Stealing Jia (Coletti Warlords #12) - Gail Koger Page 0,35

and those Rodan monsters will never slaughter another soul.”

A shudder shook Chiara and she looked up at me solemnly. “I give you my oath that I will serve you and Father Trayon until the Rodan have been vanquished.”

“Oh, cara, you don’t have to do that. You should discuss it with your mother first.”

“If she still lives.”

“I accept your pledge,” Trayon replied formally.

The note of satisfaction in his voice had me worried. Zarek had been trying for years to capture a Shani. How would he feel about Chiara working for the Askole? On our private link, I warned Trayon, “Don’t forget she’s a kid and part of our family. She’s not a new weapon you can play with.”

“I will protect her with my life.” There was a gleam of amusement in Trayon’s eyes.

“You think this is funny?”

“I am one of the most feared warriors in the galaxy. No one would dare disobey my orders, but you. You defied me, challenged me to combat and would have given your life to protect the children. You are a fascinating female.”

“I knew I should have done my hysterical bimbo act,” I groused.

Trayon gave me his alarming grin. “It would not have worked. You escaped Zarek. A petka could not have accomplished that feat.”

“What can I say. I’ve had a lot of experience in evading the Polizia.” I turned my attention to kids. “Let’s see what kind of goodies Father Trayon brought you.”

“I expect you on the bridge in twenty minutes,” Trayon said and whoosh, he was gone. Along with Adoz.

I rolled my eyes. “Sure. Piece of cake. What could go wrong?”

The doors swished open and in crawled Bey with the evil twins. “You need to watch them. I am needed on the bridge.”

The kids jumped off his back and ran over to the food processor.

“No! No! No! You can’t leave them here. I have to be on the bridge in twenty minutes.”

Totally ignoring me, Bey skittered out the door.

“Hey! I’m meeting my father for the first time!” I ran after him. “Come back here you eight-legged freak!”

Bey gave me the Tabor version of the one finger salute.

I tackled him to the floor.

The crazy spider jumped up and I was suddenly riding him like a rodeo bronco. “Yee-haw!”

He tore up the wall. I lost my grip and crashed to the floor.

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

The ass had webbed me to the floor. “That was a mistake.”

Bey crawled on top of me and black fangs erupted through his fur. “You are a foolish petka.”

I froze when he nipped at my neck. “Foolish? Maybe. Helpless no.” I zapped him.

Bey convulsed, toppled off me and his legs curled into a ball.

Cazzo! Had I killed him? I struggled against the webbing. The nasty spider had done a thorough job of gluing me to the floor. “Trayon! I need a medic.”

“Who is injured?”

“I think I killed Bey.”

Whoosh! Trayon was standing over me. “What happened?”

“Ah. Well, we had a little disagreement. He webbed me. I zapped him and here we are.”

Soval zoomed up, took one look at Bey, and ran his scanner over him.

“Is he dead?” He sure looked dead.

“No, merely stunned,” Soval replied.

“Oh. That’s good.” Until he woke up. Then there would be hell to pay.

A loud crash sounded from inside. “I have a feeling the evil twins are into the blood worms again.”

“As do I. Do not go anywhere.” Trayon stepped into our quarters.

“Har. Har.” Who knew my big, bad had a sense of humor?

A tall, gray-haired human male in armor appeared in the hallway. His eyebrows rose when he spotted me. “You have to be Jia.”

“I am. Got a knife?”

He grinned and pulled a dagger. “I do.”

“Can you cut me free before the eight-legged freak wakes up?”

“I can.” His gaze roved over me like he was committing me to memory.

Once look into his goldish-green eyes and it just hit me. He was my father. I studied him eagerly. He wore his hair military style and was a total badass in his battle armor. Holy Mother! My dad had dimples just like me. He was everything I could have hoped for. “You’re…? Are you Derek Jones?”

“I am.”

“God, I can’t believe it. I’ve been searching for you for a very long time.”

“If I had known Viola was pregnant, I would have done everything I could to find you.”

The regret on my father’s face brought tears to my eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. My birth records were falsified, and I was placed in Saint Michael’s Home for Lost Sheep. An orphanage that