Kade pulled the hammer back with a loud click.
“Big mistake, cowboy,” Gran Jefe said. Blood dripped from his mutilated ear and a gash on his cheek.
X met Gran Jefe’s gaze, but there was no fear in the king’s eyes, only cold rage.
“¡Es la última!” General Forge said. He had his cutlass out, the edge against Gran Jefe’s neck. “Not asking again.”
“Fucking hijoeputas,” Gran Jefe said. He slowly pulled the blade away from X and pointed it at the beast. “She’s mine,” he said.
X said, “You talk like you have authority here.”
“She nearly rip my face off. I will kill the chango and eating its flesh—is my right.” Gran Jefe took a step toward the creature, but X moved in front of him again.
“I said step back,” X said.
Gran Jefe towered over him, chest out almost as far as his belly.
Kade kept his gun pointed while Gran Jefe unleashed a string of profanities in both languages. The big Cazador spat at the unconscious monkey and finally backed down.
“Now, go get cleaned up and see a medic.”
Gran Jefe smirked and backed away, glaring at Kade.
“Everyone out except General Forge, Slayer, Kade, and Mags!” X yelled.
The room cleared, and X bent down to the inert creature. “I don’t know what the hell happened, but she can’t stay here,” he said. “Get her up and lock her up temporarily on the Immortal. I’ll take her back to the islands with me and look after her for now.”
He shook his head as he checked the monkey.
“We got more problems than supplies,” X grumbled. “Between that big angry bastard and Captain Rolo, we need to keep our guard up and eyes open.”
“I’m with you, King Xavier,” Slayer said.
“Always,” Magnolia added.
General Forge’s scarred face nodded.
They all looked to Kade.
He had to make a choice now.
He flashed back to the machine camp, and the darkness and pain his people had endured. The loss of his family was still a raw wound.
But then he thought of the living, people who still had a chance at survival. This was the reason he had agreed to serve again, to take to the sky and dive.
As always, danger lurked in all directions, from the unknown source of radiation in Panama City to the nightmarish monsters of the wastes to the dwindling resources at the islands.
To navigate the risks humanity faced now would take someone with a compassionate heart and a killer instinct. To Kade, only one man displayed that supremely necessary combination of traits, and it wasn’t Captain Rolo. The man had lost his way over the years.
Only King Xavier seemed to have the balls to make the tough decisions to save what was left of humanity and to lead Kade’s people back to their home country.
Kade took off his cowboy hat and bowed slightly. “Aye, I stand with you wherever you may lead us, my King,” he said.
“Good,” X said. “Because I’m sending you home, Commander. You’re going to Australia.”
Coming Summer 2022
Don't miss the next installment of the
Hell Divers series with Hell Divers IX: Radioactive!
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About The Author
Nicholas Sansbury Smith is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Hell Divers series, the Orbs series, the Trackers series, the Extinction Cycle series, the Sons of War series, and the new E-Day series. He worked for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management in disaster mitigation before switching careers to focus on storytelling. When he isn’t writing or daydreaming about the apocalypse, he enjoys running, biking, spending time with his family, and traveling the world. He is an Ironman triathlete and lives in Iowa with his wife, daughter, and their dogs.
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Hell Divers Series | Book 8 | King of the Wastes Page 46