Niko: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 9) (5 page)

She jerked against him.
God
.

“How swollen your clit gets when you’re turned on.”

A beeping noise broke through the sensual haze. She heard Niko mutter a curse, his hands flexing on her. Then, reluctantly, he released her and pulled a small communicator from his pocket.

He looked at the screen and his face went hard, all desire leaking away. “Emergency meeting in the Command Center.”

Mac looked over and saw Roth waving them over.

Locking her knees and ignoring the throb between her thighs, she hurried over, Niko at her side. “What’s going on?”

Roth’s face was like stone. “A message from Lia. They lost a drone an hour ago. Close to the alien ship at Sydney airport.”

Mac frowned. “Malfunction?”

Niko shook his head. “No. Her message says she just lost a second one…in the same area. She was still getting some feed from them, then they disappeared off screen.”

Mac’s stomach turned over. “One could be a malfunction, but two…”

Niko nodded toward the doors. “Two means we have a massive problem. Let’s get to the Command Center.”

Chapter Four

Niko paced in front of the screens in the Command Center as Lia spoke.

The head of the drone team was trying to conceal her panic, but it was written all over her pretty face. “The drones both went down in a similar location. We lost the visual feed first, then we lost the ability to control them.”

“But you could still track them?” Niko asked.

She nodded. “They were both still moving, like something was transporting them—” she swallowed “—toward Sydney Airport.”

Toward the raptors’ main base.

If the raptors had discovered a way to detect and capture the drones it would be a nightmare. “And you can definitely rule out a malfunction?”

Noah Kim stepped forward. “They were both serviced recently. Were in perfect working condition when we sent them out today.”

“You lost the feed off one yesterday, right?” Mackenna said. “Then it crashed into a tree. Right here near the Enclave.”

Lia nodded. “Mac and Cam recovered it. It looks like that one was a malfunction.”

Niko didn’t like this at all. He caught Adam Holmes’ gaze and saw that the general looked worried, too.

Holmes straightened. “The drones are vital, not only to our plan to fight back against the aliens, but to our survival.”

Niko thought of the squads, of Mackenna, heading out to face the raptors with no intel and no support…they’d be going in blind.

Nyet. No way.
“We need to get these two drones back, and work out what the hell is going on.”

Lia cleared her throat. “One is completely off grid. I have no idea where it is. The other is giving an intermittent signal, and it doesn’t appear to be moving.” She turned to a screen and a map flashed up. “It’s in a park area on the Georges River, just south of Bankstown.”

Niko ran a hand through his hair. Far too close to the aliens’ mothership at Sydney Airport.

Lia frowned at the map. “If the signal is correct, it’s in an old electrical substation in the middle of parkland by the river.”

Everyone looked grim-faced. Holmes nodded and looked at Roth. “Squad Nine, go in and recover the drone. In and out. Don’t announce to the aliens that you’re there. Do not engage.” He gave Roth a hard look. “Unless you have no choice.”

Niko watched Roth, Mackenna, and the rest of Squad Nine leave at a jog. He watched until the door closed, hiding Mackenna from view.

Soon, he stood beside Holmes, staring at a video screen, as the now-armored and armed Squad Nine moved into the Enclave hangar. They’d had limited vehicles before, but now the space was home to the small fleet of Hawks and the Darkswifts—two-man, stealth gliders that he’d heard Squad Nine liked to use.

He watched Roth waving his team onto a Hawk.

Niko watched Mackenna leap aboard. Funny, he found her just as attractive dressed in her armor as he had in her dress. Soon, the rotors started, and a moment later, the Hawk lifted a few inches from the hangar floor. Above, the overhead doors retracted, and the Hawk disappeared from view.

They picked up the drone feed now. Niko imagined the small drone, somewhere in the air above the Enclave, zeroing in on the Hawk. He watched the Hawk reach altitude, tilt, and aim north toward Sydney. The drone followed it for a bit before stopping, and the Hawk got smaller and smaller on the screen.

Holmes was standing stiff and tense beside him.

“It’s hard watching your people go out?” Niko asked.

The older man gave a nod. “I thought it might get easier over time, but it never does.” Piercing blue eyes looked Niko’s way. “You’ll have to get used to it, if we’re going to fight hard enough to drive the aliens away.”

Niko nodded. As a leader and as someone who’d once fought for his country, he understood that. He understood sacrifice. But as a man…he looked back at the image of the Hawk. As a man, it was damn hard to watch the woman you had yet to touch or taste fly off into danger.

He released a slow breath. If Mackenna knew he wanted to keep her safe, she’d kick his ass.

Another screen flared to life, and now they could see the feed coming in from a camera attached to Roth’s combat helmet. It showed the members of the squad sitting calm and composed, checking their weapons.

Niko didn’t like how damn close they’d be to the raptors’ main base. “Any raptors in the vicinity of the downed drone?” he asked Arden.

The cool comms officer didn’t even turn around, her hands tapping at the screen in front of her. “Nothing on sensors. The park where the substation is located is heavily forested. That might keep them away from the area.”

Yes, the raptors’ dislike of trees was a hotly discussed topic. But their brazen assault on Blue Mountain Base proved it wasn’t a foolproof defense.

As the Hawk drew closer to the target, Niko felt his muscles getting tighter and tighter. He had sent his security teams out around the Enclave many times. But watching a team head into the ruins of Sydney, right on top of the aliens, was a different story.

“Starting descent now.” The smooth male voice belonged to the Hawk pilot, Finn.

Niko saw Mac move close to the side door, one hand gripping the handhold above her head.

The next second, the Hawk’s skids touched down.

“Go, go.” Roth waved them out.

The door of the Hawk slid open, and the camera bounced as Roth and his team leaped to the ground.

Niko got an impression of trees, the curve of the river, and then Squad Nine fell into formation, weapons up, as they jogged down a path.

“Four hundred meters ahead on your current heading,” Arden said.

Niko leaned a hip against the desk, and tapped his fingers on the surface. It was his one weakness when he was nervous. He always needed something to do with his hands.

The squad moved out of the trees, and directly ahead lay the substation. It was large, covered in metal towers with wires strung between them. It had probably been partly derelict long before the Gizzida had arrived. Many places had switched to the small nuclear power plants after small-scale nuclear power had been made safe, along with a mix of solar power.

“Theron, open the gate.” Roth’s quiet murmur came over the line.

The big, quiet man moved forward, pulling a tool off his belt. Niko saw the flare of a laser cutter as the man went to work cutting open the wire gate. Around him, the remaining squad members fanned out, carbines up, ready for anything.

Niko’s gaze fell on Mackenna. God, that tough face. It was hard to believe that not that long ago, she’d been standing in his arms wearing a sexy little dress and driving him out of his mind.

Now she was in danger, risking her life for them all. It just made Niko want her more.

The gate squeaked open, and Squad Nine moved forward, Mackenna in the lead.

“Go straight ahead another twenty meters,” Arden said. “Then turn right, then left around a transformer. You should see the drone somewhere nearby. That’s where the signal’s coming from.” Arden’s fingers flew across her screen. “Lia said to keep a lookout for it anywhere. It might even be stuck on the wires overhead.”

“Any of this live?” Camryn asked. “I really don’t want to get zapped.”

“Most of the substation was shut down long before the invasion. After the invasion, any remaining power into it would have been cut off. There’s a chance something might still be active, although nothing is showing on my screen.”

“Okay Nine, let’s not get fried,” Roth said. “Don’t touch anything.”

“I see something,” Mackenna said.

Niko leaned forward and saw Adam do the same. They watched Mackenna turn the corner around a large metal tower Niko guessed was the transformer.

He saw it the same time she did. Ahead, lying on the ground, he saw the twisted remains of the drone.

Mackenna knelt. Roth stood over her, capturing a perfect view as her gloved hand touched the mangled metal.

“Shit,” Mackenna said. “It’s partly melted. Something did a number on it.”

Niko watched as she pulled out a black mesh bag and shook it out with one hand. She carefully lifted the remnants of the small quadcopter drone into it. She clipped the bag onto a belt.

“Got it.”

“All right, Nine,” Roth said. “Let’s get out of here. Way too quiet around here.”

In formation, they started out of the substation. Niko thought the whole place looked pretty eerie, with the combination of skeletal towers and derelict structures, and damaged wires hanging down from above.

Suddenly, Niko saw Arden stiffen.

“Roth, I’ve picked up heat signatures heading your way! They came out of the river.”

“Raptors?” Roth’s voice carried an edge.

“Yes,” Arden answered. “A full patrol, by the looks of it. Get out of there.”

The squad picked up the pace, but as they neared the gate, the raptor patrol was almost on them.

Holmes leaned down close to Arden so his voice carried to Squad Nine. “Do not engage. Roth, if you can, find an alternate exit, or hide and let them pass.”

Chyort voz’mi!
Niko drummed his fingers on the table. They were too fucking close to the raptor base. If this patrol spotted them, they’d call in reinforcements. They’d rain down on Squad Nine, and there’d be no way to help them.

“Take cover,” Roth said.

The men and women fanned out, each of them finding a spot to squeeze in to and hide behind. From where Roth was crouched behind some metalwork, Niko had a perfect view of Mackenna. She was crouched low beside a big wooden spool that held what looked like old wiring.

He also had a perfect view of the humanoid raptors coming in through the gate. They were big bastards, with scaly skin, hellish teeth, and burning red eyes. They carried large, scaled weapons and wore some sort of metallic armor on the lower halves of their bodies. They’d stopped, and were grunting over the cut-open gate.

The raptors moved together as a group, looking around, and searching the area.

Niko gripped the edge of the desk, his fingers pushing hard against the wood. He’d been on missions like this one in his past life. Plenty of times, he’d had to hide and avoid detection. He’d been renowned for his patience, his ability to blend in and wait out his enemy.

But watching someone else do it, someone he felt that early stir of feelings for, made him feel damn helpless.

He saw a big raptor wandering toward Mackenna’s hiding place.
Nyet.

Niko drew a breath. Held it.
Turn around, you bastard.

He saw Mackenna peek around the reel she was using for cover, taking note of the raptor. She swung her carbine onto her shoulder.

Niko frowned. “What the hell is she doing?”

“Stay calm, Nikolai,” Holmes said. “She knows what she’s doing.”

He watched Mackenna draw a large Gladius combat knife out of the sheath strapped to her thigh.

“She’s going to engage.” Fear was a solid punch to Niko’s chest. “She’ll get herself killed!”

Holmes didn’t bat an eyelid. “She’s an experienced soldier. She’ll do what she needs to do.”

Niko fought to take a breath. If she moved, she might find better cover and stay hidden. Engaging was suicide.

The raptor turned the corner around the spool. Mackenna stood, spun, and thrust her knife into the raptor’s chest. As he fell, she followed him, slammed her gloved hand against his mouth. God, if the alien got any of those razor-sharp teeth into her, he’d tear her hand apart. He was jerking his head and her hand muffled his snarl.

He hit the ground with a thud, Mackenna kneeling on his chest, her body blocking their view.

Niko took a second to admire her work. She was good. Damn good.

But if any of the other raptors had heard, they were still in danger.

And once they realized they were missing one of their soldiers…

Roth shot forward and together he and Mac grabbed the creature’s arms and dragged him behind the transformer. Hiding him from view of his comrades.

Arden was murmuring quietly into her earpiece.

Roth spoke in a whisper. “Nine, alternate route to the east. Follow me.”

Roth’s team moved like stealthy wraiths through the substation. Soon, they reached the side fence, and once again, Theron cut a small hole through it. The team slipped through the gap and into the trees.

“Arden, confirm Finn is in position for our pickup,” Roth said. “We’re on our way back.”

“He’s touching down now, Roth,” the comms officer answered. She slumped back in her chair. “See you when you get back.”

Niko released his death grip on the table. But it wasn’t until he saw the entire squad climb aboard the waiting Hawk, and the Hawk shoot up into the air, that he finally took a deep breath.

He willed himself to relax. To let the tight muscles across his shoulders loosen. To not keep replaying over and over that scene of Mackenna taking on the monstrous raptor while an entire group of aliens was right nearby.

She was on her way home. That was all that mattered.

Chapter Five

Mac jumped out of the Hawk and into the hangar, slinging her carbine over her shoulder.