Tangled Fates (4 page)

“Annis, remind me that you have to watch this movie. There is this fight scene that you’ll

love. Hell, we’ll make some popcorn and throw back a couple of brews.”

She reached across the aisle, looking for Blake’s hand. He found hers and squeezed. “I

would like that, Blake.”

“Yeah, you’re going to love this.”

He let go of her hand, and she turned her head toward the windows.

Blake. She loved it when the sun went down and her sight returned. He often greeted her

with a wide smile and a twinkle in his hazel eyes. He kept his black hair short, and she was

grateful he had gotten rid of that God-awful blond color Liberty and Faith had dyed it to rescue

Annis and an SR44 male named Micah who had been captured by the human government. Blake

had reminded her of a skunk for a few weeks with his half-black, half-white hair. Thankfully, he

didn’t smell like one. As she understood it, there were very few odors that compared to the

miserable creature.

Blake’s nose bent slightly at the bridge, as if he had possibly broken it in a past time. His

skin wasn’t exactly white, but more of a lightly tanned color, especially now that he was spending time outside. From what descent he came from, she did not know. What she did know

was that he was terribly handsome. They got along famously, and he made her laugh.

It was interesting being attracted to two males. One of them apparently hated her, and the

other was very kind and seemed to care for her quite a bit.

She thought of Liberty, who was now happily mated to the Warrior Jovan. Before the

Miladrids had attacked, the Royal Congress had dismantled much of the SR44 military, and

Annis was assigned as a guard to Liberty’s father.

Liberty’s father, who also happened to be Noah’s father, had been instrumental in the

decimation of the military ranks. Many thought he had lost his mental faculties, but he claimed

that they had prepared for a war that never happened, and would not happen if history were any

indication of things to come. He also stated that he didn’t want another SR44ian to suffer the loss

that he had when his son Noah, and the rest of the Six Saviors, had not returned from their

mission or eradicating the Colonists.

She would never forget when her and eleven others were ordered to board their vessel to

escape the chaos that had become SR44. Their mission had been simple: they were to carry on

the SR44 race, and they were to do so on Earth. There were cries of anguish for those being left

behind, anger at those who had been chosen to leave, and infighting among the troopers as to

who was in charge. On top of all the emotional turmoil, there were the physical transformations

that needed to be dealt with. Going from a smoky form into a human body took some getting

used to, as did learning how the body moved and worked.

The vessel was also bare, as there was no time to prepare. Small rations of SR44 food

were placed on the craft, but there were no comforts. They all sat and slept on the stark metal

floor.

From her corner, she had watched a trooper named Micah take over, her anger seething.

He was terrible to the other females who had been chosen to carry on the race, sometimes

grabbing his crotch and threatening them that he was in charge, and when he decided it was time

start making offspring, they had better be ready. Only one female on the vessel knew what he

meant by this, and she was often seen laying in a fetal position in tears. Liberty and the others

didn’t understand the semantics of human sexuality, but apparently Micah had been briefed.

Annis learned the hard way after landing on Earth.

He also ranted that if he was going to Earth, he would hunt high and low for the Six

Saviors, and he would kill all of them. He seemed to believe that Noah and the other Saviors

were responsible for the destruction of SR44 because they didn’t return right away as everyone

expected them to, and that’s what caused Noah and Liberty’s father to downsize the military.

As Annis and Liberty listened to Micah carry on, Annis had watched Liberty quietly turn

inward, her fear almost a palpable presence. It was then that Annis took guard of Liberty and

stayed by her side.

She never imagined she would find a friend in a meek female born of servitude, but she

had. Liberty had been a kind, innocent soul—one who Annis had originally vowed to protect—

but she ended up really caring about Liberty and considered Liberty her friend.

The other troopers they rode to Earth with hadn’t known who Liberty’s sire was, and

Annis made sure they never found out for fear that they would want to kill her as well. At the

same time she found that outcast child within herself connect to Liberty. Their friendship had

grown quickly, and they had survived together. Annis’s sight came and went, depending on the

solar system and what suns and stars they were near. It had been frightening at first, because they

didn’t know what to expect from the other troopers who eventually banned together and called

themselves The Platoon with Micah as their leader. Micah, being the largest physically, had

bullied and intimidated his way into the leadership position, and the rest of the ranks fell in line

behind him.

After a while, The Platoon—and everyone on the vessel—left Liberty and Annis alone.

Their craft crashed in the middle of the Arizona desert, and during the chaos of the rough

landing, a steel beam sliced Annis’s leg. Upon reflection, she was fortunate her leg wasn’t sliced

off. As they sifted through the wreckage, they realized that of the twelve on the craft, they had

lost three. When the helicopters and the FBI showed up, her military training, as well as her vow

to protect Liberty at all costs, took over. She had yelled at Liberty to run as far away as she

could. And that female had run, her legs pumping and working so hard that she reminded Annis

of the jackrabbits she had witnessed fleeting around the sagebrush and desert floor.

Annis hadn’t fought capture of the FBI because of her injured leg. However, Micah had.

Even after imprisonment he continued to fight at every turn, and not just with their captors, but

with her as well. They had been taken to a facility where terrible things had been done to her,

things she didn’t like to think about, and things that she hadn’t shared with anyone.

“Annis?” Blake said quietly.

She turned her head toward his voice, thankful for the intrusion into her thoughts.

“Just wanted to make sure you have your contacts in. It’s getting really close to

sundown.”

She smiled. Blake was always looking out for her. The contacts would dull the glow of

her eyes when the sun went down. They were really uncomfortable, but she was fine with the

discomfort because she would be able to see in a short amount of time.

“Thank you, Blake. Yes, I have them in. I’m looking forward to emerging from my

blackness to see the night.”

Smiling at the absurdity of her words, she turned back toward the window.

She smelled the flowery scent of the flight attendant’s perfume before she heard her soft

footsteps.

“We’ll be landing in about twenty minutes. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“No, thank you,” Annis said.

“I’m good,” Blake said in his deep voice.

The soft footsteps retreated to the back of the plane.

“What do you want to do when we get in?” Blake asked. “You want to sleep? Eat? Check

out Susan?”

Annis cast her eyes forward and took stock of her body. Slowly, shadows formed before

her eyes, almost as if there were gray ghosts dancing in front of her. Yes, she was hungry. Tired?

No. It would be nice to get up and get moving, as she didn’t do well sitting for long periods of

time.

The shimmering images before her became more pronounced, and a few seconds later the

details of the plane were crystal clear.

She looked around.

The chairs were made of soft tan leather, and she had been correct when she imagined

where the windows were. There were six rows of seats, and her and Blake sat smack in the

middle. She guessed the small door up front housed the pilot. She turned her gaze to Blake, his

smile wide, his hazel eyes sparkling. His black turtleneck hugged his broad chest.

“I think I would like to eat and then go see Susan,” she said.

Blake nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Let’s get to our hotel and check in, grab

something to eat, then get a layout of Susan’s neighborhood. Get going on the recon and see

what we come up with.”

“It sounds like an excellent plan, Blake,” Annis said as her stomach rumbled. “I want a

steak. And some garlic mashed potatoes.”

“Your wish is my command. Steak and mashed potatoes it is.”

Chapter 4

Blake stood next to Annis in the shadows of a doorway across the street from an

apartment building that was Susan Kresper’s last known address. He silently cursed the early

season snow that continued to fall around them. He stamped his feet again and huddled down

into his parka. At least they had bought warm clothes. He hated New York, especially the Bronx.

When the idea of a recon mission to watch and learn about Susan Kresper was thrown

out, Annis had immediately volunteered. Blake followed in her footsteps, and after a little bit of

talk among the Warriors, it was decided that only two people really needed to go. Four of the

Saviors were more than happy to stay at home with their mates, and the other two were useless

slabs of meat having lost their
lovrens
when SR44 was destroyed.

And besides, they were only to observe. It wasn’t like there was going to be any battles

fought or anything. If that had been the case, then the other Warriors would have stepped up to

the plate. Seriously, what could go wrong?

Over the past ten months, Blake had put on about twenty pounds of muscle mass thanks

to the workouts with the Warriors and Hudson’s healthy cooking. He had been solid before, but

now he was stronger than he had ever been in his life. And bigger. Like two sizes bigger. How

far his life had come in the past ten months. He had always known there was something

fundamentally different about him, and that knowledge had struck like a fist to the gut when he

was fifteen. He’d killed his father and the guy dissolved into a pile of black ash. He kept to

himself after that, got through school and ended up working tirelessly for the FBI. He thought he

would never really fit in anywhere with anyone—that was until he barged his way into the Six

Saviors. He had found out he was half-Colonist. In a nutshell, he got the crappy end of the DNA

helix, but he had sealed his relationship with the Six Saviors by helping them rescue Annis and

taking a bullet for Liberty.

He glanced over at Annis. She stood next to him, still as the night air. Her hands were

jammed in her black parka, and the hood over her head made it difficult to see her face.

“Little bit cold tonight,” he said quietly.

She turned her head and met his gaze. They were just about the same height. A lamppost

from across the street shone on her chocolate skin. “You’ve got that right, Blake.”

She turned her head back toward the apartment building.

Dinner had been great. They had hit the hotel steakhouse of where they were staying in

Manhattan. Annis had worn a nice pair of jeans and a cream-colored turtleneck that stood out

against her skin. If he looked carefully, he could see a slight shade of her golden eye color.

Annis was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Her skin was a

chocolate brown, and her dark cat-eyes always observed everything around her. Well, when she

could see, that is. Her lips were full and her straight, white teeth gleamed when she smiled. Her

laughter was deep and heavy, and her body tall and strong. She had no idea how incredibly sexy

she was.

Everything about her was feminine. Her hips swayed sultrily when she walked, as did the

rainbow of beads adorning the ends of her braids. Even the way she fought exuded sex. It was

graceful and beautiful, almost as if she were a ballerina ducking, shucking, kicking, and

punching.

A graceful, beautiful ballerina who could wreak havoc with a knife.

It was such a contradiction.

He remembered the first time he had offered to grapple with her. All of the Warriors had

been down in the gym either beating feet on the treadmill, working on their hand-to-hand skills,

or lifting weights. Megadeath’s, “Symphony of Destruction,” blared in the background. He had

caught movement out of the corner of his eye just as Jovan’s boxing glove made contact with his

chin and he fell to the floor.

“What the hell, Blake? You’re supposed to dodge it, not run into it!” Jovan had yelled at

him.

Blake moved his jaw around, making sure that it was still attached, his eyes never leaving

Annis. When he was certain that all of his teeth were intact and he wouldn’t be in need of any

serious dental work, he pushed himself off the mats.

Annis stood by the door in a white tank top and red sweatpants, her golden eyes staring

boldly at everyone in the gym. After a moment, the Warriors realized there was another presence

among them, and they stopped what they were doing. All their eyes were glowing their SR44

colors, staring at her.

None of them made a move.