Page 86 of Stealing Jia

Trayon’s lips brushed over mine. “Take as long as you need.”He turned abruptly and walked out.

I had scared him badly. A laugh broke from me. Who was I kidding? I had come close to dying. I hit the shower controls and sighed in pleasure as jets of hot, pulsating water pounded my stiff muscles. I closed my eyes. It was better than a massage.

The door chimed again.

I could sense Zarek’s powerful aura. Wonder what he wanted? I heard Trayon growl. Cazzo! The last thing I needed was for him to punch Zarek and the fight of the century would be on.

I hit the dry cycle. Hell’s tornado spun around me. I let out a yelp and hit the red button. The hurricane of hot air stopped. I’d never get used to that. Stepping out of the shower, I triggered my armor. Snikt. Schlik.Schlik. Schlik. Schlik.I loved the built-in underwear. Best support bra ever.

Grabbing a brush, I stepped up to the mirror and stared in disbelief. My skin was covered in gray scales, and I had fangs. I peered at them. Did they have to be so big? I gingerly touched one. Ouch! Those suckers were sharp and Holy Mother! What had happened to my eyes? They were now yellow with a ring of green. Hmm. I kinda like it.

The door chimed again.

A sigh broke from me. Sariel, Jubal, Commander Zan and another male I didn’t know had entered our quarters. Guess we were entertaining. Cold prickles suddenly ran up my spine and I scanned our guests. The strangers had a black aura. I set the brush down and headed for the common room.

Chapter Eighteen

I walked in and my gaze fixed on the warrior standing next to Commander Zan. He had a flat, Mongolian face and shovel-shaped front teeth. His eyes darted nervously around the room.

Merda. Another traitor. How were the Rodan getting to all of them? Did they have secret decoder rings or a special tattoo? I ignored the startled glances. I knew my hair was sticking out in every direction, but I didn’t care. There was another assassin to dispatch. I marched over to shovel-tooth and punched him in the face as hard as I could.

Crack!He flew backwards and slammed into the wall.

I smiled gleefully as he slid to the floor out cold. Awesome! I had gotten a lot stronger. “Arrest him. He’s a traitor.”

Trayon picked up my hand and examined my bruised knuckles. “Nice punch.”

“Thank you.”Wasn’t he the least bit interested in why I thought shovel-tooth was a traitor? I looked around the room in disbelief.

Everyone busily typed on their comm-links, completely ignoring the unconscious guy on the floor.

“Well, what are you waiting for?I threw up my left hand in disgust.“For him to wake up and set off the bomb he has in him?”

That got their attention and there was more rapid tapping on their devices.

“He does have an explosive implant,” Sariel announced.

Frowning, Zan knelt, placed his hand on bomb guy’s head and tore his mind apart. He disregarded the assassin’s grunts of pain. “He is an Uihur freedom fighter.”

I examined Zan’s aura. Whoa! He could give Zarek a run for his money in the power department. How had I missed that? “Never heard of them.”

“Few have. Two hundred years ago, Chen Quan seized Xinjiang’s moon as the Uihur homeland. Anyone who wasn’t Uihur was executed. The Alliance took a dim view of the mass murder. After a fierce battle, Chen Quan was arrested and tried for genocide. His followers scattered and to this day, still fight to reclaim the moon.”

“How is assassinating all of you going to help their cause?”Call me curious.

Jubal snorted. “It won’t. They are terrorists whose sole purpose is to create fear.”

“And drive all non-Uihur from the galaxy,” Zan added.

Sariel scowled at his gauntlet. “The bomb is set to explode in three minutes.”

“I have all I need.”Zan said and stepped away from the terrorist.

The battle cruiser’s klaxon horn sounded, and a computerized voice announced, “Battle stations. All warriors report to your battle stations.”

A glittering blue light engulfed the terrorist. Poof! He was transported into the cold embrace of space.

“Shields are up. Brace for impact,”Trayon said, wrapping an arm around me.

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