Chapter 9 #2
Multiple figures step out from behind crumbling walls, inside collapsed doorways and the shadows of equipment. Four Xylan males in nondescript clothing, faces partially covered with dark fabric. Armed with stun batons and blades.
And then I hear a voice from somewhere behind them. Flat. Bored. Like dealing with me is an inconvenience in his otherwise pleasant day.
“Finish this quickly. I have other matters to attend to.”
Wait, I know that voice.
It takes me a second to place it — the chaos, the fear, four armed males surrounding me. But then it clicks. It’s from the cafeteria. The polished Xylan who offered me access to records. Who agreed that the parents died in a cargo accident when he had to know that was a lie.
Kryzon.
I can’t see him clearly, he’s staying back, half-hidden by a piece of equipment. But I heard him and I won’t forget.
One of the masked males steps forward. “You should have left when you had the chance.”
Oh hells, this is certainly not a whistleblower situation. “Who sent you?” I ask, stalling, trying to gather a bit more information. The tracker is recording and the brothers are hearing this. They’ll understand that this is a bust as quickly as I do. I just need to buy time. “Grytel? Kryzon?”
The speaker tilts his head. “Does it matter? You won’t be around to write about it.”
He steps forward—
And then Texon is there. His enormous figure so large he’s blocking out the sun. I don’t see him move. One second he’s thirty meters away at the entrance, the next he’s between me and the speaker, claws extended.
The Xylan who threatened me lands on the ground with his chest torn open.
Holy crap.
The other three masked males react instantly. One swings a stun baton at Texon’s head. The fever brother ducks, spins, and slashes open the attacker’s arm.
I stand in awe, my mouth open with surprise.
This is not the gentle male who slept on my floor. This is what he was trying to tell me last night. He couldn’t protect his parents, so he protects everyone else. With lethal efficiency.
I scramble backward, trying to stay out of the way as a third attacker rushes Texon. They collide with a crack of bone and claw.
And then behind me come roars and more movement from the jungle. Scar and Rook burst from the trees, Heavy right behind them. Four Fever Brothers against four attackers.
The odds just shifted.
But the fourth attacker isn’t engaging the brothers. He’s circling and looking at me.
I see him coming and try to run but his hand closes on my arm and yanks me back. I twist, trying to break free, trying to remember anything useful from the one self-defense class I took years ago in Singapore—
I drive my elbow back into his midsection. He grunts but doesn’t let go.
Dammit.
I stomp down hard on his boot and throw my head back, trying to connect with his face. I feel impact, hear him snarl with pain.
His grip loosens for just a second. I wrench free—
The Xylan’s blade catches my side before I can get clear.
I cry out as white-hot pain shoots through my side. I gasp, hand going to my ribs, and my fingers come away red. Oh. Oh no. I know immediately that this isn’t a scratch, this is deep, and bad. Very bad.
A thunderous roar shakes the ruins.
The fourth attacker turns toward the sound, blade raised — and then he’s simply not there anymore. Texon has torn him away from me with a violence that I can’t fully process. I hear sounds. Wet, terrible sounds. I don’t look.
I’m sitting on the ground. When did I sit down? The dirt beneath me is turning darker. That’s my blood, I realize distantly. That’s a lot of blood.
“Ines.” Texon’s face appears above me. His hands cup my face. “Ines, look at me.”
“I’m looking.” My voice sounds strange.
“Hold on. Hold on, you’re going to be fine.”
He scoops me up like I weigh nothing. The movement sends fresh pain screaming through my side and I cry out before I can stop myself.
“I’m sorry,” he growls. “I’m sorry, I have to move you. The med lab is close.”
“Okay.” I focus on his face. The ridges on his forehead. The desperation in his eyes. I’ve never seen him scared before. “Okay. I trust you.”
Something flickers across his expression. Pain. Tenderness. Fear.
He starts running.
I hear Rook’s voice behind us. “Scar, look at this.”
And Scar’s response is grim. “Kryzon’s old crew. I knew it.”
“Go,” Heavy snarls to Texon. “Get her to the med lab now.”
The jungle blurs past. Each jarring step sends fresh waves of pain through my side, but Texon’s arms are steady. His grip is sure. I let myself sink into the safety of him.
“Stay with me,” he says. “Stay awake, Ines.”
“I’m awake.” I am. Mostly. The edges of my vision are getting fuzzy, but I’m awake. “That was stupid of me, wasn’t it? Walking into an obvious trap.”
“Yes.” His voice is rough. “But I would have done the same thing.”
“I know.” I manage something like a smile. “That’s why I like you.”
He makes a sound that sounds half laugh, half sob.
The med lab appears ahead. Clean white buildings and medical transport vehicles. Safety.
Texon bursts through the doors, roaring for help. I’d be embarrassed by the scene we’re making, but I’m too busy trying to stay conscious.
Med techs scramble. Someone tries to take me from Texon’s arms and he snarls — actually snarls, showing teeth, until Chief appears. When did Chief get here?
“Let them work,” Chief says firmly. “Trunk. Let them work.”
Texon’s arms tighten around me for just a moment. Then, reluctantly, he transfers me to a treatment bed.
Faces hover above me. Instruments. Voices giving orders I don’t understand.
“You’re going to be fine,” someone says. A med tech, pressing something against my side. “The blade missed your vital organs. We’ll have you patched up in no time. Human pain receptors are very sensitive. You’ll feel much better soon.”
A transparent cover appears and the pain starts to fade, replaced by a floating sensation.
The last thing I see before the sedation pulls me under is Texon in the corner of the room. Still covered in blood, watching me with that expression that looks a lot like terror.
And something else.
Something that looks a lot like love.