Lucky for me.
So here we were. Broken free of our captivity—thanks to my cousin Antonio’s insistence that thievery was a valiant and noble tradition, and therefore, teaching me all about electro lock-picking as a child. I never thought I’d have to use the specific skill in space, but I wasn’t complaining. Now, we had to discover what happened to the rest of my crew.
I shifted closer to Jadara so we crouched side by side, observing our captors.
“Did you show the bastards to the display windows?” The obvious leader of the Mangox trio glared at his subordinates. Standing at what had to be at least eight feet tall, his thick hind legs rivaled the tree trunks in the paradise habitat. The Mangox might walk on two legs, but their arms were equally as beefy, hinting at a quadruped ancestry. Although the two underlings were not quite as large as their boss, they still towered above Jadara and me.
“Yes, Capo Gorox,” the pair answered in unison and snapped to attention. Their backs straightened, thrusting their bear-like chests forward. Woolly brown fur covered every inch of their visible bodies, which was considerable since they wore only beige button-down uniform shirts, belts that housed weapons instead of holding up pants, and glistening golden helmets with horns. The lack of pants or footwear made their appearance all the more savage.
“Good.” The one they called Gorox waved toward a door across the hall. “They’ve had ample time to look then. Bring them here and let’s have their selection.” He snorted, the motion vibrating along his snout. Too thin and short to be an elephant’s trunk, it reminded me a little of a tapir. “If none suit their liking, we will bring more from the cells.”
I stiffened at that.
“If they check the cells,” Jadara whispered in my ear.
“I know.” A cold dread raised goosebumps along my skin. We were running out of time. The Mangox hadn’t learned of our escape yet. Picking the electro lock and freeing ourselves had been a strategic move. We waited weeks before enacting our plan so we’d learn the schedule set for us, the guard rotations, everything. Now, one freak unanticipated cell check could ruin it all.
Jadara fidgeted beside me. I rested a staying hand on her arm. “Just wait.” We had no other choice. If we didn’t stick to the plan, we were toast. “It’ll be okay.”
I didn’t know if she believed that, but she didn’t get a chance to reply. The hallway door opened and out walked the most incredible creature I’d ever seen. Almost as tall as the Mangox, the male had a broad chest covered by two bronzed shoulder pieces, thick straps, and nothing else. The straps served as a harness for the wicked looking weapon peaking from above his back. Black leather-like pants and boots covered his long legs and feet. Straight black hair streaked with silver was tied by a piece of cloth at the nape of his neck. Two dark brows rested atop amber-hued eyes with black pupils that held flames. It was like staring into a roaring fire. His jaw was sharper than diamonds but his lips were lush. He had a humanoid face, but with just enough differences to be truly… “Alien.”
“Duh.” Another of Earth’s slang passed Jadara’s lips while she rolled her eyes at me as if I’d lost my mind. “But we’re in luck. That’s a Rhonar warrior.”
“An alien warrior?” I gulped. Yeah, he looked like one all right, a come-to-life barbarian ripped from the classic sci-fi romance novels. I mean not that I hoarded my collection of holo-books with back-ups on multiple sky drives or anything. Nope, not me.Righhht.
“Yes.” She leaned forward through the burgundy leaves for a better view, and I followed her actions. “I met up with them on Craxon, the planet I told you about where I was part of the rebellion.”
As if I could forget her starting a planetary wide uprising where she’d found one of the missing Earth scientists from DS1. My captain and fellow officers had fought so hard to help as many as we could escape, but I knew some were left behind. I only hoped anyone taken had been transported to the same place as me. Unfortunately, the cosmic fates didn’t like me that much. Still somehadto be here.I’ll find them.
“Officer Rivera, are you listening?” She used my title, which she knew annoyed me, and tapped my shoulder.
I sucked on the side of my cheek. Clearly, I’d been in space too long if I was sizing up this hunky ass alien like a dessert buffet. “Yeah, I’m listening.”
I wasn’t.
The alien warrior sniffed the air, inclining his head in our direction. We both jumped back, not wanting even a potential friendly face to spot us with the Mangox so close. He narrowed his eyes before turning to the sleazy Gorox. “As I said before, I’m searching for a particular…” He paused and his nostrils flared as if he could smell us, which I had no idea if he could or not. “Variety.”
“You mentioned having singular tastes.” Gorox bent at the waist but not fully. It was a strange half-bow as if trying to placate his customer. “We serve all types of delicacies. Our range is eclectic and our quality top tier.”
“So I’ve been told.” The alien warrior crossed his arms over that ample chest, showing off biceps and shoulders that housed unique tattoos. I crept a teeny bit closer through the burgundy plant for a better view. The markings had the appearance of tribal designs but instead of ink, it flowed like metal branded to his skin.
“Yes, well,” the Mangox motioned for his subordinates to step closer, “I’m sure we can accommodate your needs.” One of the two underlings handed Gorox a type of holo-pad. “You’re the only Rhonar visiting the SpaceZ Pleasure Cruise this trip, is that correct?”
“And what business is that of yours?” The warrior growled and his body seemed to swell larger at the sound.
Gorox waved off the question with one beefy furred hand. “None at all. We simply like to make sure we have the ship’s manifest correct.” A smarmy smile stretched under his snout giving him a cartoonish visage. “Wouldn’t want any stowaways. Right, Sir…”
The alien pinched the bridge of his nose, a humanoid gesture that had me silently analyzing our similar looks and wondering at the possibilities. “Daegan,” the warrior said, and pointed at the holo-pad. “Just Daegan.”
I sucked in a breath at the reveal of his name. Something coiled inside me as if I’d discovered a secret that had to be kept safe. But I didn’t have long to ponder my reaction as he continued speaking to the Mangox.
“I’m the solo Rhonar warrior on this ship you have the balls to call a pleasure cruise.” His fingers scratched at his shoulder, dangerously close to the handle of his weapon. “Now, do you have what I need or am I wasting my time?”
The Mangox capo stamped his feet and scanned the holo-pad. “Let’s see here. You filled out our questionnaire and viewed our display cases. It seems you were looking for a female from…” Gorox turned to the lackey that had handed him the device. “What’s this planet again?”
Daegan knocked the holo-pad to the side, forcing Gorox to spin with the movement. At the same time, he drew the weapon—a spiked axe—from his back and held the sharpened and bladed edge against the Mangox’s throat. The axe had to have been as long as my arm and forged from glistening golden metal. It had spikes on the flat part of the blade that appeared as sharp its edge. The streaming hallway lights brightened the weapon so it shone with a lethal gleam.
I gripped Jadara’s forearm hard. A sense of foreboding tightened my gut.
