. The general says we can’t risk it.”
“Fine.” Marcus motioned with his carbine. “Hell Squad. Let’s get out of here.”
Reed strode outside, hitching Natalya’s body higher in his arms. She was so motionless, it worried him. But what worried him more was what had happened inside.
The Hawk touched down in the middle of the street. They hurried aboard and moments later, the Hawk took off.
No one spoke.
Reed sat with Natalya in his arms, and all around him his squad was silent, watching her like she was a bomb about to detonate.
The tense ride was over quickly. The huge doors covering the Hawk landing pads retracted, and soon the copter was lowering through the rock tunnel. The skids hit the pads.
Marcus slid the door open, his face more serious than usual. “Reed—”
He was about to respond when he saw General Holmes outside the Hawk. With an armed security team.
Oh, God. Reed felt a rush of hot, scalding emotion run through him. His arms tightened around Natalya. He was a soldier, and he knew exactly how many men, women and children called the base home. And he knew he’d vowed to protect them from any threat.
But for the first time, he was torn by his duty.
He stepped out and was grateful when his team flanked him.
“I’m sorry, Reed,” the general said. “We need to take Natalya into custody for now. For everyone’s safety.”
One of the base security members stepped forward. He was holding a set of shock cuffs.
Reed stiffened. “Sir, she was locked up for months in that lab. And she’s hurt. The restraints aren’t necessary.”
General Holmes’ eyes flashed with sorrow…but they were also filled with a resigned resoluteness. “Again, I’m sorry. But they are.”
Natalya stirred. “Reed? What happened?”
“We made it out.” He gently set her on her feet. He felt trapped—like he was pinned down by the enemy with no place to go. “Natalya, do you remember what you said to the raptor back there, in the town?”
Her brow furrowed. She was absently rubbing her chest. “I…I’m not really sure. I think I told him to back off and leave me alone.”
Reed closed his eyes for a second. “You spoke in raptor.”
“What?” She gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t speak raptor.” She looked around, seeing all the others watching her. She ran her hands up and down her arms, tension filling her face. “No…that’s not possible.”
“Natalya, you need to come with these men,” General Holmes said.
It was then she saw the cuffs. She blanched. “No.”
“I’m sorry, but I have to insist.”
She shook her head violently. “No. I’m not a raptor. I’m not one of them.” She looked at Reed, her gaze imploring. “Reed, please?” Then her gaze sharpened on his face and she stiffened. “You believe me, right?”
Hell, he didn’t know what he thought. “Look—”
“No!” She twisted away from him. “No. You can’t lock me up. Not again.” She lunged away from the crowd.
The security guards grabbed her, each holding an arm. She twisted and kicked like a wild animal.
Something in Reed broke. He stepped forward, but strong arms grabbed him. Cruz and Marcus held him in place.
“Let me go.”
Marcus leaned in, murmuring low next to his ear. “You attack them now, you won’t be able to help her later. Understand?”
When Natalya started screaming, a high, wild sound, Reed growled. His entire body quivered with the urge to attack. They couldn’t do this to her. It would break her.
“Here.” Doc Emerson bustled in, an iono-stretcher hovering behind her. “Put her on here.”
The two guards maneuvered Natalya onto the stretcher. The doc was murmuring soothing word, but Natalya’s eyes were wide and panicked. She was too far gone in her terror to be soothed.
With a sad, resigned look on her face, the doc pulled a strap from the side of the stretcher and secured Natalya’s wrist down.
; She made a cry like a wounded animal. Reed closed his eyes, his hands clenched into fists. Then Emerson strapped the other wrist down.
Natalya’s eyes caught his. In them, he saw terror…and betrayal.
Emerson pressed a pressure injector to the side of Natalya’s neck. A second later, his brown-eyed girl went limp.
As they took her away, Reed cursed and pulled away from his team. Fuck. Just fuck.
***
Shaking hard, Natalya paced across the room.
They’d locked her in a cell. In the prison area.
Oh, there were no bars, but that didn’t make it any less confining. She glanced at the large glass window she couldn’t see through. She knew the one-way mirror was reinforced so even a raptor couldn’t get through it. Clenching her hands together, she turned and kept pacing. She also knew there was a raptor down here, in one of the cells.
How could she have spoken the raptor language? She curled her fists up to her chest. She felt so alone. What she remembered most was watching Reed’s face as she’d been dragged away. He hadn’t helped her.
She spun away and paced again. This all had to be a mistake.
The door open and she turned.
A redheaded woman stepped through. She was tall and fit, and wearing a neatly pressed blue uniform. Captain Laura Bladon—head of the detention area and Interrogation team. She had a face that gave nothing away as she eyed Natalya for a second. Then she waved someone in. “Five minutes, that’s it.”
Reed stepped inside, and Captain Bladon closed the door firmly behind him.
He stepped forward, hand outstretched. “Natalya—”
She stumbled backward until her back pressed against the wall. “Don’t touch me.”
His face hardened and his hand fell to his side. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she spat. “For letting them take me?” The rational part of her knew he couldn’t have stopped them, but dammit, he could have tried.
“Sweetheart—”
Something inside her crumpled. “You let them take me.” A sob tried to break free from her chest but she ruthlessly pushed it down. “I’m a prisoner again. There’s no fresh air in here, Reed.”
He closed his eyes. “You spoke raptor, Natalya. It freaked everyone out.”
Anger spiked. “I survived four months with those aliens torturing me! All I’ve done since I’ve been here is try to heal and try to help. And this is what I get?”
“No one is asking for anything, except answers.” Something slid through his gaze before he hid it.
“What?” she demanded.
“Nothing. I need—”
“Just tell me, Reed. There’s something else, isn’t there?”
He released a breath. “Dammit. There are some questions about why the cube didn’t work.”
Her eyes widened. “They think I did it on purpose? To help the animals who cut me open?”
Reed held out a hand. “I know that isn’t true, but because of the hybrids who got in here before, people are spooked.”
“Including you.” She wrapped her arms around herself. She’d thought she’d been heading back toward normal: getting healthy again, working, contemplating taking Reed MacKinnon as her lover.
Now it had all been crushed. Nothing but dust.
He cursed and strode toward her. She held out a hand to fend him off. “Stay back.”
“Never.” His tone was firm as steel. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as she struggled.
He tangled his hands in her short hair and tugged until she was forced to look at him.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry I couldn’t fight them all off, or do something. But I’ll get you out of here. We’ll work this out. I know you, Natalya. I’ve seen your beauty, your strength. And you’re mine.”
His mouth slammed down on hers. For a second, she kept struggling, the pain in her needing to lash out at him.
But then the force of his kiss, the almost brutal heat of it, sucked her in. It was real, honest, something she could trust. Natalya threw her arms around him and kissed him back. She stopped thinking and just let herself feel.
They pulled apart, both of them panting.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured again.
The hurt part of her still trembled.
“I’m sorry.” His hands tightened on her. “However many times you need me to say it, I will.”
Deep down, she knew there hadn’t been anything he could have done. And he was here now.
“We’ll work this out.” His hands cupped her cheeks. “But I want to say it now, I don’t care what we discover. You’re mine. End of story.”
She wanted to believe it would be that easy. She wanted to curl up in his strong arms and let him shelter her from the world.
But that wasn’t a choice. And even if it was, she couldn’t hide behind him.
Still, when his hand slid down and grabbed hers, his fingers entwining with hers, a spark lit inside her. Maybe he could at least stand by her side.
“Trust me?” he murmured.
She thought again of how she’d felt when they’d dragged her away from him. Of watching him look confused and torn. This man had the power to destroy her.
But he’d always been there for her. Right from the moment he’d carried her out of that raptor lab. She nodded.
He let out a relieved breath and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “Okay. Now, you need to listen to me. I know you won’t like this…but you need to let Emerson examine you.”
Natalya’s gut clenched, her fingers jerking on his.
“I know.” His voice softened. “I know it sucks, I know you don’t want any more tests and scans, but please let her check you out.”
Natalya stayed still for a moment. God, the thought of being flat on an examination bed, lights shining in her eyes, needles sliding into her skin…it left her dry-mouthed and terrified.
But she had to get this cleared up. She wasn’t a raptor hybrid, dammit. “You’ll stay with me?”
He squeezed her hand. “Every step of the way.”
Chapter Ten
Reed watched Natalya as she tried to fight down a panic attack. She was lying on a bed in the infirmary, clutching his hand. Her breathing was too fast and her gaze kept skipping around the room, not settling on anything for longer than a couple of seconds.
Hell, she’d been through so much and now they—humans—were subjecting her to this.
“It’s okay, brown-eyed girl.” He leaned forward, his lips brushing her ear. He kept his voice low, just for her. “When this is done, we’ll head to our private little pool.” He nipped the lobe of her ear, almost smiled when she jumped. “I plan on getting you very naked.”
She licked her lips and turned her head toward him. “Then what?”
“Then you better be ready, because I’m going to fuck you…hard.”
“Reed…” Her voice was breathy.
She’d stopped shaking, so he guessed his distraction was working. He stroked a hand down her arm. “I’ve got so many things I’m going to do to you. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about them.”
She smiled at him and damned if Reed didn’t feel like he’d won some sort of prize.
Doc Emerson bustled in, her lab coat flapping around her. “All right, Natalya. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
But Natalya instantly stiffened. Reed swallowed his frustration and nodded at the doctor.
“I’m going to do a scan. It’s a 3-D resonance scan. I will need to inject you with a special dye, but after that, no more poking or prodding, I promise.”
Natalya was fingering the top of her scar. “Then what?”
“The dye works its way through your body, and then the scanner can project a 3-D image for me to study.”
Natalya pulled in a long breath. “Okay.”
Reed held her hand while Emerson slid a needle in Natalya’s arm. Then the doc swung a boxy-looking scanner over the bed, starting it at Natalya’s feet.
Natalya didn’t move an inch, her jaw clenched. Her gaze locked resolutely on the ceiling.
“Okay, the first image should be coming up soon.” Emerson adjusted something on the scanner. As the machine slowly moved up Natalya’s body, images appeared in the air above.
Wow. Reed couldn’t believe the detail. He could see the veins, muscles, bones, everything inside her. Emerson used a gloved hand to turn the three-dimensional image and zoom in on certain things.
The scanner finished with Natalya’s legs and inched up over her pelvis and stomach.
Emerson’s brow was scrunched as she stared at the scans. Every now and then she turned the scan or isolated a single organ or structure. “Everything looks fine, Natalya. You’re doing a great job.”
The scanner moved up over her chest.
Emerson stiffened a little. Natalya didn’t notice it, but Reed did. He frowned at the picture in the air. There was too much on it, lungs, ribs…he couldn’t see if anything was out of the ordinary.
Emerson tapped the screen and just one organ appeared.
She gasped and Reed blinked. It…hell, he didn’t know what it was. It was an ugly, misshapen mass of alien tissue covered with a lattice of tiny black veins. It pulsed, contracting rhythmically.
Natalya went stiff as a board. “What is that?”
“I…” Emerson’s gaze caught Reed’s, helplessness in her eyes. “It’s your heart.”
“That is not a heart,” Natalya said, her voice high-pitched and reedy.
Holy shit. Reed watched the organ, the heart, beating a little faster than a regular heartbeat.
Emerson cleared her throat. “It’s a raptor heart. They must have transplanted it into you.”
“No!” Natalya sat up and pushed the scanner away. The scan image flickered and disappeared. The scanner fell over, crashing to the floor. “Take it out. I want you to take it out.”
Emerson took a steadying breath. “I—”
“Take it out!” The last word was a scream.
“Hey.” Reed kept his hand on hers. “Stay calm.”
“I can’t. I want it out.”
He yanked her off the bed and into his lap. He subdued her when she struggled until she was nestled against his chest. “I’m here. You aren’t alone and this changes nothing. Got it?”