“Breean—” she began again.
“Go to sleep,” he told her, more harshly than he’d intended. At the very least, he should lock her up with the other agents, but he couldn’t force himself to part with her, even now. He wanted her in the room with him, in his sight every moment. To prevent her from causing any more trouble, he rationalized.
So why did he want to apologize for taking her like he had, facing away from him as if she meant nothing? Why did he want to beg for forgiveness for not tucking her in beside him, warm and safe?
He stared up at the vaulted ceiling, trying to block her image. That didn’t help. From the corner of his eye, he saw her curl into a ball. Another sharp lance shot through his chest.
“I don’t know what to do with you,” he said, more for his benefit than hers.
“You could forgive me,” she said softly. “I had decided to stay, you know.”
Oh, but she was killing him. “Just . . . go to sleep,” he repeated. They’d finish this in the morning, when they had regained their strength.
“And if I don’t?” she said, some of her bravado returning. “The big, bad alien will kill me?”
No. The big bad alien might do whatever she wished. She had the courage and audacity of a warrior. She would never stand behind him, but would always fight beside him.
A man could ask for nothing more.
“Your men,” she said with a sigh. She rolled to her back and, like him, stared up at the ceiling. Trying to block his image? “I noticed that a lot of them are gone, and I maybe kinda sorta sent the others into town.”
He didn’t tell her to be quiet this time; he couldn’t summon the will. “The house is wired to an alarm, so their absence won’t cause too much of a problem.”
“Well, you should know that there are microphones throughout the entire city. They record constantly and somehow only pick up alien voices. It’s the frequency or something, which is different from that of humans. Anyway, when aliens are taken in for questioning, AIR records their voices and plugs them into the system. From that point on, those aliens can be found the moment they speak.”
“Were there microphones in the forest?”
“I honestly don’t know. But most likely, yes. That’s not public domain, but government, as most forest areas are. Trees are precious because they were nearly wiped out during the human-alien war. Anyway, I’m thinking your voices were recorded that night in the forest. I’m thinking your men can be traced if they talk while in the city.”
Would he ever understand all of the nuances of this world?
Breean sighed. He could go into the city, hunt down his men, and tell them to be quiet, but they’d been making this trip for days now. AIR hadn’t found them yet. That he knew of. Damn.
“Why are you telling me this?” Now, of all times.
“Because I just now thought of it. I haven’t been an agent for long, you know. Just . . . tell them to be careful.”
Trying to save him now. Would he ever understand her? He didn’t think so. “Go to sleep, Aleaha. As I said, we’ll talk later.”
ELEVEN
A loud, piercing screech woke her.
Aleaha jolted upright, her muscles protesting at the abruptness of the movement. She grimaced. Breean sat up, too.
“What is that?” she asked.
Scowling, he burst from the bed in a lightning bolt of speed. “Get dressed,” he demanded, moving through the room so quickly she couldn’t see him. Not even the glowing outline of his spirit.
“What should I—” A bundle of clothing was tossed at her so abruptly she wasn’t able to catch them, and they floated to the mattress around her. Heart pounding, she gathered them up and jackknifed to her feet. Her hands shook as she dressed. “Thank you. Now what’s going on?” she asked over the alarm.
“What do you think?” was the grim reply.
Either agents were escaping, or AIR had finally arrived. Fear poured straight into her bloodstream. Fear for Breean. She didn’t want him hurt or captured.
“Wait here,” he said, his eyes fierce and golden. He’d already dressed, and even held a pyre-gun. His swiftness amazed her anew. He’d gotten that gun right in front of her, yet she hadn’t seen a thing. “Do not even think about disobeying me.”
“I can help you.”
“Me?” One brow arched. “Or the agents?”
Okay, fine. She’d deserved that. “You.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I’m going to find out what I’m up against,” he said, then lifted the gun. “Is this set to stun?” The question was growled, as if he despised himself for having to ask.
She gave it a quick glance. “Yes, but stun doesn’t work on humans. Only aliens.”
“Then let’s just hope some of the other agents are like you, hiding who and what they are.” Tension crackled between them. “If you leave this room, Aleaha—”
Before he could finish the sentence, she rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. He immediately took over, plundering his tongue into her mouth. It was a hot, wild kiss, and it was over all too soon.
Without another word, he pivoted away from her and disappeared out the door.
That quickly, she felt cold and bereft, scared. What should she do, what the hell should she do? She hadn’t felt this helpless, even in the forest. Then, at least, she hadn’t really had anything to live for. Now . . . Racing through the room, she searched for a weapon. Anything to help her man.
Breean returned a short while later, and he was scowling. Bleeding. “There’s a swarm of them. They must have been here awhile, because they’re already spread out and your friends are free. What few of my men are here are already frozen.”
Frozen was good; frozen was alive. But she heard his unspoken worry. He’d never be able to defeat AIR and save his people. Not on his own.
“Don’t hurt the agents,” she said, pulling Macy’s image into her mind and forcing her body to realign, to change shape and color. “Please.”
“I had no plans to do so.”
“Good. Then I’ve got your back,” she told him, raising her chin. “I need a pyre-gun of my own.” As dedicated as he was to protecting his people from her, he’d clearly made sure the room was weapon-free before leaving her. She’d found nothing during her search.
He snorted, shook his head. “You, help me? Sure. Because I’m a fool. Now, I want you to hide under the bed. When the fight is over, you can come out. Until then, stay put. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”
He didn’t believe her, yet he still sought to defend her. Was it any wonder she loved him? “I’d rather leave with you before they reach us, but I know you won’t abandon your troops.” Something else she admired about him. “Since it’s too late for that anyway, I’ll help. I won’t harm them, but I’ll do what I can to distract them so that you can escape. If you’re free, you can spring your guys from prison. And just so you know, I realize I shouldn’t have hurt you like I did, and I’m sorry for it. But I’m not sorry I was trying to take care of my people.”
It was as if she hadn’t spoken. His urgency was too great, she supposed. “You’re hiding, and that’s that.” He grabbed hold of her and was dragging her to the bed before she could blink. “I can’t risk losing you.”
He couldn’t risk . . . did that mean . . . surely it did. “Breean,” she said, struggling against him while melting inside. He had to love her. Had to—
The door burst open, black-clad agents flooding into the room. Breean immediately released her and kicked into superspeed. He was firing his weapon, blue beams jetting from it, while maneuvering through the agents and somehow knocking them unconscious.
Even though they must have recognized her, the agents began firing at her the moment they spied her. As she dodged, she swiftly morphed into Breean’s image, using his superspeed to avoid being stunned herself. She was still awkward at it, but she managed to swipe a fallen gun and fire back.
The stun ray only affected one, lea
ving the others, the humans, free to battle.
As many as Breean was knocking out, more were running in, closing in on them. She couldn’t allow him to be taken. Tossing the gun aside, she circled through the agents. Most were wearing black masks, so she didn’t know whom she was combating. Didn’t matter. She was on Breean’s side.
She put her self-defense lessons to use, chop-blocking throats and sending gasping agents to their knees. She even kneed a few in the balls. Always, though, she was careful to hurt them only enough to stall them, not to incapacitate them completely.
“Woman,” she heard Breean shout. Even then, he was careful not to reveal her true name. “Macy!”
“Not now.” She whipped behind a man and kicked the back of his legs. He stumbled forward and she doubled her fists, slamming them into his temple as he went down. “I’m busy. You should be running.”
“Duck,” he said, and she did.
He zipped to her side and punched the agent who had been closing in behind her. The man toppled out of the room, along the hall, and down the stairs like a plane from the sky. “I want you to leave.”
“No.”
“Things are about to get bloody,” he growled.
He was going to cause bloodshed? Or he was about to be pulverized?
“No!” she shouted, just as Devyn stepped into her path. She jammed to a halt, fist in midair. He wasn’t wearing a mask, his amber eyes were pulsing eerily, and it felt as if he were reaching phantom hands inside her, holding her hostage.
Dallas was suddenly beside him, and both wore expressions of grim resolve.
Someone knocked into her back, and she stumbled forward, losing her hold on Breean’s image. Dark hair tried to sprout, but she anchored on to Macy’s appearance with all her strength, her body forming into the beautiful agent’s.
“I don’t want to fight you two,” she said as she righted, “but I won’t let him be taken.”
“We don’t always get what we want,” Devyn replied. “Do we?”
She backed away, meaning to latch onto someone and use him as a shield. But neither Devyn nor Dallas fired a weapon. Devyn simply tilted his head, and the next thing she knew, those phantom hands were once again holding her hostage.
What the hell? He hadn’t stunned her, but she couldn’t freaking move. She was frozen in place, her mind still active but her body unable to obey the simplest command.
She had lost, she realized, and could have sobbed.
• • •
“Noooo,” Breean shouted, absolute panic filling him as Blue Eyes and Glitter lifted an unmoving Aleaha and carried her from the room. A red haze blanketed his mind. All the rage he’d experienced throughout his life combined could not compare to what he felt just then. Mine, she’s mine.
He would kill every one of these bastards. They would know nothing but pain and suffering. Agony that lasted . . . and lasted. And if Aleaha did not awaken unharmed from whatever had immobilized her, that agony would be the least of their worries.
She’d fought with him, choosing him over AIR, and he could do nothing less than get her to safety. If he had to take her and run, just as she’d wanted, he would. He couldn’t be without her; he wasn’t giving her up. Even in death.
“Ale— Macy,” he growled, fighting his way to the door. He kicked and elbowed and tossed men out of his way. Blood splattered over him, but he didn’t care. Any man in his path, he took down mercilessly.
Only one thing mattered.
The agents who had her were standing at the end of the hall. Clearly, they’d expected him to follow, for they were smiling, waiting for him. Glitter was on one side of her and Blue Eyes on the other. Both were leaning against the wall as if they hadn’t a care, their arms crossed over their chests.
Breean was huffing for breath, each drag into his lungs like inhaling fire. He forced himself to grind to a halt. He didn’t think they’d hurt her, one of their own, but he couldn’t know for sure. They didn’t love her as Breean did and might be willing to sacrifice her life to defeat him.
“She’s mine,” he spat.
“I don’t think so,” Glitter said.
Hands clenched, he stalked forward.
“Stay where you are,” Blue Eyes commanded. “My fingers are feeling twitchy.” He stepped behind the still frozen Aleaha and reached around, dangling a knife in front of her throat.
Breean stilled, his heart pounding like a war drum. “Damage her in any way, and I will kill you slowly.” He was afraid to use his speed to close the distance between them. If he spooked the agent and Aleaha was cut, he would never forgive himself.
“You can’t kill me if you’re already dead.”
“What do you want from me? My head? Fine. It’s yours.”
Glitter’s eyes widened. “Really? It would look nice as a centerpiece for my kitchen table. But can I have your skin, too? I think a golden rug is just what my bedroom needs.”
Bastard. “If you will set her free, unharmed, yes.”
Blue Eyes remained in place, that knife poised precariously. “A few things you should know, Rakan. The agent who escaped you, Jaxon, came back today with all of AIR. There are hundreds of us here right now. We could have slain you and yours at any time today, but we didn’t.”
Glitter laughed. “We were almost busted, though. When Macy showed up in the dungeon to free us, I almost had a heart attack.” Another laugh.
“She almost succeeded, and would have, if I’d actually told her which ID wires to cut,” Blue Eyes added.
“Why didn’t you attack right away?” The knowledge that he’d been surrounded all day burned. He’d had no idea, had been too lost in his fury with Aleaha. Fury he couldn’t summon now. Her friends had been in danger, and she’d wanted to save them. Now that his men were in equal danger, he realized exactly how his refusal to discuss them must have torn her in half.
Yet still she’d tried to save him this day.
“You offered to help us defeat the Schön queen,” Blue Eyes said. “Right now, you’re a link to her. A link we need. We’ve never seen her, you have. You know how she operates, and you even survived her plague.”
“I’ve had men watching AIR, listening. Even last night, your boss threatened to decapitate me if she saw me. She wanted me and mine dead.”
Blue Eyes shrugged. “Yes, and she calmed down when told you’d punished the guy who killed our men. That, and the moment she saw that we were all safe. Well, that I was safe. I’m all that really matters to the woman.”
Glitter snorted. “That would be me, and everyone knows it.”
Breean could barely believe this was happening. Everything he’d hoped for was being offered to him. “You would trust me to help you?”
Now both men snorted. “No,” Blue Eyes said. “But you could have tried to kill us, and didn’t. You could have tortured us, and didn’t. Agents have been watching your men in town, and they haven’t caused any trouble. They’ve only been interested in the women they can bed. Or rather, they were. Now we’ve got them herded into our cells. But my point is, you’re not as much of a risk as was assumed.”
“So, if I’m not to be trusted, how am I to help?”
“You’ll be monitored, of course.”
Monitored, as in guarded. Controlled. His hands balled into fists.
“Listen, if you aren’t with us, you’re against us,” Blue Eyes said flatly. “The world is changing, and things get more dangerous every day. More and more aliens are coming here, their abilities unknown. A predator is a predator, and if this is to be your new home, I’d think you’d be happy to protect it.”
Breean’s eyes narrowed at the blatant attempt at manipulation. “How do I know I won’t be shot in the back for my efforts, once the queen is dead?”
“I guess you don’t.” A slow grin spread over Glitter’s face. “You’ll have to trust us.”
The way they planned to “trust” him? “If I decide to help you, I want only two things in return. Freedom for my people”�
��it was what he’d planned to bargain for all along, and one bargain was as good as any other—“and possession of the girl.”
“I’m afraid she isn’t on the table,” Blue Eyes said.
“Of course she isn’t on the table,” he said, confused. “She’s right in front of you.”
Glitter flicked Blue Eyes a strange glance. “Was I ever that clueless?” With a shake of his head, he turned back to Breean. “She’s not up for grabs, Goldie. You don’t get her unless she wants you. But who knows? Maybe she’ll be assigned as your guard.”
She’d fought for him, but did that mean she wanted him? he suddenly wondered. Now and always? After the way he’d treated her? He just didn’t know. He needed to talk to her, he thought with a scowl. “You’re not taking her out of this house.”
“Like you can stop me. You want her, you’re going to have to win her.” Glitter grinned, pointed a gun Breean hadn’t known he’d been holding, and fired. “Oh, and come out of stun.”
Before Breean could sidestep, a blue beam hit him directly in the chest, and he found himself locked in a body that refused to obey him. Fury seethed through him as the AIR agents gathered Aleaha and their fallen, as well as him and his remaining men, whistling all the while.
He could have spirit-walked—he was already helpless, after all—but he didn’t want to leave Aleaha’s side. So he endured. And he waited. AIR he could deal with. They wanted to monitor him, fine. They could monitor him. He’d help them since they both wanted the same thing. But if they wanted to post a guard at his side, they had damn well better chose Aleaha, as Glitter had suggested. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have to worry about the Schön queen.
Breean would tear their planet apart.
• • •
When Aleaha was next able to move, she was inside AIR headquarters. She hadn’t been incarcerated for aiding Breean, as she’d feared. She’d simply been placed in an empty office. Alone. To think. To agonize. To fume. Her legs were shaky, as if they’d fallen asleep, and didn’t want to hold her weight, but she forced herself to lumber into the hall.
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