She followed Caze and he stopped in front of a door marked with alien text she couldn’t read. He thumped a fist against it.
A damaged panel beside the door blinked. “The resident is not home.”
Caze grunted and Lara raised a brow. Then Caze lifted a boot…and kicked the door down.
A Kantos stood in the entry, staring at them with four beady, yellow eyes.
He looked like every other Kantos soldier she’d ever seen, although less muscular. His chest was sunken, and he had several piercings in one cheek.
“Uh, warrior, I wasn’t expecting you.”
She blinked at the deep, robotic voice. That’s when she noticed a metallic box implanted into the skin at his neck. Some kind of tech that let him talk aloud.
“I bet,” Caze said darkly.
Lara straightened, keeping her gaze on the Kantos. He might be a defector, but her brain couldn’t accept that he wasn’t the enemy.
Caze took a menacing step forward, and Lara crossed her arms over her chest. She liked watching him be badass. It turned her on.
“I’m here for intel, Degam. On the gem of Eschar.”
“Oh. Heard it was stolen from the temple.” The Kantos fidgeted nervously.
Lara stepped closer. “Right. It was stolen by me, but then someone else took it. One of your kind.”
Degam’s yellow eyes blinked and he licked his thin lips. He looked her up and down.
“Tell us what we don’t know,” she said.
“Wait, you’re Terran.” The Kantos eyed her eagerly. “I’ve never seen your species before.”
“Degam.” Caze loomed over the Kantos. “Intel. Now.”
The alien shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve got nothing—”
Lara slammed into him. With a screech, he scuttled sideways and hit an overlarge, padded stool designed for a being with four legs.
“I don’t like Kantos,” she said. “So talk, or you’ll be giving me a reason to show my displeasure.”
“You do his dirty work?” Degam snapped.
“He’s capable of doing his own.” She leaned in. “I just enjoy it more.”
“The Kantos have the gem,” Degam said.
“Why?” Lara demanded.
“They want Earth, and they want the vast majority of Eon territory, as well.”
Idiots. The Kantos really believed they could take on the Eon?
“Why do they want the gem, Degam?” Caze asked.
“They need it for the weapon they’re creating.”
Weapon. Lara froze. Fuck.
Caze went motionless, just a muscle ticking in his jaw. “What kind of weapon?”
“The big kind. A planet killer.”
Lara felt like a starship had landed on her chest. This was beyond bad.
“Where is the gem?” Caze asked.
“I… Well…”
Lara slammed Degam again.
He screeched.
“Go ahead and lie, Degam,” she drawled. “See how I like it.”
“I don’t like your friend, Caze.”
Lara rolled her eyes. “Boohoo.”
Caze shook his head, clearly amused. “Where is the gem?”
“You don’t pay me enough—”
Lara punched Degam in the face.
The Kantos wheezed. “Tyloth. A hive station near Tyloth.”
Caze cursed, long and loud. “Let’s go, Lara.”
She nodded, giving Degam one last, hard stare.
Her arm brushed Caze’s as they strode to the door and her skin tingled. Lara shoved the feeling aside. For now. But first chance she got, she was going to ride the warrior hard and get this damn crazy attraction out of her system.
Degam scuttled forward. “My payment—”
“I’m not sure you deserve it, Degam,” Caze said.
Caze and Lara strode down the corridor, leaving the Kantos growling and snarling in his dwelling.
“Tyloth?” she asked. “Hive station?”
They re-entered the elevator. “A hive station is where the Kantos breed their bugs and soldiers.”
He didn’t sound happy about it. “You’ve seen one?”
“I’ve been aboard.”
“Once was enough, right?”
“Right. But unfortunately, it’s been a few more times than that.”
They exited the elevator, through the lobby, and then moved back out onto the main concourse. “So we need to get to the station and sneak aboard.”
Silver-black eyes flicked her way. “No, I need to sneak aboard.”
She frowned. “No way, hot stuff. We’re a team.”
“You’ll stay on my ship.”
“No.”
Caze jerked to a halt. She thought he was stopping to face off with her, but she saw him staring down the concourse. She followed his gaze and saw several more dome-shaped bots floating in front of them. Five in a row.
“Your security clearances have been revoked,” the bots said in unison.
She frowned. “I thought you said this place was lawless? If there’s no law enforcement, who owns these bots?”
“There are several syndicates that operate on Titania. They run the salvage businesses…and other things. They also protect their interests, and will do anything to squeeze a profit from a situation.”
A lightbulb went off. “They want to take us out and salvage your stealth ship.”
“I suspect so. Eon tech does go for a very high price.”
All the lights on the bots blinked red.
Uh-oh.
“You are now considered hostile targets for neutralization,” the bots droned.
“Cren,” Caze spat. “Degam sold us out.”
The little weasel. Small doors opened on the bots and weapons extended out, swiveling around to aim at Lara and Caze.
Shit, they had no cover.
Caze held up his arm and his helian morphed. It elongated, forming a silver, rectangular shield in front of them.
The security bots fired and the shield absorbed the laser blasts, flickering with each hit.
“Lara, behind me,” Caze ordered.
She moved in close to his back and drew her blasters. If he thought she was going to cower behind him like a helpless princess in an old-fashioned fairy tale, he was sorely mistaken.
* * *
Caze kept his arm and shield up, his helian taking the brunt of the blasts. But he felt the pressure of the blows and gritted his teeth against the force of it.
Return laser fire whizzed past him. He turned his head and saw Lara had ducked out from behind him. She was firing her blasters in quick succession.
The security bots focused on her location and she ducked back behind him. The bots’ fire slammed into where she’d been a split-second ago. Black marks scored the floor.
“Lara!”
She rolled, coming out on the other side of his shield. She fired again and one bot slammed into the wall.
She grinned. “I’ve got this, hot stuff.”
Leaping up, she strode forward, her entire focus on the bots, her blasters clenched in both hands.
“Cren, Lara!”
She fired again, ducking the laser blasts that came her way.
Cursing, Caze charged forward. He could watch the woman fight all day long, but he didn’t want to see that pretty skin of hers singed by laser burns.
She fired again, and another bot careened to the side and dropped to the floor. Laser fire scored the walls and he lifted his shield, trying to get in front of Lara. He saw her body jerk.
“Lara!”
“Just winged me. I’m fine.” Her gaze narrowed. “Bastard.” She concentrated fire on the bot that had caught her.
Caze morphed his helian into a blaster. A big one.
Boom.
His shot took out a third bot. Lara smiled at him, then dived gracefully and rolled. She slid in beneath the remaining bots.
Turning onto her back, she aimed up, and fired both the weapons. The bots started smoking an
d dropped.
Lara rolled to the side and rose to her feet.
“Four to me, one to you, hot stuff. You’re slipping.”
Caze ignored her teasing and moved over to check her arm.
“It’s fine,” she said.
Still, he hated seeing her charred flesh. “We need to get back to the ship. Now.”
Together, they broke into a jog. But they hadn’t gone far when he heard the thunder of running footsteps.
“Hm, I think we have company.” She checked her blasters.
They turned a corner and, ahead, Caze spotted several armed guards. They were all wearing exoskeletons—which gave them added strength, stamina, and weapons.
No doubt more goons who worked for one of the salvage syndicates.
Cren. He nudged Lara through a side door.
They stepped into another large, cavernous warehouse. Nearby, welding bots hovered, working on a large starship, cutting it into recyclable pieces.
Oil puddles covered the floor, and the smell of something burning filled the air. Caze ducked under some pipes and waved Lara on.
Running footsteps and shouts sounded behind them.
Caze and Lara bent over, moving beneath the hull of the starship.
“You aren’t a boring date, warrior.”
He scowled at her. She was making a joke while they were running for their lives?
“That way.” She pointed. “We’re close to the hangar, right?”
He nodded, and they skirted some welding bots and stacks of salvaged metals. Laser fire winged through the air, leaving scorch marks on the metal hull of the ship.
Caze lunged, knocking Lara out of the way. A laser blast hit his arm. He felt a flash of pain, and then it was gone.
“Keep going,” he roared.
They ran to the far wall.
“Door, door.” Lara jogged along it. “We need a door.”
“Up there.” He jerked his head upward, at a mesh walkway overhead. There was a door in the wall on the upper level.
She frowned. “They’ll fire on us—”
Caze gripped her waist and boosted her up. She cursed, but gripped the metal framework of the mezzanine and started to climb.
He turned, firing his blaster at the incoming guards. He’d keep them busy so she could get up there safely.
“Come on, Caze,” she called down.
He looked up and watched her pull herself over the railing. She crouched, and started firing on the guards to give him cover.
Caze bent his knees and jumped high. He gripped the metal frame and started climbing. He normally completed solo stealth missions, so he wasn’t used to having someone watching his back. Even on the Desteron, he was used to giving orders to the security team. He wasn’t used to having a partner.
He leaped over the railing, just as laser blasts hit close by.
“Move,” he ordered.
She rolled her eyes. “I thought we should stay here and hang out. Have a party.”
He nudged her away from the railing. “Sarcasm later, Earth woman.”
They raced toward the door. They burst through it and into the hangar.
“There.” She pointed to their ship. “Shit.”
It was surrounded by several security bots and guards in exoskeletons.
Cren.
“Too many for us to take on alone. Plus, they’ll have reinforcements on the way.” She glanced his way. “Plan?”
No panic or alarm. No, Lara’s face was alive, and she was humming with energy. He wondered if anything knocked Lara Traynor off her stride.
He forced himself to study the hangar below. None of their options were particularly good.
Then Lara snapped her fingers. “See the neighboring ship?”
He turned and looked at the larger Deloo freighter.
“We jump onto it,” she said. “Then we leap off it onto our ship.”
He looked at her, then at the large gap between their ship and the freighter. He’d never met a woman as fearless as her.
“We’ll make it.” She smiled. “Watch.”
She climbed up onto the railing, pressing her boots onto it, one hand gripping it to keep her balance. Then she jumped.
Caze’s heart leaped into his throat. He watched her fly across the gap to the Deloo ship. He held his breath. Cren. She wasn’t going to make it.
She hit the side of the ship, clinging for a second, then she scrambled up on top of it.
He released a breath. By the warriors. The woman was going to drive him out of his mind. He climbed onto the railing and jumped.
He landed in a crouch on top of the freighter, right beside her.
Her nose wrinkled. “Show-off.”
They swiveled, creeping closer to the other edge of the freighter. The bots and guards hadn’t noticed them.
“Ready?” she asked.
He grasped her hand. They stood, took a running leap, and jumped together. They landed on the top of his stealth ship, their boots echoing dully on the metal.
He heard Lara suck in a breath.
Below, a security bot swiveled. Its lights turned red and an alarm rang out.
Caze saw the guards turn and shout. Laser fire lit up the hangar.
By Ston’s sword. He lunged for the top hatch of his ship. He wrenched it open, and Lara jumped inside. He ducked a laser blast and followed her, slamming the hatch closed behind him.
Lara was already at the controls, her hands moving fast. When he reached her, he felt the ship’s engines ignite. Then she turned, gripped the neck of his armor and yanked him to her.
She pressed a hard, quick kiss to his lips. “Let’s blow this pop stand, warrior.”
“Pop what?”
She elbowed him and turned back to the controls, sinking into the chair. “It means let’s get out of here.”
Caze sat in the pilot’s seat, connecting with the ship’s controls. Soon, they were blasting out of the space port and soaring into the night sky.
“Two fighters incoming.” She tapped her screen.
He meshed with the cameras and saw the incoming fighters. He flicked on stealth mode and turned his ship sharply to the left. The fighters screamed past them, laser fire arcing uselessly through the sky.
“They’re turning back,” she said.
Caze released a breath. Ever since he’d realized Degam had sold them out, all he’d wanted was to ensure Lara’s safety. He thought it best not to mention that to her.
Lara smiled at him. “You are definitely not a boring date, hot stuff.”
Chapter Eleven
“How long to reach the hive station?” Lara asked.
“It’s a long hop. We need to stop, stock up on weapons, and get our wounds healed.” He eyed her. “And get some new armor for you.”
Her arm was throbbing, but it wasn’t bad. “You know a place?”
“Yes, another stealth station. This is a planetary one, near the border of the Tyloth Quadrant.”
She nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
The control console chimed and Caze touched it. “Incoming call. From the Desteron.”
A handsome warrior’s face appeared on the screen. He looked almost like a clone of Davion, but Lara noted a few differences. This man had interesting lines around his mouth that said he smiled more than the war commander.
“Brack,” Caze said.
The man inclined his head, his curious blue-black gaze falling on Lara before moving back to Caze. “Good to see you alive and all in one piece. We got word of an altercation on Titania.”
Caze nodded. “A slight…problem with our informant.”
“Davion is waiting for an update.” Brack’s lips quirked. “And you’re surviving working with your new…partner?”
Caze made a sound and Lara raised a brow. “The partner is sitting right here. And he’s doing fine. I’ve barely even beaten him up much.”
The man on the screen’s smile widened. “I look forward to meeting you another time, Lara Traynor.
Hold for the war commander.”
An Eon logo flashed on the screen.
“Brack?”
“A fellow warrior on the Desteron, and often an annoyance. He enjoys…”
“Pressing buttons. Poking. Needling.”
“Yes.”
Eve’s and Davion’s faces appeared on the screen.
“You’re okay?” Eve asked.
Lara nodded.
Davion’s face was serious. “What happened?”
“Degam sold us out,” Caze said. “We had to…finesse our way out.”
Lara elbowed him. “He means fight our way out and make a huge mess.”
Eve laughed, then her gaze moved between Lara and Caze. Lara saw speculation.
Great. Sitting back in her chair, Lara kept her face clear of emotion. The last thing she needed was her newly-in-love sister digging where she wasn’t needed.
“Caze,” Davion said. “We have intel that the Kantos are pushing hard to find you. They want the gems.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Caze pulled in a breath. “We got information from Degam on why the Kantos want the gems.”
Davion’s brow creased. “Tell me.”
“They’re building a weapon. I assume they need the gems to make it function.”
Davion cursed.
“The gem of Eschar is on a hive station in the Tyloth Quadrant.”
The war commander cursed again. “Wait for us. We’ll meet up with you, and infiltrate the hive station with a team of warriors.”
“They could already be testing a weapon, Davion,” Caze said. “It’ll take too long for you to get here.”
“Degam said the weapon is powerful,” Lara added. “A potential planet killer. They want to go after Earth, then the Eon homeworlds.”
“Fuck,” Eve muttered.
“Caze and I will retrieve the gem,” Lara said.
Caze’s unhappy gaze turned her way.
She held up a hand. “No arguments, warrior. You know I’m capable.”
He blew out a breath. “Lara and I will retrieve the gem.”
Eve looked worried. “Be careful.”
“Careful is my middle name,” Lara said.
“No, it’s not,” Eve replied. “‘Blow it up’ is your middle name.”
Touch of Eon: Eon Warriors #2 Page 9
