by Susan Hayes
“You know, I’m starting to think you might be the smart one,” Tanner said and touched his palm to the wall. The cell door unlocked, and he swung it open with a pleasant smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s get this over with. Shall we?”
The moment Jade was out of her cell, Maggie moved in beside her and slung a supportive arm around her waist. They leaned into each other and followed Tanner with the other man following behind them, humming to himself like he was enjoying this. Bastard probably was.
Maggie knew her lifespan could be measured in minutes now. She was adrift in a sea of regrets and hopes for a future that was slipping away, but she still clung to the hope that Striker would come for her.
Hurry. She tried to project the thought to him, even though she knew she had no way of making him hear her. It was a wish, nothing more, but one that came from her heart.
13
“What do you see?” Striker asked the moment Tra’var cleared the treetops. He’d taken the lead on this mission and no one had said a word about it. Habits and conditioning he never expected to use again came flooding back.
“Keep your wings on. Er… hold your… fraxx it. I have no idea what the cyborg version of that expression is, but give me a moment here. I need to get higher before I can—Aha! Found it.”
“Details,” Striker requested, his voice sharp.
“You were right. They’ve landed a ship here. Bigger than a shuttle.”
Wreckage snickered. “This is what happens when you bring civilians along.”
Damos spun a pure black kes’tarv in his hands, making the shaft hum as it wove through the air. “There is no such thing as a civilian Vardarian, human.”
Ruin growled. “Don’t call us that.”
“Shut it. All of you,” Striker snapped and spoke to Tra’var again. “I need details, Tra’v. What size is the ship? What markings do you see? Where are the doors?”
“Let me rephrase. I can’t see the ship. What I can see is a big ship-shaped distortion parked on the grass between the trees and the shore. Either a cloaked vessel is there, or we’ve got a space-time rupture in progress on our beach.”
“Anyone outside?” Striker asked.
“Not that I can see. Could be hiding behind the cloaking shield, though.”
“Come on back,” he ordered.
Tra’var reappeared seconds later, diving into the clearing and touching down not far from where Damos stood.
“Plan?” Wreck asked.
“Tra’var and Damos, stay here and start raining hell down on them from cover. Draw them out if you can. The more of them are outside, the easier it will be to slip past them and rescue Maggie.”
“That’s it?” Damos grumbled. “I thought we’d have a chance to wreak a little havoc.”
“Once I’m inside, you can wreak anything you want. Try to leave someone alive, though. The council is going to want answers.”
“Only one survivor? I can work with that.” Damos put away his kes’tarv and drew a pulse rifle from its sling on his back.
“Shiny.” Ruin eyed the weapon with obvious appreciation.
“If I make you one just like it, will that work as an apology for calling you human?” Damos asked.
“You can make those? Fraxx, yes. That would be a fine apology,” Ruin said.
“If we’re done proving that we can all live in peace and harmony so long as there are weapons to ogle, can we please move to the part where we kick ass and I get my woman back?”
“Right. Sorry. Priorities.” Ruin clapped a friendly hand on Damos’s shoulder. “We’ll talk later. Drinks at the Bar None. Lowest body count pays.”
“Accepted,” Damos agreed.
“And witnessed,” Tra’var chimed in.
A heartbeat later, the smiles and laughter were gone. Eyes hard, jaws set, weapons ready, they made their way to the shore in total silence. They were a team, moving as one, and it felt good. In this moment, he belonged with these males, all focused on a single goal. His goal. For the first time in his life, he was fighting for what he wanted. He was protecting his home, his friends, and a woman who was destined to drive him crazy for centuries to come.
The Vardarians took his orders literally and hit the cloaked ship with a barrage of fire that made it look as if an army lay hidden in the trees instead of just two lunatics with enough firepower between them to start a small war.
Wreck and Ruin flanked him on either side as the three of them broke cover near what they guessed was the ship’s stern. They moved at superhuman speed. To unenhanced eyes they’d be nothing more than a blur.
The invaders did exactly what he’d hoped. They focused on the Vardarians firing on them. Returning weapon fire seemed to come from nowhere with the defenders still hidden behind the cloaking shield.
“They’re cheating,” Ruin said via their shared link.
“Once we hit the cloak, you want to even the odds?” Striker sent back.
“On it,” Ruin replied.
“Wreckage, you’re with me.”
They barely slowed as they reached the ship and changed direction, charging into the distorted field that hid the attackers from view. Once they were through it, the view changed. Four men, likely human, had taken up defensive positions a few meters away from the ship’s main doors. The cloak had been extended to give them room to move while still remaining hidden. It was not something most standard ships could do. This was definitely some kind of military vessel.
Ruin slammed into the first invader at full speed, sending the man’s body flying out of the cloaked area.
A pair of almost identical battle cries came from the woods, and the covering fire stopped. Tra’var and Damos were about to join the fight, and he left them to it.
Running footsteps announced another wave of fighters leaving the ship, so he and Wreckage ducked out of sight beneath the ramp. Four more of the invaders charged out. They thought they were defending their friends. Striker knew they’d just signed their death warrants.
“Remember, there’s at least one hostage inside. Be careful who and what you shoot.”
“This is not my first firefight. Don’t worry. I’m not going to blast your woman.”
His woman. Damn, he liked the sound of that. Maggie was stubborn and beautiful with a soul as fiery as her hair… and she was his. Or she would be, just as soon as he got her back from the humans who’d taken her.
The first corridor they entered was empty and no automated defenses started firing on them.
“Shoddy security,” Wreckage muttered softly.
Striker agreed. Whoever they were, this outfit hadn’t prepared for the possibility they’d be boarded by hostiles. It was a costly mistake… for them.
“Fraxx you! We had a deal,” Maggie shouted, her voice loud and full of outrage.
Striker turned toward the sound in a side corridor not three meters away. He charged forward at full speed, but it felt like an eternity passed before he reached it. Every moment he expected to hear a blaster fire or Maggie’s scream as something terrible happened and he lost her forever.
Not this time. He wasn’t losing someone else he cared about. Not again.
Someone roared in fury, and it took him a moment to realize the sound was coming from him.
It echoed down the short hallway and bounced off several closed doors.
At the end of the corridor, one door stood open. The air reeked of cleanser and other, less wholesome smells—ones he remembered from Reamus. He shook the dark memories off and kept running. Not again.
Someone stepped into the doorway as he closed the last few steps. Male. Human. Dark haired. Blaster raised. That was all he had time to register before impact.
He’d never fought an unenhanced human before. He’d expected them to be knocked back and then come up fighting. That’s what a cyborg would have done. This was no cyborg.
He heard a meaty sound like a wet sack of bread hitting a hard floor, and the man flew backward. With another wet sma
ck, he hit the bulkhead on the far side of the room, and when he slid to the ground, he left a trail of blood on the wall that told Striker he wouldn’t be getting up again.
“Striker!” Maggie cried out.
He turned just as another man fired at him. The shot went off target because Maggie grabbed the man’s arm, but it still managed to graze his bicep. Striker shut down his pain receptors before he felt more than the first twinge of discomfort.
“Bitch!” Maggie still clung to the male’s arm despite the blows he was raining down on her head and shoulders. “Let go!”
Another woman was in the room, and she flew at the man, too, but he knocked her away with a wild swing of his free arm before kicking Maggie in the stomach. Maggie sagged to the floor with a winded cry of pain.
Striker’s control snapped. Cold rage flowed through him, and he came at the other man faster than a serpent’s strike. He dropped his blaster and went after his target with his bare hands.
He distantly registered another blaster firing. A woman screamed, but he couldn’t see who had fired or what they’d hit. He focused all his fear and fury on the man who taken Maggie from him.
He didn’t stop the beating until Wreckage grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him off. “You can stop now. He’s so dead I think we’re going to need a new medical definition for his condition.”
“Maggie?” Striker panted.
“I’m here.” Maggie flew into his arms and hugged him so hard he thought his reinforced ribs might actually break.
“He hurt you. Are you okay?”
“I am now.” She looked up at him and smiled, though her eyes were full of tears. “You came.”
“You’re under my protection. That hasn’t changed.”
She made a soft sound that might have been hopeful, happy, or sad. He couldn’t tell. “I wasn’t sure about that.”
“Be sure.” He touched her cheek, belatedly realizing his hands were stained with the dead man’s blood. When he tried to pull away before he sullied her skin with it, she grabbed his hand and pressed it to her face.
“I’m sorry I lied to everyone. About everything. You were right. I brought the worst parts of humanity with me to Haven.”
“I’m sorry, too. I wasn’t fair to you. No one here led a perfect life before they came here. Especially me.”
He leaned down and kissed her, savoring the taste of her lips and the salty tang of her tears—tears she’d shed for him because she wasn’t sure he’d come for her. He’d been an ass, and it had nearly cost him the one thing he couldn’t bear to lose… Maggie.
“I will always protect the ones I love,” he whispered against her mouth. “Always.”
“Yeah?” She squeezed him so tightly he felt his ribs creak. “I love you, too. When you sent me back to Haven, I thought I’d lost my chance with you.”
“And when I realized you were in trouble, I thought I’d lost you forever.”
He kissed her again, adrenaline and need coursing through him like the most potent pharma in the galaxy. She was back in his arms, and he wasn’t going to let her go again. Not now. Not ever.
“You’re mine, now, Maggie Piper.”
He expected her to argue with him or at least sass him. Instead, she uttered a delighted laugh and rose on her toes to kiss him. “Yes, I am.”
“Holy fraxx. I leave you alone for a few weeks and you go and fall in love?” Jade demanded weakly.
“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t mention it before. I couldn’t tell those assholes I had a big, badass cyborg coming to rescue me. It would have spoiled the surprise.”
She lowered her voice to a bare whisper only Striker would be able to hear. “And I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“Always.” The word was a promise that made her heart soar.
“Good.” Jade managed to fix Striker with a glare that would have been intimidating if she wasn’t delivering it from the floor with her injured arms cradled in her lap. “You better take care of her, big guy. She needs a keeper and I’m going to be laid up for a while.”
“I don’t need a keeper!”
“Really?” Jade gritted her teeth and nodded down at her leg. Maggie belatedly realized that Wreckage was crouched beside Jade, applying a dressing to her upper thigh.
“Jade! Holy fraxx. Your leg. What happened?”
“I took a blaster bolt for you.” Her friend said with a grim smile. “I’m gonna want a medal for that.”
“She threw herself right into the line of fire,” Wreck looked up quickly, his expression one of admiration and surprise. “You could have died.”
“Could have.” Jade shrugged. “But life would be awfully boring if we never did anything that could get us killed.”
Wreckage blinked and then grinned. “Oh… I like this one. Can we keep her?”
“Well, technically Jade was supposed to be one of the human colonists…” Maggie turned but didn’t leave the comfort of Striker’s arms. She wasn’t sure when she’d be ready to do that… if ever.
“Then it’s settled. She’s staying.” Wreckage gathered Jade gently into his arms and stood. “Ruin says it’s clear outside. They’re sweeping the ship now. Help is on the way. Medical support and transport home for everyone.”
“Hey! Did I say you could pick me up?” Jade protested.
“No. But you can’t walk. How else will you get outside?” Wreck asked.
“Don’t argue, Jaybird. I’ve discovered that cyborgs are even more bullheaded than humans.”
Striker nuzzled her ear. “I’d argue that point, but I don’t want to fight right now.”
“Me either.”
“Oh, you’re a cyborg?” Jade looked at Wreckage with interest. “And pretty, too.”
She raised a hand and then dropped her arm again. All the life faded from her expression and she closed her eyes. “And I’m a broken mess. Take me out of here, please.”
To Maggie’s surprise, Wreckage’s expression turned tender, and he leaned down to whisper something to Jade. Then, he cradled her gently in his arms and carried her out past them.
“You should get that arm looked at, Striker,” he said as he left.
“Arm? What about your arm?” She twisted around until she was facing him again. High on one arm was a scorched patch of flesh and blood-soaked fabric. “Did everyone get shot in the last five minutes but me? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I forgot about it. Pain’s blocked for now. My medi-bots will take care of it by tonight.”
“Then why did he tell you to get it looked at?”
“If I get it cleaned up, it’ll heal faster.”
She grabbed his uninjured hand and started pulling him toward the door. “Then that’s what we’re doing. Come with me.”
He let her lead him for a few steps, but adrenaline and fear had made her legs shaky and she stumbled.
When Striker drew her back to him and lifted her into his arms, she didn’t protest, even though she knew it couldn’t be good for his arm to carry her this way.
“How about we treat you first and then worry about me?” he said.
“I’m okay.” She probably had a concussion, but she wasn’t going to mention that just yet.
“We’ll let a trained professional make that decision.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he stopped her next words with a kiss so hot she forgot about everything else. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him the only thing she could—her surrender.
Heat tore through her like firestorm and she melted into his arms, leaning into his strength. It shouldn’t have felt so right. Not given where they were and what they’d just gone through. Striker’s hands were bloodstained and dead bodies were strewn throughout the room, but none of that mattered right now. He’d come for her. Saved her. He loved her.
That meant everything.
Striker carried her out of the room without breaking their kiss, and she fell into it eagerly. The carnage and fear were blotted out by his
touch. She needed to feel safe right now, at least until she could find a way to stop thinking about how close she’d come to a painful death.
The last few minutes played out again inside her mind, but this time she had the luxury of knowing she and Jade would both survive.
She’d been inside the nightmarish room when the shooting started. Hope had buoyed her up for a moment, but then she’d seen the uneasy look on Tanner’s face. He was almost out of time… and he’d known it.
“Who came for you, you little bitch? Who else is going to die today because of you?” He’d cut her hands free and shoved her into a nightmarish chair so laden with restraints her skin crawled just from sitting in it.
The one watching Jade had set aside her kes’tarv and now held a blaster to Jade’s temple.
“Stop struggling or your friend dies here and now.”
Maggie had frozen in place the moment the threat was spoken.
“Smart girl. Now tell me how to override the failsafe or she’ll be dead in ten seconds.”
With nothing left to lose, Maggie shouted, hoping someone might hear her.
“Fraxx you! We had a deal.”
Someone had heard her. Striker.
He’d charged into the room like an angry god. He hadn’t just stopped the men trying to hurt her. He’d destroyed them. For her.
Memory and reality folded together and she was back in the here and now, safe in Striker’s arms. As they left the ship, euphoria overtook her. She threw back her head and laughed, letting the rain fall on her upturned face.
“You alright?” Striker asked, frowning.
“Wonderful. I’m free. You’re here. You love me. This has been an insane day, but it’s ending well.”
“It’s not over yet.” He descended the ramp and carried her away from the others, heading for the bow of the ship.
“Where are we going?”
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
He growled at her. “For once, will you do as your told?”
“Just this once. Since you saved my life and all.” She closed her eyes, but not before she saw him shake his head and smile.
