Cruz: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

curses.
    Santha . Cruz waited for his eyes to adjust. It had to be.
    He’d studied her movements on their drones over the last few weeks. She was a master at sneaking in, setting charges, and blowing raptors to hell.
    Marcus moved up beside him. “Think it’s her?”
    “Yep.”
    “Let’s check it out.” Marcus waved the team on.
    They moved fast now, sticking to the shadows. As they reached the explosion site, they crouched behind some abandoned cars and watched the chaos as raptors milled around a burning gas station. Two raptor armored personnel carriers were parked nearby—damned ugly, squat-looking things. There were plenty of raptor bodies lying on the ground as well, some burned beyond recognition.
    Cruz smiled to himself. Muy bien . She was the queen of destruction.
    Then he spied a few raptors through the flames who looked like they were arguing. Some were gesturing. Cruz grabbed his binocs. He waited for the view to zoom in and saw what they were pointing at. A small pack of canids were loping away.
    Shit . “Canids are on the trail of something.”
    “Okay, Hell Squad,” Marcus murmured. “Let’s circle around these guys and see what’s got the canids so excited.”
    They gave the raptors a wide berth, even though Cruz’s fingers itched to take a few out. But first, he needed to find Santha.
    The team moved away from the gas station and followed the canids. It was easy. The ugly beasts made a hell of a noise. He picked up a darker stain on the ground. Crouching, he pressed a finger to it and lifted.
    Blood . “She’s injured.” Cruz broke into a lope. “We need to move faster.”
    Without comment, the team followed.
    They moved through an overgrown park and back onto the street. Ahead, the canids gave some excited yips, heading for the mouth of an alley. They stopped there for a second and looked agitated.
    Fuck . Cruz lifted his carbine, sighting the first creature in his sights. He opened fire.
    The canid went down. Seconds later, a barrage of laser fire tore into the rest of them as the squad did what they did best. Shaw managed to take down two with one shot. The sniper was magic with his rifle.
    Soon a pile of canid bodies lay at the alley entrance.
    Cruz moved forward, weapon aimed in case any of the canids were playing dead. Nothing moved. He smelled the faintest scent of green trees. He knew that smell—Santha’s canid deterrent spray.
    He stepped into the narrow space between two buildings. It was dark. A dumpster loomed in the shadows. He kept his steps slow, checking for any sign of movement. His heartbeat was loud in his ears.
    Then he saw her slumped against the building. Her dark hair was a tangled mess covering her bent head.
    Madre de dios . He hurried to her, dropping to his knees. “Santha?”
    She lifted head, her eyelids fluttering open. “Cruz?” Her unfocused gaze hit his face. “Must…be dead.”
    “Not yet, mi reina .” He went to touch her and realized she was clutching a frag grenade to her chest. “Can I have this?”
    Her fingers tightened on the pin. “Canids.” A hoarse whisper.
    “We took care of them. They’re dead.”
    She blinked again, like she was trying to process the information. He didn’t think she even realized he was there. “Need to take out as many as I can.”
    His heart simply stopped.
    She’d been planning to fucking blow herself up like a frigging sacrifice.
    Anger was like a molten river storming through Cruz. He worked his jaw while he tried not to yell loud enough to bring raptors down on them.
    Then he saw her thigh. He sucked in a breath. It was a mess. And the dark shadow beneath her wasn’t muck or dirt…it was blood.
    “She’s hurt bad. Someone bring a med kit.” He pressed a palm to her cheek. “Santha, the canids are dead. Give me the grenade and we’ll get you out of here.”
    “Couldn’t save Kareena. Regret…not getting revenge for her.” Santha’s eyelids drooped. “Regretted not kissing you.”
    Her last