Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Colbie
Our footsteps echoed down the concrete corridor.
I kept expecting a monster to jump out of every shadowy corner. I kept my eye on Marc. He looked fine, but it would take a while for me to forget seeing him in pain, bleeding, dying.
I pulled in a shaky breath. I couldn’t imagine a world without him. Without his charm, his humor, the way he lit up a party, and lightened the mood.
He always found the fun in everything. And I knew the world needed that.
But a part of me knew it was a front. Zeke could brood, and get lost deep in his head. Marc considered it his job to pull his twin back into the light.
Marc liked to make people think he was never serious, but really, he was a protector, through and through.
He’d been willing to die for me to escape.
“These look like they were all personal quarters.”
At his voice, I looked up. He was looking inside a room. Beds were covered in rubble and dust, but once people had lived here and called it home.
I poked around. A small flash of white caught my eye. It was a deck of cards. “Look.” I lifted them.
“Wonder who they belonged to,” he murmured.
I slipped them into my pocket.
We continued on, and soon came out near what had to be the kitchens. The roof had caved in from the upper level.
“Look,” he said.
Two large skeletons lay on the ground. Raptors. I shuddered.
The skeletons were huge, so I bet seeing them in real life would’ve been terrifying.
I tried to peer through a partially blocked doorway into what had looked like some sort of recreation room.
I couldn’t see much, but I noted an overturned table and a rotting couch.
Dad had probably hung out here with Hell Squad.
I wondered if we’d get to see the Hawk hangers.
They were the earlier predecessors to the Talons.
There was a noise and we both froze. I looked back down the corridor.
“Quick,” Marc whispered.
He pulled me deeper into the ruins of the rec room. He pulled me down behind the bulk of the couch. There wasn’t much room and we were pressed together. I was practically sitting in his lap.
He carefully peered around the edge. I heard another noise, then the snuffle of a creature. My pulse spiked.
Marc shifted underneath me and I felt the flex of his muscles. I remembered looking at his bare chest. All those sinewy muscles.
Not the time, Colbie.
His mouth pressed to my ear. “Monster.”
I slowly peered around the edge of the couch. A dog-like monster was skulking down the corridor. It stopped, sniffing the air.
God. My stomach clenched. Don’t smell us. Move along.
It paused, maybe for a few seconds, but it felt like an hour. Then it lifted its head and kept trotting down the hall, continuing on its way.
I slumped against Marc. “Thank God.”
He made us wait several minutes, then he nodded. “Okay, looks clear.”
We headed back into the corridor, and turned in the opposite direction to the monster.
“I studied the base layout as a kid,” I told him. “Maybe we can find the control room.”
Marc shook his head. “It was destroyed in the attack. Dad talked about it.”
“Damn.”
“Maybe we’ll find something in the hangar?”
“That’s right near where Hell Squad, the berserkers, and Selena set off the bomb that killed the Gizzida.” It was a part of our history. I really wanted to see where it had happened.
We carefully made our way through the maze of corridors, and thankfully didn’t run into any more monsters.
I clambered over a mound of rubble, and down some stairs.
It looked like there was something living in the stairwell.
There was a nest of old, rotted fabric piled up in a corner of the landing. A rank smell hit me.
“God.” I pressed my arm to my nose.
Suddenly, the nest of fabric moved.
“What the hell?” Marc nudged it with a boot.
I heard chirping squeaks. Three tiny monsters popped their heads up.
“Oh.” They were sort of cute, except for the sharp fangs. They snapped at us, clearly hungry.
“Let’s not hang around for when mama returns,” Marc suggested.
We quickly exited the stairwell and entered another concrete corridor.
“Colbie, I want to clear the air.”
I looked at him. “What?”
“About the kiss.”
My stomach dropped and I turned away. “We agreed to forget it.”
“I hurt you.”
I hunched my shoulders. “It is what it is, and it’s in the past. Let’s focus on the present.”
“You’re my friend. You saved my life.”
Friend. Ugh. I spun to face him. “And you saved mine. Let’s leave it at that.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I hate that I did.”
A muscle ticked beside my eye. He wasn’t going to drop it. “I’m not hurt.” I held my hands out. “I’m fine.”
“I just—”
Anger stabbed through me. “Want to rub it in and make me feel maximum embarrassment?”
His brow creased. “Embarrassment?”
Dense man. “You acted like it was the worst kiss of your life. That you couldn’t bear the thought of kissing me, and you made it very clear you didn’t like it.”
Something flashed in his eyes. “Colbie—”
“Which is fine. I just… God, kissing complete strangers at Hemi’s bar clearly feels good, but not when—” I shook my head. “Can we just drop it?”
“I liked the kiss.”
I laughed darkly. “Right.”
He grabbed my arm. “I liked it a lot. It wasn’t that.”
I huffed. “What was it, then?”
“I wanted it too much.”
I frowned. He was making no sense. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better, Marc. I’m a big girl. Let’s just never discuss it again.”
“I’m not lying.” He pulled me closer. “I wanted to kiss you so badly it was like there was a fire in my gut.”
I froze, staring at his rugged face.
“I knew kissing you how I wanted to would change things.”
“Marc,” I whispered.
He hauled me against his chest, and his mouth came down on mine.
I froze for a second, then sensation hit me hard. I didn’t even take a second to process it. I wasn’t Colbie. I wasn’t lost in Blue Mountain Base. I wasn’t mad at Marc.
I was just pure need.
I pressed into him, wound my arms around his neck, and opened my mouth.
He took that as an invitation to do whatever he wanted. His tongue plunged into my mouth and I kissed him back. His low groan made me tingle, and my stomach did a dizzying, pleasurable swoop.
The kiss was hot, frantic. Desire was a hot hunger that burrowed deep into my veins. I clenched my hands in his dark hair.
He broke the kiss, and I felt lost in hazy pleasure, my lips swollen and tingling.
“Christ, I knew your mouth would undo me.” His lips crashed back against mine.
Yes. My hands tangled in his hair and tugged.
He backed me against the wall, and the kiss turned even hotter, wilder. He was all heat, strength, and sexy man.
I wanted that. I wanted all of him.
With a nip of my bottom lip, he lifted his head. “Jesus.”
My cheeks heated.
We were both panting, staring at each other.
“You’re a great kisser, dove.”
“Oh.”
“I liked kissing you,” he said.
I believed him. One, because his hard cock was nudging my belly, and two, because that had been one hell of a kiss. It had been a soul-deep unraveling.
Then his gaze shifted to the side and his eyes widened. “Colbie, look.”
I turned my head and gasped.
The door he’d just ravished me against—or I’d ravished him—was marked with a sign.
Communication Hub.
Marc
Trying to focus on the communications room was damn hard. I could still taste Colbie on my lips, feel her body pressed against mine. Blood was still pounding through my veins.
The instant I’d touched her, she’d gone up in flames.
I knew exactly how hot she’d be naked under my hands.
A muscle flexed in my jaw and I tried to focus. I watched her touch the electronic lock on the door. It didn’t work, of course. She pulled the emergency handle beside the door. Nothing happened.
Hell, I’d kissed a lot of women. None had left me fucking lightheaded before. I discreetly rearranged my hard on, then gripped the door. I needed to get us out of here. Not be thinking about how it would feel to fuck her.
I shoved the door, and it slid sideways with a protesting creak.
The room inside was dusty. Colbie hurried in, then jerked to a stop with a gasp.
Old, rust-red blood splattered the walls and the chair in front of the comms equipment.
There was no body, but someone had died here.
“Dove.” I rested my hand on the back of her neck.
She lifted her chin and nodded. “I’m all right.”
We moved toward the equipment. It was old, but the tech wasn’t that different to what we used today. Obviously, the alien invasion had stopped the swift advancement of some things.
She pulled a chair over, dusted it off, and sat. She touched the screen. “No power.”
Dammit. “It should have some sort of backup.” I walked to the end of the room and spotted some cables dangling out of the wall. Shit.
I gripped one. It had been torn free and was ruined. The next one wasn’t damaged. I plugged it into a slot. Nothing happened. I tried a few more slots.
Suddenly, lights flared to life on the panel.
“You did it.” She grinned at me, then her fingers started flying. “No audio, but it looks like I can send a text message.”
As she worked, I checked the rest of the room, but didn’t find anything useful. I moved back to peer out of the doorway, wanting to make sure we hadn’t attracted any unwelcome visitors.
“There, message sent.” She closed her eyes for a second. “I hope it made it.”
I did, as well. If we couldn’t get a message out, the journey out of the base, through the Blue Mountains, and all the way back home would be incredibly dangerous.
There was a low chime, and she spun back to the console. “We got a reply!” She tapped. “Thank God. Squad Command got the message. Sasha responded.” Colbie grinned. “She’s pretty happy we’re alive.”
My lips quirked. Sasha was never shy about sharing her feelings.
“Hunter Squad had reluctantly returned to base. But they’re on standby to come and get us.” She gasped. “They were attacked by a flock of the avian monsters that brought my Talon down.”
Hell. “They’re okay?”
She nodded. “They’re doing repairs on Gavin’s Talon.” She groaned. “And there’s more. There’s a bad storm brewing over the mountains. Sasha asked if we’re safe enough to stay put until it clears.” Colbie wrinkled her nose. “That will be tomorrow morning.”
Shit. I knew flying and trying to evacuate us in a storm would be risky, especially if these avian monsters were in the area. “The infirmary is safe enough. We can last until tomorrow.”
She nodded and tapped back a reply. “Yeah. I don’t want another Talon damaged, or Hunter Squad taking a huge risk.” The console chimed again. “Okay, Sash says they’re going to plan a pickup. She’s sent evac coordinates. They’ll pick us up tomorrow, as soon as it’s daylight.”
I nodded and glanced at my watch. We had roughly twenty-four hours.
Colbie rose. “Now what?”
“We head back to the infirmary. It’s not safe to wander around this place too much.”
“We need more food.”
I jerked my chin up. “I’ll take a look around for the kitchen.”
She shook her head. “We stick together. We’ll take a look around for the kitchen.”
I frowned. God, she was stubborn. I just wanted her somewhere safe. “We don’t need to put both of us at risk.”
“We’re better together. Have each other’s backs. What if I get attacked while I’m alone?”
Crap, I hated the idea of her being out of my sight.
“It won’t be much of a detour on the way back to the infirmary,” she added.
“Fine.” I gritted my teeth.
She flashed me a smile that told me just how much she liked pushing my damn buttons.
She was right. If she was with me, I’d be able to protect her.
We moved silently down the corridor. The walls were covered with old scorch marks from laser fire. It could’ve come from my dad’s carbine as he’d fought off the Gizzida.
I glanced at Colbie. She was wearing a tank top that showed off her slim arms and clung to her chest. I let my gaze run over her.
That kiss…
I tried to stuff the desire I felt back into its box, but now it was out. Now that I’d had a taste of her, it seemed impossible to ignore.
She could’ve died. I swallowed and my throat was as dry as dust. I could’ve died. We were still in a dangerous situation, living in a dangerous world.
Did I want to die not knowing what being with Colbie would be like?
Not knowing all that fierce passion and having it directed my way?
“Marc, look at that,” she breathed.
It was the Hawk hangar. Through the large doorway, I spotted a ruined Hawk. I noted Colbie eyeing the older-model quadcopter eagerly.
We walked through the doorway, our footsteps echoing through the massive space.
“Wow. I can just imagine my dad flying one of these.”
As we moved farther, we came to a large depression in the concrete floor with scorch marks around it.
“This is where the bomb went off,” I murmured. The bomb that had destroyed the alien invaders.
“Oh.” She moved to the edge of the crater. “Incredible.”
It was a shame it hadn’t also destroyed the monsters they’d created.
But one day, we’d do it. We’d kill the creatures and the world would be safe again.
Suddenly, there was the distant echo of a monster roar. We both spun.
It didn’t sound close, but it was definitely inside the base.
“It came from that tunnel.” I gripped her arm as I nodded toward a distant tunnel on the other side of the hangar. “Let’s get moving. In the other direction.”
“The squad locker rooms are over there.” She pointed. “Maybe there’ll be supplies.”
I frowned. “We need to be quick.”
We moved through a broken door, and I glanced at the lockers lining the walls. Debris covered the floor from where a wall had collapsed.
Colbie quickly checked the lockers she could access. “Yes! I found some old MREs.” She found a drawstring bag and shoved the meals inside.
I spotted an old-model carbine on the ground. I snatched it up. Unsurprisingly, it was out of charge. I scanned the room. There. Several chargers were attached to the wall. I ripped one off.
“Will that still work?” she asked.
“I’ll try to charge it up in the infirmary and we’ll see what happens. I’d prefer a carbine in my hand over a blaster. Ready?”
She nodded. We slipped back out and crossed the hangar.
“From memory, there should be a shortcut through maintenance, where they worked on the Hawks,” she said. “It’ll be a shorter trip back to the infirmary.”
I lifted my chin. The double doors to the maintenance area were ajar. We edged inside, then stopped.
“What the hell?” Colbie breathed.
The entire large space was filled with cocoons.
My heart kicked hard, my pulse spiking. There were possibly hundreds of the oval-shaped balls made of a dense web-like substance, disappearing into the shadows.
It looked like a freaking horror movie.