Roth(Hell Squad 5) (18 page)

In the distance, Avery heard the familiar sound of the aliens’ grunt-like language, and the hairs on her neck rose.

Roth pressed up against her back. “I’m here. We’re together.”

She closed her eyes. She wasn’t alone, and she couldn’t find the words to tell him how much that meant to her. Whatever they faced, they’d face it together.

Roth’s lips brushed her ear. “I’m not letting them take you, sweetheart.”

She reached for his hand. “I think I’m falling in love with you, too.”

He jerked against her. “Avery—”

She squeezed his hand and gave a small laugh. “You should know that it scares me far more than those raptors heading our way.”

“Sweetheart, I’ve seen how ferocious you can be. I’ve no doubt you’ll work out this love stuff.”

Together, they turned and saw a group of raptors moving closer, their weapons clutched in their scaly hands. The aliens’ eyes glowed red in the darkness.

Oh, God
. She couldn’t go back to one of those tanks. And there was no way she’d let them put Roth in one.

A plan. They needed a plan. “Roth?”

“Just wait, Avery. It’ll be okay.”

Okay? She frowned. They had no weapons, and were caught between a group of humans who were handing them over to the enemy and bloodthirsty aliens. She realized Roth’s body was completely relaxed.

“You have a plan,” she whispered.

“I’ve always got a plan.”

In that instant, three Hawk quadcopters dropped their illusions and appeared above them.

And all hell broke loose.

***

Roth watched the lead Hawk swing around and fire on the pteros.

The alien ships exploded in balls of flames.

The raptors on the ground scrambled, swinging their weapons up, but the other Hawks were already moving. One turned and moved upwards with breathtaking agility, allowing the sniper on board to fire on the raptors.

It had to be Finn flying. The man was the best Hawk pilot in the entire base, and could push the quadcopters to their limits in ways the other pilots couldn’t achieve.

Roth launched himself at the nearest guard, snatching the man’s weapon. The guard stared at him, and then the firefight behind them, with wide eyes. Then he spun and scrambled back toward the plant and dived into cover. Howell and the rest of his guards followed suit.

Roth spotted raptors running toward him and Avery. He lifted the laser pistol and fired. It was no carbine, but the alien he’d targeted dodged out of the way.

“Avery?” When she turned, he tossed her the pistol. Then he yanked his knife out. “Cover me.”

“Dammit, no, Roth.”

He ran at the incoming aliens. He wasn’t letting them anywhere near Avery. He clenched his jaw. He wasn’t wearing his armor, which meant he wasn’t protected, and he didn’t have the built-in exoskeleton that gave him added strength and speed. He changed his grip on the knife. It didn’t matter if the raptors were bigger and stronger, he was more dangerous.

Because he had more to fight for.

He slammed into the lead alien. He heard the bastard grunt, trying to get his poisonous weapon around. Roth jammed the knife between the alien’s ribs.

Laser fire whizzed past and into the other raptors. Damn, Avery was a good shot. She needed to be on the squads.

Roth stabbed at the raptor, working the knife through the creature’s thick skin. It made a keening noise that grated, but Roth kept at it until the alien slumped down, dead.

A huge body slammed into him, lifting Roth off the ground. His shoulder blades hit the dirt, and pain radiated through him.

Right in his face, another raptor grinned, its eyes burning demonic red.

Roth whipped the knife around, but the alien grabbed his wrist in impossibly strong claws. The sharp claws cut into Roth’s skin, and as the alien exerted pressure to turn the knife away from its chest, Roth winced at the pain.

He pushed and tried with all his strength to shove the blade into the raptor.

But soon the knife was turned around, the blade aimed at Roth’s chest.

Shit
. He strained, every muscle in his body aching. The tip of the blade pricked his chest, right above his rapidly beating heart.

The raptor grunted.

“Fuck you,” Roth bit out.

The blade slid into his flesh and he gritted his teeth. It burned like hell.

“No!” A slim body leapt over the top of him and slammed into the raptor, toppling it off Roth.

He scrambled up to see Avery straddling the creature’s chest, the pistol jammed under its jaw as she pulled the trigger.

Panting, he looked up and saw four raptors circling them.
Dammit
.

Then, like wraiths, shadows slipped out of the darkness. Green laser fire lit up the morning.

Roth watched Mac, Taylor and Cam mow down the raptors.

He heard loud human shouts, and swiveled. Hell Squad was running toward them from the opposite direction, taking down the last of the raptors.

He smiled. Hiding might keep you safe, but fighting back was a hell of a lot more satisfying.

Roth helped Avery to her feet. She was watching Hell Squad and Squad Nine make short work of the raptors.

“Holy cow, remind me not to piss any of these guys off,” she said.

“You’re okay?” He touched her face.

She smiled. “You know what? I think I am.”

“Hey, boss?” Mac swaggered up, holding her carbine. “Next time you and Avery take on a group of raptor soldiers, I suggest you do it with armor on, and more than a puny knife and laser pistol.”

Roth clapped Mac on the back. “I’ll take that advice on board, Carides. Nice to see you. Good timing.”

Mac grinned in the darkness. “As always.”

“Marcus,” Roth said, nodding at the head of Hell Squad.

“Roth, heard you decided to take a little vacation.” Marcus raised a brow. “Thought we’d horn in.”

Roth snorted. The rest of Hell Squad stood behind their leader. “Don’t recommend it. The service turned out to be pretty shitty.”

“You really crashed your Darkswift?” Shaw asked. “That is badass, Masters.”

“The giant alien bugs sort of helped. Again, I don’t recommend it.”

“I thought you were coming at daylight,” Avery said.

Roth tugged her to his side, pleased when she leaned into him.

“Nah, the boss included a few code words when I spoke to him,” Mac said. “Asked us to come a little early.”

Avery looked up at Roth. “You suspected Howell would try something like this?”

“Yes. I knew he couldn’t be trusted.” Roth looked over her head. “Speak of the devil.”

Sienna was herding the guards ahead of her, jabbing them with her carbine. Theron was carrying a struggling Howell by the hood of his sweater.

“Hi, boss.” Sienna smiled sweetly. “Got a present for you.”

“Thanks, Sienna.” He motioned for Theron to put Howell down.

Running footsteps sounded from behind them. Roth, Avery, his squad, and Hell Squad all turned, carbines aimed.

Captain Scott, her soldiers and Nikolai all skidded to a shocked halt. Their gazes went to the tough soldiers facing off with them, then to the bodies of the raptors and the burning pteros.

“We found your guard,” Captain Scott said, clutching her weapon. “We managed to track you through the tunnels.”

Roth subtly angled his body in front of Avery. “Captain, tell your team to lower their weapons.”

“Scott, take them out!” Howell yelled. “Help me.”

The sunlight was just starting to brighten the eastern horizon, so it was easy to see the tension in Scott’s face. She ignored Howell, her gaze running over the Hell Squad and Squad Nine members.

Marcus shifted his carbine and stepped forward. “Look, I got pulled out of a warm bed, filled with my warm woman, to come and rescue Masters from you guys.” His voice sounded like gravel. “A pissing match isn’t going to make me feel any happier.” He lifted his carbine an inch. “Want me to prove to you that my gun’s bigger?”

His soldiers moved, Hell Squad flanking their leader. Each looked as badass as the next. Roth watched with pride as his squad members joined them.

Captain Scott’s hand gripped her weapon. Her team kept their weapons aimed.

Marcus touched his ear. “Say again, Elle.”

Mac was doing the same. “Shit. Arden says she’s picking up something.”

Suddenly, someone yelled, “Alien bugs!”

Chapter Seventeen

Avery swiveled and aimed her laser pistol. Instantly, she saw the swarm of giant bugs descending on them.

“There are more of them,” someone shouted.

She turned her head and saw another dark, moving cloud in the sky.

Roth stepped closer to her and on the other side, Mac moved in. The others from Nine, Hell Squad, and the Enclave soldiers all moved together.

“Aim for the wings,” Roth roared. “Let’s take them down.”

“Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?” Marcus yelled.

“Hell, yeah,” Hell Squad answered. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”

Carbines opened fire. Avery blocked everything else out of her mind, and focused on the aliens. They flittered and dodged the weapons’ fire. One got through, and slammed into the female soldier from Hell Squad. She went down shouting, and Avery saw two of her squad members leap onto the bug to yank it off her.

Avery kept firing and the bug she was aiming at wobbled and fell from the sky.

Bug bodies were dropping, littering the ground with their corpses.

But for every dozen they killed, one managed to get through.

One insect had sunk its mandibles into Captain Scott’s uniform, and was dragging the woman across the ground. She was slamming her boot into its face, but it was tenaciously holding on.

“Kate!” Nikolai yelled.

Roth shouldered one of the Enclave soldiers out of the way. He yanked out his knife, leapt over a dead bug, and landed right beside Scott and the alien.

Avery’s heart hammered. She knelt, focusing her fire on anything trying to get to Roth.

He plunged the knife into the bug, two, three times. It gave an ear-splitting squeal and released the captain.

Roth grabbed her by the back of her armor and dragged her back to their group.

“Help! Help me.”

Avery turned…and saw Howell in the grip of a bug.

It was flapping its wings, its sharp mandibles clamped around his midsection.

She hesitated. He’d done terrible things, to her, to others.

But the faces of his boys flashed through her head. Bastian’s face, and his lonely pain of being without his parents. Her own face, living without family. Howell might be crap, but his boys didn’t deserve to suffer. Avery would have taken a drug-addict mother over no mother anytime.

She marched forward, firing at the bug. It jerked, twisting in the air. Howell was kicking his arms and legs, trying to twist loose.

She got close enough to reach out one hand. “Howell!”

He gripped her fingers. She grabbed on and aimed around him to fire at the bug’s huge, faceted eyes. She kept her finger on the trigger. Then the gun clicked impotently, and the laser cut off. The charge was depleted.

“No.” She tugged on Howell’s hand, trying to pull him free.

But the bug recovered, and with a flap of his wings, it rose.

Taking Howell with it.

Howell didn’t make a sound. His wide, terrified eyes met Avery’s, and his mouth opened with a silent scream. His fingers slipped through hers.

She tried to hold on, but with a hard yank, the bug flew free with its prey.

“No,” Avery cried.

Arms wrapped around her. She leaned into Roth and watched the bug fly off with Howell, a few of its fellow survivors following right behind.

“I couldn’t just let it take him,” she said, her voice thick. “I tried. For those boys inside, I tried.”

Roth ran a hand over her hair. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

The quadcopters appeared, hovering in the sky above them. The Enclave members collectively gasped.

“That’s our ride,” Roth said.

Avery wanted nothing more than a hot shower, and to fall into bed and curl up in Roth’s arms. Oh, and to sleep for about twelve hours straight.

Nikolai and Captain Scott stepped forward.

“Thank you,” Nikolai said. “After what Howell just tried to do, you could have killed us and left the others for the aliens.”

“Not my style, Ivanov,” Roth said. “Not that I’m that cut up about Howell. We really came here to see if we could join forces. This is who we should be fighting.” He kicked the body of an alien bug. “Not each other.”

“If your base is no longer viable,” Captain Scott said, her dark eyes glittering, “you come here.”

“Kate—” Nikolai began.

“No more debates and discussions, Niko. Howell’s gone. We’ve been questioning everything he’s told us, everything he’s done, for a long time now.” She straightened, her gaze meeting Roth’s and Avery’s. “I never agreed with Howell, but I tried to do my job. I’ve always had the best interests of the Enclave’s residents at heart. If the residents of Blue Mountain Base need a home, then the Enclave is open to them.”

Roth held out a hand. “Thank you. I think if we pool our people and our resources, we can make things safer for everybody.”

The captain shook his hand. “And if you need more soldiers, I have no doubt most of my team would be eager to be a part of your war on the aliens.” She shifted her rifle. “I’ll be first in line.”

Avery watched Roth smile.

“We always need good people,” Roth said. “And Hell Squad here needs a little competition to keep them on their toes.”

From nearby, Shaw made a scoffing noise. “Dream on, Masters.”

“Shaw, maybe you and I should have a little challenge in the gym when we get back?” Mac called out.

Shaw rolled his eyes. “Like hell, Mac. You come down to the weapons range and we’ll have a shooting match. But no way am I letting you beat me up on the mats. You have a black belt in badass. I don’t need a black eye and broken ribs to believe it.”

“We should arrange a secure comms line between our bases,” Roth said to Captain Scott. “So we can stay in touch.”

“Let’s do it.”

Avery turned to Nikolai. “Bastian…he helped us contact our team. He wants to come to Blue Mountain Base.”