Susa had to kill him while he was down and before he regained full strength. She struggled to her feet. The room swirled around her, and she saw two Slekos as her eyes refused to work correctly. All she wanted was to hide in the corner. Or flee.
But she did neither. Instead, she planted her feet and tried not to sway.
Her ancestors were Prime warriors. She would not be defeated. She took a deep breath, cleared her fuzzy mind, and somehow found her balance.
She focused on Sleko—just one of him now. He was on his knees on the blood-slippery floor, and she was less than a meter away. Even kneeling, he was still face-to-face with her.
The odds would only be in her favor for the next second or so.
“Sleko, you’re bakking dheu mete.” Fucking dead meat. Susa lunged, her highly sharpened knife in her dominant hand.
Sleko jerked sideways at the last minute, grabbed her knife hand, and twisted her wrist until she screamed in pain. She dropped the knife. It skittered across the floor toward the wall and out of reach.
Fear shot icy shards up and down her spine. As she struggled furiously, Sleko pulled her closer to his mouth. His teeth held a poison which, at lower doses, would merely paralyze his prey. She’d be helpless.
Using every bit of energy she had left, she kicked and scratched at her captor with her one free hand—and prayed for a miracle.
A small growling sound came from behind Sleko. Geep leaped onto the spot on Sleko’s calf he’d attacked before and bit down. This time a loud crunch was followed by a squelching sound that turned Susa’s stomach.
Geep had gotten through Sleko’s extra armor. The little guy must’ve weakened the layer with his acid the first time he’d bit the Dornian.
Sleko bellowed in disbelief. His acid-yellow eyes bugged out as he gasped for each breath. Releasing Susa’s wrist, he struck at her. For a dying man, his punch was viciously strong.
Susa hit the floor with a loud scream, then scrambled to get out of the way as the dying man fell forward.
Even in his death throes, Sleko still tried to reach her. His eyes held the promise of her death.
Scrabbling on her hands and feet, she desperately crab-walked backward as Sleko’s green skin turned black, his split-tongue bloated, and his eyes swelled out of their sockets.
Yuck. Eeuw. Ick. She coughed and vomited to the side what little she had in her stomach.
Geep scurried toward her in a whirl of fur, gibbering noises, and flashing eyes. Geeping frantically, he brushed against her as if looking for injuries.
“I’m fine, Geep.” Moaning, she struggled to sit so she could hug him. She braced herself with one hand. “Ansu bhau.” Cradling the wrist Sleko had twisted, she shot a glare at Sleko’s body. “Bakking apayebo.”
But Sleko couldn’t hear her curses. There’d be no pseudo-reptilian self-healing from Geep’s poison. She sagged against the wall with relief.
A deep male voice growled. “Does Borac know you have such a foul mouth?”
All Susa registered was—Man. Growl. Danger.
Relief from surviving Sleko vanished in an instant. Her heart pounded as a fresh surge of adrenaline poured into her bloodstream. Laboring for breath, Susa sat up and searched for a weapon. Her knife lay just out of reach of the scrabbling fingers of her uninjured hand.
Moving slightly behind her, Geep growled and prepared to attack the stranger.
Susa recalled her laser pistol and yanked it from the hidden pocket in her tunic. Her hands shook as she aimed it at the large male in the entrance.
The man, strangely enough, hadn’t moved—had done nothing to disable her—while she’d armed herself. He was definitely armed. He had two weapons she could see, and she would bet he had more.
His face was blank of all emotion, but she sensed—Concern? For her? He also looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall why.
Susa’s gun hand trembled like a misfiring thruster as the man slowly moved into the room. His vivid blue gaze never left her until he reached Sleko’s body. Then he stopped, looked down, and kicked Sleko’s corpse.
“Good job, Susa.” His tone was somewhere between a grunt and a growl.
When he shifted his focus back to her, his expression held respect—and the concern she’d sensed earlier. “I came to rescue you.” After shoving his blade into a thigh sheathe, he held his arms out, away from his body, away from his weapons. “I won’t hurt you. You can put the weapon down.”
His words. His actions. His expression. All sounded and looked good, but Susa wasn’t fooled. The man was lethal and didn’t need a weapon to hurt her. Yes, he might not be the same kind of danger to her as Sleko had been, but still, he was an alpha-male, powerful, and trouble with a capital T.
Susa’s exhausted body started to quake, causing her weapon arm to move even more. She braced the ever-more-heavy laser pistol on her bent knee, still aimed at the man’s center of mass, and hugged her sore wrist against her waist. She kept the large, muscular hominid male who was now checking out the rest of the room, in sight.
Stay behind me, Geep.
Geep growled inside her head.
The man looked like a Terran. He had broad shoulders, so broad they’d filled the entrance to the cabin. His body then narrowed to slim hips and long, muscular legs. His hair was collar-length, shaggy, and so many different colors of blond that Susa could spend days trying to name them all. His beard shadow was a dark brown with an occasional gold glint, a stark contrast to his light hair. She bet his beard scruff grew back almost as quickly as he shaved it.
Now, why did she think she should know him? She couldn’t think. Her normally organized mind mired with a chaotic mess of emotions.
The stranger’s sky blue eyes darkened to the blue of a starless night sky as he took her in. A muscle in his sculpted face jerked spasmodically as his high cheekbones darkened.
Her empathic sense read a mixture of emotions coming from him—even more of the concern, uneasiness, and—arousal.
In Susa’s experience, most men were wired to respond to an attractive woman. Usually, she could dismiss such casual lust, but found she couldn’t dismiss the intensity of his perusal as easily as she normally did. His lambent gaze set little flames burning over her skin, and not in a bad way. There was a recognition in her lower abdomen—an acknowledgment on an elemental level—of his male to her female. Her skin flushed even as her pussy grew wet and her nipples beaded.
Ne. Ne. Ne.
Her body’s response had to be a reaction to surviving the fight and seeing a good-looking male who wasn’t out to kill her. A side effect of the adrenaline that had, and still, coursed through her body.
Wulf had explained this type of reaction once after he’d come to Susa post-battle and fucked her all night long. He’d said exposure to extreme danger often resulted in a need for sexual release.
Sex was a way to prove one had survived.
Then something the far-too-attractive-for-her-peace-of-mind male had said pierced the fog of feelings clouding her mind. “You know my name. You know my cousin.”
“I’m his partner, Damon Martin. Remember? Borac sent me to escort you to our station.”
“You’re Bria’s brother.” Susa sounded like an idiot, but her mind was having a hard time adjusting from all-out survival mode to making casual conversation.
“I am.” A dark wall boxed out his emotions, hiding them from her empathic senses. Obviously, his relationship with Bria was still a touchy topic. “Call me, Damon.”
“How did you find me?” Susa supposed she should try to stand, but couldn’t find the energy.
“I arrived at the P85 dock minutes after your kidnapping.” Damon nudged Sleko’s body out of his way with the toe of his boot as if the Dornian weighed nothing. Then pulled the blanket off the bed and tossed it over the body. “The space dock’s security measures had placed trackers on the Dornian ship, because they’d broken the dock clamps. The dock manager and I followed as quickly as we could.” He grunted. “Lo
oks like you’d have gotten away all by yourself. Good job.”
“I had help. Geep, come out now.”
Geep scurried around and hopped on her lap. She placed her weapon on the floor and petted Geep’s furry ringlets. “Meet Geep.”
Cursing, Damon pulled his laser pistol. “Put the fucking Ragbag down and get away from it, Susa. Those little bastards are dangerous.”
Geep growled and bristled.
“Balcon’s balls, put the weapon away.” One-armed, she cuddled Geep close to her breasts. “This little guy saved my life. He goes where I go until I can determine where he wants to make his home.” She lifted her chin and glared, daring him to deny her.
Damon grimaced, then muttered something unintelligible under his breath. But he didn’t refuse to take Geep with them. Instead, he said, “Ragbags are indigenous to the Mu Arae system. We can drop him off on Tooh 10 when we make our report to the Alliance Military.” He finally lowered his weapon, but didn’t put it away. “After we give our statements to the military, we’ll discuss what to do next.”
“What do you mean?” Susa frowned, not sure she liked the direction his conversation was taking. His tone, his emotional aura, indicated he’d entered the alpha-zone where a dominant male presumed he knew what was best for a woman.
“Well, my suggestion would be for you to go home. No asshole from the Umbraxi system could snatch you off Cejuru Prime.”
Sounded more like an order to Susa, and she gritted her teeth so she wouldn’t tell him off. After all, he had come to rescue her, and she wasn’t that rude.
But go home? No. Not when she hadn’t even begun to experience her new-found freedom. Yes, she’d been kidnapped, but what were the odds of that happening again, especially now that she had a bodyguard? Slim to none.
“There’s nothing to discuss.” Susa rubbed her cheek over the top of Geep’s head. “I’m going to visit Borac and Cissy and help with the children—with or without your assistance.”
“Fuck.” Damon shook his head and looked at his feet before aiming a patented male I’m-the-boss-and-you-need-to-heed-my-word look. “Listen, Susa—”
“Is there a problem here?” Another male entered the room. He wore a uniform with a P85 space dock insignia on his sleeve. “Good job on killing the last Dornian, Damon.”
“He didn’t,” Susa spoke just as Damon replied, “I didn’t.” Geep mrrfed.
Dobrek zeroed in on Geep, then looked at Susa and grinned. “Glad to see you’re okay, Susa. Nice work on the dead body. I’m Dobrek, manager of the P85 space dock. Where’d you find the Wefiantoth? My daughter Cilla sneaks down to the freighter dock and plays with them.”
At Cilla’s name, Geep fluffed his fur and chittered. He shared with Susa his memories of a curly-haired girl with a dirty face, playing with him under the loading ramps. The little girl had fed him cakes and cookies.
“Geep just told me he liked playing with your Cilla. She brought him sweet treats. I think he’s now addicted to cookies.” She laughed. “Geep dealt the death blow to Sleko and saved my life.”
“You let your daughter play with a Ragbag?” Damon looked at Dobrek, his expression was incredulous. “What’s wrong with you, man? Those little fuckers can kill with a bite. The proof’s lying on the floor.”
Dobrek snorted. “Yeah, well, you try to stop a determined girl-child from playing with cute, furry creatures, especially when there are few children around as suitable playmates. Trust me, her mother and I tried to stop Cilla, but she did it anyway. So, we learned all we could about the species and made sure Cilla knew how to protect herself. Bottom line, the Ragbags are harmless as long as they aren’t threatened.”
“First I’ve heard of it,” snarled Damon. “The ones on my docks are savage little buggers.”
Dobrek shrugged. “Your docks are a lot rougher than mine. Most creatures can be domesticated, if approached correctly.”
Susa coughed, drawing the men’s attention. “I’ve named him Geep. Please use it. He’s very intelligent, brave, and loyal. He goes where I go unless he decides to stay on Tooh 10. No negotiations.”
She placed Geep on the bed, secured her pistol in its hidden pocket, and used her good hand to push herself to her feet. Then she picked Geep up and let him crawl onto her shoulder. Looking at Dobrek, she said, “You called Sleko the last of the Dornians. Are you sure? There were at least two others—”
“They’re dead.” Damon moved toward her. “We took them out when they tried to steal Dobrek’s craft.”
“What about Baxer?” she asked. “He and the Dornians kidnapped me for Baxer’s uncle, Nagli Goldai, the ruler of the Umbraxi solar system.” She paused and took a breath. “Anyway, the Dornians decided they could get more money for me at auction. They took Baxer prisoner.”
“I did find a hominid male on the lower level. He’s—” Dobrek didn’t finish the sentence, just shook his head and looked grim.
Susa’s empathic abilities were running hot with all the adrenaline in her system and she easily read Dobrek’s gut-wrenching repugnance. Dobrek also had some telepathic abilities; she not only received his emotions, but also impressions of what he’d seen. She gulped as rising nausea made the room spin.
The Dornians had abused Baxer in horrible ways. They’d never intended to sell him, but intended to use him themselves until he died. While Baxer had been the reason she’d been taken so easily, she still wouldn’t wish torture on any sentient being.
Shaky from all the emotions bouncing off her, hurt from fighting with Sleko, and sick at heart over Baxer’s death, she moved to sit on the bed and accidentally braced herself with her sore hand. Pain shot up her arm, and she moaned.
Geep purred his concern from his perch on her shoulder.
Damon glared at Dobrek. “She’s an empath. Control your emotions, man.” He moved closer. “You’re hurt. Let me see your wrist.”
The demand was gruff and filled with solicitude. Susa lifted her arm, unconsciously trusting him to care for her. He took her wrist in an oddly gentle grip for a man so large and intimidating.
Damon’s effect on her was potent. Everything female in her leapt to respond to his male dominance … to his all-too-attractive looks and powerful body. His delicious scent of forest trees, sea breezes, and something spicy wrapped around her senses until all she could smell … taste was Damon. He reminded her of her favorite Caradoc males—Wulf, Huw, and Iolyn. He, like those Caradocs, would protect her whether she wanted him to or not.
For now, she could admit, it would be nice to have someone to handle things while she recuperated from her ordeal. Afterward, when her wrist wasn’t throbbing, making her stomach roil, she could retake control of her life.
Geep must’ve sensed her conflicting feelings toward Damon. The little guy hunkered down on her shoulder. “Mrrrrrf.” The rolling r’s were a definite warning.
Damon narrowed his gaze at Geep. “Not going to hurt her. Just need to make sure her wrist isn’t broken.”
“It’s okay, Geep,” Susa murmured. “This is my cousin’s friend and business partner. He’ll be taking me to their jump station.” She sent Geep images of her taking him along, if he wished.
Geep hummed and settled down, but his wide-eyed, purple gaze stayed focused on Damon. She sensed if Damon made one wrong move, Geep would show his impressive array of teeth.
Damon gently cradled her wrist in one hand and deftly manipulated areas. “Does this hurt?” He lifted and released one finger at a time.
“No. It’s just my wrist.” She inhaled sharply and winced as he carefully rotated her wrist.
“Without a scan, I can’t be sure, but your injury acts like a severe sprain.” He placed her hand on her lap. “There’s a portable scanner in the fighter craft’s first aid kit. I’ll check you over once we’re underway to Tooh 10. I’ll be able to give you a pain bolus, if you want one.”
“I don’t, but thank you.” Susa stood with Damon’s assistance.
Geep balanced on her shoul
der, his prehensile toes gently gripping. His soft warmth was calming and helped ground her.
Susa looked from Damon to Dobrek and back. “Do we need to talk to any authorities here about the dead men?”
“Not here. The Obam made it clear this was an Alliance problem. There’s an Alliance military craft heading this way. They can handle any after-report and the disposition of the dead. We’ll make our report directly to Alliance Military on the Tooh 10 orbiting space dock,” Dobrek said.
“But I was just near there. Well, sort of. I was on Tooh 2,” Susa said with exasperation. “Isn’t there any way we can go back to P85?”
“No.” Damon took several breaths as if he had to dig deep to find a sense of calm. “On P85, we’d have to wait for a Mason freighter.” Obviously, the calm escaped him. He was all blunt impatience now. “And that might take a month or more. Mason is the only freighter transport company Borac and I trust. The other companies have older equipment and aren’t as safe.”
“Okay.” Susa had heard this before from Borac and her women friends. She moved to Damon’s side and looked up at the man who towered over her own above-average height. “What do you suggest?”
The tenseness went out of Damon’s shoulders and his lips twisted into a small smile. His aura read as relief.
Susa mentally snorted. You won’t win all the arguments, cheko. You just happen to have more knowledge than I do about which mode of transportation is safer and how to achieve it.
“We’ll spend some time at the resort on Tooh 2 before we catch another ship to my jump station.” Damon placed his hand under her good arm and walked her to the cabin’s door. “It’ll give you a chance to recover and—”
“I’m not so weak that I can’t continue on to Borac’s station sooner,” Susa interrupted.
Damon continued to speak as if she hadn’t spoken. “…assure the Caradoc family you’re okay. Since your luggage is on Vanni’s freighter, you can use the time on Tooh 2 to shop for clothing for the trip to my and Borac’s jump station.” He added, “And, of course, you might decide to go home after all.”
Prime Target Page 10
