Manu (Hell Squad #16) Read online

  “Shit.” Kendra’s voice from nearby. Kate could just make out her silhouette. “Dammit, I stepped on one!”

  “Hold still.” Kate kept her voice calm as she pulled out her portable comp screen that showed the map of landmines. She looked at Manu. “This wasn’t here a few hours ago.”

  “God.” Kendra’s voice was breaking, breath sawing roughly in and out of her chest. “God.”

  “Stay still, Kendra. We’ll get you out.”

  “Kate, we need a plan,” Manu said. “There could be more. Clearly, the aliens planted more of these fucking things after we ran our initial scans.”

  She didn’t care. She was getting her team member out. “I’m not sitting around waiting.” She lowered her voice. “We have no idea how long she’s got. That damn thing could blow at any time.”

  She shifted closer to Kendra.

  Beep.

  Kate froze. Her blood turned to ice. Her gaze lifted to meet Manu’s and he uttered a low curse.

  “Enclave,” Manu said. “I need Squad Three. There are unaccounted for landmines, and Kate and Kendra are standing on two.”

  Indy cursed. “I’m contacting Tane now.”

  “Warn them that there are extra landmines out here.”

  “Oh, God.” Kendra’s voice was frantic. “What’s happening?”

  Kate looked over. The ground beneath Kendra’s boots was bubbling and starting to liquefy.

  “Kendra!” Kate forced herself not to move. She wanted to help, but she was stuck and powerless.

  Suddenly, the ground beneath Kate started to liquefy, as well. Like it was turning to boiling mud.

  “Kendra, move!” Manu bellowed.

  Before Kate could do anything, Manu dove. He hit her hard, lifting her off her feet. They flew through the air. His big body curled around her, and they hit the ground with a heavy, jarring thud.

  Boom.

  Boom.

  Mud sprayed over them, and it was like a replay of the other day. Except this time, the dirt was hot mud. In the chaos, she heard Kendra scream.

  “Let me up.” Kate struggled against Manu.

  He rolled off her and she shot to her feet. Manu rose beside her. They were a few meters from a newly formed crater.

  Kendra was doubled over, writhing on the ground nearby, on the edge of a second new crater. She was covered in blood and mud.

  Then Kate’s gut rolled and nausea rose in her throat. One of Kendra’s legs was a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

  No. Kate rushed over to her. The woman was breathing fast, her body going into shock.

  “Lie down.” Kate kept her voice matter-of-fact and helped Kendra down. Kate yanked her field first aid kit out and grabbed a bandage. She tied it around Kendra’s thigh to stem the flow of blood.

  Manu crouched, his face like stone. He looked pale under his dark skin. He held up a pressure injector. “Pain killer and clotting agent. Hey, Kendra, got some good drugs for you.”

  The woman managed a grimace, and Manu touched the injector to her neck.

  “We’ll take care of you,” Kate murmured.

  “You always do,” Kendra choked out. “No one really sees how dedicated you are. How well you look after your team.”

  Kate’s throat went tight. She stroked Kendra’s bloody hair back from her face.

  One man saw her. He saw right through her. She glanced at Manu before she took out more gauze and wadded it against Kendra’s leg. A second later, the other woman lost consciousness.

  Kate sat back on her heels. “God, Manu.” She pressed a hand to her eyes.

  He leaned down and grabbed her hand. “We’ll get her through this. Together.”

  For the first time in forever, Kate let herself lean on someone else.

  Manu moved closer to Kate, feeling the rigidity of her body. She held her injured team member’s hand, her gaze on Kendra’s face.

  She was holding on, but she was on the edge. Worry for the younger woman was stamped all over her features.

  Manu looked at the woman. Poor Kendra. He felt his own nightmares shift in his head. He remembered all too well how it felt to be in Kendra’s position. He remembered the shock and pain of losing his own leg. His gut churned painfully.

  Suddenly, he heard pounding footsteps behind them.

  “Incoming,” Tane’s voice echoed in his ear.

  A second later, his brother arrived with the rest of the berserkers. They’d come fast and weren’t even wearing full armor.

  “Fuck me,” Hemi muttered.

  “I have a stretcher.” Ash stepped forward, opening up the iono-stretcher. “Doc Emerson and her team are waiting.”

  Kate grabbed Kendra’s arm. “You’re going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Manu gripped Kate’s shoulders and pulled her back. He got an even better view of the woman’s leg. It was a hell of a mess. Manu tasted bile. She’d lose it for sure.

  Manu’s dark memories stirred, like a hungry beast waking from hibernation. Ready to shove against the cage that Manu kept them locked in.

  Ash and Levi lifted the unconscious woman onto the stretcher. Kate was standing still, so still, her gaze trained on her injured team member.

  She stiffened. “What the hell is that?”

  Manu saw she was looking at Kendra’s damaged leg. He leaned closer to get a better look. There was a strange dark patch on the woman’s thigh. What the hell?

  “They…they look like scales,” Manu said.

  “It’s embedded in her skin.” Kate’s voice was horrified.

  “It must be some sort of debris from the mine,” Manu said.

  “Let’s get her to the doc,” Tane ordered.

  Kate swiveled. “There could be more mines, ones we don’t know about.”

  Shit. Manu looked around. “The ones we stepped on hadn’t had time to kill the grass. Just avoiding the dead patches isn’t enough.”

  “I can help with that,” a soft voice said.

  They all spun and Manu saw Tane stiffen.

  A slim woman stood nearby, her dark pants blending into the night, but her pearlescent skin glowing in the darkness. Selena’s silver-white hair was pulled back in a ponytail which accented her overlarge green eyes. A large black bird was perched on her shoulder, huge claws curved over her dark shirt.

  “What the hell are you doing out here?” Tane barked.

  Selena shot him a look, then looked at the injured woman on the stretcher. “The general approved it.” There was a faint trace of attitude in her voice.

  Manu raised a brow. When the alien woman had first been rescued from the Gizzida, she’d been shy and shell-shocked. She was an enemy of the raptors who’d been abducted from her home world.

  Now she was a survivor, far from her own planet, and called the Enclave home. Manu had watched her the last few months and seen her growing stronger.

  “I think I can detect the alien landmines,” Selena said.

  “How?” Manu asked.

  Selena crouched. Her pet, Fluffy, fluttered his sleek, leather-like wings then settled again. He was from Selena’s world, and had been experimented on by the raptors before he’d been rescued by Finn and Lia.

  “I can…” She tilted her head, like she was searching for the right words. “I can detect energies and I can feel the…disturbance caused by the Gizzida technology.” She pressed her palms to the grass.

  Manu glanced at Kate. She was staring at Selena, curiosity on her face. He looked at Tane again. There was something very different on Tane’s face.

  Selena’s hands glowed and she tipped her face back, her eyes closing. Manu didn’t see anything, but he felt a ripple of energy pass over him. The way everyone shifted, he knew the others had felt it too.

  When Selena rose, her eyes were glowing bright green, and Fluffy took to the air. She held her hands up in front of her. Around them, the ground vibrated. In a few places nearby, he saw the ground burst upward, dirt flying. Curses erupted and the berserkers swung their weapons ar
ound, flashlights illuminating the darkness.

  “Holy shit,” Kate murmured.

  Several landmines moved into the air, then gently lowered onto the grass. Their lights blinked, but they didn’t heat up or explode.

  “My range isn’t large, so don’t walk outside of those landmines,” Selena said. “But you should have a clear path to the Enclave entrance.”

  Ash and Levi moved fast, pushing Kendra’s stretcher ahead of them.

  Tane strode up to Selena, his intense gaze on her face. “Back inside now.”

  “There are more mines to find—”

  He gripped her arm. “Tomorrow, in the daylight, and with a full squad protecting you.”

  Selena’s face took on a stubborn look. “You don’t give me orders, Tane Rahia.”

  He ignored her and started pulling her toward the entrance.

  Selena held up a palm. She didn’t touch Tane, but he staggered back a step.

  His gaze narrowed and his voice lowered. “You think a little shock is going to stop me? You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

  Hemi glanced at Manu, his eyes bugging out of his head. He was doing a piss-poor job of hiding his grin.

  Suddenly, Tane gripped Selena’s narrow waist and lifted her. He tossed her over his shoulder and started for the entrance.

  Tane let out a sharp whistle. “Fluffy.”

  The bird swooped in and landed on Tane’s other broad shoulder, seemingly unconcerned that his mistress was being carted off.

  Selena shot a hot glance at her bird. “Traitor.”

  They disappeared into the darkness.

  An interesting interaction for Manu to ponder at a later date. He looked at the other berserkers. They were all grinning and shaking their heads.

  “We’ll do a quick perimeter check.” Hemi signaled to Dom and Griff, and the trio moved off.

  When Manu turned back to Kate, he saw she was staring at the blood on her hands.

  He touched her shoulder. “Kate?”

  “It’s my fault.”

  “It’s the Gizzida’s fault.”

  “Kendra’s on my team, my responsibility.”

  “She’ll live.”

  She spun. “She’ll lose her leg!”

  “But she’ll live. She’ll survive and she’ll adapt. I do it every day, remember?”

  Kate’s eyes flashed. “I remember. But not everyone’s as well-adjusted as you.”

  Manu fought the urge to laugh. Well-adjusted. “I’m not always, but whatever shit life throws at you, you deal and move on. I’ll help her. She’s tough, and she’ll be fine.”

  Kate stood there, looking so alone. Manu wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in to his chest.

  She pressed her face against him and stood there, stiff for a second, before her arms snaked around him. She held on tight.

  He felt like he’d won a prize. Kate Scott was leaning on him.

  “I should have guessed they’d try something like this.” Suddenly, she exploded with anger and yanked away. “God, I hate the aliens. I vowed to protect my team, and they hurt Kendra. Again. Bastards!” Her hands clenched into fists. “I’m going to make them regret this.”

  He liked seeing her release her emotions rather than lock them away, but the violent edge on her face didn’t look healthy. “Kate—”

  “I… I need to be alone.” She spun and jogged back toward the entrance to the Enclave.

  Manu watched her. No, he decided, the last thing she needed was to be alone.

  Swinging his carbine onto his shoulder, he followed.

  Chapter Ten

  Kate sat outside the infirmary. She forced herself to sit still, even though everything inside her was a mass of whirling emotion. She forced herself to stay there. Waiting. Waiting.

  “Kate?”

  Doc Emerson’s voice made her glance up and she shot to her feet. “How is she?”

  “She’s stabilized. I’ve given her a dose of nanomeds.” The doctor’s voice was tired.

  “And her leg?”

  Emerson’s smile dissolved. “It was too badly damaged. We amputated just above the knee.”

  Kate had known it was coming, but God, it was still a blow.

  “She’s alive and her vitals are stable. We’ll work on a prosthetic for her and some therapy. You know Manu and several others here have recovered very well from losing a limb.”

  Kate managed to nod. But she was also well aware it was still a hard road to recovery. She’d seen the shadows in Manu. The things he refused to talk about.

  “Thanks,” Kate murmured.

  Emerson gave her a nod. “Get some rest, Kate.”

  Kate turned and headed down the hall, feeling as though a heavy weight had settled on her shoulders. She’d failed Kendra. The kid had been so damn enthusiastic about joining her team. Kate had let her down, and now she’d lost her damn leg.

  Kate ran into a hard chest and stumbled to a halt. She lifted her head and focused her gaze. Manu. Of course. She’d thought he’d gone to bed, but she should have known he wouldn’t be far away.

  “Kendra okay?” he asked.

  “Lost her leg.”

  “Shit,” he bit out.

  “I’m going to bed.” She pushed past him.

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her back against his chest. “I know you’re hurting. Talk to me.”

  “Like you talk about losing your leg?”

  His face hardened and he remained silent.

  Emotions churned inside her, far too close to the surface. “Let me go.”

  “Never.”

  She shoved at him, the anger inside igniting. “It’s my fault. My fault that she’s in that damn bed minus her leg. My fault she almost died. I let her talk me into joining the team. She’s a kid.”

  “Not really. She’s a young woman coming-of-age in the middle of an alien invasion. She knew the risks. From what I saw, she was happy to take them. Proud of the work she was doing.”

  “She didn’t know that it would almost get her killed.” Kate’s words echoed off the walls.

  “Sure, she did. She knew. You know. We all know.” Manu backed Kate up into the wall. “It’s knowing that it’s worth it. Knowing that dying is worth it to keep the young and innocent alive, and to give humans a chance to survive. So you can hold your head up high and know you’re doing something good and right—” his voice lowered, his lips brushing her cheek “—and it’s knowing the people we care about are safe because of the risks we take.”

  Her gaze dropped to his lips. He was so close, and as always, her body lit up like a damn neon sign.

  “She wanted to be a part of protecting what we have,” Manu said. “Don’t take that away from her.”

  Kate squeezed her eyes closed.

  “Let me in, Kate. Let me hold you and help keep the nightmares at bay.”

  She opened her eyes. “I don’t lean on people.” It came out a husky whisper.

  “I know. They lean on you.” His lips brushed hers. “But I’m right here, babe.”

  “I don’t want to be…”

  “Weak? Makes you stronger to hold on in the rough times.”

  She lifted her hands, her fingers flexing on his wide shoulders. Her gaze dropped to his lips. “I want to forget for a little while.”

  He groaned softly, and then his lips hit hers. As always, the kiss instantly turned hot and hurried. She wanted to absorb his strength, so she could stay standing. She wanted to believe she made his risks worth taking.

  Manu’s big hand grabbed hers and he started down the hall. He was moving so fast she was forced to break into a jog to keep up.

  “Manu—”

  “Quiet.”

  He turned them down one of the corridors, heading to the personal quarters. At her door, he stopped. She hit the lock and led him into her room.

  A light flicked on, spreading a warm glow over the space. He took a second to scan her space. He smiled. “Neat as a pin.”

  They turned and faced
each other.

  “This isn’t a good idea,” she said.

  “It’s an excellent idea. You’re just afraid.”

  She lifted her chin. “I am not.”

  Manu dropped into an overstuffed armchair and spread his long legs. “Prove it.”

  “I’m not a coward.”

  “I know that, Kate. Everyone knows that. But you don’t have to be superwoman all the time. Here, you can just be Kate.”

  Things inside her trembled. She spun. “I’m leaving.”

  She’d barely taken two steps when an arm wrapped around her, just below her breasts. He yanked her back against his hard body, and then his lips were on the side of her neck.

  Fire ignited in her skin and arrowed straight between her legs. She elbowed him, and then she was spinning to face him. They scuffled.

  The man was stronger than her.

  “I’m not an easy woman, Rahia.”

  His eyes darkened. “I know.”

  “I’m tough and used to living my life my own way.”

  A faint smile. “I can handle you.”

  She pressed her hands against his chest and shoved hard, knocking him back a step. His legs hit the edge of the bed, and he sat down on it. He looked like a big, dangerous animal sitting there, his gaze locked on her.

  “I’m not a very passionate woman, either.”

  He snorted. “Bullshit.”

  She frowned. “Well, I haven’t been before now.”

  A wide, white smile unfurled. “So, this is all for me?”

  She climbed on top of him. “Don’t get cocky.” She hesitated. “You sure you can handle me?”

  He smiled. “Very sure, Captain. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  He rolled, pushing her face down on the covers, and pinning her there. She felt his lips on the back of her neck.

  Oh, so good. He found a sensitive spot and she squirmed. She loved his big, hard body against hers.

  “Gonna make you scream my name, Kate.” His lips moved to her ear, nipping at the sensitive flesh. “So many times, you’ll be hoarse tomorrow.”

  The sexy, dirty words were like an arrow between her thighs. She was drenched. What did he mean, so many times? They were both over forty years old. He wasn’t a twenty-year-old anymore. What sort of stamina could he possibly have?