by Imogene Nix
Her expression stunned him the moment it came into view. Her eyes were closed to half-mast, a giant, bright white smile splayed across her face. She appeared awake, but dreaming, her expression one of a hazy happiness.
He struggled to find words for her. “You’re absolutely stunning.”
“And you’re talented…and naughty.” A devilish glint sparked her gaze before she caught his lip between her teeth. She held him captive for a moment, her eyes penetrating his, making his already hard cock twitch with desire. Finally, she took his lips completely, pressing off the ground. “It’s your turn.”
“No.” The disagreement pained him. Surprise and hurt flashed in her eyes. He explained, “I know you feel the need to press on. Enough time has passed. Our passage should go unnoticed now that we’re sure no one was following. I want to help you with your mission, not distract you.”
She smiled, pulling down her shirt. “All right, but only if you promise there will be more distracting later.”
The playful request tied a knot in Damon’s stomach. Angela wanted more of him, a fact that should have elated him. Instead it reminded him that he would not have more with Angela. He’d have to let her return to Earth upon the conclusion of her mission; flee from her before she had the chance to realize he was really a clone, her most hated enemy.
Still, he wondered if he could ever exist without her. The once hellish planet would become a new kind of hell once Angela was gone. But for now he had to ensure her safety. It was the least he could do since she’d given him a fleeting taste of happiness.
“Let’s journey on.” He helped her up and carefully guided her shorts up her legs.
He could only hope she forgave him during this next phase of her mission.
Chapter 7
Angela navigated the treacherous red landscape, leaping over the holes left by sand snakes with a lightness in her feet. It was time to stop pretending that Damon hadn’t caused this effect on her. Despite the gloom and doom that propelled her purpose in the mission, Angela saw light at the end of the tunnel. She’d save lives on this mission, and when it was over, perhaps she might have a shot at a normal one. The kind of life where she was in love.
She glanced over at her lover. Damon’s tanned skin glowed beneath the sun like crème brulee. She recalled that his lips were just as sweet and she gnawed on her bottom lip to keep from leaping onto him. He looked over at her, catching her in the act of...well, she probably looked as if she were about to devour him up like a fine French dessert. He grinned, the bright white smile causing her to stumble.
His strong grip reached out for her. Her hand fit perfectly in his, and she caught herself before the ground could make too much of a fool out of her. “I’m good.” She blushed hard, heat scorching her cheeks.
“You just want me to carry you again.”
“No!” Horrified, she glanced over at him only to see he was holding in laughter. “Oh, I see. Someone’s being cheeky.” She placed her palm on his face, feeling the warmth of his smile seeping into her. He halted in his tracks and looked at her, stunned.
She recoiled, pulling her hand back. It was too much.
She began to walk once more, but Damon halted her. He folded her hand within his grasp and brought it back up to rest on his cheek. Instead of speaking, he gazed down at her. For a man trapped on a planet with hostile clones, he looked almost at peace. Almost…in love.
Angela smiled as genuine contentment thrummed through her. Now was the perfect time to confide in him. “Damon, I have to tell you something. I think that I was meant to come here for more than just my mission.”
Damon cupped her cheek and kissed her softly. He moved in even closer to whisper in her ear, “You’ve changed my life, Angela. I care about you more than anything.” His voice broke. “Which is why this hurts me very much.”
Confusion twisted in her gut like a knife. She pulled away to catch a glimpse of his pained expression, but as she did, the familiar pressure of his thumb on her neck caused her world to dim. She fought back this time, reaching for his hand and twisting it hard. Her military training was no match for his strength.
“Why?” The word ached as the breath escaped through her lungs. A tear slipped down her cheek.
Instead of an answer, the last image she saw was the hard line of Damon’s jaw and the tormented glint in his eyes. Her world went black.
* * * *
“Angela, wake up.” A hard pat on the cheek summoned Angela from her slumber. The hard, cool rock beneath her left Angela’s body sore as she got up. She recognized Elara’s voice, but couldn’t see her friends through the dark cavern.
“Where am I?”
Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness as Rogue placed a jug of water within her grip. “We tracked you into this cave, we’re about five miles south of Base 23.”
“We already checked the perimeter. Security is almost non-existent.”
Angela’s grip tightened on the water jug. “They’re cocky.”
“They’ve gotten lazy. But doubtful less vicious, so we need to be on when we make our move,” Rogue warned.
Angela didn’t have to be able to see through the dark to feel Rogue reaching for Elara. A painful ache erupted in her chest. “Did you notice tracks leaving the cave?”
“No,” Elara whispered. “Someone took care to cover up their departure.”
Rogue growled. “He was a coward, Angela.”
“He’s seen unimaginable things here, Rogue.” Angela’s voice cracked as she tried to defend the man that she’d thought she loved.
“You think I don’t know what he’s seen?” Rogue’s deep voice hinted calm fury.
Angela’s own anger simmered. “Yes, but you were on the giving end of it, weren’t you?” She all but screamed at her friend’s clone lover through the cave.
Elara grabbed Angela’s hand. “This is not the battle we came here to fight. Both of you, calm down. We need to focus on the mission and the men that we can save. Angela, I’m sorry you lost one.”
Rogue started to make his way out. “I’ll meet you at the mouth.” Disapproval clipped his tone.
Elara placed a reassuring hand on Angela’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why Rogue is so disapproving of Damon. I know you were developing feelings for him.”
Angela didn’t confess the depth of what she’d felt for Damon. Instead, she kept the feeling hidden within, still questioning why he’d left her so suddenly. “Let’s just focus on the mission.”
Chapter 8
Damon squared his shoulders as he walked past the two clones guarding the only remaining entrance to Base 23. Their glares burned into him as he passed without a word. Ever since Damon had gone AWOL, there had been no love lost between him and the other men.
The halls of the once pristine human-run military base were still marred by the evidence of the hostile takeover. Now any human that was dragged through the facility would see boasts of victory and warnings of death to human scum etched in the blood of their fallen comrades. Although the triumph of his oppressors had once made Damon proud, the violence had weighed on him. Now, it made him sick to his stomach thinking of Angela and how it affected her.
Damon made his way into the central command center. Crool, a merciless clone from a nearby base who had declared himself commander and led the takeover of 23, freeing Damon and the others, lounged in a chair. His massive frame barely fit in the seat, but he claimed it like a throne, puffing on a cigar from the human’s supply. His relaxed expression turned jovial when he noticed Damon enter the room. Damon knew better than to expect a warm welcome. To Crool, jovial often meant something vicious was about to happen.
“Damon, how wonderful to see you.” The stark-white grin flashed like a blood-thirsty promise.
Two guards appeared behind Damon, kicking his knees out from under him. Damon dropped to the ground, placing his hands behind his head while he was searched. “You’ve made some improvements to the base, I see.”
The sarcastic
tone wasn’t lost on Crool, whose smile quickly dropped from his scar-etched face. The clone wore the marks like trophies, clearly relishing every fight where he ever rendered a human to the ground.
He sneered at Damon. “Improvements will be made soon. You’re not privy to such intel anymore, comrade.”
“Let me guess, you heard communication from the humans that a ship was on its way?”
Shock and fury passed through Crool’s eyes. He leapt from his chair as the guards shoved Damon into the room. “How do you know this?”
Damon remained quiet for a moment, giving Crool enough of an edge that he removed a hunting knife and held it against Damon’s neck. The blade was sharp, causing a hot trickle of blood to leak down his skin before there was pain.
Damon didn’t back down, meeting Crool’s intense gaze as he got in his face. “What is your plan with the remaining humans?”
“You’re not in a place to be asking questions, Damon.”
Crool was wrong. Damon could never have Angela, so he had nothing to lose. “Actually, I am. I know that the spacecraft has landed, and I know its location. I’m sure you’d like to get to it before another clone base does.”
Crool punched Damon in the gut, the breath leaving his lungs in a painful rush. Still, Damon stayed on his feet. He’d expected as much of a welcome since he’d left the clone colony without a word.
“I could just torture the information from your lips,” Crool said. “With so few humans left, a good time is hard to come by these days.”
“I have no qualms about revealing the location of the ship, I just want to know how many humans you have left and what you’re planning on doing with them.”
The room stayed silent except for the scrape of steel against skin as Crool pulled his knife away from Damon’s throat. “There’s only one left,” Crool growled. “We’ve been using him as a hostage to negotiate with the humans. A transport ship for each base is being issued.”
“They’ll be full of soldiers,” Damon warned.
Crool smiled, another lethal promise. “I can only hope. We haven’t had nearly enough fun. The sand snakes don’t keep my skills sharp enough. I could use a good massacre.”
Damon grit his teeth, swallowing any words that might get him killed before he could do anything useful. “A massacre won’t be necessary if you’ll trade me the remaining human for the ship’s location.”
“Why would I give up my only pawn, the only human I have to torture now and then, for the location of a ship when there are five more on the way?”
“Because the humans will be tracking the other ships. This one will be a dark carrier—they’ll never expect it to be carrying clones.”
Crool still didn’t look interested. Damon began to worry that instead of getting off the hellish planet, the commander would rather stay and continue to punish the race that had long kept him prisoner. The other clones would be desperate to get off the planet. If they found out it wasn’t their leader’s first priority, perhaps Damon could inspire a mutiny.
“Get the human,” Crool barked at one of the guards.
Damon and Crool continued to stare each other down, neither of them speaking, but a silent communication passed between them. Damon was sure Crool was smart enough to know what he contemplated. In turn, Damon knew that Crool would never release the human to him. But if he could gain enough intel on where the general was being kept, perhaps he could steal him away and send him back with Angela to Earth. All he needed was a distraction—a ship.
Chapter 9
Elara approached the entrance to Base 23 with a carefully practiced sway of her hips. The two guards on duty trained their guns, but the profanity they uttered made clear their intention was not to shoot. No, Angela knew they had much worse on their minds.
Before the clones had a chance to drool, Rogue and Angela came at them from behind. Rogue snapped a neck hard enough to nearly decapitate the soldier. Angela pulled her dagger free of her guard’s neck, enough blood spilling from his lips to muffle his cries.
“Rogue, do you know where they’d be keeping my father?” Angela wiped her blade against her shorts, smearing blood on the fabric.
“No, I never spent any time within Base 23. I can infiltrate and do reconnaissance.”
Elara shook her head. “No, it’s too risky. They could’ve heard about what happened with your men. If they knew you were—”
“In love with a human?” Rogue finished. A slow, wolfish grin spread across his face, his eyes filled with fire as he looked at Elara.
Angela heaved a breath and ignored the heat that filtered through her body and the ache of missing Damon.
“Yes,” Elara agreed. “I’m not taking any chances.”
Angela didn’t blame her. “Okay, we’ll all go in together, staying as hidden as possible until we locate the humans.”
“I’ll go in first. Stay in my shadows. Likely, most of the clones will be in the command center, either staying out of the heat and relaxing, or trying to communicate with the other bases to organize an uprising.”
It was their only choice. This was their mission, no matter how daunting. They hadn’t brought a large crew for this very reason. Three soldiers could slip in unnoticed, an army could not. After all, this was a rescue mission, not combat.
Elara and Angela waited a few paces before they followed Rogue inside the building. Angela’s heart dropped into her stomach when she read the warning painted in blood. It trickled down the stark white walls as if it’d been painted when its livelihood was still hot. How many bodies had once lay lifeless in the hallway?
Up ahead, Rogue motioned for them to duck for cover. Elara pushed Angela into a dark supply closet just before a clone came into sight. Angela listened for the sound of alarm, but it never came. Elara lifted a mirror to peer behind them and watched Rogue silently subdue the clone and drag him into another abandoned room.
Angela glanced around, searching for additional weapons, but found none.
Rogue appeared before them. “The next hall is clear.”
She stood up to follow Rogue, but he caught her elbow. “Angela. I heard voices coming from the command center. I believe that’s where everyone is concentrated right now. I think…I think your father might be there.”
She broke free of his hold. “Rogue, I once hated you for what you are. You stormed my ship and your men murdered our entire crew.” Her heart ached, nearly turning her legs to jelly as she recalled her fear. She straightened, pulling her gun from its holster. “I expect the same kind of enthusiasm today.”
He nodded, taking off toward the command center. Angela and Elara followed close behind his massive, muscled form. The clones had been harvested to be killing machines. In this case, she was happy to have one on her side.
Rogue halted them when they arrived near double doors leading into what she imagined was the command center. As he’d warned them, she heard voices inside.
“For what purpose did you want this filthy human? As you can see, right now the general is in no condition to speak.”
Elara reached out and gave Angela’s hand a squeeze. She mouthed we’ll get him.
Angela nodded and sucked in a deep breath to level the pounding of her heart. The next voice that came from the room sent a chill down her spine.
“I expected nothing less.” Damon. The human may have been little more than a stranger, but she’d recognize his voice anywhere. They’d captured him too. Damon never would have been discovered if she hadn’t encouraged him to leave the safety of his dwelling. She tightened her grip on the gun, dying to put it to use.
The clone commander spoke again. “When you left us, Damon, I didn’t expect you to return. I thought maybe you didn’t have the stomach for this.”
The sound of a fist smashing into bone nearly made Angela scream. She moved toward the door and risked a glance through the glass porthole. Past Damon’s broad shoulders, a clone had just punished her father’s limp body with another blow. Two guards held h
is unconscious, bleeding body like a punching bag. The hot brand of a tear leaked down Angela’s cheek. Rogue reached for her, pulling her away from the window.
“Tell me about the ship, Damon. You’ve always been a loner, why are you now so eager to return to your forsaken clone family with such news?”
Reality sank into Angela, a heavy weight that made her drop to her knees. Damon was a clone. The ultimate betrayal filtered through her. She swore she’d never let a clone lay hands on her again. He’d tricked her, played the victim, and she’d given her body willingly to the damn bastard. Worse, he’d taken her mind captive, turning her into a lovesick fool that couldn’t see what was really in front of her.
She replayed the time they’d spent together. He’d always refused to use sunblock—something he wouldn’t need as a clone, harvested for a planet of heat and immune to such things. He’d known the “slave trade” tunnels and when the clones were coming. Her breath caught as the realization of all his lies dawned on her. He’d misled her, traveling in circles around the base, when as the mission geologist, she should have recognized she was being deterred. She’d been a fool.
Her hands trembled. Just when she thought the agony and fury of the betrayal couldn’t hurt much more, the door slammed open, knocking her to the ground. Rogue immediately stepped in front of Elara, but in only moments, a gang of clones had them wrestled into their grips and they were being hauled into the room.
Angela fought more tears when Damon turned and laid eyes on her, showing no signs of recognition or remorse. The perfect face she once gazed at was devoid of all emotion, now the cold expression of a stone. Her arms erupted in pain as the clones on both of her sides tightened their grips. “Look what we found.”
“And here I thought our fun at Base 23 had run out.” The commander grinned, a smile that made bile creep up Angela’s throat.
She forced her gaze to her father’s unconscious form. Had she failed him?
Rogue remained calm in the arms of two clone guards as if he knew he could shrug them off at any moment. His eyes were trained on the commander with lethal intent. “If you touch either of these women, I’ll sever the hand from your body.” The guards quickly removed all the blades within sight on his form. Rogue didn’t flinch. “Damage can be done without blades.”
