“Leave her be, and I’ll lower my voice, and we can talk like reasonable adults.”
Spinning, she stared at Skars. “I’m willing to go on your ship. I’ll stop fighting if you let my friends leave.” Raine attempted a smile, as if she was eager to go along with him.
The alien smiled back, and Raine was struck by how handsome he was, despite the bright-red eyes. Unlike the others, he didn’t have the top part of the alien skin pulled over his head.
Raine almost regretted lying, but she had to take into consideration the safety of the other two women. They would still have been in the vault if she hadn’t sneaked out, concerned for this … alien.
You didn’t know he wasn’t a man. Her lack of knowledge didn’t make her feel better.
“Do you care about your friends?”
Raine frowned, taken aback by his question. Obviously, whichever planet he came from didn’t create geniuses. “Yes. That’s why I want you to let them go.”
“Then come with us. The three of you will be safer with us.” Skars held out his hand.
She met Tayla’s eyes in mutual understanding at her being mentally ready for something to happen. Then, pretending to take his hand, Raine spun on her feet to dart forward. Smashing her foot into the alien’s crotch who was holding Tayla’s device, she waited with her breath stuck in her throat for his reaction. Unlike the alien she had managed to wrest Piper’s device from, the one whose nuts she had just tried to crush held on to Tayla’s, refusing to relinquish it.
Dammit, why couldn’t one thing be easy dealing with these aliens?
“Dammit, let go…” Struggling to wrest the device from his hard grip, she spied Piper trying to sneak back.
“Don’t you dare!” she screamed at the young girl.
None of the three aliens tried to go after her, leaving it to the fourth one to do so.
She slapped at the three aliens like a windmill, but they were determined for her not to get Tayla’s device, too consumed with what they were doing to notice what was going around them until several grey and black aliens began dropping from the buildings behind their backs.
Stunned, Raine debated the wisdom of warning them when the one who had chased after Piper saw them and gave out a warning shout.
Continuing to try to rip the device out the alien’s hand, she saw Piper find a hiding space inside a burnt-out car.
“Let it fucking go!” Unconcerned with her own escape, she snarled at the one holding the device, kicking at the alien’s chest. She almost flew over his shoulder when he jerked it backward. Held in place by the other two aliens she was fighting off, she turned her head to the side and saw Tayla staring wide-eyed at a grey and black alien that had dropped down inches from her side and was throwing a net over the immobile woman.
Automatically, she stopped fighting for the device, seeing the grey and black one was about to swoop in and steal Tayla away.
“Aren’t you going to stop them?” She glared at the men she had been fighting with as if they were somehow responsible. Then Raine slapped at Skars’ chest. “Please don’t let him take her,” she begged.
“You will stop fighting us?”
“Yes! Just help Tayla, and we’ll do anything you say.”
Skars didn’t appear to believe her, yet he nodded at the other three. “Ulf, keep them safe,” he ordered.
Her mouth dropped open when the men pushed at something on their shoulders, and the skin they were wearing became a cape. Despite what she had just witnessed as unusual, what had a cold shiver running up her back were the axes they pulled out from inside of the capes.
Her brain in hyperdrive mode, it took a minute to grasp what they were about to do. While they were quickly becoming outnumbered, when they started swinging their axes, the number of the grey and black aliens didn’t increase …
Because they were being chopped into bits.
Raine covered her mouth when body parts started flying in the air, and it took her several minutes to get her gag reflex under control.
Ulf had used a blade to remove the net from Tayla, whose blanched face showed she was trying to vomit, but the device on her shirt was preventing her.
“Do something!” Raine tore at the device, attempting to remove it without hurting Tayla. “She needs to vomit before she chokes to death!”
Able to see the same thing for himself, Ulf pressed the button to release her.
Tayla doubled over, vomiting at their feet. Shakenly, Raine patted Tayla’s shuddering back.
“You nearly killed her,” Raine accused the man who stared back at her unwaveringly.
“She wouldn’t have died. The device wouldn’t have allowed her to vomit until the themoter is disengaged.”
“How would you know?” she raged at him. “Have you ever had to wear one?”