Noah: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 6) (8 page)

“Nice choice.” He tucked the other one away. “Now, I’m going to roll. Even, I leave. Odd, you kiss me.”

She was silent for a minute. “Okay.”

Noah leaned over and rolled the cube across the coffee table. It made a small clattering noise and stopped…on five.

Laura’s eyes narrowed. “It’s rigged.”

Sure it was. Noah wasn’t shy about manipulating luck where he could. “Or I’m just lucky.”

He pulled her in close. He felt her chest rise on a ragged breath. Her gaze roamed over his face. “Why the hell do you have to be so attractive?”

“Just kiss me, Laura. Stop thinking so hard.” He pulled her in and closed the gap between them.

She made a noise. “Damn you.” She cupped his cheeks and yanked his face down to hers.

Noah felt Laura soften against him. A growl escaped his throat and he kissed her deep, cupping the back of her head. Wild, wild heat flared.

But eventually, he found some control and forced himself to pull back. She was one hell of a strong woman, but she was running scared from this. He was a smart man…he had to tread carefully here.

“I don’t want to take the risk either,” he said.

The color leached from her face, and she tried to pull away.

He held fast. “I never had what you had, I thought I did and I learned it was a lie. So I don’t want to take another risk, but I can’t stop thinking about you.” He set her away, then cupped her cheek, running his thumb down her cheekbone. “We have a mission to get ready for. See you at the landing pads.”

Noah made himself walk away. As he walked down the hall, he saw his shirt was coated in paint and smiled. There was passion burning in his captain, and he wanted to help her set it free.

Then he straightened. But for now, he had to focus on doing his bit to keep her and the base safe.

***

Laura grabbed the handhold above her head and held on tight as the Hawk quadcopter took off. The rock walls of the landing tube moved past them as they shot upward.

Around her, Hell Squad lounged like they spent all day on a Hawk just kicking back and relaxing. She guessed they did spend a lot of time on them, and more than that, were used to heading off on dangerous missions. They all sat or stood, each one of them appearing calm, relaxed, and focused.

Noah sat nearby, looking pretty comfortable in armor that fit him like a glove. He had his hair tied back, his face set. He was tapping on a small mini-tablet attached to his wrist.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the pilot called back from the cockpit. “Please settle in for a nice ride to the Simpson Desert. We’re expecting good weather and clear skies all the way.”

“Can it, Finn,” Claudia called back. “You make a crappy flight attendant. Stick to what you know best.”

“You wouldn’t know what I do best,” came the laconic reply from Finn Eriksson. “I’d be happy to show you.”

“Heard it all before, flyboy.” Claudia leaned back in her chair, a small smile on her face.

“Just fly the damn Hawk, Finn.” Shaw was frowning. “And quit jabbering.”

The Hawk cleared the base, its rotors turned and then they headed west. Laura leaned down a little to see out of the side window. The sun had not long set, and darkness wreathed the mountains. She caught the glint of moonlight on water, and the endless darkness of trees.

A small quiver of excitement went through her. She liked her job, was good at it. It wasn’t pretty work, or easy work, but it was necessary. But there was something about heading out on an active mission, a chance to truly fight back, that felt good. She thought of Jake, knew he must have felt like this on missions. She smiled. He would have been proud of her.

Then her smile slipped. But he would also have been disappointed in her. That she hadn’t let go, that she’d held onto her grief and pain so hard she’d let herself go numb. He would never have wanted that for her.

“Okay, listen up.” Marcus faced them. He looked intimidating, his armor making his broad shoulders and muscled body look even bigger and tougher. “Finn’s going to set us down a short distance from the alien domes. We’ll move in silently and access the first dome. Elle’s identified it as the research dome. Claudia, you’re on point. Gabe will be right behind you. Reed, you’ll bring up the rear.” Marcus caught Shaw’s gaze. “You’ll stay back, find a vantage point and cover our asses.”

Shaw nodded. “Prefer to be going in, but I’ve got it.”

“Yeah, heard how much you like going in,” Cruz murmured. “Heard you had a little private party with Tabby from supplies and her blonde friend.”

Shaw grinned. “My lips are sealed.”

Cruz snorted.

Claudia rolled her eyes. “Wow, two quickies at the same time. Talented.”

Shaw’s face hardened and he kicked his boot against Claudia’s armored leg. “Enough with the quickie stuff. It’s not funny anymore.”

The female soldier tossed her head back and smiled. “It is to the rest of us. Truth making you a little uncomfortable, Shaw?”

The sniper leaned down, his face an inch from Claudia’s. “You keep this up, I’ll show you just how long I take in bed with a woman.”

“Wow, my second offer since we boarded…and I’m not interested in either.” She crossed her arms.

Shaw leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Laura watched a flow of emotions cross Claudia’s face before she shoved Shaw away.

“In your dreams, Shaw. Focus on the mission or I’ll punch you in the face.”

Marcus was pinching the bridge of his nose and Laura got the impression the bickering was normal.

“Cruz, for God’s sake, don’t encourage them,” Marcus growled.

The conversation turned to confirming the movements for the rest of the mission. It was then she saw Hell Squad turn from a group of joking friends to fully-focused soldiers. She knew their deadly reputation and now she was going to see it in action.

Laura fiddled with the pins she’d stuck in her hair to keep it in place. She looked over and saw Noah was watching her. Funny how looking at him made her a whole lot more nervous than going on this mission. When he winked at her, she felt something inside her soften. It was time she decided whether she had the courage to take a risk with him.

But first, they had to survive this mission.

“Okay, domes in view,” Finn called back.

“Everyone, get prepped,” Marcus said. “Hell Squad, ready to go to hell?”

“Hell yeah,” the squad members yelled. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”

Laura’s hand tightened on the bar.
Let’s do this.

Chapter Seven

Noah stayed in line, running quickly across the sand to the nearest dome. He had his combat helmet in place and a night-vision lens over his left eye. Everything was bathed in shades of green.

Ahead of him, half of Hell Squad moved, quickly and quietly. Directly behind him was Laura, followed by the rest of the squad. He could see in an instant they all worked like a well-practiced team, moving together as one.

Ahead, the first dome rose up from the desert floor.

He’d seen images of the Genesis Facility that Hell Squad had destroyed. It had been a giant construction made of a continuous, amber-like glass, riddled with black striations. This dome was different. It was smaller and made of individual panes of orange glass fitted together, giving it a mosaic look. A second dome was just visible behind the first. From inside, they glowed with light.

“Marcus, two raptor signatures rounding the first dome.” Elle’s calm voice came through their earpieces.

“Down,” Marcus said.

Everyone dropped, bellies to the sand. Noah’s heart was a loud beat in his head. He waited and watched, and finally spotted the two huge shadows as they came into view. The two raptors were talking quietly to themselves.

“Gabe.” Marcus’ murmur was barely audible.

Off to Noah’s right, the big, silent Gabe pushed to his feet, then melded into the shadows like a ghost.

Noah kept watching. All he saw was a blur of movement in the shadows, and then the two raptors were gone. Damn, Gabe was good.

A moment later, Gabe returned. “I dragged them out into the desert. Won’t be found for a while, but if they have regular check-ins, then we don’t have much time.”

Marcus stood and gestured for the rest of the squad to follow. “Let’s do this. Shaw?”

“I’ll be waiting. Go interrogate some raptor ass.” The sniper slipped away.

The rest of them hurried toward the arched door in the side of the dome. As they neared, Noah noted a raptor version of an electronic lock on it.

The team stopped, their carbines up. Marcus cursed. “Noah, can you get this open?”

“I can try.” Noah held up his mini-tablet and got to work. He had their database of raptor words with him, and he’d been working enough with raptor tech to hopefully be able to get past this barrier.

A moment later, the door slid open.

“Nice work.” Claudia moved forward and slipped inside.

They all waited a tense few seconds. Then Claudia popped her head back outside. “Clear. But be warned, our comms don’t work in here.”

Marcus touched his ear. “Elle, we’ll make contact once we’re out.”

“Be safe.”

They entered the dome.

Wow
. Noah looked up and around. They were in some sort of entry. It was empty, but the walls pulsed with an orange light.

Claudia moved toward the next door, Gabe right behind her. Her low curse came through their earpieces loud and clear. “Another lock.”

Noah shouldered forward. “I’m on it.”

It didn’t take him long. He stepped back with a smile.
Piece of cake
. He caught Laura watching him and he winked.

Claudia moved through the door and the team followed. They moved into a larger room, and everyone gasped.

This room was lined with cages, and inside them were a variety of animals. The screeching of birds and the hissing of snakes added to the cacophony inside. Noah saw larger cages farther in. The aliens had captured kangaroos, wombats, emus—hell, even some camels.

“Noah, move it.” Reed nudged him.

Noah shook his head and followed the others. He passed a stack of smaller cages filled with snakes. One reared back, then struck against the bars with a hiss.

They reached the end of the animal room. Multiple doorways led out. Noah made short work of the lock on the middle door and they made their way through the entry, moving toward the center of the dome.

The next room was what Noah guessed was a lab. There were work benches made of a glossy black surface, and amber glassware lined up in rows on them. The alien version of beakers and test tubes. Some were filled with various colored liquids.

“Chemicals?” Laura suggested.

He looked down at her. “Probably.” Noah wondered what the hell the aliens were doing in here.

Suddenly, a door on the other side of the room slid open and a raptor entered. His head was down, staring at something in his hands. When he glanced up, his red eyes widened and he opened his mouth.

Gabe moved so fast he was a blur. He had an arm around the raptor in an instant, dragging him to the ground.

Damn, the man wasn’t human. Noah had heard whispers that Gabe had been part of some secret Army project before the invasion. That he could do things no other man could do. Noah believed it.

Gabe dragged the struggling raptor over.

“Claudia, Reed, on the doors. Warn us if anyone comes this way.” Marcus kicked out a chair. “Gabe, put him in the chair.”

It took Gabe a few seconds to slam the raptor into the chair and use zip ties to secure him.

Marcus looked at Laura. “Laura, you’re up.”

Laura stopped beside the raptor, and Noah listened to her speak a few words in their language. The guttural words sounded wrong coming from her. The prisoner glanced up at her, his mouth falling open. He responded.

Laura nodded and tapped on her mini-tablet. A modulated computer voice said the next few raptor words. The raptor shook his head violently and Gabe jammed the end of his carbine into the raptor’s neck. The alien closed his eyes, then responded.

“He’s some sort of biologist,” Laura said. “The cubes aren’t his area of expertise.”

“Could he be lying?” Cruz asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. My program detects heart rate and perspiration levels. I think he’s telling the truth.”

“You’re sure it works on aliens?” Marcus said.

“Yes. We’ve tested it on our raptor prisoners back at base.”

Marcus huffed out a breath. “Okay. Gabe, stash him somewhere where he won’t be found.”

Gabe yanked the alien off the chair and dragged him toward some large metal storage boxes.

“Noah, open the next door,” Marcus ordered.

Noah had the hang of the system now and the next door opened in seconds. The next room had long metal tables laid out. The bodies of dead animals, some of them dissected, lay on a few of the tables. Noah gritted his teeth.
Bastards
. Toward the back of the room was a divider made of clouded amber glass. Behind it, they saw a large shadow moving.

They all froze.

Marcus used some hand signals, and this time Claudia crept forward. She peered around, then waved them closer.

When Noah got close enough, he looked around the glass.

A raptor was working, bent over one of the tables. There was a dead kangaroo on the table, cut open, and the raptor was taking samples.

Noah stepped back and shook his head. They needed a raptor scientist who worked with the cubes.

They worked their way through a few more rooms.

Finally, they stepped into a room lined with raptor comp screens. They were made of a black, glass-like substance with ragged edges. Noah had pulled a few apart in the name of research. He followed the line of screens and off to one side, he saw a large pile of stacked energy cubes. From the number of them, he guessed they powered the entire facility.

There was also a raptor working at one of the screens.

Noah nodded.

And Hell Squad moved.

A second later, Claudia and Reed had dragged the raptor off his chair.

“Let’s get out of here,” Marcus said. “Noah, do your magic.”