Page 8 of Her Alien Matchmaker

The soldier’s fist hit Jet’s jaw, then the man scrambled up and crawled toward his weapon.

Jet moved like lightning, grabbing the soldier by the sides of his head twisting, creating a sickening crunch.

The young service member dropped to the ground, the air whooshing from his mouth in a long exhale.

Jet’s lips tightened, but he jumped to his feet, anger burning in his eyes as he faced Kastor.

I kept Aaron behind me, hoping he hadn’t seen Jet kill the soldier.

My stomach heaved, but I tamped it down. Jet didn’t have a choice. If he’d let the man reach his gun, he could’ve killed or maimed all of us.

Aaron murmured to Crockett, reciting the table of elements and their atomic numbers, starting with Hydrogen; a trick he used when stressed or afraid.

This is my fault. I put him in this situation with my choices. My heart broke. I would make it up to him if we made it out of here alive. Somehow.

Major Kastor stared at Jet and released a deep chuckle. “Do you really think you can take all of us by yourself?”

The remaining three soldiers stalked forward, and the closest—his name and rank listed as Master Sergeant Jones—stopped beside the enormous leader. “Sir, we’re waiting on your orders.” He trained his gun on me. “Another squadron is enroute.”

Pure terror stiffened my spine, and I held my arms up in a placating gesture. “Please. My son—”

“I don’t give two fucks about your son, Dr. Lamb, like you didn’t give two fucks about the side effects of your experiments.

Do you know how excruciating it was to go through the procedures to become a living weapon based on your research?

Do you understand how it feels to lose pieces of humanity in the name of your country?

” Kastor took a step toward me and raised a fist, his lean face like chiseled diamond.

“You had your chance to save your brat, and you refused. Now, you can comfort yourself knowing you’ll die together by the very weapon you created. ”

“No!” Jet took one step and held out a hand. “You do not need them. It is me you are after.”

The other two soldiers switched nervous glances to their dead unit member then to Jetarin, as if they couldn’t quite believe a member of their group had been killed so quickly.

Major Kastor motioned to me, and Sergeant Jones nodded, pointing his gun at my forehead. “If she moves, shoot her.”

I froze.

As Kastor swiveled toward Jet, a pulse of energy blasted outward from Jetarin’s direction.

That’s one of the offensive blasts the weapons research team has been researching with the neural implants. Volderens, as far as I knew, shouldn’t be able to use it, unless Jet had managed to steal the research.

The pulse knocked the three regular soldiers off their feet and onto their backs, but Kastor merely grunted as he stumbled, still standing.

Jet charged ahead with a yell, ramming his head into the larger man’s chest and wrapping his arms around Kastor’s chest.

The super soldier mirrored Jet’s movement, each warrior locked into an embrace of death.

With a knee, Jet rammed it into the other man’s crotch.

Kastor let out a low groan and pulled his face back, then lunged it toward Jet’s forehead, one of the genetically created horns catching Jet’s temple and ripping the skin with a cascade of blue Volderen blood pouring down his face and onto his shoulder.

“No,” I whispered, knowing if Jet lost, we would all lose. I wanted to jump in and help, yet I couldn’t leave Aaron unprotected. Besides, I didn’t know the first thing about hand-to-hand combat.

Why doesn’t Kastor shoot him? He had a gun holstered. All he’d have to do would be to pull it out and shoot. Because this guy wants to gloat, to prove he’s better than Volderen, and the slower the kill, the more time to savor his victory.

The other soldiers, still on their backs, twitched and rolled like dazed birds after hitting a window.

Jet lunged toward Kastor again, this time ducking at the last minute, missing a gigantic ham-fisted swing, then sending a sharp kidney shot to Kastor.

The Major sucked in a breath but didn’t stop moving. Instead, he smoothly twisted around and slammed a fist to the back of Jet’s head, the force driving the alien into the rock wall only a few paces from where Aaron and I stood.

“No,” I cried out, seeing more blood pour from his head, this time from the back of his scalp as he crumpled in a heap. It’s a scalp wound, which is why there’s so much blood. Just a few stitches, and he’ll—

A force slammed against my shoulder, knocking me to my stomach, my head hitting Jet’s shoulder.

“Please don’t hurt my mom.” The sound of Aaron’s voice, small and defiant, forced me to push myself onto my hands and knees even though the world spun. “She’s a doctor and helps save people.”

Kastor laughed, pulling out his weapon and pointing it toward Jetarin, who lay unmoving. “Little boy. Your mother is one of the reasons I exist. I guess you could say she helps people, but she doesn’t give that help without hurting and killing a lot of others.”

I sat, unable to stand because the world became a carousel going two hundred miles per hour. I closed my eyes for a moment, willing my brain and ears to reach an equilibrium.

Something small and warm pressed against me, and Aaron’s scent—the smell of books and the mango shampoo he used every night—washed over me like a calming balm. “Manganese 25,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “Iron 26, Cobalt 27—”

“I love you.” I gripped him tightly, opening my eyes to stare into his own dark brown irises, the slight stir of air cooling the tears on my cheeks.

His red-rimmed eyes met mine, and he nodded, continuing to list each element as he clung to Crockett with a one-handed death grip.

Kastor yelled something to the men on the ground, who’d started to stir, but I didn’t care. This is it. I’m going to die here, and so is my son. I’ve done everything I can to protect him, and it hasn’t been enough. Even worse? My actions are the very thing putting him in danger.

“Mommy,” he said, holding a small fist against his cheek. “That man’s evil.”

“Yes. Very.” I pulled his head against my chest, using my body as a shield while watching the super soldier relay something into his earpiece.

“Then he lied about you hurting people?”

I’d thought my heart couldn’t hold any more pain, but his question proved me wrong.

I’ll tell him the truth. At least I can die with a clean conscience.

I tilted his head to look up at me. “He didn’t lie.

Part of my job is… was …to find the good parts of guys like Jet and use them to make better humans.

Sometimes it meant pain…and sometimes it meant an experiment went wrong and someone died. ”

His eyes searched mine. “But doctors are supposed to heal sick people and save their lives.” His words held accusation.

“They are, and I lost my way. Jet helped me find it again. I’m sorry I let you down, I’m sorry I hurt people, but I’m especially sorry you’re here having to see this.

” My voice cracked. “I love you so much, Aaron.” He hugged me tightly, and I returned it with a desperate embrace of my own.

“I tried to be a good mother, but instead I’ve put you in terrible danger because I blindly wanted the best for you despite the cost to others. ”

One soldier finally wobbled his way onto his feet.

“Keep watch on the doctor and her boy. If she tries to escape, shoot him in the head.” Kastor bent toward Jet and grabbed the back of his neck. “I’ll take care of this piece of trash.”

Jet’s index finger twitched, the only clue to let me know he still breathed.

I kept still, so I didn’t give the sergeant a reason to notice us, to hurt Aaron.

This is a nightmare. How could I have been so stupid, thinking XVU wouldn’t be using my research behind my back, before thorough testing had been conducted? Another thought flitted in my head. Would they have killed me after the project concluded to protect their secrets?

The incinerator, located close to the surface of the facility, would have taken care of my body, like it did with test subjects when our experiments killed them. It’s what I would have deserved. Hell, I deserved what was happening now, but Aaron did not deserve it.

Kastor lifted Jetarin off the ground with one hand and pulled the Volderen closer.

“Do you feel that? This implant, thanks to your contributions, is allowing me to connect to your neural pathways. I will crush you. I am too strong for you to control. Now, experience the might of XVU, of humanity, and see what’s coming for your race. ”

Jet could control the other soldiers, but not Kastor. Not good at all.

His comment about the implant sparked something deep in my brain. We made the collars to subdue Volderens and to interact with the implants, in case one of our people lost control. I shifted my hand to my purse, digging around inside until my fingers clasped a cold metallic object.

Kastor, now only two feet from Jet, would kill the alien. If that happened, we’d all be doomed.

“Baby, I need you to tuck yourself into a ball, make yourself as small as possible, okay?”

Aaron gave me a solemn nod, then sat down and hugged his knees, tucking his head down and resuming his elemental table count in a whispered voice.

Afraid to think about my next move too deeply, I jumped to my feet and sprinted to the lumbering super soldier, hoping my movement would draw attention away from Aaron and onto me.

I need to pounce on his back. Two more seconds.

The other soldier yelled at his commander, but I didn’t hear gunshots. The screaming service member made the bigger man pause, his head beginning to turn.

I slammed against his spine and dug my nails into the skin of his unprotected neck, pulling myself up and wrapping an elbow around his windpipe.

He thrashed, his hands trying to grab my legs as I yanked them around his middle, knowing I only had one second or two before he’s squash me like a bug.