Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Marc
Igripped Colbie’s waist and lifted her into the Talon.
“Marc, your ribs—”
I climbed in after her. “Dove, my ribs will never be too sore for me to get my hands on you.”
She shot me a small smile and shook her head. Then, she turned for the cockpit.
“Hey.” I pulled her close and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “And nothing will ever stop me from kissing you.”
She rewarded me with a larger smile. “Go. Get everyone aboard and let’s get out of here.”
I’d just shrugged off my flamethrower pack when a loud screech made me spin. I watched as North and Kai heaved an unhappy threader aboard.
“Sedative wore off,” North said.
The monster thrashed against the net, knocking into Kai. He hit a row of seats with a low curse.
“North, give it another dose,” Jameson ordered.
The quadcopter’s engines fired up. Zeke and Jess leaped aboard, dumping their flamethrowers.
“Everyone strap in,” Colbie yelled.
“Stay sharp,” Jameson said. “Kai, on the turret. Just in case we have any unexpected visitors.” He touched his ear. “Sasha, we’re back in the Talon with our prize. Heading home.”
“Acknowledged.” Sasha’s relieved voice came through our earpieces. “Well done and see you soon.”
I dropped into a seat that had a perfect view of the cockpit, so I could watch Colbie work her magic. My brain kept wanting to think about that winged monster. I looked out the side window, half expecting to see it flying at us.
This is only the beginning.
I shook my head. Whatever, asshole. Whatever the monster had planned, Hunter Squad would be there to stop it.
We lifted off. Everyone was tense. I wouldn’t be happy until we were home, with our boots on the ground. I wouldn’t be happy until I knew Colbie was safe.
I looked at our squad leader. “Jameson, that winged monster…”
His jaw tightened. “I know. It’s going to be a problem.”
“It looked a little like a threader, but different,” Jess said. “And Colbie said she thought it was communicating with the other monsters. Add in the fact that it can speak our language…” Jess looked troubled.
“It felt…evil.” I shook my head. “That sounds crazy—”
“Whatever the fuck it is, we’ll deal with it.” Jameson’s voice was threaded with steel. “Whatever it tries, whatever monsters it can command, I don’t give a fuck. Hunter Squad will kill it. It’s what we do.”
We all traded glances, then I smiled. “Hell yeah.”
An alarm started blaring from the cockpit. I shot to my feet. What now?
“Colbie?” I called out.
She was bent over the console. “Swarm of those avian monsters that took down my Talon are on an intercept course.”
“Kai,” Jameson bellowed.
“On it.” The turret whined as it fired.
I pushed forward and gripped the back of Colbie’s seat. When I saw the dark cloud of incoming monsters, my gut clenched. “Jameson, there are hundreds of them.”
“Fuck.” Our squad leader snatched up his carbine. “Everyone grab your weapons, let’s—”
“Brace,” Colbie yelled. “There are too many!”
Suddenly, two dark shapes, far larger than the monster birds, whizzed past, firing at the incoming monsters.
I blinked and heard Colbie gasp.
“Darkswifts,” she said.
They were sleek, powered, two-person gliders. I’d used them a few times. The occupants inside lay on their stomachs, with a heads-up display, and canopy over them. The darkswifts were fast, maneuverable, and deadly in the right hands.
“Hunter Squad, looks like you need a hand,” a deep voice said over the comm line.
“Dad?” Kai replied.
Tane Rahia was in one of the darkswifts.
“Yeah, you can’t hog all the action,” another voice drawled.
I straightened, then grinned. “We had it under control, Dad.”
My father’s grunt came clearly across the line.
“Woo hoo,” another deep voice cut through. “Tane, let’s show these young’uns how it’s done.”
“Dad, I told you, no crazy heroics,” Sasha said in exasperation.
“Baby girl, just watch and learn,” Hemi replied.
“Sit tight, Hunter Squad,” a gravelly voice added. “We’ll take care of these monsters so you can get home.”
It was Marcus Steele. Tane and Hemi were in one darkswift, while my dad and Marcus were in the other.
Across from me, Jameson shook his head, but he was smiling.
“Don’t forget us,” Finn said.
Through the cockpit window, two Talons swung into view on the far side of the cloud of avian monsters. They opened fire.
Colbie grinned. “My dad and Gavin.”
Between the Talons and the darkswifts cutting through the swarm, soon a swathe of the monsters was dead, their bodies dropping from the sky. A few stragglers wheeled away, trying to escape.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Finn said.
“Sounds like an excellent plan, Dad,” Colbie replied.
As we flew back toward Dawn, the two Talons moved into place to flank ours. Colbie waved at her dad through the cockpit windshield. The darkswifts sped ahead of us. I felt the tight muscles in my neck start to loosen.
The mountains and dense trees gave way to cleared areas. We passed over a few bustling, walled towns, but also plenty of devastation. Old suburbs of Sydney that had been decimated during the invasion and were still just rubble.
One day, they’d be cleared and would see life again. We’d beaten the aliens, and we’d also beat the monsters. Whatever it took.
Soon, I saw the squat, solid building of Squad Command. Colbie swung the bird around and lowered us down into the base.
I was damn eager to wash this mission off and get Colbie all to myself. I wanted to make things very clear to her.
Once we touched down, I slid the side door of the Talon open. There was a crowd waiting for us. I saw my mom in the back, looking relieved.
“Containment team, get that threader locked up,” Roth barked.
A uniformed group rushed toward our Talon, pushing a large cage. Soon, the threader was behind bars and whisked away.
Maxim strode beside the cage, watching the monster with acute interest. I knew he’d be eager to study it and start planning how to deal with the cocoons.
“Colbie.” Finn appeared, wearing his flight suit, his helmet tucked under his arm. Behind him were my father, Marcus, Tane, and Hemi. All the older men were sweaty but grinning.
Colbie glanced at me briefly before she jumped out of the Talon. She hugged her father.
“Good job, Hunter Squad,” Avery said. “You did well.” Smiling, she turned to the others. “And I guess I should also thank some of Hell Squad and the berserkers.”
Hemi’s wide smile was white against his brown skin. “Any time you need us, we’re happy to kick some monster ass.”
“The cocoons in Blue Mountain Base were all destroyed,” Jameson told the generals.
“Well done.” Marcus clapped his son’s shoulder. “And you brought that threader back.”
“Now, it’s up to the scientists to get to work,” Avery added. “We need to find a way to stop them making the cocoons.”
“There’s more,” Jameson said, voice grave.
Everyone’s attention sharpened.
“We saw another monster.” He turned to Jess.
She took a step forward. “It was a winged humanoid. It looked similar to a threader, but it seemed very intelligent.”
“It was communicating with the other monsters,” Colbie added.
Roth’s scowl was fierce. “Directing them?”
“Yes,” Jameson said.
“And it spoke to me,” I added. “In English.”
There were some horrified gasps.
“You think it’s some sort of leader?” Avery asked.
Jameson nodded. “I think so. I think it’s a part of this cocoon business with the threaders.”
Roth blew out a breath. “Okay. We need to work out what this monster is, and where we can find it.”
“I think Zeke and I saw it in the forest,” I said. “It was watching us.”
The mood darkened.
“We’ll assign more resources,” Avery said. “Jess, your expertise would be invaluable.”
Jess nodded. “I’ll get to work on it.”
Finn wrapped his arm around Colbie. “Come on, flygirl, I bet your mom is keen to see you.”
I pushed forward and grabbed Colbie’s hand. “Uncle Finn, Colbie is coming with me.”
The older man frowned. “We were planning to—”
“No, she’s coming home with me.”
Colbie was watching me. “Marc—”
She needed to know how important she was to me.
I kneeled in front of her, grabbing both her hands in mine. I sensed everyone watching me and I didn’t give a fuck.
“I love you.”
Gasps echoed around us.
“I think I’ve loved you for a while, but a part of me was afraid. Afraid to take a risk, afraid I couldn’t keep you safe.”
I heard a sob and knew it was my mom.
“But you are everything to me, Colbie. I want to spend every hour of every day showing you that.”
Her face softened, her eyes gleaming. “I love you too.”
“I will always be there for you, I will always fight to protect you, and I’ll probably screw up sometimes—”
She dropped to her knees and cupped my cheeks. “And I’ll be there to let you know it.”
There were titters of laughter.
“I love you, Marc Jackson.”
I yanked her into my arms, my mouth touching hers. “I love you so much, dove.” I kissed her.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back.
I heard a clearing throat. Reluctantly, I broke the kiss and glanced up. Finn had a pained look on his face, but he was smiling.
Colbie beamed at me. God, she was the most beautiful thing I’d seen.
I rose, holding her in my arms. I saw my parents. Dad had an arm around my mom. She was smiling and crying at the same time.
Finn arched a brow at me. “I think we need to have a chat.”
Colbie rolled her eyes. “Dad.”
He smiled. “I’m a father to a daughter, it’s my right to get to hassle the man who dares touch my baby.” He met my gaze. “Later.”
I nodded.
“First, we’re going to the infirmary,” Colbie said.
I groaned. “I’m fine. You’re fine. We don’t need the infirmary.”
“You got dropped from a height by a monster.”
“That was barely anything—”
“Marcus Gabriel Jackson, you’re getting checked over,” my mom said in her brisk, means-business tone.
I sighed. “Okay.” I rubbed my nose against Colbie’s. “As long as you come with me.”