Torment strode toward her and snatched the postcard out of her hand. “Do you know where this is?”
She nodded. “The City started building a massive subway system, like, seventy years ago, but they ran out of money. There were all sorts of scandals surrounding the build and it was never completed. The tunnels are abandoned but they’re used by homeless people and street kids and for illegal dance parties.”
Torment showed the postcard to Vicious. “It’s the perfect place to hide a shipment of fuel rods until a transport ship can sneak them off the planet.”
“Do we even have specs of these?” Vicious took the card from Torment. “I can’t send my men in blind. There’s no telling what the Splinters could have waiting for the SRU.”
Dizzy refused to allow Venom to go into such a dangerous place without any intel. “I have a friend who knows the tunnels better than anyone. If you can get me to The City, I’ll take you to Hopper.”
“Hopper?” Orion repeated with a frown. “What kind of name is that?”
Dizzy shot him an oh really look. “It’s her nickname. No one knows the tunnels like her. That’s why they call her Hopper. You know? Like a rabbit in a warren?”
“You’re not going down there.” Thorn slashed his hand through the air.
Dizzy calmly stood. “It’s a little late for you to pop into my life and start thinking you can make decisions for me.”
“Actually he can,” Vicious cut in gently. “You’re his offspring, which means you’re one of us. Technically you weren’t eligible to be Grabbed. Venom had no right to claim you so your classification aboard this ship is—”
“Our laws say you belong to me,” Thorn interrupted. “I’m not risking your life. You could be walking into an ambush or worse. Those damn fuel rods may be leaking. You’re staying here where I can keep an eye on you.”
“I don’t care what your law says.” Dizzy ripped the postcard from Thorn’s hand. “My dad is missing. You know? The man who actually raised me. The man who taught me how to ride a bike and tie my shoes. The man who stayed up with me when I was sick and rocked me when I had nightmares.”
Every word etched such pain into Thorn’s face. She hated to be so cruel but the fear of losing her dad and Venom demolished any control she had over her mouth.
“I won’t be sent to my room to wait like a good little girl while my dad and my husband are fighting for their lives. You need those fuel rods and you need Terror. I’m the best chance you’ve got at finding them—and you know it.”
“I also know that you are irreplaceable. We can build more fuel rods and there will always be more men filing into the ranks of the Shadow Force.” Thorn touched her face. “There is only one of you in the entire universe.”
“There is only one Venom in the entire universe,” she countered. “He’s the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. If I lose him…” She couldn’t even bear to finish the thought.
Tension stretched taut between them like razor wire. Thorn finally growled at Torment. “If she comes back with even one hair missing from her head—”
“Understood, sir.” Torment clasped her upper arm and dragged her toward the stairs.
While she raced to keep up with Torment, Dizzy couldn’t stop thinking about the way her mother had died at the hands of the Splinters. She prayed that her love story with Venom wasn’t going to share the same terrible end.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Our less-lethal options are severely limited in an underground space,” Venom said as he checked and rechecked the seal on his gas mask. They had been on Calyx for three hours, two of them spent clearing the woods around the crash site and ensuring there was nothing left behind that might be salvaged or sold.
Now their transport ship sat in a field two miles outside The City. With their cloaking shields on, they waited for their orders from the Valiant. The debris field from the Night Bird had just begun to reach the outer atmosphere of the planet and was causing major communication interference. Two of their communications satellites had been clipped and were out of operation.
Threat, their infiltration and breaching specialist, sketched out various scenarios for entering the subway system they would soon be searching. So far their intelligence was severely limited. Raze had been attempting to make contact with the Valiant but Cipher couldn’t establish a com-link.
“One canister of tear gas in a space that confined?” Fierce shook his head as he tested his night-vision gear. “It’s going to be fucking pandemonium.”
“The real issue is going to be accessing the subway without garnering the attention of half the damn city,” Venom grumbled. “Cipher, how long until sunrise?”
“Four hours,” he said absently, his focus trained on the communication equipment in front of him. “Hey, boss? I think I’ve secured a short window on the com.”
Raze tapped his throat mic and moved into a quiet corner of the ship. “SRU Alpha Squad to Valiant?” A moment later, Raze nodded at Cipher and gave him a thumbs-up. “We read you loud and clear. Ready to receive orders.”
“While the boss is talking to the mother ship,” Venom said with a crooked smile, “let’s discuss the contamination issue. We all saw the craters left by those pods. Some or all of these fuel rods may be leaking. Contain. Isolate. Neutralize. Understood?”
Amid the agreeing nods, Raze rejoined them. He had an odd look on his face that Venom couldn’t place. “Shadow Force reinforcements arrived via darts one hour ago. The team will be here in two minutes. We’ll be using native assets on this one.” Raze squeezed his shoulder. “Uh, Ven, let’s talk over here for a second.”
Confused by his friend’s strange behavior, Venom followed him to the opposite side of the cargo bay. “What’s up?”
Raze hesitated. “Yeah—there’s no easy way to say this and you’re probably going to lose your shit regardless of how nicely I deliver the news so I’m just going to throw it out there.” He paused and seemed to be bracing himself for a blowup. “In about sixty seconds, Torment is going to knock on that cargo door—and you’re going to see Dizzy standing next to him.”
Venom thought for sure he had misheard Raze. The eerie silence surrounding him told him that he hadn’t. Every single SRU member in the cargo bay held perfectly still as they seemed to wait on bated breath for Venom’s response.
“Shadow Force reinforcements are in view, Major Raze.” The ship pilot’s voice came across the speakers. “Lowering shield. Contact in ten, nine, eight…”
Seething with fury at the very thought of Dizzy being placed in such extreme danger, Venom crossed to the rear cargo entrance and punched the button. The cargo loading ramp that doubled as a door slowly lowered.
As in some kind of bad fucking dream, Dizzy appeared between Torment and Pierce. Even in the dark of night, her pale hair, whipping so wildly in the wind, was visible. She looked so out of place in her pretty dress. The second she spotted him, she raced up the ramp and right into his arms.
“What are you doing here, sugar?” He tried not to squeeze her too tightly because the grenades and flash-bangs tucked into pockets lining the front of his vest might hurt her.
“It’s a really long story and we don’t have time, Venom.” She gripped his gloved hand. “Short version? My biological dad is General Thorn. My mother was a Shadow Force asset. My dad took her place when she died. He’s being blackmailed to move the fuel rods that are probably in the subway and my friend Hopper is going to help us find them.”
Venom blinked a few times as he tried to take it all in. Her mother was a spy? General Thorn, one of the most highly respected members of the military, a member of the war council and a man expected to someday be president, was his father-in-law? Unable to think of anything smart to say, he simply replied, “I see.”
“Yeah. I know. It’s crazy, and we don’t have time to hash it all out right now. We’ll figure it out later.”
Gripping her hand, he tugged her out of the way as the cargo do
or closed. Thinking of the superfast descent she had taken in the dart, he began to worry. “Dizzy, you weren’t supposed to fly for weeks because of your ears. How do you feel?”
She rubbed his arm. “I’m fine. Risk had them put me in this weird pressurized box that the medics use to evacuate head-trauma victims. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience but I survived it.”
Venom didn’t like risking her health. Thinking of the fuel rods waiting for them and the possibility of a leak, he turned his attention to the Shadow Force operatives with her. “What the hell are the two of you thinking? She has no business in a situation like this.”
Pierce wouldn’t meet his pissed-off glare but Torment simply shrugged. “We’re running low on options, Venom. We have to stop the fuel rods from leaving this planet. Saving Terror would be nice too.”
Venom could only imagine what Torment and Pierce were feeling at the moment. Their brother-in-arms was missing and sure to face horrendous torture at the hands of the Splinters who had taken him.
Dizzy soothingly caressed his neck and drew his attention. “Venom, I’m just going to find Hopper and get her to draw some maps. That’s it.”
“It’s never that simple.” Venom gritted his teeth and tried to stem his rising anger. He didn’t want Dizzy to think he was upset with her. She had no doubt been sweet-talked into this by Torment or Pierce. Knowing those two they had likely used her love for him to manipulate her.
“I’ll be with her the entire time, Venom,” Pierce tried to reassure him but it didn’t work. “She’ll be safe.”
“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you. You seem to be forgetting that I watched Naya get tagged in the gut three times and nearly bleed to death on that filthy warehouse floor.”
The haunted flash of regret in Pierce’s eyes said otherwise. “No, Venom, I haven’t forgotten. If there was any other way—”
“There isn’t,” Torment interjected. “This is the best and safest option for the SRU team. If we don’t send Dizzy out to find her friend and get a layout of these tunnels, your team goes in blind, Venom. We’re talking miles and miles of dark, subterranean hell.”
Venom’s jaw worked back and forth as he reluctantly accepted that Dizzy’s contact was the best way to get the intel they needed. Possessiveness overwhelmed him and he held her tighter. “I should go with her.”
“No.” Dizzy shot down his idea. “You’re too big. You are, like, the epitome of a Harcos male. Anyone who sees us walking down the street together is going to be suspicious.” She gestured to Pierce. “He’s leaner and shorter. He’ll fit in better.”
He considered the spook. The man was a damn killing machine. “If anything happens to my mate—”
Pierce touched his chest. “My life for hers,” he swore.
“Guys,” Cipher cautiously entered the conversation, “we have a bigger problem than sending an untrained woman into the field. What the hell are we going to do about communication?” He pointed toward the sky. “That debris field is too thick. Most of it is burning up in the atmosphere but I’m finding it impossible to route communications through our satellites. We’ll be virtually cut off from the Valiant and I have no idea how we’re going to relay our signals.”
“I don’t know much about your technology,” Dizzy said nervously, “but what about tapping into the pirate radio relays? Everyone has wireless equipment here. Most of it is cobbled together but they’re reliable.”
“Pirate radio?” Cipher brightened. “Yeah. Sure!”
“What happens when we’re in the tunnels?” Raze asked.
“There are transceivers in the tunnels,” Dizzy assured them. “The last time I went to one of Hopper’s parties at the Subterranean—her tunnel hotspot—we listened to the Mouth’s live show.” She noticed their curious looks. “The Mouth from the South? She has a pirate radio show that comes on at night. It’s extremely popular.”
Cipher flicked his fingers. “Come give me a list of frequencies.”
Nodding, Dizzy followed Cipher to his communication equipment. With his wife out of earshot, Venom put a finger in Torment’s chest and hissed, “You crossed the line on this one.”
“Probably,” Torment agreed, “but she wanted to come. She wanted to help you and save her father.”
Venom’s anger eased some but the uneasy feeling continued to bubble in the pit of his stomach. “What’s the deal with Jack Lane?”
“He’s either being held captive or he’s hiding.” Torment lowered his voice so Dizzy wouldn’t hear. “Or he’s already dead.”
Venom’s eyes shut briefly. He hoped like hell that wasn’t the case. “After she gets the maps and the info from this Hopper woman, I want her secured and back on this damn ship.”
“Understood,” Pierce replied with a nod.
With the communications issue squared away, Dizzy returned to his side. Feeling absolutely sick to his stomach, Venom walked her over to a corner and boxed her in with his bigger body. Her hands rested on his bare forearms as they peered intently at each other.
There was so much he wanted to tell her, so many pointers he thought she could use while out in the field, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her with information she wouldn’t retain under such stressful circumstances. Instead he touched his forehead to hers and said, “I love you so much, Dizzy.”
“I love you too.”
“Please be careful. Do exactly what Pierce says.”
“I will.”
He cupped her beautiful face and kissed her ever so gently. “When we get home…”
“Yes?” she asked breathlessly.
“I’m going to put you across my lap and wallop your backside for this stunt.”
Her sweet mouth curved with happiness. Rising up on tiptoes, she kissed him lovingly. “Yes Master.”
Before he could recover from hearing her claim him as her master, Dizzy slipped away from him and followed Pierce to the cargo door. She smiled back and waved as if she were simply headed out to the market rather than into the unknown danger that awaited her. Her bravery filled him with such pride.
“She’ll be fine.” Raze clapped him on his back. “You need to clear your head and get back in the game. She’s got two of the deadliest men in the entire Harcos arsenal on either side of her. She’s the safest of all of us.”
“She better be,” Venom murmured before turning back to the team. Inhaling a cleansing breath, he refocused on the mission that awaited him. Dizzy was in safe hands. Now he had to make sure he survived this mission to take her home.
As she led Pierce through the mucky, dark streets of Low Town, Dizzy’s gaze jumped to the night sky. As the bits and pieces of the Night Bird burned up in the atmosphere, the brilliant streaks lit up the inky blackness like a meteor shower.
“It’s almost beautiful, isn’t it?” Pierce said, keeping close to her side. Before leaving the Valiant, he had changed out of his uniform into civilian clothing that looked as if it had been purchased from somewhere in The City. He blended in perfectly and easily played the role of boyfriend or husband to her.
“Almost,” Dizzy agreed as they hurried along.
“How much farther?”
“Hopper likes this little all-night café where the arts-and-music crowd hangs. It’s only a few more blocks.”
“Good. We’re running out of time.”
“I know.” She tried not to think about the mission that awaited Venom and the SRU team. The Splinters had already killed dozens of men trying to get hold of those rods. They weren’t going to give them up without a fight.
“There,” she said, pointing out the café with a lift of her chin.
“I’ll let you do all the talking but I’m not letting you out of my sight. Venom will have my balls in a vise if anything happens to you.”
She didn’t doubt that in the least. Halting on the sidewalk, she studied Pierce with a critical eye. Unlike Venom who had tattoos snaking down toward his wrist and knuckles and up along his neck, Pierce
seemed unmarked. It was probably something they did to fit in as spies. Even so, his haircut was too neat. She lifted the hood of his black jacket into place. “Cover your hair.”
Hoping they would look like a couple out for a very late cup of coffee, Dizzy grasped his hand and tugged him along. It felt so very strange to interlace her fingers with another man but she tried to remember that she was putting on this charade to save her man.
When they entered the bustling, candlelit café, Dizzy ignored the odd sensation of Pierce pressed against her back. He wasn’t trying to come on to her or be inappropriate. The cramped and packed space necessitated such close touching.
“What’s with the candles?”
“The power grid has failed again,” she explained. With a swift tug on his hand, Dizzy steered him toward the back corner where Hopper liked to hold court. She spotted Hopper’s shockingly orange hair. “There she is.”
Pierce lowered his face so he could whisper against her ear. “What’s with the hair?”
“She’s a misfit with a fondness for hair dye.”
“She looks like she’s about twelve. Are you sure she can help us?”
Dizzy rolled her eyes. “Yes. I’m sure. And she’s not twelve. She’s only a few years younger than me.”
“If you say so,” he grumbled.
Across the shadowed café, Dizzy met Hopper’s gaze. It wasn’t surprise that crossed Hopper’s face but relief. Smoothly and without alerting anyone, Hopper left her corner spot and headed for the rear exit of the café. Dizzy and Pierce wound their way through the jostling crowd and finally made it to the back door.
When they stepped into the alley, Hopper was waiting for them. “I figured I would see you soon.”
Pierce immediately stepped between them and pushed Dizzy back toward the wall of the café to protect her. “How did you know we were coming?”
“Uh, dude, I’m not freaking blind.” Hopper pointed toward the sky. “I can also hear.” She fished a small radio from her pocket. “The Red Feather chain has been lit up tonight. Mouth swears you guys kicked her off her usual frequency. She’s using a backup to give out information.”
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