by KD Jones
One of the warriors with the sensors came up to them. “We’ve detected about fifteen hidden explosives.”
“How did fifteen explosive devices go missing and no one know about it?” Sr. Commander Bond asked incredulously. No one responded to that question, but the tension was thick in the air. Corey would hate to be in the room when Sr. Commander Bond asked that of Commander Estro.
“Can we deactivate them?” Liam asked the warrior with the sensor.
“It would take a lot of time to do that and we would need more warriors to assist.”
“We don’t have the time for that. We need to breach the building ASAP. What about the other side of the building? Are there any other entrances?” Corey asked.
“We haven’t found one.”
“What about belowground? Wasn’t a digger one of the pieces of equipment missing? They could be building their own tunnels to move around.” Corey asked.
“Our handheld sensors won’t be able to pick up any of that. Those types of tunnels would be deeper underground than our sensor can detect. We would have to request assistance from the command ship,” Liam told him.
“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s get this—” Corey was interrupted by another explosion, except this one came from inside the building. He stared in shock with the others as half the building came down. “Nix!” Please God, let her be okay.
*****
Nix covered her head with her arms. She had finally gotten a closer look at the trapdoor in the floor when the other male was taking her to Frazier’s room. She had pulled free of his hold and turned to punch him hard. Once, twice, and then the third hit had the male going down for the count. She yanked the rope off over her head and threw it to the floor.
Not wasting any time, she pulled the detonator she had stolen out of her pocket and tossed it into the armory. Then she dashed back to the trapdoor and opened it up. She dropped down into the hole and closed the trapdoor behind her just as the first set of explosives went off.
She wasn’t sure what was in the tunnel she’d dropped into, or where it led, but she followed it further down, trying to get as far away from the explosions as she could. She found a flashlight on a small alcove. Turning it on, she shone it around the area. It looked like they were creating their own underground tunnel network. The tunnel she was in split into two directions. One looked like it was headed back toward the subway tunnel. The other probably led to one of the domes.
The tunnel shook as more of the explosives went off. The building above was probably caving in, which meant that she was going to be buried alive if she hadn’t gotten far enough away. She took some comfort in the thought that at least if she did die, she had hopefully put an end to the resistance. Without Frazier, the humans would be less inclined to rise up against her people. Those she loved would be safe.
She sat down on the floor of the tunnel with the flashlight, listening to the explosions. She bet it was a spectacular sight. When she had been left alone in the armory, she had set timers on all the the detonators she could find, keyed to activate in waves after the detonator she had tossed in there. No way could anyone survive that amount of firepower. The flames would burn for hours, even if water was brought to knock it out. Not that Earth had that much water to waste aboveground anyway. She doubted the domes would allow their water supply to be used to put out the fire. The flames would most likely be allowed to die out eventually on their own. There was nothing else of value they could damage aboveground.
“I’m holding on to hope,” she whispered out loud. Hope was all she had. Then part of the tunnel roof fell on top of her.
*****
Corey felt like someone had squeezed his heart until he couldn’t feel it beating anymore. Nix had been in that building when it exploded. And it wasn’t just one explosion, but one after another, multiple explosions that kept them from reaching the building. Even after the last of the explosives went off, the flames had continued to rage. They had spotted a few bodies but hadn’t been able to recover them yet for identification.
“What caused the explosions?” Sr. Commander Bond asked.
“I think Nix must have done it,” Liam answered.
Unable to speak, Corey just nodded in agreement. Nix had a hand in this, he just knew it. Maybe she had been trying to escape and a fight broke out that led to the explosions. Or maybe she had set it off on purpose if she didn’t see any other choice. He looked up as a warrior rushed over to them holding a sensor.
“Sir, with the command ship’s assistance, we were able to detect a tunnel under the building.”
Hope sprung up inside him. “We need diggers.”
“I’ll get my warriors up here with diggers immediately,” Warrior Davens said. Corey had forgotten the man was still there.
“Thank you,” Corey told him fervently. He turned to Liam. “Do you think she’s alive?”
Liam gave him a small smile. “If there’s a way to survive, Nix will find it. She’s been taking care of herself for a long time. Even as a child, she was scrappy, fighting with boys bigger than her to prove she could. Nix is very smart and wants to live, so she will fight to survive.”
“I hope you’re right,” Corey said, staring into the flames.
“Me too.”
Chapter 19
Nix was dreaming. She’d laid down on the ground when she began having difficulty breathing due to all the dirt from where the roof had caved in on her, and now it was pressing against her front. Had the debris shifted? It felt like all the oxygen was slowly being pressed out of her. She wanted to try to pull herself out, but she felt really weak, and she knew she could save more oxygen by lying still. Then she had fallen asleep, or at least she thought she had. Sounds were coming to her from so far away, but she thought she could hear Corey’s voice amongst them. That was her dream, to be with him again. The weight pressing on her lifted and she felt like she was floating.
“Nix? Baby, can you hear me?”
That voice was so wonderful. She could listen to him for the rest of her life and be happy. “I love you, Corey.”
“Babe? Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Dream Corey asked her again, lifting her up into his arms. This was heaven, having him hold her. She didn’t want him to let her go—ever. If only this wasn’t a dream. He couldn’t be there...could he?
“Corey?” she asked with a dry throat. Her head felt heavy and she could barely lift it.
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you hurt?”
“I feel weird, like I can’t breath.”
“I need a mediko over here!”
There was some shuffling around and then someone was placing something over her mouth. Oxygen filled her lungs and she coughed as she took in painful, heaving breaths. Her head slowly began to clear, and she finally realized this wasn’t a dream. She pulled the oxygen mask away from her mouth.
“Corey?”
“Yes, honey, it’s me. We found you, thank God. Are you injured anywhere?”
She tried to shake her head, but the motion made her dizzy. “Other than feeling a little woozy, I’m fine,” she managed to say before passed out. The next thing she knew, she woke up in a shuttle.
“Where am I?”
“We’re on a shuttle heading for the command ship,” Corey told her.
As she became more aware of her surroundings, she realized that she was laying on a medical cart. Corey was sitting in one of the seats in the back row of the shuttle, concern all over his face.
“What happened?”
He stood up and came over to her cot to take her hand. “You were taken by the resistance to their aboveground base. There was an explosion…”
Memories flooded her and she sat upright. “The leader, Frazier, was in the building. Did any of the humans make it out?”
Corey shook his head. “We didn’t find anyone alive. Unless there was another escape route besides the tunnel we found you in, there’s no way he could have made it out otherwise. Lay back down, honey, you’ve suffered q
uite a bit.” He gently pushed at her shoulders, easing her back down.
“Is it over then? If the resistance leader is dead, then won’t the entire resistance movement die down?”
“We won’t know that for sure. This Frazier guy had followers who believed in his crazy cause. His death could deter others from rising up and causing trouble between the humans and Drastans, or this could give them an excuse to attack with more vehemence.”
“Well, damn. I might have made things worse.”
“So you were the one responsible for the explosions?”
“Yes, I saw that they had an armory of both human and Drastan weapons. I knew I couldn’t leave them with all those weapons; it would have meant too many deaths on both sides.”
“How did you know about the tunnel under the building?”
“I heard them discussing needing another digger to continue building their tunnels. It was just luck that I spotted the trapdoor down to the tunnel on the floor. I had already set the detonators,” she told him. A strange expression came over his face at that and he stepped back slowly. “Corey? What’s wrong?”
Another voice caught her attention. “I’m glad to see you alive, Lieutenant.”
She turned to see Liam walking up to the bed. “Liam, what are you doing here?”
“Quinn and I came to make sure you were found. You’re family, we could do no less.”
“He’s always got to be in charge of everything, so of course he would demand to come down to Earth to boss everyone around,” Quinn said, coming in behind Liam.
She smiled at the two males who have been like brothers to her. “I feel a bit foolish to have been taken that way.”
“You couldn’t have predicted what would happen. You were very brave to have set those detonators,” Liam told her. “However, Father is going to be furious that you risked your life like that. We would have eventually found a way to breach the door or offer a trade.”
“I was watching you on the monitors with them in their security office. They were going to kill all of you. I couldn’t let that happen, and I certainly couldn’t let them escape with those weapons.”
“It was very brave, but I don’t want you to do anything like that ever again,” Liam told her.
She half laughed, half coughed. “I definitely don’t plan on blowing myself up again any time soon.” She looked for Corey, but he had retreated to his seat and was staring intently at the floor. What was going on with him? It hurt to see him turn away.
“Well, lay back and rest. We’ll be landing on the command ship soon, and then you’ll have to answer to my father,” Liam told her.
She groaned. “Great. I’m not sleepy anymore, though.” But even as she said that, she yawned and her eyes drifted closed. Maybe she would rest just a little bit. Her last fuzzy thoughts were of Corey and why he had moved away from her. Was it over for them now that their mission was complete? She hadn’t had a chance to tell him...tell him...she loved him. Too late.
Chapter 20
Two damn days! They had been back on board the command ship for two days and Corey had not come by to see her while she was with the medikos. They had treated her for oxygen deprivation, a multitude of bruises, and even a few places that had been burned. She hadn’t even known about the burns. In that whole time, Corey had only been by once, at the beginning. She saw the entire Estro family, most of the warriors she had trained, but no Corey. Well, she’d had enough of his evasive shit. If he was ending things with her, he would damn well do it to her face. She’d learned her lesson about clear communication from last time; she wasn’t going to let some stupid misunderstanding stand between her and what she wanted. Not again. Life was too short for that.
She dressed, ignoring the mediko’s objections that it was too soon, and put on her shoes. Just as she reached the door, though, it opened. Corey stood there with flowers in his hands.
“Where are you going?” Corey demanded.
“I…” She looked at the flowers, then his face. He took her arm and helped her walk over to a chair.
“You shouldn’t be up yet.”
“I’m pretty much cleared to leave,” she told him, ignoring the mediko behind her as he mumbled something about stubborn females. She shot the mediko a glare and he turned his back on them with a sniff.
“Where were you going?” Corey asked.
“To find you.”
“What?” he looked at her in confusion.
She glanced around the room. Two medikos worked at a desk across the room. There weren’t any other patients, but warriors could come in at any time to be treated for injuries. She didn’t want witnesses. “Let’s go somewhere more private to talk.”
“Okay. My quarters are closer,” Corey said as he helped her to stand and offered his arm for support. Neither of them talked while they moved down the corridor. Warriors passed by, stopping them just long enough to tell Nix that they were glad to see she was doing better. Nix was touched by their concern, but she hadn’t realized how tired she was. By the time they reached Corey’s quarters, she was ready to collapse in the nearest chair, which she did.
Corey sat on the edge of his bed. “Why were you coming to look for me?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I haven’t seen you in two days. We need to discuss the things that happened between us and what they mean. If they mean anything at all.” He looked at her with a look she couldn’t decipher.
“I’ve actually been by to see you quite a few times, but you were either resting, sedated, or the medikos kicked me out for being an ass. I just couldn't stand seeing you lying there helpless, and I, uh, might have yelled at them to do more for you, to make you heal faster.”
She snorted. No one had told her that, but she could definitely see him being a thorn in their side. “So you haven’t been ignoring me?”
“Why would you ever think that?”
“You did it before, when we were intimate months ago.”
“Dammit, Nix! That was only because I couldn’t remember that night. I’ve been kicking myself for that ever since you told me what happened. I would never walk away from this thing between us, unless you told me to. And even then, I’d put up a fight.”
“You turned away from me on the shuttle.”
“I was angry when you said you had set those explosives off on purpose. The thought of losing you was too much and I needed to get my emotions under control.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay then, let’s talk about the other thing.”
“Other thing?” he asked, confused.
“What is this thing between us? Is it temporary? Will you walk away...”
He moved so quickly she almost didn’t see him. He knelt in front of her and took her face in his hands. “I would never willingly walk away from you. It would be like ripping my heart from my chest. I’m in love with you, Nix, and I have been from the very first time you kicked my ass.”
Tears streamed down her face as she leaned forward to kiss his lips. “I’m in love with you too, Corey, since the first time I kicked your ass.”
They both laughed. Then he turned serious eyes on her. “I love you so much it hurts.”
She nodded her head, “Me too.”
They kissed and Corey pulled her down out of the chair to straddle his thighs as he sat back on his heels. “I don’t know what the future holds, Nix, but as long as you’re by my side I will face it head on.”
“I will gladly stand by your side and love you, Corey, forever.”
“Forever my beautiful warrior.”
“Forever,” she agreed and offered him her lips again. He already had her heart.
Epilogue
Sr. Commander Drake Bond sat down at his desk on board the command ship. He needed to send a report back to Drasta on what he had discovered so far but wasn’t sure where to begin. How much should he tell his superiors without jeapordizing his true mission?
Commander Estro was a good commander, competent and dedicated to his people
but his judgement was affected by his personal connections to these humans. The whole Estro family had embraced the aliens and even mated with them. He would have to keep them in the dark a little while longer until he made his final conclusions.
Drake stretched his arms over his head working out the stiffness in his muscles. He would make another trip down in the tunnels then meet with the Earth dome leaders. He had a few more questions for those leaders regarding their handling of the resistance rebels.
Even if the above ground base had been blown up and their resistance leader dead, Drake didn’t doubt for one second that there would be another rebel that would want to rise up in the ranks and take over the cause. Drake would be ready for them, and he would end their destructive ways permanently. Then he would go home. Whether the Estros continued to have command was yet to be determined.
About the Author
KD Jones has published over thirty books in five different series. She has been a huge fan of both romance novels and science fiction novels since she was sixteen years old. Her favorite television shows growing up were Star Trek and Doctor Who. When not writing, she can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, working on her hobby of photography, or spending time with her family. As a single working mom, she wants to show her son that anyone can follow their dreams no matter how old they are and where they are in life. Dreams can come true if you work hard and believe in yourself.
KD Jones Book Series, Book List
Katieran Prime Series
Katieran Prime (Book1)
Prime Commander (Book 2)
Prime Medic (Book 3)
Kiljorn Prime (Book 4)
Prime Deliverance (Book 5)
Prime Salvation (Book 6)
