Hell Squad: Finn

Anna Hackett

Finn

Published by Anna Hackett

Copyright 2016 by Anna Hackett

Cover by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers

Edits by Tanya Saari

ISBN: 978-1-925539-01-1

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, events or places is coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form.

Contents

What readers are saying about Anna’s Science Fiction Romance

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Preview: Among Galactic Ruins

Also by Anna Hackett

About the Author

What readers are saying about Anna’s Science Fiction Romance

At Star’s End – One of Library Journal’s Best E-Original Romances for 2014

Return to Dark Earth – One of Library Journal’s Best E-Original Books for 2015 and two-time SFR Galaxy Awards winner

The Phoenix Adventures – SFR Galaxy Award Winner for Most Fun New Series and “Why Isn’t This a Movie?” Series

Beneath a Trojan Moon – SFR Galaxy Award Winner and RWAus Ella Award Winner

Hell Squad – Amazon Bestselling Science Fiction Romance Series and SFR Galaxy Award for best Post-Apocalypse for Readers who don’t like Post-Apocalypse

The Anomaly Series – #1 Amazon Action Adventure Romance Bestseller

“Like Indiana Jones meets Star Wars. A treasure hunt with a steamy romance.” – SFF Dragon, review of Among Galactic Ruins

“Strap in, enjoy the heat of romance and the daring of this group of space travellers!” – Di, Top 500 Amazon Reviewer, review of At Star’s End

“High action and adventure surrounding an impossible treasure hunt kept me reading until late in the night.” – Jen, That’s What I’m Talking About, review of Beyond Galaxy’s Edge

“Action, danger, aliens, romance – yup, it’s another great book from Anna Hackett!” – Book Gannet Reviews, review of Hell Squad: Marcus

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Chapter One

“Finn, get your ass down here!”

Finn Erickson heard Marcus Steele’s gravelly voice across the comm line. Finn fired at the alien vehicle on the ground below, and then pulled his Hawk quadcopter into a tight turn. Below, he saw Hell Squad and its leader, Marcus, battling a large raptor patrol. Even though the humans were clad in black carbon fiber armor, they still looked small compared to the giant humanoid aliens.

“I’m coming,” Finn said.

“Make it quick,” Marcus growled. “Gabe’s bleeding like a stuck pig.”

Finn touched the controls again, his Hawk responding in an instant. He spotted the big form of Gabe Jackson. The man was fighting with a brutal ruthlessness. He didn’t look injured, but Finn expected that as long as he was breathing, a man like Gabe would keep fighting.

Hell Squad had been fighting since the day the aliens had invaded. Finn knew the tough group of soldiers wouldn’t stop until the Gizzida were gone.

If they were ever gone.

Finn fired again at another big, ugly, squat alien vehicle. Then he spotted a good place to land, and started his descent.

He didn’t touch the skids to the ground. It was too hot. Instead, he hovered just above the grass. “Make it quick, Marcus.”

Ahead, in the distance, he saw more alien vehicles bumping over the now twisted and overgrown patch of road. Damn, they just keep coming.

It had been almost two years since the world as they knew it had ended. The Gizzida—dinosaur-like aliens—had arrived out of the blue, in their giant ships. They’d wanted the Earth’s resources. The biggest one being humans themselves.

The side door of the Hawk was yanked open. Finn looked back, and saw Hell Squad jumping aboard.

“Finn?” A sweet, feminine voice sounded from his comm panel. “Drone feed is showing incoming pteros.”

Elle Milton was the comms officer for Hell Squad, not to mention, Marcus’ fiancée.

“I see them, Elle.” Finn tapped the screen on his control panel and saw the dots zooming in from the north. He yelled back over his shoulder, “Strap in!”

He sent the Hawk upward at high velocity. He heard a thump from the back, and then cursing.

“We have incoming pteros. A lot of them. I need someone on the autocannon.”

The alien ships were close enough now that Finn could make out the distinctive pterosaur shape. Large, fixed wings sharpened to a pointed cockpit at the front, along with a long, tail-like back end.

His hands danced over the controls, his Hawk responding instantly. As the raptor ships started firing their deadly poison ammunition, Finn threw the quadcopter into evasive maneuvers.

Flying had been his obsession since he was a boy growing up in Norway. It didn’t matter if he was under fire from aliens, or just out for a scenic glide. He loved it.

He heard the autocannon in the back returning fire.

He guessed it was Shaw Baird, Hell Squad’s sniper. The guy had a magic touch with any weapon and a hell of an aim.

As they raced across the sky, Finn tried to anticipate the pteros movements, guess where Shaw needed him to be. With some fancy flying, he got Shaw in position twice to take down the alien ships. Finn watched with a satisfied smile as the pteros hit the ground and exploded into balls of flames.

Soon, the remaining pteros turned back, and they were free.

Finn leveled out the quadcopter and turned them toward home base. The Enclave.

The secret human hideaway was built in an old underground coal mine south of Sydney—the former capital of the United Coalition of Countries. The Enclave hadn’t been their home for very long. They’d barely been there a month. Their previous base—an old military installation in the Blue Mountains to the west—had been attacked by the aliens. It had sent the Blue Mountain Base survivors on a wild race out of the mountains to find sanctuary. Thankfully, the Enclave had taken them in.

Finn liked the place. It’d been specially designed for the purpose of safely housing people, and was way more luxurious than the retrofitted base in the mountains had been. And, although it had taken a little time, the people of the Enclave were finally warming up to the Blue Mountain Base survivors.

Together, they were stronger. Together, they had a far better chance of driving the Gizzida away.

Finn raised his voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, turbulence has ended. Enjoy the rest of your flight, and thanks for choosing to fly with Erickson Air.”

“Can it, Finn.”

Finn grinned to himself. The accented voice belonged to Cruz Ramos, Hell Squad’s second-in-command.

“Lousy service, though. Where are my drinks and complimentary peanuts?”

That cocky voice belonged to Shaw.

So much had changed in the last two years. Finn had been part of the Coalition Air Force before the invasion, and while he’d flown some combat missions, it had been nothing like what he was doing now. Now, he flew Hell Squad around—the toughest squad that they had. And that was both a privilege and an honor.

Since the invasion, he’d seen too many friends and colleagues die. He had no idea about his family. Pain speared through him briefly, like raptor poison to his chest. His mother, father, and siblings lived in Norway, and to this day, he had no way of knowing what had happened to them. He’d heard Norway had been bombed…but the limited communication they’d had in the early days had been unreliable. And since then, the aliens had found a way to block it.

Finn took a deep breath. He liked to believe that his family was still in their village, way up in the north. Safe.

Soon, the site of the Enclave came into view. From the air, there was nothing to indicate that thousands of survivors were living below the surface. It was all overgrown, rolling hills, the rotted remains of some old coal mines, and the broken ruins of some abandoned towns.

He slowed the Hawk and brought it to a stop, hovering in the air. He reversed the rotors and started lowering. On the control screen, he saw the ground beneath the Hawk open up. The doors of the hangar were opening, creating a gaping hole in the ground.

Soon, the Hawk’s skids touched concrete. He powered down the engines, undid his straps, and left the cockpit.

The blood-spattered Hell Squad started to leave the Hawk. He slapped Cruz and Shaw on the back. The men lifted their chins in response.

As Marcus argued with a silent Gabe about heading to the infirmary, Finn watched Shaw toss an arm around Hell Squad’s lone female soldier, Claudia Frost. Somehow, Shaw had convinced the deadly, dark-haired woman to take a chance on him. The two were crazy in love, and the sight of them made Finn grin.

While Hell Squad’s job was over, Finn’s wasn’t. He had to take care of the love of his life. He circled his Hawk slowly, running through the mental checklist of things he needed to inspect.

In the air, she was hidden by a state-of-the-art illusion system that blurred her visually, and made her near-invisible on raptor scans. She ran on a small thermonuclear engine, and with her four rotors shrouded, she was virtually silent.

He moved around to the front of the Hawk, and gave the metal an affectionate pat. “Good job today, baby.”

Then he frowned, noting a small patch of what looked like melted metal. Raptor poison must have touched it. He made a mental note to get maintenance to check it out. The damn stuff could burn through anything. Luckily, this looked like a tiny, manageable spot. They only had a limited fleet of Hawks left, and they couldn’t afford to lose another. He’d already had the displeasure of crashing one.

He heard footsteps crossing the hangar, in a familiar, crisp, purposeful rhythm. Finn turned his head, and zeroed in on a redheaded woman heading to the office area.

His mouth went dry. Lia Murphy didn’t look his way—probably on purpose—so he took his time to study her.

The head of the drone team—the tiny quadcopters they used to gather their intel and spy on the aliens—was of average height, but that’s where average ended. She had red hair—not a vibrant wine-red, but a softer red that made Finn think of sunsets. She had a downright beautiful face, and the creamiest skin that Finn had ever seen. She was slender, but there was no missing the full breasts and the gentle curves under her clothes.

She was also annoying, opinionated, and not to mention a hell of a kisser.

For a second, Finn was tossed back to that adrenaline-fueled moment that took place on his Hawk on a previous mission two weeks ago. Hovering over an alien warship, having just taken out the drone killer that had been attacking their drones, Lia had kissed the hell out of him.

“Erickson? Erickson?”

Finn blinked and focused on a stocky, older man in baggy coveralls standing in front of him.

“You want your baby fueled?” the man asked.

“Ahh, sorry. Yes, sure thing, Keith.”

The old man shot him a strange look and ambled off, and Finn shook his head, trying to focus. He had work to do. He shouldn’t be thinking of luscious redheads, no matter how beautiful they might be. He patted the side of his Hawk again. She was the only woman he needed. She didn’t argue with him, she didn’t twist him up in knots, and she always did as he asked. That was everything he needed.

***

Lia Murphy sat straight in her chair, listening to the jumble of talking going on around her. It was one of their daily meetings in the Command Center. Marcus from Hell Squad was talking in his deep rasp that made Lia think of gravel and smoke.

“There were more raptor vehicles out on this last mission,” the man said. “They’re hitting us hard.”

General Adam Holmes—the man in charge of security and military operations—nodded. “Our intel is suggesting that. The intel team, with help from the drone team, is slowly increasing our intelligence picture on the aliens. And you’re right, we are seeing more alien vehicles on the ground.”

“And pteros.” This came from Finn Erickson.

Lia didn’t look in his direction. The Hawk pilot had confidence down to a fine art. Lia had been a commercial pilot before the invasion, and had met a few combat pilots. Finn fit the mold. Confidence bordering on arrogance.

“So where are they building all these vehicles and pteros?” Cruz asked. “On their mothership?”

The aliens’ huge mothership was sitting at Sydney Airport. It was an enormous monstrosity, but Lia couldn’t see them manufacturing large vehicles inside of it.

Nikolai Ivanov stepped forward. The dark-haired man was the civilian leader of the Enclave. “We don’t know yet. We need to keep looking.” The handsome artist looked in Lia’s direction. “Lia? Report?”

She cleared her throat and stood. “We have more drones coming online, and we’re focused on training more drone pilots.”

From behind her, Finn snorted. She ignored him. The man didn’t believe flying a drone made you a pilot. Idiot.

“The two flight simulators we’ve set up for training are working out really well. We’ve asked for volunteers with any sort of flying experience, and we have a good-sized group we’re running through the simulations for flying both the drones and the Hawks.” She took a breath. “Out in the air, we’re slowly covering all the area across Sydney and the regions beyond with the drones. Getting a picture of raptor numbers and their infrastructure.” She frowned. “We do have an area where the drone feed is getting jammed frequently. It’s happened several times.” She looked over at Elle Milton, who was seated behind a comp. “Elle, could you pull up the map for me, please?”

The brunette nodded, and a map appeared on one of the many screens on the wall.

“The area is north of the city, what was originally the Central Coast. Every time we send drones into that area, they get jammed. I suspect the aliens are protecting something.”

“What was there before the invasion?” Niko asked.

“It was resort towns, and weekend homes for people who lived in Sydney. Nothing I can think of that would be that interesting to the Gizzida.”

Holmes stroked his chin. “Okay, Finn, can you please plan a mission to get up there? We need eyes on the ground to see what’s going on.” The general’s laser-blue gaze circled the room. “I don’t need to remind you all how important it is that we fill in all the gaps in our intel grid.”

Lia knew it was vital. They needed to have a full picture of the aliens, so they could plan out a strategy to drive the raptors away for good.

“Our other priority,” Niko added, “is establishing reliable contact with the other human bases around the world. We already know of the underground base at Groom Lake in Nevada, and a few smaller ones scattered around the globe. But the aliens have been jamming our contact with them for a long time now. We get partial messages that aren’t very clear. We don’t know their status, if they’re still functioning.”

Still alive. Lia heard the unspoken words echo in her head.

And following that thought, the familiar sting of grief flowed through her. She knew the people most important to her hadn’t made it. It still hurt, even after two years.

“How?” Roth Masters asked. The muscular man was the leader of the almost-all-female squad, Squad Nine. “How can we stop the aliens jamming our long-range communications?”

“The tech team is coming up with a plan,” Holmes said. “Noah?”

Noah Kim stepped forward. The tall man always made Lia think of a pirate, with his long, dark hair combined with an intense, narrow face, and a near-permanent scowl. The man was a genius. “The aliens have blocked our long-range comms because they’ve managed to destroy the infrastructure between us and the other havens. My team is working to devise what we’re calling an amplifier. It’s a device that can boost the signal. We are designing it to be watertight, so it can be dropped in the ocean and stay hidden beneath the water. It’ll do its job, and hopefully remain invisible to the aliens.” He looked around the room. “Anyone want me to go into the technical details?”

“No!”

“Nope.”

“No need.”

Lia hid her smile. The squads had been subjected to Noah’s tech talk in the past, and they weren’t fond of it.

Holmes gave a faint smile. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Thank you, Noah.”

Finn was frowning from where he stood, leaning against the wall. “How far out does this thing need to be dropped?”

Noah’s face darkened. “At the moment, far. As in, middle-of-the-Pacific far.”

Oh, no. Lia straightened. “That’s impossible.” She knew the Hawks weren’t designed to fly that kind of distance. They were made for short-range combat. “We don’t have any aircraft that can fly that far.”

During the invasion, the Gizzida had very purposefully destroyed airports and aircraft. There were no supersonic craft left that could make the journey in a fraction of the time. Lia’s fingers twitched. She’d flown supersonic jets before the invasion. For a second, she let herself think about that moment when you went supersonic. The slight jerk, the feeling of speed. God, she missed it.

“Once we’ve finished making the amplifier, I’ll let you know.” Noah shrugged. “We’re still working on the prototype, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to devise a way for it to travel itself. That way we can drop it offshore and let it do its thing.”

Lia didn’t think the man looked particularly hopeful.

“Well, if we keep drowning in pteros, we won’t be able to get even one kilometer offshore to drop this thing,” Finn said.

The general nodded. “Let’s find out where the aliens are manufacturing their vehicles. Make that a priority.”

There was a flash of movement, and Lia saw a handsome man in dark trousers and a crisp white shirt step forward. She knew Devlin Gray was a key part of the intelligence team. “Santha and I will make it our team’s priority.” He glanced at the head of the intel team.

Santha Kade nodded.

“Okay, everyone.” Niko shoved his hands in his pockets. Lia noticed a streak of blue paint on his jeans. “Remember, enjoy your downtime. We don’t want anyone to get burned out.”

The meeting was over. As everyone started to move out of the Command Center, Sakura—one of Lia’s best drone pilots—fell into step beside her.

“Enjoy your downtime. You know why he says that?” the tiny woman asked with a smile.

“Because we’re in the middle of a stressful fight for survival? Because it’s important to stay sane and find some pleasure where you can?”

Sakura shook her dark head. “The man is snuggled up with Mac from Squad Nine.” The woman waggled her eyebrows. “I can only imagine what kinds of things a sexy man like that gets up to in his downtime.”

Lia shook her head with a smile. She pictured Mackenna “Mac” Carides. The second-in-command of Squad Nine was a tough, no-nonsense soldier. “I’m not sure Mac snuggles.”

Sakura watched Niko stride out of the room. “I bet she does with him.”

Lia had to admit, his jeans did great things for his ass. And walking right behind Niko was Finn. He was dressed in black cargo pants, and they did equally good things for the pilot’s ass.

She felt a traitorous curl of heat in her belly. Finn might be overconfident and arrogant, but he was good-looking arrogant. He had tousled blond hair, painfully blue eyes, and a body he honed to muscled precision. Hawk flying could be demanding, and Finn made sure he was in peak condition for his job.

Lia blew out a short breath. She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Finn Erickson. She stomped down on her desire. Getting attached to people in this crazy world of theirs made no sense. She’d already had a vital part of her ripped open, broken, and smashed. She would never, ever risk caring for, or loving someone, again.

She looked at her watch. Besides, she had a date to train potential new pilots. That’s all she could care about.

Chapter Two

Finn stood at the back of the room, watching the flight simulations. He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. When he’d entered, Lia had given him one long look, then she’d ignored him.

He listened as she talked the two potential pilot trainees through the simulations. Two Hawk seats had been rigged up in front of large comp screens, and several trainees had flown through various sims. Lia was giving them suggestions and constructive criticism, and praise when they deserved it. She was good with them.

A few of the trainees had promise, and the pair in the simulator now were really good.

Finn watched the screen and it was eerie how good the sim was. It was like they were really piloting a drone through the ruins of Sydney. The slim man on the left with some Asian heritage was doing outstandingly well.

“Good, Leon.” Lia leaned over to talk to the man, and it gave Finn a perfect view of her ass.

Shit. Finn told himself to look away, but he couldn’t. Her khaki slacks pulled tight over her sweet curves.

He did not need complications. He had no interest in getting tangled up with a woman.

Finally, Lia straightened, and the screens went blank as the simulation ended. “Okay, let’s try the Hawk sim now.”

A second later, the screens flickered to life. Now, Finn could see a view of mountains covered in trees. He could also see the raptor ptero ahead on the horizon.

“Evasive maneuvers,” Lia said. “Do not engage, and get out of there safely.”

The two trainees hunched forward over their comp controls. The knuckles of the woman on the right had gone white.

Finn knew, from lots of experience, that flying a Hawk was a different skill set from flying a drone. For the Hawk, you needed bigger moves and needed to take in more of your surroundings, plus, you needed offensive capabilities when the situation called for it.

The woman on the right looked like she was maybe in her mid-forties, with brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. She had good control and was killing the sim, breaking away and avoiding the ptero.

The mountains gave way to green rolling hills and the sim ended.

“Well done, Marie.” Lia lifted her head and green eyes looked Finn’s way. She lifted one of her russet brows in silent question.

Finn cleared his throat. “Not bad.” He pushed away from the wall. “Marie, if you’d like, I can organize a Hawk flight for you.” He smiled. “I mean the real thing. Strapped in the bird, and going fast.”

Lia sniffed. “Despite the flyboy’s views, flying is flying—whether you’re strapped into the aircraft or not. Leon and Marie, I’d love for you to spend some time with my drone pilots.”

The two Enclave members jumped up, their faces alight, thanking Lia profusely. Soon, they filed out, and Lia started tidying up the room and going through the steps for shutting the simulator down.

Finn found himself inexplicably reluctant to leave.

“Must be good knowing that the drone killer is gone and the drones are safe,” he said.

For once, he hit on the right thing to say to this woman. Her pretty face lit up. “Absolutely. It was hard losing the few we lost, but the tech team has scrounged up enough parts to replace most of them.”

“I wish we could do that when we lose a Hawk.” It was a hell of a lot harder to replace the larger quadcopters. If they lost the Hawks…well, it would severely limit their combat capabilities. They needed the aliens gone sooner rather than later.

“You’ll just have to fly better,” Lia said with a half-smile.

He thrust a thumb against his chest. “I’m damn good. As you saw for yourself, when I saved your butt on that alien battleship.”

Her eyes fired. “I was doing fine recovering my drone and saving myself.”

Now Finn pretended to polish his nails on his shirt. “Uh-huh.”

She thrust her hands on her hips. Finn tried not to notice how the movement pulled her shirt tight across her breasts.

“I was fine. And your flying was…okay.”

“Okay?” He took a step closer. “I seem to recall that your ‘thank you’ was a lot more than okay.”

A faint flash of pink appeared on her cheeks. Yeah, they both remembered that kiss. The damn thing was sitting between them, bigger than the bloody alien mothership.

“I told you never to bring that up.” Lia stepped closer until they were toe to toe. “Ever. And you’re a good pilot. We have a few around here.”

He felt something hot flood his system. “You think you can fly better than me?”

She lifted her chin. “Any day, flyboy.”

“All right then.” He stabbed a finger toward the simulator. “Pull up a sim. You and I are having a fly-off.”

Her brow creased. “A fly-off?”

“Yep. One flight in a drone sim. One flight in a Hawk sim. Winner can claim a prize from the loser.”

Her eyes narrowed. “A prize? Like what?”

“Winner’s choice. Loser can’t say no.”

She swallowed, staring at his face. “Okay, Erickson. You’re on. And when I win, I get both those trainees, Leon and Marie, for my drone team.”

“Done.”

She tilted her head. “What do you want?”

Finn didn’t let himself think or hesitate. “You. In my bed for one night.”

***

“What?” Lia’s skin flushed hot, and her heart started doing some sort of crazy dance in her chest. She must have heard him wrong.

“One night,” he said again. “In my bed.”

He wasn’t joking. Although, from the look on his handsome face, he was a little surprised, himself.

“That’s ridiculous,” she said. “If you think—”

The cocky, confident look reappeared on his face. He shrugged his shoulders. “Guess you’re afraid you’ll lose.”

Lia stiffened her spine. She’d worked damn hard to achieve everything in her career. She’d always believed in herself and her ability to fly. Flying was her love, and had given her freedom. Not once had she let herself be afraid or stopped by a challenge.

“Okay, flyboy. I accept.”

The smile that crossed his face made her blink. Damn, the man was lethal.

They both settled into the seats in front of the comp screens. Lia tapped the controls and keyed up the drone sim.

“The comp scores the sims, right?” he asked.

“That’s right. The scores from each sim are added for a total score. The pilot with the highest total wins.” Her hands flexed on the controls. She had to win. “I’m pulling up the drone sim first.”

Images flashed up on the screen. Lia was really proud of the work she’d done on the simulations. The graphics looked like a real drone feed.

The drones went vertical, and a computer voice intoned the parameters of the mission. Soon Lia forgot all about the bet and focused on flying.

They both zoomed off over the ruined capital city. The shattered ruins of Sydney’s once-bustling city center lay ahead.

Lia almost felt like she was at her station in the drone room on a real mission, with her team around her. She felt her muscles relax. This was familiar. She had this. This was what she was good at.

Soon she was whizzing through the broken buildings to reach the area that the comp had outlined. Whoever got there first, won. She glanced over at Finn. He might be annoying, but the man was a damn good pilot. Even when he was flying a drone.

He was doing some fancy flying. He sent his drone ducking and weaving through a ruined skyscraper. He was laughing.

Lia looked back at her screen. She had pulled ahead, but Finn wasn’t far behind her drone. She flew out across the broken arch of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It had been blown up in the center, the two sides of it reaching out across the harbor, like two lost lovers trying to reach each other.

She zoomed below it, flying just inches above the water. Once, the harbor had been covered in ferries and boats zipping back and forth between all parts of the city. Now it was silent, the waters dark and still.

Ahead, she saw Cockatoo Island. The large island contained historic shipyards, and had been a popular tourist attraction. From the air, she could see the two long marinas, and the huge industrial dockyard buildings. Then she saw a large, red circle marked on the island.

Bingo. The drone target area was on Cockatoo Island.

Adrenaline surging, she sent her drone into a dive. Then, she noticed another drone pull up beside hers. Finn had caught up.

They were neck-and-neck. Lia smiled, keeping her hands relaxed on the controls, even as her heart raced.

As they sped over the top of the island’s landmarks, she executed a fancy turn, dropping down through one of the old industrial buildings.

“Hey!” Finn exclaimed.

Lia raced her drone through the huge, empty warehouse, and then popped up through a hole in the roof…right inside the target zone.

Simulation One Winner.

The words flashed up on Lia’s screen. A second later, Finn’s drone arrived in the target zone.

He shook his head. “Nice move.”

She smiled at him. “Those pilots are mine, Erickson.”

His blue gaze traced over her face. “Still one sim to go, Murphy. So we’ll see. And it’s the Hawk sim.” He cracked his fingers. “My domain.”

Lia felt a skitter of something through her belly. She looked back at the comp and pulled up the next simulation.

He was right. This was his domain, so it wouldn’t be nearly as easy. She lifted her chin. She could do this. She ran these sims frequently, to keep herself rated to fly the Hawks.

On both the screens, a Hawk cockpit appeared. Beside her, she listened to Finn settling his lean body into his seat.

For a second, she let herself think about what a night in his bed would be like… No. She didn’t want a man. She did quite fine without sex and the messy emotions that came with it.

She’d lost her heart in the invasion. Lost the person who’d been a piece of her. She had no interest in getting close to anyone else.

But for a split second, Lia really wasn’t sure if she wanted to win or lose.

***

Finn put all his focus on the simulation.

As his Hawk took off, he could hear Lia’s quiet breathing, but other than that, she was silent.

Most Hawk pilots he worked with were skilled and confident, and not afraid to let people know about it. They were good at flying, coped daily with heading into combat zones, and were also very good at blowing off steam in their downtime.

As their Hawks skimmed out over the simulation of trees, he glanced Lia’s way. Her entire concentration was on the screen. Her face was tense, but her hands were relaxed on the controls. There was a sense of control about Lia. Like she was ruthlessly holding things inside, things she never let out.

As he watched her fingers move over the controls in the complicated dance he knew so well, he felt a punch of desire.

He’d kept telling himself to stay away from her, but now that he’d made this crazy bet, it was almost as though he’d struck a match to the tinder inside of him. Now, he wanted her more than anything. It was like a fire licking at his insides.

For almost two years, everything Finn had done was to survive. He flew into combat zones, over and over. Hell, he’d crashed in alien territory. He’d made it back to base by the skin of his teeth more times than he could count.

In the early days of the invasion, he’d shared his bunk a few times. Nothing more than hurried couplings, though. Two people looking for a way to not be so alone in the chaos. To hold on to someone, just for a few hours.

Yet, every encounter had left him empty. Every encounter had been a sad echo of the close relationships he’d had before. He’d been single when the aliens invaded, but he’d had a big, strong, loving family.

And he’d lost them. An empty, hollow feeling opened up inside. He’d lost the people he’d loved most.

He looked at Lia and swallowed. He didn’t want to feel empty anymore.

Something clipped his Hawk, the computer blaring at him. Beneath his hands, the controls vibrated.

Shit. Pay attention, Erickson.

“I’m going to beat you, Finn.” Lia glanced his way, a delicate pink flush on her creamy cheeks.

Hell, no. He wanted his prize. Finn put all his intense focus on the simulation.

They continued to fly over the dense forest, but now, in the distance, he could see the silver of a river. Then a bridge appeared.

They were on track to go over it, but at the last minute, Finn maneuvered his Hawk down and shot under the bridge.

“Showoff,” she muttered.

He’d just pulled back up to the right altitude, when he saw the pteros appear.

There were five of them. They rained down on his and Lia’s Hawks, bombarding them with their poison fire.

Finn didn’t let himself think. For him, so much of flying was instinct and trusting his gut. He zipped through the sky, dodging around the pteros, and taking one down with his lasers.

Beside him, Lia was holding her own. Her evasive maneuvers were impressive. She took one of the pteros down herself.

Finn circled around and fired again. He saw another ptero explode, but there was another one coming right up on his ass. He pulled up hard, and saw another alien ship chasing Lia. He ducked past close to the ptero, luring it away from her.

Next, he did a hard drop, then he spun his bird, lined up, and took the shot. The lead ptero exploded, and the second one was too late to avoid it. It hit the debris, and its wing disintegrated. The ptero plunged wildly toward the ground.

Suddenly, the sim was over.

Simulation Two Winner flashed up on his screen.

Finn blinked. Usually for him, the fight wasn’t over so quickly. Usually, he still had to haul ass to get himself and his squad out of the combat zone safely.

Lia ran her palms down her trousers. “Good flying. We just have to wait a second while it calculates the overall winner.”

Mouth dry, Finn waited for the final winner to be calculated. Unable to keep still, he bounced his heel on the floor.

Both the screens went blank. A new line flashed up.

Overall Winner.

The words were on Finn’s screen.

Elation flooded him, but it was followed by a strange feeling. He wanted Lia more than he could breathe…but not like this. He didn’t want to coerce her into his bed. He wanted her there by choice.

He turned, and he saw that her face was curiously blank.

“I’ve changed my mind.” He tried to get the words out before the part of him that was screaming at him to snatch her into his arms won out. “I’ll take the pilots as my prize.” Shit, saying that almost killed him. He curled his hands around the armrests of his chair. He swore he could hear the plastic groan under the force of it.

Lia stared at him for a long moment. He knew she picked out details for a living, staring at drone feed and analyzing every little thing she saw.

“I’m not a coward,” she said. “And I don’t renege on a bet.” She stood. “I’ll see you at your place, Erickson. Half an hour.”

She walked out, and Finn found himself staring after her, dumbfounded and mesmerized by the swing of her hips.

He swallowed against his dry throat. Hell. He was in big trouble.

Chapter Three

Blood fizzing, Lia walked down the corridor. It was late—kids were in bed, couples were snuggled up watching shows and movies from the Enclave’s extensive database. There was no one to see where she was going, or to read on her face what she had planned.

A hot, sweaty night of sex with Finn Erickson.

Lia swallowed and straightened her collar. It’d been a long time since she’d had sex. Her body felt flushed and tight, her breasts full and sensitive. She could feel her coat rubbing against her skin, her belly, the hard tips of her nipples.

She’d showered and changed, and was now wearing her favorite coat—something she’d managed to save from before the invasion—and a pair of high heels. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn heels. A long time before the aliens had arrived. The coat had been from her flying days. It was a dark-navy-blue and well-cut, and it wrapped around her, cinched at her waist with a wide belt. She remembered all those times striding through airports, pulling her small suitcase behind her, off to take travelers on adventures all around the world.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

For her, flying had been a way to escape the emotional pressures of her mother and sister. Lia had loved them to bits, but too much time with them and their issues had been suffocating. After a trip, she always felt refreshed and ready to spend time with them.

Finally, she reached the door she needed, and thoughts of her family scattered.

She paused, her nerves jittering. What was she doing? She had work to do. There was always more work to do. She had to work with Finn and this would complicate things, even if it was only one night.

But she felt such heat inside her. Such an itchy, growing need. Right now, what she felt for Finn was stronger than the roar of a jet engine.

She knocked on the door.

No answer.

Licking her lips, she touched the electronic lock. The door clicked open, and she realized he’d keyed her in for entry.

She quickly stepped inside, and closed the door behind her. She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing pulse.

The apartment looked like hers—open-plan living area, with a sleeping area tucked over to one side that was dominated by a large bed. Bigger than what they’d had at Blue Mountain Base. There was no sign of its occupant. She also spotted a small basket lined with a red blanket with a chew toy of a yellow duck in it. Her eyes narrowed. She suspected that was for a certain drone killer chick Finn had accidentally rescued.

“Hey.” Finn sauntered out of the adjoining bathroom.

Her thoughts scattered and everything inside Lia went statue-still. He only had a white towel wrapped around lean hips, and shaving cream on one side of his face.

“Sorry, I’m a bit behind,” he added. He was holding a razor in his hand.

She blinked, taking in the sculpted chest, the well-defined ridges of his abdomen. His skin was still damp from the shower, and his blond hair was still wet, which made it look darker than normal.

His blue gaze ran over her. “Look at you. All prim and proper, and put together.” His gaze moved slowly down her legs and paused on her heels. “Well, not too prim and proper.”

Just looking at him had a small flood of fire rushing into her belly. Lia straightened. “You’re running late, pilot. I don’t like tardiness in my new recruits.” She walked toward him, and watched a slow grin dawn on his face

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“That’s Captain, to you.”

His grin widened. “Sorry, Captain.”

She liked that. Right now, in this instant, she wasn’t Lia and he wasn’t Finn. They weren’t the heads of the drone team or the Hawk pilots. They didn’t have people depending on them.

They were just two people, throwing the hard reality of their daily lives aside and enjoying themselves. Just for one night.

“You don’t look sorry.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the bathroom, her heels clicking on the tiles. “I think I’d better finish this off.” She held out her hand for his razor.

He studied her for a second, then put it in her hand.

Lia stepped in front of him. She took in a deep breath, smelled the potent combination of soap and man. She reached up and started shaving his cheek.

“You need to be on time, pilot.” She ran the razor over his strong jaw.

“I’ll try to do better.” His deep voice was a rumble. “What else can you teach me?”

Those blue eyes watched her steadily and made her breathing hitch. “You must always follow my rules.”

He lifted a hand and ran it down her arm. “I’m not so good with rules.”

She made a tutting sound and finished shaving him. She gestured to the sink. He brushed past her and splashed water on his face, before grabbing a towel to dry himself.

“Now for the inspection.” Lia lifted her hands and ran them over his cheeks. They were smooth for now, but she knew he’d have that sexy stubble back before too long. She traced along his cheekbone, then dragged her thumb across his lips. He sucked her thumb inside his mouth, and she inhaled sharply. God. As his tongue swirled around the pad of her thumb, she felt a rush of damp heat between her thighs. They’d barely touched, and she was already going up in flames.

“Will I pass?” he asked.

She nodded. “You’ll do.” Her voice had turned husky.

“I don’t want to leave your pretty, creamy skin marked up by my whiskers, Captain.” He reached out and fiddled with her collar. Then he reached up and pulled the tie out of her hair. The red locks fell around her shoulders. “Fair warning. What I’m going to do to you tonight might be considered insubordination.” He stroked his fingers through her hair.

Lia sucked in a deep breath. “Then you’ll be punished.”

“Oh, I hope so.” He stroked her hair again. “I love the color of this. It reminds me of a sunset.” Something moved through his eyes, deepening the color. “Is it the same color between your legs?”

Lia licked her lips. “Yes.”

“I think it’s my turn to shave you now,” he said.

“What?” She wasn’t sure what he meant, but her breath caught in her throat, regardless.

He stepped closer, his chest brushing hers. “I want nothing between me and that sweet little nub between your thighs. I’m going to shave you.”

Lia’s mind whirled. She watched as he picked up a can of shaving cream and the razor.

One night. She was letting go for one night.

“Very well.” But she wasn’t going to let him get away with thinking he was running the show. She stepped back and undid the belt on her coat. She shrugged it off.

His eyes went wide. “Holy hell.”

Lia was naked underneath. Except for her red-soled heels.

“Where do you want me?” she asked.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he reached for her. His hand hovered over her skin, then he gripped her waist and lifted her onto the vanity.

“You have the most beautiful breasts.” He cupped one. “I really want to taste them. Do you want me sucking on them?”

“Yes,” she murmured. She wanted his mouth all over her.

“Later.” He nudged her legs apart and made a little humming noise.

Lia was finding it hard to breathe. She looked down and saw that his cock was tenting his towel. She stared. It looked big.

“That’s for later, Captain,” he said. “My cock is big and hard, and you made it that way. So you’ll have to take care of it. But first, I’m taking care of you.”

He squirted some of the shaving cream onto his palm, then he reached between her legs. Lia tried not to jolt. As he smoothed the cream over her, his moves weren’t seductive, but she was burning anyway. Just those tantalizing brushes of his fingers between her legs made her limbs quake.

He started to shave her.

“God, you’re so pretty.” He made short work of shaving her bare. He rinsed a cloth under the water and wiped her off with slow, tantalizing strokes. “Pretty, pink… I bet you’d look perfect stretched around my cock and stuffed full of me.”

Hunger was an out-of-control thing in Lia. She fought to stop from squirming. “You are so very arrogant, pilot.”

He leaned closer, and she wanted to scratch her nails down his chest.

“What do you need, Captain?” Intense hunger radiated off him.

“Touch me,” she whispered.

“I’ll follow all your orders, ma’am. All night long.”

He reached out and stroked his fingers through her folds. Lia cried out.

“So, so wet. Is this all for me?”

“Yes.” She watched as Finn crouched down, his face level with the heated core of her. He leaned forward and licked her.

Lia bit her lip, her hands clamping onto the edge of the vanity. Soon, his clever tongue was delving into her, licking her over and over. Then he moved, to circle her clit.

The sensations were incredible. Her climax wasn’t building slow and easy, it was already a full-fledged wave, ready to crash over her.

She slid her hands into his hair, pulling, urging him for more.

He growled against her, his tongue moving faster.

A second later, she cried out as her climax shattered her, the sound echoing off the tiles.

***

Hell, she was the hottest, sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

Finn’s cock was hard and throbbing. Painful. He helped Lia down off the vanity, and liked that she was a little unsteady on her heels. He grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom. He couldn’t wait to be inside her. He needed to be inside her.

“Get on the bed.” His voice was close to a growl.

She took a step backward and sat down on the cover. Finn dropped his towel. Her gaze zeroed in on his cock and her mouth opened.

Damn. If he didn’t get inside her soon, he’d come before he even touched her. He saw her lean back and reach down to kick her heels off.

“Leave them on,” he murmured.

She studied him for a moment, then left them on.

He stepped closer, curling a hand around his hard cock. “You’re responsible for leaving me like this. Hot and hard and hurting.”

Lia leaned back on her elbows. “Well, pilot, let’s see what I can do about that.”

Finn planted one hand on the bed, leaning over her. “You have a contraceptive implant?”

Concern flitted across her face. “No. It ran out.”

“It’s okay. I have one, but it’s getting close to the limit.” He reached out and pushed her back on the bed. Then he leaned down and pressed a slow kiss to her pubic mound. She gasped, writhing on the bed. He kissed up her body—over her belly, and continuing on to her quivering breasts.

As he was enjoying the taste of her skin, she reached down and grabbed his cock. She made a small noise and his cock pulsed in her hand. She gave him a hard pump, then another.

“Show me how bad you can be, pilot.” Her voice was a seductive drawl.

He smiled. “Yes, Captain.”

The role-playing was fun. Something unexpected, and something he’d never really done before. It was an enjoyable escape from reality, and he loved it.

He wrapped his hand over hers on his cock. “You want to watch me slide inside you?”

Her lips parted and she nodded.

Finn reached out and yanked a pillow from the top of the bed and shoved it behind her head. She stared down at where his cock was hard against his belly.

He nudged her thighs apart. “Are you wet for me?”

She nodded.

He touched her folds. “I bet you’re tight, too. You’ll feel like a glove around me.”

“Why don’t you find out?”

Finn didn’t waste any time. He tucked the hard head of his cock against her, and pushed inside. He watched her mouth open, and color fill her cheeks.

Damn. “Baby…you’re so tight.” He pulled out, circled her clit with the head of his cock, then slid back in.

“You feel so good,” she cried out.

He plunged inside her. Electric current skated down his spine. He found a strong rhythm, sliding in and out of her. He felt a need to possess, and he couldn’t stop or slow down.

She didn’t seem to care. Her nails scratched at his back. “Harder. Please.”

Finn thrust harder. Jesus, he couldn’t think. Only feel.

“Don’t stop,” she panted. Suddenly, her hands were gone, and she pushed them above her head. It tilted her breasts upward, and they bobbed with each one of his thrusts.

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Before, they were the naughty captain and pilot recruit. But now, in this moment, as green eyes locked with his, they were Finn and Lia. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and he felt her heels digging into his ass, urging him on.

“I’m going to come inside you,” he growled the words. “I’m going to drain every drop into your warmth.”

“Fill me up.”

God. His orgasm was chewing at him like a wild beast. But first…

He moved his hand between their slick bodies, resting just above where he was sliding into her. He found that swollen little nub and pressed down on it, rubbing it hard.

“Oh…oh.” She reared back and screamed, as her climax hit.

Finn gave another hard thrust, slid in to the hilt, and came with a loud shout.

Chapter Four

Lia lay on the bed, her brain cells scrambled and her body lax. Finn was facedown beside her, breathing heavily.

She was trying to start functioning again, but her brain and her body didn’t seem to be cooperating.

Finn moved, planting a lazy kiss on her shoulder, before sliding off the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom. She watched, unashamed, as his naked body moved across the room. The delicious flex of muscles, and God, that tight ass.

Lia felt a flicker of desire that made her groan. She could still feel an ache between her legs from having him inside her. How could she already want him again?

Sex with Finn had been…better than anything she’d experienced before. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Sexy.

Not that she was telling the arrogant pilot that. He already had a healthy enough ego.

She sat up, and spotted a soft, blue blanket at the end of his bed. She pulled it around her. It wasn’t big, and only just large enough to wrap around her body. She tucked it between her breasts and the bottom of it hit at mid-thigh. It looked a little like a mini-dress.

She spotted some framed photos on the wall and, curious, she got up and wandered over. Unsurprisingly, they were mainly pictures of aircraft. She smiled. Hawks. Darkswift gliders. Some other military aircraft from before the invasion. Then, she saw a photo of Finn with Squad Nine, another of him standing with Hell Squad, and another with the Squad Three berserkers. In all of them, Finn stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the soldiers, smiling.

It was like the entire alien apocalypse hadn’t affected him. For the first few months, she’d lived in a haze of shock and grief. Even now, in the middle of the night, it still crept in—the loneliness, the heartache, the sadness. But Finn seemed to find a way to smile through the fight for survival. She admired his fortitude.

Then, she saw the final photo. Another smiling group, but this one wasn’t military. Finn had his arms around two men who looked startlingly like him. His brothers, she assumed. There was an older couple in the picture who were clearly their parents, and a young woman who had to be Finn’s sister. She had the same blue eyes as him. There were also a couple of young kids on the ground at their feet—a boy and a girl.

His family. They looked happy. She touched the image. She imagined big, noisy family dinners, the teasing and support. She’d never known anything like this growing up. Her father had left when she was a teenager, unable to cope anymore with the responsibilities of an unwell wife and family. That had left Lia to look after her mother and sister. And while she’d loved them with her whole heart, Lia had never had the easy love and togetherness she saw in the picture in front of her.

Finn had never mentioned his family. She wondered what had happened to them.

“Who gave you permission to be in this area, young lady?”

Finn’s stern voice made Lia jump. She spun.

“This is a restricted area,” he continued, frowning.

When she saw him, her eyes widened. He was in a clean, black flight suit. Well, mostly. He’d left the buttons unfastened, showing a slice of his bare chest. Along with that, he was wearing a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses that hid his eyes.

With joyful glee, she accepted the new game. She cocked her hip and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, sir. I meant no harm.”

He made a grumpy harrumphing sound. His head tilted as he studied her bare legs. “I think you’re looking for trouble.”

“I promise, I’m not—”

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her. He spun her to face the wall and a gasp escaped her. He made her press her palms flat against the wall, then his hand skimmed down to her hips.

“I’d better make sure you aren’t carrying anything dangerous.” His hand slid down under the fabric of her “dress.”

“Now, what do we have here?” His fingers stroked between her legs.

She made a choked sound, trying to stay still.

“So wet, young lady. Now, I know you’re up to no good.”

When he slid a finger inside her, she cried out.

Lia’s eyelids fluttered closed. God, she loved his hands. He kept working her, his thick finger sliding in and out. Soon he slid a second in, scissoring them inside her.

“Sir…” She could barely get the words out. “If you’ll let me explain…”

His fingers pulled out of her and she almost groaned in disappointment. She turned and pressed her hands to his chest.

“Please, sir.” She made her voice breathy. “I’ll do anything you want. I don’t want to get into trouble.”

He frowned at her. “Anything? Like what?”

Lia walked her fingers down his chest and looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “I’ll suck your cock, sir.”

He swore, his body jerking.

Lia wanted to giggle, but managed to stay in character. “I’ll get on my knees and suck you, lick you. I’ll let you come in my mouth.” She sank to her knees in front of him.

Finn moved fast, flicking open the front of his flight suit. His cock sprang free.

Lia made a humming sound. She’d never given much thought to what a man’s cock looked like before, but she thought Finn’s was gorgeous.

“Go on then, sweetheart.” His voice was guttural. “Wrap your lips around it.”

She reached out and licked the dark, swollen head of his cock. She pressed her hands to his strong thighs, her fingers digging in. She pulled back and wrapped one hand around his nice, thick length. She pumped him once. Twice. Then she lowered her mouth down over him.

As soon as she sucked him in, he muttered a few curses, his hand sliding into her hair to cup the back of her head.

“Take me deeper, sweetheart. Take me to the back of your throat.”

His dirty words urged her on. The strain in his voice made the desire in her belly leap. She worked her way down, sucking his cock a few more times, and taking him deeper each time.

“Eyes on my face,” he growled. “Keep watching me, and let me see your pretty eyes.”

Lia looked up. It was so hot watching her reflection in his sunglasses. Seeing the effect she had on him.

Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, she knew he was watching his hard inches disappear past her lips.

“Yes. God, yes.” His hips pushed forward.

She kept taking him with deep pulls. Then he cursed again and yanked her up.

Before she knew what he was doing, he tossed her on the bed. She landed on all fours and looked back over her shoulder. She watched him tear off his glasses and the flight suit, his hands shaking. Then he strode to the bed, his hot gaze on her. In the next moment, his body closed over hers.

Oh, his skin was so hot. She felt his hard cock brush against her bottom, between her legs.

He gave her no warning, just thrust inside her, hard. She cried out.

“This is what happens to naughty girls,” he whispered hotly against her ear.

Yes. God, he filled her up. Lia gripped the sheets, her fingers twisting in the fabric. As he started thrusting inside her, she needed something to anchor herself against the storm of pleasure.

***

Finn hammered inside Lia’s tight, hot body.

Her sexy little noises were driving him out of his mind. His entire focus narrowed down to her and the fiery pleasure arcing between them.

He was going to make her come again. He needed to be the one to draw it from her, and this time, he wanted to hear her cry his name. Jesus, he knew he’d hear those sexy sounds she was making in his darkest dreams for the rest of his life.

His own release was threatening, but he gritted his teeth and held it back by sheer will.

“Take it,” he grunted. “Take me.”

“I am. Please…”

He reached a hand beneath her, sliding over slick skin. He found her clit and caught it between his fingers.

“Yes!” she cried.

He thrummed that little nub. “Come for me, Lia.” She was moving frantically now, and he could feel her muscles gripping his cock. “When you come, you say my fucking name.”

A second later, her back arched, and her body clamped down on his cock. “Finn!”

The sound of his name on her lips made his gut clench, and caused him to fracture. As a blinding rush of electric pleasure hit him, he thrust into her one last time. He felt her shuddering beneath him, and he shouted out her name, the body blow of pleasure dragging him under.

This time, when he collapsed on the bed, he pulled her in close to his chest. He possessively cupped her breast, and tucked his other hand between her legs. He pressed his face against her skin.

Damn. This felt pretty good, too.

Don’t get too close, the voice in his head warned. In this new world, the people you cared for could be gone in an instant, breaking your goddamn heart.

He forced himself to relax. This was just a one-night thing. He wasn’t getting in too deep.

They had tonight…and he was going to enjoy every hour of it, and every inch of Lia.

“Want some ice cream?” he asked.

She rolled just enough to look back at him. “Ice cream?”

“We both need the energy. I’ve got more plans for you. A really long list of them.” He ran a hand over the rounded globes of her ass. “I have this captured-spy fantasy. I’m caught behind enemy lines, and this beautiful enemy agent is sent to interrogate me.” He grinned at her and nipped her ear. “Maybe you can wear your coat and heels again.”

She laughed. He really liked the sound of it, and he realized she didn’t really do it much. But right here, naked in his arms, with his come drying on her inner thighs, the sound coming from her was free, open, and honest.

“All right,” she said. “But I want the ice cream first.”

***

When Finn woke next, he stretched his arms above his head in bed. Damn, he felt good.

Lia had been a fantasy he never knew he’d had come to life. Speaking of Lia… He reached a hand out and patted the sheets beside him. There was no warm, sexy body snuggled up to him in the bed. He’d spent the last few hours either inside her or with her glued to his side. He rolled over, and saw her standing beside the bed.

She was just pulling her coat closed.

“Hey?” He sat up. “Where are you going?”

Her head snapped up. She pushed her tangled hair back, tying it at the base of her neck in a swift, practiced move. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes. I have to go.”

Finn frowned at the disappointment crashing through him. He glanced at the clock. “Damn, I have a meeting, too.”

Lia straightened and tightened her belt. “Well.”

He felt a tiny hint of panic in his gut. “Lia, do you—”

“We had a good night of sex. I think we both needed it. Let’s leave it at that.”

A good night of sex. The way she said it made it sound like the night would have been the same with any warm body. Finn didn’t say anything, instead, working through the surprising anger he felt eating at him. “Right.”

This was what they both wanted. One night. Easy. No strings.

Lia stared at him for a moment, as though waiting for something. “Right.” She headed for the door. With her hand on the handle, she paused.

Finn held his breath. This was what he wanted. He didn’t want to take the crazy risk of getting attached in the middle of this damn alien apocalypse.

But he still waited to see what Lia was going to say.

She gave him a single nod. “See you later.” The door clicked closed behind her.

Finn flopped back on his bed, his jaw working. He could smell her on the sheets.

Fuck this. In a whirl, he leaped up, stripped the sheets off the bed, and tossed them in the washer. Then he jumped in the shower. He had his own meeting to get to.

When Finn strolled into the Command Center, he felt almost back to his normal self.

“Good morning,” General Holmes said.

The other Hawk pilots were already there. Finn nodded at them. They were a pretty tight group, especially the three he was closest friends with—tall, lanky Calvin, with his fast hands and slow drawl. Shorter, more intense Thom, who was nearly as good as Finn in the pilot’s seat. And finally, fun, flirty Maddy, who flew fast and had no filter on her.

Then he saw Lia.

He felt like he’d been hit by an electric shock. Be cool. They were colleagues, not lovers who’d spent the night touching and tasting each other, and whispering dirty things in each other’s ears.

Her face was the same as usual—cool and composed.

Finn cleared his throat. “What have we got?”

Holmes answered. “I’ve increased the priority on sending a Hawk into the jammed area on the Central Coast. It’s vital we find out what’s going on up there.”

Finn nodded. “Okay.” He looked at his pilots. “I’ll go. Give me half an hour to get my Hawk prepped.”

“Excellent,” Lia said. “I’ll provide drone feed for you as long as I can. Then you’ll be on your own.”

“Got it.”

Finn was happy to have a mission to keep him busy. Soon, he was in his flight suit, busy walking around his Hawk, going through his preflight checks. He was trying not to think about what he’d been doing in this same suit a few hours before. An image of Lia on her knees with her mouth on him flashed into his head.

Hell. He lifted his checklist, going over everything twice. He double-checked the cameras that had been attached to the Hawk to capture the intel on this mysterious area.

“Finn?”

The soft voice had him turning. A slim, pale-skinned woman stood nearby. Her long white hair was pulled back off her face.

“Hi, Selena.” She was their resident alien, although she could almost pass for human except for her pearlescent skin and large green eyes. From the planet of Florum, she’d been kidnapped by the Gizzida, held prisoner, and rescued by Hell Squad.

“I heard you were heading out,” she said. “We wanted to wish you luck.” She nudged the front pocket of her simple green shirt and a small, fluffy head popped out. The black chick looked out and chirped.

Hell. The thing was too darn cute to ignore. “Hey there, Fluffball.” Finn held a hand out and the gyr chick jumped onto his palm. He’d rescued the chick from the aliens. It was originally from Selena’s world and she was caring for it. Its mother had been experimented on by the raptors and turned into a drone killer before being killed.

He stroked the chick’s head with a finger and it nudged him for more.

“He’s been missing you.” Selena gave him a faint smile. “I think he believes you are his mother.”

“Oh no.” With a final pat, Finn handed the chick back to Selena. “You take care of him. And…well, I’m happy to look after him if, you know, you need a break.”

Selena’s smile widened. “Thank you. Safe flying.”

Finn finished his checks and finally, climbed into the cockpit and settled in his seat.

“Starting engines,” he said, touching the controls.

“You’re coming through clearly, Finn.” Lia’s voice echoed through the comm line.

Yes. Harder. More. That same voice had said those things to him, only a couple of hours ago. Finn blew out a breath and gave his head a shake. He needed to focus. His head had to be in the game right now.

All the lights on his screen went green. “Ready for takeoff.”

“Cleared.”

He heard alarms as the overhead hangar doors retracted. He palmed the controls, the moves familiar. He lifted off. His focus narrowed, and his chest lightened. Flying did that to him. He was grateful his parents had supported his passion and nurtured his dream. Now, it was the thing that kept him steady in the chaos.

He plotted his course north into his comp, making sure he skirted well clear of the airport and the alien ship. Hovering above the Enclave, he checked his that illusion system was functioning correctly. Once that was confirmed, he touched the controls, and the Hawk flew forward, picking up speed.

As he flew, he took in the view below. He’d seen the abandoned cars and ruined houses so many times before, that he was a little numb to it now.

But as he headed over the ruins of the Coalition’s capital, he still felt a stab of pain. The burned-out shells of what had once been people’s homes and workplaces, the overgrown parks that kids had once played in, and ahead, the ruined skyscrapers that had housed businesses. All gone.

He moved a little west of the city, flying over the harbor. He glimpsed the ruined Sydney Harbor Bridge, looking just as it had in the sim he’d flown with Lia.

“I’m over North Sydney,” he murmured.

“No alien activity to report,” Lia said.

Finn peered out of the cockpit. He couldn’t see her tiny drone anywhere, but he kind of liked knowing it was there, that she was with him on the mission.

A short while later, he reached the northern edge of the city sprawl. “Okay, Central Coast ahead.”

“Finn, the jamming zone is coming up.”

He flicked a switch. “Cameras on. Nothing out of the ordinary to report.” He saw trees, former towns, hills, and the twists and turns of the Hawkesbury River. “Once I hit the jamming zone, I’ll do a fifteen-minute run, and then come back in range. If I’m not back before then—”

“I’ll send a team to find you.”

“Roger that. Wish me luck.”

There was a pause. “Be careful, Finn.”

He opened his mouth to answer, but the comm line went dead.

He had entered the jamming zone.

Finn stared ahead at the pretty beach view, the picturesque, popular place where people had come for holidays to escape the city, situated next to the ruins of what had been peoples’ homes. He frowned. “Let’s see what the alien scum are up to.”

Chapter Five

Lia watched the Hawk head northward. She decided to test the jamming range again, and set her drone following the quadcopter.

But a second later, the feed on her screen flickered and turned to static. Frustrated, she pulled the drone back. The image cleared, but the Hawk was gone.

Lia barely resisted tapping her fingers on the table. It was so frustrating to be cut off. Worse was knowing Finn was out there alone.

“I hate when we’re jammed.”

The soft voice came from beside Lia. She looked at Sakura and tried to smile. “It’s even worse when we have our people in the area.”

The tiny woman raised a brow. “Especially when it’s a handsome Hawk pilot that you’re always arguing with.”

Lia scowled at her friend. “Happily married women with cute kids don’t get to comment on handsome Hawk pilots.”

“I’m married, not blind.” Sakura’s face softened. “I’m grateful every day Kevin and our babies are safe with me here. I can’t imagine how lonely it is without someone to love, to hold on to at night.”

Lia felt her smile turn a little brittle. “I’m lucky to have good friends.” She pressed her hand over Sakura’s. “And I don’t need someone hogging my bed at night.”

Looking back at the screen, Lia saw the little timer in the corner ticking off the minutes. Finn had been in the jamming area for nine of them.

“Ah, Lia…?”

She glanced at Sakura again. “Yes?”

With a wide grin, the other drone operator waved at Lia’s neck.

Frowning, Lia touched her skin. It was tender.

“It looks like someone bit you.” Sakura was doing a poor job of choking back a laugh.

Lia felt heat flood her cheeks, and she looked resolutely back at the screen. “It’s nothing.”

Eleven minutes. Come on, Finn.

Lia tapped her nails on the table now. Every second that ticked past felt like an hour. As the fifteen-minute mark approached, she redirected her drone, waiting to pick up the Hawk’s incoming signal and image.

14:58. 14:59. 15:00.

She stared at the empty blue sky. Her gut clenched. Nothing.

“Finn, do you copy?”

The silence grated along her already-raw nerves.

“Finn. Are you there?” She swallowed and touched her screen. “Elle?”

“I’m here, Lia.”

“Finn has exceeded his time in the mission zone. He should’ve been back by now.”

“Hell Squad is on standby. Do you want me to activate them?”

Where was he? Lia stared at the screen, willing the Hawk to appear. She wasn’t sure if she should send Hell Squad out yet or not.

“Elle, I think—”

The Hawk appeared on the screen. Smoke was pouring from behind it. She gasped.

“Lia.” Finn’s strained voice. “I have five pteros coming in behind me. I repeat, five pteros.”

Oh, God. “I see them.” She saw the distinctive alien ships zooming in, not far behind the Hawk.

“I’ve been hit. They have some new kind of heat-seeking missile technology. Damn thing picked up my Hawk through the illusion. I got the intel on…fuck!”

Lia saw the Hawk pull up hard. Then it dived down just as rapidly.

From behind, she saw poison fire spewing from the pteros, and she easily spotted the missile streaking toward the Hawk.

“My scanners are malfunctioning,” Finn said. “I can’t see the damn missile on my screen.”

Lia tracked it. “I’ve got it. Finn, on my command, hard left.” She watched, heart pounding in her chest. “Now!”

Finn pulled left. The missile flew past him, missing the Hawk by inches. Lia got a good close-up view of it. It was a dark, bulky shape covered in rough scales.

Then she saw that it was coming back around.

“Finn, it’s coming back. Get out of there!”

“Working on it.” His voice was grim.

The Hawk was racing across the sky. Lia spotted a second missile coming from the pteros. “Finn, another one.” She tried to keep her voice calm and controlled. “You have two bearing down on your location.”

There was another flare from the ptero closest to the Hawk.

God. “And a third.” She willed the Hawk to move faster.

“Fuck. Lia…”

Finn was throwing the Hawk into wild evasive maneuvers, but it wasn’t enough. A missile clipped one set of rotors.

The quadcopter jerked violently. It spun in a wild, out-of-control spiral.

“Elle,” Lia said frantically. “Scramble Hell Squad. Finn’s Hawk has been hit. He’s going down.”

“Send me the coordinates.” Elle’s voice was a well of calm. “The guys will bring him home.”

Lia let out a breath and switched comm lines. “Finn?”

There was no answer.

“Finn, do you copy?” Emotion rolled through Lia’s stomach, making her feel sick. “Finn, answer me, goddammit!”

“Lia.”

She heard his faint voice and the blare of alarms. Her hands clenched on her keyboard. She saw the pteros converging on the damaged Hawk, and the copter plummeting toward the ground.

Pull up. Pull up. “Finn.” The pteros flew between her drone and the Hawk. She couldn’t see exactly what was going on.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion.

With horror, Lia watched the ball of smoke and flames rise up from the ground.

Then she saw the pteros wheeling away, and flying northward again.

She stared at the plume of smoke. She couldn’t see a Hawk anywhere.

Finn. No!

***

Someone had pushed Lia into a different chair and taken over her drone. She sat in the back of the Command Center, watching Elle leading Hell Squad into the crash site.

Finn couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t.

She still ached between her legs because of him. She had a hickey from his mouth on the side of her neck. He and his arrogant confidence couldn’t be gone.

Why had she tried to protect herself this morning, and walked out all cool and unruffled? She should’ve kissed him, something.

She rocked a little. Hell Squad was on the ground. She could see the image from the camera attached to Marcus’ combat helmet. All she could see was scorched earth and burning trees.

Tears pricked her eyes and she ruthlessly fought them back. Tears never helped.

“Following the burn trail, Elle,” Marcus said.

“Find him, Marcus.” Elle shot a worried look over her shoulder at Lia.

“Hey there, Lia.” Doc Emerson knelt in front of Lia with her medical kit. “How you doing?”

Lia blinked. What was the doctor doing here?

Emerson grabbed Lia’s wrist, checking her pulse.

“I’m fine,” Lia said. “I’m safe. I’m not the one who crashed. Finn needs help—”

“You’re in shock, Lia. Don’t worry. Hell Squad will find Finn and bring him home.”

Something in the doctor’s tone of voice hit Lia. “He’s alive. He is alive.”

But Emerson didn’t answer. Instead, her eyes looked resigned and sad.

Lia grabbed the doctor’s hand, her nails digging into Emerson’s skin. “I slept with him last night. Finn. I… He has to be okay.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Emerson wrapped her arms around Lia and pulled her in for a hug.

“Elle, shit, we found the quadcopter,” Marcus shouted through the comm line. “Lucky bastard managed to save his Hawk. Mostly. He got it in under the trees. Looks like he fired on the raptor missile and that caused the explosion. Fooled the raptors into thinking his Hawk had been destroyed.”

Lia jumped to her feet. On the camera, she saw the Hawk. It was battered, with one side of it dented and one rotor badly damaged, but it was mostly in one piece.

“Shit.” Cruz’s voice. “Where the hell is Finn? He’s not in the Hawk.”

Why wasn’t he inside the Hawk? The cockpit glass was shattered, and there was smoke rising from somewhere, but otherwise, it looked relatively intact.

Lia’s heart was in her throat. Had he been thrown from the aircraft?

“There!” Claudia Frost called out. Hell Squad started running. The video feed was jumping as Marcus ran, but Lia got a brief view of a long, lean body in a black flight suit, lying facedown on the ground. His flight suit was smoldering.

“Fuck. Get the first aid kit out,” Marcus yelled. “Turn him over.”

And then Marcus reached up and the screen went blank.

Lia stared. “What happened? Did we lose signal?”

“Elle.” Marcus’ voice was deep and solemn. “Have the doc and her team waiting in the hangar. Finn’s alive…but barely. He’s been burned badly.”

Bile rose in Lia’s throat. Burned badly?

“We’re bringing him home,” Marcus said.

The doc raced out to assemble her team, and Lia couldn’t sit still any longer. With determined strides, she walked to the Hawk hangar. She was standing there when Emerson and her team arrived, pushing a floating iono-stretcher.

“Lia, you should wait in your apartment,” Emerson said. “I’ll call you—”

“No.”

Emerson’s jaw tightened, and then the doctor nodded. Lia stood with the medical team, and they all waited. Tension filled the air, and Lia kept her gaze glued to the hangar doors, willing them to open.

Finally, the alarm sounded, and the doors retracted. As soon as she saw the Hawk coming in to land, Lia felt a tiny trickle of relief.

Then, the side of the Hawk was thrust open. Gabe Jackson jumped out, holding Finn.

The doctor and her team rushed forward. “Stretcher,” Emerson called.

Lia tried to get closer. She needed to see him.

Suddenly, Marcus’ bulky body stepped in front of her, blocking her. “No.”

“I want to see him,” she said.

“Let the doc help him.”

Lia shoved at Marcus. “Let me—”

The floating stretcher was pushed past, the doctor shouting orders.

Lia’s stomach turned over. As they rushed out, she caught a glimpse of Finn lying still on the stretcher.

But it hadn’t looked like the Finn she knew. This Finn had been burned, nothing left of his handsome face except for black, raw skin.

Chapter Six

Finn woke slowly and sucked in a deep breath. He waited for the searing pain that he remembered the last time. His heartbeat picked up, battering against his chest.

But there was no soul-sucking pain, just an itch on his skin. His skin just felt tight, like it was stretched too tightly across him. The pain was still there, lurking, but he realized with relief that it was dulled, and much more bearable. He tried to sit up.

“Take it easy. You’re okay. You’re in the infirmary.”

It was a soft female voice. He tilted his head, liking the sound of it. It made him feel not so alone. He blinked and then he froze.

He couldn’t see. There was only darkness.

“I can’t see.” He heard the panic in his voice. He reached up to touch his face.

Slim hands caught his, fingers smoothing over his skin. “You have regen patches over your eyes while you heal. The doctor says it’s only temporary.”

Her touch felt so good. Finn took a second absorbing it. “Is my family coming soon?” Damn, his mom would be mad at him. “I crashed right? Is everyone okay?”

There was a pause and her hands stilled. She set his hands back down on the blankets. “Finn, do you remember where you are?”

“Sure.” Then he frowned. The more he tried to concentrate, the more holes he found in his memory. He knew his name. He knew his family. He was in the Air Force…no, that wasn’t right. Suddenly, there was a yawning, black void in his mind. His hands flexed on the blanket. “I can’t remember.”

“Shh.” She stroked his arm. “It’s okay.”

“My name is Finn Erickson. I’m a pilot.” Saying those words made him feel better. They were something he could hold on to. But everything else seemed like Swiss cheese.

“Doc Emerson said this might happen. And she said it’s temporary. Your memories will return once you’ve rested.”

This time, Finn felt her touch on his chest, over his hammering heart. He felt her brush some monitoring patches stuck on his skin.

His breathing was fast, and he tried to slow it down. He reached up and grabbed her hand, focusing on that touch. She was his lifeline.

With his other hand, he touched his face. He felt some sort of bandages over his eyes, and on his cheeks he could only feel tight, smooth skin. He moved his fingers closer to his temple and found a rough patch. He probed it. It felt bumpy, and a little bit tender. He ran his hand into his hair, and found it short and baby fine.

He’d been a pilot too long not to understand. “I got burned.”

Her breath hitched. “Yes. You had to emergency land your Hawk under fire. The doc gave you a shot of nanomeds, so don’t worry, they’ve repaired the worst of the damage.”

Finn felt a burning pressure in his chest. He felt like there was something he should remember, something important he was forgetting.

“Where is my family? My parents? My brothers and sister?”

“Finn.”

Her voice was so sad.

“Who are you?” He gripped her hand tighter.

“Here. Have some water.”

He sensed a cup close to his face. Angrily, he knocked it away. “Answer my damn question.”

“I’m Lia. I’m a pilot.”

He relaxed a little. “We work together?”

“Yes. Sort of.”

“What do you look like?”

“Ordinary. Medium height, red hair, green eyes.”

He reached out. “Can I touch your face?”

She leaned down and he ran his hand over her features. He felt smooth, smooth skin, a slender nose, and a delicate jaw.

“Lia, where is my family? Please, no lies.”

“I don’t know.” It was a pained whisper. “There was an invasion…”

An explosion of jumbled images blossomed in his head. Nothing quite made sense. “Invasion?” He sucked in a breath in a moment of sudden clarity. “The aliens.”

“Yes.”

“My family…they’re dead.”

She smoothed her hand over his chest again. “You don’t know that.”

“They’re dead.” He slammed his palms down against the bed. He felt sticky patches pulling off his skin. Somewhere close by, a machine beeped.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” It was another female voice—this one brisk. “Finn, what are you doing?”

“Emerson…his memory,” Lia said. “He can’t remember everything.”

“Well, he suffered a severe trauma. You just need some time.”

“Is time going to bring back my family?” he bit out.

“He initially didn’t remember the invasion, and he asked for his family,” Lia added quietly.

The doctor sighed. “I’m sorry, Finn. That must have been awful. You need to get some rest.” She gave him a pat on the arm. “You’re here at the Enclave, surrounded by friends. We’ve all lost a lot, but for now, focus on what you do have.”

He heard the doctor’s footsteps as she walked away.

What had happened to his parents? His siblings? So much was swirling around inside him. “Did you lose your family?”

He heard Lia shift in her seat. “My mother and sister.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Every day. My sister…she was my twin. I felt her die.”

Jesus. “I’m sorry.” He was silent for a second. “What do I have? Here at the Enclave, what do I have?” Right now, he felt like he had nothing. Like he was alone and lost in the dark.

“You’re the best Hawk pilot we have. You fly the military squads in to fight the aliens.”

He really liked the sound of Lia’s voice. “You fly Hawks with me?”

“Oh, no. I’m in charge of the drone team.”

“So you’re not really a pilot, then.”

She laughed. The sound made some of the pressure in his chest ease.

“Sounds like you’re coming back just fine,” she said. “I flew supersonic jets before the invasion, but I enjoy the challenge of flying the drones now.”

Finn touched his face again. “How do I look?”

She made a small humming sound. “Like you got burned. Like you had a run-in with alien ships, and somehow managed to save yourself and your Hawk. There is a team out there recovering it right now. They’re hoping the cameras are undamaged.”

“Cameras?”

“You went in to gather intel in an alien area, where our drone feed was being jammed.”

Finn tried to remember, but he came up against that brick wall of blankness again. And now, he was starting to feel tired, could feel everything inside him drooping.

Cool fingers brushed his forehead. “Rest. Get some sleep.”

Finn grabbed Lia’s hand. “You’ll stay?”

“I’ll stay.”

***

Lia watched Finn sleep. The new skin on his face was shiny and pink, and at the moment, his hair looked much darker than it had before. But he looked much, much better than when they’d first brought him in.

Her hands flexed on the blankets. Unable to stop herself, she reached up and cupped his cheek. Even in sleep, he moved into her touch.

Her heart was a tight ball in her chest. She didn’t want to feel anything for him, for anyone. She’d told him the truth. When her twin, Melinda, had died in the first wave of the invasion, Lia had felt it. They’d always been linked. Known each other’s thoughts, and how the other was feeling. Even when their lives had taken them in different directions, they’d had their special bond.

Until that terrible day it had snapped.

After losing Melinda and her mother, Lia had been a virtual zombie. She’d moved around on autopilot, ending up at Blue Mountain Base by chance, after a group of survivors had found her.

Finn stirred.

He shifted fitfully on the pillows. “Hurts.”

Lia reached over and rinsed out a cloth that Emerson had left. She pressed it to his forehead. He was tossing in the sheets.

“Smoke. Black.” He pressed his hands to the sides of his head. “Terrible puddles of blood.”

“Take it easy.” She stroked his chest and with her other hand, she pressed the call button for the doctor.

“Hurts.” He moved his head and despite the bandages over his eyes, she knew he was looking her way. “Who are you?”

“Lia,” she said patiently. It hurt that he couldn’t remember her.

“Where is my family?”

She released a breath. He was breaking her heart by not remembering what had happened. Having to relive the misery every time. “Not here, remember. The alien invasion—”

He went still, then he made an angry sound. “They’re dead. Everyone is dead.”

“Calm down—”

“I crashed.” His hand moved over his face. “Burned. I did, didn’t I? God, I must look like a monster.”

Lia smiled. “Hardly.” But the lines of pain bracketing his mouth worried her.

“Why are you here? Are you my girlfriend?”

“No.”

“What, then?” he demanded.

“Colleagues. Sort of friends, when we aren’t arguing.”

“Can I have a drink?”

She refreshed the cup and brought it closer to his lips.

“I can do it myself.” His hand shook as he tried to take the cup. “I can do it, dammit.” He made a frustrated growl.

Lia helped put the cup in his hand and wrapped his fingers around it. He tried to lift it and a second later, spilled it, water soaking into the sheet across his chest.

“Dammit!” He threw the cup to the floor.

“You’ll get better, Finn. You’re healing. Don’t push yourself—”

“Why the fuck are you here? Do you enjoy seeing me like this?”

Lia took a slow, calming breath. He was hurting and in pain, and she needed to be patient. “I just want to help. I’m worried about you.”

He tilted his head. “I don’t want to get close to anyone. Losing my family—” his voice cracked. “Fuck. I never want to feel like this again.”

“I feel the same way. I lost my family, too.”

“So why are you here? You like bagging combat pilots, or something?”

“That’s insulting. You know what, I don’t know why I’m here, either.”

“If you think coddling me is the way into my bed, you’re wrong. I don’t want you here. I don’t want anyone here.”

At that moment, Doc Emerson arrived. “Well, I see you’re cheery.”

“I think he’s in pain,” Lia said tightly.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Finn snapped.

“This is part of the healing process,” Emerson said. “And his meds are running low. I’ve got some good painkillers for you now, Finn.”

“Fine. Give them to me. But I don’t want Lia here. I don’t want anyone here.”

The doc cleared her throat. “Finn—”

“I don’t need anyone enjoying watching me laid out like an invalid.”

Lia stood. “Don’t worry, Doc. I’m leaving.”

She knew she should be more understanding of his pain. He just needed time. But too much of what was coming out of Finn’s mouth hurt her. She’d heard variations of those words at her mother and sister’s worse moments. It hurt somewhere deep inside, where she’d vowed to never let anyone touch again. She didn’t need that. Ever.

Yes, Finn was still recovering, wasn’t himself, but when people were in situations like this, all pretenses gone. Wasn’t that when real feelings were exposed? When people were stripped back to who they really were?

“You still here?” he bit out.

“No.” She walked away. She had a load of work she’d put on hold. It was time to get back to it.

Time to put a certain Hawk pilot out of her head. He was fine. He’d get better. He didn’t need her and she didn’t need him.

Chapter Seven

Finn stared up at the plain white ceiling. Where was he? He could hear the beep of machines and the quiet murmur of voices.

Infirmary. At the Enclave. He reached up and touched his face. No bandages, just smooth skin, and a hint of stubble.

He heard a small chirp, which didn’t sound like a machine, and a small, fluffy chick jumped onto his chest. What the hell?

“Fluffball? Where did you come from?” Finn stroked the little bird and it nuzzled into his hand.

“How’s my patient today?”

Finn looked up at Emerson. “Hey, Doc.”

“Selena brought you a visitor. He refused to leave you and has been sleeping snuggled up on your pillow.” The doctor scowled. “I tried to remove him and he pecked me.”

The gyr gave one chirp, turned in a circle, and then settled down. “Thanks for looking out for me, Fluffball.”

Emerson studied his face for a second, then turned to the monitor. “Your memories are back?”

He nodded. He was vaguely aware of waking a few times before, but it was all muddled and confused. Mixed in with it were images of the race away from the pteros, his emergency landing, and the explosion.

One thing he remembered most of all—Lia’s face. He sat upright, ignoring the bird as it squawked in protest. Shit. He remembered now. Lia’s soft voice, gentle touches, her trying to help him.

And he’d been a bastard to her.

He sagged back against his pillows. “Lia was here…”

Emerson pressed a button on the machine. “You were in pain, Finn, and confused.” The doctor pulled a face. “You might need to grovel a little bit, though. She watched you go down on the screens. Saw the explosion. She thought you were dead, and then when they brought you in…she saw the condition you were in.”

Finn rubbed his temple. Lia would probably want nothing to do with him, and he couldn’t blame her. They’d agreed to one night and no entanglements. She’d tried to be nice, and, pain or not, he’d repaid her with harsh words.

The gyr leaped onto his pillow and pecked at his hair. It was the least he deserved.

Then he remembered something else—what he’d seen on the Central Coast. Images blasted back into his brain. As much as he wanted to find Lia and apologize, right now, he had important information that he had to get to General Holmes.

“I need to see the general.” Finn scooped up the gyr and slid his legs over the edge of the bed.

A firm hand slammed against his chest. “Hang on there, macho man. You’re not up for it, yet.”

“It’s really important, Emerson. What I saw…”

She studied his face, then muttered a curse. “Okay, but you take it easy. And I’ll be coming up to check on you.”

“Can you call the Command Center for me, and have them set up a meeting?” Finn looked around for his clothes. “Ah, I don’t have any clothes to wear.”

Emerson sighed. “I’ll make the call and I’ll get you a set of scrubs.”

“And can you get Fluffball back to Selena?” He shoved the gyr chick into Emerson’s hands.

She blinked down at the animal and then shoved it back at him. “It’s cute as hell, but no. I can’t leave here.”

“Fine. I’ll drop him off on my way.”

After pulling on some green scrubs, he popped the gyr in his pocket, and hobbled up toward the Command Center. He was a bit achy, and his muscles were stiff, but he was alive. He figured that was all that mattered. But he hadn’t gone too far when he started to feel a little shaky and he broke out in a sweat.

“What the hell are you doing out of the infirmary?”

Finn whipped his head up and saw Lia standing nearby. His mouth went dry.

He studied her, and saw her face was carefully blank. Her eyes were…empty. Dead.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed,” she said.

Finn couldn’t see any sign of the sexy woman he’d made love to. The general and the aliens would have to wait. “Lia, I’m sorry about—”

“It’s okay,” she said quickly. “You were hurt. I understand.”

“So why are you looking at me like I’m a stranger?” He walked closer and watched her stiffen.

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m looking at you like a colleague I’m concerned about.”

Well, that rubbed him the wrong way. “Look at me like I’m the man who had his cock in you the other night.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Like the man who sucked on your pretty nipples and made you come again and again.”

“Finn.” She made a hissing sound. “We agreed. That was one night. Over and done.”

“Lia—” He reached for her, his stomach tight.

Suddenly, Fluffball popped his head up and squawked. Lia’s eyes went wide. “Is that the gyr chick?”

“Yeah. I take care of him sometimes.”

Now her eyes narrowed. “The same gyr chick whose mother destroyed my drones?”

“Lia, look at him. He’s a ball of fluff.” Finn pretended to cover both sides of the chick’s head. “You can’t blame him for what his mother did. Hell, you can’t even blame the mother.”

Lia’s face softened a little as she stared at the bird. “No. The blame belongs solely with the Gizzida.”

“And I have important information about those bastards that I need to get to the general.”

She stepped back and nodded. “Then let’s go.”

As they neared the Command Center, Finn spotted Selena waiting for them.

“Emerson sent me to get the chick.”

Finn nodded and handed Fluffball over. “He took good care of me. Thanks, Selena.”

With a nod and a smile, Selena left.

“So, you let an alien chick watch over you while you were recovering.” There was a sharp bite to Lia’s voice. She turned away from him.

He grabbed her arm. “Lia—”

“Finn.” General Holmes’ deep voice interrupted. “I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

Finn turned and saw the general step out of the Command Center.

“Emerson said you had urgent news.”

Lia sidestepped around Finn and entered the command room. Resigned, Finn nodded and followed them inside.

The action and movement inside bombarded him. Screens were lit up all over the wall, and people were talking and moving back and forth between comp stations. After the quiet hush of the infirmary, it was a brief shock to the senses.

“Hey, Finn.” Noah came over and slapped him on the shoulder. “Good to see you up and about.”

Finn managed a smile. “You mean, good to see me not looking like fried chicken.”

Noah grinned at him. “Something like that.”

A crashing sound caught his attention. Finn looked over, and saw Lia had knocked a keyboard off a desk. “Sorry.” Her gaze met Finn’s, her mouth tight. “You shouldn’t joke about your injuries.”

“So Finn, what did you have to tell us?” Holmes asked. “Noah hasn’t been able to get any footage off your Hawk. The cameras were damaged.”

“My Hawk’s okay though?”

Noah shrugged. “She’ll need some work, but she won’t need to be scrapped. I’d say that’s all thanks to your fancy flying.”

A tight ball in the center of Finn’s chest eased a little. He knew the Hawk wasn’t alive, but she was his. She mattered to him, and they’d been through a lot.

“What did you see?” Lia asked. “In the jamming area?”

Finn frowned. “Horrible things.”

***

He looked good. Almost like his old self.

The only difference was, even after the nanomeds, regen patches, and the time spent in the infirmary, his hair was still shorter and finer than before. But all in all, Lia thought Finn looked fine.

Except for the grim horror she saw on his face.

“What did you see?” she asked again.

He dragged a hand through his hair. “I saw…factories, I’d guess you’d say.”

“Factories?” Holmes was frowning. “Can you describe them?”

“Definitely built by the raptors. They were big, organic-looking structures. There were domes intermixed with towers, and chimneys that were belching out thick, black smoke. There were large ponds filled with red muck.”

“That must be where they are manufacturing their vehicles and pteros,” Noah said.

“Possibly. I didn’t see any sign of vehicles, or much else, before anti-aircraft weaponry fired at me. They have some new heat-seeking missile. That gave my location away, and the pteros chased me out of there.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his scrubs. “These factories were huge, and well protected. My gut says something else is going on down there. It can’t just be about making more raptor vehicles.”

“Damn.” Holmes tapped his chin, his gaze turning inward. “This is going to make dropping the amplifier more difficult.”

Lia nodded. If the raptors were intent on protecting whatever they were doing in these factories, anything that appeared on their radar would be a target.

“Plus, they have these new missiles,” Finn said. “They’ve obviously studied our tech enough to know that while the illusion systems are up on the Hawks they can’t detect us, but that the Hawks still give off a faint heat signature.”

Noah made a frustrated noise. “I can get my guys working on something to try and hide the heat signatures. We aren’t making much headway on getting the amplifier to travel reliably in the water.” Noah’s dark eyes were piercing. “As it stands right now, it will need to be dropped several thousand kilometers offshore.”

There were gasps around the room.

“Keep working on it, Noah,” Holmes finally said. “We need to make contact with the other human bases. It’s imperative we work together on driving the Gizzida away.”

Lia knew the general was right. If they didn’t work with the other survivors, then even if they defeated the Gizzida in Sydney, alien reinforcements would come from other parts of the planet.

“General, Devlin and I will plan a ground trip into the factory area,” Santha Kade said from the back of the room. “Devlin will obviously be the one to go in.” She gestured at her rounded belly.

“I think it’s best I go alone,” Devlin said from beside Santha. “We need to get a better understanding of what’s going on in there, and I can move faster on my own.”

Holmes nodded, but his frown had deepened. “Plan it out. But Dev, take one other person with you. Someone from the squads.”

Devlin inclined his head. “Yes, sir.”

Thoughts were turning around in Lia’s head. “General, if we have to drop the amplifier a long distance offshore, we’re going to need an aircraft capable of traveling the distance.”

Finn stirred. “The Hawks—”

“Aren’t designed for the kind of range we’re talking about.”

Noah ran a hand through his long hair. “Lia’s right. I was hoping we’d find some way to get the amplifier to travel, but it’s not looking that way. We need to have a Plan B.”

“We need a supersonic aircraft,” Lia said.

Finn snorted. “Right. Have a supersonic jet parked outside, do you?”

Jets had gone supersonic fifty years back, and had given birth to the United Coalition of Countries. It had allowed fast travel between all parts of the planet.

“The aliens have destroyed any and all aircraft facilities,” Finn continued.

Lia straightened. “I was a pilot for Fusion Air. I know of one manufacturing facility in the area that my company had purchased aircraft from. There’s a chance, a slim one, that there might still be an aircraft there that we can use.”

“Where’s the location?” Holmes asked.

Lia reached over and tapped on a comp, excitement filling her. She pulled up the map on-screen. A glowing dot appeared. “In my spare time, I’ve been studying all the facilities I could remember, and analyzing drone footage of them when I could. I won’t lie, most of them have been destroyed, but this one—Aeron Industries—still looks like it’s mostly intact.”

She heard Devlin and Finn curse almost in unison. The men were staring at the map.

Lia cleared her throat. “This is based on old footage from a few months ago, so I’ve no way of knowing if this is what it looks like now.”

“That’s on the Central Coast,” Finn said. His gaze bored into her. “Right next to the alien factories.”

She nodded. “I know.”

***

“It’s risky, but it has to be done,” Holmes said. “We need a supersonic jet.”

Everyone in the room started talking. Finn stared at the map and knew that Lia and the general were right. They needed to get to this location and check it out.

“First,” Holmes said, “we need to confirm if there are any jets left. If there is a viable aircraft, we’ll send a team and pilot in to retrieve it.”

Finn glanced at Noah. “Noah, how long do you need to make the tweaks to hide the Hawk’s heat signature?”

The other man blew out a breath. “Weeks. But I can get something temporary rigged in a day. Won’t be perfect, but it should throw off these missiles.”

If Finn could avoid the missiles, he could get in close to the Aeron facility and take a look.

Finn nodded. “Then I’ll go in. I’ll come in from the west and take a look at this location. I’ll do a quick flyby of the facility and see if there’s anything left.”

Holmes stroked his chin. “All right.”

“There’s only one problem.” Doc Emerson strode in, her white lab coat flaring out behind her. “Finn does not have medical clearance to fly. At least not solo.”

“What?” He was grounded? A panicked sensation erupted in his chest. No way. “Doc, I’m fine—”

“You suffered significant trauma,” the doctor continued. “I’ve patched you up, quite well I might add, but I don’t think you’re ready for a combat mission alone.”

“It’s just a flyby—”

Emerson gave him a sour look. “In dangerous raptor territory.”

He muttered a curse.

“We can talk with the other Hawk pilots,” Holmes suggested. “I know none of them are quite as skilled as you—”

“You want to send one of the others in, with heat-seeking missiles out there that can bring down a Hawk?” Finn shook his head. “No way. I won’t ask them to risk their lives.”

“He won’t be alone.”

Finn whipped his head around to look at Lia. But she was looking at the general and Emerson.

“I’ll go with him. I’m the best person to assess the jets. And I’m trained to fly a Hawk, if Finn needs the help.”

“I don’t.”

She ignored him. “I’d also like to take a drone. I can send it down for extra intel.”

The general gave a few slow nods. “Okay, it’s agreed. Finn and Lia will go together. Plan the mission as fast as you can.”

The meeting ended, and, as a few people stayed to talk with Holmes, Finn saw Lia leaving. He hurried out after her. He spotted her at the end of the hall, turning a corner. He followed her and soon caught up with her in an empty corridor.

He grabbed her shoulder. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

Green eyes looked up at him. “The doc thinks you do.”

He growled.

Lia sighed. “Look, I’ll let you do your thing. I’m only there in case of an emergency, and to find us a jet.”

Finn felt a muscle tick in his jaw.

“I know you’re good at flying, Finn. You won’t need me.”

“What if I do?”

“Do what?” she said frowning.

“Need you.” He backed her up against the wall, pressing his body up against hers. Without another word, he crashed his mouth down on hers.

She went still for a brief second, then her hands wrapped around his shoulders and she kissed him back. Finn slid his tongue inside her mouth, pulling the taste of her inside him.

Then she yanked her mouth away from his. “We have to stop doing this.”

“Why?” He pressed his mouth back against the side of her neck, nipping and tasting her skin.

“Because…we’ll get attached. You don’t want that, right?”

Hell. She was right. For a second, he wanted to say fuck it, but he thought of his family. The loss of them tore at him.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from Lia’s warmth. “I need to meet with Noah to do work on the Hawk illusion system.”

She straightened, tidying her hair. “I need to get prepped for this mission. I’ll get my drone organized, and be ready whenever you’re ready to go.”

Finn really didn’t want to take Lia out there. Right into the heart of alien territory. A part of him desperately wanted to keep her safe.

“See you soon, flyboy.”

Finn forced himself to turn away from her and head toward the hangar. He needed to focus on the Hawk and the mission.

He found Noah already there, and hard at work. It wasn’t Finn’s Hawk, but one of the others in their small fleet. He glanced over to where his girl sat, parked off to the side in a maintenance bay. He walked over to her.

She was pretty beaten up. He knew the maintenance team was good and they’d do what they could to get her fixed. He patted her. “We saved each other, didn’t we?”

He’d have her back soon enough. He went back over to join Noah. The tech genius was cursing.

“How’s it going?”

Noah scowled. “Like crap.”

Finn bent over the diagnostic panel Noah was looking at. “Looks like you need my help.”

Noah snorted. “I’ve got a few different things we can try.”

They got to work. That involved a whole lot of circling around the Hawk, climbing into the cockpit, climbing out of the cockpit, trying a few tests, arguing, and swearing.

Finn wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when he looked up, he saw General Holmes standing nearby. His face was grim, and Finn knew he wasn’t going to like whatever the man was going to say.

“I need you to step up the mission timetable,” Holmes said. “You need to head out within the hour.”

“What’s happened?” Finn demanded.

“We received a partial message from the Groom Lake Base in Nevada. It was garbled.” The man pressed his hands together, his jaw tight. “It sounds like the aliens have attacked them. We’re not really sure what their status is, as we couldn’t get a message back to them.”

Shit. Finn could imagine the terror of the poor people at the base. They all knew what it had been like when Blue Mountain Base had been attacked.

“Parts of the message are missing,” Holmes said in a frustrated voice. “But they mention an alien weapon.”

Finn straightened. “Something we haven’t seen before?”

The general nodded. “They said it’s something the aliens are building.” Holmes shook his head. “Not enough info came through. But whatever this is…they said it’s a humanity-ending device.”

Finn bit down on the inside of his mouth. “Something to kill us off once and for all.”

“We need to get the rest of the information. We need to get the amplifier out there.”

Finn nodded and looked at Noah. “What we’ve done will have to be good enough.”

Noah gave a single, dissatisfied nod. “I’ve added extra flares to the Hawk’s arsenal. Even if the missiles do still pick up your heat signature, you can use the flares to confuse them, and give them other heat signatures to follow.”

This was it. “I’ll call Lia. Our mission is a go.”

Chapter Eight

Lia adjusted her flight suit and gripped her drone. She strode down the corridor toward the hangar. As she stepped inside, she watched people moving to and fro, working on Hawks, refueling equipment, moving spare parts. She spotted Finn’s damaged Hawk, and her stomach did a slow turn.

Then she spotted another Hawk in the center of the hangar. She could see Finn through the cockpit window.

She pulled in a deep breath, calming her nerves. The last time she’d been out on a mission, she’d ended up running across an alien battleship while being attacked by raptors. The last time she’d watched a mission on screen, she’d seen Finn go down in flames.

This was their life now. Heading into danger, taking enormous risks. She looked around at all the people. To keep the Enclave and its people safe, some people had to take risks. To fight off the Gizzida, some of those fighters would die.

She looked at Finn again. He looked almost normal, busy getting the Hawk ready. But she remembered what he’d looked like, how hurt he’d been, when Hell Squad had brought him home.

Her thoughts turned to their night together. She knew she shouldn’t think about it, about him. But she didn’t want to see him hurt again, and she wanted more. She wanted to touch him and taste him again. God, she was an idiot.

At that moment, he looked down and spotted her, then waved her inside.

Lia climbed into the Hawk and moved through to the cockpit. She settled into the co-pilot’s seat.

“We’re just about ready to leave,” he told her.

“I heard about the message from Groom Lake.”

He nodded. “Not enough info got through. No one’s sure what exactly happened, or if they are okay. We need a jet and we need it yesterday. We have to get the amplifier out there.”

“Then let’s do it.”

Finn moved through his preflight check with an ease and skill that proved he’d done it many times before. Soon, the Hawk was shooting upward, through the retracted hangar doors. The afternoon sunlight was almost blinding. Lia closed her eyes and absorbed the warmth of it. There were some days when she really missed the sunshine.

“Good luck, you two.” Elle’s voice came through the speakers. “I’ll stay with you as long as I can.”

“Thanks, Elle,” Finn replied. He tapped the controls, and the Hawk tilted and moved northwest.

Lia could see that Finn was moving them a long way to the west. He was avoiding the main part of Sydney, and the areas that had the most alien activity. Soon, she saw the dark purple shadow of the Blue Mountains.

“I wonder what’s left of the old base,” she said.

He shrugged. “No point thinking about it. We made it out, that’s all that matters.”

He said it so matter-of-factly. Lia nodded, but she wondered if it mattered more than that. After all, it had been their home for eighteen months.

But maybe he was right. It was another thing that she’d gotten attached to, and then had snatched away.

She turned her gaze downward. Every now and then, she spotted raptor patrols. And once, off in the distance, she saw the huge form of a rex lumbering along. The creature had gotten its name because it resembled a T-rex.

“Do you think many survivors are out there? Alone?” she asked.

“Probably,” Finn said.

It had to be horrible to be so alone and afraid. “I wonder what this new alien weapon is.”

“We won’t know until we get this amplifier out there, and can talk to Groom Lake. Or other bases. Someone else might have intel on it.”

Worry ate at her, as she imagined what else the Gizzida had up their scaly sleeves. But Lia pushed it aside. For the moment, she had to focus on this mission.

Soon, they were flying over the thick trees of a national park on the northern side of Sydney.

“Okay,” Finn said. “We’re coming up on the facility.”

“I’ve been there a couple of times.” Lia scanned the ground below, to see if she could spot Aeron’s buildings. “I went to take a look at some new aircraft designs they were working on. They did good work.”

“Look. There it is.” He pointed straight ahead.

Lia could see the white curved hangars in the distance. “Any alien signatures?”

“None. Factories are that way.” He nodded his head toward the east.

Lia looked in the direction he indicated. She couldn’t see the buildings Finn had described, but she could see the thick clouds of smoke hanging in the air on the horizon like ugly storm clouds. Her gut cramped. What the hell were the aliens doing?

“Shit.”

Finn’s curse made her look back. They were right over the Aeron facility. Oh, no. Despair stuck its sharp claws into her. She could see it clearly now. The hangars were all crumpled. One had been burned, and was now just a blackened husk.

The only thing that looked intact was the main office building. It was a three-story building with a large glass roof over the lobby.

Finn circled around the site. Lia could see the twisted remains of jets on the test runway. There was nothing left.

“Nothing here.” Finn’s voice was hard. “We’ll have to look somewhere else.”

Lia nodded dully. But she knew they might not have the time for that. Hell, she wasn’t even sure there was anywhere else to look.

She glanced down through the grimy glass into the lobby of the building. She remembered her last visit there. The company had pulled out all the stops to impress them. She’d loved their sleek, minimalist office building. In the lobby, an early version of their first supersonic jet had sat on display, suspended from the ceiling.

She froze. She could see the silhouette of the jet now.

“Finn, there might be something left.” She pointed downward.

He looked and frowned. “A display?”

“It’s the actual first Aeron Mark 1 supersonic jet. It’s old and hasn’t been flown for years, but it might still be operational.”

Finn’s frown deepened. “It’s a bit of a longshot.”

“I remember them saying it would still fly. They were proud of it. Let’s get the drone out and take a closer look.”

Within moments, Lia was operating her drone. She flew it down, and found a broken window. She maneuvered it carefully inside. The place was a mess. The formerly pristine offices were now in disarray. Ceiling panels and wires dangled down. Desks had been overturned, and cupboards lay open and ransacked. She made her way carefully through to the lobby. Lia was grateful that it was a large, open space that made it easy to fly. The last thing she wanted to do was to get her drone hooked up on something.

The Mark 1 hung in the center of the lobby. She circled around it.

“It still has engines.” She was feeling excited now, bouncing in her seat. “I think it’ll fly.”

“It looks in decent condition,” Finn conceded.

Suddenly, an alarm blared in the cockpit. She looked up.

Finn’s face turned hard as granite. “Get the drone back in. We have to go. Now!”

“What is it?”

“We have a heat-seeking missile incoming.”

***

Finn flew the Hawk southward, racing across the sky. He saw the missile incoming, and fired the first set of flares. Behind the quadcopter, several small flares streamed out.

Mentally, he cursed. Clearly, the work he and Noah had done hadn’t been enough to hide the Hawk’s heat signature.

Now, all he could rely on was his flying skills—and luck—to get them home.

He keyed in evasive maneuvers, and saw the missile go off after a flare.

Beside him, Lia was gripping onto the edge of her seat.

More lights appeared on his screen. Damn. There were more missiles coming, and right behind them, a fleet of pteros.

“How can I help?” Lia asked.

“Ever fire an autocannon?”

“No. But I can try.”

She slid out of her seat and into the back of the Hawk. He pictured her sliding into the seat on the autocannon.

Another missile got close, and more alarms blared. He fired more flares. Again, the missile flew off in the wrong direction, and he let out a sharp breath.

But when another heat-seeking missile raced in, he knew he was going to run out of flares well before the aliens gave up.

Two pteros caught up with them, whizzing past the Hawk.

Lia started firing the cannon, the distinctive whine of the laser a welcome sound. She didn’t appear to be hitting anything, but she was keeping the pteros busy, and causing them to twist and turn through the sky.

He fired another set of flares and then noticed a bigger blip on the screen. A really big blip.

“Lia? You see any other alien ships out there?”

“No.” A pause, more firing. “Just these pteros.”

Finn glanced all around through the cockpit windshield. Then he turned the Hawk slightly, and spotted it.

What the fuck?

It was far larger than the pteros, but smaller than the alien mothership. A big, black ship looming off in the distance. Some sort of warship.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” he yelled. “Stop firing, Lia, and get back in here. I need you strapped in. It’s time to run and hide.”

Seconds later, Lia was back. When she spotted the big alien ship, she gasped. “What the hell is that?”

“No idea. Whatever it is, we can’t take it on in the Hawk.”

Finn focused on flying. He pushed the Hawk for all the speed he could get. Making a choice, he flew up into the clouds, whizzing through the white fluff, trying to lose the last two pteros.

When he checked the screen again, he could see the larger ship wasn’t pursuing them. He let out the breath he’d been holding, and vowed to make time to be grateful later.

He ducked down out of the clouds and saw Sydney Harbor ahead.

Suddenly, an alarm started an annoying beep again. Fuck. Another heat-seeking missile was on their tail.

“I’m out of flares.” He scanned the water ahead of them, moving right to avoid the ruins of the Harbor Bridge. “We need to hide.”

Lia tapped on the screen in front of her, swiping her finger and scanning through maps.

“Lia? We need somewhere now!” he said.

“There!” She pointed straight ahead. “Cockatoo Island. The same island that was in our simulation. The old shipyards are full of large industrial buildings. We can hide in there. There’ll be enough room for the Hawk.”

Finn whizzed in and around the small islands dotting the harbor, zeroing in on Cockatoo Island. “It’s a good option. Plus, it’s an island. That means alien ground troops can’t sneak up on us.”

He spotted the shipyards on one side of the island. It looked near-identical to what he’d seen in the sim he’d run with Lia. There were long, narrow industrial warehouses beside some man-made marinas, where they’d built ships so long ago.

Finn zoomed in low, so close that the skids were almost touching the water. He flew into a large shipyard warehouse that was open at one end, and slowed down.

He looked up and through a hole in the roof, he saw the final missile shoot overhead. It had lost them.

“Over there.” Lia pointed.

The whole place had been turned into a museum. He could see lots of old bits of equipment, and models of Naval vessels lined up against the walls.

He found a spot and lowered the Hawk in for a tight landing.

“Look at that,” Lia said. “We should pull it over the Hawk to hide it.”

He saw what she was talking about. There was a huge canvas sign that had once hung on the wall, no doubt advertising some long-ago exhibit. Now it had half fallen down. The beige canvas would make a perfect cover for the Hawk to help conceal it.

The two of them raced out of the quadcopter. It took them a few minutes to wrangle the huge piece of canvas. Finn climbed up onto the Hawk, dragging the cover with him. With some pulling and shoving, the two of them got it pulled over the Hawk to hide the rotors.

When Finn stepped back, he thought his bird blended in nicely with the old bits of equipment.

Suddenly, there was a roar of sound.

They both looked up, and through a hole in the roof, saw a ptero speed overhead.

Finn hurried around the bird and grabbed Lia’s arm. “Come on. We need to hide.”

He pulled her far away from the Hawk, and back behind some bits of equipment. He tugged her into the dark space between a giant hunk of metal and the wall.

The space was tight, and they were jammed together. Finn’s heart was beating hard, and he could feel the tension in Lia’s body. They maneuvered a bit to fit in their hiding place, and ended up with Lia sitting on his lap.

Finn could think of far worse places to hide. It was damn nice to have her there.

Outside, he could tell that night was falling. The sky was darkening, and there was the faint glow of the sunset in the distance. Suddenly, lights appeared.

Finn craned his head and then froze. A ptero had stopped right outside the warehouse. A bright beam of white light strobed inside.

“Stay still,” Finn murmured.

Lia moved her hand to grip his. The light passed over the walls, and then streaked over their hiding place. It moved on, and when it hit the camouflaged Hawk, Finn held his breath.

He tightened his hold on Lia. Whatever happened, he’d do whatever he had to do to protect her.

The light shone back again, and a second later it was gone.

Finn pressed his mouth to her ear. “Don’t move. We need to make sure they’ve gone.”

Night had well and truly fallen on Sydney. They stayed in the darkness, neither of them moving.

“I think we’ll need to stay here on the island for at least a few hours,” he told her. “We’ll have to wait until they aren’t looking for us anymore, and sneak out.”

She nodded. Then she shivered.

Finn realized that since the sun had set, the temperature had dropped. Australian winters weren’t particularly harsh and didn’t last long, but they did have their cold nights.

He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. They stayed there, huddled together in the darkness. They were so close he could hear the beat of her heart, felt his own beat in time with hers.

Finally, Finn decided it was safe enough for them to move. “We need to find some shelter.”

Lia turned her head. “The island was a popular tourist attraction. I think there was a hotel and glamping area here.”

Finn stood and helped her up. “Glamping?”

“Fancy camping. Tents with beds, bathrooms, and fine dining.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why bother going camping?”

He saw the flash of her white teeth in the darkness. “No bugs, no outdoor toilets, no hard ground to sleep on. Comfort and enjoyment.”

He shook his head. He headed over to the Hawk and took a second to pull out his emergency pack, and fished around until he found his flashlight.

“Well, I don’t think we can do any glamping, but can try some scavamping.”

“What’s that?”

He reached out and took hold of her hand. “Scavenging camping. We’ll take whatever we can find.” He led her through the darkened warehouse, winding through the bits of abandoned equipment. “I think scavamping could have been the next big thing. It would have really caught on.”

It was nice to hear Lia’s laugh. It made him forget their bad situation—trapped in the heart of alien territory.

Chapter Nine

It was so dark. Lia was working hard to keep up with Finn and not stumble over anything. She knew they couldn’t risk using the flashlight. Again, she heard a ptero overhead, and saw lights swinging across the ground, occasionally coming through the holes in the roof.

As the lights got close to them, Finn pulled her down behind some hulking object that she couldn’t quite identify in the darkness. His arm came around her, holding her tight.

With her heart in her throat, she watched the searchlights from the alien ships moving in a pattern. Once the lights moved away, she and Finn started moving again.

God, it was so dark. She lost sight of Finn for a second and hurried to catch up.

She took a step forward, and realized there was no concrete beneath her. She bit down on her lip to stifle her scream as she fell.

She landed waist-deep in water.

“Lia.” Finn’s frantic whisper in the darkness.

She looked up and saw his big silhouette above her. “I fell in some sort of drain.”

He grabbed her arm and yanked her out. Lia stood there, dripping, coldness seeping in.

“Are you okay?” Finn ran his hands over her, patting her down.

“I’m okay.” Except her legs were going numb from the cold. “Just wet.”

“We need to get out of here, and then we’ll get you dried off.”

They reached a doorway to the outside. The door had fallen off one of its hinges. Finn pulled her to a stop and they cautiously peered outside.

From what Lia remembered about Cockatoo Island, she was pretty sure what the building down the street was. “There. That’s the hotel.”

It was a narrow building, three stories high, overlooking the harbor. She suspected it would have had lovely views of the water and city in the daytime. But right now, all she could see was darkness and the odd glimmer of the lights from the pteros on the water. Then she spotted something else. “There’s what’s left of the tents.”

She saw the faint silhouettes of a line of tents right near the water. Some had collapsed, and others were torn and ripped.

“No glamping for us,” Finn whispered.

White, glaring lights appeared again, streaking down the street in front of them. Finn yanked her back into the darkened doorway.

As soon as the lights were gone, he pulled her forward. “Let’s go.”

As Finn stepped in front of her, Lia hooked her fingers into the loops at the waist of his flight suit. Her pulse was a too-fast drum in her head. The aliens suspected they were down here, and the one thing she knew about the raptors was that they were single-minded, and rarely gave up.

They were approaching the hotel building, when she heard noises from down toward the harbor. Finn stopped, and Lia almost rammed into the back of him. They both turned their heads to look toward the sound.

“Shit. A ptero’s landing.” Finn’s voice was sharp.

Lia could see the ship now. The ptero was setting down on a patch of grass at the end of the street.

She cocked her head and then she heard it. The guttural grunts of the raptor language. Her heart kicked into high gear. “Raptors! They’re coming.” She looked around. “We need to hide.”

“Somewhere where they won’t find us.” Finn was looking down the darkened street, and then arched his head to look upward. “Up there.” He pointed toward the hotel roof. “We’ll climb up the balconies.”

Together they hurried over to the lowest balcony. Finn grabbed her around the waist and boosted her up. Lia wasted no time pulling herself up and over the railing.

Below her, Finn climbed up with easy, lithe moves that she wished she had the time to appreciate. But she could hear another noise now—boots stomping on concrete.

“They’re coming,” she whispered. “Quick!”

Lia climbed on top of the railing, Finn steadying her. She reached up and grabbed the railings above and started pulling herself up. They repeated the process, pulling themselves up onto the third and final balcony.

“They’re here!” Finn pulled her down, his arms wrapping around her.

They didn’t have time to climb onto the roof. He pulled her back until they were buried in the dark shadows.

Her breathing coming in harsh pants, Lia watched the street. She saw the raptors turn a corner and appear below.

Their huge forms were just big, hulking silhouettes. They were talking to each other in harsh, guttural sounds. A couple of them had portable lights that they were shining down the street, inspecting the shadows.

Lia held her breath. She felt Finn’s fingers stroke her arm. Comforting. But the wet from the clothes and the cold night was getting to her. She shivered.

It felt like forever, but the raptors finally moved on and turned a corner.

The air shuddered out of her. “What if they find the Hawk?”

“Then it’ll be a long walk home.”

A laugh threatened, bubbling in her throat. “How can you be making jokes right now?”

His teeth flashed in the darkness. “How can you be laughing at them?” He touched her hair. “There’s nothing we can do about the Hawk. Hopefully, they won’t find it.”

They waited a little longer, and by now, Lia was really feeling the cold. Her teeth were chattering and shivers wracked her.

Finally, they heard the raptors head back toward the ptero. When she saw the ship take off, she let out a shaky breath.

“Let’s get you inside.” Finn stood, eying the French door behind them.

He used his flashlight to break the glass, before reaching inside and opening it. They cautiously stepped over the threshold.

In the moonlight coming through the windows, Lia could see that it had been a restaurant. It looked untouched. The glossy wooden tables were still set with cutlery, glasses, and plates.

They passed through the room, and Finn led the way into a hall. It was lined with numbered doors. The hotel rooms.

Since there were no windows, Finn flicked on his flashlight. “We’ll find a room and bunker down for a while. You can dry off and we’ll rest until it’s safe to leave.”

He led them to the end of the hall and stopped in front of a set of double doors.

“Here we go.” He winked at her. “Presidential suite.”

“Only the best, huh?”

It took him a second to bust through the lock, and then they were inside. Finn flicked off his flashlight and hurried over to the windows. Outside, Lia saw a wide balcony, and in the distance, the lights of several pteros whizzing through the night sky. Finn pulled the thick curtains closed. They’d block any light, so anyone looking from outside wouldn’t spot them.

Then he turned and flicked his light back on. There was a huge bed, still made and topped with a lovely black-and-gold bedspread.

“We should barricade the door,” she said.

He nodded, and together, they dragged a desk and two heavy armchairs in front of the door.

Lia dropped onto the bed. Now that she felt safe, the tiredness and cold crashed in on her.

Finn ducked into the bathroom and came back with a thick, white towel. “Let’s get you out of that wet flight suit.” He set the towel down beside her. It smelled slightly musty, but it looked clean.

Lia robotically stripped off her flight suit, leaving only her panties and bra on. She lay the suit over the back of a chair to dry. She swiped herself with the towel, her skin covered in goose bumps. Finn appeared, holding out a thick, fluffy robe for her.

She slipped it on.

Finn moved over to rummage around in a cabinet. He spun and held something in the air. “Aha. Peanuts, chocolates, and potato chips.”

She managed a smile. “All the important food groups.” He came over and sat on the bed beside her. Then he reached over, and touched something on the bedside table. A warm light filled the room. She saw that it was a small lamp shaped like a candle.

“A gourmet picnic in bed,” he said. “Don’t say I can’t be romantic.”

Lia decided to start with the chocolates. The smooth flavor hit her tongue, and she groaned. “Oh, God, these are salted caramel. My sister was addicted to the stuff.”

Finn popped a chip in his mouth. “You said she was your twin. You were close.”

Lia nodded. “Twins have a special bond. From the time we were little we drove our mother crazy. We’d climb into bed together, get into trouble together, impersonate each other. But we’d gone our separate ways as we got older. She lived with my mother.”

Finn was staring at her. “I hear a story there.”

“I’m sure you don’t want to hear it—”

He grabbed her hand. “Sure I do.”

She sucked in a breath. “My sister was agoraphobic.”

His brow creased. “Fear of the outdoors.”

Lia nodded. “It developed in her teens. It started with panic attacks and worsened. She hadn’t been outside of the house for years.”

“That must have been tough.”

Tough didn’t begin to touch it. “And my mother suffered from depression. She wasn’t always sick, but every few years it would get bad. She wouldn’t be able to get out of bed, do the shopping…”

“And it fell to you to help them.”

“I did what I could, but it never seemed enough. I wanted to help them get better and most of the time that left me feeling helpless. Too much time with them was…suffocating.” As always, the feeling of guilt and failure washed over her.

“And you felt guilty about that.”

“I loved them, Finn, but I loved getting on a plane and soaring into the clouds. Being with them day in and day out was hard.”

“That sounds pretty normal, Lia. You found a balance.”

“I always felt like I should have done more.” She fiddled with the hem of her robe.

“And they both…didn’t survive the invasion?”

She nodded. “The bombing was pretty intense in Dallas, where they lived. I knew the moment Melinda died.”

“I’m sorry.”

“In a way, at least I know and had closure. I can only guess how hard it is for you, not knowing about your family.”

He shot her a sad smile. “At least I have a glimmer of hope.” He wadded up the empty chip packet and shot it over to the wastepaper basket. “You warming up?”

She nodded, looking at him. He was still in his flight suit, his hair ruffled. Looking at him made a surge of heat run through her. She very clearly remembered what he could do with those hands.

Her attraction to Finn was increasing. And it wasn’t just his lean body and handsome face that drew her. It was also seeing his cool under fire, the way he commanded his aircraft, the way he got the job done—no matter the risk.

She felt like she was spending more time fighting to keep herself away from him. Maybe it would just be easier to give in? Maybe, for once, she could reach out and risk connecting, feeling.

Lia stood and shrugged her shoulders. The robe slipped off and hit the floor.

With a peanut halfway to his mouth, Finn froze.

“I’m not quite warm enough,” she said.

“Oh?”

She walked over and slid onto his lap, her knees straddling him. “I think you should share some body heat with me.”

***

Finn ran his hands up Lia’s sides. Over smooth skin, and the dips and curves of her. Blood was pumping thickly through his system.

“What happened to ‘we can’t do this again?’” He slid his hand up her flat belly and then cupped her breast. Touching her eroded every shred of his control. “What happened to not getting attached?”

“I changed my mind.” As he tweaked her nipple, she gasped, thrusting into his hand. “I think we’re already kind of attached.”

He pulled her closer, his lips a breath away from hers. “No games this time. It isn’t the captain and the new recruit, or the naughty girl in need of punishment. This time, it’s Finn and Lia.”

He scraped his fingers down her belly, watching as her breath hitched.

“Okay,” she murmured.

Something like elation moved through him. “It means when you come, when I’m inside you, you call out my name.”

She shifted, shimmying against him. “Yes.”

“Say it.”

“What?”

“Say, ‘Yes, Finn, I’ll scream your name when I come.’”

Her eyes locked with his and she licked her lips. “Yes, Finn, I’ll scream your name when I come.”

He moved, setting her down on the bed. A pounding, driving need to have her sprung to life inside him. This connection between them was growing, feeding something inside him, filling something that had been empty a long time. He needed more. He needed all of her.

He stood beside the bed and quickly stripped off his flight suit. She was kneeling on the covers now, watching every one of his moves. As soon as he was naked, she edged forward, her small hand gripping his cock.

Finn felt the tendons in his neck stretch. She pumped him, her fingers smoothing over the head.

If he let her touch him like this, he’d never last.

He pushed her back and climbed on the bed beside her. He lay down, resting his head on the pillows. He stared up at her. “Come here.”

She crawled over to him, her red hair spilling around her shoulders.

Beauty in the darkness. For so long, Finn had looked at the darkness and seen the bad. The shadows hid aliens, their creatures, and death.

But looking at Lia now, he realized the darkness could hold something else, as well.

“I want to taste you.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her over his face, her knees straddling his head.

She gasped, gripping onto the headboard behind him.

Finn put his mouth on her. She gasped again, and soon it turned to husky cries. She was writhing above him as he licked and sucked her. Hell, his cock was harder than it had ever been. He kept drinking in the taste of her, wanting to see, hear, and feel her shatter apart.

Suddenly, she jerked, shifting away from him. He growled, rearing up and reaching for her.

She spun, straddling his body, but now she was facing his feet. She leaned down, and sucked his cock into her mouth.

God. Sensation slammed into him. As she worked him into her mouth and throat, he moved up and started licking her again. Soon, he was stabbing his tongue inside her.

Then he felt her body go tense. She lifted her head. “Finn!”

She started coming. God, the sounds she made.

Finn flipped her, watching the emotions on her face. He needed to see them. “Look at me,” he demanded.

She did, her eyes glittering, her lips parted.

Finn covered her body with his and slowly slid inside her.

She arched into him. “Finn.”

“You feel so good, Lia.” She was heated warmth that made him groan. She was his. He started thrusting. Her legs moved to wrap around his hips.

“Take me,” he growled.

“I am.” Her nails bit into his back.

“All of me.”

“All of you,” she echoed.

When her second orgasm hit, she screamed his name, just as she’d promised. Finn felt his own release hit him with the power of a supersonic engine. He gripped her tightly and shouted her name.

Chapter Ten

When Lia woke, she felt so warm and toasty. She made a little humming sound of pleasure, and snuggled in the bed. She blinked, realizing it was a man’s big body curled around her that was keeping her so warm. Finn.

She kept her eyes closed and just enjoyed the feeling. It’d been so long since she’d had this closeness with somebody. Worry spiked, and she trembled…what if she lost it again? What if she lost him?

Warm lips nipped at her ear. “Stop worrying.”

“What, are you a mind reader?”

He slid one hand down her body, curling it around her hip. He nudged her forward and she felt the brush of his cock behind her. Wordlessly, he slid inside.

She let out a small moan. So good. His fingers dug into her hip as he started powering into her—slow, steady, and firm. She felt his hand slide forward to the juncture of her thighs, and his thumb found her clit.

Oh, God. In this moment, it was just the two of them, and it was perfect.

It didn’t take long for her climax to happen. She felt it curl into a tight ball deep inside her, then she exploded. As she was coming down, she felt Finn shudder against her, groaning his own release.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “It’s been a couple of hours. Last time I checked, there were no pteros in the sky. We should get going.”

She turned to face him. “You didn’t sleep?”

He reached out and touched her face, his finger tracing along her cheekbone. “I had to watch over you.”

God. Her throat went tight. No one had worried about her wellbeing for a really long time. Even before the invasion, she’d been the one looking after her mother and sister—sorting out finances, organizing doctor appointments, listening patiently, and drying tears.

From the beginning, she’d been afraid Finn would slip into the protected spaces she hid inside. But he wasn’t just slipping in, he was powering into them and smashing them to smithereens.

He leaned forward and kissed her. “Time to get dressed.”

Lia’s flight suit was still damp, but it was wearable. As she pulled it on and fastened it, she watched Finn get dressed. He pulled the black fabric over his long, lean legs, over his ripped abs and muscled arms…and she was mesmerized.

He shot her a smile and held out a hand. She didn’t hesitate to put hers in his.

They quickly made their way through the hotel. At the end of the hall, Finn found some stairs and they headed down. They’d gone down two flights, when Lia saw something leaning against the wall. She peered closer, then jerked back in shock.

“God.” It was a dead body.

Finn blocked her view. He pulled her close, pressing her face against his chest. “Don’t look.”

She nodded. She didn’t want to think about that poor person and whatever had happened to them.

Finn pulled her onward. Soon, they stepped into the small hotel lobby. It was still and silent, a giant, dusty chandelier hanging in the center of the space. It felt creepier than an old horror movie. She half expected a masked serial killer with a chainsaw to jump out at them. At the entrance, they paused, looking out through the glass doors.

“Looks clear,” Finn murmured.

They jogged toward the shipyards, to where they’d hidden the Hawk. In the distance, where the vibrant city center had once sat, there was only darkness. All light and life now gone. Her fingers flexed in Finn’s hand and his hold tightened on her. There she felt the warmth and life of him.

They reached the large warehouse and crept inside. Finn turned on his flashlight, and they quickly made their way over to where they’d hidden the Hawk. Together, they pulled the canvas off and climbed inside the quadcopter.

Finn started the preflight checks. Lia touched the controls and opened a comm line to the Enclave.

“Enclave? Elle? Anyone there?”

“Lia, thank God.” Elle’s relieved voice came through clearly. “Are you guys okay?”

“We’re okay. We’re heading your way now.”

“There was a lot of alien activity over the city earlier, but it’s quieted down now.”

Finn nodded. “Hey, Elle. We had to lay low for a while. My plan is to head west again. See you soon.”

In minutes, the Hawk lifted off. Finn’s face was a mask of concentration, as he maneuvered the Hawk carefully out of the shipyard building. As they moved out into the open, Lia felt all her muscles tensing. She glanced around, searching for any waiting pteros or raptors.

“The illusion system is up and functioning,” Finn said.

She nodded. “I don’t think I’ll feel better until we are safely back at the Enclave.”

They gained altitude, and Finn followed the water as it moved westward.

“I don’t know how you do this every day.” She turned to look at him. “Go out and put yourself in danger.”

The dim glow of the lights from the console highlighted his face and his faint smile. “I do it because it’s the right thing to do. Because I couldn’t sit back at the Enclave, knowing I have skills that could be useful. I want the Gizzida gone.” He stared straight ahead, his face serious. “I’d like to know what happened to my family.”

“You think they’re still alive?”

“Probably not. Maybe a part of me even thinks that would be better. But there’s another part of me that still hopes.”

Lia had tried to protect herself, to limit her friendships and attachments since the invasion. But loving, wanting to belong, it was a soul-deep human trait. And she was learning that it was impossible to ignore, especially with a man like Finn around.

“I admire the hell out of you, Finn Erickson.”

He grinned at her now. “Even if I’m an arrogant flyboy?”

“The brave and courageous bit sort of makes up for the arrogant part.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand. They flew on in a comfortable silence, but Lia still felt the tension chewing at her. She stared out the cockpit window, watching, waiting, fully expecting to see a ptero or a heat-seeking missile racing toward them at any minute.

When they reached the Enclave without incident, she couldn’t quite believe it.

When they touched down in the hangar, and she saw the crowd of people waiting for them—Niko, the general, Hell Squad—she still didn’t quite believe it.

“We made it,” she said.

“We sure did.”

Finn sat back in his seat, then he reached over and yanked her in close for a kiss.

For once, she didn’t worry about the people staring at them with interest, or worry about getting too attached.

***

Finn sat at a table in the dining room, eating a loaded plate of food. They’d only been back for half an hour, and most of the Enclave was still asleep. The kitchen staff was up, though, busy preparing breakfast.

Keeping Finn company were Holmes, Niko, Noah, and most of Hell Squad and Squad Nine. Cruz was missing, no doubt still in bed with his pregnant partner. Across from Finn, Gabe and Theron were both mowing through plates of food twice the size of Finn’s.

“It was sort of big ass alien ship,” Finn said, telling the group about the ship he and Lia had glimpsed. “Bigger than a ptero but smaller than that mothership.”

Holmes let out a breath. “We’ll add it to the database and keep an eye out for it.” The general’s blue gaze sharpened. “So there’s a viable jet at Aeron?”

“Yep. Lia thinks it will fly.” Where was she? She’d gone to shower and change, and he had to admit that after their wild mission, he was a bit antsy without her in his sight. He focused back on Noah. “Is the amplifier ready?”

The tech guy scowled. “Ready as it will ever be. I’d like more time…”

“Not going to happen,” Niko said. “We need the connection with the rest of the human survivors up and running.”

Holmes nodded, sipping his coffee.

Footsteps entered the dining room and Finn looked up, hoping to see Lia. But it wasn’t her. Instead, it was beautiful, blonde Liberty Lawler.

“Good morning.” With generous curves, a definite swing to her hips, and a cloud of blonde hair, she was a whole lot of male fantasies come to life.

But she only had eyes for one man in the room. Adam Holmes.

Finn watched the usually stoic general’s face light up. The man actually smiled, and it was the deep smile of a satisfied man. “You should have gotten some more sleep.”

Liberty perched on the arm of the general’s chair, and stole some of his toast. She touched the back of Holmes’ neck, sure of her welcome. “The bed was too lonely without you.” Then her blue gaze landed on Finn. “Honey, you look like you’ve had a wild night?”

“A little hide-and-seek with the raptors.”

Liberty raised a brow. “Is that all?” Her voice was droll.

Most people looked at Liberty and only saw the beauty, but Finn knew she was very good at seeing people’s true colors. She was one of the people who’d helped keep the Blue Mountain survivors calm and in high spirits on their race out of the mountains.

The general tapped his fingers on the table. “So, once the amplifier is ready, we’ll send a team in to get this jet, fly it out, and drop the amplifier in the ocean.”

“It’s not quite that easy.” It was Lia’s voice. She strode in, and Finn drank in the sight of her.

Her hair was damp, and she was wearing fresh clothes. She shot him a smile and sat in the chair beside him.

Looking at her, Finn felt something similar to getting slammed in the gut by a punch. He liked her. The look of her, the smell of her, her smart mouth, and her skills.

Actually, he more than liked her.

Forget attached. Finn realized he was well on his way to something else.

“The jet is an old model,” Lia said. “It’s a two-seater.”

“Shit,” Roth Masters said. “Must be really old.”

“It’s the first model that Aeron ever made.”

Finn chewed on his eggs and swallowed. Best they share all the good news, to get it over with. “It’s also hanging from the ceiling in the lobby.”

There were groans all around the table.

“But you’re sure it will fly?” Holmes asked.

Lia nodded. “I’ll have to tap into its controls and provide power, but yes, it’ll fly. Once it goes supersonic, it won’t have any communications with the Enclave. The distance will be too far for anything reliable.” She lifted her chin. “But before we can get it in the air, we first have to get it down and out onto the runway.”

Holmes nodded. “So we need a team to go in, cut the jet down, get it onto the runway—”

“And keep the raptors off us while we do it,” Marcus added.

Shaw leaned forward, a knife and fork clenched in his hands. “Piece of cake.” He shoved some bacon and eggs into his mouth.

“I know the jet,” Lia said. “I need to be the one to fly it.”

“And I’m going with her,” Finn said.

Her head spun his way. “I should go alone.”

She was hiding something. “Why?”

She swallowed. “The jet won’t have an illusion system. I’ll be fast enough to outrun any company that tries to follow on the way out—”

Finn stood, his chair scraping on the floor. “And on the way back?”

She took a deep breath. “It’ll be tougher. I probably won’t make it.”

Finn locked his jaw. “I’m coming.”

Lia got to her feet as well. “No. We don’t need to risk two lives.”

“I don’t care. I’m not letting you go alone.” He dropped back down into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Lia spun to face the general. “Gen—”

“I think you could do with the backup, Lia,” Holmes said, interrupting her.

Now Lia spun back to look at Finn. “I told you not to get attached.”

“Me falling in love with you makes me better, Lia. It’s not something I’m afraid of.”

Silence fell around the table.

Then Finn heard a quiet “Woo-hoo.”

“Shut it, Shaw,” Claudia said.

“That was two weeks,” Taylor Cates said. “Hot damn! That means I win the bet.” The Squad Nine soldier leaned toward her squad, her palm out, her dark hair falling around her beautiful face. “I want credits for the bar and the clothing store, a bottle of Chardonnay, and Cam, you’re taking my next training session.”

There were good-natured grumbles from Squad Nine.

Lia’s face had gone pale. “No. You are not in love with me.”

“Yes,” Finn countered. “It’s good, Lia. It feels good, it feels right.” He waved a hand around the table at the people seated there. “Look at these guys. All of them found someone in the darkness, the pain, the chaos.”

Finn looked and saw Shaw tugging on Claudia’s braid. Roth’s partner, Avery, leaned into the man’s side with a smile. Mac and Niko shared a private smile.

“Caring, loving…it hurts,” Lia said in a stricken voice. “When you lose the people you love—”

“You fight for it, Lia,” Finn said. “The hurting is living, and it makes the good emotions so much better. And if you lose it, you’d never change the chance to have it in the first place. To have had that person in your life. I miss my family every day and it hurts like hell. But I’d never choose to have lived without them. I’d never choose not to have touched you, held you, and made you mine.”

Lia stared at him for a long moment, then she swiveled and walked out, her stride jerky.

Finn felt like he had been stabbed in the chest. He let out a shaky sigh. He’d thought after their time together on Cockatoo Island she was ready to risk her heart.

Claudia leaned over and slapped him on the back. “Nice speech, flyboy. Give her some time.”

Holmes sat back, stroking Liberty’s back. “You’re on the mission, Finn. She needs you, whether she wants to admit it or not.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“As soon as Noah has the amplifier ready, you and Lia will go in with Hell Squad to get the jet.”

“Well, I need at least a few weeks,” Noah said, “but since you won’t give me that, then I’ll have it finished today.”

Holmes nodded. “Good.”

Suddenly, the food in Finn’s mouth tasted like dust. He had one day to talk Lia around. One day to be with her before a mission from which they might never return.

One day to get her to admit that she loved him.

Chapter Eleven

Lia sliced through the water. She loved the Enclave’s pool, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed swimming since the invasion.

She kicked her legs, pushing herself for more speed to reach the end of the pool. She wanted to feel the burn in her muscles and the tightness of breath in her chest. She didn’t want to think of Finn or the mission.

They were going to be flying into certain danger. They would likely die. A few weeks ago, she could’ve lived with that decision. She would have risked her life, knowing that others would live because of it.

Now…well, now everything was different.

She reached the end of the pool and stopped, holding the edge. A second later, someone else dove in from above, cutting cleanly into the water.

Camryn McNab from Squad Nine appeared, treading water. “Hey, Lia.”

“Cam.”

The soldier’s dark hair was slick against her head, highlighting the amazing bone structure she’d inherited from her African mother.

“Heard you spent the night on an island.” Cam winked.

Lia snorted a laugh. “Yes. In a five-star hotel, even.”

Cam smiled. “Nice.”

Lia pushed herself out of the pool to sit on the edge. Cam joined her, her long legs dangling in the water. Lia wore a simple, black, one-piece swimsuit she’d snagged from the clothing store. Cam had on a lipstick-red bikini. It showed off her toned abs and arms.

“So you and our handsome Hawk pilot are heading off on a tropical vacation.”

“Yes, we’re heading out.” Lia stood and snagged a nearby towel. She started to dry off. “There will probably be lots of fireworks, too.” Her voice caught.

“You’ll do a great job,” Cam said, her voice turning serious.

Lia nodded. “I don’t want him to come. I don’t want to lose him.”

Cam waved her feet through the water. “One thing about this whole fucked-up alien invasion, it pares us back to who we really are. No one worries about what you wear, what car you drive, who you’re sleeping with…hell, they don’t even care how often you have sex. All the bullshit is gone now. What we show the world, what people see, it’s the best and worst of us. What I see are people going out to fight for others. I see people taking care of others, whether it’s by fighting, cooking, cleaning, healing, loving other people’s children.” Cam looked across the pool. “I think we lost sight of some of that before the invasion. We were so busy being busy, striving for more, bigger, faster…we forgot who we really were. What was really important.”

What she saw when she looked at Finn was a brave man, who didn’t let the bad things get him down. Who kept going, kept fighting, kept doing what was right. A hero.

Lia sat back down. “I’m afraid.”

Cam slid her arm along Lia’s shoulders. “You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t. It’s what you do in spite of it that matters. It’s acting, in spite of the fear, that makes you brave.”

Lia managed a nod.

“I’m not just talking about your mission.” Cam’s gaze was direct.

Lia nodded again. “I’m going to fall in love with him.” Hell, if she was being honest, she was already on the way. “And it terrifies me.”

Cam slapped Lia on the leg now. “The real thing apparently does that.” Cam bumped her shoulder companionably against Lia’s. “I also hear it makes the sex out-of-this-world amazing.”

“Two beautiful ladies talking about sex. My day is looking pretty darn good.”

The deep voice behind them made Cam straighten like she’d been slapped. She rolled her eyes. “What did I do to deserve this?”

Lia looked up and saw Hemi Rahia from Squad Three. Wow. The man was certainly a sight to behold. The berserker looked like he’d just come from the gym, and was only wearing cargo pants, and a towel around his neck. He was a big bear of a man. His thick, barrel chest was bare, and all his muscles and tattoos were on display. A lot of muscles and tattoos.

The way the man looked at Cam’s bare legs…well, the raw, hungry look almost made Lia blush and want to look away.

“I’ve got to go.” Lia leaned in close to Cam. “I hope you listen to your own advice, Cam.”

Lia pulled her shirt over her head and walked out of the pool room to the sounds of Cam and Hemi arguing behind her.

She needed to find Finn. Even if she couldn’t find the right words to say to him, she wanted to be with him before this mission.

She hurried down the hall, and when she turned a corner, she collided with a hard chest.

Finn. She looked up at him, her heart thumping. “I was coming to look for you.”

“I’ve been looking for you, too.”

***

Finn thought Lia looked cute, with her wet hair out and the hint of her swimsuit beneath her shirt. But he only had to look at her tight face to know the weight of the situation was dragging on her.

“Come with me.” He grabbed her hand and towed her down the corridor.

“Finn. I wanted to—”

“Shh. Not yet.”

The Enclave was starting to wake. A few people were heading out to the dining room for breakfast, others on their way to the gym and the pool. Finn made sure he dodged around them all and didn’t stop to chat. As soon as he found the exit he wanted, he urged Lia up the ladder.

“We’re going outside?” She started climbing, but looked back down at him. “We aren’t allowed outside. What if—”

“I’ve cleared it with the squad on patrol.” At the top of the ladder, he reached past her and pressed the correct code to open the hatch.

Together, they climbed out into the cool morning air. It was still dark, but the eastern horizon was starting to lighten.

He pulled her over to a spot he’d already selected. It was a soft patch of grass on a small rise, under a single tree.

He sat down and pulled her down between his legs. He tugged her back until she rested against his chest.

She turned to face him. “I’m sorry about my reaction earlier.” She cupped his cheek in her hand. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He couldn’t lie to himself or her. He had been hurt. But her apology and the look in her eyes went a long way to soothing it.

Turning her palm over, he pressed his hand over hers. “I’m yours, Lia. Whatever happens when we leave on the mission.”

He heard her shaky intake of breath. “Finn.”

“Shh. Look.” He turned her.

The sun was rising. It wasn’t a gentle sunrise, but instead, a violent blast of colors: pinks, oranges, golds and reds. Together they watched as the light of the waking day stretched out across the sky. It made her skin glow, and soon he was watching the beauty of her, not the sunrise.

She was with him. That was enough for now. She had to work through her own emotions, but Finn knew she was his.

“It’s beautiful.” She spun and pressed her mouth to his.

The kiss started soft, but it didn’t stay that way. Desire trickled in, hot and hard.

“I want you.” Lia pressed harder against him, biting down on his bottom lip. “Now. Inside me.”

“Not here, sweetheart.” It wasn’t safe. He pulled her up and they hurried back inside. But they’d only made it a few steps down the empty corridor, when they were tearing at each other’s clothes again. They slammed together, mouths and hands all over each other.

Finn spun her around and pressed her against the wall. “My room is the closest.”

Her hands were tearing at his belt. “Too far. Now. Now.” Her voice was a chant.

Damn, he couldn’t wait, either. His mind fuzzed over with desire. The hall was empty, and it was a little-used side corridor. With a growl, he made short work of flicking open his fly. He boosted her up, and reached under the towel wrapped around her waist. He found the damp, stretchy fabric of her swimsuit, and shoved it aside. A second later, he slid inside her.

She moaned. He grabbed her wrists and pressed them to the wall above her head. Holding them with one hand, he cupped her butt with the other. Slowly, he moved inside her. In, drag out, push back in. Their gazes locked, and he saw so much simmering in her eyes.

Yes, for now, this was enough. This was worth everything.

He moved his hips faster, slamming into her. He felt her body go tight and clamp down on him. They both found their release, and he swallowed her cry with his lips.

Throughout the day, they were never far from each other. They slept together, ate together, planned their mission together, and spent several hours making love—in Finn’s bed, in the shower, on the floor.

But all too soon, Finn was pulling on his combat flight suit and watching Lia do the same.

Her face was grim now. The sweetness and happiness of the day had leached away. Soon, they were going to head to the hangar and board the Hawk. Neither of them mentioned it, but the pressure surrounding today’s mission was intense.

When they stepped into the hangar, it felt strange for Finn not to be the one doing the flight checks on the Hawk. He saw his fellow pilot, Thom, checking over the outside of the copter. Hell Squad stood beside the quadcopter—all of them in their black armor, and holding their carbines in their hands. Finn had never seen a tougher or more competent group than this squad of soldiers.

Marcus lifted his chin. “Ready?”

Finn nodded. “Let’s do this.”

“Hope you guys have room for a couple of passengers.”

They all turned to see Devlin Gray striding in, decked out in armor. Taylor from Squad Nine was two steps behind him. She was holding her carbine, her mahogany hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.

“Need a lift?” Finn asked.

Dev nodded. “The general’s given the green light for my trip to sneak around the alien factories. Roth nominated Taylor to accompany me.”

“Lucky me.” The female soldier gave a small smile. “I’ve been told not to shoot anything unless absolutely necessary.” She lifted her carbine. “I hope it’s necessary.”

“Is the Aeron facility close enough for you?” Marcus asked.

Dev nodded. “We’ll go in on foot from there. We’ll be out of comms range for two days, gather as much intel as we can, then call for a pick up.”

“So, are we ready?” Finn asked.

Noah appeared from around the other side of the Hawk. “My team and I have been loading your gear. The amplifier is in.” He nodded his head.

Finn saw the large, ball-shaped device resting inside the Hawk. “Bigger than I thought it would be.”

It was a bit larger than an inflatable beach ball, made of a metallic black-and-gray, with a few blinking lights.

“I’ve also loaded in the other gear you’ll need. The tools you requested to cut the jet down and move it.” Noah pointed. “Laser cutters, and the magna-lifts that the maintenance guys use in here to move the aircraft around the hangar.”

Finn knew the units could do some heavy lifting. They’d make this job a lot easier.

“Lia, I also got the list of stuff you needed. The thermonuclear powerpack for the jet, the comp tablets you need to fly it, and one tube of synthetic rubber coating.”

“Thanks, Noah,” Lia said.

“Synthetic rubber?” Finn looked at her.

“The tires will have deteriorated,” she answered. “This coating can be sprayed on the existing tires and it will hold them together long enough for us to get off the ground.”

“And for landing?”

She shrugged. “We’ll have to improvise.”

“All right,” Marcus said. “Let’s get moving.”

“Good luck.” Noah looked at Finn and Lia, and nodded. “See you when you get back.”

They climbed aboard the Hawk. For Finn, it felt odd being in the back of the Hawk, while someone else was up front flying.

He sat and shifted his weight, trying to get comfortable in one of the seats. He hated the tense quiet in the air, the steady hum of anticipation. In the cockpit, he was always too busy flying to be stewing over an upcoming mission.

Lia sat down beside him, and slipped her hand into his. Instantly, he could breathe a little easier. They were going to do this, and do their bit to help save humanity.

And afterward, he was going to bring his woman home.

Chapter Twelve

As the Hawk lowered, Lia’s stomach did a sickening turn. Around her, the Hell Squad members were standing, double-checking weapons and murmuring quietly to each other.

They didn’t look worried or nervous. Lia dragged in a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. Not only for the people of the Enclave, or for humanity itself. She had to do it for herself, and for Finn.

Devlin and Taylor sat at the back of the Hawk. Lia still couldn’t believe the two of them were going to head straight into the heart of alien territory, alone, with no back up. It made Lia’s mouth go dry. But neither of them looked concerned, either. They both looked focused and prepared.

“All right, let’s go.” Marcus slid the side door open. “Dev and Taylor, this is where we say goodbye.”

Dev reached the door, Taylor beside him. “Good luck.” His sharp gaze moved to Lia and Finn. “Hope your mission goes smoothly.”

Marcus grasped the man’s hand. “Yours, too.” Marcus looked at Taylor. “Keep him out of trouble.”

Taylor nodded. “We’ll be back in two days. Roth’s promised to have a bottle of Chardonnay on ice for me.”

The pair jumped out of the Hawk and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the darkness. Lia watched Hell Squad leap out next and then she jumped out behind them. As her boots hit the ground, Finn landed beside her. He was carrying some of the equipment they needed to cut down the jet.

Ahead, she saw Reed had the amplifier strapped onto his back.

“Stay close,” Finn murmured.

“I wasn’t planning on running off alone,” she murmured back. Hell Squad moved into position, surrounding them. A big wall of strength and muscle, all of them with their carbines up. Lia instantly felt a little safer.

They dashed through the darkness, past the crumpled hangars and twisted remains of jets parked near the runway. As Lia took in all the destruction, worry took hold, and she wondered if they even had a chance. Even if they beat the Gizzida, how could they ever rebuild what they’d had before? Despair was an ugly, heavy rock in her belly.

Then, she looked at Hell Squad and Finn. She remembered that the Enclave was home to some of the best scientists, teachers, and artists in the world…and those who’d come from Blue Mountain Base were no slouches, either. Noah, Holmes, the men and woman surrounding her right now. They all had valuable skills, and, combined with the data and records that had been saved, she was consoled by the fact that they could forge something from the ruins of their planet.

She smiled to herself. On top of that, they had one huge advantage—good, old-fashioned human grit and determination. With that, she was pretty sure they could achieve anything.

As the main building of Aeron loomed like a hulking shadow ahead, Lia’s pulse picked up. She was getting ahead of herself, with all this thought about rebuilding. They still had a long fight ahead to beat the aliens, but first, they needed to get this jet in the air and the amplifier in the water.

Ahead, she saw Marcus signal to Gabe. The big soldier moved forward, and, with a few pounding knocks of his shoulder, he slammed the door to the building down.

Marcus touched his ear. “Elle?”

“All clear, Marcus. Our scans have some interference, but I have no alien signatures in your vicinity—”

“We’re going in,” Marcus growled.

Hell Squad moved forward, slipping inside the shattered doorway. Finn went next and then Lia followed him inside.

They moved through a maze of corridors, Marcus leading with a flashlight. Soon, they stepped out into the huge, voluminous lobby.

Marcus’ light cut through the darkness. Overturned chairs sat near an abandoned reception desk, which was littered with long-dead potted plants. Then, the light stopped, highlighting the suspended jet.

They all moved around it, gazing upward, studying the craft.

“Hell,” Cruz muttered.

Two large metal cables were connected from the jet to the ceiling.

“Reed and Shaw, get those magna-lifts attached to it,” Marcus said. “Gabe and Claudia, get up there with the laser cutters, and cut those cables down.”

Lia and Finn stood back. She watched as Gabe and Claudia nimbly climbed up on top of the jet. They both moved along to the huge wires holding it—one at the front and one at the back of the aircraft. The laser cutters fired up, glowing orange in the darkness.

Lia looked around. Her anxiety was ratcheting up. She hoped to hell the aliens stayed away.

“Hey, Lia? You okay?”

She nodded at Finn. “I just want to get airborne.”

There was a loud clang. The jet dropped down at the back end, the magna-lifts taking the weight of it and holding it just off the floor.

Claudia finished cutting her cable, and soon, all of Hell Squad surrounded the jet, grunting, groaning, and swearing as they maneuvered it onto a flat part of the floor.

“Finn and Lia, take the laser cutters. You’ll need to cut a hole through the wall, large enough to get the jet outside,” Marcus said.

They took the laser cutters from Gabe and Claudia. They were neat metallic tools that could be easily carried with both hands. They were smaller than Lia had imagined, but heavier. She and Finn moved over to the wall that was closest to the runway. She pressed the button on the cutter, and a flame of orange laser flared out.

Soon, she and Finn were cutting into the wall. The laser cutter sliced through the metal and plaster like a knife moving through butter.

“A bit more,” Finn called out. “We need enough room to get that jet out.”

He reached up to cut the highest parts, finally completing a large, rectangular shape. Then Finn stepped back, planted his boot against the wall, and kicked. The piece of wall they’d cut fell outward. Beyond it, lay the cool darkness.

“Let’s put the amplifier in the jet,” Marcus said. He looked at Finn and Lia. “Anything else you guys need? I’d prefer you get the jet ready in here, while it’s still in cover.”

Lia stepped forward, holding up a large tube with a pointed end. “I need to get all the tires coated with this synthetic rubber, and then we’ll see if we can get this baby fired up.”

Gabe worked with Reed to fit the amplifier into the small cargo area beneath the jet. Lia moved around the jet, spraying the black coating over the tires. Once she was done, she climbed up the small ladder into the cockpit, blinking at the old-school dashboard. The navigator’s seat was behind the pilot’s, and space was tight. She quickly settled in, and got to work, plugging in her comp to give her access to the controls and the powerpack Noah had given her. It would provide the fuel for the supersonic engines.

She tapped in some commands and waited. Her heart skipped a beat. Come on, baby, wake up.

Lights flared to life on the cockpit controls. She grinned. “She’s operational.”

“Woot!” Finn called out. “Nice work.”

Lia went over all the controls. The jet might be old, but Lia was a pilot, and this was a plane…there were some things that would always be familiar. She started her checks.

Finn climbed up the ladder. “Ready?”

She took a deep breath. “Ready. Your seat is in back.” She jerked a thumb behind her. “It’s going to be a tight fit for that long body of yours. Back when this baby came out, pilots had to be a lot shorter than you.”

“I’ll fit,” he said with a smile. He climbed in.

Suddenly, there were deep shouts from outside. Lia’s hands froze on the controls

“Marcus.” Elle’s voice came over the comm. “You have raptors incoming! I repeat, raptors incoming, and there are a lot of them. Looks like a patrol has picked up your activity in the area. You only have one patrol heading toward you right now, but they’ve called in reinforcements. There’s a large convoy coming in from the direction of the factories.”

“Let’s move, people,” Marcus called out.

Gabe and Reed moved outside, firing their carbines. Laser fire lit up the night.

“You two, get that jet ready,” Marcus bellowed. The rest of Hell Squad moved through the gap.

Lia forced herself to focus on the controls and getting the jet ready. She couldn’t think about the aliens. All she had to do was get this jet in the sky.

That was when she felt the ground rumble beneath her.

She frowned. What the hell was that?

“Rex incoming!” Cruz’s shout echoed back from outside.

Marcus appeared beside the jet, coming part way up the ladder. “Listen up. We’ll get this raptor patrol down, and then get you guys out on the runway. It’s going to be hot, but you need to get in the air before the raptor reinforcements arrive. Got it?”

Lia nodded. “Got it.”

Marcus reached up and touched her shoulder. “Good luck.” He reached back and shook Finn’s hand.

Then he was gone, striding out to join his squad.

“Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” Marcus shouted.

“Hell, yeah,” the rest of his team called back. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”

Carbine fire whizzed through the air. The team moved out in unison, as a smooth, well-oiled machine, engaging the raptors.

“How are the checks?” Finn said, jolting her back to the task at hand.

“Fine. Starting engines now.” She pressed the buttons in sequence. She pressed the final button. Nothing happened. Her stomach dropped. She pressed it again

“Lia?”

“Hang on.” She typed in some more commands. Come on, girl, don’t fail me now.

As if the aircraft heard her, the engines roared to life.

“Yeah!” Finn called back. “Amplifier is safely aboard and engines are hot. Anything else you need me to do?”

“Here, take this.” She handed him a comp tablet back. “You’re my navigator.”

“Lia! Time to move,” Marcus shouted from outside.

She set the aircraft in motion. The jet rolled forward, and they moved through the gap in the wall, bumping roughly over the uneven ground.

Outside, she could see the dark sky was beginning to lighten. Dawn wouldn’t be far away. God, they needed to get out of here before daylight hit. She spotted Cruz waving them onto the runway.

There was no sign of the raptor patrol. She did a quick scan, and spotted multiple alien bodies on the ground.

But then, she saw Shaw go down on one knee. He was looking through his sniper scope. A second later, he started firing. “Incoming!”

Lia looked to the south, and everything in her went solid. Like her chest had suddenly filled with concrete.

Heading toward them was a giant beast. A rex.

It was surrounded by raptor vehicles. So many. Lia’s breath caught in her throat.

The rex lifted its head and roared.

***

“Lia, go!” Finn called out. “We need to get airborne.” He wanted them far away from the rex.

Hell Squad was firing, and Marcus was waving wildly at Finn and Lia. “Go,” he said with a roar.

They bumped their way out onto the runway, and Lia turned them away from the oncoming aliens. When they reached the end of the runway she turned the plane around, then stopped to check everything was okay. “Closing canopy,” she said.

Good. He was ready to get this show on the road.

Suddenly, a shadow moved just outside the jet. A body leaped up and slammed into the still-open cockpit. The damn thing landed in Lia’s lap.

Lia screamed. Finn stared at the alien creature. It lifted its head and stared straight at him with burning red eyes.

It wasn’t a raptor or a canid. It was something smaller, and a lot more agile.

The thing reached forward and grabbed Lia. It grunted, and then yanked her out of the cockpit, kicking and screaming.

“Lia!” Finn yanked off the harness he’d just fastened and leaped out of the jet.

He landed in a crouch, pulling out his laser pistol.

The creature was tossing Lia around like a ragdoll. It looked up, and he got a better view of it in the murky light. It looked like a reptilian gorilla, with a sharp set of spikes along its back.

“Hey.” Finn lifted the pistol and fired.

The thing dropped Lia and she landed in a sprawl on the ground.

The creature roared at Finn and as it came his way, Finn kept his finger on the trigger and kept shooting at it.

Lia got back up and tried to run.

But the creature spun and did a giant leap, flying through the air, and landing on her back. He slammed her down hard into the ground.

“Get off her.” Finn readjusted his aim, running toward her, and firing again.

Lia managed to turn underneath the beast’s large powerful body. She rammed her hand up, and jammed her fingers hard into the creature’s eyes.

It stumbled back, roaring again. The deep, resonant sound rolled over the other sounds of battle.

Finn ducked in, and grabbed Lia. “Back in the jet.” He kept firing, pulling her backward, toward the aircraft. The creature bounded up, looked at them, and then turned and ran off toward the nearby buildings.

At the jet, Finn pushed Lia ahead of him and shoved her into the jet. Finn climbed in, lifting his head to scan around them. He didn’t want that thing making a second attempt.

Instead, he saw something far worse.

There were more of them.

He could see shadows moving near one of the abandoned hangars. He looked to the next one, and everything inside him went cold. There were even more shadows moving—and all of them had the same powerful shape as the gorilla-thing. God, there must be packs of the things.

“We have to go. Now!”

Suddenly, the rex at the end of the runway roared. Shit. It was damn close to stepping onto the runway.

Lia yanked her harness on and started touching the buttons.

As soon as Finn was in his seat, the canopy started closing again. As soon as it was shut, Finn released a long breath.

Lia sent more power to the engines, getting ready for takeoff. She looked up and he followed her gaze.

He could see the green laser fire.

“What about Hell Squad?” she asked. “There are too many aliens.”

Finn wanted to worry about his friends, but he knew right now he couldn’t. “They’ve escaped worse. Best thing we can do is get out of here, and then they can, too.”

Lia nodded. “Okay. We’re all set.”

“Great. Go!”

They started rolling down the runway. Finn turned and looked back behind them. He could see a group of the alien gorillas racing toward them. His jaw locked. He decided not to tell Lia.

“Oh, God!”

Her cry made him look back. She was staring straight ahead.

Finn saw the rex stomping toward them, and he cursed. Holy hell, that thing was huge. “You can do it, Lia. Get us up.”

“The rex will get us.” Her hands were shaking as she moved them over the controls.

“Just focus on your flying. You don’t want me at the controls, do you?”

“Hell, no.” Determination spiked in her voice.

“Well, I’m going to just sit here and think about having sex with you. Your husky little cries, your sweet, honey taste—”

“What?” She choked out the word on a shocked breath.

“Beats thinking about the aliens.”

Finn saw Lia’s shaking hands steady. Looked like his little distraction was working. But he was grateful she couldn’t see his face. Because looking at the enormous, approaching rex was a fucking nightmare.

The aircraft lifted off the ground.

The rex got closer.

“Oh, God.” Lia turned them sharply to the left in a steep climb.

The rex roared, snapping its jaws in their direction.

Finn’s eyes widened. He saw the red eye of the creature through the glass of the cockpit canopy, just a few meters away.

Then they were past it.

As they soared into the air, he let out a breath. He heard Lia do the same. She turned the jet east, and he saw the rising sun was turning the sky from black to blue.

“We made it.” She turned in her seat with a whoop. “We made it.”

Finn reached out and touched her face. “Never doubted it for a second.”

Chapter Thirteen

Lia pulled in a few deep breaths, a wide smile on her face. They were in the air, the day dawning around them, the aliens behind them.

“The supersonic systems will take a minute to come online.” She saw the sixty-second countdown flash up on the screen and start ticking down.

“I’ve looked at the map, and we’re a little too far south,” Finn said. “You’ll need to adjust course. Sending you corrections now.”

“You’re a pretty good navigator for a flyboy.”

He leaned forward and tugged on her hair. “I prefer the pilot seat, baby.”

She smiled again and opened a comms line. “This is Supersonic One to the Enclave.”

“Hi, Supersonic One, this is Elle. How’s the ocean?”

“Blue. And not an alien in sight. We are on track to go to supersonic speed in less than one minute. After that, we won’t be able to communicate.”

“Acknowledged. Hell Squad said you got away.”

“They okay?”

“Still fighting their way out, but they’ll be fine.” Elle’s voice was matter-of-fact. “Good luck, Lia. See you when you two get home.”

“Thanks, Elle.” Lia closed the comm line, and her elated feeling from their escape and takeoff dissolved. “You really think Hell Squad is okay?”

“Yes,” Finn replied.

Just one simple word. His strong, sure tone made her believe it. She knew that the squad had been through so much, and even when they got knocked down or battered, they kept getting back up again. They kept fighting.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded. It was loud in the tight confines of the cockpit. It was coming from both her controls and Finn’s tablet.

He cursed. “Pteros incoming.”

Lia glanced at the countdown. “There are still sixteen seconds to supersonic speed.”

“They’re coming in fast.”

“We don’t have any weapons.” Lia dragged her hand across her mouth.

“We can evade them, Lia. Pretend we’re a drone. Pretend you’re outrunning that drone killer bird that was taking down your drones.”

Lia’s focus narrowed. Finn’s words reverberated in her head. Letting herself relax, she put the jet into evasive maneuvers. Finn kept speaking in easy, confident tones, giving her encouragement.

As the first ptero reached them, she pushed the jet into a wild turnaway. For a second, they were upside down, then they leveled out.

Finn called out. “Nice move!”

She saw more pteros coming. Raptor poison spewed through the air. No! There was no way this jet could withstand the tiniest bit of poison. She spun the jet to the right.

Ten seconds to supersonic.

Nine. Eight. Seven.

Each second felt like an eternity. She pulled up into a steep climb. A ptero whizzed past.

Six. Five. Four.

She turned again. The world turned upside-down, and became a whirl. Even though she knew she was putting the old jet through its paces, it responded like a superstar.

Then Finn cursed. “Heat-seeking missile incoming. Goddammit.”

Lia stayed calm. She levelled them out, putting the jewel-blue ocean beneath them.

Three. Two. One.

They hit supersonic speed.

In a flash, the pteros and the missile were gone, and there was just blue sky around them. She sat back in her seat.

“Nice work, flygirl.” Finn’s hands squeezed her shoulders.

“Thanks. We’ll be over the drop zone in about thirty minutes,” she said.

“So, we’ll drop this amplifier and then we head back. Easy.”

Lia checked her controls. She had to admit it was nice to be supersonic, with a jet under her control. She was flying free, not trapped underground, not being hunted by the aliens.

Only one other thing had made her feel like this. Being with Finn.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

“Just contemplating falling in love with you.”

She stared straight ahead, too afraid to turn around and look at him.

There was a pause. “Oh?” That one sound was filled with satisfaction. “Knew you wouldn’t be able to resist me for long.”

Lia laughed, emotion flowing through her chest. “Arrogant flyboy.”

His hand landed on the back of her neck, and squeezed. “Your arrogant flyboy.”

He was hers. She was still terrified of taking the risk, of loving him and losing him. But she wanted him, needed him, and he was worth any risk.

“I wish I could hold you right now,” he said.

She touched his hand and turned to look at him. “After we finish this mission, you can do a whole lot more than hold me.” Because dammit, she was getting them home. One way or another.

“You’re on, flygirl. Now, let’s drop this amplifier and help save the world.”

The trip out felt easy, compared to what they’d been through. Lia could almost imagine she was just on another commercial flight for her old airline.

“Approaching location,” Finn said.

“Preparing to leave supersonic speed,” Lia replied. “Hold on.”

A second later, Lia felt a slight jerk as they returned to normal speed. All around them was blue ocean and even bluer sky.

It was a beautiful sight. She pulled in a deep breath. Out here, there were no aliens, no invasion, no hardships. She started their descent. They had to be low enough to ensure the amplifier survived the drop.

“How about we find an island and live in tropical luxury?” Finn suggested.

Lia made a sound. “Drinking coconut milk and eating fish all day?”

“Could be worse. Besides, there’d be unlimited sex on the beach.”

“Hmm, but sand would get into some nasty places,” she replied.

“It’d be worth it.”

The jet slowed, and her voice turned serious. “Okay, we’re at the location and at the right altitude. I’ve put us in a tight holding pattern.”

“Let’s do this. Preparing to drop the amplifier.”

She could hear Finn tapping his controls. Lia glanced down through the canopy, staring down at the waves below. She frowned. “Wait!” She stared out the window. “What the hell is that?”

“What the fuck?” Finn said.

The water below them was churning, frothy and black. Then, something dark shot out of the water. Finn cursed, and Lia stared, open-mouthed, at the huge tentacle waving outside the cockpit.

“Hell.” Lia touch the controls and they shot away from it.

As they turned in a wide circle, Lia watched as a huge creature started to rise up out of the water. It was covered in thick, black scales, and then a huge head looked up and she saw glowing red eyes.

More tentacles started to rise up, waving madly. They had huge sucker pads all over them.

“It’s a damn alien kraken!” Finn shouted. “Watch out!”

She saw a tentacle moving toward them. She moved them again. “We have to get out of here.”

“I can’t drop the amplifier on top of this damn monster,” Finn said. “It’ll be destroyed.”

And this entire mission would be a waste.

“Shit.” Another tentacle reared up, and Lia moved to evade again. “We’ll have to get away from it, first. I’ll take us farther out.”

“Do it. Go!”

Now Lia could see the giant mouth of the monster. What the hell had the aliens done to their planet?

She concentrated on flying. They shot away, but suddenly they were wrenched to a stop. What the hell?

“What’s wrong?” Finn asked.

Her hands moved over the controls. “I don’t know. I have the engines at full speed. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Then Finn cursed. “There’s a tentacle attached to the back of the plane!”

Another black tentacle smacked into them. The suckers stuck to the cockpit canopy.

The jet was jerked backward and tossed around. Lia was thrown hard against her seat. She heard Finn swear.

God, they were stuck to the alien kraken.

“Lia? You okay?”

“I’m okay. Any ideas on how to get loose from this thing?”

“I don’t know.”

Think, Lia. They had no weapons, nothing.

“What if you ignite the supersonic engines?” Finn suggested.

She shook her head. “It’ll tear us apart.”

And there’d be no guarantee that the amplifier would make it.

“Can we shock it?”

“Without shocking ourselves?” She fell silent, deep in thought.

“What if—”

“Shh,” she said. “I’m thinking. That could work.”

“What, Lia?”

“I could reroute some power to the exterior drag reduction skin. That will electrify the exterior of the jet and might be enough to dislodge our friend.”

Or make him really mad. The tentacle moved again, swinging them around, and for a second, they were upside-down. Lia pressed her hands to the cockpit canopy, staring down at the giant creature below.

“Do it!” Finn yelled.

Then, they were thrown upright again. Lia worked feverishly at the controls. “There,” she cried.

She felt a tingle, and the hairs on her arms rose. Then the kraken let out a deafening screech.

The suckers released them.

The jet plummeted straight down toward the water.

***

Oh, God. Finn watched the waves rush closer and yelled at Lia, “Switch off the charge!”

“I have.”

But the plane was in a wild spiral.

“I can’t pull it up,” she yelled.

Bam.

Something slammed into them, breaking their fall and swiping them sideways in a dizzying rush.

The kraken had grabbed them again.

“Next time, I’m flying,” Finn called out. He saw Lia was frozen, staring out at the kraken. “Lia!”

His voice seemed to jolt her out of her daze. Her hands moved back to the controls.

Another tentacle hit the other side of the jet. Metal groaned.

Shit, the damn alien was going to crush them.

“I’m going to shock it again,” Lia said.

“What?” Finn’s eyebrows rose. “It really didn’t like that the first time.”

“I’ll try and engage the engines again at the same time.”

“Okay. Go for it.” Damn, he really hated being stuck back here, unable to help her.

The panel on the right side of the plane cracked, the metal denting inward.

“Do it now,” Finn yelled.

With a deep breath, Lia engaged the electrical charge.

Again, the kraken dropped them instantly. Its tentacles waved madly around them.

The plane dropped and Finn felt his stomach go hard. Lia engaged the engines.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the plane shot forward. Finn felt his heart start beating again.

“Hell, yeah!” he yelled. “You are amazing.”

As they pulled away from the kraken, he saw Lia drop her head forward. “After this, no more field missions for me. Drone missions only.”

Finn needed to touch her. He unclipped his harness, leaned over the back of her seat, and pulled her head back. He pressed his mouth to hers, delving his tongue deep. She moaned into the kiss, and he nipped her bottom lip, feeling a dizzying rush of desire deep in his gut.

“Finn.” She pulled back, breathless. “Get your harness back on.”

He did as she asked. He could hear air whistling in through a crack somewhere. They’d definitely sustained some damage, but they were thankfully still in the air. He looked back and saw the giant alien creature in the distance. It was slowly sinking back into the water.

“Let’s drop the amplifier and get out of here,” Lia said.

“Best thing I’ve heard all day. Let me take care of that right now.”

The quiet in the cockpit was only broken by the whistle of air and the sound of Finn’s fingers on the controls.

Finn hit the cargo-release control.

A red light blinked on the comp screen. Malfunction.

“God fucking dammit.” He slammed his palms against the console.

Lia twisted in her seat. “What?”

“The cargo release clamp is damaged. I can’t open the cargo hatch, and that means I can’t drop the amplifier.”

She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her temple. “Can things get any worse?”

Finn had learned that on a mission, things could always get worse. He unfastened his harness again.

Her eyes popped open. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to climb out there and release the amplifier myself.”

Her eyes widened. “Climb out there?” Her voice rose a notch. “We’re at a low altitude, but it’s still a long drop, Finn.”

“Not planning to fall. Open the canopy, Lia.”

“No.” She shook her head wildly. “One wrong move out there, and—”

“I’ll fall off.” He leaned forward and cupped her face. “I know. But there’s a line of recessed maintenance handholds all the way to the back of the jet, and…we have to do this. Preferably before the mutant kraken comes back.” He tried for a smile. “And I’m nimble.”

“My courageous flyboy.” Emotion moved through her green eyes. “Why did I have to go and fall for a hero?”

Her words made his heart clench. He wished they were anywhere else but here.

She released a slow breath. “Let me slow us down first. You’ll have a better chance of not slipping off.”

Lia slowed the jet as much as she could. When she opened the canopy, the wind was still a harsh, rude rush to Finn’s face.

He gave her another quick, hard kiss, and then he climbed out onto the plane’s exterior.

He gripped the first of the handholds and climbed, slowly and steadily, toward the back of the plane and the cargo area. The wind whipped his hair in his eyes and tore at his clothes. He gripped onto handholds and jammed the toes of his boots into them, praying none of them were rusted or loose. One move at a time. He could do this.

Then he made the fatal error of looking down. He loved heights…when there was a nice, sturdy, reinforced glass wall between him and the ground. He swallowed to wet his dry throat and kept moving.

He was getting close to the cargo-hatch release mechanism. He could see it—it was a large red handle set into the side of the aircraft.

Then his foot slipped.

His leg swung off the plane, hanging out over the air. His hands gripped tight and he wedged his other foot under one handhold, as hard as he could, trying to stop his body from slipping.

Shit. His muscles strained and he pulled his leg in, pressing his body against the metal of the plane. He stayed there a second, calming his harsh breathing. Jesus, Lia must be frantic.

Finn regained his footing and kept moving steadily toward the release latch. He reached the handle and, one-handed, he yanked it open.

Nothing happened.

Fuck. It wasn’t working. He closed his eyes for a second, then he glanced down the side of the jet. He’d have to cut the damn door open.

He dipped into his pocket and fished out the laser cutter he’d stowed there back at Aeron. He fired up the laser, reached down and sliced into the metal.

For once, he caught a break. The cargo door fell open, dropping downward toward the ocean below.

He swung around, holding two handholds, and dangled against the side of the jet. He kicked his feet inside the cargo area.

The amplifier rolled toward the edge. It tilted for a second on the edge, and then it dropped out into the air.

Finn didn’t wait to see if it hit the waves. He climbed back up, his arms starting to burn, and headed back toward the cockpit. Lia was waving at him.

He retraced his steps and climbed back into the cockpit. Once he was safely inside, he collapsed into his seat and felt the tense muscles in his neck and back relax.

Lia was busy closing the canopy. Then she undid her harness, reached back, and smacked him in the chest. “Don’t ever do that again.” Then she grabbed the front of his flight suit and yanked him forward for a kiss.

He breathed in the smell of her. “If this is my reward, I might consider doing it again.”

She smiled, tears blurring her eyes. “I think loving a hero might be hard work.”

He pulled her close. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Chapter Fourteen

Hot damn, they’d done it. Finn was buzzing. Adrenaline was punching through his veins, making him feel like he’d downed a six-pack of homebrew, along with some shots of the God-awful homemade tequila his pilots liked to make.

They were once again zooming along at supersonic speed, heading back toward the mainland. He tried not to take notice of the thin crack in the side of the plane. It was holding for now.

He wanted to get back to the Enclave as soon as they could, and then drag Lia into his bed. He didn’t plan to let her out of there for days. Hell, maybe a whole week.

“Dropping out of supersonic speed,” Lia suddenly said.

Finn frowned, staring at the back of her head. That hadn’t felt like thirty minutes.

The jet slowed and everything came into focus. The mainland was a vague smudge of blue in the distance. “We aren’t there yet.”

“No.” Lia’s voice was sharp. “I’ve got a warning light. The aircraft sustained some damage, and the supersonic engines are failing.” She let out a shuddering breath. “And it gets worse.”

Finn’s gut cramped. “It can’t get worse. This mission has already consisted of bad, fucked, and seriously fucked. It’s time we snagged a break.”

“Sorry. Whatever damage that creature did, it’s draining our power.” She spun to look at him. “I’m not sure we’ll make it back to the mainland.” Her green eyes were so serious.

“We’ll make it.” Finn locked his jaw and looked out at the water below. No way he wanted to land in there with Lia. Who knew what other nasty alien surprises were hiding beneath the waves?

“What can we do to make it?” he asked.

“Lighten the aircraft. Toss whatever we don’t need overboard.” She stared out through the cockpit. “I’ve set the jet to the optimal speed to take us in as far as possible. I’m aiming straight for the Enclave.”

Lighten the aircraft. Finn set to work, tearing out unnecessary panels and gear. Lia opened the canopy and he tossed all the stuff out. He saw it hit the ocean below with a splash. He contemplated tearing out his seat, but he decided if they were going to crash land, he’d probably need it.

He sat back, and looked ahead. The land looked a little closer.

“Whatever happens, Lia, I would never trade a moment of our time together.”

She turned and reached out one arm. He grabbed her hand and squeezed.

“I fought so hard to stay alone,” she whispered. “Even when I was lonely. Clearly, I just needed a certain Hawk pilot to show me the error of my ways.”

The lights on the control console started to flicker and die. Finn heard the engine begin to stutter.

Lia looked at him. “I wouldn’t change anything, either.”

As she turned back, turning her focus to guiding the dying plane in, Finn felt helpless. He hated just sitting there, unable to do anything to save the woman he loved.

Then Lia gasped. “I can see a town.”

They were descending quite fast now. He saw that the land was tantalizingly close, and he could make out the buildings. There was a cluster of small, high-rise buildings, lining a strip of beach.

So close. They had to make it.

He looked at the glow of his tablet and pulled up a map. “It’s Wollongong. That’s pretty close to the Enclave.” He scrutinized the map. “There’s an airport. But it’s a fair way south of the city.”

He scanned around, looking for pteros in the sky. Thankfully, it was clear.

“I’m sending a mayday through to the Enclave. I have no idea if we’re close enough for it to get through.”

He listened as she sent out the distress call. He waited to see if Elle’s voice would come over the comm, but it was silent.

“We’re dropping,” Lia said.

They were coming in fast. “You can do it.”

“We won’t make it to the airport!”

Shit. Finn frantically looked at the map again. “There’s a highway just west of the city center.” He looked up, trying to spot it out the window. “There!” He leaned forward, pointing. “See it? You can land on that stretch of road.”

There was a long stretch of pavement—six lanes, separated by an overgrown median. Thankfully, it was mostly free of abandoned cars.

“Okay.” Lia’s tone was resolute. “Hold on.”

The plane swooped in. He saw some abandoned cars by the side of the road—some overturned, and others crumpled. But there was one perfect stretch, with no cars.

The ground rushed up. Finn gritted his teeth. They hit the road, bounced, and slammed back down.

Finn’s head smacked against the side of the canopy, pain flaring. The plane started sliding, the tires blew, and sparks flew as metal scraped against the asphalt.

“I…can’t control it,” Lia called from the front.

They rammed into an abandoned car, and that set the jet spinning. Lia swore, and all around them, the aircraft vibrated.

Then, they hit something else with a deafening crash. After another wild swing, they lurched to a halt.

Finn sat there for a second, trying to catch his breath. He looked up and saw the canopy above had cracked into a shattered spider web. It took his brain a moment to understand what was going on. He exhaled loudly. They’d stopped, they were on the ground, and they were alive.

“You did it, flygirl! We made it.”

She didn’t respond.

“Lia? Lia, we made it.”

Still no sound from the front. His chest constricted, and he started yanking at his harness.

He could see Lia slumped over her controls. “Lia!”

***

Lia could hear a voice calling her name. She groaned. She tried to open her eyes, but pain speared through her head like a rusty knife.

“Lia? Sweetheart? Open your eyes.”

She did, and Finn’s handsome face swam into view. “Finn? We landed?”

“We crashed. And you did an amazing job.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the first time someone’s told me I crashed well.”

“It’s a skill, trust me. Can you move?” Finn carefully patted down her arms. Then he lifted his head, scanning around them. “I’m pretty sure the raptors would have seen us coming in. We have to get away from here.”

She nodded. “I don’t think anything’s broken.” Finn helped her unstrap her harness.

Together, they pushed and shoved at the shattered canopy and managed to slide it back enough to climb out. Finn dropped over the side and then helped her down.

“Man, feels nice to have my boots on the ground,” Finn said.

Lia nodded, and then winced at all her various aches and pains. Still, nothing was broken or bleeding, so she was pretty darn lucky.

“The center of town is that way.” Finn pointed toward the tall buildings a couple of kilometers away. “We can go down the highway and take the next exit.”

They set off. It was pretty eerie to be standing in the middle of a six-lane road and have nothing moving around them, and no noise.

But as they neared the exit, a sound echoed through the still air.

A long, drawn-out howl.

“Fuck.” Finn grabbed her hand. “That sounds like a canid. And it’s close.”

Lia shivered. She really disliked the vicious alien hunting dogs.

“Up for a jog?” Finn said.

“Do I have a choice?”

“No.”

They set off at a fast pace. Lia’s body lit up with more aches, but she bit her tongue and kept moving.

“Just one break would be nice,” Finn muttered. “Something could go right for us.”

“We survived the crash and the alien kraken,” Lia pointed out.

His hand tightened on hers. “Fair point.”

The road dipped down a hill and they followed it down. Finn kept glancing back behind them.

“I hope the Enclave got my message.” Lia prayed her mayday had gotten through.

“Even if it did, it’ll take some time for them to get here.” He pointed toward the west. “See that escarpment? The Enclave’s on the other side of it.”

Lia studied the long, table-like hill that surrounded the small, secluded space, where Wollongong nestled beside the ocean. “I heard that there are hidden tunnels leading into the Enclave around here, somewhere.”

“Really?” Finn shrugged. “If there are, I don’t know where they are.”

Lia didn’t, either.

“We need a good hiding spot,” Finn said with a frown.

“What, no harborside, five-star hotels this time?”

He elbowed her gently. “Not this time, smartass.”

They exited the highway, and passed through a residential area. Soon, the houses gave way to the city center. Wollongong wasn’t a large city, and the buildings weren’t much over eight to ten stories high.

“Maybe we could hide out on the top floor of one of these buildings?” she suggested.

“If any aliens find us, we’d be cornered. I’d like an easy exit.”

They kept walking down the deserted street. Shop windows were broken, all the doors kicked open. On the street, small piles of goods lay where looters had dropped them. An empty baby pram sat askew on the sidewalk.

Then Lia heard excited yips from behind them.

They both froze.

“Oh, crap,” she said. “Run!”

They sprinted down the street. She could hear the growls of the excited canids not far behind them.

They were being hunted.

Finn pulled Lia around the corner. They glanced back for a second, and she had a perfect view of the dogs stalking down the street, sniffing the ground.

She gasped. They weren’t canids.

These dogs had glowing red bellies, filled with corrosive poison.

“Hellions,” she whispered frantically.

“Faster!” Finn urged.

Lia sucked in air as they sprinted, keeping a tight hold on Finn’s hand.

They dodged around an overturned car and the remains of…something. Lia wrinkled her nose at the pile of unrecognizable goop. She didn’t want to know what it was.

The sounds of the hellions were getting louder.

Suddenly, Lia heard the scratch of claws on metal. She looked left and saw a hellion bound onto the roof of the car ahead of them.

Hellions were like oversized dogs, with scaly, tough hides and rows of sharp spikes along their backs. The one in front of them growled, its belly pulsing with a deep-red glow, and bared jaws full of scalpel-sharp teeth.

Finn and Lia skidded to a stop, Finn cursing loudly. Lia turned, and spotted three hellions slinking closer from behind them.

Finn pulled her in close to his side, and she followed his gaze. Two more creatures were closing in from the right, red bellies low. They were growling, a horrible noise that grated along her nerves.

“Dammit,” Lia whispered. They were surrounded.

Finn pulled out his laser pistol. But Lia was aware that it was wholly inadequate against a pack of hellions. It was like taking on a ptero with a toothpick.

“Let’s edge over that way.” She pointed between two cars.

He nodded and they slowly stepped that way.

A hellion sprung forward, snarling. Drool dripped from its sharp fangs.

Lia reared back, slamming into Finn’s chest. He reached around her, and aimed the pistol.

There was a growl from behind them. Lia spun and saw another coming in close. Oh, God.

Finn fired, and the first dog sprang away. He aimed at the second one, and took the shot.

But now all the dogs were moving in, snarling and growling. They clearly weren’t deterred by the laser pistol.

There were too many of them. Lia’s hands curled into fists, and she wished she had a weapon. She glanced around them, looking for something—anything—she could use. She did not want to die here.

The lead hellion got confident, and rushed in. Lia kicked at it and Finn fired again. The creature sprang back, but instantly lunged forward again. Its heavy body slammed into Lia’s legs, and she fell.

“Lia!” Finn was reaching for her.

The hellion grabbed her leg, fangs sinking into her flight suit. She felt the sharp prick of them on her skin. It started dragging her back.

Lia slammed her other boot into the hellion’s face.

Finn fired. “Get off her!”

The alien dog barely reacted to the laser bouncing off its tough, scaly skin. Finn leaped forward and started kicking the hellion, as well.

The dog let go, but only took a few steps back, baring its teeth. Lia looked and saw the remainder of the pack was moving in closer.

Her stomach went hard. There was nothing else they could do. No way out.

Finn wrapped his arms around her. “Hold on to me.” He covered her with his body.

“Finn.”

His blue gaze held hers. “I’m with you. Whatever happens.”

Lia’s chest hitched, and she felt a tear slide down her face. “I love you.”

He smiled. “I love you, too.”

A distant rumble reached Lia’s ears. The hellions paused, lifting their heads. One let out a low growl.

Then, there was a smash of metal and glass, and the gunning of an engine.

A large armored vehicle appeared, demolishing an overturned car and slamming it out of the way.

A flood of adrenaline filled Lia’s veins.

The vehicle was a Z6-Hunter. Used by the squads.

Help had arrived!

The hellions took a few steps back.

The Hunter pulled to a stop, and its autocannon swiveled around. Another deep rumble sounded from behind the Hunter, and two heavily-armored motorcycles rode into view.

Laser fire streamed through the air. Finn tackled Lia, pinning her to the ground. The hellions scuttled backward.

The deafening sound of a shotgun filled Lia’s ears.

“Take that you ugly, poisonous hell spawn.”

Lia glanced up to see Hemi ride past on his motorcycle. He was riding with no hands on the handlebars and firing a huge shotgun.

She watched, as a hellion slammed back into a car, its belly bursting open. There was a sizzle, as the red poison ate through the car and into the pavement.

Another motorcycle gunned past. Tane Rahia, the leader of Squad Three, rode his bike in, mowing down two more animals with his carbine.

The Hunter’s autocannon kept firing, taking out the rest of the hellion pack.

Finn and Lia sat up. She blinked, taking in the carnage. She and Finn sat in the middle of it, untouched.

Tane’s motorcycle pulled to a stop in front of them, and he looked at them, his face impassive. “Rough day?”

Finn let out a choked laugh. “Understatement of the century.”

The corner of Tane’s lips quirked. “Need a ride home?”

Lia scrambled up. “Yes, please.”

The leader of the berserkers jerked his head toward the Hunter. A door on the vehicle opened, and a good-looking, tattoo-covered man exited, holding a carbine. Lia didn’t know him well, but knew his name was Ash Connors.

“Climb aboard,” Tane said. “And good job. Last I heard, the brass at the Enclave were celebrating that the amplifier was in place and functioning. They’re hoping to establish a clear line to the Groom Lake base and several others soon.”

Finn pulled Lia in for a hug, and she pressed her face against his chest. They’d made it. They were safe. And, apparently, they’d helped save the day, as well.

“That’s great to hear,” Finn said. “But I don’t really give a shit about that right now.”

“I just want to go home,” Lia said. “Flying was great, but I want my windowless, underground room right now.” She tipped her head up. “As long as you’re with me.”

Finn hugged her closer. “Try keeping me away.”

Chapter Fifteen

Devlin

Devlin Gray crept around the corner of the alien building. The black wall rose high above him and when he looked up he could see the giant chimneys pumping thick, black smoke into the air. He moved forward, careful to stick to the shadows and avoid the patches of bright sunlight. He was good at sneaking around. He’d spent a lifetime perfecting those skills.

He wanted to spend a few more hours looking around the alien factories. He really wanted to get inside the buildings but he needed the cover of darkness for that. He glanced to the east and wondered how Finn and Lia were faring.

Focus. For the moment, he had to stay focused on his own mission. Ahead, he saw some domes made of an amber-colored, translucent substance. He wanted to get inside those as well. They needed every scrap of information on the Gizzida if they were ever going to beat them.

Dev glanced to his side and saw his partner creeping expertly nearby. He didn’t know Taylor Cates very well, but he was well aware of the reputation of Squad Nine. The almost all-female squad of soldiers were very good at their jobs, and what he’d seen of Taylor so far hadn’t disabused him of that notion. She had a beautiful face, a tough body, and was a damn competent soldier.

He wasn’t used to having a partner and usually disliked having someone who slowed him down. Before Santha had fallen pregnant, he’d spent a little time in the field with her. She’d been easy to work with and after her time spent in the ruins of Sydney messing with the aliens, she’d been damn good at sneaking around.

But with Taylor, it was even easier. Dev found it a little disconcerting. The soldier seemed to anticipate him and was already where he needed her to be before he asked.

He raised his hand and gave her a signal. She nodded and turned right, slipping down between two large black buildings. As he followed her, he touched the wall of the closest building. It was made of some black substance that almost looked like thick, tough skin. Dev lifted his camera and snapped some shots.

Now, they needed to find a way inside so they could sneak in during the night. His plan was to spend the rest of the day snooping around, then find somewhere to hole up and rest. He and Taylor could take turns on watch. Then tonight, under the blanket of darkness, they’d slip inside the factories and see just what the hell the aliens were doing inside.

They moved farther down the tight alley. Ahead, he saw some large, cylindrical tanks that were made of that amber-like glass. At the base, they were striated with what looked like black veins. Inside the tanks he could see a red, glowing substance. If he had to guess, it was some sort of poison. The raptors liked their poison.

A moment later, Taylor jerked to a halt. She held up her hand and made a frantic signal. He watched as she ducked in behind a vat, crouching low. Dev did the same, hunkering down behind a black wall that cordoned off the tanks. His hands clenched on his carbine.

From somewhere out of his line of sight, he heard raptors grunting. He watched and waited. His heartbeat didn’t even increase. He’d spent far too much of his career trapped behind enemy lines, hiding, gathering intelligence, the enemy right on top of him. He couldn’t afford to panic. All he could do was his job. What he was best at.

He caught a glimpse of a raptor patrol as they passed the alley where he and Taylor were hiding. Big, scaled, and inhuman. They might walk on two legs but from what Dev could tell, the raptors lived to conquer and assimilate. They didn’t take the time to understand or learn. They just tried to mow over any species they deemed beneath them.

The patrol moved on, their footsteps and grunts fading away.

He signaled to Taylor and they moved out of their cover. He pointed ahead to the domes that he wanted them to investigate next. They progressed quickly, moving with utmost stealth. He watched as Taylor flowed silently forward.

They approached the domes and from inside he heard strange clanking noises. He frowned. What was going on inside?

He stepped forward and felt something beneath his foot depress. He froze.

Trap? Explosive? Maybe it was nothing. He searched the ground and only saw dirt.

Damn. He was caught out in the open. He couldn’t stay here.

Taylor crept closer. “What’s wrong?”

“Something moved under my foot.”

“Damn.” She crouched. “Explosive?”

“Don’t know.”

She probed the dirt. “I don’t see anything.”

Dev weighed up his options. “Back away. I’m going to move. If I go down, get out of here.”

He saw her eyes narrow, but she gave a nod and backed up a few steps.

Dev pulled in a deep breath and moved.

He dived away, rolling as he hit the dirt. There was no explosion. Instead, a terrible noise broke out around them. It was a regular, ear-piercing whooping sound.

Shit. An alarm. “Taylor. We need to get out of here.”

Together, they started running back up the alley. Behind them, he heard the raptor patrol thundering back in their direction. A second later, raptor poison splattered the wall beside them.

Dev leaped, tackling Taylor to the ground. They rolled through the dirt and both came back up on their feet. Guttural shouts echoed off the walls. He pointed ahead and they sprinted off.

They broke free of the alley and rounded the corner of the building on their left. Not much farther. They needed to cross an open patch of ground and get back into the trees. The raptors didn’t like the trees and they could use it to their advantage to lose the aliens.

As they sprinted around another corner, Dev saw a row of raptor soldiers standing in formation ahead of them. Their weapons were held up and aimed at Dev and Taylor.

Fuck. Dev skidded to a halt. Taylor did the same, their boots making dirt spray up. They both whipped up their carbines. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw more raptors coming in from behind.

They were surrounded. They had nowhere to go.

Without a word, he and Taylor pressed their backs together, lifting their weapons. A raw helpless anger chewed at him.

“I’m not going down without a fight,” Taylor said fiercely.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

They both opened fire.

Dev focused on taking aim. The carbine’s laser whined. He took down as many raptors as he could and heard raptor shouts from all around them.

But there were too many and as several raptors got in close, Dev abandoned his carbine and pulled out his combat knife. He charged forward, leaped into the air, spinning as he did and swiping out with his knife.

He landed on the lead raptor, slamming the knife into the alien’s neck. They hit the ground, the raptor still beneath him.

A raptor charged from the right and Dev shifted, kicking at his opponent. His boot connected, making the raptor grunt. He was only a match for the taller, stronger alien because of the exoskeleton in his armor.

As he fought hand to hand with another raptor, he heard Taylor continue to fire. He and the raptor spun and he caught a glimpse of the raptor bodies littering the ground. The woman was damned impressive with her carbine.

Slamming a gloved fist into the face of another raptor, one thought moved through the back of Dev’s mind. Why weren’t the raptors firing on them?

But as the raptor’s clawed fist skimmed past his head, he focused on the fight.

Dev reversed his grip on his knife and slashed at the raptor’s unprotected chest. Another few parries and the raptor went down, clutching at his wounds. Dev saw more moving in.

Damn. For every raptor he and Taylor took down, more kept coming.

The next instant, something smashed into his head. With his ears ringing, he stumbled sideways. As he regained his balance, he heard Taylor cry out. He spun and saw that a giant raptor had grabbed her by the back of her armor and was shaking her mercilessly. Her carbine fell into the dirt and the raptor stepped on it, crushing it.

Dammit. Dev rushed forward to help, but another blow slammed into his back. He went down on his knees. Next, he felt a huge raptor boot smash into the back of his head.

Dev fell forward, smacking into the ground. He tasted blood and dirt in his mouth and he heaved in a breath. Pain radiated through him. Something hit the ground beside him. He saw Taylor flat on her belly. She turned her head, her eyes meeting his.

Then scaled hands yanked Dev up. His arms were wrenched behind his back violently and he felt cold cuffs circle his wrists. Another raptor was doing the same to Taylor.

They were shoved forward, their captors grunting at them. The raptors half dragged, half shoved them toward an arched doorway into the closest factory building.

“Why haven’t they killed us?” Taylor said.

Dev didn’t get a chance to reply. The raptor behind her smacked her in the face.

“Leave her alone,” Dev said quietly. “Or I’ll skin you and leave you to bleed.”

His raptor shook him. Hard. Taylor shook her head and spat out a mouthful of blood.

They were jerked to a stop at the door and one raptor touched some sort of panel beside the amber-glass structure. A second later, the door slid open and they were shoved inside.

Dev’s pulse spiked. Inside was hot and steamy, and filled with harsh smells. He looked up at the soaring roof above. The place was huge. He took it all in, trying to memorize every detail. Closest to them were huge black vats with steam wafting off them. Off to the left, he saw a row of squat, raptor vehicles being constructed. Raptors holding strange-looking tools stood beside them, working to complete the alien trucks.

He and Taylor were shoved forward again and his shoulder bumped against hers. He lowered his voice. “Taylor, are you okay?

“Fine,” she answered. “I hope you have a plan.”

“Not yet.” Dev took a second to admire her. There were no hysterics, no hint of panic.

They were led between a row of vats. Dev wished like hell he could pull his camera out and get some images, but right now he needed to be focused on how the hell he was going to get them out of this.

The raptors stopped in front of another doorway. Dev and Taylor were led into a narrow corridor. The walls were so black they seemed to absorb all light. They felt like they could suck the very soul out of a man.

Then Dev heard the sounds. Moans and screams echoed from somewhere deeper in the building. It sent a shiver down his spine. He looked at Taylor and saw her swallow, jaw tight.

Suddenly, they were yanked into another corridor and ahead he saw a row of cells with black, scaly bars. Dev peered forward trying to see if there were any occupants in the cells, but they looked empty.

The raptors stopped in front of the first cell. Their captors spoke for a second in their guttural language and then Dev felt hands tearing at his remaining weapons. His laser pistol was tossed on the floor and then the carbon fiber panels of his armor were roughly pulled off him. He saw Taylor struggling as her raptor did the same to her.

Soon their armor was just a pile of pieces on the floor. A raptor stepped in front of Dev and slashed out with its sharp claws. It left Dev’s shirt in tatters and then the alien tore the remnants off Dev. Another raptor knelt and yanked Dev’s boots off. That left him standing in his cargo pants with a bare chest and feet.

He looked over and saw Taylor rubbing her bare arms. She was wearing dark-blue cargo pants and a simple olive green tank top that showed off her toned arms.

One raptor shoved Dev inside the cell, and the second raptor nudged Taylor forward. She reacted, shoving her elbow back at the alien.

“Quit pushing me, you ugly mother—”

It gave her another harder shove and she stumbled inside the cell, colliding with Dev. He wrapped his arms around her to steady her.

The raptor slammed the cell door closed with a clang. He touched something else and Dev heard locks snapping shut.

Now they were locked in a cell with no weapons, shoes, or armor.

The raptor stared at them through the bars, its red eyes gleaming in the dim light. “Mate.”

Dev could barely make out the English word through the creature’s thick accent. He glanced at Taylor and saw her brow crease. He looked back at the creature. “What?”

“You mate.” The raptor waved a claw at them. “Procreate.”

Dev felt every muscle in his body tense in horror. He heard Taylor’s swift intake of breath and his arms tightened around her. Oh, no. Bloody hell, no.

The raptor lifted its scaled weapon and aimed it at Taylor. “Mate or die.”

***

Finn climbed out of the shower and started to towel himself dry. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and grinned.

Despite a bit of swelling on the side of his face and some bruising across his chest, he was feeling pretty good. The injuries hadn’t even been bad enough for the doc to give him a shot of nanomeds. On top of that, he’d just had some wild shower sex.

Yep, life was pretty good.

The other thing that made him smile was the slim silhouette in the fog-shrouded shower behind him. She was washing her hair and singing.

Lia was a hell of a pilot, but she was a terrible singer.

His smile widened. But he loved it, he loved her.

Finn wrapped the towel around his waist. “Better hurry it along, Murphy. We’re due at the Command Center for debriefing in just under twenty minutes.”

As the water shut off, he grabbed another towel off the rack. Lia stepped out of the shower, all slim limbs and wet skin. She reached for the towel, but he pulled it out of her reach.

She mock-scowled at him. “You just told me to hurry up.”

“But you’re so pretty,” he said. “All that creamy skin. It makes me want to lick all the water drops off you, one by one.”

He saw heat flare in her eyes and he groaned. His cock pressed against the towel. He’d just had her, just slid inside her tight warmth, just listened to her cry out his name under the drum of the water.

Now he wanted her again.

He reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. He lifted her and set her down on the edge of the vanity.

“Finn,” she murmured, pulling his towel away. “We’re going to be late for the debrief.”

He took her mouth with his, so damn grateful they were alive. “Don’t care. Now kiss me.”

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the overcrowded Command Center.

Finn’s gaze widened at the crowd. It looked like the entire Enclave was jammed in there. People spotted them, the crowd parting, and a wild cheer went up.

Lia’s fingers flexed on his hand and Finn smiled at the jubilant people. Among the crowd, he saw most of the squad soldiers, Selena with the gyr chick resting on her shoulder, Emerson and the majority of her medical team.

General Holmes and Nikolai stepped forward.

“Welcome home,” the general said with a smile.

“And congratulations,” Niko added.

Finn slid his arm around Lia’s shoulders. “Thank you. I’d say it was a piece of cake, but—” he grimaced “—it really wasn’t.”

“Elle reported that you got away under heavy alien attack,” Holmes said.

Finn shared a glance with Marcus. “That’s one way to describe it.”

There was a light laugh from the crowd.

“We tracked you out over the ocean, but after you went supersonic, we lost you,” Holmes added.

“After evading a few pteros, we made it to supersonic speed, and out to the drop zone,” Lia said. “Then I’m not sure you’ll believe what happened next.”

“We were attacked by an alien sea creature,” Finn said.

Gasps came from the crowd. Finn saw some kids in the front edging forward, their eyes wide.

“The same creature that attacked us at Sydney Airport?” Marcus asked. “The thing was pretty keen on taking a bite out of Shaw.”

From behind Marcus, the sniper grinned. “It changed its mind.”

“Because you’re an acquired taste,” Claudia said from beside him.

“It was worse than that animal,” Lia said. She leaned into Finn’s side a little more. “It was…a kraken, for lack of a better name. A giant, black-scaled, alien kraken. It was enormous, with loads of tentacles. Terrifying.”

A hush fell over the room.

“That’s not good.” Holmes frowned. “We’ll add it to our database of alien animals along with the gorilla-like creatures you and Hell Squad encountered at Aeron. We’ll need you to share everything you know about it—”

“But not now,” Niko added. “You deserve some rest. I believe the kitchen is preparing a celebratory feast for you.”

“Great,” Finn said.

“But before you go anywhere, we’re going to attempt our first call through to Groom Lake.” Excited titters went through the crowd. “Our comms are lighting up with calls coming in from all over the world.” With a flourish, Niko waved to a large screen on the wall.

The screen flickered, then filled with an image of an older, elegant-looking, African-American woman dressed in a black uniform.

The woman smiled. “Hello from Groom Lake Base, Nevada. My name is Major General Michaela Marshall. We’re talking to you over a secure and stable comm line. We wanted to thank you for your excellent work in reestablishing communications.”

Cheers went up from the crowd.

Finn grinned down at Lia. “Pretty cool, huh?” She smiled back.

From the line of busy comms officers working at the comp stations, Elle turned around. “We’re starting to make contact with survivor bases and havens across the world. Both large and small.”

From beside Elle, a rare smile crossed Holmes’ face. “I have a person on the line who wants to talk to you, Finn.”

Another face flicked up on a second screen, and Finn froze.

“Oh, my God,” Lia breathed. Her hands clenched on his arm.

Finn stared at the screen. At his brother’s face. “Alexander?”

“Hello, bro. Heard you’ve been busy saving the world.” Emotion crossed the man’s face. A face so similar to Finn’s. “I am really glad to see you.”

Finn took a step toward the screen. “Leif? Brit? Mom and Dad, and the kids? Everyone’s okay?”

Suddenly, other people crowded around Finn’s brother, trying to get on camera. Finn stared into their faces in disbelief. His parents, his sister and brother, niece and nephew. They all exploded in excited chatter, and Finn’s chest was so tight, so full to bursting, he could barely speak.

Lia squeezed Finn’s hand and for him, in that moment, nothing could’ve been better.

***

Lia hurried through the corridors, on her way to meet Finn. They’d survived a dinner where she was sure every man, woman, and child in the Enclave had stopped by their table, wanting to check on them, hear about the mission, and learn more about the kraken.

Afterward, Finn had spoken privately with his family. She was so damn happy for him. She tried to imagine what it must feel like to know that your family was alive. She tried to imagine finding out her mother and sister were alive.

Wonderful, of course. But she knew, deep in her heart, her mother and sister wouldn’t have survived the alien apocalypse or been able to cope with what life was like now.

“I love you, mom,” she murmured to herself. “And Melinda, I miss you every day. But I’ve met a man.” Lia knew her sister would’ve been thrilled for her.

Finn had left Lia a cryptic message to meet him in the flight simulation room. When she reached the door, she pushed it open and found him standing beside the comps and seats. The screens were on and blinking.

“How was your family?” she asked.

“Great.” His grin was wide. “Still in our hometown, sick of eating fish. But they’re fine. I guess the Gizzida don’t like the cold and snow much.”

“That’s great news, Finn.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I’m so pleased for you.”

He hugged her back. “If I got any happier right now, I’d burst.”

She lifted her head. “Now, what was so important that you had to drag me down here?”

He waved at the simulators. “It’s all set up. Two sims—one drone, one Hawk.”

The same way everything had started between them.

“Oh?” Lia raised an eyebrow. “You want a rematch?”

“Yes. Winner gets the prize.” He waved at the nearest seat.

She slid into the chair, getting comfortable. “And what does the winner get?”

“Whatever they want most,” Finn answered.

Lia stared up at his gorgeous face. “I already have that.”

His gaze softened. He leaned down and cupped her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” The words flowed from her easily. The truth of her heart. She leaned up and kissed him.

Finn pulled back and settled in his seat, tapping on the controls.

“So, I’m going to win this time,” Lia said. “But what do you want if you win?” She touched her controls.

“I want you to marry me.”

Her fingers stilled. She slowly turned her head. This handsome, brave, talented man wanted to marry her?

Now she felt so happy she could float up into the sky. She smiled. “Guess I’ll have to purposely lose again.”

His eyes widened. “Again? You mean that the other time—?”

She pressed her tongue to her teeth. “Come on, flyboy. Show me what you’ve got.”

Lia settled back at the controls, with Finn’s sexy laugh ringing in her ears.

–

I hope you enjoyed Finn and Lia’s story!

Hell Squad continues with DEVLIN. See how super-spy, Devlin Gray, and Squad Nine soldier, Taylor Cates, escape alien captivity. Coming December 2016.

If you’re looking for more action-packed, science fiction romance, then read on for a preview of Among Galactic Ruins, the first book in the Phoenix Adventures.

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Preview: Among Galactic Ruins

As the descending starship hit turbulence, Dr. Alexa Carter gasped, her stomach jumping.

But she didn’t feel sick, she felt exhilarated.

She stared out the window at the sand dunes of the planet below. Zerzura. The legendary planet packed with danger, mystery and history.

She was finally here. All she could see was sand dune, after yellow sand dune, all the way off into the distance. The dual suns hung in the sky, big and full—one gold and one red—baking the ground below.

But there was more to Zerzura than that. She knew, from all her extensive history training as an astro-archeologist, that the planet was covered in ruins—some old and others beyond ancient. She knew every single one of the myths and legends.

She glanced down at her lap and clutched the Sync communicator she was holding. Right here she had her ticket to finding an ancient Terran treasure.

Lexa thumbed the screen. She’d found the slim, ancient vase in the museum archives and initially thought nothing of the lovely etchings of priestesses on the side of it.

Until she’d finished translating the obscure text.

She’d been gobsmacked when she realized the text gave her clues that not only formed a map, but also described what the treasure was at the end. A famed Fabergé egg.

Excitement zapped like electricity through her veins. After a career spent mostly in the Galactic Institute of Historical Preservation and on a few boring digs in the central systems, she was now the curator of the Darend Museum on Zeta Volantis—a private and well-funded museum that was mostly just a place for her wealthy patron, Marius Darend, to house his extensive, private collection of invaluable artifacts from around the galaxy.

But like most in the galaxy, he had a special obsession with old Earth artifacts. When she’d gone to him with the map and proposal to go on a treasure hunt to Zerzura to recover it, he’d been more than happy to fund it.

So here she was, Dr. Alexa Carter, on a treasure hunt.

Her father, of course, had almost had a coronary when she’d told her parents she’d be gone for several weeks. That familiar hard feeling invaded her belly. Baron Carter did not like his only daughter working, let alone being an astro-archeologist, and he really didn’t like her going to a planet like Zerzura. He’d ranted about wild chases and wastes of time, and predicted her failure.

She straightened in her seat. She’d been ignoring her father’s disapproval for years. When she had the egg in her hands, then he’d have to swallow his words.

Someone leaned over her, a broad shoulder brushing hers. “Strap in, Princess, we’re about to land.”

Lexa’s excitement deflated a little. There was just one fly in her med gel.

Unfortunately, Marius had insisted she bring along the museum’s new head of security. She didn’t know much about Damon Malik, but she knew she didn’t like him. The rumor among the museum staff was that he had a super-secret military background.

She looked at him now, all long, and lean and dark. He had hair as black as her own, but skin far darker. She couldn’t see him in the military. His manner was too…well, she wasn’t sure what, exactly, but he certainly didn’t seem the type to happily take orders.

No, he preferred to be the one giving them.

He shot her a small smile, but it didn’t reach his dark eyes. Those midnight-blue eyes were always…intense. Piercing. Like he was assessing everything, calculating. She found it unsettling.

“I’m already strapped in, Mr. Malik.” She tugged on her harness and raised a brow.

“Just checking. I’m here to make sure you don’t get hurt on this little escapade.”

“Escapade?” She bit her tongue and counted to ten. “We have a map leading to the location of a very valuable artifact. That’s hardly an escapade.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess.” He shot a glance at the window and the unforgiving desert below. “This is a foolish risk for some silly egg.”

She huffed out a breath. Infuriating man. “Why get a job at a museum if you think artifacts are silly?”

He leaned back in his seat. “Because I needed a change. One where no one tried to kill me.”

Kill him? She narrowed her eyes and wondered again just what the hell he’d done before he’d arrived at the Darend.

A chime sounded and the pilot’s voice filtered into the plush cabin of Marius’ starship. “Landing at Kharga spaceport in three minutes. Hang on, ladies and gentlemen.”

Excitement filled Lexa’s belly. Ignoring the man beside her, she looked out the window again.

The town of Kharga was visible now. They flew directly over it, and she marveled at the primitive look and the rough architecture. The buildings were made of stone—some simple squares, others with domed roofs, and some a haphazard sprawl of both. In the dirt-lined streets, ragged beasts were led by robed locals, and battered desert speeders flew in every direction, hovering off the ground.

It wasn’t advanced and yes, it was rough and dangerous. So very different to the marble-lined floors and grandeur of the Darend Museum or the Institute’s huge, imposing museums and research centers. And it was the complete opposite of the luxury she’d grown up with in the central systems.

She barely resisted bouncing in her seat like a child. She couldn’t wait to get down there. She wasn’t stupid, she knew there were risks, but could hold her own and she knew when to ask for help.

The ship touched down, a cloud of dust puffing past the window. Lexa ripped her harness off, trying—and failing—to contain her excitement.

“Wait.” Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her back from the opening door. “I’ll go first.”

As he moved forward, she pulled a face at his broad back. Arrogant know-it-all.

The door opened with a quiet hiss. She watched him stop at the top of the three steps that had extended from the starship. He scanned the spaceport…well, spaceport was a generous word for it. Lexa wasn’t sure the sandy ground, beaten-up starships lined up beside them, and the battered buildings covered with black streaks—were those laser scorch marks?—warranted the term spaceport, but it was what it was.

Damon checked the laser pistols holstered at his lean hips then nodded. “All right.” He headed down the steps.

Lexa tugged on the white shirt tucked into her fitted khaki pants. Mr. Dark and Brooding might be dressed in all black, but she’d finally pulled her rarely used expedition clothes out of her closet for the trip. She couldn’t wait to get them dirty. She tucked her Sync into her small backpack, swung the bag over her shoulder and headed down the stairs.

“Our contact is supposed to meet us here.” She looked around but didn’t see anyone paying them much attention. A rough-looking freighter crew lounged near a starfreighter that didn’t even look like it could make it off the ground. A couple of robed humanoids argued with three smaller-statured reptilians. “He’s a local treasure hunter called Brocken Phoenix.”

Damon grunted. “Looks like he’s late. I suggest we head to the central market and ask around.”

“Okay.” She was eager to see more of Kharga and soak it all in.

“Stay close to me.”

Did he have to use that autocratic tone all the time? She tossed him a salute.

Something moved through his dark eyes before he shook his head and started off down the dusty street.

As they neared the market, the crowds thickened. The noise increased as well. People had set up makeshift stalls, tables, and tents and were selling…well, just about everything.

There was a hawker calling out the features of his droids. Lexa raised a brow. The array available was interesting—from stocky maintenance droids to life-like syndroids made to look like humans. Other sellers were offering clothes, food, weapons, collectibles, even dragon bones.

Then she saw the cages.

She gasped. “Slavers.”

Damon looked over and his face hardened. “Yeah.”

The first cage held men. All tall and well-built. Laborers. The second held women. Anger shot through her. “It can’t be legal.”

“We’re a long way from the central systems, Princess. You’ll find lots of stuff here on Zerzura that isn’t legal.”

“We have to—”

He raised a lazy brow. “Do something? Unless you’ve got a whole bunch of e-creds I don’t know about or an army in your back pocket, there isn’t much we can do.”

Her stomach turned over and she looked away. He might be right, but did he have to be so cold about it?

“Look.” He pointed deeper into the market at a dusty, domed building with a glowing neon sign above the door. “That bar is where I hear the treasure hunters gather.”

She wondered how he’d heard anything about the place when they’d only been dirtside a few minutes. But she followed him toward the bar, casting one last glance at the slaves.

As they neared the building, a body flew outward through the arched doorway. The man hit the dirt, groaning. He tried to stand before flopping face first back into the sand.

Even from where they stood, Lexa smelled the liquor fumes wafting off him. Nothing smooth and sweet like what was available back on Zeta Volantis. No, this smelled like homebrewed rotgut.

Damon stepped over the man with barely a glance. At the bar entrance, he paused. “I think you should stay out here. It’ll be safer. I’ll find out what I can about Phoenix and be right back.”

She wanted to argue, but right then, two huge giants slammed out of the bar, wrestling each other. One was an enormous man, almost seven feet tall, with some aquatic heritage. He had pale-blue skin, large, wide-set eyes and tiny gills on the side of his neck. His opponent was human with a mass of dreadlocked brown hair, who stood almost as tall and broad.

The human slammed a giant fist into the aquatic’s face, shouting in a language Lexa’s lingual implant didn’t recognize. That’s when Lexa realized the dreadlocked man was actually a woman.

A security droid floated out of the bar. Its laser weapons swiveled to aim at the fighting pair. “You are no longer welcome at the Desert Dragon. Please vacate the premises.”

Grumbling, the fighters pulled apart, then shuffled off down the street.

Lexa swallowed. “Fine. I’ll stay out here.”

“Stay close,” Damon warned.

She tossed him another mock salute and when he scowled, she felt a savage sense of satisfaction. Then he turned and ducked inside.

She turned back to study the street. One building down, she saw a stall holder standing behind a table covered in what looked like small artifacts. Lexa’s heart thumped. She had to take a look.

“All original. Found here on Zerzura.” The older man spread his arms out over his wares. “Very, very old.” His eyes glowed in his ageless face topped by salt-and-pepper hair. “Very valuable.”

“May I?” Lexa indicated a small, weathered statue.

The man nodded. “But you break, you buy.”

Lexa studied the small figurine. It was supposed to resemble a Terran fertility statue—a woman with generous hips and breasts. She tested the weight of it before she sniffed and set it down. “It’s not a very good fake. I’d say you create a wire mesh frame, set it in a mold, then pour a synthetic plas in. You finish it off by spraying it with some sort of rock texture.”

The man’s mouth slid into a frown.

Lexa studied the other items. Jewelry, small boxes and inscribed stones. She fingered a necklace. It was by no means old but it was pretty.

Then she spotted it.

A small, red egg, covered in gold-metalwork and resting on a little stand.

She picked it up, cradling its slight weight. The craftwork was terrible but there was no doubt it was a replica of a Fabergé egg.

“What is this?” she asked the man.

He shrugged. “Lots of myths about the Orphic Priestesses around here. They lived over a thousand years ago and the egg was their symbol.”

Lexa stroked the egg.

The man’s keen eyes narrowed in on her. “It’s a pretty piece. Said to be made in the image of the priestesses’ most valuable treasure, the Goddess Egg. It was covered in Terran rubies and gold.”

A basic history. Lexa knew from her research that the Goddess Egg had been brought to Zerzura by Terran colonists escaping the Terran war and had been made by a famed jeweler on Earth named Fabergé. Unfortunately, most of its history had been lost.

Someone bumped into Lexa from behind. She ignored it, shifting closer to the table.

Then a hard hand clamped down on her elbow and jerked her backward. The little red egg fell into the sand.

Lexa expected the cranky stall owner to squawk about the egg and demand payment. Instead, he scampered backward with wide eyes and turned away.

Lexa’s accoster jerked her around.

“Hey,” she exclaimed.

Then she looked up. Way up.

The man was part-reptilian, with iridescent scales covering his enormous frame. He stood somewhere over six and a half feet with a tough face that looked squashed.

“Let me go.” She slapped at his hand. Idiot.

He was startled for a second and did release her. Then he scowled, which turned his face from frightening to terrifying. “Give me your e-creds.” He grabbed her arm, large fingers biting into her flesh, and shook her. “I want everything transferred to my account.”

Lexa raised a brow. “Or what?”

With his other hand, he withdrew a knife the length of her forearm. “Or I use this.”

The Phoenix Adventures

Among Galactic Ruins

At Star’s End

In the Devil’s Nebula

On a Rogue Planet

Beneath a Trojan Moon

Beyond Galaxy’s Edge

On a Cyborg Planet

Return to Dark Earth

On a Barbarian World

Lost in Barbarian Space

Also by Anna Hackett

Treasure Hunter Security

Undiscovered

Uncharted

Unexplored

Hell Squad

Marcus

Cruz

Gabe

Reed

Roth

Noah

Shaw

Holmes

Niko

The Anomaly Series

Time Thief

Mind Raider

Soul Stealer

Salvation

Anomaly Series Box Set

The Phoenix Adventures

Among Galactic Ruins

At Star’s End

In the Devil’s Nebula

On a Rogue Planet

Beneath a Trojan Moon

Beyond Galaxy’s Edge

On a Cyborg Planet

Return to Dark Earth

On a Barbarian World

Lost in Barbarian Space

Perma Series

Winter Fusion

The WindKeepers Series

Wind Kissed, Fire Bound

Taken by the South Wind

Tempting the West Wind

Defying the North Wind

Claiming the East Wind

Standalone Titles

Savage Dragon

Hunter’s Surrender

One Night with the Wolf

Anthologies

A Galactic Holiday

Moonlight (UK only)

Vampire Hunter (UK only)

Awakening the Dragon (UK Only)

For more information visit AnnaHackettBooks.com

About the Author

I’m a USA Today bestselling author and I’m passionate about action romance. I love stories that combine the thrill of falling in love with the excitement of action, danger and adventure. I’m a sucker for that moment when the team is walking in slow motion, shoulder-to-shoulder heading off into battle. I write about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.

My books are mixture of action, adventure and sexy romance and they’re recommended for anyone who enjoys fast-paced stories where the boy wins the girl at the end (or sometimes the girl wins the boy!)

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Table of Contents

What readers are saying about Anna’s Science Fiction Romance

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Preview: Among Galactic Ruins

Also by Anna Hackett

About the Author