Cruz: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 2) (8 page)

She couldn’t picture Cruz doing anything except what was right. “I heard Mexico got hit pretty hard in the invasion.”

“Yeah.” He was lost in his memories. “It would be a favor to the world if my uncle and cousin didn’t make it.”

“How did you get out?”

“The job had lost its shine a long time before I found the courage to leave. It wasn’t fun, exciting or edgy anymore. I was an enforcer…I killed people.” He shook his head. “Most of them were scum, but some weren’t. I have to live with that. At the time, I felt like my soul was disappearing, little piece by little piece.”

She knew that feeling. Felt it every day when she remembered Kareena, when she went out to fight the raptors.

“But there was one thing that finally made me snap. My cousin, Manuel…he’d always had a thing for young girls. They flocked to him and he joked how once they’d tasted his pleasures, they never wanted to leave. That he made them feel special.” Cruz closed his eyes. “I should have known something was wrong. He never let anyone back to his cottage on my uncle’s property. But one day, I needed to talk to him and he wasn’t answering his phone.” A grimace of disgust crossed Cruz’s face. “He…had a torture chamber. None of those girls had left him, because he’d tied them up, was raping them, cutting them, torturing them.”

Santha hissed in a breath.

“I never sunk as low as rape,” Cruz said. “Or to fucking hurt kids, or cut a woman open…” He closed his eyes for a second. “Most of those girls died, but I made sure Manuel wouldn’t hurt any more little girls and I went home.”

“Your parents?”

“Welcomed me home. Told me they loved me.” There was a sad smile on his face. “I had a hard time adjusting and knew if I didn’t try and make amends, I’d probably end up an addict myself. I joined the United Coalition Marines instead.”

“And here you are.”

“Yeah, after a lot of blood, sweat and tears—” he stepped closer to her “—here I am.” He reached out and fiddled with her hair, his fingers brushing against her ear. “So, you were SWAT?”

His touch had warmth flooding her and her pulse tripped. “Yes. I always knew that was what I wanted to do.” She wrinkled her nose. “I like guns.”

“Music to my ears,
querida
.”

She smiled. “I got a criminology degree, became a police officer and as soon as I was eligible, took the SWAT test.”

“SWAT’s not for the faint of heart.”

“Nope. But I loved it. Had a great team.” Her heart clenched. “They were killed in the invasion. I was on leave that day and they were annihilated in the fighting.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was glad that at least I was with Kareena. But then a week later…”

“Tell me about her?”

“She was the sunshine. That’s what my father used to call her. Our parents had us late in life and after they passed away, it was just the two of us. She laughed a lot and loved helping people. She was a nurse.” Santha caught Cruz’s gaze. It was nice to remember the good times. “And she was a great cook. Made the best chicken curry in the world. It was packed full of spices—turmeric, ginger, cumin. And she’d always make homemade chapattis, an Indian flatbread.” Santha released a long breath. “God, I miss her cooking.”

He smiled. “I understand. I still miss my dad’s tamales.” Cruz’s fingers were back at her ear, tracing the shell.

All thoughts of her sister flew out of Santha’s head. She gripped his wrist. “Cruz, this is crazy. We barely know each other. We have other things to focus on…this just gets in the way.”

His hand settled on her neck, his thumb brushing against her racing pulse. “We do know each other. We know the stuff that counts. I know you’re stubborn, intelligent, can handle a crossbow, and so courageous it scares the hell out of me.”

She frowned. “That doesn’t sound very attractive.”

He nudged her closer to him. “I’m a soldier,
mi reina
. Believe me, watching you handle a crossbow is goddamned foreplay.”

She pressed her palms to his chest and laughed. God, it felt good. And so did he. He was hard and smelled good. The tattoo wrapped around his bicep drew her gaze. Drawn to it, she traced a finger over the design. “You’re all those things as well. I could probably throw
arrogant
and
alpha male
in there, too.”

He tipped her chin up and her heart started beating faster. She was helpless to resist this man.

“Then we’re made for each other,” he murmured.

Santha licked her lips, saw his eyes zero in on the move. “I got the impression you have plenty of willing playmates here at base.”

“I don’t want any of them. I want you.” He leaned down and nipped her lip. “Only you,
mi reina.
”

Dammit, why shouldn’t she just leap before looking? The world had gone to hell, things weren’t like they were before, where she’d date a nice guy and then take him to her bed. Now you took what you wanted and grabbed it with both hands, because you never knew when it might be yanked from your grasp.

The thought of a few scorching, sweaty hours with Cruz moving thickly between her legs made Santha feel hot and electric. For a few hours, she could forget and just focus on pleasure.

“Cruz, let’s—”

Something vibrated in Cruz’s pocket. He cursed under his breath. “My communicator.” He yanked it out and checked the screen. Instantly, the slumberous, heated look in his eyes vanished. “One of the drones has found something.”

Santha straightened, and gave her head a small shake. Moving from thinking about sex to the mission jarred her. “What? What was it?”

His head snapped up. “They didn’t say. But they want us in Ops.”

“Then let’s go.”

Together, they hurried back into the base. At a half jog, they made it to the Operations Area and into the Hive.

Marcus and Elle were there with General Holmes.

“What is it?” Santha demanded.

Marcus nodded at a curvy, redheaded woman in a blue uniform at the desk nearby. “Lia here, thinks she’s found something.”

The redhead’s short, feathered hair accented a long, slim neck and a face dominated by large almond-shaped eyes. “I spotted a group of raptors bringing supplies into one of the bases that had been marked as a potential location for the prisoners.”

“Supplies?” Cruz frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “That isn’t unusual.”

“No.” Lia turned. “But one of them dropped a box and the contents spilled out.” She tapped at her comp and an image flashed on the huge screen on the wall.

It showed vegetables spilled out on the pavement.

“I don’t get it,” Marcus said. “Potatoes and spinach, so what?”

But Santha’s pulse tripped. “Raptors are carnivorous. They don’t eat plants.”

“You think this is to feed the prisoners?” Cruz said.

“It’s a possibility,” Lia replied. “I flagged it as a potential item of interest. Then someone special turned up a few minutes later.”

The image changed and this time Santha felt a punch of heat to her gut.

It was the commander.

“We need to get to this location and check it out,” she said. “I don’t care about resting. I’m going.
Now
.”

Holmes held up a hand. “Calm down, Santha. I’ve already given the order for the recon mission supplies to readied for the four recon teams.” His gaze moved between her and Cruz. “Go.”

Chapter Seven

Cruz led Santha into the hangar bay.

They were prepped and ready to head out. Beside him, Santha was fiddling with the armor he’d found for her. It was all-black, and the lightest he could find. The carbon fiber panels slicked over her long, lean body.

“You okay?”

She gave a distracted nod. “I’m not used to wearing stuff like this.”

“That ‘stuff’ can stop raptor claws, or one of their projectiles. You’re more likely to survive in it.”

She touched the laser pistols holstered at her hips and the frag grenades lined up along her belt. “I’m just not used to being this…decked out.”

“Advantage of being at the base. We have good supplies.”

She nodded. “Still, I feel naked without my crossbow.”

“Well…” he moved to the wall and grabbed what he’d stashed there earlier. He handed it to her.

Her mouth dropped open as she took her matte-black crossbow. “Where did you get this?”

“I asked Claudia to bring it with us when we evaced from your apartment. It was a little damaged, but I did some work to it.” He’d spent some of those endless hours she’d been unconscious in the infirmary slaving over it.

She stroked the crossbow like a lover and Cruz’s mouth went dry. When she looked up, warmth glowed in her green eyes. “Thank you.” She walked to him, went up on her toes and kissed him.

The kiss was over too fast. He wanted to grab her and drag her away somewhere private.
Later
, he promised himself.

Santha secured the crossbow on her back. “So, are we taking a Hawk into the city?”

“Nope. We need a bit more stealth than that.” He reached up and brushed the lobe of her ear. “I have something else for you.” He slipped a tiny earpiece into her ear. “Elle, you there?”

“Read you loud and clear, Cruz,” Elle’s voice came through their earpieces.

“Santha’s online too.”

“Hey, Santha.”

Santha touched her ear. “Elle.”

“You need anything—intel, escape routes, raptor numbers—just ask, okay?”

Santha blinked. Cruz could see it was another thing she was adjusting to. An uncomfortable feeling slithered through him. What if she couldn’t get used to all the people, the structure and the other stuff that came with being at base?

What if after this mission, she didn’t want to stay here?

“All right, soldier.” She held her palms up. “Let’s go spy on some raptors.”

He nodded, shaking off his thoughts. He couldn’t afford to think about it right now. He needed a clear head and laser-sharp focus.

“So, if Hawks are out, how are we getting into the city?” she asked.

He waved her toward a door to the next hangar bay. As they stepped inside the dark space, lights clicked on automatically.

“This is our ride.”

Santha gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s called a Darkswift. We use them for covert infiltration.” He watched her circle the sleek, black craft barely big enough to fit two people. “It’s shaped like a glider, seats two people lying down side by side on their stomachs. There are dual controls—” he pointed to the tinted, low-profile canopy “—and it has a small, silent, thermonuclear engine.”

She looked up and smiled. “I
cannot
wait to try it out. Let’s go.”

Cruz opened the canopy. “Climb aboard.”

She stepped in and lay flat on her stomach in the molded space. “Can I fly it?” Excitement vibrated in her voice.

“No.”

She frowned at him over her shoulder. “Why not?”

“You have to be trained.”

She snorted. “That’s a bullshit excuse. You’re just being a man…won’t let a woman drive.”

Cruz arched a brow. “Yes, I want to drive. I’d prefer we didn’t end up crashing into the side of a building. And in case you hadn’t noticed, I am a man.”

Something flashed in her eyes. “Oh, I noticed.”

He let his gaze drift down her body, lingering on her shapely ass. Man, he really didn’t need a hard-on in his armor. Sucking in a breath, he lay down on the other side of the Darkswift’s cockpit.

They were only inches apart. He thumbed a control and the smoky-black canopy closed.

“How come I haven’t seen any of these babies flying around?”

“They have illusion systems and because they’re small and silent, they’re easy to hide. And we usually only use them at night. They’re practically invisible.”

“Cool.”

He smiled at her. “Ready to launch?”

“Ready.”

“Elle, we are go for launch.”

“Okay, Cruz,” Elle said. “Initiating launch now. Good luck.”

Cruz adjusted the controls. A neon-green, heads-up display flared to life in front of him and harnesses snapped closed over their bodies. “There’s a launch mechanism in the floor beneath us. It’ll catapult us into the air.”

“How do we launch to come back?”

“The engine can get us airborne, but not as high as we’d like for maximum stealth.”

Elle counted down steadily in their ears. Ahead, the launch bay doors retracted, revealing a strip of early-evening sky. Below, the valley was a mass of shadows.

“Hold on,” he warned.

Santha gripped the handholds built into the console. A second later, the catapult mechanism released and sent the Darkswift shooting out of the hangar.

As they soared into the air, Santha laughed.

Cruz tapped the controls, his right hand gently moving the control stick. He monitored the display as the computer their checked altitude and adjusted the stabilizers.

Then he turned his head and was caught by the sight of unfettered joy on her face. It made his gut cramp. He suspected she’d had little to laugh about since the invasion.

Finally, their ascent leveled out, and the engine kicked in, sending them gliding silently toward the city.

“I have to get myself one of these,” Santha said. “Are you sure I can’t have a turn flying it?”

“I’m sure.”

A pause. “Maybe I could bribe you with something?”

The slight, seductive drawl in her voice made him go hard.
Dammit
. “You probably could.”

“Hmm, I just have to work out what I have that you want.”

He caught her gaze. “I want everything you have. All of it.”

Her smile evaporated and she just stared at him. “I’m not that special.”

“We covered this already. Brave, helps others and never gives up.”

She snorted. “I’m not a saint, Cruz.”

“I know. I don’t want a saint. Believe me, once I get you in bed, or against a wall, I want the opposite of saintly.”

A faint blush stained her cheeks. “When we get back from this recon mission, then we’ll see.”

Oh, yeah, they would. “Now, stop distracting me. A hard-on in armor is really uncomfortable.”

As she laughed again, he turned his attention to the controls. They soared in over the outskirts of the city. Elle updated him on raptor troop movements on the ground, but thankfully, the air space was free.