Marcus (9 page)

She couldn’t see anything but a blur of
color, but she heard laser fire.

Then she felt her armor tear a little,
dropping her down a few inches. She held her breath. Another shake
and her armor ripped on the sharp claw and she tore free of the
rex.

She fell several meters to the floor and hit
with a hard slap. The air rushed out of her lungs with an
oof
.

Stunned for a second, she stayed sprawled
amongst torn-up books and broken shelving, staring at the rex’s
giant claws.

Hands gripped the back of her armor and
yanked her up. She caught a brief glimpse of Marcus’ scarily
enraged face before she was tossed over his broad shoulder.

Too out of it to speak, she saw of the rest
of Hell Squad getting ready to move. Claudia was standing, but
favoring one leg, and pointing a finger at Shaw.

“You try and carry me and I’ll gut you,”
Claudia snapped.

“You’re hurt—”

“I can walk. The damn exoskeleton in my
armor will help.”

“You stubborn idiot—”

“Shut your mouth or I’ll shut it for you.
With my fist.”

“Fine. I won’t carry you—” he slid an arm
around her shoulders and fought her when she tried to pull away
“—but I’m helping you out of here. Compromise, Frost. A word you’ve
probably never heard of.”

She swore at him.

“Ah, there’s your sweet disposition shining
through.”

“Enough.” Marcus jerked his head. “Let’s get
out of here. Now.”

“How’d you get Elle to let you carry her?”
Shaw asked as they headed through the library.

“I didn’t give her a choice.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Claudia
snapped.

Elle cleared her throat. “Marcus, I can
walk.”

He ignored her.

Moments later, they exited out the front
door of the library. The team hurried down the street. Elle braced
her hands on Marcus’ back to stop bouncing all over the place. He
was all rock-hard muscle under her palms.

The sun was headed rapidly toward the
western horizon and the shadows were growing. She swallowed the
lump in her throat. They did
not
want to be here once dark
hit. She’d heard rumors of alien beasts that only came out at night
and left nothing behind but bones picked clean of flesh.

They moved along the street, Gabe and Zeke
ahead, weapons up.

Then she heard the canids.

Elle swiveled her head and saw the pack
running at full speed, leaping over anything in their path. God,
they never gave up.

Cruz stopped and swiveled. He pulled a
grenade from his belt, armed it and tossed it with his good arm
toward the canids.

The creatures suddenly started howling, some
dropping to the ground, their heads between their paws. Others
turned in circles, disoriented.

Elle frowned. She hadn’t seen an
explosion?

“Sonic grenade,” Marcus said.

But a few of the canids made it through,
their mouths open, teeth bared.

“Fuck.” Cruz scrambled to get his carbine
aimed.

Suddenly, a black bolt whistled though the
air and slammed through the head of the lead canid. The animal
dropped, tripping the canid behind it.

More bolts came in quick succession. One,
two, three.

The canids at the back of the group skidded
to a halt, wary. By then, Gabe and Zeke were in position and laid
down a barrage of laser fire.

Cruz stood still, his gaze searching the
rooftops. Elle swiveled enough to get a quick glimpse of a lean
figure leaping between two buildings. Then the figure was gone,
swallowed by the shadows.

“Let’s go!” Marcus barked, jostling her.

Elle watched Cruz scan the buildings once
more before he cursed and ran to the closest dead canid. He yanked
out the bolt, then ran back to join the group.

Moving at a fast jog, it didn’t take long
before Elle saw trees and waist-high grass.

She felt a rush of air and she was suddenly
flipped over and set on her feet. Ahead, the quadcopter was coming
in to land.

Gabe leaped up first and helped Cruz up.
Shaw and Zeke helped a scowling Claudia onto the copter. Next,
Marcus handed Elle up to Gabe.

As soon as Marcus climbed aboard, the Hawk
lifted off.

She heard the distant roar of the rex as the
copter turned and headed toward the setting sun.

Shaw started checking a protesting Claudia’s
leg while Gabe tore open a first-aid kit and wrapped a white
bandage around Cruz’s bleeding arm.

Marcus stood, one hand gripping the
handholds above his head, staring at the floor. His other hand was
held in a tight fist at his side.

Elle sat on the edge of the chair and
swallowed. She wasn’t an idiot. She felt the rage pulsing off him.
She caught Shaw’s gaze. He gave her a wink, but she saw sympathy
swimming in his eyes.

“Are you hurt?”

The rasp of Marcus’ voice was so low she
barely heard him. His tone was so icy-cold it sent a violent shiver
through her.

“No. The rex just ripped my armor—”

Marcus spun, his green eyes blazing. “What
the fuck did you think you were doing?”

Elle opened her mouth. Closed it. She
couldn’t seem to make any words come out. Funny that she felt more
afraid now than she had when the rex was shaking her around like a
toy. She cleared her throat. “Saving you. And the others.”

“By making yourself rex bait?”

Cruz stirred. “Marcus—”

“Shut it, Cruz.”

Marcus strode forward until Elle found her
nose pressed to his body armor.

“Never again,” he ground out. “No more
missions. No more wrestling with canids. No more rexes even a mile
near you.”

The air caught in her chest. “Marcus—”

He snatched her into his arms. “Be quiet.”
He sank down at the back of the copter, his back to the wall, his
arms wrapped tightly around her. “Don’t say anything because I’m
too fucking angry.” He rested his chin on top of her head and
pulled her tight against him. “I’ve got more to say…back at
base.”

Elle caught Claudia’s gaze. The other woman
looked like she was trying to smother a smile. Elle didn’t know
what she found so funny.

Elle tried again. “Marcus—”

He moved his head so his lips were pressed
against her ear. His deep voice was pitched only for her to hear.
“Quiet. Otherwise I’ll strip those fatigues off you, turn you over
my knee and spank you right here.”

She knew her eyes must be bugging out of her
head. And it had to be so, so wrong that she felt a rush of warmth
through her belly. Even with the fury pulsating off him, and his
very intimate threat, she knew he’d never hurt her.

She settled back against him and figured she
may as well enjoy the feel of being in his arms.

Because who knew what she’d have to deal
with once they got back to base.

As the Hawk descended onto the landing pads,
Marcus still felt fury surging through his blood stream in a molten
rush.

He kept seeing Elle clutched in the rex’s
claws and reflexively, his arms tightened around her. How easily
she could have been snuffed out. What would he fight for then?

Finn, the Hawk pilot, leaned back from the
cockpit, his blond hair almost brushing his shoulders. The man was
magic with the quadcopters. “Welcome home, Hell Squad. Always a
pleasure.”

Zeke groaned. “Happy to be home. I need a
shower, a beer and a woman.” He grimaced and shot a glance at Elle.
“Sorry, Ellie.”

She smiled. “Like I haven’t already heard
all kinds of stories about you and your…charm.”

Marcus surged to his feet, bringing Elle
with him. “Okay, we need to get Cruz and Claudia to the
infirmary.”

Shaw was already helping Claudia up. As soon
as she put weight on her leg, her face went white.

“Fuck it.” Shaw scooped her into his
arms.

“Asshole,” she snapped. “You wouldn’t carry
Cruz or Gabe around. Put me down—”

“Just shut it, Frost.” He leaped out of the
Hawk.

Cruz’s dark gaze snagged Marcus. He lifted
the crossbow bolt. “Who do you think our mystery savior was?”

Marcus shrugged. “Someone still holed up in
the city.”

Cruz stroked the sleek, black bolt. “Can’t
be a civilian. Not with aim that good. And this is homemade, tipped
with explosive and excellent quality.”

“How about you worry about your arm for
now?” Marcus could see Cruz had lost a lot of blood.

Cruz tossed him a sloppy salute, one he knew
drove Marcus crazy. “Yes, Staff Sergeant.”

Gabe helped Cruz out of the Hawk. Outside,
Marcus saw Doc Emerson rush up.

“Who else is in need of my fabulous bedside
manner? Claudia is already on her way to my domain and bitching
every step of the way.” Emerson tossed her head, her blonde hair
brushing her jaw.

“Cruz injured his arm. Possible break and
severe blood loss,” Marcus said.

She nodded, then looked at Gabe. “You’re all
right?”

Always a man of few words, Gabe gave one
curt nod.

The doctor released a breath. “Okay. Come
on, Cruz, let me stick some tiny robots in you and probably a whole
lot of needles.”

Cruz rolled his eyes. “Great.”

With his team taken care of, Marcus had one
more thing that needed his attention. He leaped off the Hawk and as
soon as his boots hit the ground, he reached for Elle.

She hesitated, her face more than a little
wary.

Good
. So she should be. He grabbed
her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. She let out
a squeak.

He strode toward the entrance to the tunnel
leading to his quarters.

“Marcus, put me—”

He slapped a hand over her butt and she
huffed out a breath.

“You know, this alpha macho behavior
isn’t—”

He swatted her butt again. “You should stop
talking.

Holmes stepped in front of Marcus. Noah
stood beside him, his interested gaze on Elle. Or rather, Elle’s
rear end. Marcus glared and the other man looked away.

“Glad you and Squad Six got back safely,
Steele. You’ve got the crystal?”

Marcus tugged Elle’s backpack free and held
it out.

As soon as Holmes took it, Marcus stepped
around him and continued on.

“Where are you going?” The general called
out. “We need to debrief the mission.” He cleared his throat. “And
why are you carrying Elle? Is she hurt?”

Marcus half turned. “I’m going to my
quarters. We’ll debrief in a few hours. And no, Elle isn’t hurt. No
thanks to her own stupidity.”

Now she came to life, lifting her head.
“Stupidity?” She thumped her fist against his back. “I saved your
life, you ungrateful—”

Marcus caught Holmes’ gaze. “We done?”

The man’s usual dignified mask cracked for a
second, a half smile on his lips. “Okay. We’ll debrief in two
hours.”

“Three.” Marcus was planning to put every
single minute of them to good use.

He stalked through the tunnels, ignoring the
wide-eyed looks from the people he passed.

He slammed a palm against his door lock,
waited for it to beep, then strode inside. He thrust the door
closed hard enough to rattle the hinges. His room was cool and dim.
After a year, he’d almost gotten used to the lack of windows and
the constant whoosh of the air-conditioning.

After setting Elle down, he turned on the
small lamp beside the bunk. It cast a warm glow across the
room.

Elle stood there, her arms by her sides, the
light turning her skin golden.

He started undoing the fastenings on her
armor. He loosened the chest armor then tore off the front panel.
He tossed it over his shoulder into the floor.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Shh.”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m getting pretty
sick of you telling me to be quiet.”

He ignored her and eased the back panel off.
He saw where the ultra-tough composite had been warped and ripped
by the rex. He clenched his jaw and rubbed a thumb over the jagged
tear.

She sighed. “Marcus, I’m not hurt.”

He kept working, pulling all the armor off.
Next, he gripped her simple black shirt by the neckline with both
hands and ripped it apart. Buttons scattered across the polished
concrete floor.

“That cost me two months of clothing
credits!”

He knelt and undid her fatigue trousers and
slipped them down her shapely legs. It left her standing there in
just a plain black bra and panties.

Jesus
. His cock went hard in an
instant. She was all slim limbs and smooth skin. But he clamped
down on his desire. First he had to satisfy this driving need to
know—to see with his own eyes—that she was okay.

He circled her fine wrists and ran his hands
up her arms. The scrape of his calluses on her skin made him wish
they weren’t so rough. He cupped the balls of her shoulders, then
slid one hand down her back, between her shoulder blades, feeling
the delicate knobs of her spine.

Her breath hitched. “What are you doing?”
Her voice was thick.

“I’m making sure for myself that you’re not
injured.” He moved his hand back up to grip the delicate stem of
her neck. “Such a strong, courageous woman in such a fragile
package.”

Her eyelids fluttered. Her skin was so pale
he could see the blue of her veins beneath, the flutter of the
pulse in her neck.

“I’m not fragile.”

He almost smiled at the bite in her voice.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I mean you’re so much softer than my
hard, scarred body.” He ran a finger over her bare shoulder. “So
much better.”

She raised a hand and cupped his cheek. “You
are a good man, Marcus Steele. I won’t let anyone say differently.
Even you.”

Marcus stared into her beautiful blue eyes.
“Elle, I’m not—”

“You be quiet now.” She lifted her other
hand. “You go out there every day and risk your life.”