Someone large filled the doorway, stepping up from the corridor, but she couldn’t see who from her angle.
Braden jerked back. “Egesa!” he shouted, drawing his disruptor.
Alexa’s heart leapt to her throat. No! She rushed back to shield the babies.
Leila’s head snapped up and she quickly turned.
“Run!” Braden fired, blocking the Egesa’s path with his body.
Leila grabbed handfuls of her work and rushed toward the back. “Into the supply room,” she ordered.
Alexa was already headed that way with the two girls in her arms. “My son,” she pleaded.
“I’ll get him.” Leila tossed the items she’d retrieved inside a metal case and secured it, then rushed to grab the boy.
Disruptor fire and chaos filled the room as Braden and the Egesa dodged and exchanged fire.
Alexa shook so badly she feared she’d drop one of the babies before getting them to safety. They needed help! The facility should have recorded a breach and alerted them.
After they got the babies inside the supply room, Leila slammed and locked the door. Alexa knew they were still in grave danger for the door wasn’t electronic. It wouldn’t keep an Egesa out for long. But certainly Braden would kill the intruder before he reached them.
“Shit.” Leila frowned.
“What?”
“I forgot to sound the alarm.” She started for the door.
“No!” Alexa pulled her back. The sound of disruptor fire continued to fill the air and she had to raise her voice. “Are you crazy? You’re unarmed. You’ll be killed.”
“Braden will provide me cover. I have to go.”
Alexa could see Leila’s determination. She pulled out the pain inducer. “Here. At least take this.”
Leila pushed the weapon aside and shook her head. “That’s useless against a disruptor. Besides—”
All of a sudden everything fell quiet. Too quiet. As if someone had hit a mute button.
Worry for Braden clutched Alexa hard. She slid the pain inducer back into her jacket and looked over at the babies who were whimpering. “Shh, babies. Shh.”
“I don’t like this,” Leila said, a look of concern on her face. “It’s too quiet.”
Alexa pressed her ear to the door. As she listened, her own worry increased. “Your hearing’s better than mine,” she whispered to Leila. “Can you make out anything?”
As Leila moved closer, something heavy thumped against the door. Alexa jumped back and both she and Leila gasped.
“Braden,” she whispered, choking on a sob. If he were able, he’d never have allowed the Egesa to get to the door.
The door rattled again, taking another blow.
“Why isn’t he shooting out the lock?” she asked, her thoughts racing. Braden had to be all right. She’d never survive without him.
“He’s after the babies. A stray shot might strike one of them. He’s not going to stop until he gets in. It’s just a matter of time. And you can bet he’s not down here alone. Do you have the transport-connector?”
Alexa’s heart hammered. No, no, no. “I can’t leave. Braden—”
“You have to save the babies.”
The babies. She glanced over at them. She held back her tears and stiffened her spine, trying to be strong. The safety of her children took priority over everything else.
She would protect her babies with her life. No matter how badly she didn’t want to leave, she knew that she had to. For them. “I don’t have a supply pack. Braden was going to prepare a special one.”
Leila searched the shelves. “Here. You’ll have to take what we’ve got.” She pulled down a thin pack. “Take off your jacket, put this on, then put your jacket over it. You can become acquainted with the contents later. Oh wait. Let me stuff these extra diapers inside the pockets of your jacket.”
“Thanks.” After Leila finished, Alexa moved quickly, getting prepared to dematerialize out. Nerves got the better of her and she shook uncontrollably, barely able to get her jacket back on over the pack. “Do the supplies include water?” The pack had looked so thin that she couldn’t help but wonder.
“Yes. In a specially designed gel holder. There’s not a lot, so conserve it. If you run out, go down to the innermost section of the repair station. The temperature controls there will be on minimum. The older equipment will likely be producing some condensation. Enough to keep you alive.”
Alexa nodded, not sure how she was supposed to tote around three babies on her own. The few diapers Leila had given her wouldn’t last any time at all. She’d have to figure something out. She reached for the transport device, going over in her head what she was supposed to do.
“It’ll work better if you sit down,” Leila suggested. “I’ll get the babies in your lap.”
“Good idea.”
She and Leila both jumped in response to another heavy thud. The door cracked down the middle.
Alexa sat on the floor and Leila brought over the babies, one at a time. They lay half on her lap and half against her chest. She kept her arms around them to support their bodies. She clutched the transport-connector in one hand. As she stared into her son’s eyes, so much like his father’s, Braden filled her thoughts. “If Braden’s hurt—”
“I’ll fix him,” Leila interrupted. “Don’t think the worst. Frost most likely ordered him unharmed and to be captured, given their personal history. Can you feel the connection to him through your brain chip?”
She shook her head. “I’ve never been able to work that stupid thing. For the most part.” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think that means—”
“No. Don’t worry. He probably got past the Egesa and went for reinforcements, thinking we were safe in here. You need to go. Now. While you have the chance.”
Leila was making excuses to try to stop her from worrying. They both knew Braden would never leave them. They’d run out of choices and time. Alexa engaged the transport-connector.
The supply room door flew open. The edge smacked her arm as she was about to push the transport button on the device. “Ow!” Her finger slipped and she hit the wrong button. “Uh-oh.”
The Egesa soldier, much larger than the Egesa who had tracked her on Earth, grabbed and tossed Leila out the door. Alexa’s heart pounded. She heard a scream and barely recognized it as her own.
She pressed the correct button on the connector, hoping she hadn’t messed up anything and praying Leila would be all right. As the Egesa reached for her, she felt herself getting lightheaded and then she and the babies were gone.
* * * * *
Eric froze in the corridor. He’d heard something that didn’t sound right. His heart pounded harder. Without another thought, he turned and quickly headed back toward medical.
As he got closer to the med facility, he knew that he’d heard correctly. Disruptor fire! He pulled out his weapon and rushed forward.
As he did so, everything fell quiet. A slight lingering of some foul odor hit him.
Familiar somehow.
Laszlo turned the corner, having come down the opposite side of the split corridor, and both men stopped. Laszlo communicated through Warrior hand signals, obviously having heard the same thing he had.
Erik nodded his understanding. Egesa! Of course. His pulse raced. That was the smell. Laszlo had known immediately. The low oxygen had slowed his thinking more than he’d realized.
He did his best to approach the medical facility with caution. Knowing Leila was in there and probably in danger made it hard to keep his composure.
Then he heard a scream. It sent a chill right down his spine.
He and Laszlo took opposite sides of the entry. Erik went in first, his weapon ready.
The place was a mess with everything overturned and a lot of the equipment damaged from disruptor fire. No Egesa. If one or more had been there, they had dematerialized out. Nobody could have gotten past them any other way. “Leila?” H
e didn’t see her and panic tightened his insides.
Laszlo rushed forward. “Braden’s down.” He kneeled on the floor.
Erik came up beside him, his heart in his throat. Braden was halfway under a fallen table. He helped Laszlo move him into the clear. “Is he alive?”
“Yes. He’s unconscious though. Disruptor damage to his side, leg and head.”
Erik heard a moan. “Leila?” He made his way to the back and saw the supply room door cracked and practically ripped off. Leila was sprawled just outside.
She pushed herself to a sitting position as he reached her.
He went down on his knees and wrapped his arm around her, relief pulsing through him to find her alive. “Are you all right?” He looked her over and saw a bruise on her arm but no other injuries.
“Egesa. They’re here. One tossed me out of the supply room like I was a twig.
Knocked me out cold for a moment. Other than that, I’m fine. Braden?”
“He’s alive. Unconscious. He’s been hit.”
Her eyes widened and she started to get up.
He pulled her back down. “Just sit here a minute and get your breath. Laszlo is taking care of him. No Egesa were here when we entered, but they’re probably still in the shelter somewhere. We’ll need to be careful.”
“Only one trapped us here in medical. More will be with him though, I’m sure.
Why didn’t he kill us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he heard me and Laszlo coming and didn’t have time.” He glanced around. “Where’s Alexa?”
“Dematerialized out.”
“With the babies?”
“Yes. I heard the transport-connector engage as I was losing consciousness.” She leaned into his embrace, obviously mentally and physically exhausted.
Erik nodded, holding her close. “Good. They’ll be safe on the repair station. Frost wouldn’t think of looking for them there. Even if she does, we’ll send in a rescue team long before that. Hopefully.” Feeling Leila’s heart beating as rapidly as his own, he realized how close he’d come to losing his love.
He glanced back toward Braden. Laszlo had lifted him onto one of the medical beds. Normally their self-healing elements saved their wounded Warriors. But head injuries were always tricky.
Alexa and the babies flashed through his mind. If his best friend died, the repercussions would be greater than anyone could imagine.
* * * * *
Pitch caught up with Josella in the corridor. “I heard Brianna tell you to leave. Are you all right?”
She nodded, a slight blush on her face and she wouldn’t directly meet his gaze. “I’m fine.”
“The chemicals didn’t affect you?” Briggs hadn’t actually fucked her, so he doubted anything had gotten inside her body, though she could have absorbed some chemicals through her skin from handling the dildo. She actually seemed more embarrassed than anything. Probably from knowing he’d been watching.
He wouldn’t have minded if she’d been affected at least a little and needed him.
Fucking her was not an unpleasant thought. As he’d watched her finger-fuck herself then jerk off Briggs, he’d almost come. If Laszlo hadn’t been in the room, he would have undone his uniform and climaxed by his own hand.
He’d barely managed to fight back his desire before approaching her. Coming up on her with his cock bulging would not have been becoming of a Warrior, to say the least.
They continued down the corridor, side by side, heading toward the private quarters. She hadn’t answered him yet, which he found curious. “Josella?” he prompted, wondering at her thoughts.
“Um, sorry. I haven’t noticed any effects out of the ordinary. Well, other than a natural reaction to, well, everything.” She shrugged. “You know?”
He cocked his head, glancing at her as they walked. From her response, he realized that she was in sexual need after all. Not from the chemicals but just from being sexually aroused by everything that had happened. “Yeah, I know,” was all he decided to say, not sure how he should respond. His cock knew though. Damn it!
He had to control his urges. She wasn’t Xylon, so he didn’t want to offend her by pushing too fast.
“I was wondering…”
His heart pounded as they turned the corner. Perhaps her thoughts did mirror his own. Hope and desire filled him. “Wondering?”
She stopped and lightly touched his arm. The look she gave him, through slightly lowered lashes, was unmistakable need. He groaned and his control disappeared.
Without another word from her, he backed her up against the wall. His fingers squeezed her breast and played with her nipple through her top, causing her to moan.
“Aw hell. That’s such a sexy sound.”
“Pitch,” she whispered in a breathy voice, her fingers clutching at the material of his uniform.
She looked so much in need that his fingers shook as he reached to open her pants.
It had been too long since his cock had been inside a woman’s pussy.
She reached for his pants at the same time. “I need your cock, Pitch. In me now.
And your tongue. Please.”
“Hell yeah.”
When he leaned in to kiss her, still fumbling with her closures, her head snapped to the side and she raised her nose into the air. “Shit!” She pushed him away forcefully, grabbed his arm and pulled him down the corridor.
“What?” He stumbled after her, his brain still in fuck mode.
“Egesa. Here. Now. Coming this way.”
“What?” He glanced around, his thoughts clearing immediately. “Are you sure?”
“I spent enough time running from them on the Sand Moon. I know that smell when it hits me. Hurry.”
They started to make another turn but she pulled on his arm again. “No. They’ve split up and are surrounding us. We have to go down to the sublevel and around.”
“They? How many? Can you tell?”
“Two. But there are probably others elsewhere.”
He nodded. “We’ll sound the alarm at the substation. We need to get to the decontamination room. Keep that nose sharp because I’m unarmed.” Apparently her sense of smell was stronger than his sense of hearing. Or maybe he’d just been too distracted by her body to hear the Egesa coming. Either way, he was impressed with her. In more ways than one.
They headed for a sublevel ladder and made their way down. When they got to the bottom, Pitch turned to her. “Are we all right?”
She nodded. “They’re not down here…yet. Let’s go.”
They started forward and ran right into Halah and Kam. Halah immediately took a defensive stance against him, probably thinking he was there to force her and Kam back to their room. Erik had told him about their detainment while they were working on the orbiters. Kam looked so surprised to see them that he stumbled backward a step.
The noise on the sublevel, from the old machinery, could be quite loud when multiple systems were activated or almost completely quiet when nothing was running.
Right now his ears were ringing, as probably everyone else’s were.
Josella stared at Halah’s fight position. “What are you doing?”
“Relax,” Pitch told Halah, wanting to defuse the situation quickly. Josella hadn’t known about her sister’s detainment and he saw no reason to tell her now. “We found out that Delemar is the traitor. Thanks to Josella.”
“Josella?” Halah relaxed her stance, looking at her sister.
“So it was Delemar,” Kam said at the same time.
“Yeah. Details later. We’ve got bigger problems right now. Egesa are in the facility.
Josella smelled them.”
Halah looked wary. She sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything.”
“They’re up top,” Josella said. “They probably haven’t been here long or their smell would be stronger and lingering everywhere. We have to sound the alarm.”
“
How certain are you that what you smelled were Egesa?” Kam asked. “I’m not getting anything. My sensors have been weakening and this ancient machinery is playing havoc with me.”
“I’d bet my life on it.”
“Good enough for me. To the substation,” Kam said, already heading back that way. “We’ll set the alarm and issue instructions from there.”
* * * * *
As Sam and Brianna stepped from the conference room, a pulsing alarm went off.
They both froze.
Uh-oh. That can’t be good, Sam thought. “What—”
Brianna held up a hand, silencing him.
Kam’s voice came over the speakers. “We have a breach. Proceed to the decon room immediately.”
“Egesa,” Brianna told him. “It has to be. Or Frost with her Agents. Either way, we’re in trouble. I don’t have a weapon. Damn it.” She looked at him. “Do you have anything stashed away somewhere we can use?”
He saw the hope in her eyes. “Unfortunately, no.” He glanced up and down the corridor, looking for any intruders, wishing he had some sort of weapon. His superiors had thought it too risky though. They’d been correct but he and Brianna could definitely use one right now, if the look on her face was any indication.
“We’ve got to try to get to the decontamination room. It’s not far. Stay sharp. If you smell something unpleasant, start moving in the opposite direction. That means one or more Egesa are close.”
“If they popped up down here, can’t they pop into the decon room if they want?”
“No. You can only dematerialize into a decontamination room from a signal sent from the room controls. You can’t use a handheld device to get in. It’s a security feature.”
They turned a corner. Still clear. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Though what Brianna had said bothered him. “Um, we materialized in using a handheld device.”
She glanced at him as they rushed forward. “Not actually. Laszlo locked in on the handheld device to locate your presence once you activated the transport-connector properly. Our presence, as it turned out. He issued the signal that brought us here from that, using the multitransport feature of the device.”
Ecstasy Bound Page 27
