Alien Rescue (Latrothian Warrior Series Book 2) Read online

  Alien Rescue

  Dena Christy

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Coming Soon

  Also by Dena Christy

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  Copyright © 2016 by Dena Christy

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Art by Melody Simmons

  Chapter One

  They say that when you’re about to die your life flashes before your eyes. If that’s true, Collette Beauleau thought hers would be very shallow.

  Don’t think like that. She would find a way out of this. She had to. Her life couldn’t end like this. Tied to a chair in a dank building that smelled of dusty wood, old concrete and things long forgotten. There had to more to her life than for him to take it here. There was still so much left for her to do, and she wanted the chance to live the life she wanted.

  She didn’t fool herself into thinking that she’d made a big difference in the world, or that she was ever going to. Her life was a tiny blip, hardly worth mentioning. She’d made a few people happy, for money and that was about it.

  If she got out of here, she would make what changes she could. She would try to be a better person, a more giving person. All she needed was a chance.

  Her eyes tracked the man pacing in front of her. Why hadn’t she let Reggie install a more sophisticated security system on the apartment when he’d offered? Maybe she wouldn’t be sitting here contemplating her life if she had.

  What she’d done was scoff at the need for more security. Her apartment was in a secure building with a security guard sitting in the front lobby. It was the safest place she could be, it was her home. In her wildest dreams, she hadn’t thought anyone with malicious intentions would get past the security desk, but that’s exactly what happened. She’d never expect to find a man with a gun to be standing in her living room.

  “Do you think this will work?” Her voice stronger than she felt on the inside. That was good. She didn’t want him to get off on the notion that he intimidated her. She needed a plan to get out of here, but nothing had come to her yet. If she kept him talking, maybe inspiration would strike, and this would become a bad dream. He hadn’t killed her yet. That was a good sign. Right?

  Dr. Avery turned toward her. His eyes held the feverish light of madness. There was a tiny flicker of surprise there too, as if he couldn’t quite believe that she dared question him. It was almost like she was a mouse who had scurried across the floor and wanted to strike up a conversation.

  His contempt for her was there too. That was a look she was very familiar with. It was one she received when people found out what she did for a living, and she could spot it easily. People acted weird when she said she was a chippy.

  She was a rich man’s mistress. Her profession entailed providing companionship, sex and something decorative to look at, and in exchange she was provided with a place to live and given money and gifts. As far as professions went, it didn’t exactly make a mark on the world. Her mother was a chippy before her, and any other path Collette wanted to tread was out of the question. It made his looks of disgust unfair, but that was life on Nova Earth, hardly fair unless you were rich and male.

  “She’ll come.” He turned away to pace more.

  No one would question his confidence, but for the sake of her best friend Miranda, she wanted him to be wrong. But what she wanted hardly mattered in this situation. She hadn’t wanted to make the call to Miranda either, but the laser pistol he jammed to the temple convinced her to do it.

  “She’s smarter than that.” Even as she said it, she knew her friend would come. Miranda was very bright, but unfortunately she was also very loyal, and that sense of loyalty to Collette might send her straight into the path of this freak show. When she came, hopefully it wouldn’t be alone, despite Dr. Fuckstick’s instructions. Maybe that dreamy hunk of alien would come with her and cram the pistol up Miranda’s former boss’ ass. She’d like to see that.

  “If Miranda had been smart, she would not have started any of this. Don’t think I didn’t notice how willing she was to throw everything away for the sake of that… creature.” There was enough venom in that statement to tell Collette a lot about him.

  “Did you think that you would sweep Miranda off her feet, and you would live happily ever after?” She was on thin ice, but if he was going to kill her anyway, she might as well have her say. “What exactly do you have to offer her?”

  “I would have given her everything, but she never saw me for who I really was.” A flush crept up his face and the look in his eyes got wilder. He waved the pistol around in agitation.

  That hit a nerve. She studied him for a split second, and what she saw showed her the chink in his armor.

  “Oh I think she saw the real you, all right. A soft, middle-aged alcoholic is a real catch.” She’d seen enough to know the type, and the flaring of his nostrils and the snarling of his upper lip said she was right. He stomped over to her, and she backed herself for what she knew was coming.

  He lashed out, like a striking snake, and the back of his hand slammed into the side of her face. She gasped in pain and her head turned to the side. A stinging heat blossomed on her cheek, but fortunately the blow failed to shred the soft inner flesh of her mouth against her teeth.

  She couldn’t just sit there and wait to die like a reasonable person. She had to run her mouth, and try to score points off him, as if this was a game that she could walk away from if she won. This idiot was crazy, the dangerous kind of crazy. There was no telling what he might do.

  If he kills you, he kills you. Laying down and letting him do it won’t make you any less dead.

  “I’d be very careful with the abuse if I were you.” She turned her face back to face him. Her voice steady and there was nothing in it to give him the satisfaction of knowing he hurt her. “You won’t get away with this, and once you’re caught, it will go a lot worse for you if I’m harmed.”

  “And how will I be caught exactly? The only person who knows you’re here is Miranda, and she’ll do what she’s told out of concern for you. No one else will miss you.” He looked her up and down. Slapping her seemed to have calmed him, which told her a lot more about what kind of asshole he was. The insecure, needs to lash out and hurt a woman kind. Could be why women weren’t exactly lining up to be with him. A glance at his placid face said it would be better not to mention it to him. Besides, she had other weapons in her arsenal.

  “There might be one or two more people who would miss me.” Reggie would spare her a thought. He’d invested a lot of money in her.

  “That rich man you whore for? You think he will miss you? You’re deluding yourself. Women like you are easily replaced.” He turned away to pace over to the window and look outside.

  That stung a lot more than the slap he’d delivered, more than it should, coming from a deluded nut job like him. One thing she didn’t have was job security, and she doubted that she would
end her career with a nice retirement package. Surely Reggie would at least spare a thought for her if she suddenly disappeared before replacing her with someone else. Wouldn’t he?

  She hoped she had a few years left before he replaced her with a younger model. She was only twenty-five years old, and young and beautiful enough to be choosy about whom she set herself up with. Her best years were still ahead of her, at least if this douche bag didn’t kill her first.

  “I think you’ll be surprised over how much I’m worth.”

  “Property, even if it’s expensive, can always be replaced.”

  He turned back and approached her. What was he going to do now?

  She pulled against the bonds holding her wrist, but they were just as tight as when he first tied them. Damn it. She should have focused on getting loose instead of trying to score points off him.

  She looked up at him , and the muscles in her stomach tightened. By the look on his face, it appeared he’d grown tired of hearing her voice.

  He pulled a rag out of his pocket, and she moved her face around to avoid it. Making his hand chase her mouth with the rag didn’t endear her to him, and she winced when his fingers dug into the soft flesh of her cheeks. He jerked her face forward and pulled her mouth open and crammed the rag inside. He pulled out another piece of cloth and used it to tie the balled up rag in place. The only thing she could focus on now was breathing through her nose as the rag dried up every bit of saliva in her mouth. She glared at him, but it didn’t appear to make an impression.

  “You talk too much.”

  A noise came from the other room, and his head turned sharply in that direction. A smug look came over his face and she wanted to spit at it, to erase it somehow. Don’t let it be Miranda.

  Her prayer went unanswered when Miranda’s voice called out. She whimpered behind the gag, and Dr. Avery didn’t spare her a second glance as he turned and walked out of the room. She squeezed her eyes tight, and her head dropped forward.

  The door at the back of the room opened, and Collette turned her head, blinking rapidly against the bright sunlight that spilled into the room. A man’s silhouette, the tall broad body of a warrior, stepped into the doorway, blocking out the light. She blinked again as her eyes adjusted to the light and she got a good look at him.

  He was dressed in the black uniform of a soldier, and he held himself a tense alertness that didn’t appear for show. His eyes swept the room, taking everything in. He walked further inside, and Collette’s heart dropped to her stomach when he pulled a knife out of the sheath strapped to his side. It was big, long and looked sharp enough to cut through a vulnerable throat as easily as cutting through butter.

  This was it then. Dr. Avery, that bastard, had thought of everything, and now he was going to get one of his henchmen to kill her for him. He strode over to stand behind her and made quick work of the bonds at her wrists.

  Her shoulders ached as she brought them forward to pull the gag off, and spit out the rag. Her mouth was so dry that she couldn’t form any words, not even the ones she needed to offer him a bargain for not killing her. She had to try.

  “Please don’t hurt me.” She sounded like she was begging but if it worked, she’d go with it. As much as she wanted to be brave, she found now that the moment of her demise was at hand, she couldn’t put a courageous face on it.

  He looked at her like what she was saying didn’t compute as he knelt to cut the bonds to her ankles. Had Dr. Avery hired a dullard?

  As soon as her legs were free, she lifted them up, and lashed out, hitting him in the middle of his chest. The blow caught him by surprise and knocked him out of his squatting position and onto his ass. She sprang out of the chair.

  Miranda needed help, and she’d get it as soon as she took care of this thug. She lifted her leg to lash out at him with her foot, but he caught her ankle quickly. Why hadn’t she run from the room when she had the chance?

  “Shit lady, this is the thanks I get for trying to rescue you? I have a suggestion, what don’t you calm the hell down and we’ll get the hell out here. Do you think you can handle that without trying to beat the shit out of me? Your friend Evie is waiting outside”

  She paused for a second, frozen to her spot as let go of her ankle. He stood up and brushed off the back of his pants. There was no rage on his face, he didn’t rush her and attack. He stood there looking at her like she’d lost her mind. She clung to the one word that he’d used that gave her hope that this nightmare was over.

  Evie.

  “Evie’s alive?” This could all be a trick, but she didn’t think so. How would he know about Evie unless she really was alive and waiting? And he’d remained where he was, making no move to attack her.

  “Yes she is, and you can see her right now if we leave this building.” There was a note of impatience in his voice as he pointed to the door.

  Was it true? Was Evie alive? She couldn’t make her feet move, couldn’t scarcely make herself believe that her ordeal was over.

  His eyes probed hers, and his face softened.

  “Come on, let’s get you out of here and we’ll go see your friend.” He stepped toward her, his movements slow, as if he was dealing with a frightened animal that he didn’t want to spook. He put his hand on the small of her back and gently propelled her to the door that led outside.

  Once outside, she saw that he wasn’t lying. Evie was standing there, alive and whole. Everything she’d gone through since Dr. Avery showed up at her apartment slammed through her. She trembled as she went forward into the open arms of her friend and burst into tears.

  Well, that didn’t exactly go as expected. When Ryce had cut Collette’s bonds free, he’d thought he’d get a different reaction. Gratitude perhaps. Maybe a little adulation? A kick squarely in the chest hadn’t really seemed appropriate, but he couldn't get mad about it. She hadn’t hurt him much, and he deserved to be knocked on his ass for being so complacent.

  Good for her, trying to rescue herself. Who knew what that bastard Dr. Avery had put her though before he got there, but she hadn’t been cowed by him. There was a bruise on her face, so he knew that she’d been abused, but she hadn’t let that stop her. She had fight in her.

  He watched her with her friend, and after a moment tore his eyes away from her to scan the perimeter of the building. She was easy on the eyes, with her long blond hair and petite curves, but he had to focus on other things.

  It was his job to guard the two women standing a short distance away from him, and while he might want to go back into the warehouse, he stayed put. Synn could handle himself and he had asked him to stay with the women to keep them safe.

  Come on, Synn. What was taking so long? Dr. Avery was no match for his friend, but Synn was vulnerable because of Miranda. His friend had never had a woman before, so his focus would be divided between stopping Dr. Avery and keeping Miranda safe. He would give them a few more minutes, then he was going to go in there.

  Footsteps came from the side of the building, and Ryce tensed. The steps came closer and closer, but he couldn't see who they belonged to. His muscles were tight as he took a step toward the corner of the building and braced himself for the fight that might be coming.

  Synn and Miranda came around the corner, and his body sage for a moment. They could now get the women out of there and get on with finding their commander Cynric. The mission to save Collette had been a temporary diversion, and now it was time to get on with their real mission.

  Miranda rushed over to the other women, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth when relieved feminine voices reached his ears. It was a foreign sound, but a soothing one. He hadn't been exposed to many women on his home planet, and suddenly he wasn't in such a rush to leave. The women needed to assure themselves that everything was all right, and they had a few moments to do that.

  “You take care of him?”

  Synn nodded as he came to stand beside him. His friend’s eyes went to Miranda, and his feelings for her were clear
. Hopefully they would both stop fooling themselves into thinking that they could live without each other. The mark on Synn’s chest proclaimed Miranda was his true mate, and from what Ryce had seen in Miranda’s eyes, she returned his friend’s love.

  They walked over to join the women, and Miranda tucked herself up against Synn’s side. Ryce looked at Collette, wrapped in a blanket and leaning against Evie’s van. What would it be like to have her cuddled up beside him?

  You’re not going to find out, so you better stop thinking about it.

  “We need to go.” Ryce jammed his hands in his pocket and rocked back on his heels.

  Evie turned to Collette and ran a hand down her shiny blond hair. “Do you want to come back to my bunker?”

  Collette bit her lip and shook her head. “I want to go home.”

  She was pale, her features pinched with exhaustion and the aftermath of hours spent in fear. No wonder she wanted to go home to familiar surroundings.

  Synn walked over to the car they assumed belonged to Dr. Avery and used his thumb to open it. Evie joined him and put something inside the car. He should go over with them, but his feet were welded to the spot in front of her.

  “I’ll take you home.” The words were out before he thought about it. He’d already done his duty by freeing her, and since she wasn’t exactly throwing herself at him, there was really no need for him to get further involved. Synn could have taken her home as easily as him. When she looked up at him with her huge blue eyes, having his friend take her home wasn’t what he wanted. He needed to do it.

  She nodded and together they walked over to Dr. Avery’s car. He rushed to the passenger side door and opened it for her. When she climbed in, he made sure that she didn’t bump her head. He shut the door behind her and walked around the back of the car.

  Synn put his hand on his arm, stopping his forward motion.

  “Can I talk to you?” Synn pulled him out of hearing distance of the women.