Page 9 of The Alien Warrior's Heart

She winced. As weird as this all was and as much as he was infringing on her personal space, not one part of him touched her. She felt safe in this crazy situation that would make anybody’s stomach curdle. Like the ground was no longer moving under her. Like everything would be okay.

I’m insane.

She had to focus.

Pointing to his collar, she whispered, “Can I see that? I think I can get it off you.”

His intelligent purple eyes zoomed in on her. Though she was sure he couldn’t understand her words, he seemed to trust her too.

Taking her hand, the alien gave it a squeeze. A moment later, he dragged her tunic to her waist and grunted. Slanting an angry look at the camera, he let her skirt drop and grabbed her possessively to his chest.

A voice snarled from outside. The blue alien answered harshly, and the lion alien went quiet. Purple eyes glinting, her partner in crime pushed her into a corner of the room.

She saw a small bucket and smelled an acidic stench that made her want to vomit, but there was no time for her gag reflex to act up.

The alien kept the camera in his line of sight. “Huhman, eet gut hurri.”

“Okay.” She reached for the collar and pressed it. Relief coursed through her when she saw that the screen reacted to her touch. Though it was in another language, Simone could see enough familiar lines of code to move swiftly and confidently.

“Reset. Reset,” she mumbled.

Thuds exploded on the door.

The alien slammed both his hands on either side of her, caging her in and barking at the guard outside. She could tell that he was buying time, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Her heart thundered in her ears.

“Just a little longer.” Trembling fingers raced over the collar’s screen. “Just a little…”

Click.

She heard the lock give way the same time the alien did.

The collar loosened and he tore it from around his neck. They exchanged another long look and she felt like she could read him without the words.

I’m going to get us out of here,he seemed to say.

She stared up at him, at the determination in his eyes and the set of his jaw.

Her own chin lifted.

For the first time in her entire life, trust bloomed from the rubble of her heart and she whispered, “I believe you.”

Four

Zar

He growledat the Heronas guard as he stood close to the human female. “I asked for privacy.”

“You don’t get to make demands here, Plutonian.”

He clenched his teeth, trying to keep himself still as the human did something to his collar. Zar had no idea if she knew how to move around the Heronas’s technology. As far as he’d heard, humans were vastly behind when it came to technological advancements.

Still, he had no other choice but to trust her.

Just as she seemed to trust him.

Zar had felt the weight of that trust the moment her eyes slammed into his.