AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We will. But first I’m going to look for Mia.”
He huffed his disapproval, but didn’t argue. We’d already had plenty of arguments on this matter in the past, and neither of us was going to change the other’s mind. The best we could do was agree to disagree and get on with it.
“I’ll be fast,” I assured him, heading back toward the stairwell.
Now I had to make a decision. It was unlikely that the spoils of the Sovann’ash’s previous raid were being kept in this building. If I had to make a bet, I’d say Mia’s ashes were more likely to be found in the administrative building, wherever that was.
Torgus was ambling along behind me, limping heavily on one side as he negotiated the steps. I’d have to remind him to get that checked out when we got back home. Otherwise, he’d pretend he was fine until it got so bad he couldn’t walk and became a liability.
We made it all the way to the bottom floor and out onto the street and I was immediately suspicious of the abandoned thoroughfare. Overhead, alarms still blared high alert, but all the Sovann'ash’s guards were currently occupied with their other intruders. I waited an extra moment, making sure I wasn’t missing anything before I stepped out into the open.
This was better. I could take my time looking around as long as the Sovann'ash was busy with other matters. I spared a momentary thought for the woman I’d met earlier. I shouldn’t have been thinking about her. She had gotten herself into this situation. It was none of my business, and I did not mean to get mixed up in whatever she was doing. And yet, I couldn’t let it go. I closed my eyes, cursing myself for even considering what I was about to do next, but it was Mia’s face that appeared in my mind’s eye.
“What if it was me?” My mental image of Mia asked, and I groaned.
I spun to face Torgus, who was stretching again while he waited for me to lead the way out.
“We have to find her.”
“I know, I know. It’s what mother would have wanted,” he said, already exasperated.
“Not Mia.”
His eyes met mine, and he cocked his head. “So there was someone outside that door.”
“Yes. But that’s all I know.”
“Mhm. Don’t let her get to you. I’ve always said women are only good for one thing: making you take stupid risks. If we’re here for Mia, let’s do our looking and get out of here. That’s trouble enough as it is.”
“You’re right,” I conceded, shaking my head as if I could jar the thought of the other woman loose from my mind. Torgus and I rarely agreed on much, but in this instance, I was glad to have him at my side. I’d been about to make a very foolish decision on behalf of someone I didn’t even know, and I was sure to regret it. It was strange what a pretty face could do to a man who wasn’t on his guard, I thought, turning back toward the street. “I’m going to search that building over there, and then we’ll go. It’s the only one I haven’t had a good look at.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Torgus answered, posting himself firmly against the wall and looking over the weapon I’d handed him.
I slipped away from the building that had been providing us cover from the street and darted across to the glass door, extending my mechanical arm and punching through it without even bothering to stop. This was no prison, and there was no sign of anyone at any of the workstations inside. That was a good sign. Moving deeper inside, I threw open doors with abandon, seeking any room that might serve as storage.
Somewhere outside I heard shouting and the unmistakable sound of gunfire and I cursed under my breath, turning back immediately. If someone had spotted Torgus, I had to get us both out of here. It wouldn’t do to let him get killed after all this trouble.
I ran for the broken door, pushing desks aside and leaping over the spray of glass shards that littered the ground from my entry. Skidding to a halt in the street, I took in the situation. Directly across from me, Torgus was standing upright, gun pointed down the open street. I followed the line of his barrel, astonished to see the same woman running wildly toward me, and beyond her, four soldiers giving chase. The bundle of wild blonde curls that she’d tied up neatly at the back of her head were now springing loose, and I watched her lithe body working as she bolted, her ample curves heaving all the way.
Torgus fired two shots, missing both times, and I snorted disapprovingly. He should’ve waited until they were closer. He knew better than I did that the smaller gun was not made for taking long shots.
Stepping into the middle of the woman’s path, I raised my weapon to my shoulder and shouted, “DOWN!”
On my command, she hit the dirt, and I didn’t hesitate to unleash the automatic fire of my weapon, sweeping across the entire lane and leaving a trail of darkened pock marks across their chests. Still, the soldiers were well armored, and they did not go down as easily as I had hoped. I took aim once more, hoping to drop one or two of them before they could get much closer, and praying that Torgus was taking this time to reload.
However, it was a shot from the ground that took the first soldier down, knocking him back as the woman rolled onto her back and crunched her shoulders up to fire off her weapon. Following her lead, I made another pass, taking two and leaving one man standing. If he was worried about the changing tide of this battle, he gave no sign. Instead, he took two more steps forward, and I growled, ready to take him out with my bare hands. But it was Torgus who finally stepped forward and put an end to the man with one solid shot to the head.
The woman got to her feet and dusted herself off. She came to stand between me and Torgus.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you save me again,” she said with a smirk, turning to look my brother up and down curiously. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw her perk up and throw her shoulders back, pushing her breasts out seductively as she smiled at him. A dark spike of jealousy drove through me and I had to stop myself from grabbing her away from him.
She wasn’t mine. I didn’t even know her name. But I would not let Torgus have her either. There was only heartache down that road, and no woman deserved that, regardless of how she found herself here.
“Where are your friends?” I asked dully, hoping to change the subject.
“I imagine they’re freeing the women by now,” she said. “They’re probably waiting on me by now, too. I shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
She gave Torgus a sly look and then turned to march away toward where the other ship had gone down. Sighing, I watched her go, relieved that she was not counting on me to get her back to her friends, and glad that I wouldn’t have to spend any more time thinking about her beyond this moment. I had my own problems to deal with, and the last thing I needed was another complication in my life. Especially one that kept making eyes at my brother.
