Page 22 of Saved By the Alien Mercenary

A shot of rage so sharp and profound lanced through me that I saw stars dance in front of my eyes. He took her baby. How could the male do that? That was the cruelest, most heartless act I could think of, to steal a baby from its mother. To steal Ruby’s baby. De’tor had made a mistake giving her back to me, and now he was going to pay. It was only then that I realized what he had meantbyexecution, and a sick feeling washedoverme at the thought. No, I could never hurt Ruby. Never.

They had let me out of my cell because they had been too cowardly to open the door and toss Ruby in. They had known that I would have hurt anyone I could;they thought I’d tear into my mate,enraged as I was. Well, they were wrong, and that truth was healing,even as my rage for what they’d done to Ruby was overpowering. Even angry, even with my mind covered by red, I had not hurt her. She was safe with me, just like she’d always said she was.

They had made a mistake letting me out. With the door open, I could get to its hinges—my sharp claw slicing through the weak spots like butter, wrenching the door off simply to make sure they couldn’t try to lock me behind it again. Now, the only thing between us and freedom was that thick metal door De’tor had left through.

Sitting down with her on the floor,I began rocking her gently back and forth while murmuring to her. Anything to soothe her, to draw her back from her despair. I swore to her that I would get her baby back, and unless he was dead, I knew I’d makegoodon that promise. I did not think De’tor had killed his own offspring;he had wanted the childin his control. He was not going to kill the boy.

“Brace,” she eventually said with a shudder, her voice reedy and thin. It was music to my ears anyway, a sign that she was beginning to respond,tocome out of her shock. I had already assured myself that she was not wounded;there were some smears of fluid—blood and other things—that had dried on the shirt she wore. But they had cleaned her up, healed her after she’d given birth,so that no marks remained other than her still-soft and so-very-empty belly. “They let me hold him. He was perfect,” she whispered eventually. She patted her chest,where some of the smears on her medical gown had concentrated. They had let her put him against her breast, hold him, that was something.

“Then De’tor took him,” she said with a shudder. “I wanted to come for you, but I failed him, and I failed you. Now we’re both going to die, and my baby is going to be raised without his mother.” That was too much for her to contemplate,and she shook with new tears, crying inconsolably. I tried to comfort her, but there was no comfort here. The longer her quiet crying lasted, the more the rage got hold of me again. I roared, feeling her pain like it was my own, cursing the male that had caused this.

And then,a plan formed in my mind. He wanted her dead by my hand, did he not? He wanted her to suffer, and me to suffer when I realized what I’d done.I was going to give him exactly what he wanted when he came back here. Whispering my plan to Ruby did what my murmurs of comfort had not: it brought back her focus, it gave her hope. “I swear, you will hold him in your arms again, my sweet mate. I swear we’ll be united.”

Her eyes gleamedat mein the darkness, shiny with tears but now filled with determination. She did not say anything—just listened—but I saw the spark again, that fire that had caused her to fight, to survive all this time.

When De’tor came back several hours later, it was with a contingent of armed men, hiding behind protective shields and shocksticks. They knew I was out of my cage, and they were ready for me, at least, they thought they were. Finding me “sleeping” on the floor, Ruby hidden from their eyes, it was a struggle not to respond until the very last moment, to act as if I was out cold after eating myself into a coma. They boughtitbecause they did not think of me as anything but a mindless,hungry beast. Ruled by hunger. They were wrong. I knew better now.

“Steady,” I whispered,near soundless,against the crown of Ruby’s hair. “Almost there,” Iadded. She was trembling beneath me, her body shaking with tension. If she rattled any more, they’d hear the clattering of her teeth as they clicked together, or the pounding of her frantic heart. I rumbled with a low growl to cover her noises, and I could hear the fear shiver through the approaching males. The soft murmur of their voices as they noticed what I’d done to the door ofmy cell.

“He has a collar,” De’tor snarled. “Use it!” That was true, but they had never exchanged the collar I’d worn as a ruse for Ruby. And while it was real enough in almost every way, ithadbeen altered by Mitnick—it couldn’t harm me. Twisting my head, I glared at the males hiding behind their shields and weapons, watching for the telltale flick of a switch on the pain control. I didn’t remember them syncing their own device to my collar, but that was what would set off Mitnick’s alteration. They had to have done it, because Ruby hadn’t been here before with her controller.

My sharp ears picked up the flick of the switch, and I acted as if I’d just been struck by lightning. Howling, twitching,and thrashing, my claws digging furrows into the stone floor. Beneath me, Ruby shookharder, a whimper muffled by her tiny fist, shoved against her mouth. She knew it was an act, but I could tell she hated every minute.

It felt like forever as I faked the pain I was supposedly subjected to by the collar. But once I deemed it long enough, I slumped back down, pretending to pass out. They did not move for long seconds, staring in silence as if they didn’t trust that I was fully out. It was De’torwhoshoved through the ranks to approach my side with the heavy thud of his boots. I could even hear the way his tail,tipped with a sharp knife,whipped through the air behind him.

Ruby and I both held our breaths,then, waiting for him to come as close as he dared. His toes nudged against my leg with vicious force; I forced myself not to respond to the sharp pain. This was going better than planned, getting hold of De’tor was much better thancapturingone of his goons. I waited until he hissed in satisfaction and moved closer to my head, crouching down so he could run his hand along my armandpoke my ribs.

Right as he withdrew his hand, I struck. Rising fast, I caught his neck in my hand and squeezed. As if we’d rehearsed this, Ruby flowed with me when I tackled the male and yanked him against my chest.With one hand around his neck, cutting offhis air and preventing him from using his horns, my other hand snatchedthat dangerous tail from the air and snappedthe blade off the tip. Ruby was right behind me, pressed against my back so she offered no target for the armed males in the hallway. I felt her small hand slide along my flank, snatching a laser pistol from De’tor’s hip.The vicious thing squeezed off three lethally precise shots before the armed males could regroup and hunker down behind their shields.

“It’s over, De’tor,” I snarled into the male’s ear. “You lose. Tell me where Ruby’s baby is,and I might give you a quick death.” He did not shake or tremble in my grip, he did not fight the tight squeeze around his throat, and he had not howled in pain when I broke the tip of his tail. Now,I felt a deep vibration start in his chest, knew it for the laughter that it was. He didn’t fear death, and he did not fear pain either.

“Shoot him,” De’tor ordered.“Both of them. That’s an order. Shoot to kill.” He knew he was in the way, but he would rather see me dead at the cost of his own life. It would ensure he won. The shuffling of the remaining guards and their shields told me they were not quite as sure as I was about the order fromtheir boss. Their mistake. Driven by so much protective rage, I abruptly shoved De’tor forward. He hadn’t anticipatedtherelease and nearlywentheadfirst into the row of shields. I was after him so fast that only two males got off a shot.

It was chaos after that, and the fury took over, controlling my every move until no one was left standing. This time, I was not alone in that fight, not alone in my rage. Ruby was with me every step of the way,her pistol fire suppressing theirs, picking them off while I destroyed their shields and their master. But I didn’t kill him—couldn’t—not until I had answers.

Standing in the carnage afterward, I pressed my foot to De’tor’s throat and leaned low to staredeep into his glowing purple eyes. Then I opened my mouth as wide as it could go and let him stare into the abyss of death, like he wanted. “Tell me where he is, and I will not eat you,tiny bite by bite, starting with your blasted toes. You’ll be alive a long time, and I’ll make sure you stay conscious for every minute of it.” The threat was hollow, I would never eat the bastard.I would not sully my soul that way.I didn’t even feel the all-consuming hunger of the Hoxiam. But he didn’t know that, and it was obvious he feared that fate, who wouldn’t?

It wasn’t until Ruby crouched next to his head and leaned in, fearlessly using my shoulder for support, that he caved. His fear overruled by what was possibly a tiny shred of decency when a desperate mother implored him with her tear-stained eyes.

“Jalima has him,” he coughed through a partially crushed throat. “Mansion southwest of Avur, aleyard.” He bared his teeth, the sharp,pearly white fangs stained with blood. “You’ll never get him back.” I gave him a firm shove, his head crashing against the stone,and that was it, De’tor was no more.

“Let’s get your son,” I said to Ruby, sweeping her into my arms and shifting her so she could cling to my shoulders. Then I busted down the door to the cell block.

Chapter 19

Ruby

Everything was a blur. My mind simply couldn’t keep up with all that was going on. All I knew was that Brace was with me, and he was going to fix everything. Hehad sworn that he would, and I believed him. If anyone could rescue my sweet baby boy, I knewhe could.

With De’tor dead, some clarity pushed away the fog of grief, and I could see how remarkable what Brace and I had was. Even in a rage, he had not harmed a hair on my head; instead, he hadsnapped out of it to offer me comfort and make a calculated plan. There was something peaceful in knowing that I had that kind of effect on him—on this powerful, dangerous alien feared all across the Zeta Quadrant. That strength was focusedentirely on giving me what I needed, and that made me lucky, despite what had happened.

My arms ached in remembrance of holding my baby, a perfect little boy. A blend of genes,both human and Kertinal,whohad come out beautiful. The sound of his first sniffles,and the loud wailing as he’d been taken fromme,were engraved on my brain. They fueled me as I held my stolen laser pistol and clung to Brace’s backwhilehe barreled out of the bowels of the Rummicaron port offices.

We’d passed a few guards he’d knocked out, the males caught completely by surprise. Now, we were passing offices, and the males and femaleswhosaw us fledfromour path—office workers, not warriors. I stared at them but felt completely disconnectedfromtheir fear or their plight. If not for the rather bloodless way my mate got around them, and their lack of resistance, I would have happily opened fire on them. Something at the back of my brain told me that wasn’t my normal response,but until I held my baby back in my arms, I did not care enough to investigate thatline ofthinking.

At the entrance to the building, I caught sight of something wholly unexpected, andit did make me blink twice. My mind whirredback into more normal thinking patterns, nolonger clouded by rage and despair. Beyond the glass doorsstoodthe same two guardswhohad greeted me that morning. I recognized the malewhohad escorted me to the office where De’tor had been waiting. Ships came and went, large hulking shapes being loaded and unloaded in the distance, but right on the tarmac in front of the office, a sleek black shuttle had landed.

At the doors, the large, imposing shape of theVarakartoom’s Naga captain took up far too much space. He was animatedly talking with several uniform-clad Rummicaron officers. They looked small, their backfins wilted beneath his furious golden gaze. So many coils of black,gleaming scales sprawled through the foyer, and still the captain had raised himself tall on the thick base of his tail, towering over the handful of officials and thoroughly intimidating them.They weren’t supposed to feelfear, butitstirred sopowerfully that they couldn’t suppress it.

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