by Kate Rudolph
“Do you think Peter killed the captain?” Doryan asked. He was crouched over another spot of blood, staring at it intently.
“I think Linda thought he did,” Amy replied. “But this will be in the hands of the human police soon.” Human police who would look at all the evidence and see just how much motive Doryan had.
She needed something else to give them. Another place to look. And she needed to make sure they spoke with her before NaPyrsee got a chance to poison them to his point of view.
Fuck. She had to work fast.
“What’s wrong?” Doryan asked, straightening and placing a hand on his chest. Right where the bond tugged.
“I’ve got about five minutes before I need to call the human police. They’re already going to be pissed that we didn’t notify them about NaPyrsee’s death. And all the evidence…”
“Points to me,” Doryan finished. But he didn’t look nearly as worried as Amy felt. “We both know I didn’t kill either of these people. It will be okay.”
Would it? Two people were dead and Doryan’s bosses were going to want to kill him. Amy could feel sweat gathering and her heartbeat rising. She’d managed to keep panic at bay until now, but she could see exactly how this whole thing could spiral out of control and she needed to stop it.
Somehow.
“As far as I know, Linda Marino had no motive to kill her husband… unless he knew about her affair.” Talking it out was good. She needed to work through the logic of the problem. “Peter seemed like an asshole, but plenty of assholes never get murdered. Plus he had the claws. Claws which might match with the wounds on Captain NaPyrsee. If he discovered the affair, maybe he killed the captain. And maybe Linda found them. It’s a lot of maybes.”
“But it makes sense,” Doryan assured her.
It did. But there was an equally compelling story where Doryan killed the captain due to their history and Linda killed her husband for unrelated reasons. But she didn’t want to voice that doubt. Not yet. She knew Doryan hadn’t killed anyone, but the police wouldn’t. And she’d heard about rural police. Sometimes they saw an alien and couldn’t look past it.
“I’m going to do a scan.” Maybe the device would find something that normal eyes couldn’t.
She started in the bathroom and let out a breath when she got a hit on her first try. Detyen blood in the sink. And the shower. The visible evidence had been washed away, but the scanner didn’t lie. Someone had been absolutely covered in the stuff and it hadn’t been Linda, unless there was a third body lying somewhere. She hadn’t had the time between NaPyrsee’s death and discovery.
But was it enough?
Amy looked through the door and saw Doryan standing in the middle of the room. Even if she could convince the cops he hadn’t done it, NaMasee’s people would be here soon, and there was no way they’d listen to reason.
She knew what she had to do.
She sent a copy of the scan to her file and walked out of the bathroom, a strange sense of calm settling over her. “Go back to the NaZade cabin,” she instructed her mate. “Pack up your things and be ready to go.”
“You’re sending me away?” He looked hurt and Amy couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around him and hugging him close.
“No,” she promised. “But I’m not letting anyone else get to you. That protection thing goes both ways. Now get out and be quick. I’ve got to call the sheriff now or this is all going to go sideways.”
“Could you get in trouble for this?”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Now go.” She shoved him gently towards the door, but luckily he didn’t argue. She had to trust that Reikal had gotten NaMasee safely to his quarters and that Doryan would be safe walking back.
And then she shook herself. Doryan was a fully trained warrior. He could walk safely down a path and handle everything that came at him.
Still, she had to act fast.
She pulled up the local sheriff’s information and made the call.
DORYAN APPRECIATED Amy’s worry, but he’d walked lonely, dark roads before, and even with his newfound emotions couldn’t summon any fear on his journey from the Marino cabin to his own. But he was still cautious over his path. He might not have feared, but he wasn’t stupid.
The most direct path took him within a few dozen meters of NaMasee’s place. Or he could take another path and add fifteen minutes to his walk and stay well outside of NaMasee’s reach. But he’d felt Amy’s apprehension. She wanted them gone from this place as soon as possible and adding another unnecessary quarter hour could prevent their escape. After all, he doubted the sheriff would let them leave once the human authorities arrived.
He knew Amy was taking a risk, and it set his heart alight. She was choosing him. He couldn’t remember anyone ever doing that before. He’d had friends before becoming soulless, but none of them had seemed particularly devastated when he chose to undergo the procedure and sacrifice all. NaPyrsee had sacrificed him to slavers. And he knew that the NaZades would try and defend him… but if it became a choice between him and one of the family, they’d choose their family. He couldn’t even blame them.
But his mate had chosen him.
And he couldn’t make her wait.
He took the path that would lead him towards NaMasee’s cabin and moved swiftly. It had been long enough since Amy had shot him that he could have woken up, and he had no idea what her blaster was set to. He might have just been stunned with no lingering injuries.
Probably for the best, but that didn’t mean that Doryan wouldn’t have liked to see the man laid up for the night.
With any luck Reikal would be standing guard over NaMasee and all of Doryan’s worry would be for nothing.
But he’d already used up a lot of his luck this weekend. He’d found his mate, regained his emotions, and convinced her that he hadn’t murdered anyone despite all the evidence. And as NaMasee stepped onto the path, Doryan knew it had run out.
For a second the lieutenant didn’t see him, but then he spun around, claws out and eyes flashing red. “You,” he hissed. “Trying to run?”
Doryan let the calm of the fight settle over him. NaMasee looked fueled by rage and Doryan could feel his own anger sizzling, unfamiliar and yet burning hot enough to light him on fire. He wouldn’t give into it. He couldn’t, not tonight. “I’ve done nothing wrong, lieutenant.” He tried to keep his tone even, to sound just as soulless as he’d been when he arrived at the settlement, but even he could detect his frustration.
NaMasee’s hand whipped down and his eyes widened as he realized he didn’t have his blaster. “I know the signs,” he said. “You’re not acting as you should. You know the remedy for that. I’m protecting us all.”
Doryan held out his arms. “I haven’t hurt anyone.” But he could already tell it would be no use. NaMasee didn’t see him as a person, as a fellow member of the Detyen Legion. He saw a soulless warrior, someone to be used up and thrown away once they were no longer useful.
If it hadn’t been for Amy, he would have faded into that existence, accepted NaMasee’s hate. But Doryan was a man reborn and now he had everything to live for. Getting into a fight with NaMasee now wouldn’t help his case, but as Doryan stepped back, he knew he wasn’t going to have another choice.
Without warning the lieutenant launched himself at Doryan, swinging out, claws extended and swiping for his face. All he managed to do was nick Doryan’s cheek, but it stung, and Doryan’s own claws itched to shoot out. But if he lost control like that, if he truly harmed NaMasee, there would be no appeal to the Legion. To them he was still soulless, and he needed to present his case.
But first he needed to win.
The first blow might have been an undirected burst of hatred, but NaMasee had just as much training as Doryan, and he held himself like a fighter. He knew what he was doing. He stepped into Doryan’s space and landed a punch, but there was no sting of claws this time, he’d retracted them.
That wasn’t a blessing
, it just meant he had work to do before he could slice Doryan to shreds.
Doryan fought back, reaching out and looping an arm around NaMasee’s neck, pulling him down until his knee connected with the man’s gut, and taking a dim satisfaction in the way the lieutenant grunted.
Claws raked down Doryan’s thigh and he shoved NaMasee away before he could do more damage.
They circled one another. The moon provided enough light to see by, and the forest was silent all around them, the animals either scared or sleeping. Blood trickled down his leg and he had to end this fast before he lost his strength. NaMasee hadn’t managed to hit anything vital, but the wound was big and bleeding fast.
Doryan advanced, faking left before swinging right and hitting hard. He swept with his leg and NaMasee went down with a thunk, hitting something on the ground and hissing out in pain. But he didn’t let Doryan get close enough to finish it. He flipped over and scrambled away.
Doryan kept moving, not letting the lieutenant escape.
NaMasee gave as good as he got, his claws flashing in and out with an admirable amount of control. He was a stylish fighter, even as they grappled, and Doryan might have respected it on a practice mat. But not in the middle of a forest while he was fighting for his life.
He slipped in one of the mud puddles that still hadn’t dried and NaMasee took his chance, getting his hands on Doryan’s throat, his claws tickling his skin. It wouldn’t take much pressure to dig in and end this for good.
Doryan froze, barely daring to breathe.
“You’re malfunctioning,” NaMasee panted out. “No soulless would fight me. I’m doing this for the safety of all.”
But he was hesitating. Despite his hatred, despite his conviction that Doryan needed to be put down, NaMasee didn’t want to be the one to do it. Doryan could see it in his eyes. He kept his mouth shut. Another person might have been able to talk NaMasee off his path, but Doryan was almost certain that if he muttered a word the man would end him. He just needed a reason.
Doryan wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
NaMasee took a breath, his grip loosening just a fraction, and Doryan risked it all, rearing back before lunging forward and head butting the lieutenant. He got his arm around the man’s throat and squeezed, cutting off the flow of blood and oxygen.
NaMasee went limp in his arms and a dark part in the depths of Doryan’s awakening soul wanted him to hold on, to wait until the breath left NaMasee’s body and the threat was gone for good.
But he forced himself to let go, to let the lieutenant drop to the ground unconscious but otherwise unharmed.
He didn’t wait around for the man to wake up, knowing he wouldn’t be out for long.
Doryan sprinted the rest of the way, his steps growing wobbly as he made it to the NaZade cabin. He cast the pain aside. It didn’t matter. He needed to get his things.
Someone must have seen him coming. Naomi stood in the door, a worried look on her face. Had her psychic senses warned her he was coming? Or was the entire camp awake despite the late hour?
When he saw the medical supplies waiting beside the couch he had his answer.
“Amy said you were coming our way,” she told him, slinging his arm over her shoulders and leading him toward the couch. “I had a feeling you might need some more help.”
Doryan grunted his thanks.
Deke came down with Doryan’s bag a few minutes later and watched as Naomi applied regen gel and bandaged the wound. The gel would mean he was mostly healed by sunup, but until then his leg felt like it was on fire.
“The lieutenant?” Deke asked.
Doryan nodded. Now that the heat of the fight was over, he wasn’t sure he could speak without grunting in pain.
“Fuck.” Deke let out a breath and slumped back. “Why does he have it out for you?”
Doryan glared, his jaw too tight to do much talking.
“Did you just glare at me?” Deke’s eyes got big. “What’s—”
“I need the contact info for those warriors you mentioned.” Doryan swallowed back the pain and sank into his training. “Do you remember?”
“Raze and Kayde?” Deke nodded. “I’ll have to ask around, but I can get it to you. Are you… did you—”
“Amy. Yes.” Despite his pain, Doryan smiled.
It took Deke several seconds to smile back, and Doryan wondered if it was because he was starting to feel the pressure of not finding a mate of his own. He had time. He hadn’t even reached twenty-five. But with his two brothers mated and now Doryan doing the impossible, he had to be feeling something.
But Doryan wasn’t going to bring it up. There was no need to make Deke feel worse. “Tell Manda I’ll call her?”
The smile slid off Deke’s face, but he nodded. “There’s something—”
The front door slammed open and Doryan could feel it in the bond before Amy walked in the room. She got one look at him before her hand shot to her blaster. “What did he do?” she asked.
“I’m safe now,” Doryan insisted. “It’s okay. And he’s not dead.”
She scowled. “He will be when I get my hands on him.”
“You and Vita are going to get along great,” Deke muttered. He pointed to Doryan’s bag. “Safe travels.”
“The sheriff will be here soon,” said Amy. “I’ve briefed Kyla the best I can. Let’s get out of here before you get arrested.”
Chapter Fourteen
THE DRIVE BACK TO VIRGINIA took hours and somehow also went by in the blink of an eye. Doryan faded fast and Amy didn’t like the way he’d gone pale, his golden skin turning a bit green. Her mind whirled, the responsible part telling her to turn the car around and speak with the sheriff before things got out of hand. But the part that needed to protect Doryan drowned everything else out.
She didn’t trust NaMasee, and given Doryan’s wounds she had been right. She only hoped Kyla could handle the situation well enough before NaMasee turned the human police against Doryan. Though given NaMasee’s contempt for humans, maybe the sheriff wouldn’t like him.
She’d laid everything out in the evidence. Linda Marino was having an affair with Captain NaPyrsee. Peter Marino discovered it and killed him. Then Linda Marino discovered that her husband had killed her lover and struck out in a jealous rage before fleeing. She’d all but wrapped a bow around the case.
But she kept checking for police in her rear view mirror, as if they’d be chasing her and Doryan down.
She didn’t let her guard down as they drove out of New York and further south, and when they hit rush hour traffic in Philadelphia exhaustion washed over her, even though they were only halfway home.
Doryan woke up a little after that, and something in her chest settled as he stretched in the seat beside her. Then he looked over and smiled, and for the first time in hours she let herself believe that everything would be alright.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. She reached into the console between their seats and grabbed a water bottle, offering it to him.
He took it and drank deeply. Amy had to keep her eyes forward or she was going to be too distracted watching his throat work. “Better,” he said. He prodded at his leg. “Feels a bit bruised, but the wounds have closed up. I should be fully functional in an hour or two.”
Fully functional. That was all there was to the soulless. It was a harsh reminder of what he’d been until they’d met.
“Deke knows of some people that might be able to help me navigate this…” he made a motion with his hands, “everything. Soulless warriors who found their mates. He’s going to give me their contact info once he has it.”
And the seedling of hope inside of her grew a little more. Maybe there was a way out of this. She held on tight as doubts tried to swarm her. They were safe for now, and NaMasee couldn’t hurt Doryan again. Not yet. Not ever, if she had any say in it.
That reminded her of something. “What did Deke mean when he said that Vita and I would like each other?” She’d met the woman
briefly but hadn’t spent much time around her.
Doryan smiled and Amy turned fully to take it in for a second. She loved his smiles and wanted to see them every day. She would have said it was all too soon, but she believed in this mate stuff 100% and she was ready for it. There was something… magical about fate ordaining that they belonged together. And as far as she could tell, destiny had done a good job. Doryan was kind, caring, protective, and sex on legs. Why would she resist that when she could feel that they belonged together?
“So you don’t know how Vita met Brax?” he asked. He reached out and laced their fingers together.
Oh, fuck it. Amy engaged the auto-drive mode and turned fully to face her mate. She’d only been navigating herself because it helped stave off panic. But now she wanted to be fully engrossed in Doryan.
“No, I take it there’s a story?” Brax and Vita had seemed almost nauseatingly in love, so it couldn’t have been all bad.
“She kidnapped him,” Doryan answered. “Abducted him from Earth. She used to be a bounty hunter. Turns out there was a mix up and he was misidentified as one of her marks. While they were sorting themselves through that, they rescued me and Manda. Vita is very protective of Brax, and she isn’t afraid to use her blaster.”
“Huh.” Amy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She wasn’t a bounty hunter, but she was absconding with Doryan, and her blaster was a comforting weight in her pocket.
She’d worry about that later.
They made it to her home in Virginia before lunch time, but Amy was starving. She pulled through a fast food drive through and got them both meals before heading for her parking lot. They both devoured every scrap before they got out of the car.
Her apartment wasn’t much. A single bedroom, small kitchen, and large living room made it the perfect size for a single person.
