Had Dave been hoping to gossip and cast doubts on Josh’s decisions? How many were disgruntled? He exhaled slowly. Did they want to die? Did they not understand that war wasn’t pretty and neat and organized? Sometimes shit had to be done, and sometimes it was nothing but bad choices and a prayer.

  “Isn’t that dangerous? The aliens will be here soon. The bugs will be coming out.” Dave’s eyes were wide, and he kept fiddling with the strap of the bag he held. He was scared.

  Was there anything Josh could say that was reassuring?

  Josh considered him for a moment then gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Everything is dangerous. They might be safe while we die.”

  “Doesn’t that bother you? Do you want to die?”

  Josh sighed. “No, I don’t. I’m just a realist. This is not the first time I’ve thought I wasn’t going to make it home.” Of course, this time he didn’t have a home to return to. At some point his luck would run out. It happened. “We’re in the shit. We might make it out if we work together, but if people start to pull in different directions, then we’ll all go down.”

  Read between the lines, Dave.

  “Rayne, get up here,” Xavier called from the bell tower.

  “Coming.” He gave Dave another glance. He was going to be the one to fuck everything up. He was one step away from breaking and running. Holding the church and killing a team of aliens would be much harder with a smaller team. And if Dave fled, he might take others with him. Young had seemed keen to run. “Pull up a pew, have a bite to eat, and try to have a nap. We don’t know what’s going to happen later.”

  Dave licked his lip like he was about to say something. Then he looked at the food and nodded.

  Josh left him to it.

  At the back of the church was a staircase, though that was being generous. It was more of a ladder with illusions of grandeur. He made his way up, aware of every creak. When the world was silent, every noise was too loud.

  “Took the best spot for yourself, I see,” Josh said with a grin.

  “Always. Take a look.” He eased back, and Josh peered through the scope on the rifle.

  It wasn’t set up for doing any serious long-range shooting. For a few seconds, he saw nothing of note. The fire from the hospital was still burning, but it wasn’t life threatening nor was it moving fast enough for him to be worried. It would be nice if their biggest problem was a fire.

  “What am I supposed to be looking at?

  “Exactly. There’s nothing out there. Where are the aliens that Andrew promised us?”

  Josh stepped back and leaned on the windowsill. The air smelled like smoke, but he was so used to it that it didn’t matter. “Do you think we caused them more grief than we thought when we blew up the farm?”

  “That had to hurt. And now we’ve taken out the hospital. If we keep taking out their supplies, it’s not like there’s more around the corner.”

  Josh glanced up at the sky. They didn’t have long until sunset. They’d spent the day preparing for attack. The adrenaline rush was long gone. All he could do now was push through.

  He’d been saying that for what felt like forever. At some point he’d stop and wouldn’t be able to get going again.

  Was getting rid of the aliens as easy as taking out their food source? Cutting off supplies was an old, but effective tactic.

  “What if they are all dead?” That was a bit too much wishful thinking, but it didn’t stop him from hoping.

  “Nah. I think they don’t care about a handful of survivors as much as Andrew wants us to think they do.”

  “You think he lied? Why?”

  Xavier held out his hand, and Josh gave him what was left of the chocolate bar. It had turned to glue in his mouth anyway.

  “’Cause he’s a germ,” Xavier said with a mouthful of chocolate.

  Josh smiled. “Yeah, but it didn’t win him any favors. What did he think it would achieve?”

  “That we’d get scared and piss off and leave him to it. All he wanted was the girl.”

  Josh’s lip curled. He crossed the floor and stared out over the ocean. The waves rolled onto the perfectly white sand. But instead of the beach being full of holiday makers, it was deserted. As his gaze skimmed over the white caps on the water, there was only more nothing. No little boats, no swimmers, no big boats, or ships. The breeze whispered through the open windows of the belltower.

  Xavier didn’t move from his spot, holding up the wall. “How’s the leg?”

  “If I was lying down and resting, it would heal up faster. Tye’s concerned about the lack of new skin.”

  Josh frowned. “Are you?”

  “The infection’s gone; I feel better.”

  “But?”

  “But something isn’t right. How’s your shoulder?”

  “A mess.” It ached, and he wanted to rest up too. “Someone else could’ve kept watch.”

  “No. I don’t trust them to do a good job, and you don’t trust them at all.”

  Josh turned. He kept his voice low. “Young and Dave think we should coddle Andrew because he’s human.”

  He saw the argument form on Xavier’s lips before he shrugged it off.

  They didn’t have time to fight; they both knew that. But there was still tension. Everyone was frayed and tired. Tired people made bad calls.

  “Should we have run?” Had he made the wrong decision?

  “No. If they are looking for people, we are a distraction. We discussed it; we did the right thing with what we knew at the time.”

  It was too late to switch course now. Sometimes it didn’t feel like there was ever a right choice, only a slightly less wrong or painful one.

  “How long do we wait?”

  Xavier drew in a breath and sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “How long can I keep Andrew tied up for before there’s a mutiny?” Not nearly long enough to make Josh happy.

  “Tomorrow morning is probably a safe bet. After that, people will grumble. We can’t lose support.”

  They were outnumbered, but it wasn’t only that. If they didn’t work together, they were an easy target, and if Andrew wormed his way into their ears, they might think he was talking sense.

  Josh pulled the comms device out of his pocket. “He told me how to work this. It’s some kind of translator.”

  Xavier grimaced and gave him a look that said more than any words.

  “Fuck, mate, I didn’t hurt him. Young was standing right there.” That Xavier thought he had stung. He might have, though…

  Xavier jerked his chin at the device. “How?”

  Josh mimed running his thumbs along the grooves. “That simple unless it was more bullshit.”

  Xavier raked his teeth over his lower lip as he studied the cube in Josh’s hand. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know.” It might explode. Or it might work… He wasn’t sure which was worse at this point. “Last time, they bombed us and then sent in two to clean up. I think we need to expect the same.”

  “That didn’t work though, so maybe they’ll try something different.”

  Josh kept glancing at the sky, but it was clear. There was absolutely no sign that they were about to be under attack. “Do you think we took the advice of a madman?”

  Xavier shrugged. “Even if we did, we have the supplies to roll out. We’ll cut across the peninsula and meet the boat on the other side. That way, we can check the mining camp for survivors on the way.”

  “And if the boat doesn’t arrive?” He was assuming Marsh would make it.

  “We can always drive the rest of the way.”

  “So if we aren’t attacked overnight, we move out by vehicle not boat?” Josh preferred driving to sailing, but any method out worked.

  Xavier nodded. “I’d like to be far away from this place this time tomorrow.” He put his hand out, and Josh handed over the cube. “I’ll do it; you go downstairs.”

  “Like hell.” He wanted to see if it worked and how it worked, and he wasn’t leaving Xavier alone.

  “Joshy…”

  “Nah.” He crossed his arms. “I’m not going.”

  If Xavier died, he didn’t want to fight on. What would he be fighting for?

  “You’re a stupid fuck. Come here.”

  Josh stood shoulder to shoulder with Xavier.

  Xavier turned the device over in his hands until the grooved side was facing up. He glanced at Josh. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” He leaned in and kissed him. Their lips met, and for a few seconds, nothing else mattered. Their foreheads touched, and Josh drew in a couple of breaths. “Let’s see what they have to say. Get an ETA.”

  Xavier placed his thumbs in the grooves. While it was a bit too big for a human palm, it seemed to have been made for human hands. The alien’s hands were bigger and would’ve dwarfed the cube. That realization was a little disconcerting.

  How long had they been watching and learning before landing?

  Xavier glanced up at him with a look Josh had seen a few times before. Last chance to change your mind.

  Josh gave him a small, single nod.

  Xavier ran his thumbs up the grooves.

  Chapter Three

  Josh held his breath. For several seconds, absolutely nothing happened. The cube didn’t light up, and it didn’t crackle with static. But he didn’t dare speak in case someone was listening. He hadn’t asked how to turn it off.

  Xavier ran his thumbs along the grooves again, and this time he kept them there. He lifted his eyebrows and spoke. “Hello?”

  Josh shrugged and shook his head.

  “Report.” The voice sounded human, female, and right beside them. Had the aliens decided humans prefer female AI voices and copied?

  Xavier nearly dropped the cube. He put his thumbs back in place. “When are you getting here? They’re preparing to leave. Loading up cars with food and water.”

  He grimaced at Josh as though he didn’t know what else to say.

  “Noted.”

  “And?” Xavier pressed.

  “The situation will be attended.”

  “Ow.” Xavier let go of the cube, and Josh caught it. “It zapped me.”

  “Conversation over.” A good way to make sure the humans didn’t stay on the line for too long. “Do you think it only has a few set phrases?”

  “Attended doesn’t mean turn up.”

  “Nor does noted.” Josh leaned against the wall and let the tension trickle away. For the first time today, he could breathe. “You think Andrew misunderstood?”

  “I don’t know what to think.” He gave the device a shake, like he expected it to rattle. “I don’t know enough about anything.”

  “Maybe we should grab some rest.”

  “I might stay up here, just in case,” Xavier said.

  Josh wanted to stay and keep him company, but he should go back down and keep an eye on the others. In the time he’d been up here, Young could have freed Andrew. If Josh knew Andrew, he’d then make straight for the police station to grab any remaining firearms. They’d taken what they could realistically carry, but there was still quite an armory left. Josh peered out the window. There was no movement on the street. From his vantage point, there was no movement in the town at all.

  His heart tightened as though threatening to stop. They could be the only people left in the whole world and they wouldn’t know because there was no communication.

  He closed his eyes. No. There were others. There had to be.

  For a start, anywhere cold, where there were no aliens, people would be thriving. They’d be planning ways to help the countries that had been invaded. He was sure that talks were happening, orders were being made, and people like him were preparing to fight.

  “You okay?” Xavier placed a hand on Josh’s lower back.

  He drew in a breath. He was so far from okay he didn’t remember what it looked like anymore. But he couldn’t say that, because if he broke, then he was damning everyone. They needed him to be okay. He nodded because he couldn’t lie out loud.

  Xavier moved closer and put an arm around him, and then rested his head on Josh’s shoulder. If he kept his eyes closed and concentrated on the way Xavier’s body was pressed against his, he could pretend that they were a million miles away. Somewhere aliens didn’t exist, and they were safe. Even if that meant going back to keeping their relationship secret.

  Josh turned and put his arms around Xavier. They leaned into each other as though drawing support. It felt like Josh had spent his entire life trying to survive. He knew that wasn’t true, as before his parent’s death his childhood had been normal, but he couldn’t remember much of it. With Xavier, he’d found someone to call home even if they weren’t in the same country, even if they didn’t speak for weeks. Everything was always as they left it, waiting for them to return. It was safe, and it was secret, and it was theirs.

  With the ring on his finger, he felt exposed.

  The old fear of wondering what everyone would say lurked beneath the more immediate danger of the aliens. Part of him didn’t want to hide, but the rest of him was terrified. He was a soldier, they both were, and he could only imagine what the people in charge would think even if they didn’t say it.

  Xavier kissed the side of Josh’s neck. “We’ll get out of this. We always do.”

  Josh huffed out a breath. He wanted to laugh but couldn’t. He was beginning to think they weren’t going to get out of this no matter what they did. And it wouldn’t matter in the end as the Geckos would kill them. They’d take over the whole world.

  Xavier drew back and cupped Josh’s jaw.

  Josh opened his eyes and stared up at Xavier, wishing it was as simple as believing. “This is a little different to outrunning insurgents.”

  “Not really. They all want us dead or captured. The only difference is these guys have better armor and weapons.”

  Josh opened his mouth to say something, but Xavier cut him off with a kiss. His lips were hard and demanding against Josh’s. He surrendered, not wanting to fight, needing to forget. His hands slid under Xavier’s shirt, and the kiss deepened. Xavier’s tongue teased, and he ground against Josh.

  “Do you think we can steal a few minutes?”

  They were alone with only the breeze to whisper about what was going on. But at least one person was in the church below, so they needed to be very quiet.

  Josh nodded. Xavier’s fingers quickly undid Josh’s pants. He went from half hard to stiff and aching for Xavier’s touch before his fly was fully down. His cock sprung forward as soon as it was released from his jocks.

  Xavier grinned and dropped to his knees. He ran his tongue along the underside of Josh’s dick, then teased the slit before taking him in his mouth. Josh’s fingers pressed against Xavier’s head, and he rocked his hips.

  He knew he should keep watch, one of them should, but all he wanted to do was watch Xavier suck his dick. Xavier took him deeper, and Josh fucked his mouth for what felt like only a few seconds before Xavier pulled back so he could torment the head of Josh’s cock with his tongue.

  Josh tipped his head back against the wall as Xavier worked him over. Xavier cupped Josh’s balls and gave them a gentle squeeze. Josh bit his lip to stop himself from groaning. The way Xavier’s mouth was sliding over the head of his dick, he wasn’t going to last long at all—not that they had the time to draw things out. The tension knotted in his belly, and his breathing shortened until he wasn’t sure if he was holding his breath to stay silent or to hold back from coming.

  Xavier released a small moan that vibrated through Josh’s cock. Josh glanced down to watch him tongue the slit, lapping up the beads of pre-cum.

  His grip on Xavier’s head tightened. “I’m…”

  He didn’t need to say anything else. Didn’t have time. The climax spilled from him into Xavier’s mouth. Xavier swallowed, looking up at Josh with a hungry gaze. He was ready to turn around and give Xavier what he wanted. Usually if they met like this, there was rarely time for both of them to get their way. Their tally had begun as a joke, then as a way to make sure one wasn’t always getting the good time in their few stolen minutes. Sometimes a mutual hand job with a kiss to silence every noise was all they could manage for months.

  But those old rules that had kept them safe no longer mattered.

  Xavier gave Josh’s dick a final lick. Josh turned and shoved his pants the rest of the way down.

  Xavier gave a low laugh. “Good thing I grabbed the lube.”

  Josh didn’t really care.

  Then Xavier’s slick fingers probed Josh’s ass, pressing deep and stroking in just the right place. Josh tilted his hips and rocked back, ignoring the stretch and sting. Xavier took the hint. He guided his dick to Josh’s hole and pushed until he was sinking in. One hand on Josh’s hip, the other wrapped around his chest.

  He grunted softly in Josh’s ear. “I want to fuck you every chance we get.”

  “Yeah.” That seemed like a good plan. The best one either of them had come up with.

  Xavier’s teeth raked against his neck, and Josh tilted his head as Xavier bit down. He fucked hard, his balls slapping against Josh’s ass. Josh closed his eyes as pleasure rolled through him. He wasn’t in control, and for those few seconds, he would do whatever Xavier wanted of him. This wasn’t the first time Xavier had left teeth marks on him. Xavier grunted and stilled, breathing hard as he came deep in Josh’s ass.

  The ground seemed to shake, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn’t from pleasure. The building trembled, and Josh grabbed the windowsill as parts of the town erupted. Brilliant streaks filled the sunset bruised sky. Where the light landed, fire flashed, and the ground shook.

  “Fuck.” Xavier pulled away and grabbed the rifle, his pants around his knees as he peered through the scope. “Where are the fuckers?”

  The hotel they had used as a base exploded, sending frag into the air. He pulled Xavier to the floor. Metal and bricks flew through the open bell tower, striking the bell and drowning out all other sounds. Josh lay on the floor, wriggling back into his pants and shoving his dick away. He glanced at Xavier, who was doing much the same.

  It might have been funny if someone else were telling the tale…

 

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