Page 20 of Guardian’s Destiny (Space Guardian’s Mate #3)

SLOANE

"That one," Vraax pointed at a large blip on the radar . It wasn't really a radar, not like what I was used to, but in lieu of calling it anything else, that's what I had named it. Vraax called it a spectral grid, but that was too much of a mouthful for me. No matter how technologically advanced it was, it still showed Ohrur and many ships in its orbit.

Vraax tapped on the ship he had picked until it zoomed in, giving us detailed information. It was a transporter with a crew of ten, which seemed laughable to me since the thing was twice the size of a skyscraper. Just flying through space. Un-fucking-believable.

Vraax had even been able to pull up its cargo, ranging from fabric and food to furniture. Nothing too valuable like the one he had picked first, before deciding against it. "Too much of a risk," he said, because it had been filled with comms and other valuable electronics. That ship's cargo had been a few billion credits, whereas the one he had decided on was only one billion.

"Fine," I agreed, not caring which transporter he picked to hitch a piggyback ride to Ohrur.

That was our grandiose plan. Vraax would maneuver our ship to attach to the transporter's belly. Thus, we wouldn't appear on the Ohrur's radar, as long as the Ohrurs didn't do a full hull analysis, which Vraax assured me they wouldn't. They wouldn't expect a threat coming in. Not like that anyway.

I wasn't so sure about that. "Not even after Tharaax took Possedion right from under their noses?" I pointed out. Had I been in charge of security and had that happened under my watch, I would have utilized every trick in my book to make sure nothing like that would happen again.

"They don't know that I've gone rogue," Vraax argued.

"Maybe not you, but I bet they've already recalled the remaining Space Guardian who was assigned to finding humans. Maybe others, too." Something else I would have done.

Vraax scoffed, "They won't expect anybody to repeat what Tharaax did."

I hoped he was right, but I had my doubts. I didn't want to argue with him, though. Not since I rejected him last night. He had been distant ever since. Fine. I had spent enough time with men to know that they got pouty when they didn't get what they wanted.

And I had wanted him. I had been so close to giving in. But it had been a bad idea timing-wise. He had been through an emotional trauma with my attempt of sleep hypnosis. I worried he only wanted to bury the emotions that had welled inside him, and I… well, I wouldn't have said no to a quickie, but just like I said, I worried there was much more between us than a quickie—starting with the cursed mating marks and how he was growing on me.

No, giving in last night would have been a mistake, and we would have both regretted it in the morning. Plus, we already knew that today we would start Operation Moddekdum stakeout. We both needed to be on our top game and not weird around each other.

Yeah, way to go on that, Sloane !

Well, the weirdness was there, in the form of tension, so yeah, that hadn't worked out the way I planned. But I was certain it would be a hundred times worse had we given in to our primal urges.

So I was willing to let Vraax make some of the decisions this morning, and really, what did I know about the Ohrurs? He had worked for them for nearly twenty years.

We closed in on the large freighter that seemed to dwarf us. "Won't they see us on their rad—er spectral grid?" I asked.

"Probably, but they won't think anything of it. We're flying a Space Guardian ship."

I wanted to point out that, according to him, Space Guardians didn't visit Ohrur, but again, what did I know?

Vraax did some fancy maneuvering that left me pretty speechless and then opened a magnetic field that pressed us against the monstrous hull, and I finally understood what he meant. As large as our ship appeared to me, compared to the giant transporter, it was as insignificant as an ant clinging to a cruise ship. I doubted our presence would warrant one raised eyebrow.

We broke through the atmosphere with no problems, but when Vraax disengaged the magnetic field and brought us on our own course, all hell broke loose.

"There are at least five of them," he cursed as several smaller jets bore down on us.

Vraax increased his speed, but the fighters were on us like a wet rag.

"Two more," I announced, checking the radar, coming straight at us.

Our ship was a lot bigger than the smaller jets and, as such, handled much slower. A shudder moved through our vessel as they opened fire at us.

"What are you going to do?" I asked Vraax.

"I can't lose them here. We need to get back in space," he stated.

"They won't let us back in," I warned.

He threw me a quick glance that said as much as, no shit, Sherlock , or an alien version of it.

"Alright," I got up from my chair, "change of plans."

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"We are changing our plans from stealth to full frontal assault," I explained. "Keep moving toward Moddekdum's house. Open fire at them and let me out."

He narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning?"

"How long can you keep those yahoos busy?" I thumbed toward the jets on our tail.

"As long as it takes."

"Can you let me out? I'll collect our Ohrurs, and you come back and pick us up?"

"Sloane, this isn't?—"

"An Uber, I get it." I waved him off. I knew he had no clue what I was talking about, but for once, he kept his smart replies to himself. "Is there a way to let me out?" I also prayed the damn mating marks wouldn't act up, otherwise this would turn into a quick: abort mission.

He nodded; his expression was grim. He didn't like my idea one bit. Too bad. I understood that he was used to working alone, but we were a team now, and I was pretty sure I was the one in command of it.

"Alright, we'll go in hot. Once you let me out, you fly a loop and send a missile or whatever into his house, and I'll catch us two Ohrurs."

His chest rose as he took a deep inhale. I could see his mind working feverishly on an alternate plan, but another jolt going through our ship as our force shield was hit brought the urgency of our situation home to him. He knew there was no other way.

I sure as shit couldn't fly his ship, I could however capture a couple of Ohrurs. If he could just stay ahead of the seven—my bad, nine now—jets after us, we might still have a chance of pulling this mission off successfully.

There was no way in hell the Ohrurs would even let us come close to their planet again after this stunt.

"Alright," Vraax evaded another shot at us, sending a decoy and brought the ship into a small nose dive, toppling me off balance. "There," he brought up a very detailed map of several sprawling mansions surrounding a hill. One was lit up in red, and I gathered it was Moddekdum's. "That hill," the hill lit up in red. "When I start coming toward it, you better be on top of it, with or without the Ohrurs," he sent a stern glance at me.

"With or without the Ohrurs, cross my heart and hope to die," I promised, crossing my heart.

"Sloane, I'm serious."

"So am I," I assured him, having no intentions of coming empty-handed to our rendezvous; he might have to do another pass.

His eyes penetrated me deep down to my soul, making my heart jump for a split second. Damn, this man was intense.

"Just to be clear, if you're not there, I will come looking for you," he said between pressed teeth, and I knew he was serious. There would be no second pass. Instead, he would land, and we'd have to figure out how to get away from this planet.

"I'll be there," I assured him.

"Good," he nodded, his dark eyes promising he would follow through with his threat. Shit, he was really, really hot. Regret for not having given in to my desires the previous night rushed through me, and I promised myself that tonight—if we were still alive—would be different. "Get into the cargo bay and jump when it's time. Also make sure to grab a comm."

"How do I know when it's time?" I grinned in anticipation of his answer.

He didn't disappoint. "You'll know."

"Alright."

I turned to leave, but Vraxx's voice stopped me. "Sloane, wait."

He jumped out of the captain's chair and moved toward me with such determination that my heart skipped a beat. The ship shuddered under the impact of another hit.

"Vraax, the ship." I tried to stop him.

"Can wait," he said, grabbing my face not too gently between his humongous palms and bringing it up to his, before he leaned down to kiss me. I'd never been the weak-in-the-knees kind of girl, but that kiss? Wow, just wow. My legs trembled so badly, I swear all that kept me standing were his hands still holding my face. It was just his lips on mine, no tongue, just a simple, forceful kiss that laid his emotions bare, and I reciprocated in kind, pressing myself against him.

"Be safe," he said when at last he let go of me.

It took a tremendous amount of willpower to stay on my feet.

"Grab some blasters and knives on your way," he suggested.

Another jolt shuddered the ship.

"Make sure to stay in one piece," I replied.

"I'm planning to," he grinned that boyish grin of his that resulted in my pussy drenching. Fuck, being aroused was the last thing I needed right now. Even though, by the looks of the bulge between his legs, he wasn't much better off.

I kicked myself into gear and pushed all thoughts of this gorgeous man out of my mind. I had a mission to fulfill.

True to his word, I did know exactly when it was time to jump. I held on to a rope in the cargo unit when I felt the ship slow and the hatch open. The ground underneath was still moving by with incredible speed, but we were so low, I worried the ship's hull would scrape the roofs of the mansions underneath us. And then we stopped on a dime. It was one of the most incredible things I had ever experienced. One moment, we were going so fast, everything below was a blur, and in the next instant, we stalled. I wasn't even thrown off balance. Unbelievable.

I didn't have time to consider it, though; I knew this was the moment Vraax wanted me to jump, so I did. Straight onto the leveled roof below me, that didn't look like Moddekdum's house at all. I landed in a crouch, and when I turned, I saw Moddekdum's mansion, or what was about to be left of it. Vraax shot a blast at it, which made the foundation crumble. Fire erupted from several windows. I didn't have time to take in the spectacle, though; this was go time.

I ran to the edge of the roof and noticed a shorter roof below me, reminding me of a gazebo. I jumped and shimmied myself down to the ground, which I hit running, straight for the neighboring house in flames.

Thankfully, the wall between Moddekdum's house and this wasn't too high, probably the reason Vraax had picked it as a drop off for me. It had been a while since I scaled a wall, especially without any equipment, but muscle memory is a wonderful thing, and my blood sang in my veins to be in action again. It had been far too long since I had been in a situation like this. Instead of sending others to their deaths, I was the one doing it, and it felt incredibly good.

I jumped the seven feet down on the other side, right into a bush that broke my fall, while the first Ohrurs came screaming out of the mansion. Using a tree as cover, I quickly scanned my surroundings. A male Ohrur came out, coughing. He stared up at the burning house, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Vraax had shown me a picture of Moddekdum. It was hard to imagine that I would be this lucky, but that was undoubtedly him.

A scream from inside distracted me, and it sounded like someone was trapped in the same room Moddekdum had just exited. He must have seen that person, too; I was sure he heard her just now because he turned to look just as he was moving backward.

Coward.

He turned and made a beeline for the end of his estate. Other Ohrurs were running, not paying any attention to him or me. This was my chance.

Another scream from inside distracted me.

Fuck.

I couldn't stand by and listen to someone burn to death. I didn't care if it was an Ohrur or not. Moddekdum, I knew was evil, but I had no idea about whoever was trapped in there.

I put my blaster on stun and shot Moddekdum, who went down like a felled tree without anybody noticing. Good.

With an irritated curse at myself, I moved to the jagged-looking floor-to-ceiling window Moddekdum had used to escape the house. The room inside was in flames, but I noticed a smaller form on the ground; a shelf had fallen and landed on her feet, trapping her. It wouldn't take any effort at all to free her. Moddekdum could have done so in a heartbeat on his way out; that he didn't was telling enough.

The fire was like any fire on Earth. Burning acid in my throat, tickling my nose, and making my eyes water. Maybe more so than on Earth, but that was probably more likely because of the furniture and house that was burning than anything else.

The closer I got, the surer I was that the person trapped underneath the shelf was indeed a woman. When she saw me, her eyes widened in fear. She had probably never seen a human before. Whatever, she wasn't exactly something to look at either, with her greyish skin that was duller than Moddekdum's.

"Easy, I'm just going to help you, alright?"

Her green eyes were large with fear, but then a beam fell with a loud crash, sending a wave of heat toward us. Given the choice between burning to death, she must have figured that I was the lesser evil.

The shelf was heavier than it looked, but the Ohrur showed courage and pulled on her legs the moment I got the shelf up enough to give her some wiggle room. She cursed and hissed in pain, and I worried she might have broken her leg or ankle.

She tried to stand, and I was sure she would bolt away from me, but her leg buckled underneath her. I grabbed her underneath the shoulder and helped her out.

"Thank you," she managed weakly underneath a short coughing fit.

"Don't thank me yet." I felt bad, but we still needed two hostages.

I wasn't sure if she was in shock or had decided to trust me—big mistake—but she never asked where we were going when I led her straight to where Moddekdum's still unconscious form rested.

"Moddekdum," she cried out and became more animated since she had cried out for help. "He's unconscious. We need a healing wand."

I hated myself for lying or, at the very least, deceiving her, but a cooperative hostage was better than one fighting me, especially since I would have to support her and carry the unconscious Moddekdum up the hill.

"We'll get him taken care of," I promised. "Let's get up that hill," I pointed, "the air should be fresher there."

Just then, I picked up a humming sound and watched in stunned amazement as hundreds of drones descended on the house, spraying a reddish liquid down that not only killed the flames but didn't seem to leave any residue like foam or water. Handy.

"Up the hill?" the Ohrur questioned the wisdom of my suggestion, which I had to admit was nonexistent.

"Yeah, come on," I summoned up all the enthusiasm I was capable of, and with a shy smile, she allowed me to continue supporting her. I kneeled down and slung Moddekdum over my back. Thankfully, the Ohrurs weren't very tall or heavy; it felt like carrying a sixteen-year-old kid. Still, carrying him and supporting her wasn't easy.

"Oh no!" The Ohrur pointed in the air, where I made out Vraax's ship flying in a big loop straight for us, followed by eleven jets now. He must have shot a few down because I doubted there were only eleven on his tail.

"It's alright," I smiled at the Ohrur encouragingly. "It'll be alright," I promised. And swore it would be. I didn't care about Moddekdum, but I would be damned if I let any harm come to this woman, girl. She looked more like a girl than a woman, but I had zero idea about Ohrur anatomy.

"Oh, there's help," the woman waved down the hill, where three Space Guardians just dismounted what looked like hovering bikes. They hadn't seen us yet, and I preferred to keep it that way.

"Down," I hissed at her, dragging her into a crouched position while still trying to mount the damn hill. Had that thing grown since I first saw it on a map? It sure felt like it.

"Why, they can help us. They have healing wands." The distrustful gaze she had first bestowed on me in the room of the burning house returned.

I didn't want to stun her with the blaster, but I would if she kept trying to give our position away.

"I need you to be still," I told her, holding up the blaster.

Her green, slanted eyes widened as she looked back from the blaster to me.

"You are not a good person," she stated.

I had heard the same expression in different languages and words so many times before that it shouldn't have bothered me, but it did.

"Never said I was," I snarled back. "Let's go," I pushed her up and forward.