“Touch me and Becsul will kill you.”
“Your precious Captain isn’t here.” He was close now, close enough that she could smell the sourness of his breath. “Besides, who do you think started that fire? He’s probably dead already, buried under rubble or burned to ash.”
No.She refused to believe it. Becsul was too smart, too careful. He wouldn’t?—
“Such pretty eyes.” The guard reached out, his clawed finger tracing down her cheek. “I’ve always wondered what humans feel like. Soft, aren’t you? So fragile…”
She spat in his face.
His expression twisted with rage. “You little?—”
The door exploded inward.
Becsul filled the doorway, his massive form silhouetted against the smoke-filled corridor. His eyes were black pools of fury, his tail lashing behind him like a whip. When he saw the guard standing over Melissa, something in his face went terrifyingly flat.
“Step. Away.”
The guard spun, reaching for his weapon. He never made it.
Becsul moved faster than anyone that large had a right to move. His fist connected with the guard’s jaw with a crack that echoed off the stone walls. The guard crumpled, unconscious before he hit the floor.
“Melissa.” Becsul was at her side in an instant, his hands running over her face, her shoulders, checking for injuries. “Are you hurt? Did he?—”
“I’m fine.” She was shaking, she realized distantly. “He didn’t… you got here in time.”
“I saw you being escorted to Naran’s office. I had to wait, but when the alarm went off and you didn’t come back to the cell—” His voice cracked. “I thought?—”
“I’m okay.” She reached up, cupping his face in her free hand. “Becsul. I’m okay.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, just for a moment, breathing her in. Then he straightened, his expression turning focused and determined.
“We need to move. Now. The diversion won’t last forever, and Naran is suspicious.”
“I know. He as much as told me so.” She shifted Robbie in her arms. “The shuttle?”
“Waiting.” He took her hand. “Stay close. Don’t let go. No matter what happens.”
She looked at the unconscious guard, then at Becsul’s outstretched hand, then at her son’s wide, trusting eyes.
“Lead the way.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The guard’s jaw crunched under Becsul’s fist with a satisfying crack, but the sound did nothing to cool the rage boiling through his veins.
He touched her.
The thought pulsed like venom through his mind as he watched the guard crumple to the floor, unconscious and bleeding from the mouth. Part of him—the warrior part, the part that had been honed over twenty years of combat training—wanted to finish the job. Wanted to wrap his tail around the bastard’s throat and squeeze until something vital gave way.
But Melissa was pressed against the wall behind him, Robbie clutched to her chest, her dark eyes wide and watching. She didn’t need to see him kill someone. Not now. Not when they still had so far to go.
Focus,he commanded himself.The mission is what matters. Get them out. Everything else can wait.
He turned away from the guard’s prone form and crossed to her in two strides. His hands moved over her face, her shoulders,her arms—checking for injuries, yes, but also simply needing to touch her, to confirm she was real and whole and safe.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice steadier than he expected. “Becsul. I’m okay.”
The relief that washed through him was almost painful. He pressed his forehead to hers, just for a heartbeat, breathing in her scent—warm skin and something floral, underlaid with the sharp tang of fear. His tail wound around her waist, holding her close.
