Team 52 Box Set: Books 1-3

by Anna Hackett

  “Hellcat, hang on a second—”

  Vegetation burst out of the side tunnel.

  “Watch out!” Lachlan yelled.

  “Fuck.” Blair whipped her rifle around and fired.

  Seth opened fire. Damn, this plant growth was even more out of control. The entire team fired, lighting up the tunnel.

  Suddenly, a vine snapped out and curled around Seth’s ankles. It shifted, almost pulling him off his feet. He yanked his knife off his belt, stooped down, and slashed the vine away.

  When he looked over, Lachlan was covered in vines, struggling against them. Blair and Callie were back to back, firing at anything that moved. Axel was slashing with two knives, his moves fast and deadly. Smith reached over one shoulder and pulled something off his back.

  What the hell? Seth frowned at the unfamiliar-looking weapon.

  Smith aimed it and suddenly flames spewed everywhere.

  Seth held a palm up against the wave of heat. Damn, it was a flamethrower.

  As Smith moved the weapon from side to side, the vegetation burned and shrank. Seth raced over to Lachlan, cutting him free.

  Seth stepped back, both of them eyeing Smith’s flamethrower. The big man shut it off.

  “Thanks, Smith,” Lachlan said.

  “Only you would bring a flamethrower to a gunfight,” Seth said.

  Smith shrugged. “Ty asked me to test it out.”

  “I want to test it out.” Blair eyed the weapon.

  Then an angry feminine voice echoed from deeper in the tunnel. It was followed by a man’s shout.

  January.

  Seth broke into a run.

  “You have to stop this,” January shouted.

  Kelleson held up the sphere. It was no longer connected to the amplifying device, but that hadn’t slowed down the vegetation still filling the tunnel.

  The man backed up a few steps, moving closer to a large boring machine ahead. Other construction equipment also sat nearby.

  Come on, Seth. Hurry it up.

  “This is the right thing to do.” Kelleson’s impassioned voice echoed in the tunnel. “I’m saving the world for the generations to come.”

  “The artifact is too dangerous.” She could see the vines twisting together. They were increasing in speed.

  “L.A. is just the beginning. I’ll bring down cities all across the country, and then the world. We’ll let the farms and forests grow.”

  “You’ll throw the entire country into chaos.”

  Any time now, 007. Where the hell was Team 52?

  “But something new will rise from the ashes,” Kelleson insisted.

  January sidled closer to some of the construction equipment. She saw a crate of small pieces of pipe and reached in slowly. She pulled one out, testing its weight.

  Then she darted toward Kelleson, hefting the pipe overhead.

  His eyes widened. “What the—?”

  She swung. The pipe cracked into his shoulder and he cried out.

  As January pulled back, he rushed at her. He shoved her, and she slammed into the concrete wall. The wind rushed out of her.

  “You won’t stop me,” he said.

  She looked up and met his eyes. They were obsessed, gleaming with zeal.

  For a second, fear hit her. But January stiffened. She’d had her life stolen from her once before, and it wasn’t happening again. She was falling in love with a man who fought to keep people safe every day. He’d fought all his life, seen the worst things people did to each other and suffered for it. She wasn’t letting this asshole mess with her bright future.

  January swung the pipe again.

  It cracked against Kelleson’s arm and he cried out, dropping the sphere. It rolled slowly across the concrete floor.

  “No!” He grabbed a handful of January’s shirt.

  They grappled, stumbling down the tunnel. Where the hell was Seth? She prayed he’d arrive any second now. Kelleson spun her around.

  That’s when January saw the gaping hole in the darkness ahead.

  Her stomach dropped. There was a large shaft leading downward, just a few feet in front of them.

  And the sphere was rolling toward it.

  “Watch out!” she yelled.

  A light lit Kelleson’s eyes. He swung her closer to the edge of the shaft.

  One of January’s feet slipped over the edge. She stumbled, clamping her hands onto Kelleson.

  He started prying her fingers off him.

  She struggled, trying to get her foot back on solid ground.

  “You won’t get to see my plan come to fruition.”

  “Oh, shut up, Kelleson. You’re a crazy megalomaniac, not a savior or hero. The real heroes are on the way here, and they will stop you. They do hard work every day in order to do the right thing and keep people safe. The right thing for everyone, not just for themselves.”

  “Enough.” He shook her violently.

  January’s other foot slipped, and she screamed, gripping onto Kelleson.

  He was the only thing holding her upright over the shaft. He swore, almost lurching forward and toppling them both over the edge.

  Then his eyes widened. January turned her head and spotted the jade sphere rolling toward the edge of the hole.

  There was a flash of movement and she saw Team 52 and Seth rushing toward them, weapons up. Thank God.

  Kelleson was so focused on the sphere, he didn’t notice them. “No!”

  He let January go.

  Oh, shit. Her hands were wrenched off him and she dived for the edge.

  Her hands hit, one closing over the sphere. But she couldn’t find any purchase. She slipped back into the shaft.

  Falling backward, she pulled the sphere to her chest, her free arm windmilling.

  “January!” Seth’s face twisted as he sprinted toward her. His shout echoed around her.

  Then she fell down into the darkness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Fucking hell. Seth raced toward the shaft. “January!”

  He saw Kelleson drop down on his belly, reaching out as January and the sphere fell into the chasm.

  “No!” Kelleson yelled.

  Seth didn’t give a shit about the sphere. His chest was locked tight, and all he could see was January falling into the blackness. No. Dammit, no. Pure agony ripped through him. His boots hit the edge.

  Arms gripped him on either side, holding him back. He saw Lachlan and Smith. He jerked against them, trying to break free.

  “Let me go!” His voice was hoarse.

  His gaze locked on January, his heart clenching in his chest.

  Suddenly, she managed to grab hold of a narrow scaffolding board that was stretched across the expanse of the shaft. She hung there, swaying.

  “Fuck.” The air shuddered out of him.

  As he watched, she hauled herself up and clamped her arms and legs onto the board.

  Then she sat up and shot them a thumbs up.

  “Awesome,” Blair said.

  “She’s okay,” Lachlan said.

  Blair was clearly impressed, but Seth’s heart was hammering.

  “That belongs to me,” Kelleson yelled into the shaft.

  “You.” Lachlan, looking very unhappy, took a step toward the tech billionaire.

  Kelleson looked up, blinking like he’d only just realized they were there. As he took in Lachlan’s cold stare, his face blanched. His gaze moved to Seth, then the others.

  He slowly rose.

  Then the crazy fucker jumped.

  “Dammit.” Lachlan lurched forward to grab Kelleson, but missed.

  Seth hissed out a breath, and his teammates all swore.

  They all watched as Kelleson fell. He hit the same scaffold as January, gripping onto it. He sent the plank rocking.

  Dammit. Seth watched January shake, desperately trying to hold on to both the bucking piece of wood and the sphere.

  Seth watched as Kelleson pushed himself up to stand on the board. He put his arms out for balance, and
started walking toward January.

  The bastard. Seth’s jaw locked. “Smith.”

  “On it.” Smith raised his rifle, staring down the scope.

  January stood as well, staring at Kelleson defiantly. She tucked the sphere down the front of her shirt.

  “You got a shot?” Seth asked.

  Smith shook his head. “Angle’s bad. I might clip January.”

  “We need to get down there,” Seth said.

  “There’s a ladder over here,” Blair called out, pointing to the edge of the shaft.

  Seth ran over and spotted the ladder built into the side of the shaft. It disappeared down into the darkness. He swung his rifle over his shoulder, spun, and started climbing down.

  “I’m coming, hellcat,” he yelled.

  “Speed it up, 007,” she yelled back.

  Seth shook his head. Only January could make him want to smile in the middle of a fucked-up situation like this. Nothing stopped that woman.

  He reached the scaffold plank and turned. Kelleson was close to January.

  Seth stepped out carefully.

  “It won’t take all our weight,” Lachlan said from behind him.

  Seth didn’t care. He kept moving.

  “Give it to me!” Kelleson’s shout echoed off the shaft walls.

  The man lunged at January. She jumped back, setting the plank rocking.

  Shit. Seth bent his knees to keep his balance.

  Looking through the gloom, he spotted another scaffold plank nearby. It was several feet away.

  January was backing up. He watched her turn her head, eyeing the second plank. Then she looked back at Kelleson, who was closing in on her.

  Ah, no. Seth knew in his gut what she had planned. He picked up speed.

  Kelleson got closer, swinging at her again.

  January ducked, turned, and then leaped into the air.

  Seth’s heart stopped. He held his breath, watching as she hit the other plank, belly first.

  Kelleson was gearing up to jump after her.

  There was the deafening crack of a gunshot.

  Kelleson’s body flinched and he cried out. He jumped, but his leap was off, courtesy of Smith’s bullet. He smacked into the plank, just a few feet from January, and barely managed to grab on. He was dangling beneath the plank, holding on by a few fingers.

  “You’re condemning the world to destruction.” Kelleson called out.

  January rolled her eyes. “Enough.”

  Then Kelleson started to slip. His eyes widened, and then he fell. He dropped, screaming into the darkness that swallowed him.

  Seth didn’t feel a hell of a lot of sympathy. He moved in line with his woman. “January.”

  She shot him a smile. “Hey, 007. About time you made an appearance.”

  “You okay?”

  “Having a great time.”

  He shook his head, but then January’s plank moved, and she lost her balance.

  Seth sucked in a breath and watched as she dropped to her belly, clutching the board. He turned his head and saw that vegetation was swarming down the side of the shaft. It had dislodged one end of January’s scaffolding.

  “January, hold on!”

  Her head snapped up and their gazes locked.

  The end of her plank fell, pushed loose by the vegetation. The plank started to tilt up.

  Seth dropped to his knees and reached out a hand. “January, jump.”

  She launched herself off her near-vertical board, throwing herself toward him. The falling board smacked into her, slamming the back of her head.

  Seth saw instantly that she wasn’t going to make it. She’d miss his plank.

  His throat tight, he reached out as far as he could, and shouted her name.

  January stretched out a hand, her gaze locked on Seth’s face. It was twisted with worry and concentration.

  Her head was throbbing, blood sliding into one eye, but she kept her focus on Seth.

  What she didn’t do was look down into the yawning blackness beneath her.

  Their fingers brushed.

  But she wasn’t quite close enough.

  She fell. Oh, no.

  January dropped, her heart in her throat. She heard Seth’s shout and she threw out her arms, but she was too far from the edge to grab onto anything.

  Suddenly, vines shot out, circling around her. She jerked to a stop, and her heartbeat was a loud pounding in her ears.

  After a few seconds, she examined her surroundings. She was sitting in a little nest of vegetation. She froze. What the hell?

  Next to her, a mass of green was flowing down the side of the shaft. Some vines had grown out several feet to catch her. She blew out a breath.

  “Shit.” Seth muttered. “Hold on, January. Don’t move.”

  A choked laugh burst out of her. “Where would I go, 007?”

  “Don’t argue with me right now.” His gaze was glued to her. “The board gave your head a good smack. You okay?”

  She had the headache from hell forming, but right now, it was the least of her problems. “I’m fine.”

  Seth looked up. “Smith? I need the grappler.”

  “Incoming,” Smith called back, his voice a deep rumble.

  January shifted slightly and the vines rocked. She instantly stilled. It wouldn’t take much for her to fall through the vegetation. The jade sphere, nestled in her shirt, was cool against her skin, but safe. She gently pushed a vine from around her chest and looked up at Seth on the scaffold plank above her.

  That was her man. Rescuing her again.

  God, he was handsome. Heroic. And all hers.

  Then the vines holding her slipped downward a few inches and dropped a bit. She swallowed her scream.

  “Stay calm, January.” Lachlan’s composed voice came from up above. “Stay still.”

  She risked a look up, and saw the rest of Team 52 at the edge of the shaft above. Smith threw something toward Seth. The item arced through the air and Seth caught it.

  “Hang on, January,” Seth said. “I’m coming to get you.”

  “Okay.”

  Their gazes met. She trusted him. She knew he’d do anything to save her. And despite her aunt and uncle’s love, no one had cared for her like that since her mother had died.

  Seth shot her a faint smile, and lifted the device. It looked like some sort of bulky gun.

  The vines dropped again, and a scream clogged January’s throat. She really didn’t want to plunge into darkness and be broken into pieces.

  “Seth, whatever you have planned, do it fast.”

  “Give me a sec.”

  Then the sound of gunshots echoed from above. Bullets pinged off the concrete nearby.

  Team 52 was shouting and returning fire. January knew it had to be the Knights of Gaia fighters.

  Seth jerked.

  No! Had he been hit? “Seth!”

  He staggered along the plank. Her stomach dropped away.

  Then he fell.

  No. January couldn’t breathe. She felt like a rock was lodged in her chest. She couldn’t lose Seth. Not when she’d just found him. Not when the future was so bright and full of everything she’d ever wanted.

  But then Seth twisted midair, lifted his weapon, and fired it.

  At the same moment, the vines holding January broke loose and she started to fall. This time, she did scream.

  She heard a whizz and a thump. Suddenly, Seth’s body slammed into hers, and they swung through the air. His arms wrapped tightly around her.

  “My God, Seth.”

  “Hold on.”

  She clamped her arms and legs around him as they swung across the chasm.

  That’s when she saw the line extending from the gun he held. It was some sort of grappling gun.

  They swung toward the wall of the shaft. Seth lifted his feet and his boots hit the concrete, absorbing the impact.

  Then they just hung there.

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  Seth lowered his he
ad and kissed her—hard.

  “Is this another of Ty’s gadgets?” she asked, breathlessly.

  “Actually, no. The design was done by an ex-SEAL, who works for a security outfit in Denver.” Seth paused. “They are allies, of a sort. We traded his grappling gun design for some of our gear.”

  Then she remembered. “My God, were you shot?”

  “Nicked my vest. I’m fine.”

  She blew out a breath. “Thank God.”

  Then he pressed his forehead to hers. “James, I need you to know that I’m falling in love with you.”

  Oh. Warmth flowed over her. “Really?”

  “Really. I think you’re amazing. I love the way you embrace life, your never-ending energy and vitality. Plus you’re gorgeous and you never let me get away with anything.”

  She felt like bubbles were popping inside her. “You like arguing with me.”

  “I do. And I want to do it for the rest of my life. Fair warning, I’ll probably screw this up from time to time.”

  She smiled. “Then you’ll have to get good at groveling.”

  He smiled back. “I plan to spend my time making you happy. I can be pretty determined when I set my mind to something.”

  “We’ll drive each other crazy,” she said. “We’ll fight.”

  He smiled. “I hope so.”

  “We’ll do crazy stuff, like confess our feelings while dangling over a giant hole.”

  Seth’s smile dissolved. “We will never do this again. You aren’t going to be in danger ever again.”

  She gave him a quick grin. “Okay. But if I am…I know my man will come and rescue me.”

  “Always.” He kissed her again.

  He pressed something on the grappling gun, and they started moving upward as the rope retracted.

  Moments later, Lachlan and Smith were there, pulling them over the edge of the shaft.

  January was just damn happy to feel solid ground under her shoes. She turned and saw the Knights of Gaia soldiers nearby, all on their knees and tied up. Blair and Callie were standing guard over them.

  “The sphere?” Lachlan asked.

  As Seth slid an arm around her, she pulled the sphere out of her shirt and held it up.

  “Best resting place in town,” Axel drawled, winking at January.

  Seth’s arm tightened, and he scowled at his friend. January just shook her head.