“He’s awake,” a male voice spoke outside the cave.
Crypto spun around.
“Good.” A thin wiry man approached the cell door. Dark hair fell in front of his eyes and he moved with more youth than his hologram showed. “I’m Baroth.” His glare traveled the length of Crypto’s body and back up again. “You’re not human.”
No, he wasn’t. “Why would you say that?” The nanobots made him human even at a cellular level. He kept his original skeleton due to the nature of his skills. Unless this camp had a hidden galactic level scientific lab, he didn’t see how they knew he was an alien.
“You took out four of my guards. Two of which are Trigory.” Baroth shook his head. “No matter how well trained, a human wouldn’t be capable of accomplishing what you had. Nor would a human survive the electrical charge that was used to knock you out.”
Internally, Crypto groaned. That would explain their suspicion.
“But you’re not wearing a hologram sleeve.” Baroth pursed his lips. “So, what exactly are you?”
Crypto moved to the back of the cave where he could stand at his full height and remained quiet. IIA agents received extensive training on interrogations from both sides. As the team’s combat expert, he knew how to play the game.
“I think he’s a half-breed.” The third voice came from out of Crypto’s vantage point.
Baroth nodded. “Maybe. What are you doing on our island and how did you get here?”
Silence.
“We should put him with the others. He’s not pretty but we could sell him on the gladiator circuit. I have connections.”
Baroth nodded again. “We can make a clip of him kicking your asses. Use it as marketing.”
The only response was the high-pitched singing of the jungle frogs.
“No volunteers?” Baroth twisted to look behind him. “I didn’t think so.” He turned back, his focus on Crypto. “Incapacitate him again.”
Before Crypto could dodge, one of the men outside the bars tossed the antigravity node into his cell. The blue light flashed and he rose into the air, banging his head against the ceiling. Fuck. He kept silent though it hurt like a...
The door to his prison swung open. He lasered onto it, noting the hidden hinges and locks. Yes, plural. Dammit. This wasn’t some old pirate cell. They had built this thing to hold someone for good. Someone who understood galactic tech. It would take more than sticks, stones, and muscles to break out.
Baroth strode across the cell and punched him in the face.
Crypto spun backward at the impact. The centrifugal force was so fast bile rose in his throat. If he vomited, he’d make sure to aim it right at the asshole.
“Who sent you?”
There were no answers that would satisfy someone like Baroth. No matter what Crypto said, he was a dead man.
“Why are you here?” Baroth punctuated the question with another punch. “Get Trans. He’ll get the answers out of him.” Baroth exited the prison cell.
“Good luck.” Crypto swung his arms in the opposite direction of his spin, trying to slow the speed.
Baroth slammed the cell door behind him.
Alone at last. Crypto reached out with his nanobots. “Trace?” Nothing. He wasn’t tech-savvy like Hack and didn’t have the knowhow to build a communicator from rocks and pubic hair.
The slavers left him spinning, the blood rushing to his head. The nanobots compensated as much as they could and healed the damage that Baroth had done to his face, but he couldn’t heal himself indefinitely. The nanos needed raw material, like protein and minerals. If the slavers planned a long-term interrogation, he’d need food to fix the damage. If he didn’t eat, the nanos would draw those materials from his body until he was nothing but skin and bones.
Been there, done that. He’d heard Trace’s mate, Lily, use the phrase. It was accurate and to the point. Like him.
The lock to his door snicked.
He tensed, glancing over his shoulder even though spinning midair.
The door swung open. An armor-clad soldier marched inside. Trans had arrived. He was smaller than Crypto had expected but maybe the spin was skewing his judgment. Trans kicked the antigravity node out from under Crypto.
He hit the ground like a meteor, knocking the wind out of him. Though his head still spun, he leaped to his feet and pushed Trans.
The interrogator bounced off the cave wall using his feet and momentum to strike Crypto in the flank. The pain sent him to his knees. He’d forgotten to protect his human kidneys. Evolution didn’t always make the right decisions and this flaw hurt.
He charged the other warrior. As long as that door was open. Crypto intended to use it. No matter the cost.
Trans met his every strike. Where Crypto used brute strength, the other used speed and agility. It was a shame to kill such a skilled fighter.
He charged Trans, pinning him to the cave wall. Crypto tore off the helmet, letting it fall to the ground.
Then he blinked. “What?”
Chapter Three
A human female stared back at Crypto. She wore a hologram amulet, which meant she wasn’t really human. Short, dark curls peeked out from her strange helmet and huge dark eyes of liquid obsidian met his stare. She could be anything under that gorgeous disguise. The interrogator was good to use such a distracting and non-intimidating face. Maybe Trans wanted to seduce him into begging to tell his secrets.
The female drew back her arm, dull pewter rings adorned her fingers as she formed a fist. It connected to his jaw and had his teeth rattling with an electric shock wave. She had used knuckle shockers. Earth did not own that tech. She was definitely from off-planet.
“I’m trying to rescue you, dumbass.” She shoved him toward the exit of the cave.
Crypto staggered as he shook off the stunning effects. “You’re not Trans? You’re not here to torture me?” Why was she rescuing him? Because of the amulet, he knew she wasn’t another IIA agent. They didn’t need holo-technology.
“Keep this up and you might make me change my mind.” She rubbed her hand and grimaced. “Name is Diana Brooke.” She pressed her palm to the amulet, activating the hologram program, meaning she wasn’t wearing a human holo-sleeve already.
His heart pounded too loud and too fast. The bitter taste of adrenaline coated his tongue. She was really a human being. A female. A woman. Who had punched him in the face with alien tech. The hologram blurred the lines of her body, camouflaging her to the cave walls. This was who had hunted him in the jungle. He gripped her upper arm. Strong and muscular. “Why are you helping me?” Why had she been following him?
She jerked free of his hold. “Because I need you.”
He tried not to groan at her words. Anything. He’d do anything she needed.
“Where do you keep your amulet? I want to adjust the programming to be like mine. It will make moving through the jungle faster and easier.”
“I don’t use one.” He pulled his shirt off and his pants then tossed them to the ground.
Her jaw hung open. “Okay...”
The nanobots adjusted his skin tone to fit perfectly to the surrounding environment.
Her eyes went wide. “Nice trick.” Pure admiration. “And abs.” She plucked his clothes off the ground and shoved them in her pack. “Let’s move.”
She scanned the exterior of the prison cell, blaster rifle drawn and ready. “Clear.” She moved, her steps confident and fluid, as if expecting him to follow without hesitation.
Curiosity was Crypto’s biggest flaw. Knowing this flaw existed didn’t change the fact that he still exited the cell on her heels.
Diana hugged the side of the mountain housing the cave, keeping the jungle growth between them and the camp. His nanos changed his skin tone to the surroundings. There were no guards to dodge. The place was supposed to be a secret and the slavers thought they had caught their intruder. Security’s attention was focused on getting answers out of Crypto. He wished he could see the look on their
faces when they found his cell empty.
Halfway over the mountain, she stepped onto a ledge and dropped to her stomach, creeping to the edge. He followed suit. The spot overlooked the alien base.
She pointed to the permanent structure in the center. “I need help breaking into that building.”
His eyebrows rose. “Who are you, Diana?” He was grateful for her aid, but he would need more answers and fewer questions before he agreed to any partnership.
“You don’t see me asking that question. The less we know about each other, the better.” She crept away from the edge. Once in the jungle, she stood at full height. Next to him, she barely reached his shoulder, but that didn’t mean she was short. Just the right size.
He crossed his arms, allowing his skin color to return to normal. She had military training. It oozed off her. “Do you know what is inside the building?” Because he did and if she had anything to do with selling human slaves on the galactic black market, she had just signed her death sentence.
She shook her head. “But it must be valuable. They guard the place around the clock.” Her gaze narrowed. “The contents of the building are why you’re here, right?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because there’s nothing else on the island that’s worth being tortured over except that space shuttle.”
People in the camp began to scramble. A cry went up and Baroth could be seen organizing groups in the center of the green domes then sending them into the jungle.
“They discovered your escape.” Diana took off, her hologram helping her to dissolve into the jungle, leaving Crypto to watch the commotion. The plan had been to free the human slaves and lead them to Trace at the same meeting point. He couldn’t communicate with his team though. The whole island was being jammed.
Crypto’s skin changed colors and he followed Diana deeper into the island. He was on his own until he heard from his team or they arrived.
His thoughts darkened. Hell, he wasn’t sure Hack still lived.
It didn’t take long to overtake Diana. She was fast but he was faster. Each of her steps was carefully chosen and quiet. The jungle wasn’t a new environment for her. He refrained from asking the hundred questions forming in his mind. Silent, he watched the surroundings for slavers.
Diana held up her fist and dropped low. The swish of people moving through the undergrowth fronds reached his ears. He moved into position, blending with the jungle. One, two, three aliens passed him. Spaced about five feet apart, blaster rifles ready. He trailed them until the third in line was out of view of the others. Crypto snapped his neck and caught the body before it made a sound. The undergrowth hid the evidence. He confiscated the blaster and continued tracking the other two.
Until Diana stepped in his path. She grabbed his hand and pulled hard, obviously wanting him to follow.
He sighed. He’d rather pick off the smugglers one-by-one, but that would be impossible if she insisted on blocking his way. They needed to have a chat about priorities. Neither of them would get what they wanted until then.
She took him over the top of the mountain, away from the rendezvous point with his team. He hadn’t heard or seen any of the slavers in some time.
“Are you an escaped prisoner?” he asked, sure it was safe to finally interrogate her.
The holo-sleeve masking her presence dropped. “No, I’m an entrepreneur.”
His translator chip interpreted that as businesswoman. “What sort of entrepreneur deals with alien tech and knows hand-to-hand combat?”
“The kind that acquires valuable items.”
“A thief.” That described her better than businesswoman. He guessed it all depended on one’s perspective.
“You make that sound distasteful.”
He shrugged.
“What is your beef with those people at the camp?”
“They’re bad and I have to put a stop to what they’re doing.”
“By killing them?”
“No one will miss them.” The IIA didn’t care how he and his team stopped the slavers. They had basically been given a license to kill. “The universe is a big place. Most planets are capable of imprisonment of other life forms. Yours is not. The punishment for their crime is a death sentence.” Enslaving an innocent race was considered a huge offense. These aliens knew the consequences of their actions so he had no problem dispatching them. He brushed past her and scanned the tropical cove she brought him to.
Crystal clear blue water as far as the eye could see. Hack would see this place as a paradise. To Crypto, all this water was a death trap. No amount of kicking or swinging his arms would keep him afloat—his bone density prevented him from swimming. He rested his hands on his hips, a frown tugging at his mouth. “How did you get involved in this mess?”
STARING AT THE ALIEN was like looking at the sun. He projected masculinity and it burned her retinas and her sensibilities. It was in his posture, in the roughness of his face, and in the hardness of his eyes. She knew no matter what happened he could handle it. His eyes, smart and clear under the thick, dark eyebrows, evaluated everything he saw with competence, but deep inside those golden irises, a cold fire glowed. The same kind of fire she would see in the eyes of a tiger—predatory yet irresistible.
He tossed her a glance over his shoulder.
Every female instinct she had went into overdrive. Oh wow. The moment those eyes met hers, they’d told her he owned her. She should’ve looked away, but couldn’t. She just stood there, shocked, and stared. “Trying to decide if you should kill me?” she asked.
“No, you’re human. You haven’t a clue how much danger you’re in.”
The snort that escaped her wasn’t ladylike. “Like a camp of aliens disguised as humans. The same camp that I just infiltrated and rescued your ass?”
“That’s just scraping the surface.” His skin changed back to a warm bronze over hard muscles. He wore only a pair of underwear.
Diana’s mouth went dry. His abs weren’t the only nice thing to look at. She tugged his clothes out of her backpack and tossed them at his feet before her IQ dissolved to nothing. “You have a name, hotshot?”
“Crypto.” His voice was smooth, precise and so deep it almost throbbed against her breastbone. “Where did you obtain the amulet?”
“You’re full of questions.”
“And you’re full of mystery.”
“Thank you. I take pride in that.” She moved away from the beach and to a rocky outcrop that led to deeper water.
“Careful. Don’t fall in.”
“I can swim.”
“I can’t.”
“Huh.” She stopped at the end and glanced back. Crypto was pulling on his pants. “You look like a guy who can handle anything.”
“Water is not my best element. I can cope but it’s not pretty.”
She couldn’t stop her smirk at his amused comment. So, nobody was perfect. Especially not her. “I helped you escape because I thought we could help each other.”
“As it is, I might be in the market for a temporary partner.”
A Word From Annie
Thank you for reading TRACE.
I’m part of a mutli-author project called Intergalactic Dating Agency! Each author is writing a series about sexy aliens visiting Earth, and the women who bring them to their knees.
My own series takes place Cosmos Resort, an alien singles all inclusive tropical resort, where aliens come from all over to fall in love with a lucky human. Or so, that’s what the brochure says...
You’ve read this far so I assume you enjoyed this adventurous and fun alien romance. Please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and I would much appreciate any help.
The story continues in this science fiction romance seroes with HACK as the next installment. We leave Cosmos Resort and follow Hack as he follows the cruise ship to its destination and his destiny. Jeannie.
LOOKING FOR LOVE THAT’S out
of this world? These strong, smart, sexy aliens are seeking mates from the Milky Way. Just hop onboard with your local Intergalactic Dating Agency and become an Alien Mail Order Bride! Join our group of authors as we explore the friendly skies and beyond with trilogies of cosmic craving, astral adventure and otherworldly lovers. Warning: abductions may or not be included!
Grab more hunky alien action here:
http://romancingthealien.com
GET EXCLUSIVE ANNIE NICHOLAS MATERIAL
Building a relationship with my readers is the best thing about being an author. To keep in touch, I send out the occasional newsletter with details on new releases, special offers, and other goodies like short stories or contests. If you sign up to the mailing list, I’ll sent you a free book from another series to give a try.
You can get your free by signing up HERE.
NOT THIS SERIES
Funny Paranormal Romance
NOT HIS DRAGON
Eoin Grant, black dragon of New Port, has finally met his mate, but fate is a cruel mistress. Of all things, Angie Weldon thinks she’s human.
BUY NOW
NOT HIS WEREWOLF
Betty Newman was born a wolf shifter but she can’t change shape. Pack law forces them to consider her human. Broken, she leaves home and opens an animal rescue where the animal control specialist brings her an unconscious werewolf. When he wakes, Ken Birch, insists that they are meant to be together forever. Except, soulmates can’t be human. If she doesn’t find a way to shift, the packs will kill her.
BUY NOW
NOT HIS VAMPIRE
Trixie knows that shifters and magic exist. Everyone does. But no one told her about the monster hidden in the dragon’s basement.
BUY NOW
NOT HIS CHRISTMAS
SHORT STORY
It's Eoin and Angie's first Christmas together and he wants to make it special. But his dragoness is lacking holiday spirit and wants to cancel the celebration! Does Angie think Eoin is the type of dragon to back down from a challenge? Clipping on his jingle bells and grabbing the mistletoe, Eoin is on a mission.
Hack Page 11