by Gail Koger
“You’d do me in front of them?” I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “All covered in manure?”
A low growl rumbled in his throat. “Yes.”
“Okay. No need to get all snarly.” I surveyed their battle screens with great interest. “Wow, where’s a camera when you need one?”
Jaylan thrust me at a big, fierce-looking warrior. “Wulf, take her to the brig and lock her up.”
Wulf clamped his right fist to his chest. “As you command.” Taking a firm grip on my left arm, he escorted me out of the room.
A satisfied grin curved my mouth as he dragged me down a long corridor. That had been way too easy. Dumbass Wulf was really gonna regret not searching me.
Wulf frowned. “You belong to the Jones clan?”
“Who me? No. I’m with the Benson clan.”
“A lie.” He spun me around, slammed me against the wall, and patted me down.
Rats. Wulf was smarter than he looked. Squirming against his hold, I cursed silently as he found my knives, a miniature smoke bomb, a tranquilizer dart, and snagged my bio jammer. “You got some kind of beef with the Jones Clan?”
“Their females are very tricky.” He fastened handcuffs on me.
“Oh, you’ve met Zoey?”
“I have.” Wulf tossed me over his shoulder and strode down the corridor.
Damn. “I can walk.”
He ignored me.
I bit his neck. Colettis like to bite, and turnabout was fair play. Right?
He whacked my bottom. “Enough.”
Ouch, that hurt.
Wulf marched into the brig, dumped me in a cell, and triggered the energy field. “No one has ever escaped from a warbird.”
“You must be so proud.” Sarcasm laced my voice.
He pointed a warning finger at me. “You would be wise not to provoke the Commander.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty terrifying,” I answered, trying to look properly cowed while I busily picked the lock on the cuffs. A bit hard to do when they’re behind your back.
Wulf eyed me for a long moment, then turned on his heel and left.
“Bye-bye, dickhead.” I dropped the cuffs on the floor. Was the cell being monitored? Probably. With quick efficiency, I slid the heel of my right boot open and pinched off a chunk of high-grade explosive. This was my pride and joy. It was hell on energy fields.
A little dab, and poof. I would be the first person in Coletti history to escape a warbird. I pushed my heel back in place.
The communication device in my belt beeped. Pops had the transporter ready.
“I see Wulf failed to secure you properly.” Jaylan’s displeasure was obvious.
“Ah…what makes you say that?” I hurriedly placed the marble-size piece of explosive on the wall by the control panel.
“The cuffs on the floor.”
I kicked them under the bunk. “What cuffs?” Opening my belt buckle, I took out a miniaturized detonator and stuck it in the explosive.
Jaylan’s voice was lethally matter-of-fact. “Your defiance ends now.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” I touched a button on my watch.
Crack! The shimmering energy field died along with all the power in this section of the ship.
A glittering blue light blossomed around me. “See ya around, numb nuts.”
With a deadly resolve, Jaylan promised, “I will come for you.”
Chapter Three
The light faded, and I stood on the icy-cold transporter platform in our Tucson emergency base.
Still wearing his camouflage face paint and fatigues, Pops stepped away from the control console. His concerned gaze swept over me, taking in the dirt, manure, blood, and bruises. “That bastard do that to you?”
“Nope. Believe me, the warlord got the worst of it.” I brushed at the dirt covering my jeans. “Your fancy manure chute came in real handy today.”
“It did?”
I grinned at the memory of Jaylan’s manure-smeared face. “Yeah, it gave a whole new meaning to ‘shitfaced.’”
Pops scowled. “You actually enjoy matching wits with the warlord?”
With a sheepish smile, I admitted, “I haven’t had this much fun in ages.”
Outrage flashed in his eyes. “Are you nuts? If you keep challenging that predator, sooner or later you’re gonna get bit.”
“True.” I touched the bite marks on my neck.
“My God, you let the prick take your blood?”
“I didn’t let him,” I snapped, more than a bit peeved. “I kinda underestimated his strength.”
My father snorted in disgust. “That’s a lame-ass excuse.”
It was. “I fucked up. He also knows about Thor.”
Impotent fury tightened Pops’s face. “Dammit, Bree, you should have killed him when you had the chance.”
My temper flared. “I’m not a trained killer like you. I just can’t—”
Pops cut me off with a roar. “He owns you now!”
“He’ll never own me.” I held up a placating hand. “Please, we always knew this day might come.”
Wrapping me in a bear hug, Pops whispered, “I can’t lose you too.”
“You won’t. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, but that sneaky warlord is very good at what he does. I got a look at their command screens, and the Colettis are getting ready to hit our bases in Utah and California.”
“Fuck.” A murderous rage simmering in his eyes, Pops stalked over to the communications console and typed in the emergency evacuation code for the two bases.
I squared my shoulders. “We need to go to the contingency plan.”
Pops stared at me for a long moment. “I’m not abandoning you.”
“Jaylan’s determined to make me his mate. Once he gets through my shields, he’ll know everything about Earth First. You have to cut all ties with me.”
“No,” he stated emphatically.
“Don’t be a stubborn old goat. You know it has to be done. He’ll never stop.”
Pops pulled his pistol. “This will stop him.”
Every cell in my body went on alert. “He’s here. If Jaylan captures you, he’ll tear through your mind like it’s toilet paper. Everything you know, he’ll know, and I won’t be able to stop him. Get our people to safety. I’ll hold him as long as I can.”
“Once that warlord mates with you, the bond can never be broken.” His blue eyes were bleak.
“It’s also hardwired into their genes to take very good care of their mates. I’ll be okay. He won’t hurt me.” I hoped.
The intruder alarm began to wail.
“Please, Pops. They’ve breached the outer perimeter.”
Pops planted a kiss on my forehead. “You’re my kid. Not Thor’s.”
I gave him a quick hug. “I love you too, but get the hell out of here.”
He stepped on the transporter platform and gave the Ranger’s call. “Mess with the best, die like the rest.”
“Hooah.” I touched the controls. A glittering blue light blossomed around Pops, and ten seconds later, he was at our Texas base.
Shaking off the stomach-clenching sensation of loss, I took a deep breath and brought up the security monitors. Tears weren’t allowed. I would see Pops again.
One look at the screens, and I groaned. Smart guy had brought his troops. Very heavily armed troops.
Hmmm. I wonder if they’ve ever been to the North Pole? I couldn’t send all of them there, but I could whittle down their numbers a bit. I quickly typed the coordinates into the transporter controls and hit the Send button.
On the monitor, I watched the glittering blue beams take Jaylan and seven of his men to the land of the midnight sun. Hey, it was summer. They wouldn’t freeze. Too much.
“You only delay the inevitable,” Jaylan snarled, fighting to stand in hurricane-strength winds.
“Your defeat is inevitable, not mine.” I know it wasn’t real smart to keep taunting him, but it was sure a lot of fun. Plus, if I got him riled enough, h
e’d make a mistake.
Boom! The building shuddered violently, and the power died.
Well, damn. Time for the low-tech approach.
The emergency lights came on.
I hurried over to the armory and strapped on a pistol.
His voice a menacing purr, Jaylan warned, “You injure any of my warriors, and I will make you watch as I kill the commander of Earth First.”
My blood turned to ice. “You’ll never catch him.”
“We tracked the transporter beam, and we now have the location of your Texas base.”
Fear curled into me like a living thing. “You’re bluffing.”
“I never bluff.”
Shit. He probably didn’t. Grabbing a cell phone from the armory, I turned it on, but nothing happened. I tried another and another.
“Your communication devices will not work.”
Fuck. I had to warn Pops, but getting out of here wasn’t going to be easy. Grabbing a backpack, I stuffed it with smoke canisters, stun grenades, tranquilizer guns, and my newest addition, skunk bombs. They were guaranteed to clear a building within seconds.
“You will immediately surrender to my warriors.”
“Surrender is not an option.” I put a gas mask on and scanned the area. Crap, they were almost on me.
“You have no choice.”
“Wanna bet?” I clipped a bio jammer on my belt.
The reinforced metal door shuddered violently. Jaylan’s warriors were good, but I was better. I pushed the timer on a skunk bomb.
Bam! The door buckled, and I caught a glimpse of the smirking warriors.
Flipping them the bird, I put the bomb on the command console and ran into the escape tunnel. The door slid shut behind me.
Ten seconds later, a loud cracking pop sounded.
“Wait for it. Wait for it.” The sounds of violent puking had me doing a happy dance. My eau-de-dead-skunk bomb worked like a charm.
Jaylan’s dangerous voice rang in my head. “What did you do to my warriors?”
“Me? I never laid a finger on them.” The sensation of a thousand burning fireflies suddenly boiled across my mind. My Siren senses only reacted this way when a horde of Tai-Kok came calling.
Clutching my head, I fought back the growing agony. I had to focus. Central Command needed to know how many ships were coming. Fuck. If I dropped my shields for any length of time, Jaylan would own me, but if I didn’t, how many innocent people would die? Would the other Sirens sense them in time? We were Earth’s first line of defense. We kept the human race from becoming an all-you-can-eat banquet.
Brutal images hammered my mind: Phoenix’s once-vibrant downtown area an incinerated ruin. Smoke billowing from the skeletal remains of skyscrapers. The screams of panic-stricken people and the moans of the dying. Butchered corpses littered the blood-soaked streets. A Tai-Kok ripping chunks from a child’s body.
A sob caught in my throat. “Stop!”
“You are a Siren. It is your duty to protect your people,” the warlord stated coldly.
“Bastard. I know my duty, but I won’t be your broodmare.”
“You would let them slaughter your people?”
God, no. I still had nightmares about their attack on Phoenix, and the prick knew it. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I couldn’t take the chance of them getting through our defenses. “Stay out of my head, and let me do my job.”
“You are my mate, and it is my duty to protect you.”
The burning sensation grew stronger and stronger. The monsters were getting too close to our planet. Dammit, I couldn’t wait any longer. Dropping my shields, I opened my senses and scanned our solar system.
Jaylan slid effortlessly into my head and joined in my search. I felt his intense hatred of the Tai-Kok. His need to kill the murdering bastards equaled mine. We were united in our quest for vengeance.
The Tai-Koks’ hunger abruptly slapped me in the face. It was sharp, visceral, and constant. There were thousands of them. All eager to feed.
“Focus,” Jaylan commanded.
Taking a shuddering breath, I fought back their sickening bloodlust, and concentrated. Five cloaked battle cruisers were approaching Mars.
Jaylan linked with his command staff. “Go to battle stations.”
“Whoever gave them the cloaking device should be hanged.”
“Malik was responsible,” Jaylan advised, his disgust evident.
“I thought they had him locked up?” I slowly eased out of the warlord’s mind.
Mental bands snapped around me. “Going somewhere?”
I tried to break free, but I couldn’t budge him. “Let go of me.”
Jaylan swept away all my protective barriers until we were mind to mind.
I shivered at the intimate touch. “Get out of my head.”
“You have not completed your duties as a Siren.”
“Well, fuckadoodledoo, jackass. You are not nor will ever be my boss.”
The psychic bands tightened painfully. “This is not the time or the place to defy me. The Tai-Koks are coming. They must be stopped.”
God, he was right. What the hell was wrong with me? Okay, it was almost that time of the month, but I needed to get my head out of my ass and concentrate on the monsters. Some chocolate would really be nice. Just enough to take the edge off. A pound should do the trick.
“Give me the coordinates of the Tai-Kok ships.” It was an impatient demand.
“Sir, yes, sir.” PMS was a wonderful battle tool. All that homicidal rage I could release on the monsters’ unsuspecting asses.
“The battle will be a very short one if you do not provide me with the coordinates.”
I quickly fed him the locations of the Tai-Kok battle cruisers and hissed as the monsters launched hundreds of marauders. The two-man fighters were deadly.
Jaylan spat something nasty in a Coletti dialect I didn’t know and teleported to his warbird.
Agony exploded in my head. More Tai-Kok. The tunnel spun wildly around me.
Jaylan soothingly stroked my mind. The pain vanished abruptly, “How many do you sense?”
Shaking violently, I concentrated and gasped. My God, there were Tai-Kok ships over Tucson. How was that possible? Did they have a hidden base in the desert? I staggered out of the escape tunnel.
To my horror, the turquoise sky was full of black, bullet-shaped marauders. Attack sirens wailed in warning. Flames and smoke poured from the ruins of the Pioneer Hotel.
Quickly scanning the area, I yanked off the gas mask and stuffed it in my backpack. No sign of any skeletal Tai-Kok raiders. Yet.
A squadron of Central Command fighter jets engaged the enemy ships. A vicious crossfire of dazzling red laser bolts erupted between the combatants.
The ground shuddered under my feet as a crippled marauder crashed into a skyscraper and exploded.
Around me, freaked-out people ran for the bunkers. Except for one crazy bitch. The skinny, homeless-looking blonde hurried into a bakery, grabbed a chocolate cake, and stuffed a handful of the gooey goodness in her mouth.
My attention riveted on her as she took another bite. I started to drool. God, that looked so good. Licking my lips hungrily, I walked into the store and pointed my pistol at her head. “Looters are to be shot on sight.”
With a little girly scream, she dropped the cake and fled.
What a waste of good chocolate. I grabbed a couple dozen double-chocolate chip cookies, and put them in my backpack.
“Have you lost all sense?” Jaylan could give Pops a run for his money with his drill sergeant bellow.
“A girl has her needs.” I shoved a cookie into my mouth. A groan broke from me as gourmet chocolate hit my taste buds. Yum.
An explosion rocked the entire building, and pieces of ceiling rained down on me.
“Your needs will get you killed.”
“Death by chocolate? What a way to go.”
“You are my mate, and you will obey me.”
“Delusional much?”
His roar reverberated around my skull. “Go back to your base, or chocolate will be forbidden to you.”
“Well, that’s just mean. Could you live without blood?”
“Taming you will not be easy.”
I grinned. “Still think I’m the perfect mate?”
“Yes. Colettis live for battle.”
Yeah they did, and boy did that suck. A laser blast disintegrated the counter next to me. I dove behind a display of wedding cakes.
“Is someone shooting at you?”
The cakes glowed brightly and vanished.
“That would be a yes.” On my hands and knees, I scrambled among the aisles as laser bolts flew wildly.
Jaylan hissed his displeasure. “Who is shooting at you?”
Good question. I risked a quick peek.
An elderly woman in full tactical gear had her laser rifle pointed at my head. “No one steals from me.”
“I’m not a thief.” I dug a twenty out of my pocket and waved it in the air. “We good?”
Granny snatched the twenty. “Get out of my shop.”
Holy hell, that was one fine mustache she was growing. Menopause was definitely making her a tad grouchy. “Yes, ma’am.” Raising my hands, I stood. “You need to get to a shelter. The Tai-Kok are coming.”
She jabbed me in the stomach with the rifle barrel. “Git.”
My movements slow and careful, I backed out of the bakery. “Yes, ma’am.”
A low metallic whine filled the air, and something large blotted out the sun.
I looked up, and my stomach lurched in horrified recognition. Hovering overhead was a bulky Tai-Kok slaughter ship. A dozen small, onyx-hulled shuttles launched from the craft.
Shit. Raiders.
Wulf appeared beside me and clamped a powerful hand around my arm. “I will take you to safety.”
My eyes began to water, and I fought down the urge to hurl. Lordy. Did he stink. “Ah, that’s not necessary.” I tried to pry his fingers off my arm. “Really. Shoo. Go far, far away.”
An evil smile on his face, Wulf tugged me closer. “I am not to leave your side until I can deliver you to the Commander.”
Just fucking terrific. I pulled out my gas mask.
The sick, twisted bastard yanked it out of my hand and hurled it away.
