AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rin laughed. “My mom’s retired law enforcement. I can shoot just about anything with a trigger.”
“Good.” He took one hand off the controls and unholstered the plasma pistol he wasn’t supposed to have. “Take this. Power bank is full, safety is on. If anyone does something stupid, shoot them.”
She took the pistol, gave it a quick once-over, and then nodded in his direction as calm and collected as if she was a seasoned soldier. It was sexy as hell.
“Got it. You think they’ll fight?” she asked.
“No idea, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst. And you might want to stay out of sight until we know what’s going on. They think you’re too wounded to move right now. Let’s use that to our advantage.”
She nodded again, unstrapped herself and hunkered down on the floor, out of sight.
“One more thing, sunshine. Don’t get hurt. I don’t ever want to go through that again. My heart can’t take it.”
She flashed him an achingly beautiful smile. “Same goes for you, growly. One day with you is not nearly enough.”
The last thing they did was tell the hawks to fly to a safe distance and stay clear. Then, he gunned the engines and dropped the nose so they’d make their final approach hard and fast.
As they descended, it struck him that everything was different this time. He wasn’t going into this fight alone. In fact, if things went well, he might never be alone again.
He flew into the camp grinning like a lunatic.
14
Rin knew how to use a weapon like the one Axe had handed her, but she’d never been in a situation where she’d have to use one against another person. That wouldn’t stop her from firing if she had to. It was one thing to hope for a peaceful outcome, but Axe was right. It was best to be prepared for things to go sideways.
Hera circled the camp and fed her images. The shuttle wasn’t the one they’d flown down in. This one was larger, and she assumed it was the one used for transporting equipment.
She’d almost forgotten about the ship they’d arrived on. It had remained in orbit around the planet with a skeleton crew all this time.
They had to keep Douglas and the others from reaching that ship.
Axe landed the sled in the middle of the camp, the engines sending up clouds of dust and debris. They came to a stop with a thump that made her glad she had a tight grip on the seat she crouched beside.
“Sorry. I got carried away,” Axe said. “Stay out of sight for now. Let’s see how this plays out.”
“Good luck.” The need to kiss him was so powerful she almost gave in to it and to hell with the plan, but if Douglas saw her in a lip-lock with Axe, it would probably send him into orbit. Since the goal was to keep him calm and talking until backup got here, she stayed where she was.
Axe’s hand strayed to the kes’tarv that hung from his belt as if to check it was still there. Then he bent his knees slightly and launched himself into the air. He cleared the side of the sled with ease and vanished from sight, but Hera could still see him. The hawk fed Rin a real-time view that flowed like video. Axe landed some distance from the sled, the dust swirling around his feet and legs. He kept his eyes locked on the shuttle, but she couldn’t tell why.
This kind of information from Hera was new. Until now, the hawk had only sent single images. Rin had no idea the hawk could manage this kind of surveillance. It was more evidence that whoever had created these animals had intended for them to be used as spies. They probably never imagined a scenario where their creations would act against the ones trying to control them.
Surprise, assholes.
“Do not take another step, cyborg. You’re trespassing on Interstellar Armed Forces land.” The voice was immediately recognizable as Douglas’s, and Hera shifted her view to pick out the lieutenant standing near the lowered ramp of the shuttle.
He had a hand on his blaster but hadn’t removed it from its holster, and his posture was so puffed up he looked like he might explode at any second.
Axe opened his hands in a friendly gesture and took a step forward. “I’m here to relay messages from Dr. Rey. She is awake and has read your messages. She had some concerns about the transportation of the subjects.”
“Damn right I do. Starting with where you transported my missing subjects,” she muttered under her breath.
“Dr. Rey is no longer attached to this project. She gave up the right to have concerns when she disregarded my orders yesterday. Her actions put the subjects at risk.”
“Be that as it may, she is still the expert when it comes to these birds. She asked me to see to it that they’re all loaded safely onto the shuttle. Once that’s done, I’ll go. It would set her mind at ease if you would allow me to do that.”
Axe sounded calm and reasonable, but she knew it was an act. He’d been angry before they left his house and had only gotten more so on their way here. Douglas blaming her for what happened would only piss him off further.
“I don’t give a fraxx about the doctor’s peace of mind. You’re not getting anywhere near the subjects. You’ve already stolen one. I should have you charged for that.”
