Alien Savior (Zerconian Warriors Book 5) (9 page)

Darac nodded slowly. “He does not like that he cannot protect you all.”

“Rye knows we can protect ourselves.”

“Perhaps,” he allowed. “But he still feels responsible for you. Any good leader would feel the pressure to protect those under him.”

“Guess so. Are you sure I can’t do anything to help you?” She hadn’t meant show that she was worried about him. She remembered Rye’s words. Him or us. But she could feel concerned about him without choosing him over her family and crew.

“I am fine. You need not worry about me.”

“Oh, well, I feel so much better. Now that you’ve told me I don’t need to worry, I’ll stop immediately. Why worry my pretty little head about things that don’t concern me, I’ll leave that to you big, bad men.”

He stared at her for a long moment while she glared at him. Yeah, she knew she was running her mouth off. She did that when she was scared. Couldn’t help it. But she was tired of him brushing her aside, treating her like she was too stupid to know what was going on.

“I hurt you?”

Damn. She hadn’t meant to let him see that much.

“Course not. How could you do that?”

He remained silent before shifting around. She heard him let out a low grunt of pain, but ignored it. She knew all about pride. It was something she had way too much of.

He sighed. “I am sorry that I insulted you. I am not at my best at the moment.” She guessed that was as much of an acknowledgment that he was in a bad way as she was going to get. “But I cannot do anything except protect you. I will always protect you.”

Not if they were thousands of miles apart. A bit of space between them would be a good thing.

“My people should be here soon. Zerconia is not that far. We must wait.”

“You never believed they would go for that story, did you?”

He shook his head. “I thought there was some chance. But at least they focussed on me and have left the rest of you alone. I knew they would enjoy a long, slow torture before they end my life. It will give my people enough time to get to us. Tell me more about yourself. About your life.”

“Not much to tell really.”

“This is your first kidnapping?”

She grinned. “Actually, it is. It’s not Zuma’s though. A few months back he got kidnapped by three women. He thought they were out for a bit of fun, instead they drugged him and smuggled him onto their ship. They took him back to their home planet. They wanted to add him to their harem. I think he was kind of disappointed when we saved him.”

He shook his head. “The risks you take make my heart stutter with fear.”

She sighed. “You’re never going to believe I can look after myself, are you? I’m no pampered princess. I’ve had to work hard for everything I’ve got.”

“It is dangerous. Stupid. You risk your life for credits.”

“Not all of us come from a rich planet. We need the credits. There are people back home relying on us. Life is dangerous on Joyadan. Many end up at our village with just the clothes on their backs.” Thanks to Rye, they weren’t turned away.

“I have plenty of credits. I would provide for you. That is now my job, as it should have been your family.”

“Listen up, buddy. I am not for sale. Maybe you think I’m interested in having some hero swoop in and rescue me. But I’m not. I am happy. This is what I want to do. I don’t need anyone to look after me and that’s the way it’s going to stay.”

“You are very frustrating.”

“You’re no walk in the park, either. Just chill it on the ‘you are little woman, I big man’ crap for a while, okay? Or you won’t have to worry about the Coizils killing you because I’ll take care of you myself.”

He nodded. “Tell me more about yourself.”

“I was born on Joyadan, but my grandparents came from Earth. They were part of the overflow lottery. Earth is overpopulated. Every ten years there is a lottery and if your number comes up then you have to move where the Earth government tells you to go. Joyadan is no one’s first choice. It’s a harsh, desert planet and a long way from Earth. But my grandparents could bring what they liked. They were both mechanics, so they brought racers with them.”

“Racers?”

“You’ve never heard of racers? The track?”

He shook his head.

“You’ve led a sheltered life, my friend. Another of my brothers, Duke, runs the track on Joyadan. People place bets on the winner, and five racers race the track. No shuttles, no hovercrafts, each racer has to move along the ground.”

“You have been in these races?”

“Oh yeah. It is an adrenaline rush.”

“Your parents are okay with that?”

“My parents died when I was two.” She studied her hands. “Rye raised me and my other brothers.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

Wow, she was turning into a regular chatterbox. But he was easy to talk to for some reason. Maybe because he couldn’t get away. She snorted to herself. He had no choice but to listen.

“Besides Rye and Zuma there’s also Kyle. He’s an inventor. Sometimes he comes with us, but he was busy working on some experiment. Then there’s Duke. He runs the racing track.” She felt sad at the thought of her brother. Duke had always been such a happy kid, but after an accident where he’d nearly lost the use of his right leg, he’d become hard. Withdrawn. “And I had another brother, Lochlan.”

“Had?”

“He went missing a few years ago on a hunting trip. We never found him.”

He took hold of her hand, squeezing gently. “I am sorry.”

She nodded. Lochlan’s disappearance still hurt. “I owe my brothers a lot. Rye especially. Can’t have been easy to take on a two-year-old when he was just seventeen.”

“There were no adults to look after you all?”

“No. We didn’t have any other family. There aren’t a lot of choices for females on Joyadan. I wanted to do something with my life. Go places. I worked hard to prove to Rye that I am good enough at what I do to be on this crew.”

“Your brothers would not have taken care of you?”

She placed her hand on his thigh and he calmed. “Yes. But I was tired of being a burden to them.”

“A burden?”

She sighed. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“It hurts you.”

“It’s just,” she sighed, “it was my fault our parents died. I wandered off. My parents were trying to find me when they were attacked by rogues and killed. Turns out I had hidden myself in one of the racers.

“I don’t remember any of this, of course. But I’ve heard the story from different people. Rye took all of us on. I remember when I was about seven, he met this girl. He really liked her. She wasn’t from Joyadan and she wanted him to come away with her. I heard him tell her that he couldn’t leave because he had me to take care of. I held him back from following his dreams and I’ve never forgiven myself for that. I never want to be a burden to anyone again. I want to make my brothers proud of me. I have to.”

“I am sure they are proud of you.”

“Maybe. But I can always do better.” She looked up at him. “Enough of me talking.” Sitting this close to him was doing funny things to her insides. Her blood heated, her skin tingled. What would it feel like to have his lips against hers?

He leaned down and she reached up. This was it. The moment when they kissed. Her eyes were fluttering closed when he suddenly moved away, hissing with pain.

“Darac?”

“It might be best if you slept over there. Away from me.”

Hurt filled her. What had she done? If she was his mate, then shouldn’t he want to kiss her? She studied him, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. But he kept his eyes shut. He’d closed down on her and it hurt far more than it should have.

Vulnerable in a way she’d never been before, she stood and moved away. She sat down beside Rye, trying to keep her face impassive. The last thing she wanted was for Darac to see that he had hurt her. She didn’t even understand why she was hurt. She didn’t want to be his mate, did she?

Of course not.

Willa gasped as the ship tilted on one side with a loud bang. She slammed against Rye. “What’s happening?”

Rye stood, nearly falling as the ship tipped again. “Feels like we’re under attack.”

“The Zerconians.” Hope filled her. She didn’t think they would actually get here in time. She glanced around. Shit. Darac wasn’t back. The Coizils had taken Darac an hour or so ago. How much more could he take?

“We need to be ready in case an opportunity presents itself,” Rye ordered. The others stood.

“How?” she asked. “They’re not going to just let us leave.”

“We’ll have to improvise.” Another hit sent her flying off her feet. She slammed against the wall groaning. As if she hadn’t been bashed around enough in the last few days.

“Can’t we just wait here until we’re rescued?” Nolan asked.

“And risk them killing us before we’re rescued?” Rye replied. “No.”

Outside, she could hear yelling as people raced down the passage. The lights flickered then died.

“Powers out!” Rye yelled. “Force the door open.”

Steele and Deacon moved to the door, straining to pull it open. Rye and Zuma joined them. Finally, they managed to shove it back.

“I’ll take point. Then Deacon, Zuma, Mitch, Willa, Nolan. Steele, you bring up the rear. We’re going to make our way to our ship in the cargo bay.”

She had no idea if Rye actually knew where he was going or if he was just going to bluff his way through this, but it was better than sitting in that room, waiting.

“We can’t leave yet.” She grabbed Rye’s arm.

He glanced down at her impatiently. “What?”

“We need to find Darac.”

“We don’t have time, Willa.” Rye turned away. She stared at him, shocked.

“Never leave a man behind, Rye.”

He spun back. The corridor was lit with emergency lighting strips along the bottom of the walls.

“They’re here to save him. He’s done his best to keep us alive, we can’t just leave him. Hell, he wouldn’t even be in this situation if not for us.”

“No, he’d be dead,” Mitch spoke up. “Good riddance.”

“We can’t risk ourselves for him,” Nolan said quietly. The doctor didn’t have much to say, but he would always back Mitch. The two of them had been best friends for years.

“I agree with Willa. We owe the psycho dude. We need to find him.” Zuma squeezed her shoulder and the tight knot in her stomach unravelled slightly. At least one person was on her side.

“Deacon?” Rye asked.

“I’m with Willa. We owe him.”

Okay, two against three. Steele would side with Mitch and Nolan. So that left Rye as the decision maker. Shit. She didn’t know how he would rule. They never left a man behind, but everyone knew Rye could be ruthless when necessary.

Why save one at the risk of many?

She held her breath.

“Steele?” Rye asked.

Steele was quiet. Sheesh, just get it over with. The wait was killing her and she could hear the sound of blasters firing in the distance. Had the Zerconians boarded? Maybe her concern over finding Darac was unnecessary. His own people would rescue him, right?

“I’m with Willa. I don’t want to owe that bastard anything. Let’s find him and wipe the slate clean.”

She turned to Steele, shocked that he’d sided with her. He shrugged.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Rye moved forward and they followed behind. Two passages down and countless rooms checked, she was beginning to think they would never find him. By now they were back in a section of the ship that had power. Suddenly, Rye came to a stop, holding his hand up. They all stilled, waiting.

He turned and backed up.

“Two guards in front of a door. Armed.”

“Think that’s where he’s being held?” she whispered.

Rye shrugged. “Can’t think why they’d be standing there otherwise when the ship is under attack.” They hadn’t encountered any Coizils and the sounds of fighting she’d heard earlier had faded.

“What do we do?” she asked.

“We need a distraction.” Rye glanced over at Zuma. “Feel like a fight?”

Zuma grinned wildly. “Always.”

Darac lay in a sea of pain. The only thing keeping him clinging to this life was Willa. He had to live. He had to make certain that she got out of here. Earlier, he’d felt the ship rocking. Or at least he thought he had. He was having trouble telling what was reality and what was his imagination.

At least his torturers had left. He didn’t know when they would return, but he knew it wouldn’t be long until they took things a step too far. They were too bloodthirsty, too eager for the kill.

The sound of shouting reached him. That sounded like fighting. A blaster fired and there was a yell of pain, then silence.

“Darac?”

Okay, now he knew he really was dreaming. Her face appeared above his. Tears filled her eyes. For him?

“Don’t cry.” His voice didn’t sound like his own. It was hoarse, quiet. He hated seeing her so upset. He never wanted her to be unhappy.

“I’m not crying. You’re imagining things.” She disappeared.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Panic filled him. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

“I’m not leaving.” She popped into his vision again. He was lying on a cold metal bench, his arms secured above him, his legs pulled apart. They’d stripped him of his clothes in an attempt to humiliate him.

“Damn, they really did a job on him.” Zuma appeared next to Willa. “Is there an inch of him that isn’t bruised? Guess they decided to cut you up some this time, huh?”

“This is a very strange dream.” Why would he be dreaming about Zuma?

“We need to get him out of these cuffs,” Willa said frantically.

“This is no dream, my friend,” Zuma said. “No one could dream up this shit.”

“We’ll need to break him out.” Was that Steele? What were they doing here?

“We’re here to rescue you.” Zuma’s nose was bleeding. But a smile curved his lips.

“You are harmed?”

“This?” Zuma touched his nose lightly, wincing. “This was a distraction. Steele forgot to pull his punches.”

Steele snorted. “That
was
me pulling my punches. If I put all my weight behind my punches, I would have knocked your lightweight ass into the next millennium.”

“Oh-ho, smack talk. I like it.”

He didn’t understand half of what they said. But he did understand that they had come for him. It was a miracle. And the stupidest thing they could have done.

“Leave,” he croaked. He was dying. They wasted their time with him.

“Not without you,” Willa said fiercely. “How do we get him out of these things?”

“Voice activated,” he answered, even though she wasn’t talking to him. “I am dying. You must go.”

“Maybe one of those guards can open them,” Steele stated.

“Or maybe we can use something they tortured him with,” Zuma suggested.

“Here, what about this,” Steele suggested.

“You are not listening.” He coughed. Surprisingly, the pain had disappeared. He was growing numb.
Shock,
he thought to himself. It would be over soon. He would die an honorable death. His one regret is that he would die so soon after meeting his mate, without kissing her, getting to know her better, joining with her.

“Willa. I need to say something.”

“No.” She appeared in his vision again, her gaze fierce. “I’m not listening.”

“I am dying—”

“Nope, not on my watch, beast man.”

Willa watched as Steele sliced his way through the hover cuffs with a small laser they must have been using to torture Darac. Once he was free, Steele and Deacon picked Darac up. She winced in sympathy as he grunted in pain. He couldn’t move under his own steam. Each of his arms were placed over Steele and Deacon’s shoulders. They clasped their arms around his waist and moved forward, practically dragging him between them.

He didn’t make a noise, but she knew it had to be hurting him to be dragged along.

“Let’s go,” Rye stated, moving to the door.

Rye had knocked out each of the guards, taking the two blasters they each had.

“This is one massive clusterfuck,” Steele said behind her. “No way we’re getting out of this alive.”

“Do you always see the negative side of everything?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder to check on Darac. His face was a sickly gray and his skin glistened with sweat. He needed help desperately.

“Means I’m rarely disappointed,” Steele replied.

“Pretty crappy way to think, though. Now I understand why you’re single, no woman could ever measure up to your high standards.”

“I’m single because I choose to be.”

Uh-huh. If that’s what he liked to tell himself, she wouldn’t shatter his delusions.

Rye held his hand up and they stilled, falling silent. He turned back and held out five fingers. Five Coizils coming their way. Steele and Deacon eased Darac to the ground, leaning him back against the wall. She handed Steele her blaster and he raced towards the others while Deacon moved back down the corridor to watch their backs.

She crouched down beside Nolan, who was taking the opportunity to check Darac over. He seemed barely conscious, his head lolling to one side.

“How is he?” she asked over the blaster fire from ahead of them. She glanced over at the others. Rye leaned out around the corner, firing. Zuma crouched below him, letting out a volley of blaster fire with a loud whoop. That was Zuma. Subtle.

They were holding their own. And enjoying every moment.

Darac’s skin was hot to touch and a fine tremor ran through him. The ship rocked, and she and Nolan desperately tried to keep him from rolling around. He let out a low groan.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph help us,” Nolan said quietly.

“I didn’t know you were religious,” she said.

“I’m not. But this is enough to make any man pray.”

“Whoop! Whoop!” Zuma yelled, running forward. Crazy idiot. He was going to get his head blown off. But then she realized the blaster fire had died. Steele and Deacon returned, picking Darac up.

“He needs medical help soon,” Nolan warned.

Her stomach churned with anxiety. Zuma handed her a blaster. As they traipsed past the bodies on the ground, she realized she only counted four bodies.

“I thought there were five,” she stated.

“There were,” Steele said grimly. “One got away. We have to leg it because when he gets back, he’s going to bring his friends.”

Shit.