Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,12

of supplication she hadn’t had to use in years.

The male lashed out with a booted foot, catching her on the side of her knee. It gave way and she fell, biting back a cry she knew would only draw more of the male’s ire.

Someone caught her mid-fall and a familiar voice said, “I’ve got you.”

She didn’t know which one of them had her until Ward strode past her.

* * *

“You bastard!” he bellowed, and the Pheran took a step back in shock, but Ward kept coming, his fury hammering against her awareness, raw, primal, and completely uncontrolled.

Time slowed to a crawl.

If he drew a weapon or used even a fraction of his cyborg strength against the other male, the Pheran would die. She had to stop him.

She scrambled to her feet, freeing herself from Vic’s grasp, and dove for Ward. She needed to be as close as possible if this had any chance of working.

Please let this work.

How had such an amazing evening gone to hell so fast?

Ward hadn’t even realized Xori had fallen behind until it was too late. He’d heard the shouts, looked down to check on her, and felt a sickening twist in his gut when he saw the gap between him and Vic. She was gone.

They’d spun around in time to see everything, but not soon enough to stop it from happening. The vicious tone, the cruel words, the assault on the female they should have been protecting. The noise of the crowd faded and his focus narrowed until all he could see was the Pheran who’d dared to lash out at Xori.

The two of them moved together, training and years of fighting side-by-side making communication unnecessary. Vic went to catch Xori while Ward faced down the asshole who’d hurt her.

Anger poured through him, turning the warm glow of contentment into something different – a conflagration of fury. His rage was as hot and bright as rocket fuel at the moment of ignition. The blue bastard would pay. Hurting someone just because he could, because he thought his position gave him the right. It was wrong, and this time, he was free to step in and put a stop to it.

He went after the other male, hands fisted to stop himself going for either blaster or knife. Too quick. Too clean. He raised a hand to strike him, and then everything changed.

It was like walking into a sunbeam after spending countless days trapped in darkness. Light poured through him, banishing every shadow and filling him with a sense of peace and contentment that was painfully, impossibly pure.

Something soft and warm hit him from behind, and he spun around to find Xori there, unsteady on her feet, her silver eyes bright with tears. She touched his hand, wrapping her fingers around his fist. “Don’t. You don’t need to hurt him.”

He took in a breath so deep his ribs creaked, her voice resonating through him like the chime of a silver bell.

“Are you alright?” he asked., still dazed from the emotional transformation.

“I am. But I want to go home, now. Please?”

He unclenched his fingers to take her hand, and Vic appeared in his vision, staring at something behind him. The Pheran. Holy fraxx. He’d turned his back on a threat. He gave his head a shake, trying to make sense of what he’d just experienced. The sudden shift in mood had shaken him, left him emotionally off-kilter. He wanted to regain the momentary flash of peace he’d felt, but it was already fading away. He let it go. There were more important things to deal with right now.

Vic pointed at the male Ward had been ready to beat to death. “This is over. And if you ever do harm to a female of any species on this station again, we’ll find you and make sure you regret it. You’re not on Phera Prime now. Your rules don’t apply here.”

The Pheran snarled, a sound that lacked any real venom. “Are you threatening me, human?”

“No. Just stating facts, Pheran.” Vic’s tone was colder than the void outside.

Xori took Vic’s hand and tugged at it. She hadn’t let a single tear fall, but he could see she was hurting and unhappy. “I want to go home.” The words were sharper now, edged with tears and pain that neither of them could resist.

Vic turned to her and nodded. “Home.”

Vic’s voice sounded inside his head. “What happened? I thought you were going to kill him. Then you just… stopped.”

Ward leaned down and swung