by Anna Hackett
“You’re making it angry, hot stuff.”
“I think it’s already angry.”
There was another corridor ahead and they turned into it. Just in front of them, a group of Kantos soldiers stepped out of a doorway.
As Caze and Lara sprinted past them, she heard furious clicking from the soldiers.
She glanced back, just as the targ reached the soldiers.
Its dual tail wrapped around the soldiers, plucking them off the floor. The giant alien sucked them into its huge mouth, one after another.
The final soldier struggled and threw his limbs out. He gripped the sides of the mouth, stuck halfway into the huge, gaping maw.
Then the targ shrieked and the soldier was gulped inside.
Gross.
“It just ate a bunch of soldiers,” she said. “But it’s got no teeth.”
“That’s right. You dissolve in the acids in its gut. Slowly and painfully.”
Double gross.
“Hangar is down the next corridor,” Caze said.
They turned and skidded to a stop. A row of Kantos soldiers blocked the way, their sharp arms raised.
“Cren.”
“Warrior, this situation deserves a fuck.”
They stood there, trapped. Then, she heard the targ round the corner behind them.
All the soldiers stiffened. A few took steps backward, looking ready to run.
Hold the line. The voice of the elite echoed in everyone’s heads.
“Suggestions?” she asked.
The targ shrieked, flowing closer.
Give us the gems.
“No,” Lara said. “Go fuck yourself.”
In front of them, the Kantos soldiers moved closer. Behind them, the targ closed in, tail slapping against the floor and wall.
Caze and Lara were well and truly stuck in the middle.
On Caze’s arm, his sword melted away and a large blaster took shape.
She hissed. “You can’t shoot in here. You’ll blow a hole in the ship, and we’ll all be dead.”
“You have a better idea?”
Think, Lara, think. She’d been in tight spots loads of times before. She looked up. There was a large grate in the ceiling above their heads. For ventilation or maintenance, maybe.
“There.” She jerked her chin up.
Caze followed her motion and nodded. He jumped, punching a fist through the grate, opening the hole. When he landed back down, he grabbed Lara and tossed her up through the opening.
Wasting no time, Lara heaved herself inside the narrow, horizontal tunnel. The flow of air told her it was for ventilation. She scrambled into the small space, just as Caze pulled himself in after her.
Down below, she heard a chaotic symphony of clicking and shrieking. So long, suckers.
“Let’s move,” Caze said.
They started to crawl. It was a damn tight fit for Caze’s broad shoulders. Then there was a thump and Caze grunted.
She looked back and met his gaze. Suddenly, his body was dragged backward toward the opening.
“Caze!”
She swiveled around, cursing. She saw that one part of the targ’s tail was wrapped around Caze’s leg.
It was dragging him back down.
“No!” She grabbed Caze’s arm, pulling.
“Go, Lara. It’s too strong.”
“Shut up.”
He growled and she squeezed by him, her body pressed against his. She had no weapon, so she kicked at the tail. She kicked it again.
“You can’t have him, asshole. He’s kind of growing on me. He’s grumpy, but he’s pretty good in a fight.”
Caze groaned. “Lara—”
“Shush.” She gave another hard kick, grinding her boot into the gelatinous flesh. The tail loosened.
Then Caze was free.
He shoved himself forward, deeper into the tunnel. The tail waved around in front of Lara. It struck at her and she dodged to the side, ramming into the wall.
The grate cover that Caze had knocked into the vent tunnel was resting nearby. She snatched it up, and then rammed it into the tail. A muffled screech came from below. She used the grate like a shield, pushing against the creature.
Then she felt a warm chest press against her back. Brawny arms surrounded her, and Caze rested his hands beside hers on the grate covering. They pushed together.
Lara grunted, and the tail was driven back down toward the corridor below.
“A…little…more,” she bit out.
She felt the brush of air on her ear, as Caze put all his strength into it. The covering got close to the hole, and then the strong magnets that usually held it in place clicked on.
Thump.
The covering dropped back into position over the hole, cutting the tip of the tail off. In the corridor below, there was an earsplitting shriek. The bit of amputated tail flopped around in the tunnel.
“Let’s move, Lara. Fast.”
She huffed out a breath. “I like that idea.”
Caze gripped her hair and tugged her head back. His amazing eyes bored into hers, and she saw a tangled mix of need reflected in them.
“Kiss me, warrior.”
With a groan, he pressed a hard, fast, and regrettably too short, kiss to her mouth.
“Thank you, Lara.”
“Any time, hot stuff.” Her voice was more than a little husky.
Then Caze urged her forward into the tunnel. “Now go.”
Caze stayed close behind Lara as they scrambled down the vent tunnel.
She’d saved his life. Fearlessly. Without hesitation.
Now he planned to return the favor and get her off this ship.
“Faster,” he said.
“Going as fast as I can, warrior.”
A screech resonated from below them. Cren. The targ was tracking them.
By his best estimate, the main swarm ship hangar should be close. But with the targ hunting them, they might need a change of plan.
“Lara. Stop here.”
She glanced back at him and he pointed upward. A vertical vent tunnel speared up right above their heads.
“You said the hangar was closer—”
“But so is the targ. There will be a smaller, secondary hangar one deck up.”
She nodded. “Put more distance between us and it.”
He urged her up. “Go.”
She didn’t argue. She squeezed by him and moved into the vertical tunnel. She pressed her boots to the wall and started shimmying up. It gave him a perfect view of her ass.
Caze blew out a breath. His friend Brack would laugh his head off at how easily distracted the great, icily-controlled Caze was on this mission.
He pressed his hands to the inside of the shaft and followed her. They moved quickly, and soon, Lara stopped by a grate.
“This is it.” She pushed it open.
The opening led to a vast hangar filled with swarm ships. It was vertical, with the small ships clinging to the walls like insects. He looked down and couldn’t see the bottom.
“We need to climb to the closest ship,” he told her.
Lara nodded and pulled herself out. She clung to the wall for a second, then she moved downward.
A swarm ship was only a few arm-length’s away. Caze followed.
The swarm ship had a rounded nose, and three tentacle-like protrusions at the back. On the hard, brown hull, Caze found a control panel. He commanded his helian, and a cable snaked out from his armor, meshing with the ship’s controls. Then, he set to work hacking the system.
There was a series of low, screech-like beeps, and the side door of the ship slid open.
Lara grinned at him. “Nice job, hot stuff.”
“I’m not sure I like this name you’ve given me.”
Her grinned widened. “It suits you. But don’t worry, I know your name, Caze.”
He cupped her jaw. He felt something loosen in his chest, unfamiliar emotions blooming.
Suddenly, the targ tail smashed through
the wall right beside them.
Cren. It wriggled around and smacked into Lara. With a sharp cry, she lost her grip and fell.
Caze lunged for her, grabbing her hand. He grasped her with one arm, holding her as she dangled over the bottomless hangar.
The tail wrapped around her middle.
“Dammit.” With her free hand, she punched it.
Gritting his teeth, Caze pulled her up. The tail tightened around her middle and squeezed.
“Ow,” she cried.
“Hold on, Lara. Grip onto the swarm ship with your legs.”
She looked at him for a beat, then she swung her legs out. She circled them around a part of the ship. The second part of the targ tail broke through the hole in the hangar wall and clamped onto one of her legs.
“Caze—”
“Hang on.” He formed his sword and sliced through the first tail.
It released her instantly. As it fell away, he saw that it had shredded her suit around her midriff. He saw flashes of her smooth skin.
He sliced through the second tail holding her leg. He heard a distant, enraged shriek.
“Let go of the ship,” he said.
She did, swinging away from the ship, clinging tight to his hand. He pulled her up, retracting his sword. Then he reached out with his other hand.
When he got her close, he yanked her into his chest. She clung to him, panting.
She blew out a breath. “Thanks, warrior.” Her voice was raspy, her face contorted with pain.
She was hurt. He looked down at her ruined suit. Her skin was bruised, as well as tinged a strange green color. Poison. Cren.
But there was nothing he could do until they were safely off the Kantos ship.
“Can you hold on?”
Her lips pressed together and she gave one decisive nod.
Any other woman Caze knew would be screaming in pain. He threaded his hand through hers and pulled her down toward the open door of the swarm ship.
They dropped inside. He saw she was moving gingerly, beads of sweat on her forehead.
The swarm ship was a similar size to his own stealth ship. It had been designed with the four-legged Kantos soldiers in mind. He did a thorough scan of the ship, ensuring there were no Cren-cursed Kantos waiting in ambush for them this time. He’d learned that lesson.
Lara collapsed into an over-large seat, and Caze took the one beside her. He grabbed her hand, and his helian-enhanced senses picked up her elevated pulse and shallow breathing.
“Hold on, shara.”
She let out a shuddering breath.
He touched the controls, his helian connecting with the ship. He managed to fire the engines and detach from the wall. He maneuvered them toward the exit at the bottom of the hangar. They had a dizzying view of the thousands of swarm ships clinging to the walls.
The ship wobbled slightly from side to side, but by the time they approached the large, circular, mouth-looking hangar door, he’d worked out the controls.
“It’s not opening,” Lara said.
Caze tried all the commands he could find. The hangar door remained closed, and they were zooming right toward it.
“Caze…”
He smiled grimly. Well, he knew of one way to get it open.
He found the weapons systems and fired.
Boom.
Lara jerked, and a huge ball of flames and debris expanded before it was sucked out into space. A trail of swarm ships was pulled off the wall, tumbling out uselessly into space.
Avoiding the debris, Caze flew them out the resized hangar door. As soon as he hit black, he quickly set course. Next up, he set his helian to work disrupting any tracking devices the Kantos had on the swarm ship.
He wanted them far away before the Kantos caught on and sent ships after them. And he wanted to ensure they had no trail to follow.
“We made it, my tough Terran.” He glanced at her, and his stomach fell away.
Lara had passed out in the seat beside him.
Chapter Eight
Lara had never felt pain like this. It was like acid was eating her from the inside out.
“Lara. Lara.”
She wanted to escape away from the agony and into the darkness. But the deep voice was calling her away from the dark and closer to the pain.
She felt hands on her and she swung out with one arm. Her fist connected with something hard.
A curse. She reluctantly opened her eyes.
She was flat on her back on the floor of a… Kantos swarm ship.
Hell.
Turning her head, her gaze locked with Caze’s gorgeous eyes. Silver strands glowed, and he looked worried, even a little panicked.
Fire tore through her middle and she cried out.
“I know, shara. We’ll get you healed.”
“Hurts… Bad.”
He stroked her hair. “I know. The targ has some sort of poison on its tail. And it’s broken the skin.” Caze’s fingers were touching her stomach.
She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She felt him grip her suit. Then he tore it down the middle.
Lara was in too much pain to care that she was practically naked. The suit had built-in support, so she wasn’t wearing a bra. But Caze was focused on the wound on her belly. She felt him lift the gem from where she’d had it pressed against her skin.
He set it aside, barely paying it any attention.
“Hold on, Lara. We’ll get you healed.”
Another wave of pain hit her. Worse than before. She moaned, tears pricking in her eyes. Then she saw him hold something above her.
It was a small vial of red fluid. It glowed the same ruby color as the gem of Eschar. Pretty.
“Where…?” The pain made it too hard to talk.
“This is havv. A healing liquid infused with bio-organisms similar to my helian. I carry a small emergency vial in my boot.” He squeezed the havv onto her belly.
Lara felt warmth, then fire.
She arched and screamed.
“Shh. I’m here. The healing will hurt, but the havv will work into the wounds and neutralize the poison. Then it will heal you up as good as new.”
“Hurts.”
“I know. I’m sorry, shara.”
He pulled her into his lap and Lara curled into him. No one had ever held her when she’d hurt before. As a child, her father had been dead and her mother had been off in a drunken haze. Lara, as the oldest sister, had been the one to tend to her sisters’ booboos. She’d cradled them, hugged them, but no one had held her.
God, he was so warm and strong.
“Shh.” He stroked her hair.
Lara felt dizzy now and the pain was making her feel sick. Her stomach twisted. “I’m going to be—”
Caze reacted quickly. He turned her to the side and some sort of container was shoved in front of her. Lara retched into it.
Once her stomach was empty, she slumped back against him. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He shifted her and pushed the container away. Then he held up a cloth, wiping her mouth. “I wish I had water, but I don’t think we should risk ingesting anything on this ship.”
She nodded, pressed her cheek to his chest, and closed her eyes.
“Rest.” A big hand stroked her hair. “Let the havv work.”
She nodded, and felt him lift her and rise to his feet. She dozed a little, and when she came to again, Caze was sitting in the pilot’s chair, with her still held snuggled in his lap. Thankfully, her pain was now a dull throb.
She realized now that his chest was bare. He’d stripped his own black shirt off and slipped it over her.
A golden sensation glowed inside her. Swallowing, she turned her head to look at the viewscreen. Stars streamed past them outside.
“How long until we reach the Desteron?”
One of his hands squeezed her arm. “Too long. We need to hole up somewhere. We both need some rest, and the Kantos will be searching for us.”
Damn.
“I know
a hidden Eon stealth station close by. It’s used by the Empire’s stealth agents.”
He was worried about her and putting her wellbeing first. She reached up and stroked his cheek. “You’re a nice guy, Caze Vann-Jad.”
His gaze met hers. “No one has accused me of that before.”
“Your secret is safe with me, warrior.” She paused. “I bet your mom thinks you’re nice.”
“I didn’t have a mother.”
Lara frowned. “Huh?”
He shifted her, reaching out to touch the controls, his gaze scanning the screens. “For the Eon, only mated pairs are fertile, and mating is now a rare thing.”
She tilted her head, her brow scrunching. “Why?”
“We don’t know, we just know that rates have dropped over the decades. But many couples still marry and commit. Eon can apply to adopt children. Our scientists have a breeding program, using the best DNA from the brightest and most talented Eon.”
“Wow,” she murmured.
“My father raised me. He was a warrior, had spent his life in the Eon military. He wanted to pass on his skills.” Caze looked down at her. “From the time I was young, he focused on my training, including fitness, hunting, weapons, strategy.”
Now she frowned. “What about being a kid? Having fun?”
“That was not in my father’s skill set.”
She made a hissing sound. “Kids need more than skills, Caze.”
She knew that better than anyone. In her grief, Mika Traynor had taught her daughters a hard lesson. She’d turned to alcohol, forgotten about her children, and finally gotten herself kicked out of the Space Corps.
Even now, so many years later, Lara felt a tightness in her chest remembering. She, Eve, and Wren had raised themselves, and a lot of the load had fallen on Lara. Sometimes there had been no food, or Eve would have no shoes for school, or the landlord would come banging on the door for overdue rent. But still, she’d had her sisters. They’d played, fought, and laughed.
Who had Caze had?
“It wasn’t a bad upbringing, Lara,” Caze said. “My father taught me a lot. He’s an honorable man.”
She made a non-committal sound. “You mentioned him. When we were trapped on that Kantos ship. You were sorry you disappointed him.”
Caze’s mouth snapped shut. “He…has always expected the best from me.”
“Did he tend your wounds? Did he hug you? Did he make you laugh?”