Page 6 of Saved By the Alien Mercenary

Harper spoke more loudly before I could answer. “Oh my God, yes, that’s so much food! Brace really took a shine to you,Ruby.” She twisted in her seat to glance at the hatch, and I could see the wheels spinning in her head. As if she werebursting with questions, she was even biting her lip, holding them in.

“I like it,” I mumbled, my eyes searching the rowdy crowd of mercenaries in black armor that had flooded the mess hall. Was I imagining it, or were they staring at me and my plate? “I’m eating for two,” I added a bit more firmly. Then I glanced at Mandy’s plate, which was also piled much higher than Elyssa’s. She was pregnant too. Had Brace given her a plate as well? If he did, I had missed it, but that was the only thing that made sense. “I’m sure he took care of Mandy the same way, because we’re pregnant…” My voice trailed off when all four women started shaking their heads.

“No,” Mandy said around a mouthful of bread and green-fried Alpara. It was not quite the same as bacon, but extremely close and very tasty. “He did go out of his way to stock human foods, like chocolate, and he special-ordered all the fresh ginger I could ever want. It’s being grown in the hydroponics lab now. But Brace never made me a plate like that.” She winked as she jutted her chin at my food, and I felt a blush spread over my cheeks. I was thirty-five, damn it;I should be well beyond blushing. My skin wasn’t even fair enough to really show them most of the time, but I felt like I’d gone red as a beet. From the amused smiles of the others, they saw it too.

Elyssa swung her arm around my shoulders and squeezed, and a well of emotions opened up inside me at the touch. When was the last time I’d had a friend who did that? Or my mom, or a cousin? Not since I’d leftEarth after the fires and run as far and as fast as I could,until I’d ended up in the Zeta Quadrant somehow. To say I was touch-starved was an understatement. No wonder I’d caved and had that one-night stand at Yengar Station. Feeling close to another being like that? I was coming to realize very fast that it was a basic human need, one I hadn’t fed, and now I was starving.

“If anyone deserves to find happiness, it’s Brace. He’s areallygood guy, but don’t tell him I said that. Kay?” Elyssa whispered in my ear.

When they took me for a walk around the ship after breakfast, I was still mulling that over. A Hoxiam who was a good guy? Those two things seemed to be mutually exclusive, and yet, everything inside of me said she was right. Bracewasa good guy, and for some reason, he’d decided he was going to take care of me. That made my chest flush with warmth, and my baby boy kicked fiercely, showing off his rapidly improving strength. We both liked it.

“I don’t like it either,” Mandy said at some point. “You should be free to go back to your ship. You should have choices. And the last thing any of us wantsis to make you feel like you don’t have any, like you’re a prisoner.” She had her hands tucked neatly behind her back to support herself as she waddled along. We were letting her set the pace, as her large belly clearly didn’t make her feel like going very fast.

“I’ve been running for a long time,” I said quietly. “I think this is the first time I’ve had a chance to consider options. Ker…that sounds like a better place to raise my baby than on a cargo ship, at risk of pirates at every turn.” I had been mulling that over ever since the place had been mentioned. The sanctuary was a completely new concept to me, and I was baffled to discover that I’d missed every bit of news about it when the Kertinal rescued thousands of humans over a year ago. Mandy had been one of them, and Harper had dug up several news articles about it on her datapad.

If I could just get back to my ship, I could finish this final cargo run. It would hopefully still pay me enough that I could fly to Ker, sell theFinix, and settle on the planet where I’d be safe. Safety was all that mattered now that I had another life to think about, but the thought of settling in one place made my skin itch. I hadn’t been able to do that ever since I left Earth. I could have settled on Aderia or Rakesh—even Elrohir—if I hadn’t had the itch to keep roaming. All those planets banned slavery;I would have been safe there,too.

Mandy curled her arm through mine and patted my hand.“That makes sense. I understand. Why don’t we go see if my mate has figured out what he wants to do? I know he’s eager to keep moving, he’s got more targets on his list he plans to hit before Jalima gets wise.” In other words, I was delaying them. And as eager as I was to get back to my ship, that Naga was probably just as eager to get rid of me. I had a feeling that,if he hadn’t had to worry about the feelings of his human mate, he might have simply dumped me on theFinixalready. He did not seem like the type to worry all that much about the safety of an innocent bystander.

Only Mandy kept me company as she took me to the bridge; the others all scattered into the dark hallways of the ship. I couldn’t blame them—Iwouldn’t want to face that captain either,if I had the choice. He’d been scary as hell, and so was the Talac. If not for the fact that he had a human mate,and she seemed eager to see him, I would have been shaking in my boots right now. But that was a little hard when Mandy was smiling so hugely, her pretty brown eyes sparkling. That wasn’t someone who was scared of her partner, so there had to be a good side to the guy.

The hallway to the bridge looked just like all the others: dark, with no distinguishing features, and only doors and handholds to guide the way. At the end of this hallway, a double door slid open as we approached it, and beyond lay the command center of the entire ship. It was a large bridge, befitting a Battle Class Cruiser like this one—far bigger than the tiny bridge aboard theFinix. To steer a cargo ship, you didn’t need a whole lot of crew, but then my ship wasn’t a maneuverable, heavily armed flying wonder. I peered at the many different stations, manned by a wild array of aliens in their intimidating black armor.

A Rummicaron was at the tactical station, a winged alien of a kind I’d never seen before manned the coms, and a pair of Asrai sat in the pilot and navigational seats. There were at least three more crew members stationed around the room, watching sensor readings or perhaps just there as extra guards. The Talac male was overseeing all of it with a dark frown, a slinky, silver miniature Fantreal horse lying at his feet. Idida double take at the sight and almost missed how Mandy greeted the creepy male. When she asked him where her mate was, all he did was curl his lip in a mysterious half-smile, but he did not answer. I wasn’t quite sure if he was being rude on purpose, liked playing games, or if it was something else.

Mandy shrugged as if she didn’t need his answer anyway and began to walk across the bridge to a door on our left. “Ready room.Asmoded can lock himself in his office for hours on end,” she said to me when I hurried to follow. I was not about to stay behind in this den of vipers. None of them looked friendly. Maybe one of those Asrai was attempting to smile warmly, but his skullish features made that look macabre rather than kind.

The winged male was closest to us, and he rose to offer Mandy his arm. “Let me assist you,” he said, and a pretty,feathered crest rose on his head like a mohawk. Silver gleamed beside his eye—some kind of implant that blinked with a soft orange light. Mandy placed her hand on his armor-clad wrist, and he guided her to the door. I was not offered such help, but I had new insight into Mandy’s position on the ship. The Talac might have been rude, but everyone else seemed to have the utmost respect for her.

I craned my head around to get another look at everyone, and my eyes locked with the dark orbs of the Talac. Rude? No, it was something else—something I couldn’t put my finger on. Part of me wanted to run away at the sight of his eyes, feeling like I’d just stared into the face of evil. But it was very hard to hold onto my fear; it slithered from my flesh and dissolved into nothing, but it left me feeling drained and hollow. Then the strange silver horse creature rose to its cleft hooves and opened its maw to display several rows of razor-sharp teeth. That wasnotwhat a Sunean Fantreal horse looked like; that was a predator. It had to be my imagination, but it seemed to be getting bigger.

I quickly looked away, settling my eyes on the broad back of the winged mercenary. His wings were white and brown, but the tips were a deep red; his crest showed a similar color scheme. I wondered what he was, since I’d seen—and been to—so many different places,and I’d never seen anyone like him. He had long, elegant fingers, whichhe rappedonthe door in a decisive manner. I didn’t hear a response,but he moved his hand to the door panel to open it anyway. It felt like the entire bridge was holding its breath when the door opened. One of the Asrai was even leaning over the back of his seat as far as he could, nearly falling out of it in the process.

Then the unknown alien guy was ushering Mandy through the door, his wing spreading to hover behind my back. I quickened my pace to fall in line behind Mandy, and then the door shut behind me. It was much darker in here than ithad been onthe bridge, and I had to blink several times to adjust. The lights had been dimmed,butonce my eyes adjusted, I could make out a long table and several chairs;beyond it,another door. The Captain was draped in one of those chairs, his long tail lying in loops along the floor.

His eyes lit up at the sight of his mate, and for the first time,he didn’t look so scary and forbidding. That time I’d spentbeing interrogated (if you could call me blabbering uninterrupted an interrogation) had left me feeling like he didn’t have a hint of softness. Mandy rounded the table,but she didn’t even make it all the way to him before he snatched her with his tail and lifted her the rest of the way. She was in his lap, his head ducking to press against her belly as he whispered things I couldn’t hear. It was such a sweet, domestic sight that it made my chest grow tight. A hint of jealousy, a bit of homesickness, and a deep pang of loneliness.

Their greeting didn’t last obnoxiously long,but I still shifted awkwardly on my feet as I looked away. It felt wrong to intrude, and I felt like they’d forgotten I was there. The captain was the first to raise his head, his arms curled protectively—or was that possessively?—around his mate. He met my eyes with a soft expression that slowly became serious and hard to read. “You are just the female I needed to speak with, CaptainGonzález,” he said. “Have a seat.”

I shuffled to the nearest chair, which, coincidentally, was also furthest away from the Naga male. Tucking my feet underneath the seat, I made sure to keep them out of range of that long tail too, just in case. The skin at the back of my neck prickled with unease, as if there were eyes on me I couldn’t see. I checked over my shoulder, but the winged alien had left, closing the door behind him. I also gave the deep shadows in the corners a suspicious look, but they were deep and undecipherable. It was possible someone was there, but I doubted it.

“I want to go back to my ship,” I said, placing my hands on the table to keep them from fidgeting. My tone was bright and cheerful, as if I didn’t expect the captain to immediately say no. “I have a shipment to deliver, and it’s already late.” I didn’t tell him that was because one of the engines had been limping—either he already knew or he wouldn’t care. “You’ll need to give me back my crew, too. I don’t care what you do with the Kanfray;it’s not mine.”

There, I said what I wanted. Mandy might even back me up, she was a nice woman;she didn’t want me to feel like a prisoner. She’d as good as said that they all knew I had nothing to do with Jalima, so they really had no reason to keep me. “It is not safe to let you go, human,” the captain said. “And you are not getting back your crew. They were both involved in the smuggling.” Not safe? My mind instantly leaped to my first fear when I’d discovered those drugs:that the crimelord who owned themwould make me pay if they didn’t arrive.

He was right, that was still a distinct possibility. I couldn’t possibly protect myself if he went after me, let alone my child. Chilled, my hands dropped to my belly to curve protectively around the baby bump. My little one was sleeping right now;I couldn’t feel him move. He didn’t know about the threats that hung over his precious head.

“But I understand keeping schedules,” the captain drawled next. “And I’ve managed to work out a solution. Or rather, a solution has presented himself.” Himself? That was an odd way of phrasing things. When the captain tilted his head, his golden gaze shifting from my face to one of the darkened corners behind me, I found myself trembling in my seat. I knew it, therewassomeone behind me.

Twisting was awkward;the seat was magnetically locked to the floor and did not swivel. My belly also got in the way, bumping against the table. At first, I didn’t see anything—just those large, deep shadows. And then I spotted the gleam of a pair of eyes. Blue, so very blue. My heart began to thunder wildly in my chest, and it wasn’t from fear. I didn’t know what this was, because my rational mind was definitely telling me I should be scared out of my mind.

The eyes were floating in darkness, high above my head. I had never been a whiz at math, but even I could estimate that,at that height, this guy had to be eight feet tall. He was a freaking giant. The longer I stared, the more I began to see: the cloak that wrapped around him, giving me the illusion of all those shadows; the wideness of his massive shoulders;the heat in those icy blue eyes;and then a hand, big and covered in a fine blue pelt.

My heart didn’t thunder then, it stuttered, followed by a swoop of butterflies in my belly. They were definitely butterflies this time;there was no mistaking them for the gentle efforts of my baby boy. I didn’t recognize his eyes, but I recognized that hand. My fingers tingled in remembrance of that gentle brush that morning, when he’d passed me my plate of food. That was Brace.I knew it.

The captain and Mandy had quietly waited for me to process the presence of the elusive, hermit chef. Now,Asmoded spoke again: “Brace will accompany you as your protector. He is more than a match for any danger Jalima—or others—could throw your way. The pair of you can make the run to Rumcas while we deal with the final shipments. Then we’ll rendezvous when the problem has resolved itself.”

A Hoxiam protector?That big—nay,giant—beast and mealone aboard theFinixfor weeks to come? The captain was crazy. I opened my mouth to say so, because shacking up with a Hoxiam would be tantamount to tying bacon to a cat. He’d freaking eat me before the journey was over… The tingling in my clit told me that some part of my brain had an entirely differentkindof “eating” in mind when I thought of Brace. It had to be the pregnancy hormones;they were making me horny.

---