Page 24 of Entangled by the Alien Mercenary (Monster Mercenary Mates #4)

Elyssa

At the sound of Tass’s voice, my heart surged with elation, and then his words sank into my brain: a warning—danger behind me. I twisted to look but saw only darkness—trees everywhere, the fine drizzle of rain that would still build into a rainfall that would soak the world. There was no sign of any danger. I took a deep breath, hoping he was wrong, but Tass was rarely wrong about these things. He always knew.

This was why Solear and Brace had set up that laser cannon—to guard their backs when they rescued Tass. I glanced back and saw that my mate was trying to increase the speed of the pulling harness he was hanging from, pain etched into every line of his face, his teeth digging into his bottom lip. Solear was keeping pace, climbing unassisted by anything but skill and claws. He did not look any more disturbed than he had earlier, but that meant nothing.

I had no weapon, but I turned again to search the darkness for any sign of danger, my heart pounding in my throat. It couldn’t be Tahirel—he was dead—and I would not shed a single tear over that. So that left De’tor. Was he there himself, or had he left behind men to lay an ambush? They still didn’t have the data I’d gotten off Epherian’s computer. Would De’tor be willing to give up on that? Jalima was not the kind of crimelord who forgave those kinds of failures.

The dark was made more impenetrable by the falling rain, but my eyes were sharp and had adapted. Was that a glimmer of purple to my right? Did I see the hint of a silver barrel in those bushes? Then I locked eyes with a pair of purple orbs and knew I was meeting De’tor’s gaze—just as he knew he’d been spotted. He rose, stepping out of the forest as if he had not a care in the world, and my breathing stuttered in my chest. Confronted once again with the far-reaching arm of the crimelord my brother had worked for, I felt like I’d never escape. Then I remembered how Solear and Brace had silently set up that cannon and wondered whether it was us being ambushed or De’tor and his males.

“Elyssa, you made a mistake coming back here,” De’tor drawled coolly, his deep sub-harmonic voice shivering through my body and settling uneasily in my belly. “You give me the data, and this can all still end well. I’ve already shot your lover. You want me to shoot your little mercenary friend as well?” I balled my fists at my sides as I held back the anger I felt at those words. He was the one responsible for Tass’s injuries, for how he’d ended up at the bottom of that ravine until we’d found him. Then my brain snagged on the word “friend.” Did that mean he’d only seen Solear?

“You’re too late,” I said firmly. I rose to my feet and lifted my chin so I could meet his eyes with a glare. Tapping my Caratan chain, I indicated the missing family medallion. “That data Jalima wants back? It’s in the hands of Captain Asmoded now. You lose.” I grinned when that made the male roar. I was goading the beast—maybe that was dumb—but it wasn’t like I could go anywhere. My back was to a ravine, and I was not leaving Tass behind.

“You will pay for that!” De’tor shouted, and he slashed his hand through the air. Immediately, males started rising from the bushes—dozens of them—and they raised rifles to their shoulders and aimed them my way. I was facing a firing squad and would be dead as surely as Elpherian was. Then my eyes caught a hint of pink at the foot of a nearby tree. Its roots partially grew out of the ravine wall, and it had died, struck by lightning that had blackened the top branches. Right as I locked eyes with Nelly, the gates of Vamor’s domain opened. Death rained down all around me.

The tree fell with a loud creaking and groaning, and I dove between the branches, rolling, and took cover behind the solid trunk. Laser fire whizzed past my head, and then a loud boom exploded nearby, making me duck my head between my knees and cover my ears. It was over as quickly as it started. Three booms, one after the other in rapid succession, shook the forest, and in the silence that followed, nobody moved. Then I heard De’tor’s growling voice as he ordered a retreat, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Crawling on my belly to the edge of the ravine, I reached it just as Nelly did, and the two of us peered down to see where Tass and Solear were. The relief on my mate’s face was bright and luminous, but only one temple flared as his Iredese glowed. “Thank the stars, you crazy female! What were you thinking, goading De’tor like that?” he demanded, only a few feet from the top, breathing heavily as he clung to the rock.

“I was thinking that I love you,” I said to him. “Now get your ass up here before you bleed to death.” We had far too many near misses on this adventure; I wasn’t going to tolerate another. Besides, De’tor might circle back—we had to get out of here. I hugged Nelly to my chest as I watched Solear heave Tass over the edge and drag him to cover behind the tree Nelly had somehow toppled as a precaution.

“You hear that, Solear? All you’ve got to do is nearly die a couple of times, and you win the lady’s heart. Easy…” Tass coughed, but he was somehow smiling at the same time, and I hurried to grab his hand and hang on, ducking close so I could press a kiss to his uninjured cheek. “I love you too, Elyssa. More than anything. But no more goading evil crimelord enforcers, yeah?”