Page 10 of The Firebrand
Before she could walk away, the guy muttered, “Damn. I am one stupid sonofabitch.” He grabbed an arm, spun her around, slung her over his shoulder, and pounded down the alley. “Coming through, Chay, but no one’s going to be happy.”
ChapterThree
Slungover a thick shoulder, with a gentle hand moving up and down her legs, Braelyn lowered her lids to shut out the blinding, whirling light.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
As her stomach did a one-eighty, she upchucked most of the Frozen Monkey drink.
When the world stopped spinning, she heard an unfamiliar voice. Higher pitched. Younger.
“What the hell, Rein. That’s a human. A female.”
“I know, dumbass. I had no choice. She saw Malok in an alley. I tried a mindwipe. It didn’t work.”
Braelyn still clasped the coffee cup and cellphone. She lifted her head to have a look-see. Then her kidnapper trailed his hands up to her ass, squeezed lightly, and flipped her onto her feet.
He stepped a few paces back while scrubbing a hand across his jaw. “I gotta fix this.”
Braelyn spread her legs to steady herself, shooting her eyes from familiar man to new man. Left. Right. Again. Her gaze dropped to her coffee cup.Empty.She tossed it. Surely today was an exception to the no-littering rule. She shifted her phone to her ear, whispering, “Dad, Dad? Are you there?”
“It won’t work,” the kidnapper snarled, grabbing the lifeline out of her hand and jamming it into a pocket.
Braelyn nodded. While the two men chatted, she eyed the surroundings. Trees. Bushes. Giant ferns. Not Post Alley.
How the hell did I get here and where is here?The deadly but sexy guy kissed me and put me in a fireman’s hold. A blinding light, popping sounds, stomach-twisting nausea. I did not pass out. This doesn’t seem to be a hallucination.
Braelyn chewed on her lower lip while screwing up the courage to speak.Go for it.“When someone has just drunk a twenty-ounce coffee, don’t throw them over your shoulder. Check your pants for barf. Your fault, by the way.” Her brows knit together in a confusion-anger combo.
Her attacker twisted to glance at the back of his tacticals. He glared at Braelyn but then ignored her to continue talking to the other man.
New guy was buff and hard, also a soldier. A wide red cloth banded his head, securing long, dark hair that hung beyond his broad sculpted shoulders. Wearing a sleeveless black leather vest along with low-slung jeans, he clutched something that looked like a crossbow in his fist. His stormy gray eyes were deep-set, the hint of a beard making his coppery-skinned face more manly, less boyish. He reminded Braelyn of a photo she had once seen of an Apache warrior standing beside a horse in the Southwestern desert.
On his bare arm was the tat of a colorful feathered bird, its beak opened in a silent screech, deadly talons curled. Its wings wrapped around his bicep. Though she had caught only a partial view of Rein’s mark, the two could be alike.
Maybe they’re both in the same military unit or homegrown terrorist cell.
Enough.
Braelyn wanted answers. She jutted one leg out in front of the other, crossing arms under her breasts. Battling cancer had taught her hard lessons. A good offense beat any defense. So, she donned a stony expression, chin thrust upward. “Hey! Tall, Dark, Demented.” She beckoned her kidnapper closer with a crooked finger.
The men stopped talking.
New guy’s mouth quirked. “I think she means you.”
“Your name is Rein?” she asked.
He sighed, did a lazy blink, his chest expanding with a deep breath. But he did not move one inch nearer.
“What the hell is going on, Rein? No bullshit. I can smell bullshit a mile away. I’ve been manhandled, molested, and snatched.”
“Molested? Did Malok get to her?” Rein’s partner, his lips drawn tight, pointed toward the hairy thing from the alley.
Following new guy’s gaze, for the first time Braelyn noticed the creature. He was statue still, arms restrained by an invisible lasso and trussed like a holiday turkey. His mouth was open wide as if he were screaming, too, but she couldn’t hear a sound.
Braelyn gave a dismissive wave. “No. Not that thing. Him.” She pointed at Rein. Her tongue flicked across her deliciously bruised, swollen lips.
“My man, what up?” New guy raised a hand to high-five his friend, lowering it when a scowling Rein did not return the gesture. “You don’t get into these crazy situations. You’re creeping up on my territory now.”
