by Frost Kay
Lev’s jaw clenched. “But we do need you to do this.”
He was asking her to willingly meet with Sloven, the man who’d assaulted her. Goosebumps broke out along her arms and she rubbed at them as panic bubbled in her belly. A shiver worked down her spine as she whispered, “I don’t want to.”
Virgil leaned forward and knelt. “I know you don’t want to, sweetheart, and we hate to ask this of you.”
That broke through some of her panic. They’d ask her to do anything if it meant getting what they wanted. “That has never stopped you before, even if there was a possibility of me getting hurt.” She stared the men down. Coal fidgeted, and Lev glanced to the side for a moment before meeting her gaze once again. Her lips curled in triumph. They could pretend to be immune to her pain all they wanted, but she wasn’t going to let them off the hook. “What?” she goaded. “You can’t look a little Southern girl in the eye when you’ve completely screwed her over?”
“Women are scary,” Virgil said, and fake shuddered. “An enraged woman makes terrorists look downright fuzzy.”
Lev shook his head and rolled his eyes.
“Allie…”
Her molars ground together at how Blade’s deep voice caressed her name. His fathomless eyes clashed with hers as she swiveled in his direction. “What?”
“The fact of the matter is, if we don’t get the evidence that we need, he’ll walk free. I don’t want to scare you…” he said softly.
“Then don’t.”
“You need to know what the risks are.”
“Risks?”
“If he gets out into the world,” he continued, “you will never be safe.”
Her hackles rose. “Are you threatening me?”
His blank expression transformed into one of anger and offense. “I’d never threaten you. Never.”
She glanced at her hands, not able to hold his accusing gaze. Her fingers curled into fists. How dare he make her feel bad? “It was a logical question.”
“Sure thing, sugar,” he retorted.
Allie blinked and gaped at Blade. Did he just Southern her?
He ignored her expression. “We will do whatever we can to protect you. You need to understand that your life will change. You’ll have to move into one of our safe houses and hide. You’ll need a new identity, and still, that won’t guarantee your safety. Sloven has friends everywhere. We’ll do our best to protect you, but you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. You’ll never be safe.”
Ice water seemed to trickle through her veins as fear caused her to stiffen. “What’s keeping him from doing that now?”
“He doesn’t have access to anyone or any information. The only people to interact with him are members of our team. We’ll have to lay our evidence out before a Lock council, but everything else we have control over. Once they sentence him, he’ll be put into cryosleep for the rest of his life.”
Tears burned in her eyes, and fear and sorrow clogged her throat. After everything she’d done, she was still going to be the one who got punished for doing the right thing. Allie really didn’t have a choice. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she said yes, she’d have to see the monster again, but if she said no, she'd have to hide or run for the rest of her life. Not to mention, he could harm others.
She shuddered as a memory assaulted her…
“Do you see how much he cares for his woman?” Sloven whispered, his voice deep. His breath heated the side of her neck as he pressed closer. Allie held her ground and fought not to step away.
“He looks like he’s coveting something that does not belong to him,” she whispered, her voice suddenly hoarse. “He appears to be a captor, not a lover.” She glanced up from beneath her lashes and arched a brow.
The king reached a hand toward her face and brushed a curl from her cheek, ignoring the painting. A small shiver worked through her at being the king’s sole focus.
“Can he not be both?”
“Love is exactly the opposite of a cage.” Allie gestured to the picture. “How could he possibly love her if he’s holding her hostage? That’s not love. Love needs space to grow. You can’t force it.”
A thoughtful look passed over his face. “What a youthful way to think of love,” he mused. “So, are you a secret romantic at heart?” he asked.
She was, but she’d not tell him that. “No, I’m a realist.”
“Who are we to say what they had wasn’t real? Love must be protected. When we find something that precious, we must hold it close and protect it.”
She turned toward him. “Protecting something is not the same as capturing something.” It was probably the wrong thing to say to the man she was supposed to seduce, but she couldn’t hold her tongue on this.
Apparently, he liked her blunt honesty, because he smiled and leaned close.
Her heart kicked up in pace, and Allie knew this was the moment she’d been waiting for, but something stopped her. Sloven didn’t seem to be the type of man who liked things to come easy. As his lips drew nearer, she turned her face, so they grazed her cheek and lingered there for a moment.
“I’m not the sort of woman that you keep chained,” she said offhandedly, and shifted to the side, just out of his reach. Red eyes pinned her to the spot.
“I would never keep you chained,” he rumbled back.
“Allie?” Blade said, leaning closer, his fingers brushing her bare arm.
She stared blankly at his hand. If Sloven was allowed to go free, she knew she’d end up just like that woman. It had only taken her a short period of time for her to figure out what kind of man Sloven was. He was enamored with her, and there was no way he’d let it slide that a Human girl got the drop on him. If he was freed, she’d suffer.
“I don’t really have a choice, now do I?” she whispered, feeling sick.
“You always have a choice,” Virgil said.
That was the truth if she’d ever heard it, but being backed into a corner never felt like a choice. It was more about survival. She hated having her hand forced. “My mama used to say that you always have a choice, you just have to be able to live with the consequences of it.”
“A wise woman,” Lev said.
She couldn’t let Sloven out into the world. A monster like that should never be able to walk among everyone else. Allie closed her eyes, her decision made. “I’ll do it.” Bile burned her throat as she said the words. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
The room exploded into action.
“Why do we not have a trashcan in here?” Coal shouted.
Allie twisted to the side and heaved, her hair falling into her face. Large hands pulled her hair back, and she dry heaved again, tears and snot mingling on her face, her body shuddering.
“It’s okay,” Blade murmured, stroking a hand down her back. “Just let it out.”
She panted, staring at the shiny floor, at her colorless reflection staring back at her. Her stomach cramped, and more tears flooded her eyes. Everyone was lucky she’d not been eating much, or this situation would’ve been a lot more disgusting.
A handkerchief entered her vision, held by a wrinkly hand. “Thanks,” she hiccuped and mopped her face as embarrassment heated her cheeks. Retching wasn’t something you wanted to do in front of anyone. How humiliating. She stilled as another memory flashed through her mind. Her puking down the back of Lev’s white jacket. Laughter tumbled out of her as she sat up. All four men stared at her like she was losing it. Well, she was. Their expressions made her laugh harder.
“Are you okay?” Lev asked.
Allie heaved in a breath and continued to laugh like a maniac. “Here I was all embarrassed that I was heaving my guts up in front of y’all, but I guess there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s not the first time.”
Coal’s lips twitched. “You should’ve seen Lev after he knocked you out that first time. He cleaned you and started heaving himself.”
Lev scowled at his brother. “It was disgusting.
It got in my boots.”
“No,” she moaned, throwing her hands over her face, her fit of giggles finally calming.
“Oh, yes,” Lev growled. “You owe me a new pair of boots.”
“How about I go put a homicidal sociopath in prison for life, and we call it even?” It was easier for her to joke about it. If she didn’t, she’d end up crying again.
“Deal.”
Lev stood and held a hand out to her. Allie eyed it and then allowed him to pull her to her feet. She swayed and placed both hands against the silver table, her head bowed.
“I don’t want to do this alone.”
“You won’t be alone. Blade, Coal, Virgil, and I will all be there.”
“I need my family.”
“We can’t give you that,” Blade said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She straightened and crossed her arms over her chest. “I want Elijah, Sid, and Sebastian.”
“They don’t have clearance,” Coal said.
“I don’t care. Figure it out. I need them.”
“Do you want Jer, too?” Blade asked.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think she’d stay calm enough not to try to kill him.”
“And you think your males won’t have the same issues?”
“My males?”
Blade’s face darkened. He waved a hand toward her Kiterran mark and the Kanji necklace. “Your males.”
“My family,” she enunciated, ignoring the jealousy she clearly heard in his voice.
“We’ll make it happen,” Virgil said, eyeing Blade. “In fact, two of the three are already here.”
“What?”
“It seems your friends were worried for you. They didn’t wait for you to call them. That works in our favor. They can accompany you to the prison.”
Her stomach bottomed out. “Do you want me to go see the king now?”
“Whenever you’d like.”
That was never, but that wasn’t an option. “I’ll go now.”
“Are you sure?” Blade asked.
She nodded. “If I don’t go now, I won’t sleep, because it’s all I’ll think of. I want to get this over and done with.”
“So be it.”
10
Tricked Out Rust Buckets
“Anyone else feel a little creeped out?” Sid asked.
Allie shifted and leaned into her friend, his scaled arm surprisingly warm. “Let’s not talk about it.”
Elijah piped in. “You mean you don’t want to talk about the maximum-security prison we’re about to enter that hosts some of the most insidious criminals our galaxy has ever seen?”
Sebastian elbowed Elijah in the arm and glanced meaningfully toward Allie. Elijah rubbed at his arm and then reached across to capture one of Allie’s shaking hands. “Sorry. I was trying to help calm you down.”
The man to her right stiffened and stared at her hand engulfed in her friend’s. “I appreciate the gesture.” She squeezed Elijah’s hand and leaned closer to Sid.
Sid eyed her with his pupil-less eyes and lifted his arms, so she could scoot closer to his side. She took the invitation, so her other thigh wasn’t pressed against Blade, who was serving as their escort. The other part of the team was ahead of them. A soft hiss filled her ears and she glanced up into Sid’s face, brows furrowed. He smiled, showing all fang, but it wasn’t friendly.
Allie glanced to her right and froze. The look on Blade’s face made her want to hop out of the hover and brave the thousands of feet between her and the ground. His blue-black eyes shifted to her face and stayed there.
“You need to get that crap under control,” Bastian said quietly.
Blade’s upper lip curled back as his gaze traveled to the Sid’s arm wrapped around her. “It’s difficult when the Sarpe is taunting me.”
“I’m not a piece of meat,” Allie growled.
Blade again gazed at her with emotion glinting in his eyes that she didn’t want to acknowledge. “That you are not. You’re so much more.”
Heat crept into her cheeks, and she looked away. Why was he still flirting with her? What game was he playing now?
A growl rumbled from her side as Sid rubbed his thumb across her shoulder.
“Sid,” she sighed, weariness sinking into her bones. “Stop being annoying.”
“Babe, I was just checking some things. Calm down. I’m done.”
She dug her elbow into his ribs for the “calm down” comment and laid her head on his shoulder, trying to keep from coming out of her skin. As the prison ship loomed closer, her breath sped up. Stars above, if she went in there, would she come out? Studying the prison, she concluded that it looked old and decrepit, rust marring the outside between the faded white and yellow paint. Somehow, it made the huge airship seem even more sinister. Did they really imprison the most dangerous aliens there? It looked like it was about to fall apart.
“It’s more than it appears,” a deep voice rumbled from beside her.
Allie craned her neck to stare at Blade. “What?”
“You spoke out loud,” Bastian commented.
Oops. She grinned sillily, her nerves getting the better of her. “I hope so, because it looks like it’s one blow away from falling apart.”
Her breath hitched as a smile touched Blade’s mouth. Holy bananas. She’d forgotten how attractive he was when he smiled. He looked like an elfish pirate, a little bit devil, a little bit fairytale. Utterly alluring and completely off limits.
Allie managed to tear her eyes from the roguish Av and caught Bastian’s eyes. He arched a dark eyebrow at her, and she raised both of hers, a silent conversation passing between them.
His look said, ‘I saw that.’
Hers said, ‘So what?’
She dismissed him and looked back out the window. Enormous metal doors slid open, and the hover entered the bay, darkness blanketing them. One by one, blue lights lit the gigantic bay. Hundreds of sleek silver fighters sat in neat rows beneath them. Everything was modern and new. It looked nothing like the outside. “I see what you meant,” she commented as they entered another small red and white bay with one hover parked inside.
They touched down and her nails bit into her palms as the bay door closed behind them and the room pressurized. A door to their left slid open across the bay, revealing Coal, Virgil, and Lev.
“Are you ready?” Sid asked, squeezing her shoulder gently.
No, but she’d do it anyway. Allie slid a look to Blade. “Take me to the monster. Let’s get him to hang himself.”
If he was surprised by her comment, he didn’t show it. The hover door opened and, one by one, they crawled out and into the bay, making their way over to the waiting men.
Virgil smiled encouragingly as they passed through the door and into the empty corridor. Her eyes adjusted as the door to the bay slid closed. Allie twisted to stare over her shoulder at the huge door as a series of locks set in place. She gulped, feeling like she’d entombed herself. Turning back to the group, she blushed as she realized everyone was staring at her.
“You ready?” Lev asked.
“Sure thing, puppet master.”
He snorted and spun on his heel, his boots soundless on the metal floor. Allie trailed the group, wincing every time her heels clicked on the floor. Every clack seemed to cause her anxiety to flare. It was like she was making her own death march. Goodness, she was morbid.
She observed the hallway, and her brow wrinkled as a thought occurred to her. “I’ve been here before.” Pausing, she spun in a circle. She’d most definitely been here before.
“You’re right.”
Her jaw dropped, and she glared at Coal over her shoulder. “You held me in this place?” She waved her arms. “I’m Human. I could’ve been killed or attacked.”
“You were perfectly safe.”
“It was a scare tactic,” Sid said.
Coal sighed. “But it didn’t scare you.”
“That’s because I didn’
t know this was where you kept all the real baddies.” She chuckled. If she had known what this place was, she might not have been so forward. Lucky for her, she hadn’t known. “Y’all are unreal.”
“Why, thank you,” Coal preened.
She rolled her eyes. The man was as vain as a peacock. “Not everything is about you,” she grumbled as they continued down the twisting corridors.
No matter how hard she focused, she couldn’t remember all the pathways they’d taken. The hallways didn’t make sense. Some sloped up while others sloped down. Some curved while others were straight. “Whoever designed this place must have been inebriated when they drew it up.”
“Not quite,” Blade commented. “This place was designed in a similar way to a maze or labyrinth. It’s meant to confuse.”
“Well done.” She was confused all right.
“This design helps prevent a breech.”
“That seems smart.” She watched as Lev swiped his wrist comm over the little black square imbedded in the wall, and another door appeared. “Wait. How do you know how to get around?”
“We had to memorize the paths,” Coal answered.
“That sounds tedious.”
“It was.”
The saliva dried in her mouth as they entered a small room with nothing inside it but a sleek black couch. No window or doors. Essentially a white box.
Sid slid a hand to the back of her neck and began to massage the tense muscles there. She forced herself to relax and smiled up at her friend, his black scales glinting in the harsh light.
“Thank you.”
His solid black eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, flashing a little bit of fang. “I just know how to handle you.”
She groaned and pushed at his arms, still unused to the scaled texture of his skin. “You just can’t help yourself. There’s always a little bit of innuendo to your words.”
“If you’re ready,” Blade cut in.
It was like someone had doused her with a bucket of ice water. She glanced in his direction, and his expression was completely blank as he continued.
“We’ll lead you into the next room. There’s a two-way glass. You’ll be able to see him, but he won’t be able to see you. He’s been incapacitated by indigo alloy. There’s no way he can move or hurt you. Just remember that.” His expression softened as he gazed at her. “Take a deep breath to calm yourself. I promise, it helps. We’ll go in when you’re ready.”