by Imogene Nix
“What a wicked promise. You must be Rogue. I’ve heard about you…traitor.” The commander motioned to his guards, and they grabbed Elara by the hair and jerked her head back.
Rogue freed himself from the arms of the guards in a blur of speed. A clone roared as Rogue reached for him, crushing his wrist. The agony caused the guard to release his grip on Elara. Once she was freed, Rogue snatched the guard’s other hand and smashed each finger in his grip.
Angela noticed the clone commander watching Rogue with a sick satisfaction on his face. He didn’t look at all disappointed to see one of his men sink to his knees, crippled by pain. “I see you’re just as lethal as I’d always heard. It’s a shame you’ve been bewitched.”
“A shame for you,” Rogue warned. He issued Damon a killing stare, but Angela averted her gaze toward the ground, unable to look at the clone any longer.
“Let them go and I’ll tell you where the ship is,” Damon uttered, causing Angela to look up.
“You think I’d give up these two females for a ship?”
Rogue growled. “You should, since you’ll never put hands on the women.”
Angela watched Damon, but he never looked toward her. Any hope she might have had melted away.
His deep voice spoke up once more, “I’ll tell you where the ship is now…and after you release them, I’ll tell you where the weapons store is.”
The commander’s cocky grin fell into a murderous expression. “So you did confiscate our extra supply of arms and ammunition? I suspected it was you, but when they were never discovered on the trading post, I was unsure. What was your purpose in taking them if it wasn’t currency?”
“Perhaps I just didn’t want you to have them.”
“Or you’re bluffing.” Silence followed the accusation.
Angela used the distraction to kick backward at her captor. He yelled out, but knocked her hard across the face before he released her.
Damon started toward her, but the commander put a knife to his throat. He spoke anyway and Angela watched blood trickle down his skin. “Release the general and the women, and I’ll tell you where the guns are.”
“How about I give you the half-dead general and keep the women?”
Angela looked to her father, hoping Damon would take the deal. If her father had a chance, at least she wouldn’t feel like she’d completely failed. And as for her, she could defend herself.
“The women for the guns.”
“I’ll give you the half-dead general and you can walk out of here alive…if you lead my men to the guns.”
Take it. Angela prayed silently for her father’s well-being.
“Deal.”
Angela breathed a sigh of relief, but it still didn’t cure the hollowness in her heart as Damon so casually negotiated while lives hung in the balance.
She watched Damon move toward the guards that held her father. He easily took the limp form upon his shoulders and strode toward the exit. As he did so, he walked close enough that she could smell the sun upon his skin.
Damon cast her a hard glance, his eyes icy and lethal for the first time since she’d met him. It was a killing, determined gaze and it read one thing—this isn’t over.
Then he left her for the second time.
Chapter 10
Damon gnashed his teeth as the Humvee rolled up the steep hill just outside Base 23. The thought of Angela being stuck within the compound nearly lost him his sanity. Somehow he’d been able to remain calm in front of Crool, knowing if he’d shown any emotion when Angela was brought in, Crool would have used it against him. Now perhaps those weapons he’d stolen and hidden so long ago would come in handy. But not in the way his commander expected.
A bump in the landscape tossed the large vehicle into the air, and the barely conscious form of Angela’s father moaned in pain. Damon used the distraction to pull a small pistol from his ankle and fire into the clone nearest to him. Ignoring the driver, he turned and squeezed three more shots into the back of the SUV. The gun locked on the third fire, leaving the remaining clone in the back seat alive. Damon reached out and took the man’s throat in his hands. He squeezed, watching the life slowly drain from the soldier’s eyes. The driver yelled, reaching for Damon, but he didn’t lessen his grip. Damon hated killing, it was why he’d left the base. But Angela had said she would die before a clone touched her. He would see many clones die before he ever allowed that to happen, including himself.
When the man’s head slumped lifelessly, Damon reached for the door and shoved the driver out. Damon wasn’t far behind, running toward the body to subdue it. The clone struggled, getting several punches in before Damon finally wrestled him to the ground and snapped the man’s neck.
He didn’t waste time being sad for the life lost—Angela’s still hung in the balance. He ran toward the stalled car and climbed in. Luckily, he hadn’t hidden the guns far from the base since he hadn’t been able to carry so much weaponry very far. He’d been on the way out and hadn’t wanted his comrades to do any more damage than they already had. The clones were deadly enough, he’d thought the last thing they needed was automatic rifles.
As he made his way toward the guns, he fought to focus on the landscape. Instead, Angela’s pained gaze tormented him. The look of betrayal had been plain on her face. She knew now that he was a clone. And worse, that he’d played with her affections and used her body. In truth, although he’d lied to her about being a clone, she knew him better than anyone ever could.
His hands clenched around the steering wheel, nearly bending the metal in half when he thought about someone laying a hand on her. He had to get back to the base, fast. He knew Rogue would protect them for as long as he could, but there were at least fifty clones left at base, the man could only hold out so long. Damon knew that Rogue felt just as he did…he would rage on to protect the woman he loved until the last of his blood was spent.
The woman he loved… Damn him if it was too late to utter the truth to Angela and let it be the first truth among many lies.
* * * *
Once the Humvee was filled with ammunition, Damon parked it on the edge of Base 23. On his belly, he crawled toward the ridge to look down on the facility. Crool had appointed four guards at the entrance, learning from his prior mistake.
Damon retrieved the sniper scope and lay on the ground, training it on the clone closest to the door. He squeezed the trigger, and the clone fell to the ground. The bullet had been silent, but as their comrade fell, the other clones glanced around for the shooter. Damon didn’t hesitate, unleashing lethal fire before any of them could take cover. The entrance lay unguarded when he was done.
After arming himself to the teeth, Damon climbed down the hill and entered the facility. Barely through the door, two clones descended on him. Damon used a hunting knife to quietly slice their throats. He dragged their bodies into a nearby closet.
When Damon neared the command center where he’d left Angela, he noticed a pool of blood on the ground. His heart seized, his hand tightening on both his gun and his hunting knife. He followed the trail of blood past the command center, holding his breath until he found a dead clone near another crimson pool. Had Angela done that damage? He hoped so.
As he navigated through the facility in search of her, he continued to down clones, utilizing the silencer he’d found in his ammunition supply. The bodies in closets began to pile up, but still there was no sign of Angela. Then he heard a scream that made his blood run cold.
* * * *
Rather than let herself be tied to a post, Angela kicked and screamed, bit and spit. After hearing that Damon had stolen their ammunition, she knew the guns trained on her would be useless and fought back against the clones with all her might. She sent her aggressor to the ground, but three more advanced on her.
She flopped around like a calf while they worked together to yank her onto her side and overpower her like she’d seen back home in the rodeos. She sobbed in fury as they bound her hands above her
head to a pole. Still she kicked out at them, fighting to delay their touch as long as possible.
Two of them grabbed her legs, the third clone approaching with rope. “You’re going to get what’s coming to you, bitch.”
Angela kicked out, but bobbed in the air within the clone’s grasp. She eyed the man advancing with rope, the lust-filled glaze over his eyes causing her to tremble. Suddenly, blood spurted from his chest. The clone fell to the ground, revealing the shooter.
Damon stood, pistol in hand. The man she’d found hiding in the cave was gone, replaced by seven feet of deadly clone male. Every inch of his hard body was covered in rifles, pistols, and knives, and the lethal glint in the glare he had pinned on her captors proved he had every intention to use all of them.
“Let her go.”
Her captors attempted to hide behind her, one of them wrapping an iron fist around her throat. “You think you can have her for yourself, Damon?”
“No.” Damon’s icy blue gaze moved to meet hers. As her breath was choked from her body, all she could think of was the pain in Damon’s eyes. “I know I can never have her.”
He fired, clipping her foe’s shoulder, the close blast making her scream. The clone fell away, and with a clear path, Damon fired a kill shot.
Only one clone was left behind her now, but his unforgiving hand slithered across her bodice. Angela fought a sob, revolted by the touch and once again being held victim. Damon rushed the clone, slamming into his body. The hand that’d been groping her scratched at her as it was hauled away. She bit off a cry, trying not to call attention to Damon’s presence in the facility.
Unable to watch the altercation since she was tied to the post, she remained quiet, listening to the tussle. She heard the abrupt snap of bone. Had Damon won?
The ties binding her hands to the post loosened and she had her answer. Despite Damon’s betrayal, her heart surged with relief. In another moment, Damon stood before her. He didn’t speak as he unloaded some of his weapons, helping her to don pistols and knives. He handed her one of the rifles he’d had strapped to his back.
His silence confused her all the more. Why did he not try to defend his actions to her? Instead, he finished equipping her and searched her body for wounds. His eyes rested on a bruise that she felt taking form on her cheek. He reached out, as if to caress it, but held back.
He glanced away. “Your father is still unconscious, but his pulse is strong. He’s safe.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the many questions she had for Damon passed silently. “Thank you,” was all she could manage.
“I’ll take you to the exit, then you’re going to climb the hill, and on the southeast side you’ll find a Humvee. Stay there until we get back.”
“You know I won’t do that. I need to help my friends.”
“Let me take care of that.” He quickly guided her through the halls to a nearby exit.
“Why would I do that?” The question hung in the air like an accusation. Although her heart whispered that he’d come back for her, she couldn’t ignore the fact that he’d already successfully fooled her once.
He opened a door and light blasted into the compound. Damon ushered her out into the intense heat, but remained inside. “Because your father is inside the vehicle, unconscious. It’s probably hotter than hell in there. Drive it due east, there’ll be a cave where you both can stay cool.”
“You should have taken him there in the first place.” Still, she sighed in relief that her father was out of the compound.
“I wasn’t going to drive farther from you. That was never an option.” He looked down at her, his eyes a storm of emotions, and Angela knew she wasn’t just looking at a clone, Damon was also a man. He felt just as deeply as she did, and now she had to wonder, did she still feel something for him other than betrayal?
Damon turned his back on her and descended down the hill toward the compound. As worry coursed through her veins like ice water, Angela realized the answer might not be one she expected.
* * * *
When Damon returned to the compound, it wasn’t hard to find Rogue and Elara, he just followed the trail of dead bodies. At the end of the bloody trail, he found them backed into a corner by the remaining Base 23 guards. Rogue stood in front of Elara with a menacing tightness in his fists as he clenched his hunting knives. His woman stood tall behind him, sword in hand. The guns were cast away at their feet. Judging from the dead bodies surrounding them, the clips had been emptied of their ammo.
Damon rushed the guards. “Go!” He barreled into the group like a wrecking ball, causing enough of a distraction that Rogue was able to slay several of the guards and get Elara through the fray. “Get Angela off US-2.”
The words barely escaped his mouth before the guards recovered and kicked him to the ground. When he hit the floor, more blows descended, but he exhaled in relief when Rogue disappeared down the hall.
“You three, go after them!” Crool’s furious roar made Damon shake off the dizziness caused by the multiple blows he’d taken to the head. Damon rested easy though, knowing that Rogue and Elara could easily dispatch three soldiers. “Get him up!”
Damon looked into the commander’s eyes, a desperate gleam promising much pain in Damon’s near future.
“Tell us where they’re going. Where is the ship?” Crool demanded to know.
Hauled up by three men, Damon had no choice but to stare at Crool’s visage. It was the perfect opportunity to let the bastard know how he felt. Damon spit some of the blood that’d gathered in his mouth. It hit Crool in the face, but he didn’t blink. Instead, he grinned.
“Break his leg.”
Damon fought as several clones wrestled him to the ground, but eventually, he was overpowered. A clone appeared above with a large club in hand. Damon fought, but the club came down hard, shattering the bones in his right leg. Pain exploded through his body like adrenaline, and Damon successfully grabbed one of the clone’s daggers and drove it through his eye.
Crool disregarded the screams of his soldier. “Tell me where the ship is.”
Damon launched the dagger before it could be wrestled from his grip. It lodged in the commander’s chest, inches from his heart. Crool roared in pain, but yanked the blade out with purpose.
“Where is it, you bastard?” Crool drove the knife down into Damon’s thigh.
Damon gritted his teeth through the agony. “I’d rather rest easy knowing you’re rotting away on this planet.”
“Well then, if you’re not going to use that mouth to talk, there’s no reason not to ugly up that face of yours.” He motioned to the clones. “Have at him.”
Damon was yanked up from the ground, his crushed leg unable to support his weight. Punches exploded against his face as the remaining clone soldiers took turns brutalizing him. Agony spread through his face in a wave of heat. When his eyes swelled shut, he focused on the one image burned into his brain that could bring him peace. Angela.
Chapter 11
Angela kept her fingers against her father’s pulse, letting the steady beat reassure her. At the moment, her own heart was raging between her ribs with worry for her friends. She gazed at her father’s injuries and contemplated the savagery of the clones.
But they weren’t all like that. Rogue loved Elara with all his heart, would die before he ever let her be hurt. And Damon… When Angela had found him, he’d been hiding in the darkness of a cave to avoid violence. Maybe his betrayal wasn’t as deep as she’d thought. It was true he’d lied to her about being a clone, but he hadn’t lied about being sick of the brutality he’d been surrounded by. When he’d said that, she thought he’d meant brutality against him, but he was compassionate enough to be sick of the brutality against his human counterparts.
Angela sucked in a deep breath, a tear sliding down her cheek. Don’t cry for him. She tried to remind herself that even if Damon had a conscience, it didn’t take away the fact that he was a clone. She could never trust a clone after the r
ace had caused so many of the nightmares that still haunted her. And Damon was still a clone.
A sound at the foot of the cave alerted Angela to a presence, and she grasped the gun Damon had left for her. She aimed it into the darkness, but gasped with relief when Rogue and Elara came into sight.
“Elara!” Angela ran into her best friend’s arms and held her tight. “You escaped.”
“And your father? Is he okay?”
“Yes, thank God. He just needs time to heal. We should have what we need on the ship to clean his wounds.”
“Let’s go.” Rogue started toward the general to carry him to the car.
“Wait.” Angela’s breath hitched. “Did you see Damon?”
“Yes.” Elara placed a steadying hand on Angela’s shoulder. “He came back. Damon caused a distraction long enough for us to escape.”
Damon had sacrificed himself for her friends? “He’s still in there?”
Elara nodded. “He wanted us to get you back to the ship. Angela, I know you think he betrayed—”
“We need to go back for him.” Angela’s ribs threatened to break from the pounding of her heart within its cage.
“No,” Rogue uttered. “We need to go, now. It’s what he wanted.”
A tear slipped down Angela’s cheek when she contemplated all he’d done for her even while she’d condemned him. Damon was the man she’d fallen for…and more. “Would you leave Elara?” She glared at Rogue, disregarding the tear that left a hot trail down her skin.
“I love Elara.”
“I love Damon!” The exclamation echoed through the cave, followed by a stunned silence. The only sound Angela heard was the beating of her heart, each thump confirming what she’d long denied. She couldn’t live without Damon. If he died thinking she hated him… “I’m going back.”
