Hunted. Grace Goodwin
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of a reaction. But then, she had just taken down three warriors before they could react.
The Hive had made a mistake in thinking they were safe here. Just as we had. And I’d make it far worse for them, if I ever got out of this cell.
The female ignored me, so I yelled again. “Over here! Shut down the energy field to my cell! I can help.”
That got her attention. She leaned down and ripped an ion blaster from the hands of one of the dead Hive trio. An integrated Viken. Running over, she paused long enough to blast the control panel next to my cell. The energy field dropped instantly and I charged forward, taking the blaster from her hand.
“What is going on here? I thought this was a Coalition controlled base.”
“It was, until just over a week ago. The Hive transported in and ran us over. We had no warning. Thought we were safe down here.”
“Are there any more of you? Other prisoners?” she asked. But she wasn’t looking at me. She was watching the hallway where I knew in about five seconds, three more Hive would appear. Bigger this time. Stronger.
“Many have been transported in. I’ve seen every one of them. How many are left alive, I have no fucking idea.”
I listened again. If I had to guess, I’d say one Atlan and two Prillon warriors. Shit. They wouldn’t go down from a single hit from a blaster. No, they would be much harder to kill.
Something in my tone caught her attention because that dark gaze returned to me, either sadness or pity in her eyes. I couldn’t decide which and wanted neither.
“Take cover. I’ll take them out.” I didn’t need a pity party. Now that I was free, with a weapon in my hand, the buzzing helpless feeling in my head could go fuck itself.
“Three of them are going to be on us in a few seconds. And one of them is… was an Atlan.”
“I know.”
She knew? How? She could hear them, too?
She wasn’t looking at me, not anymore. She’d done as I suggested and had taken cover behind the corner, only her shoulder and her ion blaster a target for the Hive.
Her gaze narrowed and her aim was steady.
Gods help me, she was magnificent. How the hell had she heard the distinct difference in the heavy footfalls of the integrated Atlan? I’d known, but I had Hunter’s senses. She was not an Elite Hunter. I didn’t know what she was, other than beautiful—I glanced at the three dead Viken Hive on the floor behind her—and lethal. Efficient. Ruthless.
“Who are you?” I couldn’t help but ask, even as we awaited the enemy. She was a mystery. A complete and total mystery I very much wanted to solve. “And how did you get here?”
Transport, obviously. But how had she gotten the coordinates? How had she known about this secret Hive integration center?
Of course, the vexing female ignored the questions.
She glanced up at me, her dark eyes sharp. “Are you going to stand there like a target, or are you going to help me get us out of here?”
I recognized the language as one common to Earth. Was she human? And if so, how had she heard the integrated soldiers coming? Or believed one to be an Atlan? Humans were known for their tenacity and courage, not for their superior senses.
“Take cover, warrior. Now.”
That tone of voice—of a commander used to being obeyed—was one I’d not heard from a female often, and definitely not from any female as petite and beautiful as she. I didn’t care what planet she was from. Here, in the middle of a fucking integration center, I got hard. My cock didn’t seem to care that we were about to be set upon by the enemy. It wanted her. And her dominance. Oh, it did something for me. Made my inner Hunter want to show her who was really in charge. Maybe not in this moment, but once I got that uniform off that delectable body, she’d know it was me.
I grinned. Oh yes. I was the Hunter and she was going to quickly discover she was the hunted.
A roar echoed down the corridor, the integrated Atlan in beast mode, gave us warning. With the Atlans, I never knew if they were completely gone to the Hive implants, or still fighting. Sometimes, they would delay a killing blow to give a ReCon team or warrior on the battlefield time to take them down.
A quick death was a mercy.
Positioning myself to cover the female’s position, I checked the power level on the weapon. It was fully charged, and I set the ion pistol to maximum damage. “I’ll hold them off. Do you know how to work transport controls?”
She glanced back at me, over her shoulder, the look full of irritation, her lips tight and thin. “Keep them off us and I’ll get us out of here. We’ll have to come back for any other prisoners.”
“Done.”
She stood, turning so her back was to the wall as I continued to cover the corridor. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Quinn.”
She blinked slowly, as if my name startled her and her gaze roamed my face with intense interest. With something more than simple fighting instinct. “You’re Everian? An Elite Hunter?”
I nodded. “I am.” She seemed to know a lot about my kind. Unusual. Most of the aliens I’d met from Earth barely knew my planet existed.
“Good. Then you should be able to keep them off me.”
It was my turn to be irritated. “Of course.”
She grinned, the mischief in her eyes made me want to kiss her. Fuck. Who was I kidding, I wanted to slam her against the wall and bury my cock deep. But that would have to wait until we got off this rock. I’d silence that sass. Turn it into gasps. Breathy moans of pleasure.
Without another word, she dashed to the control panel, and I turned back to the hallway as the first attacker appeared. The integrated Atlan beast was front and center. The ceilings on this base were ten feet tall, and still he ducked as if afraid he’d strike the top of his head.
He wouldn’t, unless he leaped for a kill.
I fired, non-stop, until the beast hit his knees. Like water flowing around a rock, the other two moved in front of him and kept coming. Prillon warriors, or at least they used to be. They were not my main concern. Two shots for each and they were down, writhing on the ground as the Atlan behind them fought to stand.
“Hurry,” I called. “The beast is coming again.”
“I’m working on it.” The female was bent over the control panel, her fingers flying furiously. The concentration on her face was another fascinating addition to her repertoire, but I didn’t have time to stare, as I would have preferred. I filed the image away for later when I would be able to take my time, perhaps trace her lips with my fingertips as I watched her expression change under my touch.
“We. Kill.” The integrated Atlan was in full beast mode, and apparently, he—they—the trio of Hive, had received orders to kill me. Most likely, they would kill her as well.
“Not today.” I fired, taking my time, hitting the vulnerable spots in the beast’s armor. His neck. His knees. His face, when I could take time for an extra shot.
I heard his helmet crack and fought down a shout of victory. As I watched, he took his helmet off and threw it aside, forgotten.
Gods, he was fucking huge.
I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t. One head shot would take him down now, but I knew him. Had worked with him for the last few months. Before being captured. Since the Hive invasion of this base, I hadn’t seen him once. Until now. Until he’d been integrated enough to be under their control. To fight, to try to kill me.
He was a good male. Honorable. A true warrior.
“Damn you, Zan.”