Marcus (18 page)

“What if you’re wrong—?”

“Have you ever known me to be wrong?”

She blinked and focused on his serious face.
God, she loved those tough features. He was real. Solid. While she
felt like nothing.

“I see quiet strength.” His big hands framed
her face. “I see a quick mind. I see an amazing woman. A beautiful
woman who makes my gut tight every time she smiles, or laughs, or
just looks my way. I see the woman I’m in love with.”

She stilled. All the raging emotion in her
emptied out in a rush. She stared into his eyes. New emotions
rushed in to fill the hollow, empty space. Desire, wonder,
something else she was afraid to name.

His thumb brushed over her lips. “You gonna
say something?”

She shook her head. She couldn’t speak if
her life depended on it.

“I’ve seen you, Elle, from that first day I
found you covered in raptor blood.”

She couldn’t believe it. That this man felt
something more for her. “Marcus…”

She wasn’t sure if she moved first or if he
did, but in the next breath, they were kissing.

It wasn’t gentle or pretty. It was hard,
rough and it had desire roaring through her. God, she’d never felt
anything like what Marcus made her feel. His tongue swept into her
mouth and the force of the kiss bent her head back.

This was real
. Hot, real and
something to hold on to in the dark. He swept an arm around her and
tugged her into his chest. She slid her hands into his hair and
pulled him closer. She never wanted it to stop. She wanted the wild
explosion and the earth moving to go on and on.

Until she realized the explosion was a
grenade going off upstairs and the building was shaking.

Marcus pressed his forehead to hers, his
breathing heavy. “Let’s get this done and when we get back to
base…”

He left the promise open and she shivered.
She knew exactly what he had planned. “Then let’s get this finished
as fast as we can.”

His white teeth flashed in the darkness.
“Nothing like the right motivation. Come on, the guys won’t be able
to hold them off forever.”

She touched her comp screen and the dull
glow seemed bright in the dark. The map came into perfect focus.
“We need to go straight ahead. The hub should be located on the
back wall.”

Marcus led the way, turning his head,
listening for any sounds.

They reached the back wall.

It was empty. Just a blank sheet of
bricks.

Elle’s heartbeat was a heavy pounding in her
ears. “It’s supposed to be here. The map says it’s right
here
.”

“Dammit.” Marcus looked to the ceiling. “I
knew this was too easy.”

“Marcus?”

He slammed his boot into an empty cardboard
box on the floor and sent it skidding. “It’s a set-up. I knew they
were toying with us.”

Elle shook her head. They couldn’t fail now.
They’d come too far.

Marcus turned to face her. “We need to get
out.”

“No. It
has
to be here.” She tapped
at the screen, searching the map again. “Maybe I read it wrong? Or
made a mistake? That has to be it.”

He gripped her hand. “You don’t make
mistakes.”

“I used to.” She felt the burn of
threatening tears. “I used to make them all the time.”

He touched her face. Big, tough hands that
were so gentle. “But you don’t now.”

Damn him, she didn’t want to cry. “Oh,
Marcus—”

The boom of a weapon reverberated through
the small room. Elle watched as Marcus flew back and hit the
wall.

No!
She saw the blood, smelled
it.

Marcus’ blood.

Elle dropped to the floor and scrambled
closer to him. His carbine had fallen to the ground, the light
spearing into the darkness.

She fumbled at her belt, reaching for the
thermo pistol. She tried to pull it out, but it was stuck and her
damned hand was shaking so hard.

A sound.

The scrape of a foot.

She swiveled. And saw the raptor.

He looked like a man in the cloak of shadowy
darkness. But as he moved into the halo of light from Marcus’
dropped weapon, she saw the thick, scaly skin. His sharp teeth
glistened in his elongated face. His eyes glowed red, and in them
there was intelligence, sharp and cunning.

He was so damned big. She managed to yank
her pistol out and heard the raptor snort. She had to protect
Marcus. She crawled in front of him.
Please, please let him be
alive.

The raptor stepped closer. He lifted some
small device and pressed a button. Behind her, light shimmered, and
she turned her head to look.

A hologram camouflage
. It disappeared
and she saw the hub, exactly where is was supposed to be, lights
blinking and flashing. Feeding communication to the entire alien
horde.

Anger churned.
So close
. She felt
something sticky on the floor. Knew it was Marcus’ blood.

She lifted the pistol. It shook wildly.

The raptor cocked his ugly head with
something resembling a grin on his face. He moved forward, not
seeing her as a threat.

Too many people had written her off. She
hadn’t been smart enough for her father, pretty enough for her
mother, charming enough for her fiancé. She’d never even believed
in herself.

Until now. Until the last few months working
as part of a team, giving it everything she had, helping
others.

Now Marcus’ life was in her hands.

Her hands stilled. She fired.

The raptor stumbled, his body jerking. She
kept pumping the thermo bullets into him. They glowed gold in the
shadows.

He dropped to his knees and made a keening
sound that made her wince.

Then her weapon clicked. She looked at it.
Oh, no.

The raptor laughed. A low, rasping sound
that made her blood freeze. He lifted his gun.

Elle felt a touch at her hand. She glanced
down, saw Marcus’ blood-covered fingers press his large gladius
knife into her hand. It was black. Big and rugged. A warrior’s
knife.

“Kill. Him.” Marcus’ words were a
near-silent whisper.

She grabbed the knife and launched herself
forward. The raptor stiffened, she saw his demon eyes widen. She
hit him, burying the blade into the softer flesh at his throat.

He made a terrible gurgling sound and the
rank stench of his breath hit her. His gun clattered to the floor.
As he fell backward, Elle pushed herself off him, rubbing her hands
on her thighs to rid herself the horrible sensation of scales
pressed to her skin.

Then she scrambled back to Marcus.

God
,
no
. She saw the shredded,
torn mess of his middle. His armor had taken the brunt of the force
but an ugly bone-like projectile stuck out of him and beneath him a
large pool of blood was forming. It was bad.

She ripped a small first-aid kit from her
belt and pressed a wad of gauze to his wound. He moaned. She looked
up and saw green eyes watching her.

“I’m so sorry, Marcus.”

“Nothing to be…sorry for. Saved…us.”

“I should have done something.” She grabbed
his hand with her free one and lifted it to her chest. Pressed it
to her heart. “I’m sorry I was such a coward. I should have—”

“You took him down. Brave.”

He had such belief in her. “I never thought,
in a million years, that you’d be interested in a woman like me,
let alone love me.” She felt a tear slide down her cheek. “I love
you so much. I wish I’d told you months ago how I felt.”

He managed to lift his hand to her cheek,
brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “I was a coward. Told
myself…didn’t want to sully you with my rough hands—”

She gripped his hand, pushing her cheek into
his hot palm. “You idiot. You’re such a good, solid, fearless
man.”

“Elle. You need to plant the bomb.”

She swallowed the sharp lump in her throat.
“Okay. I’ll do it for you.”

She helped him take the backpack off. Every
wince and groan made her want to cry. She unzipped the bag and
pulled the spherical bomb out. It wasn’t that big but she knew it
would bring the entire terminal down. She helped him press the code
in and it awakened, lights flashing.

Elle carried it over to the hub. Strong
magnets activated and it slammed into the side of the hub and
started humming.

She hurried back to Marcus. Sliding down
beside him, she tangled her fingers with his. She hated seeing him
slumped against the wall, lines of pain bracketing his mouth.

“You have to go now,” he said.

“No.” The whisper was ripped from her. The
thought of leaving him left her nauseous. “I’m staying.”

“Dammit, Elle. I’ve fought…so you’d be safe.
Go. Live.” He lifted a hand, trying to reach her but it was clear
his senses were failing.

Deep grief tore through her. It couldn’t end
like this. “I want to live
with
you, not without you.” She
gripped his hand.

“I wish, baby.” His fingers clenched on
hers, released. “Kiss me. One last time. Then go find Cruz and the
others.”

She leaned forward, heedless of the tears
that streamed down her cheeks. She touched her lips to his. This
was where she was supposed to be, in this man’s arms.

He pulled back. “Now go.”

“No.”

He growled. “I want—”

A loud beep came from the bomb. They both
glanced at it. Marcus was frowning. “Timer can’t be…up yet. What
the hell is it doing?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Go!”

She moved in close beside him. “I can’t
leave you.”

“Elle—” Urgency in his voice.

A bright-blue flash broke out of the bomb,
filling the room with light as bright as day. Pain seared Elle’s
eyes, digging into her head. Her hand clenched on Marcus’ and she
heard him shouting.

Then the light contracted and Elle felt her
consciousness slipping away.

She pitched forward, her face hitting the
ground, and darkness slammed into her.

Lights shone in Elle’s eyes, but her vision
was blurry, fuzzy.

Even the noises reaching her ears sounded
muffled, as though they were coming through water.

“Fuck!”

She thought it was Cruz’s voice, but she
wasn’t sure.

A handsome face leaned over her. But she
couldn’t move, couldn’t talk.

Where is Marcus? She needed Marcus.

People talking. Then raised voices. “We’re
losing him!”

“Gotta move.”

The snarls and guttural shouts of
raptors.

Elle felt her body being jostled around. But
everything felt so heavy, every muscle in her body made of lead.
Marcus. Marcus!
His name echoed in her head.

Her eyelids drooped closed and she couldn’t
pry them open again.

***

“Ellie? Wake up,
querida
.”

The coaxing voice brought Elle out of the
fog. She glanced at the pipes running overhead along the ceiling.
She shifted and realized she was lying in a bed.

In the infirmary.

Back at the base.

She sat up, fighting the sheet covering her.
“Marcus?” Where was he? She glanced wildly past Cruz and saw the
other beds all lined up in a row.

They were empty, sheets pulled neatly over
them.

Elle gripped Cruz’s shirt. “No!” He couldn’t
be gone, not just as she was getting her chance.

“Hey, calm down.” Cruz set his hands on her
shoulders. “Your head took quite a knock.”

“Marcus?”

She saw Cruz’s lean face harden.

“Oh, no.” She shook her head, felt a tear on
her cheek. “He’s dead.” She’d failed him, too.

“Hey.” Cruz rubbed a thumb over the
teardrop. “No crying. You know Marcus is too tough to die.”

Something unfurled inside her. Something
bright. “He’s alive?”

“Yeah. Lucky bastard nearly didn’t make it.”
Cruz tapped her nose. “We found you both unconscious. The bomb had
proximity security to stop anyone tampering with it once the
countdown started. Knocks everyone in range out cold. Marcus had
just about bled out, we lost him there once or twice—”

Elle made a choking noise.

Cruz hurried on. “But I pumped him full of
nano-meds. Those little buggers kept him together long enough for
us to get out, grab those kids you found, and get far enough away
before the bomb went ka-boom.”

Elle pushed Cruz away and swung her legs
over the edge of the bed. She was only dressed in a large T-shirt,
but it hit her at the knees and covered enough. “Leo and Clare are
okay?”

Cruz smiled. “Gorging themselves on anything
and everything in the dining room. Well, when Clare pulls her nose
out of whatever book she’s found.”

Elle stood, and gripped the bed as her knees
wobbled. She needed Marcus. She had to see for herself that he was
okay. “Where is he?”

“You need rest,
querida
.”

“
Where
?”

Cruz let out a gusty sigh, but he was
smiling. “You two are perfect for each other. Stubborn to the
bone.” Cruz helped her take a few steps, hovering at her elbow. “He
refused to stay in bed too, and watching you sleeping was making
him crazy. I think he was worried you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Cruz,” she snapped at him.

“He’s on the roof. Quadrant Two.”

Elle hobbled through the tunnels, shocked
that she felt so weak. But the burning need to see Marcus pushed
her on.

She reached the ladder to the surface. It
took her a while to climb it, since she had to stop for a few
breaks to catch her breath. The door at the top was open and
finally she stepped out into the crisp, pre-dawn air.

Out on the eastern horizon, murky light was
just starting to tint the day.

And she saw the silhouette of the man who’d
captured her heart.

She broke into a run.

Soldier that he was, he heard her, even
though she hadn’t made a sound. He spun.