Cruz: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 2) by Anna Hackett Read Free Book Online

Infirmary.
    Lifting the sheet, she quickly pulled up the gown to bare her thigh.
    Nothing to see, except smooth, slightly-pink new skin. She rubbed the faint scar and knew in a month or two it wouldn’t even be visible.
    “You’re awake.”
    A pretty blonde woman in a white coat bustled around the bed. Her hair fell in a neat bob around her face.
    “Ah…yes.”
    The woman smiled. “I’m Dr. Emerson Green. Everyone calls me Doc, or just Emerson.” She peered at the tablet she carried. “Your vitals are looking good. We weren’t sure you were going to pull through the nano-med cascade. The bugs had gone to town on your insides.” She set the tablet aside and pulled a slim m-scanner from her front pocket. “But being the medical genius I am, you’re now perfectly healthy.”
    Santha watched as the woman checked her leg. “Thank you. I actually haven’t felt this good in…well, a long time.”
    Emerson smiled. “Glad to hear it. Those nano-meds would have fixed anything they found—injury, malnutrition, exhaustion.” She slipped the m-scanner away. “Now, I’m going to tell Cruz he can come in. I banished him to the hall and he’s been pacing out there impatiently for—” she checked her watch “—three hours.”
    Santha settled back on the pillows and watched Cruz stride toward her. He looked…angry.
    He stopped beside her bed, looming there like a statue. He’d showered and his dark hair was damp. She’d never seen him in anything other than his battle gear. Cruz Ramos in faded jeans and a black T-shirt was…heart-stoppingly delicious.
    “You’re feeling better?” he said with a scowl.
    “Good as new, according to the doctor.”
    He pressed his hands to the side of the bed. “What the fuck were you doing?”
    Santha narrowed her gaze. “Excuse me?”
    “Bombing that raptor supply depot, making yourself a big fat target for the canids.”
    She lowered her voice. “I warned you about the alpha asshole tactics, Cruz. I won’t have it. I was fighting the aliens who are destroying our planet.”
    “You almost died! You would have blown yourself up in that dirty, fucking alley.”
    “Yes.”
    Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. “You died in my arms on the way to the infirmary!” He spun away, lifting his arms and putting his hands behind his head. “Luckily, Doc Emerson revived you.”
    Santha watched his taut back. He was so tense he looked like he might snap. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Damn, it was so good not to have to take days to recover. The nano-meds, for all their trying to kill her, had done their job and left her feeling one hundred percent.
    “I’m fine, Cruz. Perfectly healthy and alive.”
    His arms dropped to his sides.
    She stood and walked up behind him. She pressed a palm to the center of his back and his head fell forward. “Why does it matter to you if I die?”
    He stayed silent.
    “You barely know me,” she said quietly.
    He pulled in a breath. “You fight, you’re tough and smart, and sexy as hell. What’s not to like?”
    Santha trembled. God, just a few simple words and he could bring her to her knees.
    “I’ve never met anyone like you and I know you feel it,” he continued. “This…connection between us.”
    Dammit, she did. But she shouldn’t. Revenge was all she had room for.
    “The first time I saw you was like a damn lightning bolt.”
    She closed her eyes and allowed herself a second to absorb the pleasure of his words. “Caring about people leads to hurt and pain.”
    “Bullshit.” He spun, grabbing her hands. “It doesn’t have to.”
    “In this new world, the raptors will destroy anything you care about.” She was pressed against that hard chest and all the vital warmth of him. He was so painfully alive and she’d felt so cold and alone for so long.
    He lowered his head, his lips just a centimeter from hers. “There can be pleasure as well.”
    Santha had attacked raptors twice her size and escaped packs of