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"We won't be caught," Tivek said, as if reading my thoughts.

Then a guttural voice emerged from the shadowy corner ahead of us, the harsh, reptilian syllables sending terror coursing through my veins.

"Are you sure about that?"

Chapter

Nineteen

Tivek

How could I have been so careless? I'd spent my entire adult life moving undetected through the most dangerous situations imaginable, and now I'd failed to notice a Kronock guard hiding in a shadow.

I cursed myself for becoming distracted, first by my feelings for Morgan, then by the kiss in the dungeon, and finally by her obvious hurt when I'd told her the lie that I'd only kissed her to keep her quiet.

What had possessed me to say such a thing? The words had fallen from my lips almost reflexively, a shield against vulnerability. I'd feared her rejection and feared she would be angry that I'd taken such liberties, and so I'd made an excuse.

Even though most of my existence was built on lies and half-truths, this particular falsehood felt like acid in my mouth. I'd wanted to kiss Morgan from almost the first moment I'd seenher, and the moment my lips had touched hers, any pretense of it being merely tactical had evaporated like sun-touched mist.

I'd been about to confess the truth when the Kronock's voice had cut through the tension snapping between us.

My right hand inched toward the blaster at my hip, my movements slow and deliberate as I kept my back to the reptilian guard. Years of training took over, pushing aside the storm of emotions that had clouded my judgment.

I locked eyes with Morgan, seeing the fear there but also a determination that steadied my own resolve. My fingers closed around the grip of my weapon.

"Duck," I whispered, the word barely audible.

The moment she dropped, I spun, drawing and firing in one fluid motion. The blaster discharged with a high-pitched whine, the energy striking the Kronock's chest in rapid succession. The creature lurched forward, its massive frame propelled by momentum even as life fled its reptilian eyes.

I shoved Morgan aside as the dying alien crashed to the floor where she'd been standing, its clawed hands still reaching, tail thrashing in its death throes.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly as she stared at the fallen guard.

"We need to go," I said urgently, grabbing her hand. "Someone will have heard the blaster fire."

We ran, our footsteps echoing off the metal floors. Then the harsh wail of an alarm reverberating through the corridors.

I pulled Morgan into a dark alcove as a group of Kronock guards thundered past, their pounding footfalls and swinging tails betraying their presence before they came into view. We pressed ourselves against the wall, barely breathing until they had passed.

Then we were running again, up ramps and through corridors, until we reached the ground level. We paused in a maintenance corridor to catch our breath, and I took a moment to mentally orient myself. We needed to move east, toward the central hub of the complex.

Another scream pierced the relative quiet, and I felt it in my bones. The sound came again, and I felt Morgan tense beside me, her hand unconsciously tightening around mine. I realized I was still holding it and should probably let go, but I couldn't bring myself to relinquish the contact between us.

"We need a plan," I said, trying to think like the Shadow I was trained to be, not the emotionally compromised operative I'd become. "Rushing in would be suicide."

Morgan nodded, her strategist's mind already working the problem. "The interrogation chambers will be heavily guarded, especially with three high-value prisoners."

"If only we had a distraction," I mused, scanning our surroundings for anything we could use.

As if in answer to my unspoken wish, an explosion rocked the facility, the force of it nearly knocking us off our feet. Alarms that had been wailing intensified, joined by new ones as emergency protocols activated.

"What was that?" Morgan gasped, steadying herself against the wall.

A slow smile spread across my face. "That, I suspect, was my brother."

A second explosion followed the first, and through the chaos of blaring alarms and shouting guards, I heard the distinctive sound of Kronock weapons fire.

“Your brother?” Morgan gaped at me.