Cruz: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 2) (6 page)

Santha narrowed her gaze. “Excuse me?”

“Bombing that raptor supply depot, making yourself a big fat target for the canids.”

She lowered her voice. “I warned you about the alpha asshole tactics, Cruz. I won’t have it. I was fighting the aliens who are destroying our planet.”

“You almost died! You would have blown yourself up in that dirty, fucking alley.”

“Yes.”

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. “You died in my arms on the way to the infirmary!” He spun away, lifting his arms and putting his hands behind his head. “Luckily, Doc Emerson revived you.”

Santha watched his taut back. He was so tense he looked like he might snap. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Damn, it was so good not to have to take days to recover. The nano-meds, for all their trying to kill her, had done their job and left her feeling one hundred percent.

“I’m fine, Cruz. Perfectly healthy and alive.”

His arms dropped to his sides.

She stood and walked up behind him. She pressed a palm to the center of his back and his head fell forward. “Why does it matter to you if I die?”

He stayed silent.

“You barely know me,” she said quietly.

He pulled in a breath. “You fight, you’re tough and smart, and sexy as hell. What’s not to like?”

Santha trembled. God, just a few simple words and he could bring her to her knees.

“I’ve never met anyone like you and I know you feel it,” he continued. “This…connection between us.”

Dammit, she did. But she shouldn’t. Revenge was all she had room for.

“The first time I saw you was like a damn lightning bolt.”

She closed her eyes and allowed herself a second to absorb the pleasure of his words. “Caring about people leads to hurt and pain.”

“Bullshit.” He spun, grabbing her hands. “It doesn’t have to.”

“In this new world, the raptors will destroy anything you care about.” She was pressed against that hard chest and all the vital warmth of him. He was so painfully alive and she’d felt so cold and alone for so long.

He lowered his head, his lips just a centimeter from hers. “There can be pleasure as well.”

Santha had attacked raptors twice her size and escaped packs of canids more times than she could count.

But now her pulse was racing faster and her mouth was drier than when any raptor had been after her.

“Well, where’s all that crazy courage of yours now?” he murmured.

Chapter Five

That taunt and the burning look in Cruz’s chocolate-brown eyes ignited something in Santha. She pressed her hand to his rock-hard chest and shoved him. He went back a step and then she leaped at him.

Her mouth crashed against his but he was already moving to meet her. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, plastering herself against him. With a groan, Cruz wrapped his arms around her and spun. They smacked into the wall and he pinned her there.

God, he tasted so good. Something in her snapped. She hadn’t touched another human being in over a year. She was tired of being alone. Tired of being strong all the time. She poured everything she had into the kiss. All her loneliness, fear, grief. But also her desire, her secret wants, all the times she’d watched him from afar. All the times she’d fantasized about his hard warrior’s body.

Her nails scored his shoulders and she tried to climb up him, to get closer. His hand gripped her thigh and pulled it around his hip. He ground his very hard erection against her and her cry was swallowed by his mouth.

So. Good
. Santha stroked her tongue against his. Her nipples were so hard they hurt and she was wet and aching between her legs. She wanted him. More than she’d wanted anything in her life.

Then he pulled back. He rested his forehead on hers, panting a little.

Santha struggled to get her brain working and get air into her burning lungs. She wanted to drag him down on the floor and tear those jeans off and see if his cock was as thick as she imagined. “Why are we stopping?”

“You were hurt. I shouldn’t be pawing you like this.”

She raised a brow. “The bugs fixed me better than I was before. I’m perfectly healthy.” She moved her hips against him to make the point. And okay, she liked teasing him. His groan was music to her ears.

“But mentally, you need time.” He stepped back, winced and adjusted his jeans. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of base.”

Santha stared at him and stayed where she was. Mainly because she needed the wall to hold her up until her legs stopped feeling like jelly. She was stuck between feeling mad he’d stopped and feeling pleasure that he was looking after her. Again.

Finally, she straightened. “I’d prefer we get naked—”

He groaned again.

Oh, yeah, the evil part of her liked that sound
. “But if you’re too busy being noble and that isn’t an option then I’d like to get straight to work planning the recon missions.”

“Tour on the way to work.” He gestured to a folded pile of clothes on the next bed. “I found some stuff for you to wear. Hopefully it fits.”

After Santha changed into the plain black trousers, simple T-shirt the color of wine, and some canvas shoes—all of which fitted her perfectly, attesting to Cruz’s experience sizing up women—she walked alongside him as they wandered the tunnels of the base. It was early morning and lots of people bustled around, starting their day. Despite the bare-concrete walls and the industrial look, she was surprised that the place felt almost…cozy.

He showed her the dining room and adjoining rec room. Someone had found old movie posters and hung them on the wall beside a huge projection screen. The other side of the room had a line of impressive high-tech games. In one corner, she spotted a guitar leaning against the wall, along with some other instruments. Above them, someone had taped a photo of Cruz playing guitar.

She moved closer. He looked so…lost in the playing. He leaned over the guitar, holding it like he might a woman, his eyes closed.

She glanced over her shoulder. “You play?”

He shrugged and looked away. “Yeah. But I haven’t been playing much lately.” He headed for the doorway. “Let’s keep going.”

Lots of people called out to Cruz. She noted everyone looked at him with respect…and some with a little awe. And many of the women watched him with feminine appreciation…and some, outright hunger.

Santha’s stomach clenched. How many of them were his regular playmates? How many knew the feel of those hard muscles, had traced those sexy tattoos with their tongues?

“The school’s through here.”

His voice snapped her out of her unpleasant thoughts. It was none of her business who he slept with. And if she decided to play with him, well, she only wanted something hard and fast and temporary, so it didn’t matter. She followed him into another tunnel.

They walked past a few rooms with doors wide open. Inside were bunches of kids of differing ages. In the first, solemn teenagers hunched over tablets. A boy noticed them and waved at Cruz.

Cruz lifted a hand. “Leo and his girlfriend were living in those train tunnels near the airport. We rescued them after that mission to destroy the raptor comms hub.”

“Can the base hold many more survivors?”

They passed the next room. Tiny kids were bouncing around, squealing and giggling. Bright, hand-painted pictures graced the walls. Santha couldn’t help but smile at their simple joy. They didn’t seem worried about an alien apocalypse.

“We have about a thousand living here, and there’s room yet,” Cruz answered. “A lot of tunnels are still closed up or being used for storage. We stockpile any supplies we’re able to scavenge, and also store any art or valuables we’ve rescued for safekeeping.”

Santha wondered how many of the humanity’s treasures had been annihilated by the raptors.

“There’s also a hydroponics garden for growing food, and research areas where the scientist work on projects like power, weaponry and medicine. And just up ahead is geek land, also known as the comp lab. Noah Kim’s our resident genius. He’s responsible for all our comms systems and our drones.”

“I’ve never seen any of your drones.”

“They aren’t big enough to be noticeable. After the raptors destroyed all the satellites, we had to find another way to get imaging and intel.” His face turned grim. “We lost a lot of good soldiers in the first few months because of a lack of intel. After the attack, Noah spearheaded the project to adapt small experimental drones to take high-res images and feed them back to base.”

“Amazing.”

“Here we are.” Cruz stopped at a door with a sign hanging on it that said,
Shh, genius at work
.

She raised a brow. “Humble, is he?”

“Noah’ll just tell you he’s stating a fact. Guy’s not afraid to tell it how it is.” Cruz pushed open the door.

Santha stepped inside. “Whoa.” There were bits of electronic…stuff…everywhere. Benches lined one wall and were overflowing with computer parts, tools and wiring. There were a few battered metal desks with huge comp screens on them, and people working hard at them.

At one desk, a good-looking man wearing glasses looked up. He had some Asian heritage and midnight eyes in a lean face with high cheekbones. They were making genius computer geeks well these days. She didn’t know if he wore his dark hair long by design or he’d just forgotten to get it cut, but he’d tied it back at the base of his neck, giving him a rakish look.

“Hey, Noah,” Cruz said.

“Cruz. Who’s your friend?”

“Santha Kade, this is Noah Kim. He and his team keep the lights on and the power running. Wish you’d do something about the hot water, though. A few hours a day isn’t enough.”

Noah snorted. “It’s on my list. Along with the five hundred other things we need. Once I can squeeze some more power out of the solar panels, I’ll…” he drifted off and offered Santha a wry grin. “Sorry, I have a bad habit of going into details these grunts never want to hear about.”

She wandered closer. “Cruz was telling me they’re lucky to have you. You repurposed the drones.”

“Yep.” He opened a drawer, pulled out something the size of his hand and set it on his desk. “This one’s in for maintenance. Had a nasty run-in with a bird.”

Santha picked it up. It looked a bit like a miniature Hawk with four rotors. “It’s so small.”

“All the better for the raptors not to notice them. And I’ve rigged them with illusion systems.”

She set it down. “What did you do…before the raptors came?”

“Worked in R and D for a private tech company.” He grinned. “And ran my own online company. Made my first billion by the time I hit twenty-five.”

Cruz made a scoffing sound. “Billions don’t matter anymore, boy genius.”

Noah gave him the finger. “What do you do, Santha?”

“I kill raptors.”

He raised a brow. “Well, you’re in good company. Cruz and his Hell Squad buddies are the best at that.”

She caught Cruz’s gaze. “Yeah, I know.” She looked away and spied a row of dice on a shelf. “These are great.” She reached out for the closest one—it looked old and made of green glass.

“I wouldn’t touch those if I were you, or you’re likely to end up with the ventilation in your room mysteriously not working,” Cruz said.

She snatched her hand back.

Noah smiled. “My collection. I don’t let anyone touch them except me.” His smiled dissolved. “Only thing I brought with me from…before.”

Santha thought of the picture of Kareena tucked in her pocket. “I know the feeling.”

Noah talked a few more minutes about the base’s computer systems before Cruz pulled her out of the lab.

“Guy’ll talk your ear off about computers.”

“What’s up next on the tour?”

“The Operations Area. Where all the military operations are run from. The drone operators are based there, as well as the communications officers who provide comms to each squad in the field. Ours is Elle. She’s magic.”

Santha heard a warmth in his voice and remembered the woman who’d been with them on the mission in the airport train tunnels. “She’s with Marcus, right?”

Cruz smiled. “Oh, yeah. Has the big guy wrapped around her elegant little finger.”

Santha smiled, too. “And you’re happy about that.”

“Yeah. Marcus is one of the best men I know. He deserved some happiness.”

Santha’s smile evaporated. And that stuff was in short supply these days.

He showed her to a secured door marked “Operations.” He pressed a palm to an electronic lock. It beeped, and the door retracted.

Inside, was a large room with rows of drone operators in front of live-feed screens and uniformed people hurrying between computer terminals.

“We call that the Hive.” He led her to another room off the main tunnel. “We’re in here.”

Inside, more large screens lined the wall, each one filled with aerial images of the city. All her research had been stuck to the walls, recreated almost perfectly.

Hell Squad lounged around the room.

Marcus stepped forward. “You look better.”

Santha nodded. “I feel better. Thanks for getting me out.”

Shaw sauntered forward with a smile. “Anytime you need a team to go into hell, we’re there.” He touched a finger to her chin. “You look really good.”

Cruz made a growling sound. “Back off, Baird.”

Shaw lifted his hands, his face filled with mock fear.

Santha fought off a smile. “Good shooting with that ptero.”

The sniper gave a little bow. “I’ve been blessed with several skills.” He waggled his eyebrows. “If you ever want to shake Neanderthal man here, I’ll show you what else I’m good at.”

Claudia made a gagging noise from where she leaned against the wall. “God, you’ll hit on anything and anyone, won’t you.”

Shaw ran his tongue over his teeth and winked at Santha. “Just the pretty ones, Frost. And the nice ones, which is why you’re excluded.”

Claudia made a rude sound and shot him the finger.

Someone cleared their throat and Santha looked over at the man in front of the screens. He was a little older than her and carried an air of authority and command. He had a handsome face, like movie-star handsome, and a dash of gray at his temples that suited him. His khaki uniform was pressed and neat.