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Chapter Fifteen

Z ar

We swiftly explore every hallway, bathroom, and closet. Two uniformed workers who must be cleaning or cooking crew are already on their knees, facing the wall, hands behind their heads when we barge into their berth. It wouldn’t be sporting to kill them. We tie their hands behind their backs and march them with us as we continue our search.

The remaining Urlut tries to sneak up behind us. It’s a ridiculous attempt, considering we heard his lumbering steps long before we saw him. He’s dead from a laser blast before he hits the floor.

If Tyree’s intel was correct, there is one more crew member, a mechanic. We’re moving fast toward the engine room, investigating nooks and crannies along the way.

We hit the medbay and find one locked inner door. Axxios’ stolen passcard gives us quick access. Now we’ll see if Anya’s doctor is going to fight us or not. We barge into the little exam room and find not only the doc but my sweet Anya. Both look wide-eyed and scared to death. He swiftly raises his blue hands in surrender.

My men handle the doc while I pull Anya into my arms. After a brief hug, I step slightly away and inspect her. She looks unharmed, just scared. She grabs me and squeezes me tight. “I was so worried about you.”

“And I you.” My chest clenches with emotion. I’m so glad she’s safe and in my arms. I can’t wait to finish the sweep of the ship, lock up the enemy and figure out what quadrant to speed off to.

Now that I have my precious Anya in tow, I slow our pace a bit as we finish our sweep. We can’t be too careful. All we have is the engine room and our first recon will be complete.

I open the engine room door, leaving Anya in the hall with Stryker, Theos, the doc, and the two captives. Shadow and I enter the engine room, guns drawn. I’m on full alert. We’re missing a mechanic, and it doesn’t make sense for him to be anywhere but here.

I’ve never been in an engine room and don’t know what to expect. It’s dirty and cluttered, with tools scattered on the floor. Shadow moves left, I move right. This place is so messy, with so much machinery, there are all sorts of places to hide. There’s literally a wall of food ration boxes cocked at a random angle near what appears to be a storage room. I vaguely wonder if the mechs are running a black-market food sales operation under the captain’s nose.

There’s a rustling noise behind the wall of boxes. Before I can approach, Shadow advances from my left, running point. I think it’s another misguided attempt to protect me.

I hear a steady stream of laser fire and see it sear through the boxes from behind. I volley back, but I’m firing in the dark. Whoever is shooting is completely hidden and knows our position far better than we know his. I keep my finger on the trigger, firing a continuous burst of laser fire, but he has the advantage. Suddenly I’m hit. In the chest.

Anya

I’d expected laser fire to erupt from the engine room. I figured there would be a straggler in there. I did not expect to hear my lion roar in agony. Stryker and Theos have to physically hold me back from running in, although I don’t know what I could possibly do to help.

More gunfire erupts, and in only a moment Shadow shouts, “Enemy dead, Zar’s down.” By the time I break free from the males to run forward, Dr. Drayke is already halfway through the doorway, hurrying to assess the situation.

Drayke is kneeling next to Zar’s crumpled and bloody body.

“No!” I cry, then shove my knuckles against my lips. My chest feels tight and heavy, tears are welling in my eyes. I don’t want to distract even one iota from the doctor’s concentration. I bite back my urge to ask if Zar will be okay. There’s no way the doctor could know anything at this point. I’m impotent, just a nuisance.

Kneeling at Zar’s side, I try to stay out of the doctor’s way. I stroke his hand, murmuring nonsense. What do you say when you see your male gravely injured only inches from you? I smell charred fur and flesh. This is so real and yet it’s as if I’m seeing it from a distance.

Out of the edge of my awareness, I notice Theos and Stryker are hustling the prisoners to the cell block to secure them and check on the other women. I’m too busy paying attention to Zar’s chest as it weakly rises and falls.

It seems hours before Theos returns, running at full speed with a wheeled gurney. The men pick Zar up and set him on it without him making a sound. He’s completely unconscious. No muscle tone, head lolled to the side, lips drooping and fangs gleaming in the dim light. And blood. So much blood. A crazy part of my brain tells me Zar is dead, but the sane part of me says they wouldn’t be doing this if he was no longer alive.

I trail behind as Shadow speeds the gurney to medbay. Before he even locks the wheels in place, the doctor shifts into overdrive. He orders the medbot to turn down the room temperature, administer IV fluids and compatible blood while he intently examines the medical information streaming in on a nearby screen.

I stand at the head of the gurney, as out of the way as possible, and stroke Zar’s immobile face. My God, I feel half-dead myself. This can’t be happening.

If even a tiny part of me had still wondered if I loved Zar, there is absolutely no doubt now. My heart wouldn’t feel as if it had been plucked, still beating, out of my chest if I just kind of liked this guy because we were in a dangerous situation together. It’s love all right, and with him lying so close to death on that gurney, it’s the downside of love for sure.

What if he dies? Did I tell him I loved him? What if I never talk to him—never see that rare, beautiful smile beam at me again?

I can’t bear what I’m feeling. I shrink back into myself and put these worries and thoughts out of my head. I witness as if through a fog—my vision is blurry. I hear the doctor’s staccato commands as though I’m underwater.

Observing every movement the doctor makes, I watch as the medbot performs what looks like intricate surgery on the wounds in Zar’s abdomen. The doctor’s face is tense as he announces, “Perforated bowel. Worst case scenario. ”

I clamp my teeth shut, but no amount of pressure keeps my grief from spilling out. Tears are raining down my face. I experience the unbearable pain of hearing that the man I love might not make it through surgery.

Shadow pulls a wheeled stool behind me and presses my shoulders so I’m sitting. I never take my hands off Zar’s face and mane as I stroke him gently.

“Nothing to do but wait,” Dr. Drayke finally announces. “Anya, we’ve done everything we can do. Several internal organs were damaged, but the medbot patched things up. The perforated bowel means there are nasty bacteria everywhere in his internal cavity. This could lead to infection or sepsis, especially because the germs infiltrated many injured organs. If this had happened any farther from an operating room, he’d already be dead.” He sees me blanch. “But he has a chance, Anya. He has a chance.”

They move him from the operating room into one of the smaller exam rooms, cover him with a warming blanket, and leave us alone.

Now I allow myself to fully experience the grief and fear I’ve been trying to control. My hands are shaking so badly I press them between my thighs to settle down. I can’t see Zar through my watery eyes. I wish I could just disappear.

I love this guy. He’s so medically compromised I don’t know if he’ll live or die.

I’ve seen enough TV medical shows to know that comatose people are supposed to be able to hear their loved ones talk. So by God, I’m going to keep up a steady stream of chatter. Zar is going to know I’m here and how much I love his beautiful, whiskered face.