Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,61

these bastards learned a few things from our last incursions.”

He knew Rossi was talking about a pair of raids his team had done against the Grays. During the first one, they’d freed Nyx. All he knew about the second raid was they’d come back with another freed cyborg, Nyx’s clone, Shadow. The rest was classified, and that was fine with him. Nova Force was here for the ship and to gather intelligence. They were here for one reason – to get Xori back, and they’d almost fraxxed that up.

A ghost from their past had almost cost them their future. He was still angry with himself for that. Worse, Xori had put herself in harm’s way, and by the time they’d realized the danger, it had been too late.

They’d screwed up their reaction, too, slowing each other down and getting in the other’s way as they both tried to be the one to take the hit. Xori had known what they’d do, and she’d sacrificed herself to protect them.

He looked down at the beauty in his arms and felt a surge of emotions so strong they nearly brought him to his knees. Ward was right, they didn’t deserve her. But that didn’t change the fact that she was theirs, and he’d fight to the death to keep her.

“How’s she doing?” Ward asked as he checked around yet another corridor intersection. They weren’t far from the extraction point, now. They hadn’t come across any resistance since they’d killed two females armed with basic blasters, either. Like the men, they’d refused to surrender, so he and Ward had no choice but to kill them.

“Still out of it. Probably for the best. Even with the pain-blockers she’s going to hurt every second she’s awake.”

“Our little hellcat is something else, isn’t she?” Ward looked at Xori with a mixture of awe and adoration.

“She is.”

“And she didn’t leave us.”

“Nope.” He grinned. “She was planning on making us official.”

“She’s never going anywhere without one of us again, though,” said Ward flatly.

“I’m in full agreement, but I’m pretty sure she’s not going to like that idea.”

Ward touched her cheek softly. “I don’t care. I need her alive, and whole, and safe. She was right, you know. I would have given my life for you and her today.” He paused, then added in a quieter voice. “In fact, that’s always been the plan.”

“I kind of knew that.” He’d always suspected, but he hadn’t pushed. Hadn’t wanted to believe Ward would go down that road. It was something they were going to have to talk about. If they were getting through this, they’d need to stop pretending they were fine and find a way to make it true.

“Did she really say she loved us?” Ward asked a second later.

Vic didn’t answer, he just shared the memory with Ward directly, letting him experience it for himself.

It was a good moment, but it didn’t last. There was a shimmer in the air in front of them, and Ariel/Vivian appeared again, her face oddly expressionless as she stared them down.

“You can’t win.”

“Funny, feels like we’re winning right now. Nova Force will find whatever hole you’re hiding in, and then they’re going to arrest you and use you to tear down the Gray Men.” Ward didn’t even slow down, he just walked through the projection like it wasn’t there at all.

Vic followed his brother’s lead, but as he passed through the hologram she laughed. It was a stilted, awkward bleating noise that repeated twice before stopping as suddenly as it started. It sounded oddly artificial.

Vivian continued talking. “You disappoint me. But then, I should be used to that by now. You two had such potential, but you never lived up to it.”

He kept walking, resisting the urge to respond. She was trying to distract them again, which meant…fraxx. “Run! She’s up to something.”

He tightened his hold on Xori and sprinted toward their allies. “Rossi, tell everyone to pull back. Go! Go! Go!”

They caught up to the others one corridor later. He flew past, leaving Ward to carry the humans along with him. He heard two surprised shouts, and then they running hell for leather to the ship. He had no idea what was coming, or how long they had, but his instincts were screaming that they were almost out of time.

The commander himself stood watch outside the airlock they’d breached. “Don’t stop, run her straight to medical. We’re out of here the second you’re on board!” Rossi yelled the moment they were in sight.

Rossi’s