Tane (Hell Squad #20)

by Anna Hackett

  His brother’s scowl deepened. “You were always an intense kid, Tane. Focused, serious, determined, and coming up with contingency plans for if things went bad. But you used to smile, too. I hate what those years as a merc did to you.”

  Fuck. “I did my job.”

  “I know. You saved abducted oil execs, rescued villages from local criminals. Hell, you took down a dangerous drug cartel almost singlehandedly.”

  Tane grunted.

  “I wish you could believe that what you had to do in order to save all those people was worth it.”

  He’d done it because he was good at it. End of story. He was good at stalking, hunting, and killing. He’d known from a young age that he’d never be able to wear a suit, sit at a fucking desk, or make goddamn small talk.

  This was a conversation Tane didn’t want to have. Thankfully, at that moment, they reached the rec room. As they entered, he saw that the place wasn’t too busy, but despite the talking and laughter, there was a low-level tension running through the room.

  Manu frowned. “Everyone’s edgy. Talking about the bombs.”

  Tane grunted. “Not much else to talk about right now.”

  They grabbed two homebrews and found some empty stools.

  “Any news on the bombs?” his brother asked.

  Tane shifted a shoulder. “Geek squad is trying to find a way to defuse them. It’s not easy.”

  It was even harder for his squad. It sucked when you knew where the bombs were, but you couldn’t do anything about them. He hated just sitting on his ass.

  He and Manu fell into easy conversation—about the firing range, the squad’s latest missions, weapons Manu was working on, and their favorite subject, rugby. God, Tane missed rugby with his cousins.

  Soon their beers were empty.

  “Want another?” Tane asked.

  “Why not? We’ve got to take the small pleasures where we can.”

  Tane headed to the self-service bar and set the empties in a recycling bucket before he grabbed two new bottles from the cooler. The homebrew wasn’t bad, but damn, he missed real beer.

  As he looked at the bottle of his homebrew, he wondered if he’d ever have real beer again. Would this alien apocalypse really end? Could they really fight the Gizzida off for good? The one thing he did know, though, whatever happened—he glanced at Manu—Tane would fight to the very end. For his brothers, for the women they loved, for the people he couldn’t save in the past, and for the people he’d killed.

  A flash of white caught his eye.

  Selena. His chest tightened, beer bottles in his hands clinking together.

  She was wearing a pair of dark, tight jeans, and a green T-shirt the same color as her eyes. Her platinum hair was loose, and she looked like a fairy who’d escaped some garden paradise. She leaned over the bar on the other side of the room where the non-alcoholic drinks were kept. He had the perfect view of denim cupping her sweet, little ass and his teeth clicked together.

  She was small, but perfectly put together.

  Straightening, she turned her head and their gazes met.

  It felt like the sound in the room faded away, as though someone had turned a volume dial. It was just the two of them.

  Those large, green eyes widened. Damn, he was fascinated by those eyes.

  Suddenly, someone stepped in front of him, blocking his view of Selena.

  “Hi there, Tane.”

  The woman was tall and slim, with long legs she showed off in a short skirt. Brown curls tumbled around her shoulders.

  He wracked his brain for a name. Nicole? Naomi?

  “Nina,” she purred. She put a hand on his forearm, stroking his tattoo.

  He remembered now. She was a former model who worked in the Enclave kitchens, and complained about it a lot.

  He lifted his chin. “Yeah.”

  She stepped closer, and a cloud of perfume hit him—strong and musky.

  “All the other Rahia brothers are taken now. I wanted to see if you’re up for a hot, sweaty fuck.” She lowered her voice. “I’m open to all options.”

  Behind Nina, he saw Selena walk away, heading toward where Hawk pilot Finn and his woman Lia sat.

  Selena shot him a quick look over her shoulder, then looked at Nina, and then she glanced away.

  “Tane?” Nina frowned at him.

  “Not interested.” Part of him wanted to follow Selena and—

  And nothing. He circled Nina and headed back toward Manu.

  “Are you turning me down?” Nina’s voice held a thread of incredulousness.

  “Appreciate the offer.” He did appreciate when people were upfront. He hated games. “But I’m not interested.”

  She huffed out a breath. “Fine. Don’t expect me to offer again.”

  He leveled her with a stare, and her breath hitched. She spun and hurried away.

  Reaching Manu, he handed his brother his beer.

  “What was that about?” Manu asked.

  “Nothing interesting.” Tane sat down.

  “You need a woman. She’s got great legs.”

  Tane rolled his eyes. “Don’t you start.” He glanced surreptitiously across the rec room. Selena was gone. He sank back in his chair and took a long sip of his beer.

  “Scratch that,” Manu said slowly. “I think what you need is an alien.”

  Tane froze with the bottle near his mouth. “Manu—”

  “If you think I don’t see the way you watch her, then you aren’t as sharp as I thought.”

  Tane swirled his beer. “She’s been traumatized enough. She’s alone, vulnerable—”

  “She was. She’s not anymore. Open your eyes, bro.”

  A uniformed soldier stopped beside them, standing to attention. Damn, the boy was young. He looked like he was about to salute, or genuflect, or something.

  Tane shared an amused glance with Manu. “Yes, soldier?”

  “General Holmes sent me from the Command Center,” the young man said. “He requested you meet him ASAP.”

  Tane straightened and set his beer down on the table with a click.

  “Got to go, Manu.”

  His brother nodded. “Sure thing.”

  Something was up.

  Selena tried not to fidget as she sat on the edge of a chair in front of General Holmes’ desk.

  He was standing, talking with Santha Ramos, head of the Intel team, and Devlin Gray, Santha’s second-in-command.

  The office door opened, and Marcus Steele strode in.

  The rugged man nodded at her before leaning against the wall. A second later, Roth Masters entered. He nodded at the others and gave Selena a faint smile. He sat down in a chair close to hers.

  The door opened again and every muscle in her body tensed.

  Tane strode in like a Florum hunting cat. He spotted her, paused, then frowned.

  She wished he would get some other expressions on his face whenever he looked at her.

  She’d seen him with that woman. A beautiful woman. She’d been tall, with dark hair, and they’d looked good together. A matching set.

  And Selena had felt the uncharacteristic urge to do harm, and scratch the woman’s eyes out.

  “Tane, take a seat,” Holmes said.

  Instead, Tane crossed his arms and stood against the wall beside Marcus.

  Holmes didn’t sit, either. He pressed his hands to his desk and leaned forward.

  “I’m authorizing a very small team to infiltrate Blue Mountain Base.”

  The squad leaders all tensed, and Selena felt energy pumping off them.

  “Emerson and Noah need samples of the fluid,” Holmes continued.

  “Damn,” Roth muttered. “Won’t be easy.”

  Holmes blew out a breath. “No, it won’t.”

  “Why is Selena here?” Tane’s deep voice did not sound happy.

  She stiffened her spine.

  “Selena came to discuss some things with me.” Holmes nodded at her encouragingly.

  Selena turne
d in her chair. “I may be able to find a way to neutralize the bombs.” She swallowed. “I’m not making any promises, but I need to see the bomb in person—”

  “What?” Tane barked. “No.”

  She met furious brown eyes so dark they looked black.

  “I use all my senses more deeply than humans,” she said. “A photograph tells me very little.” She needed to smell, touch, and feel the energy coming from it. “I need to see the bomb, touch it—”

  “General.” Tane sounded like he was talking through closed teeth. “This is a very bad idea—”

  “We’re out of options, Tane. I don’t want to risk Selena either, but we’re all a part of this fight. And if we don’t find a way to defuse these bombs, we’re all dead anyway.”

  “She’s been through too much,” Tane said.

  Selena shot to her feet. Did he see her as weak, damaged?

  “I’m not broken. Maybe I was when you first found me, but you, all of you, put me back together. You gave me a home, and I want to fight for it too.”

  Tane’s jaw hardened.

  “I’ve discussed this with Santha and Devlin,” Holmes said. “A small team, three or four people, have the best chance of getting in without being detected. Selena, Santha, Devlin—”

  “I’m going.” Tane’s voice was clipped and unyielding. “You need firepower.”

  Holmes released a breath. “Fine. I was going to ask for a squad volunteer.” The general sat in his chair. “The four of you will infiltrate Blue Mountain Base. Do not engage the Gizzida. Get the samples and let Selena see the bomb, and then get out.”

  Tane’s burning gaze met hers. He was so angry and the emotion filled the room. She made herself hold his stare.

  “You cannot get caught,” Holmes went on. “You’ll go in with illusion armor. If they spot you…”

  The general didn’t finish his thought. They all knew. If the aliens discovered that they were in there, looking at the bomb, they could move it, or worse, detonate it.

  “You’ll have no comms support once you’re inside,” Holmes added. “The base is too reinforced.”

  “We’ll go in tonight,” Santha said. “It gives us the rest of the afternoon to prep.”

  A map appeared on the screen on the general’s desk. It was an image showing the heavily forested Blue Mountains, and Selena knew it was the area close to the old Blue Mountain Base.

  “The Hawk will drop us here.” Santha pointed. “We’ll hike in and use an old entrance. The drone team have been watching, and the aliens don’t appear to be using it.”

  Selena sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.

  This was going to be dangerous and she was afraid. Being the Gizzida’s captive had been the most horrible experience of her life. She never, ever wanted to go back there.

  But she’d do her bit to give her new friends and family a chance at life.

  She thought of Finn and Lia, Claudia and Shaw, Elle and Marcus, her rescued pet bird, Fluffy. Tane.

  She wasn’t weak or hurt anymore. The Earth had amped up her natural-born abilities, so she wasn’t defenseless.

  And she wouldn’t be alone. Santha and Devlin snuck in and out of alien territory all the time.

  She glanced at Tane again. And Tane never lost a fight.

  “Okay, go and prepare,” Holmes said. “Good luck.”

  Tane moved across the office in two long strides and grabbed Selena’s arm. He pulled her out of her chair.

  “Private discussion. Now.” As he dragged her out of the room, she saw Holmes raise his gaze to the ceiling, Santha smiling, and the other men all looking highly amused.

  Chapter Four

  Tane held on to his temper by the thinnest edge.

  He towed Selena out of the Command Center and down the hall. She had to jog to keep up with him.

  “Tane—”

  He pulled her into an empty side tunnel and spun her around.

  “You want to be back in Gizzida hands? Be their prisoner again?”

  She sucked in a sharp breath.

  He was an asshole to make her afraid, but he couldn’t stop himself. He needed to get through to her.

  “No.” She straightened, her green gaze direct. “I’m not going to be their prisoner. I’ll be with Santha and Devlin, and with you. And I’m not helpless, Tane. Not anymore.”

  Emotion burned through his chest and he punched his fist into the wall above her head.

  She flinched, then her slim fingers circled his forearm, right over his tattoo. He felt that small touch burn through to the bone. He couldn’t look away from the contrast of her pale, pale skin on his browner skin and its black ink.

  “I know you’ll keep me safe. I need to see that bomb, Tane. I have to help keep this place and its people safe. If those bombs go off…”

  They’d all be Gizzida.

  Tane lowered his head, wants and needs pulling at him. Her eyes widened, her chest hitched, and her gaze dropped to his lips.

  He fought back all those urges. He ran his nose along hers and heard her pull in a long breath.

  “You have to stay safe.” His voice was deep and gritty.

  “You do, too,” she whispered. “Sometimes I think you forget how many people care about you.”

  That was all the contact he dared allow himself. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back. He was still pissed about this mission. He needed some time to clear his head.

  “I’ll see you in the Hawk hangar. Be ready.”

  As he strode away, he flexed his hands. He felt her watching him. He could still feel the touch of her fingers in every cell of his body.

  Moments later, he slammed into his squad’s locker room.

  Someone had taped a hand-drawn caricature to his locker. It showed a big, muscled soldier in armor with dreadlocks and a dark scowl. In his arms, the soldier was holding a pretty, tiny woman with large eyes who looked up at him adoringly.

  He ripped the picture off the metal.

  “Told you he’d be in a bad mood.”

  Levi’s voice. Tane looked over his shoulder. His squad was all lined up in the locker room.

  Shit. He’d been so preoccupied thinking about Selena that he hadn’t even noticed them.

  He yanked open his locker. “What are you guys doing here?”

  “Heard you’re going on a mission,” Hemi said. “Without us.”

  Tane turned. Hemi had his brawny arms crossed over his chest and was scowling. Ash and Levi lounged on the benches. Dom leaned against the wall, playing with a switchblade. The ex-Mafia enforcer liked knives. Griff sat on another bench, his knees apart, his hands dangling between them. He was studying Tane, his considering gaze reminding Tane that Griff had once been a cop.

  “A small recon mission only. We’re going into Blue Mountain Base with Santha and Devlin.”

  “And Selena,” Griff added.

  Damn grapevine was alive and well at the Enclave. Tane gave a single nod. “She says she needs to see the bomb.”

  “You sound pissed, bro,” Hemi said.

  Tane ground his teeth together. That was an understatement.

  “You like her,” Hemi said. “We all see that. She’s a sweet, sexy little thing—”

  Tane growled.

  That made Hemi grin. “Stop fighting so hard.”

  “She’s been torn from her family, her planet. The Gizzida had her imprisoned for months. She went through hell.”

  “She’s better now, man,” Ash said. “She’s stronger, safe—”

  There was admiration in the former biker’s voice. Selena had used her healing ability to save Ash’s woman, Marin, from dying. He had a mile-wide soft spot for Selena.

  “I want to keep her feeling that way, not take her back to the fucking aliens,” Tane said.

  “So keep her safe.” Hemi stepped forward. “She’s safest right beside you. And she’s full of surprises. She might even save your ass.”

  “And when you get back, you should claim her sweet ass,” Levi suggeste
d.

  Tane growled again. “Don’t talk about her ass.”

  They all watched him for a long moment, and he finally let out a breath. They were his brothers, and he knew they meant well.

  “I understand.” Dom’s voice was deep, colored with his Italian accent. “I know what it’s like to believe that you don’t deserve the light and beauty of a woman. To know your hands are stained, and you shouldn’t sully her with them.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Hemi said. “You and Arden are in love. You make her happy.” Hemi’s dark brows lowered. “And Tane isn’t stained or fucking dirty. You deserve a woman who cares about you, who lights you up.”

  Tane yanked his armor out of his locker and slammed it into place on his chest. “I have a mission to prep for.”

  “Stubborn ass,” Hemi muttered.

  “We’ll gang up on him when he gets back,” Griff said. “We’re berserkers. We always win.”

  Fastening his armor, Tane ignored them.

  “Yeah, we’ll be fucking matchmakers,” Levi said. “We’ll push our cute little alien at him so much, he won’t be able to resist her.”

  With a sigh, Tane turned to look at them. “Get out.”

  Levi pointed at him and grinned. “You’re going down, Rahia.”

  “Out,” he barked.

  They filed out with laughs and waves.

  Hemi was the last to leave. “Be careful out there.”

  Tane lifted his chin.

  “Tane?”

  He looked at his brother.

  “You’re the best damn man I know.” With that, Hemi was gone.

  Selena finished fastening her armor. Her hair was in a tight braid, and she was ready.

  She released a deep breath. Okay, not totally ready. Her nerves were jangling, and her stomach felt sick.

  She didn’t want to get close to any raptors, and she definitely didn’t want to be right in the middle of their base.

  Closing her eyes, old memories battered her mind—being chained, being hit, the Gizzida scientists touching her. She blew out a breath. That’s the past, Selena. It didn’t matter that she was afraid.

  But she needed to see that bomb.

  She headed down the hall toward the Hawk hangar.