Free Gabe: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 3) by Anna Hackett

stretched over his muscled chest and tattooed arms.
    “Doc, is she okay?”
    There was so much emotion in his voice—concern, anxiety, love. “Well—”
    “Oh, God.” Santha pressed her face into her hands.
    Cruz got a panicked look on his face and strode to her side. “ Mi reina , whatever it is, we’ll deal with it. Together.”
    “Okay.” Santha lifted her head, took a few deep breaths. “I’m pregnant.”
    He went tense. “Pregnant? With a baby?”
    “Well, I hope it isn’t a kitten.”
    “A baby.” He breathed the words with reverence. “We’re going to have a baby. Jesus, Santha.” He yanked her into his chest and buried his face in her hair. “A baby.”
    Love. This was what it looked like. Emerson pressed a hand to her chest. It was so damned nice to see it amongst the horror and terror she dealt with most days.
    And she wanted it.
    Boy, did she want it.
    After they’d worked out a schedule for some wellness appointments, the couple left and Emerson headed back to her office. She had some files to go over and she needed to beef up the schedule for regular blood donations all the base residents had to give. Supplies were running a little low. But instead of work, she found herself just sitting there, staring into space. She wanted Gabe to look at her the way Cruz looked at Santha.
    She just had no idea what she was going to do about it.
    Work . She had work to do. Emerson plunged into her files like a woman possessed. When she lifted her head, her neck was stiff. She rubbed at it and eyed her watch. Hours had passed. She stared down at the medical file open in front of her. It was from one of the lab survivors. Some of his test results were strange. She’d need to run some new tests and investigate further.
    But for now, she needed to check on Jason and get to her bed.
    The lights in the infirmary had been dimmed, but the lamp was on beside Jason’s bed. He was sitting upright, rocking back and forth, his face in his hands.
    She frowned. “Hey, Jason.”
    “Dr. Green.” He made a strangled noise and moved fitfully. It was then she noticed he was covered in a sheen of sweat and his sheets were soaked.
    “Jason? What’s wrong?” She stepped closer.
    He raised his head, one hand still covering half his face. “I can’t fight it anymore.”
    Fight it? “Stay calm. Let me help you. I’ll get you a sedative—” She started to turn.
    “No!” He grabbed her wrist.
    Sharp nails bit into her skin and she cried out.
    When she looked down, she saw blood welling, dripping down her arm. His nails were long, pointed…like claws.
    She looked back at him and he dropped his hand from his face.
    Emerson’s heart stopped. One side of his face was normal.
    The other side was covered in gray scales.
    And his eye glowed a demonic red.
    “I’m sorry,” he hissed. His mouth was filled with sharp teeth.
    She tried to yank away from him.
    He lunged, springing off the bed like an animal.
    As he hit her, Emerson’s scream echoed in the empty infirmary.
     

Chapter Eight
    Gabe flicked through more drone footage. He’d been at it for—he glanced at his watch—hours. And nothing. Not a single clue as to where the aliens had moved the Genesis Facility. He’d seen plenty of raptor patrols, and raptors terrifying and killing human survivors. His hands clenched. Humans too far away from the squads for them to rescue and help.
    He tapped the screen and brought up more feed. The drone team had dozens of the little machines out there, searching. He looked at the notes on the tablet beside him. Intelligence from Santha’s team. They had a few hunches they were checking out. One guy, Devlin, was good. Damn good. He’d gotten right into raptor territory, close to their main ship, without being seen. Guy was either crazy, or very well-trained. He’d been pretty cagy about what he’d done before the raptor invasion…but Gabe had his suspicions.
    Gabe went into his own directory on the network and made a new