Page 14 of North (Hunter Squad #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

North

I gasped for air.

It was hard to breathe.

Fuck . My face was covered entirely by the sticky substance. I couldn’t see a thing. Every breath was hard work.

I dragged in another one, my lungs burning.

Wooziness made my limbs heavy. It couldn’t be lack of oxygen affecting me yet. Maybe it was the damn sedative Jess’ tests had detected.

Soon, I’d pass out. Jess’ face filled my mind. So beautiful, tough, strong.

In such a short time, she’d made me feel so much. I felt like she’d woken me up. I hadn’t realized how much I’d held myself back. I hadn’t wanted to risk falling in love with someone, in case I lost them. I knew up close and personal how dangerous life could be.

Then I thought of my parents. The love they shared. All our big extended family of friends.

So much love and hope.

It was what had kept humans fighting against the aliens, against overwhelming odds.

Jess was worth the risk. She was worth everything.

I heard muffled sounds, but my brain floated away. I couldn’t focus.

Don’t give up. I shoved against the cocoon. I’d give anything to see Jess and my friends again.

Suddenly, light speared into my eyes.

I blinked, my vision blurry. A flashlight was shining in my face.

“North, oh God.”

Jess’ face filled my vision, for real. Her mouth was bracketed by tense lines. She had a knife in her hand, hacking at the cocoon.

Then Jameson was there, tearing the stuff away.

I dragged in a deep breath. Sweet air filled my lungs.

The sticky substance gave way and my body tipped forward. Jameson and Zeke caught me and lowered me to the ground.

“Just breathe.” Jameson pressed fingers to the side of my neck.

I managed another breath, and the wooziness started to clear. Jess was right there, her hand cupping my cheek

“Monster…dragged me off,” I rasped out.

“Take it easy.” Emotion filled her gaze. “God, I was so worried.”

“I’m okay. Help me sit up.”

They helped me up. In front of me, I saw three people huddled together.

“We found the guards,” Jess said. “One was dead.” She rubbed a hand over my back.

I glanced at the remains of the cocoon and shuddered. “It was two of those creatures we saw in the cave. They spray out the sticky substance.”

“Hell,” Jameson growled.

“Yeah, I don’t recommend it.”

Jess gripped my arm. “You’re okay.”

I let my gaze trace over her face. “Yeah, I am now.”

“How about we get the hell out of here,” Jameson said.

I nodded. “Sounds good. I’m fine to move.”

Jess grabbed my hand, and I let her help me up. I was feeling steadier with every second.

Kai stepped forward and held out my carbine. “I think this belongs to you.”

“Thanks, Kai.”

Jess stepped in front of me. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You worried the hell out of me.”

“Sorry.” I couldn’t stop myself. I smoothed some of her hair back from her face. “I was worried there for a bit too.” I lowered my voice. “Thinking of you kept me steady.”

She looked at me, her face softening. She cupped both my cheeks, then went up on her toes and kissed me.

And everything felt better. With a low groan, I slid my arm around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her back.

Marc hooted. “Well, well, you two are sneaky.”

I ignored my friend and finished kissing my woman. I reluctantly set her down.

“Don’t do that again,” she said.

“Kiss you or get trapped in a monster cocoon? Can’t say that second one is high on my to do list.”

“Get hurt and worry me.”

“Okay.” I pressed another quick kiss to her lips and nuzzled her.

“I’ve got something that belongs to you too,” she said.

I smiled. “You.”

Her lips twitched. “Apart from that.” She held up a small white object.

I saw the small robot and my smile widened.

“It helped me find you. We had no idea where you were or what had happened, then I saw this.”

“Hudson was right, it did help protect me.”

“Make sure you keep it on you all the time.”

“I will.” I slid the toy into my pocket.

“All right, everyone, let’s get out of here,” Jameson ordered.

Dodging torn cocoons and dead monsters, we stepped outside. The faint inklings of sunrise were coloring the eastern horizon in faint gold and pink.

“It’s a shame we didn’t find some cider,” Marc said.

“I did,” Zeke said. “There are some barrels inside.”

“What? You didn’t mention it. You should’ve grabbed a couple.”

“Was kinda busy fighting monsters.”

“Ah, guys,” Sasha said. “I’m picking up something inside the warehouse. A large heat signature is flickering in there.”

Jameson frowned. “There were no monsters left.”

“Something is lighting up my scans. I —”

There was a deafening roar. We spun, just in time to see the roof ripped off the warehouse. Dirt sprayed into the air.

A giant black leg broke through the top of the warehouse. Then another.

“It came out of the damn ground,” Kai said.

The giant monster hauled itself out of the ruined building.

“Fuck me,” Marc breathed.

“Oh, god, we’re going to die,” Marina whimpered.

We pushed the guards back behind us and whipped our carbines up.

“We need weapons,” Kitt said urgently. “We can fight.”

“Give them blasters,” Jameson said, not taking his eyes off the monster.

“Oh no,” Jess murmured beside me.

My head whipped up. That’s when I saw the glow on the spiderlike creature’s bulbous abdomen.

A sickly green-yellow.

“It’s the same acid substance from the monsters on the beach,” Jess said.

“Back up,” Jameson bellowed. “Into the trees.

We walked backward, but the creature had locked on us and stepped forward. It had giant mandible pincers that snapped together angrily. Several red eyes locked on us.

“Light it up,” Jameson said.

We opened fire. The monster roared, but looked unaffected. It stabbed at us with one leg.

Jess leaped backward, knocking into me. We hit the ground and rolled. The sharp end of the leg speared into the dirt a meter away from us.

Shit . My pulse took off like a rocket. Another leg slammed down, dirt spraying us.

“Up.” I boosted her to her feet and leaped up. I yanked my knife out and stabbed at the leg.

My blade screeched across the leg. It was made of a hard black shell, impenetrable.

“The body’s too hard,” I yelled.

Another leg slammed down.

I dashed backward. The others were still firing but the laser wasn’t doing anything.

Nearby, Zeke climbed into a tree. He moved up the branches quickly. Balanced on a thick branch, he pulled out a knife. It was far bigger than standard combat issue ones we all carried.

“Keep it busy,” Zeke called out.

Marc stepped into view and waved his arms. “Hey, ugly.”

It skittered around, looking at Marc and ignoring Zeke. One leg slammed down and Marc dodged.

He laughed. “Have to be quicker than that.”

I saw another leg swing at him. “Marc, look out!”

He glanced back but there was nothing he could do. It swept him off his feet and tossed him into the air. He smashed into a tree trunk, then fell to the ground. With a groan, he staggered to his feet.

Above, Zeke leaped from the branch onto the creature.

He landed on one leg and clung with one arm. With his other, he lifted his knife, then hacked into the leg joint.

The creature roared. It spun, but Zeke held on. He hacked again, and again, and the leg joint broke. The creature bucked, and Zeke went flying.

“Zeke!” Marc yelled.

Zeke hit the ground hard. He tried to push up, but collapsed.

We kept firing our carbines.

Even with its broken leg, the monster hobbled closer to Zeke. Crap . It was going to trample him.

I raced toward my friend, firing at the monster.

But the laser fire was just making it angry.

It waved two legs in the air and let out a deafening screech.

Jess

God, it was huge.

We all kept firing, for all the good it was doing.

My gaze swung to North. He’d pulled a dazed Zeke up and had an arm around his broad form.

The monster let out another screech, shifting to focus on the men.

Shit, it was going to attack them.

“Hey!” I yelled and fired at its face. “Over here, asshole.”

It roared, two legs slamming down into the ground.

“North, hurry!” I shouted.

But the massive body moved, the hungry red gaze locking on North and Zeke again.

My chest locked. No .

There was a whoosh of sound. A Talon flew overhead, its auto-turret firing.

“Everyone get clear,” Colbie’s voice said across the comm line.

“Nice timing, lark,” Marc said.

I raced toward North and Zeke. I slid my arm around Zeke and helped North carry his weight. Zeke looked at me, but his pupils were dilated, his face dazed.

“Concussion?” I said.

“Likely,” North replied.

Suddenly, the monster reared up in front of us, one black leg spearing into the air.

It hit the Talon.

“Colbie!” Marc yelled.

The Talon spun. I gasped, my insides freezing. I imagined Colbie fighting for control.

“Hell,” North said.

We watched the spinning quadcopter. It was going to crash.

But a second before it hit the trees, the aircraft evened out.

“I’ve got it,” Colbie said. “I’m okay.” The Talon moved away from the monster.

Nearby, I saw Marc’s chin drop to his chest as he sucked in a breath. “Shit, lark, don’t worry us like that.”

“I have a warning light. I need to land.” The Talon passed overhead and out of view.

The monster roared.

“Retreat,” Jameson ordered.

We all turned and ran through the orchard. But Zeke couldn’t move very fast, and he was heavy.

The guards ran ahead of us.

I heard crashing behind us and glanced back.

The monster was mowing through the orchard, trampling and ripping up trees.

“Faster,” I cried out.

Jameson and Kai stopped, firing back on the monster. They both tossed grenades.

I heard the explosions, but it barely slowed the creature down. The monster roared again. It was gaining on us.

“Shit.” Jameson glanced around.

There was nowhere to go. No shelter. No way to hide.

My throat tightened.

I looked up and met North’s gaze.

I wanted to fall in love with him. I wanted to live, I wanted a life with this man.

“You guys need a little help?” a gravelly voice said over the comm.

A second Talon came into view.

Two men stood in the open doorway.

My chest hitched. It was Marcus Steele and Uncle Cruz.

Both men fired carbines down on the monster. A second later, the Talon swung around, and the large turret on the quadcopter opened fire.

“Get clear, everyone,” Sasha said. “ Now .”

We kept hobbling out of the orchard. Marcus and Cruz rained down hell on the beast. Heavy laser fire ripped into the monster.

Its enraged roar turned to pained screeches.

Then, the laser fire hit the poison on the creature’s back.

“Fuck,” Cruz said. “ Dios mio .”

Green-yellow goo exploded into the air, then rained down.

We were out of range. The goo splattered over the monster.

The creature jerked and spun, its hard shell burning. I heard the sizzling from where we stood.

A moment later, the creature collapsed.

“Take that, you ugly fucker,” Marc said, blowing out a breath.

Kai and Jameson gave each other a fist bump.

Behind Zeke’s back, I felt North’s fingers reach out and touch me.

“You guys do this for a living?” Kitt’s face was pale.

“Not always this…” Jameson shook his head. “Yes, it’s pretty much always like this. We do it because someone has to.”

Kitt nodded. “Thank you. For doing that and for coming for us.”

Behind Kitt, Marina and Harry both nodded.

“Always,” Jameson said. “Working together is how we stay strong. It keeps us safe.” He jerked his head. “Now, let’s get you guys home.”

We walked out of the orchard and onto a road. I saw Colbie’s Talon nearby. The pilot was out, circling the quadcopter and checking the damage.

“Let’s sit Zeke down,” North said. “I need to check him.”

We lowered Zeke to the ground. North crouched in front of the man and pulled his medical backpack off.

A second later, the other Talon came in to land, air washing over us.

Marcus and Cruz leaped out of the quadcopter and walked over to us. They were both wearing older-style, battered armor. They were both also smiling.

“We’ve still got it,” Cruz said.

“Hell, yeah,” Marcus replied.

“Good timing, Dad.” Jameson and his father slapped each other on the back.

Cruz came to me and hugged me. “You okay?”

“Yes.” I glanced back at the ruined warehouse in the distance. “I do want to get some more samples of the cocoons and compare them with the earlier ones.”

He shook his head. “I dramatically save the day, and all you can think about is studying the monsters.”

I grinned at him. “Yes, but thanks.”

“You can make me your enchiladas as a thank you.”

“You bet.”

North flashed a small light in Zeke’s eye, then pressed an injector to his neck. “He’ll be fine. He just needs to be monitored.”

“Luckily you’ve got a hard head, bro,” Marc said.

Zeke just grunted.

Colbie headed over. “I missed the party.”

Marc stepped toward the pilot, then stopped. “You okay, lark?”

She wagged a finger at him. “Don’t call me that. I’m fine.”

“You nearly crashed.”

She tossed her red hair back. “Nearly doesn’t count.”

That’s when another man emerged from the second Talon, wearing a flight suit. Colbie’s face lit up. “Dad.”

Finn Erickson had a tall, lean body and tousled blond hair. He caught Colbie, hauling her off her feet, and hugged her. “You okay?”

She nodded. “My Talon’s fine, it’ll just need minor repairs. Nice flying.”

Finn smiled. “Right back at you, flygirl.”

That’s when North grabbed me. I grinned at him. “We made it.”

He didn’t reply. He just hauled me close and kissed the hell out of me.

With a moan, I gripped the front of his armor and kissed him back.

“Wait a second.” Cruz frowned. “You two are…? This is kind of sudden.”

I leaned into North. “Oh? How long was it until you had Aunt Santha pregnant?”

Cruz scratched the back of his neck. “This isn’t about me and your aunt. It’s about making sure no one takes advantage of you. About keeping you?—”

“Don’t worry, Uncle Cruz, this is the real deal.” North looked at me and my heart melted. “Jess is mine. I promise I’ll take good care of her.” His thumb rubbed across my cheekbone.

“As long as I get to take care of you in return,” I murmured.

“Deal.”