by Frost Kay
Her lips pursed. Well, it was her sanctuary. Not now. She had a bone to pick with Lev. Come hell or high water, they’d get rid of the surveillance tonight and explain why they were spying on her.
Her mind wandered back to her most pressing problem. Sloven. Her upper lip curled.
“Something wrong, dear?”
Allie shook her head and schooled her expression. She needed to be more careful. And she needed to figure a way out of this mess. She didn’t want to betray everyone. Yes, they’d done some messed up things, but two wrongs didn’t make a right. And the team … well, they were good people and she cared for them, flaws and all.
The hover weaved through traffic, and her gaze strayed toward the building that housed her team. She diverted her focus to the floor. She didn’t want to give Sloven any information that she didn’t have to.
Her mouth popped open as an idea slapped her in the face. It couldn’t be that simple. Her mind flashed back to her private conversation with Sid. Sloven couldn’t hear her. He could only see what she saw. If she kept her gaze from anything important, well … there was nothing he could do about that.
She smiled.
It wasn’t a long-term solution, but it might be enough to warn her friends.
“You seem quite jittery today,” Virgil said, pulling her from her schemes.
She forced her leg to stop thumping like a rabbit and shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, it’s just nerves.”
“Nerves?”
She pulled up her left sleeve to expose the blue lines that ran along her arm. “This.”
Virgil patted her knee. “Eve will figure something out, dearie. Don’t you worry.”
Guilt pricked her for not being completely honest, but if her plan worked, everyone would know the truth by the end of the day, and poor Eve wouldn’t be so stressed.
Her stomach flipped as the hover dipped to avoid a bus and then smoothly glided into the sector’s bay. Allie’s heart began to pound as the forcefield behind them solidified and Virgil exited the hover and held his hand out to her.
She stared at it for a beat. You can do this.
The stumpy bald lumps that served as what she deemed Virgil’s eyebrows rose in surprise when she placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her from the hover.
She smiled at him. “There’s always a time to forgive and forget.”
He choked on a laugh. “Well, you sure can hold a grudge, but you have nothing on the dragoness. I’m glad you forgave me, Allie. I like ya,” he said gruffly.
She smiled at his southern use of you, and surprising herself, she leaned forward and kissed his prickly cheek. “Sorry it took me so long.” What he’d done sucked rocks, but she could let it go. Life was a lot more gray than black-and-white, and bitterness and anger only led to an unhappy life.
Allie turned toward the door and walked to it, her eyes on the floor. Here goes nothing.
Her skin tingled as she stepped through the forcefield and focused on everything and nothing. She moved farther into the room, staring at a light in the far corner, trying to avoid looking at anyone.
“Allie,” a warm voice called. “I’m so glad you’re here. My lab is all ready for you.” A pause. “Zune, will you come help me?”
The Kitteran rumbled from Allie’s right and moved toward her. She dropped her eyes to the floor and stared at Zune’s boots.
“You coming, Allie?”
She nodded and fell in step with the giant, forcing herself not to look at him. It was a lot harder than she thought it’d be.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, focusing on the immaculate white flooring beneath her feet. “I’m fine.”
“You’re acting oddly.”
Didn’t she know it. She flashed a quick smile at him before forcing her gaze back to the floor. “I’m okay, but you know how I feel about poky things…”
A choked laugh came from behind her. “Oh, Allie. Do you know what I could do with that statement?” Kale called.
Allie colored. Leave it to Kale to jump to something inappropriate. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” She scurried into Eve’s medical wing, male laughter erupting behind her. She tripped over the leg of a stool and landed on her knees.
“You okay?”
Zune and Eve both squatted in front of her and horror slammed into her. She jerked her eyes back to the floor.
“Dang it,” she growled, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. She’d given Sloven a good look at two of her friends. He might have known the others, but he didn’t know Eve and Zune. They were scientists, not field agents.
Hands settled at her waist, lifted her from the floor, and spun her into an embrace. She buried her face in Blade’s shirt as angry tears dripped down her face. She had a simple task and yet she’d already managed to bungle it. Blade’s hands rubbed up and down her back in soothing motions.
“What’s wrong, love?” he asked, his deep voice caressing her like black velvet.
“Nothing.”
“I could smell your emotions from across the room.”
Fingers slid underneath her chin and lifted her face, but she kept her eyes closed. He inhaled deeply near her temple.
“Something is really wrong. Your scent is all over the place. Talk to me.”
She shook her head.
“Look at me. Please.”
“I can’t,” she whispered.
A growl rumbled in his chest. “Yes, you can. Let me in.”
Boy, did she want to. Allie opened her eyes but stared over his shoulder at her reflection in the windows. She couldn’t tell him the truth without it being reflected in the glass. Allie glanced into his face and made a split-second decision. She popped up onto her toes and mashed her lips to his, staring at Blade wide-eyed.
His body locked up; he blinked slowly at her as she kissed him, using his body as a shield from the windows. She closed her eyes and breathed four words against his lips.
“Being watched. It’s me.”
He jerked back, but she hung on for dear life, clenching his shirt in her hands.
He got the hint and leaned close to place a kiss along her jaw and work toward her ear.
“What kind of tech?” he breathed.
Allie tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling as he kissed her neck. “Eyes only.”
“Eve,” Blade said quietly. “We need to check Allie for bugs. Get Lev.”
The pixie Av practically sprinted out of the room and Blade spun Allie, pressing her against the glass window.
“Who?” he demanded quietly.
“You know who.”
He cursed and laced their fingers together and pressed his face into the crook of her neck, his body trembling.
“How did he get to you? I was at your door all night.”
She winced and didn’t answer immediately. Sid had a family and she wouldn’t throw him under the bus. Yet. If he double-crossed her, she’d personally be the one to run him over with the bus. “He has ways,” she whispered.
“Has he gotten inside our system?”
Allie didn’t answer for a moment, distracted by his thumb running along the sensitive skin covering her wrist.
“Not that I know of. I’m his asset.”
“Did he chip you?” Blade asked calmly.
“Contacts.”
He hissed, his grasp tightening for a moment. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Get in line,” she barked.
“Does he expect you to wear them all the time?”
“I’m not sleeping with these things in. That doesn’t sound safe.”
He lifted his head and grinned, uncharacteristically boyish. Her heart flipped. The traitor.
“I think I have a plan, but it’ll have to wait until you go to bed tonight. Can you hold on until then?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Zune?” Blade called.
Zune stopped his pacing. “What do you need?”
“Hide anything important and make it
quick.”
The Kitteran nodded and strode out of the room.
“We’ll go about this as normally as possible. We’ll go on as we usually do. Give him what he wants.” He kissed her softly on the cheek and pulled her into a hug. “It’ll all be okay. Trust me.”
She did, and that scared her a little bit.
Trust was a slippery thing. Like a snake.
She hated snakes.
8
Creepers be creepin
You know the one thing she could trust?
Her bad luck.
Allie wiggled her dark pants down her thighs and kicked them into the corner of the immaculate bathroom and then rubbed her eyes. With red-rimmed eyes, she glared at the contacts resting on the vanity like they weren’t a ball and chain wrapped around her ankle.
She sure hoped Blade figured something out quick. One day wearing them was bad enough.
Shifting, she pulled her shirt over her head and lifted her arm to inspect the side of her chest. She winced at the angry red, chafed skin just below the edge of her bra. It still flabbergasted her that the style of bras hadn’t changed over the last couple hundred years.
“Must have been a man who designed these torture devices,” she mumbled underneath her breath as she dropped her arm to stare at her reflection. Her lips pursed as she stared at her boobs. Stars above, she wished they were smaller. They always got in the way of everything, and it was nearly impossible to find clothing that didn’t expose them to everyone’s eyes. In fact, a female at the Scarlet Kiss told her last week that they were almost obscenely large.
Allie cupped her chest and shook her head, jostling the heart-shaped vial resting on the top of her boobs. “Why did you guys have to get so big? Y’all kill my back. I need better support.”
Her wrist comm buzzed and she glanced at the little round screen adorning her wrist and frowned at the message scrolling across.
I’ll hold them for you.
What in the worlds? Chills erupted along her arms. She lifted her arm closer to her face, so she could examine the comm closer. Another message scrolled across the surface.
Look up.
A scream caught in her throat, and she stumbled back into the wall behind her. Sloven’s smirking face stared at her from the mirror. He held up his arm to tap his own wrist comm.
She glanced from the mirror to her wrist.
Do you always dress down for company?
A squeak escaped her, and she groped for something, anything, to cover up with. Scrambling, she yanked a fuzzy towel from the wall, along with the towel holder, which clattered against the white stone floor.
“Allie?” Jer called from the living room. “You okay?”
Allie furiously wrapped the towel around her body, hating that her thigh still peeked out the right side. Her hands trembled as Sloven held his fingers to his lips to shush her. Fear streaked through her, and she barely managed to squeak out, “I’m … I’m fine. Just tripped.”
A throaty laugh answered her. “You’re so accident prone. To hurt yourself in the shower. I don’t want to have to come in there and save you.”
“Ha ha,” Allie forced out, not able to look away from the dark red eyes watching her with mirth. She shivered as her comm buzzed again and another message scrolled across.
Check the drawer.
Hands shaking, she opened the top vanity drawer slowly as if a team of spiders and scorpions would pop out. She panted as she pulled a red compact from the drawer and opened it. On a bed of blood-red satin lay an ear comm identical to the one Sid had shown her.
She snapped the compact closed and shook her head.
Instead of the rage she expected, Sloven smiled. It was terrifying, like a shark smiling right before it ate you.
Her comm buzzed again. If that’s how you feel.
The mirror wavered and a Sarpe woman’s image emerged. Tears sparkled against her slightly forest-green scaled skin. The camera moved, showing her tied to a chair, and focused on her pregnant belly before panning wide to show another Sarpe in a heap before the woman, a pool of deep purple blood beneath his crumpled form.
Dizziness slammed into her, and Allie clutched the vanity.
Sid.
Tears blurred her vision and she placed a hand over her mouth to keep her sobs locked away. The screen shifted again to Sloven. He tipped his chin to her and touched his ear.
Without really knowing what she was doing, she opened the compact and placed the comm in her ear. She barely noticed how it melded with her ear canal. All she could do was stare blankly at the monster in front of her, the image of Sid burned into her brain.
“Why?” she croaked.
Sloven’s voice answered her, clear and smooth, like he was standing right in front of her. “There are consequences to your actions, Allie.”
More tears filled her eyes. “Is he alive?” she dared to ask.
“For now.”
“Violence serves nothing.”
“And that’s what I love about you.”
She winced at the word ‘love’ and fought not to cower in front of the scary alien.
Sloven continued, “Your naiveté is intoxicating, but on this we’ll have to agree to disagree. I’d say violence served me well today. And wouldn’t you agree that there are consequences to every decision we make?”
She sniffed hard and stared furiously at Sloven. “Who made you judge, jury, and executioner?”
“Why, the good people of Sars, of course.” His gaze wandered over her body, and she found herself clutching the towel closer. “You look better since the last time I saw you. I’m glad you accepted my gift.”
Her hand moved to the velvet ribbon of her necklace. “I don’t know how much of a gift you can call it when you’re the one who caused…” She released the necklace and gestured to the lines covering her chest and arms. “All this.”
“I, for one, think it’s bewitching.”
He would. She shifted on her feet and squared her shoulders, trying to stand taller than her meager 5’4. “What do you want?”
“You, babies, world domination, and revenge, among other things.” He sighed dramatically. “But only a few of those are within reach right at this moment, which leads me to my next point. I have an assignment for you.”
She stiffened. “What do you want?”
“I have something I need you to pick up for me. I’ll make sure Sid is well enough to collect you in two days. Be ready and wear something more appropriate.” His eyes once again roved over her body. “Not that I don’t like this look. I just don’t want anyone else to see you. You belong to me.”
Disgusting. She didn’t belong to anyone. “Anything else, Master?” she asked sarcastically.
“I like the ring of that. Be careful, Human, or I might just get used to it.”
“Fat chance.”
Sloven chuckled. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”
Allie pointed to her ear. “How do I get this out?”
“Worried about getting too used to having me whispering in your ear?”
“How do I get it out?”
“Press your finger into your ear. It’ll release.” Sloven’s smile faded as he stared at her seriously. “Don’t play any games, princess. Someone always gets hurts.” He blew her a kiss, and his image faded, leaving her staring at her own reflection.
Her knees began to shake so hard that she spun and sat down, her back pressing against the vanity. How was she supposed to beat that?
“Sweet dreams,” he cooed in her ear.
Tears began anew. She pressed her finger into her ear, praying that the comm released. A soft sob escaped her as the ear comm formed and she pulled it out and scrambled upright, throwing the comm in the toilet. Her whole body trembled as the toilet flushed.
He’d gotten into her apartment. What else had he done?
Her gaze latched onto the mirror; a shudder worked through her. How long had he been watching her? Her skin crawled, but she dared not hop into the sho
wer. Who knew what lurked in there.
Her eyes dropped to the abandoned metal towel holder. Without making a conscious decision, she reached for the pole and slammed it into the mirror. Again. Again. And again.
A hand curled around her wrist and she jerked, staring at Jer.
“What the hell are you doing?” her roommate shouted. “Are you out of your mind?”
“He watched everything,” Allie screamed back, tears still tracking down her face. The rage left her as soon as it came, and she dropped to her knees, feeling like the world was spinning out of control.
Coal slammed through the door and stared at the mess. “What’s going on?”
Jer shoved the makeshift weapon at the Av and turned to Allie. “Babe, there’s glass everywhere. We need to get out.”
“I hate him!” Allie yelled again.
“We need a team here,” Coal murmured as Jer stepped closer and wrapped her hands around Allie’s biceps.
“Come on,” Jer urged, pulling Allie from the floor.
Her knees burned, but she barely noticed it as Jer sat her on the couch. People entered the apartment, but they were a blur around her. All she could see was Sid and his pregnant wife. Guilt started to rise up, but she shoved it down. It wasn’t her actions that had caused this. It was that sadistic bastard who thought he could control her. She barely noticed Eve kneeling before her. A warm, heavy arm landed over her shoulder, and she was pulled into a hard, familiar chest.
“You’re okay,” Blade whispered, pulling a blanket over the both of them, making sure to keep her cut-up knees exposed for Eve.
“We’re not safe,” she said woodenly. “He’s been here.”
Blade froze, his chest not even moving. He sucked in a slow breath and resumed his petting of her tangled hair.
“Sweep the apartment,” Lev barked somewhere from the room.
Allie buried her face against Blade’s shirt. “How do we kill a giant?”