Page 18 of A Mate For Matrix (Cyborg Protection Unit #1)

In the distance, she heard an explosion.

She was almost to the doorway leading to the hall when a powerful, concussive wave came at her from behind and threw her forward onto the floor.

The kitchen windows and doors had burst open.

She wasn’t sure what had happened; all she could do was cover her head to protect herself from the glass, which blew inward.

The deadly shards pierced the walls of the kitchen, just a few feet above her trembling form.

Dazed, Jana lifted her head. Her gaze caught a slight movement in the filtering light just beginning to shine through the eastern-facing windows. Butter’s creamy fur disappeared under the couch.

“Butter, come to Momma,” Jana cried out, scrambling to her feet.

She had taken only a couple of steps when another movement, this time from near her bedroom door, drew her attention.

The scream that started to escape froze in her throat as the massive arms of an enormous creature gripped the door frame and pushed outward.

The wood crumpled like paper under the force.

Jana stumbled backwards into the small hall table. The creature’s head turned and stared at her with half a dozen eyes that seemed to look in six directions at once—until they all locked on her. Her fingers tightened on the knife she was holding.

“Jana, don’t move,” K-Nine said in a calm voice from the living room.

“I… I can’t… my… legs… won’t listen to me,” she whispered back. “What… what is that thing?”

“It’s a Crawler,” Matrix said, stepping into the hallway.

“You have mated with this warrior,” the Crawler snarled, pushing against the walls of the narrow hallway. “I will eat you first.”

“That’s just… wrong,” Jana retorted in a trembling voice.

“K-Nine, get Jana out of here,” Matrix ordered, turning to face the Crawler. “This is between the two of us, Crawler.”

“No, it will be between the female and me,” the Crawler hissed.

“The kittens,” Jana whimpered, pressing back when the creature struggled to move closer. “They’re under the couch.”

“Kick the bag to me,” K-Nine ordered.

Matrix released a snarling curse, but kicked the bag that Jana had dropped toward K-Nine. The wolfhound uttered a series of low calls. Instantly, the kittens raced out from under the couch toward him.

“Use the red charge!” K-Nine barked urgently as he hurriedly scooped up the kittens in his mouth and dropped them into the bag.

Jana watched in shock as K-Nine gripped the handles of the bag in his mouth and took off at a run out the front door. Jana turned in time to see Matrix point his weapon at the creature that was hissing and snarling so loudly that her head hurt.

“Trust me,” Matrix said, wrapping a protective arm around her waist.

“Always,” Jana replied in a trembling voice.

Everything slowed.

Jana saw Matrix shoot a bright red bullet of some kind at the Crawler.

Her feet left the floor. Matrix slung her over his shoulder and raced toward the back doorway.

She saw the walls bulge again as the creature tried to get out of the narrow confines of the hallway an instant before everything started to turn red.

She felt her body twisting as Matrix pulled her off of his shoulder and into his arms as he continued to charge across her backyard. They were almost to the woods when a bright red flash lit up her house and an explosive wave of energy knocked Matrix off his feet.

The shockwave was so powerful that Jana swore that it sucked the oxygen out of the immediate area. She watched over Matrix’s shoulder as the red light faded, leaving nothing behind. The next moment, they hit the ground and everything went black.

Several hours later, Jana sat on the wooden swing that was hanging from a tree near the woods. She stared at the empty spot where her house had once stood. There was nothing left of it but a large burned area.

She actually felt much better than when she had first awakened after the blast. The headache was gone thanks to whatever Matrix had pressed against her skin. She also wasn’t having issues with the red dots still dancing across her vision.

Finally, she wasn’t blubbering like a baby—well, not anymore at least. Granted, she had cried hysterically at first, but that was because she thought Matrix was dead.

It had taken several minutes before she registered and believed K-Nine’s reassurance that Matrix just needed time to recover from the blast.

“He’s been enhanced as well,” K-Nine had explained. “It just takes a little longer for him to heal than it does for me.”

“Enhanced? How?” Jana had asked in shock, staring at Matrix’s peaceful face.

“Didn’t you notice the bands?” K-Nine asked with a flick of his ear.

“That is not part of the enhancement,” Matrix had growled, still pale and not opening his eyes.

That was when she had become a blubbering mess again. Now, she was calm, but she was definitely still in shock.

“Are you ready to go?” Matrix asked quietly as he walked up to her.

She blinked, trying to focus her mind back on the present. Her dazed eyes collided with Matrix’s worried ones. She licked her suddenly dry lips and tried to remember what he had just asked her.

“Go?” she repeated when his words finally worked through the haze surrounding her brain. “Where are we going?”

“I thought you might like to see where I live,” Matrix said, squatting down to look at her. “After all, a life mate does accompany her mate.”

“A life mate?” Jana whispered, her eyes sparkling with anticipation before his response hit her, and she glanced up at the sky in wonder. “You mean, up there?”

“Yes, up there,” Matrix replied, reaching out and caressing her cheek.

Jana looked back at him. “But, what about the kittens?” she asked, biting her lip and looking around.

“They are already on board the transport with K-Nine,” Matrix assured her, standing up and holding out his hand. “Do you trust me?”

Jana glanced over to the area where she knew the transport sat, the outer hull invisible in stealth mode. In the open doorway, she could see K-Nine and the three kittens staring back at her. Her gaze returned to Matrix’s outstretched hand.

It was hard to believe she’d just met this guy less than twenty-four hours ago. Her gaze moved to the empty spot where her house had been. There was nothing left; no home and no family, just nothing.

She’d been orphaned at seventeen and had been on her own ever since. Now, she had a family of her own. It was just going to be in an unexpected place. Turning her face toward Matrix, she slowly extended her hand and rose off the swing.

“Do you think the Cyborg Protection Unit could use a highly qualified vet assistant?” she murmured as they walked toward the transport where K-Nine waited with the three kittens at the top of the platform.

“Oh, yes,” Matrix chuckled. “They have some new recruits.”

“You’d better not be thinking of using my kittens,” Jana growled in warning, stepping on board the transport.

“I’ll let you argue that point with K-Nine,” Matrix teased. “I’m falling hard for you, Jana Dixon.” He slid his hand up along her cheek and stared into her eyes. “My world is not very different from your own. There will be danger, but I swear I will do everything in my power to protect you.”

“I know things are going to be different. Life here can be pretty risky, too, you know. Not with things like the Crawler, but there are other things that are just as dangerous. All I know is something inside tells me I would be crazy to let you go, so I guess you’re stuck with me and the kittens,” Jana murmured, caressing the hair near Matrix’s temple.

She glanced up at K-Nine and giggled.

K-Nine grinned back as he placed a paw on Biscuit’s tail to keep him from trying to climb on him again.

She couldn’t help thinking it had been worth K-Nine chasing that irritating little gray squirrel to find her.

It might have taken a little time, but not only had he finally found his family—but so had she and Matrix.

Turning back to Matrix, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his head down to capture his lips.