Razor's Traitorous Heart: The Alliance Book 2 (26 page)

Jordan slid down the wall as Sword jerked
the body of the guard away from her. Her hands went to her bruised
throat even as she watched Sword turn the male and slice through
his neck. She turned her head and closed her eyes as blood
splattered outward.

She jerked when she felt a pair of warm
hands tenderly grip her forearms. She looked up with frightened
eyes at Sword as he knelt in front of her. Her bottom lip trembled
and her eyes filled with tears before she determinedly brushed them
away.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly.

“Ye… yes,” she forced out. “Tha… thank
you.”

Sword’s eyes softened and he held out his
hands to her to help her up. He noticed the way she kept her eyes
averted from the guard’s body. He also felt the trembling that
shook her slender frame. The thing that really moved him was the
determination in her eyes. He glanced down at her wrists. They were
bare of any markings. He did not know if this female belonged to
Dagger. Her insistence on finding him made Sword believe that she
might. If she didn’t, he might claim her for himself.

“There are no other guards that I could tell
from here on,” Kali whispered hoarsely. “The guard here controlled
the locking mechanisms to each section.”

“I will take care of it,” Sword said.

He guided Jordan into the small room
containing the control station for the holding cells. Within
minutes, he returned with the keys to the locking devices for all
three levels. Fortunately, the cells used an older model that did
not require a passcode to unlock. It depended on a manual release.
Unfortunately, it meant he needed to go to each level and pull the
release on specific cells at the end of each corridor. It was a
double safety standard in case the prisoners escaped, they would be
unable to get out of the lower levels.

He flicked through the vidcom until he found
the cells holding Razor, Hammer and Trig. They were on the second
level. All the other cells were empty except for two other males.
He flicked down to the third level. Each cell was empty except for
the very last one. A dark figure sat in the shadows. Only his hands
were visible. The rest was hidden in the darkness. Dagger.

“I’ve found them,” Sword murmured. “I’ll go
to level two and release Razor, Hammer and Trig first.”

“Dagger?” Jordan asked in a fearful
voice.

“He is in the last cell on the left on the
third level,” Sword replied, glancing at Jordan. “I won’t leave
him.”

Jordan glanced down at the screen to the
vidcom. She saw the dark figure. His hands clenched and unclenched
as he sat shrouded in the shadows.

“I’ll go release him,” she said.

“I don’t want you down there alone. Jordan,
he has been held for over two years. He… he might not be sane after
what he has been through,” Sword said hesitantly. “It might be
necessary to knock him out.”

Jordan watched the figure rise up. Dagger
stepped into the dim light and glared at the camera. A long scar
ran along his right cheek. Cold hatred glared back at her.

“Go, do what you have to,” she murmured.
“I’ll make sure that you aren’t trapped down there.”

“Stay here. Lock the door in case anyone
comes. I will return in ten minutes,” Sword said, stepping out of
the room.

“I’ll be okay. Go. I want to get out of
here,” Jordan replied as her eyes flashed over the dead body of the
guard. “Just… free them.”

*.*.*

Kali waited silently outside the thick
double doors; a confident mask of calm on her face. She was
thankful she had learned to hide her true feelings. Cannon would
have bundled her up and had her back on the
Journey
before
she could say her name if he knew how scared she was under it.

“He will see you now,” a heavyset female
grunted.

Kali ignored the nasty grin on the female’s
face. The receptionist had the face of a toad complete with large
moles and bumps that looked a lot like warts. Kali strode into the
main office of the Drethulan, not turning around as the wart-face
bitch closed the door behind them, sealing them inside.

She noted that there was another male
besides the Drethulan in the room. He was tall and thickly built
with black hair and brilliant dark violet eyes. His features were
surprisingly humanoid. He watched them as they entered, a
speculative look in his eyes as she stopped and held his gaze in
challenge. The trace of a smile curved his lips upward as he bowed
his head.

“I will leave you for now, my lord,” the man
murmured, straightening up.

The Drethulan ignored the male as he walked
out of the room. His eyes were assessing Kali and the four males
behind her. The dark eyes blinked slowly as she folded her arms
across her chest.

“I heard you were looking for fighters,”
Kali announced in a determined voice.

“And you have one to sell?” The Drethulan
replied, his dark eyes following Kali’s hands as she placed them on
her slim hips and tossed her head.

“Yes!” She hissed. “The bastard thought I
wouldn’t care if he cheated on me!”

The Drethulan glanced at Cannon’s pained
expression. He noted the stun collar around his neck and the ones
connected to both wrists. His eyes flickered back to him and then
to the three guards that stood behind him. All three belonged to
The Hole’s
security team. He did not know each of the guards
yet, but knew that they would never have been able to get into the
building without an access key.

“You expect me to believe you captured a
Trivator warrior on your own?” He hissed in distrust.

“Kali,” Cannon began.

Kali swiveled and looked up at Cannon’s
face. “Don’t you, Kali me! I
saw
you! I saw you and
her!”

“Kali, I don’t…” Cannon began, but stopped
when Kali turned her back on him.

“I drugged his drink last night,” Kali cried
out in rage and hurt. “He thought he could sleep with me after
being… after being…” She lowered her head and sniffed before
raising angry eyes to the Drethulan. “No male will treat me like
that and live.”

For a moment, silence froze the room before
the sound of a rusty chuckle slowly built. The Drethulan stepped
closer to Kali and ran his eyes up and down her. He dismissed her
as being a profitable commodity. She was too fragile to be used as
a whore and too dangerous to keep for himself. Though maybe the
Kassis warlord would be interested. He focused his gaze back on the
cuffed male standing behind her.

The Trivator warrior was a different story.
With four of them, his profit level would substantially increase.
He walked around Cannon with a slow, measuring look. He liked the
fire in the male’s eyes. He would be deadly. He might even be able
to sell his body to some of his more affluent female customers.

“A hundred credits,” the Drethulan said.

“Two hundred,” Kali countered. “I have to
pay to get off this rock.”

The Drethulan’s mouth tightened before he
nodded. “Two hundred,” he agreed, knowing he would get his credits
back with interest from the fights.

Kali held out her hand for the credit chip.
The Drethulan snorted and returned to his desk. He inserted a chip
and transferred the credits onto it. Walking back around the side
of his desk, he handed Kali the disk.

“What species are you?” He asked with
assessing frown. “I have not seen your kind before.”

“No, you haven’t,” Kali replied over her
shoulder as she turned back to Cannon and ran her hand up his
chest. “I’m not from around here. Goodbye sugar, I hope you get
what’s coming to you.”

Kali knew this part of the plan had been the
hardest for Cannon to accept. Kali slipped the key into the lock of
the cuff around his neck at the same time as he pulled the key for
the ones on his wrists from the waistband of her pants.

The Raftian had warned her that the cuffs
would be scanned to make sure they were active before Cannon would
be allowed into the complex. In fact, it had been checked twice.
Once upon entering and again by the wart-faced receptionist who
insisted on testing it. The bolt, even on the lowest setting, had
knocked Cannon to his knees with a low groan.

They could not take the chance of Cannon
being disabled and defenseless. The plan was for Kali to release
the cuff around his neck while he freed his hands, then find a safe
corner while Cannon and the other men killed the Drethulan. She had
been more than happy to stand back when she found out the damn guy
could shift into a large deadly worm creature when angered.

“Good luck,” Kali whispered as she brushed
her lips next to Cannon’s ear in a display of affection. “He has a
pistol in the left drawer of his desk.”

She still had her arms around Cannon’s neck
when the double doors to the office burst inward. Her eyes froze on
Razor’s furious face. Time stood still as they gazed at each other
before speeding up a
s
the Drethulan roared
out in rage.

Kali felt her body being lifted at the same
time as Razor, Hammer, Trig and Sword swept into the room with a
terrifying war cry. Cannon swung her around and tossed her toward
the Trusset who caught her and set her gently in the corner with a
wink. Kali pressed her back up against the wall as the Drethulan
started shaking and expanding.

This was nothing like what she was used to
fighting. Her hand went to her stomach as it turned when a putrid
smell poured from the creature. She covered her nose and mouth
trying to minimize breathing it in. It was no use, her stomach
rolled in rebellion.

She turned at the same time as the
wart-faced bitch came through the door with a laser pistol. Kali
opened her mouth and threw up all over the woman’s arm. The female
screeched and stumbled sideways.

Kali fell back against the wall as another
wave of nausea swept through her. She had to get out of the room.
The other woman snarled at Kali as she shook her arms. A look of
disgust twisted her ugly face before she switched the laser pistol
to her other hand.

“I am going to kill you,” she screeched.

Kali was too sick to care at that moment.
She leaned forward as her stomach heaved again as more of the
nauseous odor filled the room. She lifted her hand in a feeble
attempt to stop the woman. Her eyes closed when the Trusset saw
what was happening and grabbed the female by the arm. He lifted her
up and tossed her at the Drethulan.

The sound of bones breaking and the woman’s
screams was too much for Kali. She stumbled forward and out of the
doors of the office desperately gasping in fresh, untainted air.
Sliding her hand along the wall, she slid down it just on the other
side of the doors.

Soon the room grew quiet. Kali sat on the
floor with her head on her knees uncaring if the world stopped at
that moment. In fact, she hoped it did because it was spinning like
a tilt-a-whirl on steroids. She moaned when a pair of hands
tenderly cupped her face and forced it up. She closed her eyes to
keep from seeing the room.

“Kali,
fi’ta
, are you alright?”
Razor’s deep voice asked urgently.

Kali slowly opened her eyes and gave him a
weak smile. She didn’t have the energy to respond verbally. She
laid her cheek against his hand and closed her eyes.

“Jordan?” She finally whispered with her
eyes still closed.

“Gone,” Razor said quietly. “Along with
Dagger.”

Almost a month later, Kali stood looking out
of the viewport at her new home. The planet was slightly larger
than the Earth. Where the Earth looked like a large blue and white
marble, Rathon was a dark green with the swirls of white. Over half
of the planet was covered by an emerald green ocean.

They had left the Tressalon star system
shortly after discovering that Dagger had stolen Arindoss’ personal
starship. Since there was no current new owner to
The Hole
and the starship had probably been stolen from its previous owner,
there was no reason to stay once Trig had finally been able to talk
with Dagger. The conversation must not have gone very well as Trig
looked pissed and Razor infuriated. Razor finally told her that
Dagger said he would return Jordan to Rathon… when he was
ready.

“Do you think it is safe for Jordan to be
with Dagger right now? I know Sword and Cannon were worried about
his mental stability after being held for so long,” she had asked
as Razor ordered the
Journey
to return to Rathon.

She remembered Razor’s aggravated sigh
before he responded. “I do not believe he will harm Jordan. From
what Hunter has told me, Dagger is very protective of her. It is
obvious from her determination to find Dagger that Jordan feels the
same. He refused to tell Trig where he was going, but I imagine it
is to a safe place. I cannot see him putting Jordan in danger.”

“But, if he isn’t thinking straight,” Kali
said before her voice faded and a small smile curved her lips
upward. “You’re right. Jordan can handle him.”

Razor’s eyes narrowed at the look on Kali’s
face. “Why do you think that?”

“Because she loves him,” Kali replied,
tilting her head to the side.

Razor shook his head. “I am not sure even
that will save him,” he had responded quietly.

*.*.*

Kali turned as the door slid open behind
her. A smile lit up her face when she saw Razor standing
silhouetted in the doorway. He had been busy all morning with
Hammer in preparation of their arrival so she hadn’t seen much of
him.

“It’s time,” Razor told her with a returning
smile. “Now, I will take you to our home.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Kali replied,
glancing back down at the planet. “It looks so beautiful from
space.”

“It is beautiful down there as well,” Razor
commented. “Come, the shuttle is ready.”

“You said that there are dangerous animals
that roam the forests,” Kali said as she threaded her fingers
through his. “Will we be living near them?”