“What?” Marz looked shocked. “How the hell did the Hive get a transport beacon?”
Kiel rubbed his brow even as he kept his eye on the tunnel entrance. “A MedRec unit was hit a few weeks ago. Rogue 5 mercenaries took out an entire MedRec team with Battlegroup Zakar. Took hostages for the slave trade and stole the weapons and transport beacons.”
“By the gods, Kiel. Why weren’t we told?” Marz asked.
“It was need to know.” Kiel shrugged his half-hearted attempt at an apology. “They never thought they’d sell to the fucking Hive. And I sure as fuck never thought they’d end up here.”
“Right. With us. Contaminated,” Trax added.
“They were wrong.” I lifted my hand to the tiny device as both Marz and Trax stepped back. I didn’t blame them. If this thing went off, I was quite sure they didn’t want to go wherever the Hive would take me. Wherever the fuck it was programmed. The beacon was small, almost too small to grab with my large hands. And I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to remove it. I had a feeling that this—combined with Maxim’s communication from a few minutes ago—was all part of something larger at work. Something that had to do with Caroline. The Hive had aimed for me. Hit me with the dart. They were expert marksmen, not aiming at the four of us and randomly tagging me.
Kiel inched his way toward the opening and peeked around the corner to check on the status of the Hive soldiers we knew were following us. His confused expression confirmed my suspicions. “They’re gone.” Kiel stepped farther into the corridor and lifted his nose to scent the air. “Where the hell did they go?”
Marz followed him and used his cyborg vision to check the cave in both directions. “You're right, they’re gone.” Both men turned back to me.
“Get that fucking thing off.” Kiel's eyes looked glazed, the closest I’d ever seen him to a panic.
I ignored his command and looked him dead in the eye. “You have a private communication channel with the governor?” It was standard operation procedure. The commander of a unit always had a way to talk to core command without alerting the others on the team.
His nod was so small it was nearly imperceptible.
“Tell me what he didn’t want me to know.” I allowed my beast into my voice, the deep growl rumbling through the small cave. I reached up to remove my helmet, the confines too tight when I was on the verge of changing into my beast.
Kiel took a deep breath and looked at me, the resignation in his gaze making my heart sink into my stomach like a heavy stone.
“Someone on the inside got to CJ. They used a transport beacon—“ He pointed to my chest. “—just like that one.”
“The Hive was inside Base 3?” Marz was practically shaking with rage. Base 3 was our home and we’d taken enough abuse from the Hive to last a lifetime. And I’d walked away, left her alone when there were fucking Hive to hurt her? My beast growled, the rumble heard by the others.
Kiel shook his head. ”No. Not Hive. A maintenance worker. From one of the shuttle maintenance teams. He’s only been here a few weeks.”
“So the Hive was controlling someone on the inside and they tagged her.”
“She’s no longer on the Colony,” Kiel replied grimly.
“They kidnapped my mate?” Cold fury held me in check now. Raging like a beast would not do my mate any good, not now. She needed me like this, calm and calculating. “Did they track the transport signal?” The words were bit out, a snarl.
“They’re working on it now. Maxim hoped they would have a location locked down before we returned.”
The device on my shoulder began to hum, the vibration of energy more feeling than sound. But I knew what it meant. I glanced from the transport beacon to Kiel. “I can’t wait. Tell him to hurry up and send reinforcements.”
“What do you mean?” Trax asked, but stepped back with a curse as the energy of the beacon expanded. The hair on my body rose to attention, and they no doubt could feel the sizzle of the transport current in the air.
Marz stepped forward placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll go with you.”
“No. That won’t work,” Kiel said. “They can’t transport both of you with one beacon. They’re not designed that way. One warrior. That’s it. If you don’t let go of him, it might not work at all.”
“Good,” Trax said and grabbed my other shoulder.
“No.” I shoved him away, hard. Broke the strong grip. I would have hit Marz as well, but he’d already stepped back, understanding in his gaze, so I didn’t waste words on him. I turned to Trax. “This is going to take me to my mate. Touch me again and I will kill you.”
“By the gods, Rezzer, you should wait for Maxim to assemble a ReCon team,” Kiel insisted.
The beast growled before I could stop him, and I fought to keep my voice under control. “And if the Hive had your mate, or your son?”
I’d won, I knew it by the way Kiel’s shoulders slumped, then he stood, his gaze fierce. If it were his mate, Lindsey, who had been taken, or his son, Wyatt? Nothing would stop him from getting to them. Nothing.
The buzzing filled my ears until I wasn’t sure they would hear me, wasn’t even sure that I spoke. “This will take me to Caroline. I know it. They targeted me. Took her. We’re exactly what they’re after. Tell Maxim to bring a fucking army. He can have what’s left of the Hive when he gets there.”
Kiel tossed me his weapon so I had two. I gave him a nod of thanks, then crouched down on one knee and stabilized myself on the ground as the transport beacon took me. I had no idea where I was going, but I would destroy anything and anyone between me and my mate.