Page 302 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

I didn’t wait for him to talk more, counting on the element of surprise as I leaped forward, a blade forming over my hand.

The sharp metal cut through the Xurtal’s throat like butter, his gold eyes going wide in shock before rolling into the back of his head.

I pulled the blade free from his skin and leaped back, protectively positioning myself in front of Tori.

The body of their leader slowly sank to his knees before falling face down on the metal station floor.

“I do not negotiate,” I growled at the rest of the guards, and they leaped at me to attack.

Laser fire brushed harmlessly across my metal-coated skin as I traded blows, dancing around Tori to keep her safe.

I knew she was leaning around me to fire her little pistol at my opponents, landing a few solid hits.

This was a numbers game, though, I had to keep them off my female while they tried to swarm us.

From their ship, I could see more guards trotting down the ramp.

I’d gotten their numbers down to half of what they had been, but a new influx of soldiers?

I risked a glance at Tori and was just in time to swipe my blade down on the reaching arm of one of the assholes trying to grab her.

In the scuffle, her hood had fallen, revealing her gold and brown locks and her narrow, sweet, but oh-so-human face.

Searching for a way out, I knew that neither of the ships I’d had my eye on before would let us in now.

They wouldn’t want trouble with a rich asshole like this one, who could pay for a veritable army to get what he wanted.

Back over the dock and into the station suddenly seemed like an unmanageable distance, too.

Then I spotted the three armor-clad men approaching our scuffle.

One was carrying a huge, barely portable laser cannon in his arms. The other two wore the typical Asrai deathmask markings on their faces, one of them grinning sharp teeth at us.

The Varakartoom mercenaries. I’d seen their ship docked at the very end of this docking arm, a huge black shape that bristled with sharp, jagged edges and weaponry.

“’Scuze me,” the talkative one of the twins exclaimed, “Coming through, out of my way. Oh, that’s bad luck, my man, you might want a band-aid for that.

” The three started shoving their way through our fight as if they were just pushing through a crowd to get where they wanted.

It seemed like they just didn’t care about the flying weapons, fists, and laser fire, but I was pretty sure they were lending me a hand in the most casual way possible.

I made good use of the distraction, knocking out at least two more guards as they were jostled by the big bodies of the mercenaries.

I made sure that none of my blows hit my unexpected allies, but I was pretty sure that at least one of Tori’s shots went wide and hit one of the two Asrai in the chest; the male didn’t seem to notice.

Then my hackles rose when Tori let out a yelp, followed by an angry scream. I spun, catching a sword blow across my back that I barely felt. My eyes went wide with worry when I saw that a soldier had grabbed Tori’s cloak and yanked it free from her body, exposing Novalee against Tori’s chest.

For a moment, everyone seemed to freeze as all eyes turned to Tori and the baby. I moved first, grabbing the soldier nearest her and snapping his neck like a twig, a growl ripping from my chest that made another male stumble out of my way in a hurry.

“A baby? Seriously? That’s not nice. You don’t hurt kids,” one of the Asrai mercenaries growled—without a hint of the irreverent, lackadaisical tone normally present, for the first time.

The fight turned after that. The mercenaries gave up all pretense and joined me in wiping the floor with these soldiers.

In seconds, the ones surrounding Tori had been killed or downed, and the ones just exiting the ship were hesitating in their approach.

“Come on, darling, this way,” the Asrai was saying to Tori, reaching out a hand to grab her arm.

I was between him and my female before he could touch her, a snarl on my face that I couldn’t control.

The male grinned, his deathmask making the expression macabre and a little sinister.

“This way, you lucky bastard,” he repeated, and he pointed down the dock toward the hulking shape of the Varakartoom.

“Our lady Vara will welcome you,” the Rummicaron with the portable laser cannon rumbled at us, pointing one giant, beefy arm in the same direction.

Tori and I shared a look. I didn’t really want to go with the mercenaries, but at least I knew they could be bought.

They’d also protected Novalee; it seemed they didn’t like to see kids get hurt.

I just didn’t like the way that Asrai kept looking at my mate.

Slinging Tori beneath my arm, I hooked my foot under the edge of her cloak and tossed it up to catch it with my hand. “Very well,” I told the Asrai, with a look at the group of guards who were now moving down the ship ramp in formation, weapons aimed our way.

With the Rummicaron and his cannon guarding our back, we retreated across the dock to the mercenary vessel.

I was certain that Kitan would be highly amused by this turn of fate, these mercenaries had chased us across the Zeta Quadrant, and now they were our best bet for safety.

I wasn’t going to trust these guys, not until a deal had been struck, and even then, I’d have to make sure that Tori and Novalee never left my side.

I was certain that kind of protectiveness was going to piss off my Tally, but there was no other option. It wasn’t like she was willing to accept me as a mate right now, though that kiss, and her care for me, gave me hope. I’d make it up to her later, on the Vagabond, when she was safe.