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Time slowed down then, seconds stretching out into long moments. Lily could hear the air whistle down her lungs as she inhaled a great gulp and the sounds of battle faded away. Adrenaline pulsed aggressively inside keeping tandem with her heart as it beat against her chest.
Without thought she rushed forward and leapt into the air, firing a round toward Mallick as she did so. Her only thought was to keep Kerr safe.
As her body crashed into Kerr’s, fire ripped through her shoulder and it took every scrap of strength she possessed to keep the scream inside her head.
The two of them rolled to the ground but Kerr pushed her aside as he snarled savagely and aimed his gun toward Mallick. Before he had a chance to fire he was attacked by another Serpentis, and knocked to the ground.
“No!” She screamed hoarsely fighting to stay conscious. A film of red was already slipping over her eyes and cold dread sat low in her gut. She knew what Mallick’s weapon held, she could feel it—deadly poison that would kill her within twenty-four hours.
Then he was there and Mallick’s face contorted into a rage that made no sense. “You dumb bitch,” he snarled. “You were mine.”
She felt his hand around her neck and Lily’s eyes rolled back as she tried to focus on something, anything that could hold her steady.
He dug down beneath her battle gear and ripped the opal from her flesh. Mallick leaned in close, his breath a wash of heat against her clammy skin.
“You will not leave here.”
And then he was gone.
“What the…?” Kerr’s voice shouted from far away. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.
All around her, the action ceased, as if a plug had been pulled and the violence slowly seeped away. The silence that ensued was eerie.
She rolled over and opened her eyes.
“Hey.” A hand hung in front of her, she gritted her teeth, ignored the pain in her shoulder, and let Kerr help her up. Several Serpentis lay dead, the carnage fueling the sharp call of a wingback as it soared overhead.
Lily’s eyes scanned the area and she was thankful to see that none of the men in the unit had been killed. A few had sustained wounds, but as they gathered around she could see none of their injuries were life threatening.
“Who the fuck was that?” Kerr was pissed and she looked away.
“I don’t know.” The lie slipped easily from her tongue, but then she’d been living a lie since she’d arrived on planet.
“You took my bullet.”
Kerr’s words were clipped, gruff. She felt the touch of his hand on her shoulder and jerked back violently, hissing loudly as pain radiated out into fingers of fire. If only it were a common bullet she might have a chance, as it was she knew she didn’t have much time.
“I’m fine,” she whispered hoarsely. “It grazed my shoulder—that’s it.”
“You’re not fine,” he said. “Medic will check you out when we get back to base and then we need to talk.”
Lily exhaled slowly.
“I don’t like secrets, soldier, and I’m thinking you have more than a few you need to share.”
Lily’s lips tightened but she remained quiet as she stared into the empty space where Mallick had been.
Kerr Strome had no idea.
Chapter Three
Medic wasn’t happy that Lily refused her help. “I can look after myself,” she insisted.
“I’ve never met a young man so afraid of a woman’s touch.” Medic’s eyes narrowed, though her tone was motherly. “It’s not normal.”
Lily ignored the woman and grabbed the disinfectant, cloth and some meds before she stood to leave. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she paused for a second, forcing herself to stay erect. Beads of sweat erupted along her brow and her only thought was to get to her quarters and rip the skull cap that kept her hair tucked tight against her head.
She was hot, nauseous and felt like crap. She also knew there wasn’t much time to combat the poison.
