Pure Desire [Pure 3] (Siren Publishing Allure) (15 page)

Noor moved forward. Allura took a step back. He frowned at her. Was she frightened of him now? “I would never hurt you, Allura. I’m not lying. On Sanguine, I work for the authority, which is an agency of the government. In your world, I’m the sheriff…I go after the bad people, like Sheriff Jacobs does when he rides with a possum.”

“It’s a
posse
, not possum.”

Noor grinned. “I haven’t got accustomed to reading data with my eyes open. It reflects off the inner-retinal and displays—the short version is before I came here, scientists uploaded a massive database of Texas history inside my head. I had two days to prepare with a linguist who tutored me on your dialect, scholars who taught me Texas customs, society rules, and everything I needed to know to fit in. There was no way for me to remember it all.” He pointed at his head. “I have a cheat-sheet in here.”

Allura didn’t respond and continued to look at him as if he clucked and barked. “I know you have no idea what I’m talking about and it’s frightening. I don’t know what else I can do to get you to trust me except take you to Sanguine, which I cannot do until the exact second where the conditions are conducive to travel. If not, I could kill use both.”

“That voice called me a ‘target.’ Why?”

Noor shoved his hands in his pockets. Having to answer the question made him uncomfortable, and he hesitated. “As I said earlier, I was given a mission by my government to time travel, find and secure you, and bring you to Sanguine. You are the only person who can save planet Oridus because you are the Deverill bloodline. Sweetie, he referred to you as a target, well, because you are, and I’m sorry if that sounds harsh.”

“So, you have been lying to me and my family from the beginning?”

He knew where she was about to go, and he would rather she didn’t. But the positive side was that she was beginning to believe him. Otherwise, why would she fight about it?

“Yes, but before you go off on me, let me explain. It was necessary. I had no idea what, who, or where you resided, and finding Channing was damned lucky. He lead me straight to you. He never said your last name, or I would have known before I arrived who you were. When I got the assignment, you were nothing but a portfolio of what little information we had. We didn’t even have your first name.”

“But, as soon as you realized I was supposedly this Deverill you are searching for, you still deceived me.”

“That had to happen. I couldn’t just introduce myself and say, oh, by the way, I’m from a place called Sanguine in the future, you are the savior to a planet called Oridus, and I need you to travel ahead in time with me. How would that have sounded?”

“About as ludicrous as you do now, although you are very convincing, I give you that. Still, just because you refuse to talk, rock back and forth all day, and are frightened by the strangest things like mother’s great-great cousin who is simpleminded, it doesn’t mean you aren’t, ah, special, as we like to say of Albernita.”

“I assure you I’m not only sane, my intellect is flawless,” he said. His eyes shifted briefly and followed movement.

He watched, using his peripheral vision, as figures moved in the shadow of the trees—something was circling them. Without alerting Allura, he kept his eyes peeled to the action, preferring to stay quiet about what he witnessed until he figured out if it was friend or foe.

Allura said, “How many are there?”

Noor pretended to concentrate on her. “What?”

“I counted at least three, but there could be more men hiding in the trees.”

She knew. There was no sense in trying to act otherwise. “Maybe,” Noor said, withdrawing a pistol. He cocked his gun and then moved her behind him. Allura returned to his side. He scowled down at her. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I carry a gun for a reason. I’m an excellent shot, probably better than those men.”

Noor inhaled, filling his nostrils with the odd but familiar dark and nefarious scent as something shifted and headed their direction.

They weren’t men—the first blast erupted through the quietness.

Chapter Fourteen

They looked like humans.

The things moved like humans.

Not that he was surprised. Txtrca’s transformation ability was superior among other transformer species. They not only altered outer appearance, they uncannily had the ability to become whatever they mimicked so precisely even a trained eye had a difficult time spotting differences.

They rarely ventured into the city—preferring to stay on their planet that was a small dot on the perimeter of Sanguine and far enough north to be called a distant-territory Sanguine didn’t rule. Rarely did he encounter one willing to go outside their zone, let alone their universe.

So why were they here?

A rhetorical question required no answer because he had a good idea of the answer. It was who sent them that burned in his mind. Something he intended to find out, if he could keep one alive to interrogate.

Constant shots hit dangerously close to where he and Allura crouched behind a rock formation. Shreds of stone burst and sparks of debris flew through the air as a continuous round of firepower barraged the area just over their heads.

He waited until they stopped and reloaded before he spotted their locations. The weapons were archaic, and the unfamiliarity gave him the advantage he needed. Txtrca fumbled on the reload. He lifted up, aimed, and picked off one assassin and left two to go. Or one, if he wanted to find out information, he reminded himself.

He dropped another one.

The remaining Txtrca moved through the brush, keeping low, and the look was that of a man crawling on all fours. But its swift movements gave it away. Humans couldn’t move so quickly, unless you viewed them on a visual display in fast-forward. Allura didn’t know, and he did not intend to tell her. As far as she was concerned, what she saw was men dressed like him who could easily blend in as locals if she ignored the fact they were trying to kill them. That was something she would definitely question.

How odd, he thought. He watched as the remaining Txtrca ran in the opposite direction, if that didn’t beat all. What spooked him?

It was a distraction. He realized a second too late, the moment he heard the gun click and realized he’d been tricked by a move a rookie should have known.

Something inside his chest pinged when he spun around and saw a cocked pistol pressed against Allura’s temple. He kept his eye on the trigger finger of the creature, then studied the eyes, naturally transparent and glossy under disguise hinted it was a transformer.

The other cretin circled back, came up beside his cohort, and joined the group. He looked smug. His expression was triumph as the other remained focused, unblinking, and staring through him. That one was dangerous, and it had nothing to do with the gun he held and everything to do with the rigid stance and utilitarian eyes void of conscience.

He considered himself a straightforward person. Keeping his eyes peeled and his gun pointed, he motioned toward Allura. “I’m not sure who sent you for her, and frankly, I don’t give a damn. The woman stays with me. Are we clear?”

The clicks and clucks of tongue unfamiliar to Noor, he couldn’t decipher what the thing said. It didn’t matter. “Kiss my ass—I’m not backing down” sounds the same in any language.

They had a perfect understanding. He could tell when the cheesy grinner raised his gun. He was faster and thorough, putting a blast through its chest and sending a spray of pukish green ooze and slim everywhere.

Then he turned on the other, ready to end things until the one with the attitude upped the ante by pulling Allura closer. He used her as a shield. Cowards really pissed him off, especially those who used a woman.

“If you persist, she is dead.”

“Oh, so you do understand me. Somehow, I thought so. Good. Understand this?” He raised his weapon and pointed it at Mr. Attitude. Was there anything else to say?

Allura said, “Noor.” He saw her flinch when the thing tightened his grip.

Noor didn’t draw back. His tone steely, he said, “If you could kill the lady, she would be dead by now. So, let’s suffice to say your instructions were to bring her in alive. You want her. I want her. I guess the question is who wants her the most, and you can bet your ass it’s me. You want to test my flawless theory?”

“I don’t back down.”

“Then we are at an impasse.” He stepped closer, the gun locked and centered.

“Ah, Noor…”

Mr. Attitude shifted and jerked Allura, digging his nails into her arm until she winced.

“Noor?”

It was at the forefront of his mind to tell Allura not to worry when he realized her intentions. He went shock-still seeing her inch her pistol up and along her side.

“Don’t you dare do it.” He stayed focused on Allura, hoping she understood he was talking to her.

Mr. Attitude cocked his head to the side and squinted. He was confused, not understanding Noor wasn’t talking to him. Allura was about to do something utterly foolish, and the thought of the consequences made his heart constrict and hold inside his chest so tight he couldn’t breathe.

“No, Allura!” he roared, advancing, seeing her twist her body inward and try to get the upper hand on the Txtrca. “Damn it! Fuck!” he shouted, charging forward to stop the unthinkable from happening when a shot rang out.

Hearing the pop sound made a chill race up his spine.

Everything halted, the ground beneath him started to spin, and a morass of feelings all struck hard at once and left him unbalanced, seeing Allura’s knees wobble. The movement happened in slow motion. One minute she was standing, the next, he watched horrified as her body started a slow descent toward the ground.

All the air whooshed from his lungs.

Everything happened in a millisecond as Noor dived forward, wrapped his arm protectively around Allura’s waist, and caught her before she hit the ground. The Txtrca moved. Noor maneuvered their bodies to shield Allura, and fired.

The Txtrca hit the ground with a sick thud, laying face down, sucking dust. Noor turned to Allura. “Are you hurt? Allura. Allura.” He snapped his fingers in front of her face, seeing her dazed expression. “Sweetie, answer me.”

Allura was shaking her head no.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, but he saw her attention remained on the body lying in the grass. He moved her away from the Txtrca’s body, covered her so she couldn’t see the ghastly sight. Wounded, the body began to transform back to its original form. Allura didn’t need to witness the unsightly metamorphosis. The flat forehead widened and protruded, his skin changed to a greenish hue. His neck twisted in an odd angle, he showed rows of tiny jagged teeth atop and below his mouth as he took ragged breaths.

Noor stepped up to the Txtrca and put two bullets in the back of his head.

“Come on, we need to leave. I will return later and clean up this mess before anybody sees this.” He took her arm, she moved from his touch. She shied away from him when he pursued her. Noor observed her, his body tight, acutely aware she seemed frightened of him. “Allura, you have no reason to fear me,” he said grimily. His preference was for her not to witness the darkest side of him, but it was out of his control. They were known to be resilient and could possibly be playing possum. He had to make sure the Txtrca was dead.

* * * *

Allura flinched witnessing the brute, ruthless action without conscience.

“Wha–what is it?” she murmured. Shockingly cold, she stared at him when realization dawned. “What is it? You?” The words tumbled free, spilled from her lips as numbness encased her body.

“It’s not what you think. When we return to the ranch I will explain everything in detail.” He went to take her hand, and she cringed back, almost stumbled to avoid his touch. Noor inhaled heavily, sighed, aggravated by her reaction to him. “Damn it, Allura, I’m not one of those things.”

“How do I know?” she protested.

Noor swiped his fingers through his hair, stalked to where the Txtrca was, shoved his boot in his side, flipped him over, and checked him. He looked over his shoulder, and Allura saw something harsh, unexplainable in his detached expression. “This is not what it seems. You need to trust me.”

Something overcame her, stole her breath, whipped through her in a frenzy, making her feel dizzy. “I can’t think right now. I can’t breathe…”

He made to move toward her, and she shoved her arm in his face to stop him. A searing pain shot through her shoulder. Confused, dazed, the feeling she noticed were easily ignored as she focused to come to grips with what happened. What she witnessed, the man she realized she didn’t know, her world as she knew it violently changed like slashes of storm winds and took a chokehold.

“I need time. To think…”

“I’m afraid that’s a luxury you don’t have right now.” He grabbed her arm and she cried out. He squinted, eyeing her. “What’s the matter?”

She saw his eyes narrow, darken, his nostrils flatten under her scrutiny. Regrettably, she spoke her thought aloud anyway. “Please…don’t touch me.”

“Fine. I won’t touch you, but you are leaving here with me whether you care to or not. It isn’t safe. There could be more men after you, and I’m not taking a chance.”