But he was alive. That was all that mattered. He was alive and whole and could heal from whatever they’d done to him. Relief made tears well in her eyes, but she blinked them back. Holstering her weapon, she moved to kneel before him.
She lifted her hand, and his head snapped up, startling her. He lunged for her, wrenching at his shackles. His fingers were tipped in deadly talons, long fangs curving from his mouth. Her breath seized in her lungs as his violet eyes locked on her face, alert…and glittering with hate. Hate for her. Hate she’d more than earned.
Rage tightened his bruised features, and his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, pale lavender sparks roiling in his irises, but not as fast as they would have if the white noise weren’t pumping through every inch of this hellhole. The chains rattled as he struggled against them again. He hissed at her, more beast than man gazing out of those eyes at her.
Heart pounding in her ears loud enough to drown out all other sounds, she scrambled back. She closed her eyes for a moment, shutting out the ugly truth written on his face. He despised her. Her One despised her. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself to calm. She’d known it was coming, known she deserved it, and it was hard pretending that everything was going to be all right, but she had to. She always had to.
She met his gaze, unflinching before the disgust reflected back at her. “I’m going to get you out of here and back to your ship. We’ll deal with everything else after that.”
He snarled, the feline sound a subvocal rumble in his throat. It raised the hairs on her arms, and unease crept up her spine. Despite the fact that he was chained, she felt like the helpless prey to his ruthless predator.
Pushing herself to her feet, she tried to ignore that the tight space stank of blood, urine, and fear. She pressed her finger to the little Sueni communication device nestled in her ear that allowed her to speak to the team of Imperial Guardians on this mission. “Emperor located. Rendezvous in ten minutes.”
A small click answered her, an acknowledgement of information received.
Time to get to work. Their window of opportunity was fast closing, and they might never get the chance again. She loosened the straps on a small backpack and dropped it on the floor to dig through. Setting aside a U.S. Army uniform for Kyber to wear as a disguise, she pulled out the equipment she needed.
“Turn your face away and close your eyes.” She wrapped her hand around the chain that attached to his neck. The collar would have strangled him if he’d tried to shift forms. Her insides chilled at the thought.
He glared at her, distrust evident in his gaze. She arched her eyebrow at him, shrugged, and lit the tiny laser cutter. The flash of light and intense heat made him flinch and jerk away, finally obeying her. The flicker of animal wariness, of caged beast, that shone in his eyes before he closed them made her belly clench with guilt. She shook her head and got back to the task at hand. No bigger than a ballpoint pen, the cutter made quick work of his manacles.
He was on her in moments, one hand fisting in her shirt and the other wrapping around her throat to slam her against a wall. His speed was breathtaking, making him little more than a blur that left her gasping. Her fingers snapped around his wrist, trying to free herself from his grip. It was a futile effort. The sparks in his eyes were wild, terrifying. Her heart tripped before it raced.
“This is some kind of trick. A new game Arthur is playing with my mind.” The voice was guttural, broken, barely human. Nothing like the urbane, skilled lover she had once known. “Has it been fun rutting with him all these months? Does he make you moan, Jana?”
Shock and horror flooded her system, a dark wave of the memories than never stopped haunting her exploding through her mind. No. She couldn’t think of that. Not now. She stomped the ugliness down as fast as she could.
She choked a bit when Kyber’s fingers flexed, wrenching her back to the present. “I…I haven’t been with Arthur for months, Kyber. It was only that first few days. I’ve been on your ship, working to…find a way to save you.”
“Lies.” But the self-doubt on his face, the uncertainty of what was true and what was false made her chest squeeze with more guilt. She moved one hand to cup his cheek, but he caught her wrist, pinning it to the wall beside her head.
Her jaw clenched and she stared up at him. “This isn’t a trick, Kyber. I’m here and I will get you back to your people.”
“My people.” He looked stunned but shook his head, a lock of inky hair whipping into his eyes. “My people would never have let my O—the empress come with them.”
She snorted, twisting against his hold. “They couldn’t stop me. I’m the empress. You weren’t there to countermand me, so they’re bound to obey me. All they could do was come with me to protect me. And you.”
The doubt wavered a bit, and he licked at a cut on his lower lip. “I smell no Kith.”
“Hard to infiltrate a human compound when the sparkling eye thing gives you away. Plus, the white noise dulls the Kith abilities and makes them a liability.” Hell, the humming electronic squeal of it made a headache begin to throb at the base of her skull, so she didn’t even want to know what it did to a Kith. She kept her voice even, her tone firm and sure. “Bren thought it best to only bring Sueni Kin Guardians with us.”
His nostrils flared, as though trying to catch some hint of Suen on the air. He looked a bit dazed. “Bren. Farid’s One.”
“Yes.”
“They bonded after I was taken.” His head gave a tiny shake as though trying to clear it. Watching him struggle made tears well in her eyes, but she blinked them away and gritted her teeth.
“Yes, your cousin bonded with his One. Life went on without you.” Her voice came out harsher than she intended, but it was either that or break down, and she couldn’t do that. Not here, not now. Not ever. She jerked her chin in the direction of her gear. “We don’t have time for this. Get dressed so we can go. Or stay here and see what Arthur does next.”
He shoved away from her with a sharp hiss. The back of her head thunked against the wall, but she ignored the sting. Instead, she watched him hunker down and grab the garments she’d brought, sliding them on with quick efficiency.
Even as battered as he was, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. He was a little leaner than he had been, but his muscles still rippled under his skin and he moved with the deadly grace of a feline. He was a beautiful man, as beautiful as he had been the day he’d made her his.
She shook herself, palmed her weapon, and pulled the extra out of her ankle holster. When he turned back to her, she handed him her backup pistol. His fingers trembled a bit as he took it, and she flinched when he trained the gun on her. “I’m getting you out of here and back to the Vishra. Point that thing somewhere else.”
He jerked the muzzle toward the door, indicating she walk out first. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t think giving you my back as a target is wise. You’ve already betrayed me…more than once.”
Her stomach cramped at hearing the words fall from his lips, but she refused to crumble under the hurt, the self-loathing. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was only with Arthur for a few days.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?” He motioned her out with the gun again, his eyes narrowed and cold.
Pivoting on her heel, she pushed her way through the door, leading with her weapon as Bren had taught her. Adrenaline surged, and she welcomed it, channeled it, let it sharpen her senses. Scents intensified until she could smell the jasmine of Bren’s shampoo, hear the thump of footsteps down the hall.
The other woman stood guard at the door, her back braced against the wall across from them, her weapon at the ready.
“Farid let you come without him?” Kyber’s voice was a low growl.
“Of course.” She cut a pointed glance to Jana. “He knows he should leave military operations to military personnel.”
Jana just arched an eyebrow. “Save the chit-chat for later. Let’s go.”
Bren’s gaze twinkled with
laughter, but she nodded and motioned for them to follow her down the corridor. They stepped over a pair of soldiers that had been knocked out and tied up. All was quiet as they wound their way through the bowels of this isolated military compound. Bren and Farid’s intelligence had shown this was the best time to try to rescue Kyber, just after the dawn shift started, and hours before anyone checked in again. Everything was going according to plan. So far. Jana wouldn’t draw an easy breath until they were back on board the Sueni flagship, orbiting far above Earth.
Bren held up her hand and they halted, breath baited as they waited to see what was out there. This wasn’t good. Unease slid through Jana. They were supposed to be joined by Imperial Guardians at this juncture. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Bren pivoted on her heel, pointed to her eyes, and then to the corner ahead of them, silently telling them to stay where they were while she scouted ahead. Jana dipped her chin in a short nod.
She closed her eyes and worked to steady her breathing, listening for Bren’s return, listening for footsteps that would indicate someone else approached. Jana had known that she was the weakest link on this mission, that she shouldn’t come, but her every waking moment since Kyber was taken had been about freeing him. She couldn’t stand by and do nothing. She had to be here for this.
Her eyes popped wide at the sound of boots ringing on the linoleum floor behind them. Damn. She shifted her grip on her weapon. Someone was coming. More than one someone, and she’d guess from the heavy footfalls they were big and male. Double damn.
Lifting her hand, she cued her ear comm. She made her words no more than a breath of air. “We have company here, Br—”
Kyber didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence. Dragging her into a short side corridor, he crowded her into the darkest corner. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pointing her pistol in the direction of the passing soldiers. If the men so much as slowed their step, they’d be in for a nasty surprise.
Every second that ticked by ratcheted her tension up, making her muscles go rigid. And they weren’t the only thing. Kyber’s rising erection dug into her hip. Her breath tangled in her throat, her eyes flared wide, and she snapped her gaze up to meet his. Volcanic heat exploded in her belly, shocking her with its force. He was plastered to her from breast to groin, and she could feel every inch of his hard muscles, his hot cock. Her nipples tightened, her pussy dampening, fisting on nothing. After all she’d been through, she’d never imagined wanting sex again, but…she wanted. With Kyber. Now.
He glowered down at her, the lavender sparks in his irises roiling fast. His voice was a quiet hiss. “It is a biological reaction, nothing more. Don’t think it changes anything.”
Shaking her head, she swallowed. She knew it meant nothing, but it took every ounce of her willpower to keep from rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat. Her sex was slick with juices, and she craved the feel of him thrusting hard and deep within her. Tingles raced over her flesh, her eyelids drooping to half-mast as sensations she’d forgotten she could experience ricocheted through her. There’d been a time when her minutest physical reaction elicited a highly pleasurable response from him. He’d stroked, kissed, and explored every millimeter of her body.
But that was before Arthur.
Cold punched through her, killing the heat building within. The reminder of that man made her stomach turn. Pressing her back tighter to the wall, she tried to escape Kyber’s touch. Fruitless, but she tried.
It was Kyber’s instinct to find her and bond with her that had brought them to this ugly, awful place. He’d come from Suen for her, gone down to Earth’s surface for her, which left him vulnerable enough to be taken captive by the leader of Earth’s military forces. General William Arthur. God help her, his name alone had the power to make her want to vomit.
Arthur said she’d been kidnapped and he’d make the Sueni pay until she was returned to her family and home. She’d have done anything to save her One and offered herself in exchange. Her mind was intertwined with Kyber’s, and she could feel the way he was being cruelly tortured.
Arthur used that to his advantage, forcing her to sleep with him as the price to return Kyber. Even though she knew it would distress her One—and his mental command told her not to do it, that he could escape without her sacrificing herself—she did what she’d thought she had to do to help him. She’d been unable to bear the thought of him in pain; she’d experienced every blow with him.
What she hadn’t expected was that the link between her and her One would be severed in that moment of betrayal, and her mind would be once again her own. Once her purpose was served, and it was obvious fucking her, hurting her no longer tormented Kyber, Arthur had shipped her back to her parents as a media show of how dedicated he was to protecting Earthans. Who would have believed her if she’d told the truth about him? Everyone thought she’d been brainwashed by the Kith.
It wasn’t until Farid and Bren’s fast-growing intelligence ring had found Jana and brought her to the Vishra that she’d learned how big a fool she’d been. Arthur hadn’t let Kyber go. She was just another tool in the general’s war games. Bile rose, coated the inside of her mouth, and she swallowed the bitter self-reproach. She stuffed the horrible emotions deep, deep down in the darkest crevice of her soul. Just as she’d been doing for years. Since her brother died. She had plenty of experience in convincing everyone that everything was just fine. This was no different.
That Kyber thought she’d stayed with Arthur for months, that she’d enjoyed what he’d done to her in bed made her ill, made her angry. She hadn’t slept through the night since Arthur, hadn’t been able to escape the nightmares. Enjoy it? It was everything she could do not to wretch when she let herself think of it. Hell, let herself? Those memories didn’t stop. Not ever. She’d like to let herself think of something else for once, and familiar despair bubbled up inside her.
She clenched her jaw and quashed all those feelings, too. She rolled her head against the wall and focused on the task at hand. Her grip tightened on her gun, her hand steadying.
“The pattern of their step says they hunt something. Us, no doubt.” Kyber’s tone was detached, almost disinterested as he shared that fact with her.
He peeled himself away from her to position himself at the mouth of the hallway, preparing to spring at his approaching prey. Jana swallowed and crouched behind him, praying harder than she’d ever prayed before that they’d all get out of this alive.
The muzzle of a machine gun came into view. Kyber froze until the rest of the man was within arm’s reach. Stepping forward, he slammed his fist into the man’s throat, who gurgled and choked, twitched and went silent. Dead. Kyber swung his body around and used it for cover as the second man opened fire. The sounds exploded in the silence, jolting Jana forward. She lifted her weapon and pulled the trigger, catching the second man in the leg. He screamed and went down in a spray of blood. Kyber swung his pistol around and put two bullets in the soldier’s head.
Then it was over. Kyber gently lowered the first guard to the ground. Jana’s hands trembled, her palms slippery with sweat. “I’ve never shot anyone before.”
The comm. in her ear fuzzed for a moment before Bren’s voice came through. “We’re taking fire on the ground floor, southeast corridor.”
Jana tried to slow her heaving lungs, adrenaline ripping through her system. The light rat-tat noise in the distance finally reached her ears. Gunfire. She transferred her weapon to one hand and cued her comm. “Same here. We just took care of two guards and we weren’t discreet. We’ll come to you.”
“Roger.” The comm. clicked and Bren was gone.
Kyber wavered on his feet and Jana grabbed his bicep to keep him steady. Her heart thumped hard and she checked him over for bleeding. Had he been shot? She hadn’t seen anything. Oh, God. She tugged on his arm. “Are you all right?”
He shook his head. “The squealing noise…and the drugs they gave me…they slow everything down, fog my senses. Nothing is as i
t should be.”
“We just need to get you away from the noise, and the medics can handle the drugs when we get you back to the ship.” She said it as much to reassure herself as him, but they’d come too far to fail now. “Can you walk or should I tell them to come get us?”
He snorted and straightened, arching one regal brow. “If it means getting out of here, I can run.”
That sounded like the Kyber she knew. A wide grin flashed across her face and she shifted her grip on his arm, shoved her fingers into his silky black mane and yanked him down for a hard, quick kiss. If she was going to die, she wanted the taste of her One on her mouth to be the last thing she experienced. “Just in case.”
For a moment, he looked dumbfounded, and a flash of old desire streaked across his face. Before he could figure out how to respond, she dropped his arm and skipped back. Checking her weapon, she nodded to him and turned to lead the way down the hallway. She’d spent more hours than she could count memorizing the layout of this facility. She could probably navigate it in her sleep. Of course, the schematics didn’t include guards with guns. She ignored the way her belly clenched at the memory of the shocked look on the soldier’s face as he’d landed, howling, in a pool of his own blood. She’d do whatever it took to get her One free. She’d already done much worse than shoot a man in the leg. She’d failed that time, and it was far from the first time she’d failed someone she loved. She had to succeed this time. She had to.
Maybe then the night terrors could stop, and she could finally lay the past to rest.
The heat from Kyber’s body enveloped her from behind as she paused at a corner and peeked around to see if anyone awaited them.
“There is no one. Let’s go.” His voice was terse, angry, and she knew he was pissed that she’d made him want her with a simple kiss. That was how it was supposed to be with your One, but he didn’t want to be her One anymore, did he? He’d cut the connection between their minds.
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