Chapter 2
Chapter two
Nora
Axel slammed into me with a rough, unexpected force, dragging me through a door, then spinning and jamming a broom against the door handle as the men outside shoved into it.
The meeting with the world’s military leaders hadn’t gone well, and I’d sensed a tension coiling inside the big soldier beside me as we both began to realize that our people would not listen to our opinions on the Vul.
We’d communicated silently, using signals we’d agreed to before the meeting.
It had been a safety measure that Axel had insisted upon, but I’d never believed that my own superior officers wouldn’t listen to me, not until they told us that the months of work we’d done studying the Aunga’ri wasn’t to be trusted — that the aliens I now considered friends were here to destroy our planet.
Axel and I had silently communicated through the human general’s lecture, and I knew Axel believed the Vul had infiltrated the UN council that we’d presented to.
There was no other explanation for their sudden change of heart and stubborn refusal to listen to us.
We’d both pretended to comply with our orders to remove ourselves from this assignment, at least until we were outside the council chambers.
All of that barely restrained energy in Lieutenant Axel Mason’s big body had exploded into motion the moment we’d left the council chambers and spotted a security team jogging towards us.
We needed to get away from the military, back to the Aunga’ri palace in Montana. The information I now had about the Vul, about their underhanded tactics, would be key information for the Aunga’ri commander and his advisors.
Axel had an entirely different motivation.
He wanted to get to the people he loved, to protect them.
I was glad to have this man on my side — he was the best at what he did.
I had seen Axel in a fight, when the Vul spy had been revealed in the palace, and I knew the man could move with an athletic grace that bordered on inhuman.
Meanwhile, while I was okay in a fight, my real skills lay elsewhere.
I pushed the window open as Axel fortified the door, looking down, then up.
“Where to?”
He chuckled. “Montana?”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, Captain Obvious.”
“That’s Lieutenant Obvious. You’re the only captain here.” He grunted, shoving his shoulder against the wood.
“Major. I got a promotion.”
“I’d love to celebrate, but now is not the time. This door won’t hold long. How does that window look? Any escape?”
Frowning at the door as it shook against Axel’s shoulder, I stopped fiddling with the paint-covered lock and kicked it open, watching the glass crash to the pavement below. Axel smirked. “Subtle.”
“It’s how I got into spy craft, you know. I’m subtle. And I love gadgets.” I scanned the room, smiling as I found the perfect spot for an anchor, an old radiator. Then I returned to the window and shot my gadget across the courtyard to a neighboring building.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Axel muttered. “You’re one of those.”
“One of what?”
“The kind of spies who watched way too many movies as a kid.” He shook his head, but he followed me out the window, grabbing the handle of my little zip-line toy and hauling me into his arms. Technically, I’d never tested it for two people, especially not a big, two-hundred-pound man, but I let him do the heavy lifting because there was no way I could dangle from a small handle holding his mass.
No one shot us as we flew across the courtyard.
So, either they didn’t expect us to leave via the window, or they didn’t want us dead.
Axel made use of his trademark ridiculous reflexes as we landed, smoothly setting me down and taking off at a run, letting me follow.
He was taller than me, and faster at a flat-out sprint, but he took my pace into account, checking his speed so that I could keep up as we darted out into the crowded streets of Washington, DC.
“So, to be clear, you carry a zip-line on your person at all times?” Axel asked as he jogged towards a subway station, sliding down the handrail to the escalator in a smooth move that earned him some appreciative gasps. Or maybe those were just because he was fucking sexy.
“Only when I suspect that the situation I’m moving into is compromised.”
He shot a smirk over his shoulder. “So, all times.”
“Basically, but especially now. What reason was there to even call a meeting?” I asked as we both vaulted over the turnstiles.
“What reason is there ever to call a meeting?” he shot back, laughing. “Follow me.”
“First, this,” I started to unbutton the buttons on my clever disguise as we ran, and Axel stopped and laughed.
“What? I saw this fashion show where you got two outfits in one. I was inspired.” Spinning, I let the fabric flare out into a black dress, then slid on my designer sunglasses and chucked my military hat into the garbage.
Axel was standing there, staring at me, and he still stood out like a sore thumb, so I grabbed his coat and hat and tossed them in a bin, then untucked his shirt and reached up and unbutton the top buttons, feeling the flex of his muscles beneath.
I wasn’t attracted to Axel, not really, but I could appreciate his perfect male form.
“Are we done man-handling me?”
“Yep. Lead the way to our exit.” I grinned, and he shook his head and looked around for a moment before running for a steep flight of stairs that led down to the trains. “What kind of name is Axel, anyway?”
“My parents were Guns N’ Roses fans.”
I snickered, looking from side to side as we dove into a subway car right as the doors closed. “I think we need to warn the Aunga’ri, perhaps get the commander somewhere safe while we assess the damage being done by the Vul.”
Axel frowned. “And T’ukka. He needs to be somewhere safe.”
“Right, can’t forget your Alien pet,” I muttered, and Axel rolled his eyes.
“He’s my partner, Nora. I’m not leaving him behind. I love him. Mia will need to come, too.”
“And Mia’s brother?”
Axel hesitated. “He will need to stay with the doc. I don’t know.” The subway stopped at a station, clearing some seats, and Axel sat, resting his face in his hands, looking stressed. “I don’t like not knowing the plan.”
“Well, I’m excellent with plans. You can be the muscle.”
He shot me a bemused look. I knew from his records that Axel had an insane IQ, that he had a talent for languages, and was brilliant all around. But he also had a lot of muscles. “Fine. You’re the brains and I’m the muscle,” he muttered.
I looked out across the train, trying to calculate our next move. I didn’t see military personnel anywhere, and no one was paying any attention to us. We had lost them for now, but probably not for long. It was a long trek to Montana.