Marcus by Anna Hackett

still
lived with her parents because it was convenient, and free.
    Her gaze zeroed back to Marcus. His dark
head was bent now and so she looked her fill. She’d changed. Over
the past year, she’d seen people with values that mattered. People
who risked their lives for others, no questions asked. And who did
it over and over again. The kind of person she wanted to be.
    She fiddled idly with her armor for a minute
before she realized a fastening wasn’t quite done up and it gaped
under her right arm. She jiggled it, trying to get it sorted,
without success. She huffed out a breath. Some soldier she was, she
couldn’t even dress herself.
    She lifted her head and saw Claudia smirking
at her. Dammit, the other woman might be a trained soldier, but
that grating grin made Elle want to smack her.
    “Let me.”
    Marcus stepped in front of Elle. His hands
brushed hers away and he snapped the fastening closed, his fingers
brushing her side for a second. She sucked in quick breath.
    He ran his hands over the molded carbon
fiber pieces, checking them. “A little big but not bad.”
    “Claudia found it for me. Not sure why, I
don’t think she likes me,” Elle muttered.
    “She doesn’t like anyone.” Amusement
underscored his tone. “But actually I think she likes you just
fine. She told me you’re the best comms officer she’s ever
had.”
    “Really?” Elle was floored. “But she’s
always laughing at me. Not out loud, just these little smirks—”
    A snort from behind Marcus. Oh God, she’d
heard.
    “Princess, that’s for Marcus’ benefit, not
yours.” Claudia stepped into view, her carbine slung over her
shoulder. “I just love seeing him squirm.”
    Elle frowned. “I don’t understand.”
    “Shut it, Frost.” Marcus turned his back on
Claudia, blocking Elle’s view of the other woman. “Did you find a
weapon?”
    Elle slipped a hand into the side holster on
the armor and withdrew a small thermo pistol.
    He took it, checked it, handed it back to
her. “It’ll do. It isn’t too heavy for you and it’s easy to use.
Just point and shoot. You have extra ammunition?”
    She put the pistol away and nodded. She had
a stash of thermo bullets. When fired, a chemical reaction was
triggered in the bullets that made them heat up to scorching
temperatures. Hot enough to penetrate tough, scaled skin.
    “I’m nervous.” The words slipped out of
her.
    He set one finger under her chin and tilted
it up. His green gaze was steady. “Nerves are good. You go in
cocky, you get yourself killed.”
    “Okay.”
    He looked at his heavy-duty watch. “Five
minutes until we land. Ready?”
    No. A part of her wanted to curl up
and stay in relative safety on the Hawk. She straightened her
shoulders. She wasn’t that girl anymore. Besides, Marcus would be
by her side.
    “I’m ready.”
    He turned to the team. “Hell Squad, ready to
go to hell?”
    “Hell, yeah!” Elle raised her voice to mix
with the rest of the team. “The devil needs an ass-kicking.”
    ***
    Marcus activated his combat helmet and once
it was in place, leaped the couple of meters from the hovering
quadcopter to the cracked concrete. He kept his gaze up, searching
for any waiting raptors.
    Around him, his team also hit the ground.
They crouched low, guns up, and headed for cover.
    Marcus turned and held his arms out for
Elle. She didn’t hesitate to jump. He caught her slight weight,
took an extra second to hold her close, then set her on her feet.
“Let’s go.”
    They jogged toward what had once been a
shopping mall. Now the large sign above the doors hung lopsided,
and all the windows in the triple-story building were broken. In
the parking lot, cars were piled on top of each other and tipped
over, as though they were nothing more than toys that an angry
child had kicked.
    Or an angry rex.
    “It’s so quiet,” Elle whispered.
    Yeah. Too quiet.
    They were ten meters from the safety of the
mall entrance when raptor fire ripped across the ground in