Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“Ditto,” Jasper ground out. He’d made sure they were downwind so the Kurjans couldn’t scent them. Not yet, anyway.
Wallace stood about seven feet tall and had his black hair clipped at his nape. He wore his full black Kurjan uniform with a myriad of silver medals on his chest. He motioned for Leah to exit the vehicle.
Jasper tensed. He’d given her explicit orders. She opened the door and smoothly stepped out, facing Wallace on uneven ground.
“Damn it,” Jasper muttered.
* * * *
Leah settled her stance and pulled the weapon from the back of her waist to point at Wallace. The rain beat down, matting her hair to her head, but she didn’t blink. “Where are the women?” She kept the weapon pointed at her enemy, crossing one leg over the other to step to the side and maintain balance.
He wiped rain off his face. “You’re outnumbered here.”
Actually, they were evenly matched, but this guy didn’t realize that. The wind blew hard against her toward the forest, where she felt Jasper. It surprised her that Wallace hadn’t realized Jasper and Dax were close. They’d positioned themselves perfectly. “You made me a promise.”
Wallace grinned, revealing sharpened canines. “They’re in the plane. I can’t exactly just leave them all here.”
“They can come out now.” Chills cascaded down her back. She gestured with her weapon. “You realize this is an immortal weapon, right?”
He lifted one shoulder as if he didn’t care. She wouldn’t kill him if she shot him, but she could take him out for a brief time.
Both of the soldiers lifted their weapons to point at her.
“You shoot me, they shoot you, and I’ll heal quickly,” Wallace said, unconcerned.
“I aim for the brain.” She set her stance. “You may recover, but it’ll take a while.”
His smile widened. “I am thinking maybe I shouldn’t save you for my brother.” His gaze wandered over her form and back up to her face. “You know we have vials of the virus 27 in our coffers, don’t you?”
She cocked her head. The virus supposedly negated the mating bond, but as far as she knew, it had only been used on mates who’d lost their loves years and years ago. “I was not aware of that fact.”
“Yes. We’ve learned how to synthesize it, as well.”
He still hadn’t lost his smile, and she fought the very real urge to shoot him in the face.
“Have you used it on anybody?”
“Not yet. I figured you’d be the first.” His eyes gleamed.
She blinked rain out of her eyes. “I’m mated. The virus doesn’t work if one’s mate is still living.”
His eyes swirled with darkness through the purple. “We’ll just see about that, won’t we? Now, how about you get into the plane?”
“How about you let the women go?”
“It looks like we’re at a stalemate,” he spat. “Shoot her in the leg,” he ordered.
The soldier to his right lowered his weapon. Just then, twin pings echoed from the forest, and green lasers arced through the stormy day, hitting both soldiers in the chest. They flew backward and crashed to the muddy earth, sending up splotches and creating craters from their shockingly heavy bodies.
Jasper and Dax ran out of the forest, firing rapidly. Wallace dove to the ground and rolled, knocking Leah off her feet. She screamed and tried to shoot him, but he casually batted the gun out of her hand.
He stood, holding her in front of him like a shield, covering his head and chest as he backed to the plane and swiftly climbed the stairs backward.
Jasper and Dax ran forward while the other two soldiers stood and started firing. Jasper leaped to the left, and his brother went the other way as they dropped and rolled, coming up and firing some more. Green lasers filled the darkened day from both sides.
Leah struggled furiously, but Wallace held tight. Ducking his head, he maneuvered them both inside and hit a red button on the wall. The stairs started to lift into the plane.
“No.” Panicking, she shot an elbow into his gut.
He partially bent and let out a pained oof before throwing her into a leather seat. “Sit. Let’s go,” he called to the two Kurjan pilots in the front.
The engines started immediately. Leah scrambled to stand and looked toward the back of the plane, which had been reconfigured into a cage of sorts. Seven women stood behind the bars, their eyes wide, and their ages ranging from approximately eighteen to forty.
“Where are we going?” a tall redhead snapped, her fingers wrapping around a bar.
“Home,” Wallace said. He looked at Leah. “Do I need to tie you?”
“Why don’t you put me in the little cage there?” she suggested.
He looked back at the women.
Yeah, opening the door would be risky, but if she could get all seven of them to fight and rush him at once, it may work.