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“She’s mine and you know it!” her captor replied.
This had to be Laidon. She’d heard the name, knew he led the rebellion, but she’d never seen him. She wasn’t seeing him now. The jerk was behind her. Laidon turned to face Cylex, carefully taking her with him. The coward was using her as a shield.
“Such a brave male hiding behind a woman,” she mocked.
Cylex shifted the pistol in his hand, clearly looking for an angle that didn’t risk harming her.
Infuriated by Laidon’s cowardice, Raina accessed her well of mystic energy and drew it into her body. Her power would be limited until her mates released her true potential, but she’d spent the last few weeks learning how to manipulate the energy available to her now. Her hands warmed, stinging the soft flesh of her abdomen. She had to get her hands away from her body or all she would do was scorch herself.
As if sensing what she was trying to do, Laidon adjusted his hold, pressing her hands even more snugly against her body. Damn it.
Cylex fired again, creasing the outer edge of Laidon’s shoulder. Laidon’s body jerked and his arms squeezed until Raina could hardly breathe.
“My next shot will drill a hole between your eyes,” Cylex warned, his tone sounding as lethal as his words.
“You’re never going to fire that close to Raina’s head and we both know it.”
Suddenly Kern stood in front of her, a long blade clasped in his right hand. He reached around her and stabbed Laidon multiple times in quick succession. Laidon screamed. His arms went lax and his hold released.
Raina couldn’t take her eyes off Kern. Lethal, composed, and undeniably beautiful. He was like the Angel of Death come to reap a soul.
Kern’s silvery gaze shifted back to her as he pulled her into his arms. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Laidon sink to his knees. The left side of his body, from shoulder to waist, was soaked in blood. His left arm hung limply at his side and all the color had drained from his face. Should they call for help? If they just left him here, he would likely bleed to death.
Before she could voice her concerns, Kern Flowed with her onto the ship.
Feeling weak and dazed, Raina sank onto the nearest seat as Kern hustled toward the front.
Cylex joined them a few seconds later and closed the hatch. He looked at her and said, “The guards took him inside. It is more than he deserves.” Her only response was a nod, so he urged Kern, “Get us out of here!”
“Already on it,” Kern assured as the ship shot into the sky.
CHAPTER5
Settling in behind the copilot’s control panel in Kern’s ship, Cylex tried to calm down. His heart still thudded wildly in his chest. He should not have hesitated. He should have charged Laidon and ripped his fucking head off. The rebel bastard had laid hands on Raina, threatened her life. He should have done more to protect her.
“She is safe, brother,” Kern said quietly without shifting his focus from the master controls.
“Thank you,” he responded in the same hushed tone. “She is safe because of you.”
Kern glanced at Raina. She sat in the row of seats behind them. “One of the benefits of a triad is always having someone at your back.” Something on the control panel caught his attention and he whipped his head back around. “What the hell?” He sent an image to the main display with a sharp wave of his hand.
The ship they’d arrived in, Cylex’s ship, was flying toward them with aggressive speed.
“Laidon is unconscious, so who is flying that ship?” Kern mused as he quickly reinforced their shields and altered course in an attempt to evade them.
Fumbling a bit with the unfamiliar controls, Cylex located the weapons’ systems and brought them out of standby. “My bet is Telias. He’s the most skilled crewmember and has an extended family depending on him for support.”
“I understand the importance of skill, but what does his family have to do with anything?” Kern asked impatiently.
“It makes him susceptible to bribes and intimidation.” Cylex knew from experience how often soldiers would compromise their morals when the lives of their loved ones were threatened.
“What’s going on?” Raina asked from behind them.
Her soft voice sent awareness rolling through Cylex. He’d thought she was asleep. “It looks like my ex-crew has launched one last attempt at kidnapping you.”
As if to prove his point, the other ship fired a burst of shots in their general direction.
Kern laughed. “They are going to have to do better than that.”
