Initiation (Xylon Warriors 1) (20 page)

Torque smiled. “A little flash and tickle.”

“Yeah, right.” She shook her head. “Like they won’t know I’m performing for the camera and realize we’re doing something in the background. Forget it.”

“Unless you have a partner…or two. Consoling you. Making you feel better. Helping you deal with your captivity. While Braden’s putting his mark on the woman, Erik and I could—”

“No.”

Torque took a step back. The response had come like a trap snapping from the other three all at the same time. “All right. Fine. Come up with another idea then. Just make it fast.”

Voices filtered into Alexa’s brain. Voices from outside. Worried voices. Something was wrong. She had to wake up.

Pushing up from the depths of her mind, she fought her way to consciousness. Light pulsed against her eyelids, and her mouth felt uncommonly dry.

Fragments of memories flashed through her mind. Braden, Erik, Leila. And Kam. So much deceit. So much still to learn.

Her eyes fluttered open. “Braden?” Certainly, he was near. She struggled to sit up. Then she saw him, kneeling next to her, concern in his eyes.

“You’re awake. I hadn’t expected you to come around so soon. Are you all right?”

She held the blanket against her skin. Scratchy. She glanced beneath it. “I’m naked.” She was actually surprised at how calm her voice sounded. But, somehow, she didn’t feel panicked. Yet.

Braden turned to a man she didn’t recognize. “Torque, give her your shirt.”

That’s when she noticed that Braden and Erik were shirtless. Erik looked wounded, but healing. Braden looked uninjured.

The memory of Braden’s naked body flashed through her mind. And how he’d transferred the healing ability to her. She had to shake her head to rid herself of the erotic image.

Her gaze flickered over their surroundings. A cell. Not good.

She saw Leila crouched on the ground, a wound on her thigh. Was she hovering over Kam? Concern rose to near fear. “Is Kam okay?”

“He’ll be fine, Alexa,” Braden answered.

She relaxed, her muscles releasing, but her heart still pounded. She took the offered shirt and tugged it on beneath the blanket. “Where are we?”

“On the Marid ship,” the man whom Braden had called Torque said. “I imagine they’ll be coming for you soon.”

Braden rubbed his chin. “We have to keep you away from them. They can’t sterilize you, but they’ll keep you imprisoned. They’ll come for Leila, too.”

She shivered at the thought. And at what Braden probably
wasn’t
saying. “Anyone have any ideas?” She tossed the blanket aside and slowly got to her feet. Dang, she was sore. Everywhere.

Torque backed off, mumbling to himself. Braden sat down on the cot. Erik crowded into the corner and refused to look at her. More memories—sexual memories—flashed through her mind. She pushed them aside for now.

“When they come for us, maybe we can overpower them.”

“They’ll send assassins,” Braden replied. “It’s the most effective, given the situation. We’ll be essentially helpless without any weapons. We won’t stand a chance.”

She sat down on the cot next to him and took his hand in hers. She trusted Braden. He would keep them safe somehow. She had to believe that. She wanted some sort of permanent relationship after this was over and done. She needed it. Never had she experienced closeness as she felt with him. A closeness beyond the mere connection of their bodies. “What do you think?”

He squeezed her fingers. “Element of surprise, maybe. Come up with something they won’t anticipate.”

“How many will they send?”

“I don’t know. They won’t expect much of a fight out of you or Leila. I imagine they’ll send two or three assassins to deal with the rest of us. Maybe some Egesa to drag you and Leila out of the cell. That’s how I’d handle it.”

“But they’ll be armed. So what can we do?”

* * * * *

“We can’t sterilize her,” Dare transmitted a second time, impatience in his voice. He watched the prisoners on the cell monitor, switching the view to a close-up of Alexa.

Shear leaned over the transmitter. “Daegal, are you there?”

Silent moments passed before a hesitant reply finally came. “The sterilization doesn’t matter. We have her. That’s enough. As long as she hasn’t been Branded, she’s ours. Get her separated from the men. Don’t let any of them place their mark on her.”

Rave ran her fingers up and down the front of Dare’s shirt. “We’re watching them. Don’t worry. We want Leila, too.”

“Oh, yeah.” Shear salivated, drool wetting his chin. “I’ve got some payback to take out on that bitch.”

“Fine,” Daegal said. “She’s all yours, as long as you record whatever you do to her. I want to see.”

Rave laughed. “We’ll give you hours of entertainment before disposing of her.”

“Disposing? You’re not going to sell her as a sex slave?”

Dare grabbed his crotch. “Maybe. If she survives, and begs us nicely.”

Shear laughed. “She’ll beg all right.” He rubbed his hands together. “But it’ll do no good. Both those whores are breeders we can’t sterilize. They have to die. Alexa will be the perfect appetizer, before we devour luscious Leila. I’m gonna teach that little cunt to show me some respect.”

“I don’t want any of them killed, until we question them,” Daegal ordered. “They’re too important. Do you hear me? I’ve already issued that order to all Egesa and highbred assassins, and I expect it to be followed.”

The cell monitor buzzed, then went to fuzz.

Shear’s head snapped around. “What the fuck?”

“My monitor just went blank.” Daegal’s voice rose across the open channel. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Dare transmitted.

Rave checked her weapons. “Nothing to worry about, I’m sure. They can’t get out of there. And they won’t have time to do a Branding.” She ran a hand down Dare’s chest, then massaged his cock through his pants. “Come on, boys. Let’s go get them. Time for the party to begin.”

Chapter Thirteen

Alexa lay on the cot on her stomach. She tried to control her breathing as much as possible. Her heart pounded so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if it lifted her right off the stained, wafer-thin mattress.

The black shirt she wore smelled vaguely of Torque. The back of the soft material rested above her bare ass. Braden lay on top of her, the front of his pants open. He nuzzled the back of her ear.

Despite the seriousness of their situation, she felt itchy and needy from his weight and touch. He stroked her sides softly with his fingertips, trying to ease her tension. It didn’t help. The warmth of each tender stroke simply made her more aware of the growing need to touch him, too.

He’d brushed the hair away from the back of her neck, exposing the skin there. Vulnerable for branding, he’d said in a husky tone, though he hadn’t explained what that meant. Certainly, he didn’t mean it literally. There was still so much she didn’t know about him and these people, so much she needed to learn. She’d accepted a lot at face value. Mostly because of Kam, her mother’s journal…and her own disturbing dreams. Not to mention her attraction to the man on top of her.

Braden’s warm breath tickled her ear. “Stay sharp.”

She nodded and shifted her head on the hard pillow to get a better view of the cell. Her gaze traveled up to the camera. Its red light no longer flashed. They’d be here soon to investigate. Torque had disabled it, so they would have no choice but to send someone down to find out what had happened.

Her gaze moved to her brother. Kam lay in the corner, eyes closed, still as a corpse. A brother. She wasn’t quite used to the idea of having a sibling yet. They had a lot to discuss. A lot to reveal to the others when the time was right.

If it hadn’t been for the unusual star-shaped birthmark he’d shown her under his left arm, common to the family line on their father’s side, he’d said, she never would have believed his words. She had the identical mark. And she remembered her father had one, too.

She might have been better off not believing. Thinking it all a weird coincidence. Then she’d be toasty warm in a real bed right now, watching television and munching on potato chips, instead of fighting for her life. Maybe…or maybe she’d be in an even worse situation than she was now.

Murmurs drew her attention to the far end of the cell. Erik and Leila. And Torque—she wondered who that man was. He seemed somehow familiar. It was an odd feeling. She hadn’t the time to question Braden about him yet.

The two men sandwiched Leila between them. Her jacket lay discarded in the corner. Their hands roamed her body. She looked very uncomfortable. Erik looked irritated as hell. Torque was the only one who seemed to be enjoying himself. His palms cupped Leila’s breasts, and his rapt gaze locked on her nipples, as if he could see the actual flesh instead of just the hard buds poking against her shirt.

Erik was whispering in her ear, probably trying to reassure her, as Braden had. She whispered something back, and he immediately pushed Torque’s hands away from her breasts. Torque scowled, but said nothing. The man just curled his fingers around Leila’s hips instead.

A scraping noise drew closer from somewhere down the corridor. A moment later, an elongated shadow inched forward from outside the cell.

Alexa stiffened.

“Easy.” Braden moved against her in the age-old rhythm of lovers. He licked the back of her neck, and a powerful shudder rolled through her. The force with which he affected her, even though this was simply part of a plan, was almost scary.

Leila’s pretend moans filled the cell as the two men fondled her. The sounds seemed so real that her own nipples hardened and her thighs clenched.

Erik kissed and licked the side of Leila’s neck, while Torque rubbed his groin against her. She arched her body forward into his, but reached out for Erik.

“Looks like they’ve started without us,” a man’s voice whispered from outside the cell. His words rang somewhere between amusement and annoyance.

“Look, Rave. The Warrior is going to Brand her,” another man said in a clear panic.

“Shh. Calm down, Dare. I’ll stop him. It takes time. He won’t have enough. And they’re all so hot to get it, they haven’t even realized we’re here yet. We can use that to our advantage. Remember not to kill them…yet. Move light.” It was a woman who spoke this time.

And she was wrong. All their voices were low, but Alexa was able to make out the words. She hoped Xylon hearing was as good.

“You two take Erik and the other man,” the woman ordered. “They must have disabled the camera for privacy. Idiots. We don’t give prisoners privacy.”

She
was the idiot if she really believed their carnal appetites took precedence over their reasoning abilities. Maybe that was the way of The Dome people, but not the more highly evolved Warriors.

Two creature-people accompanied the assassins. Alexa shuddered. Braden had called it right. Three assassins, along with two Egesa, entered the cell.

The female assassin came right at them, less cautiously than she probably should have. When she leaned forward with some sort of device in her hand, Braden’s elbow shot back, catching her on the chin. She stumbled backward with a scream, and the device clattered to the floor.

Chaos erupted in a flurry of punches, raised voices, and struggling for drawn disruptors.

Kam was on his feet in a flash. He’d woken up right after they had killed the camera, so they’d modified their plan immediately. She couldn’t help but wonder if his unconscious state all that time had been a ploy, while he waited for the perfect window of opportunity. Either way, it had worked out brilliantly because the Marid crew hadn’t deemed him a threat. Kam grabbed the woman around the neck and applied pressure. She slumped and went down.

Alexa wanted to help, but she could barely catch her breath with Braden still on top of her. He refused to move, even when she pushed up against him. Shouts and angry words filled the air. She fought the rising panic building inside her. She needed to stay calm or she’d be of no use, but she wasn’t accustomed to being involved in physical confrontations. And she’d been in the middle of more than her share lately.

Only when the female assassin lay immobile, and Erik and Torque had physically engaged the other two Pain Masters, did Braden shoot up and pull her off the cot. He snapped the neck of one of the unarmed Egesa who got too close, then practically tossed her at Kam, who dragged her from the cell.

“Come on!” Kam yelled, tightening his hold on her arm.

They ran down the corridor, looking for a way out. She heard continued yelling and fighting from the cell. If Kam hadn’t been dragging her forward, she’d have returned to the fray to help, despite her urgency to get free. Please let Braden and the others be all right, she prayed.

A moment later a blaring alarm went off.

“Shit!” Kam skidded to a halt, and she stumbled into him. He steadied her as he scanned the area.

“What do we do?” She’d been so calm earlier, when she had first woken up. Now that they were in the thick of things, she felt sick to her stomach and ready to hurl.

His gaze fell on a ventilation shaft. “In here. There won’t be any cameras to follow us.” He opened the grate, shoved her inside, then followed close behind.

* * * * *

Braden hadn’t been in an old-fashioned fistfight in years. But they had no choice. The disruptors, quickly lifted from the assassins after their entry, wouldn’t work for his group. The weapons were modified and useless to the Warriors. He ducked a left from Dare.

Torque and Erik pounded Shear. Leila was nowhere to be seen, nor was the second Egesa. Concern hit him full-force.

“Where’s Leila?” he shouted. He knew Kam and Alexa had gotten away. That part of the plan had worked beautifully. Pain Masters were powerful enemies, but most often careless, and relied on brute force rather than intelligence, or even common sense, as was proven by their casual entry into the cell.

Erik stopped in mid-punch. “Did she get away?”

“I don’t know!” Braden landed a blow to Dare’s jaw.