by KD Jones
“Heather...leave.”
“Devlon!” He had knocked her down to get her out of the line of fire. She knelt next to him and turned him onto his back. As she searched his body she noticed something sticky on his left side. Her heart nearly stopped. “Are you shot?”
“Yes, I seem to get shot a lot lately.” He half chuckled and half groaned in pain.
“Damn it! That’s not funny!” He’d taken a bullet for her, to protect her. She ripped a strip of her shirt off and placed it over the wound, trying to get the blood flow to stop.
“Heather!” Devlon whispered, pointing to a place behind her.
She turned just in time to move out of the way of the fist that was swinging toward her. Heather faced her attacker and was stunned. Leonard stood there, holding a gun.
“Leonard? What are you doing?”
“I told that if I spied on you I’d be given the leader position. I told them you needed to die. You won’t die. I’m supposed to be tribe leader, not you!” He aimed the gun at her, but she ducked just as Devlon kicked out with his leg and knocked the weapon into the dust.
She stood up and faced Leonard. “Why are you trying to kill me?”
“I was supposed to be the next tribe leader, but you ruined everything. Then you took up with this alien scum. The rebels have it right, the Drastans need to be stopped before they take over our entire planet. They wanted me to spy, so I did. I did everything they asked, but they failed to get rid of you. They said if I helped them with setting up the explosives, they would get rid of you, but here I am having to do all the work all on my own once again. I’ll take you and the commander out, and then the rebels will make me leader. I’ll be a hero.”
He made another attempt to lunge at her, but she dodged. They both stumbled and fell to the ground. He hit her, but the punch he landed wasn’t very strong.
“You want to hit a girl, you better be ready to get hit back.” Heather swung out with all her force and knocked him out. “Pussy.” She crawled over to Devlon, shaking.
“Heather?”
She took his hand. “I’m here, baby. I’m fine.”
“Father?” Kyle called out.
“We’re here, Kyle! Your dad’s been shot.”
“Again?” Kyle asked as he approached them and knelt down on the other side of Devlon. “I’ll call for a mediko.”
“Are there any other rebels out here?” Devlon asked, shifting on the ground.
“Not that I could detect, and there’s no other explosives, either. Looks like the rebels came in and planted the explosives and then just left.”
“Secure the area. No one gets in or out until the scanner clears the tunnels of explosives. One more thing, do me a favor.” Devlon’s breathing was sporadic.
“What is it?”
“Watch over Heather.” Then he passed out.
“Devlon!” Heather reached for his pulse and was relieved to find that it was still strong. “Thank God.”
Kyle put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it to reassure her. “He’s tough.”
They stayed where they were while several more warriors came and took Leonard into custody. The medikos arrived and treated Devlon’s wound, which started to heal immediately. They lifted him up on a floating stretcher and she walked next to him with Kyle at her side.
The lead mediko checked Devlon’s vitals as they waited for transportation to take him back to the command ship. “Commander Devlon will be perfectly fine ,but we want to do a thorough scan. The bullet used may have left particles behind.”
“Thank you, Mediko Danver,” Kyle told the male.
Heather felt tremendous relief knowing that Devlon was going to be okay. She wiped away a few tears that had fallen without her realizing. She looked down at Devlon’s handsome face smudged with dirt. “I love him.”
Kyle smiled at her. “I know.”
She blinked in surprise and looked up at Devlon’s youngest son. “You do?”
“Hell yeah. All of us knew how the two of you felt about each other but you were trying so hard to fight those feelings. We were taking bets on which one of you would cave in and say it first.”
“I haven’t told him yet.”
Kyle pointed down at his father, who was now wide awake and smiling up at her. “I’ll go make sure that no one else got hurt and that the area is secure.” Kyle left the two of them alone.
“You love me?” Devlon asked, drawing her attention back to him.
“Yes. You could have died.” She choked up at the thought of how quickly his life could have ended.
“Shhh... I’m here, and I’ll be fine. I love you too, Heather.”
The emotions she’d fought so hard to keep inside burst forth as she leaned down and hugged him, crying with.
“Easy, honey. I’m not fully recovered yet.”
She eased off, worried that she might have caused more damage. Now that she knew he was safe, she began to feel anger like she’d never felt before. “Don’t you ever jump in front of a gun again!”
Devlon just shook his head. “He was trying to kill you, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. I lost one woman that I cared about, I wasn’t about to lose another.”
Her anger fizzled out and she reached for his hand. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. Devlon, I love you more than anything, but I don’t know yet if I want to go to Drasta with you. I do know that I don’t want to be without you...ever.”
“We’ll work it out, my love.”
God, it felt good to have someone call her that. She’d never been anyone’s love before. It filled her heart with warmth and joy.
Epilogue
A week later
Heather smiled, standing next to Devlon watching the workers get back to building the apartment buildings. In a few weeks the first floors would be completed and the upper levels could be worked on. It was happening much faster than she’d expected. That was greatly due to the other tribe leaders sending their own people to train and help build the buildings. It would save training time for the Drastans and allow the other tribes to start work on their locations simultaneously. It all could have ended so badly, though, if the rebels and Leonard had been successful.
At first Leonard refused to talk, but after she threatened to cut off his dangly parts, he spilled the beans on just about everything. He told them how he’d been approached weeks ago by rebel sympathizers about taking control of the tribe. He gave dates, times, locations, and even a few names—none of the names were that of the rebel leader, though. He claimed that he’d never met the leader. Thanks to Leonard’s inability to stop talking, they were able to confiscate several stockpiles of explosives and weapons. It wouldn’t eradicate the threat of the rebels, but maybe it would delay their efforts a bit.
Devlon wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Why do you have such a serious look on your face?”
She turned to face him. “I’m just thinking about how I’ll miss this place and my people when I leave.”
He froze and looked down at her in surprise. “You’ve decided to come with me?”
“Yes, if you’ll have me.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “You know my answer to that.”
“There’s just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“I want to ask Mona to come, with her kids and with Kiki. I just don’t know how she’ll feel about traveling to an alien planet.”
He smiled down at her. “She says she’s looking forward to feeling sunlight on her face again.”
She blinked in surprise. “You asked her already?”
“I know how you feel about them and about Kiki. I know you wanted Kiki growing up with Mona, but would you consider letting us...adopt her instead? My son Jared adopted his stepson, and I was hoping…”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his eyes, cheeks, chin, and finally his lips. “God, I love you more than anything.”
“I love you too, my defiant beauty.”
> *****
“Why are you standing here alone?” Corey asked as he walked over to stand next to the beautiful Drastan woman. She was his superior, his trainer, and the one woman he couldn’t have.
They stood on the surface of the Earth, by the entrance of the subway station. They were to oversee the rebuilding of the infrastructure for the tribes in the subway tunnel. It was a six-week post, and afterward, Corey was promised he could have a permanent position with the Drastan military if he chose to travel to Drasta. He wasn’t sure he was ready to leave Earth yet, but it was tempting.
Nix pointed in the distance at the radioactive cloud left over from the nuclear disaster. “The wind suddenly shifted and is blowing in the other direction.”
“That’s good, right?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t look natural to me.”
Corey looked around what once was a street in one of the most influential cities in America and couldn’t recognize anything. Buildings were torn down to their foundations, except for a few walls that stood without a roof. Dust covered everything, and the ground was so dry it cracked badly. The sky was always brown or red, not the blue he once remembered.
“If it’s not a natural cause, then…”
“Someone or something caused the shift.”
“We’ll need to find out what.”
She looked him in the eyes, and their attraction sparked immediately. Her eyes narrowed in challenge. “Are you up for a little trip, Earth boy?”
He smiled. “Beautiful, I’m up for whatever you want.”
About the Author
KD Jones has published over thirty books in five different series. She has been a huge fan of both romance novels and science fiction novels since she was sixteen years old. Her favorite television shows growing up were Star Trek and Doctor Who. When not writing, she can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, working on her hobby of photography, or spending time with her family. As a single working mom, she wants to show her son that anyone can follow their dreams no matter how old they are and where they are in life. Dreams can come true if you work hard and believe in yourself.
KD Jones Book Series, Book List
Katieran Prime Series
Katieran Prime (Book1)
Prime Commander (Book 2)
Prime Medic (Book 3)
Kiljorn Prime (Book 4)
Prime Deliverance (Book 5)
Prime Salvation (Book 6)
Colonial Prime (Book 7)
Katieran Prime Celebration (Book 7.5)
Kiljorn Commander (Book 8)
Katieran Prime Miracle (Book 9)
Colonial Commander (Book 10)
Katieran Prime Infiltration (Book 11)
Katieran Prime Discovery (Book 12)
Galactic Cage Fighter Series
Rage (Book 1)
Talon (Book 2)
Taurus (Book 3)
Zara (Book 4)
Hammer (Book 5)
Zen (Book 6)
Torch (Book 7)
Maxim (Book 8)
Ronin (Book 9)
Nigel (Book 10)
Dom (Book 11)
Earth Evolution Series
Desolation (Book 1)
Resistance (Book 2)
Atonement (Book 3)
Awakening (Book 4)
Defiance (Book 5)
Strange Lake Falls Series
Strange Lake Falls Vampire (Book 1)
Strange Lake Falls Werewolf (Book 2)
Strange Lake Falls Vampire Mistress (Book 3)
Strange Lake Falls Panther (Book 4)
Strange Lake Falls Gypsy Wolf (Book 5)
Strange Lake Falls Forbidden Wolf (Book 6)
Strange Lake Falls Witch (Book 7)
Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunter Series
Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunter (Book 1)
Tempting Bounty (Book 2)
Rising Bounty (Book 3)
Polar Bear Express Series
Her Big Bad Polar Bear (Book 2)
Leaving Triad Series
Leaving Triad (LT Book 1)
Patrolling The Stars (LT Book 2)
Fighting The Stars (LT Book 3)