Marcus by Anna Hackett Read Free Book Online Page A

gut myself
first.”
    Gabe and Zeke stopped their final
preparations to listen.
    Marcus released a harsh breath. “We need
those crystals to find the alien comms hub, and…for some insane
reason, she wants this. I don’t know, she has some need to prove
herself. All I can do is try and keep her safe.”
    “We’ll all keep her safe,” Gabe said, his
gray eyes intense.
    Marcus knew the quiet man was giving him a
promise. As he looked at the others, they both nodded as well. The
tightness inside his chest eased…a little.
    He turned to Cruz. “If the mission goes to
hell, if I go down, your priority is to get Elle out.”
    His friend nodded. “You got it, Marcus.”
    The locker room door opened, and Claudia
strode in. Her dark hair was braided, and she wore a tank top that
showed off muscled arms. “Hey, Marcus, we might turn your princess
into a warrior, yet.”
    As Claudia opened her locker and started
pulling out her armor, Marcus forced his breathing to slow, in an
attempt to stay calm. “She’s ready?”
    “Yeah.” Claudia pressed her chest armor into
place. “She’s nervous as hell, but she’s hiding it. She might look
like she belongs at a dinner party, but nobody can fault her for
courage.”
    The door opened again, and this time Shaw
sauntered in. His tawny hair was mussed and he had a satisfied look
on his face. “Ladies.”
    Zeke snorted. “Only you would squeeze in a
quickie before heading into hell.”
    The sniper shrugged and grinned. “Any time
is a good time for a quickie, Jackson.”
    Claudia shot him a scathing look and turned
back to her locker. “Some women prefer a man who can last more than
a few minutes.”
    Shaw stiffened. “I can—”
    “Don’t start, you two,” Marcus warned.
“We’re meeting Elle at the Hawk in fifteen minutes, so hustle.”
    Shaw frowned. “Elle? What do you mean? Don’t
tell me she’s coming with us?”
    “Didn’t you read the mission brief?” Claudia
asked snidely.
    He ignored her, his gaze on Marcus. “Are you
crazy? We can’t take her into the heart of raptor territory. It’s
no place for a woman—” he glanced at Claudia, who was already
rounding on him “—without combat training.”
    Zeke snorted again. “Good save.”
    Marcus slashed a hand through the air. “I
don’t want to take Elle, either. But we need her skills. We’ll all
have to keep her safe, get the mission done and then get the hell
out of there. Got it?”
    Everyone nodded. Marcus knew if there was
anyone he could trust, it was his team.
    Hell Squad would help him keep Elle safe, no
matter what.
    He swung his carbine over his shoulder. “All
right, let’s move out.”

Chapter Six
    The quadcopter’s engines were silent but the
wind rushing past the open sides was a constant roar in Elle’s
ears.
    She gripped the bar attached to the roof and
tried to keep her balance. She half-expected a raptor ship to
appear beside them. Shaped liked giant flying dinosaurs, they’d
been nicknamed pteros after pterosaurs or pterodactyls.
    But the Hawk’s pilot would have the copter’s
illusion system running. It didn’t completely cloak the Hawk from
view but it messed with its signature on raptor scans, blurred them
a bit on visual, and used directed sound waves to distort any noise
and make the enemy think the copter was somewhere other than its
present location.
    It didn’t make her feel much better. Fear
was like a slow-eating acid in her veins. She could only hope no
one noticed how badly her hands were shaking.
    The rest of Hell Squad lounged around her.
She wouldn’t say they were relaxed, just focused. Shaw gripped the
edge of the door, staring out toward the horizon, his long-range
laser rifle clutched securely in his other hand. Claudia sat at the
back, checking her carbine. For the third time.
    Cruz sat quietly, staring at the floor, his
lean, handsome face composed, while Gabe and Zeke murmured to each
other in the back. And Marcus was leaning into the cockpit,