Stolen and Seduced - Christine Pope Page 0,339

adorable. I may be falling for you already.”

Dhior looked at me then with confusion lacing his expression as wrinkles creased his forehead. “I do not understand.”

“It’s okay,” Gia said, reaching out for him and me. She held both our hands in hers and smiled between us. “I’m in. One hundred percent committed to you both. We’re a team, and nobody is going to separate us. Not today, do you understand?”

“You don’t know Drakkaras. He is ruthless.”

“Well if I truly am his daughter, then everyone is severely underestimating me. And let them, I’ll use that to my advantage.”

“Commander, we are preparing to re-enter our galaxy. Is the prisoner detained?” A voice from the other side of Dhior’s door rang through the room like a speaker. “Is the princess safe for re-entry?”

“What do we do?” Dhior whispered.

“We have two choices. Either present ourselves to Drakkaras as he’s expecting us, and prepare for the fallout, or we take over this ship and do things our way. You know as well as I do that once the craft lands, you are as good as dead.” Dhior looked to Gia. “All of us.”

“He's right,” Gia said. “I don’t know Drakkaras, but I’ll be damned if he or anybody is going to hurt the man I love.” She looked over at me. “Let’s take over the ship. Tell me what to do.”

“Never in my life have I been prouder to call you my mate.” I reached out for Gia’s cheek, running my finger along her jaw line, then leaned in and kissed her passionately. Almost forgetting it was do or die time.

“Suit up,” Gia said after releasing my lips. She turned to Dhior and grinned. “Let’s do this.”

I couldn’t return Gia’s grin at the moment, since I knew how slim our chances of surviving this were.

“Okay, we must eliminate five crew members, including the pilot. They’re all loyalists and will not help us in any way. We do have one ally on board, but I don’t know how far that allegiance will last if things get too serious.”

Dhior’s face fell. “I know we need to, but I hate the thought of killing our own kind.”

His shoulder felt tight and tense as I gently massaged him. “I hate it too; it goes against all we’ve ever believed in. But Drakkaras won’t have any qualms about killing us or anyone else who gets in his way.” I exhaled and continued, softly. “You can lay these deaths at his feet. It’s not our choice, it’s either them or us. And the entire resistance crumbles, if we die.”

“Yes, my love,” Dhior whispered. He pulled me into an embrace and kissed my cheek. “It’s all on the shoulders of Drakkaras. Let’s do what we must.”

Gia looked us over, the seriousness of our mood reflected in her expression. “Earth really isn’t like our home, is it?”

I shook my head. “No, our culture celebrates life and cooperation. Earth … not so much.”

“I’d hoped you learned from them, however. Earthen selfishness and violence might come in handy if we’re going to make a stand.” Dhior nodded at Gia, with a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

“Let’s find out.” She grinned.

“Okay,” I said. “We need to go up two decks and into the forward surveillance room. There’s a communication booster in there that we should disable before we attack. If anyone calls for help, Drakkaras might send a fleet to disable the ship. Then, we begin.”

“Follow me.” Dhior smiled.

We exited the room and ghosted along the corridor on quiet feet. At every intersection, Dhior walked ahead like he owned the ship, then waved us on once the coast was clear.

Two stairwells later, we made it into the surveillance room. Dhior went in first to make sure it was empty.

Unexpectedly, I heard another voice from inside the room. Shit.

Gia burst into motion and rocketed through the still-open door. The soft voice turned into a surprised yell, then grew silent.

I walked into the room, surprised to see a limp form at Gia’s feet. Dhior’s face was ashen as he stared at the fallen crewmember.

“We need to do this quickly, right?” Gia asked. “Sorry, I couldn’t keep still. I can’t bear the thought of losing either of you.”

“Is he … dead?” My own horror was not a good sign, given our current situation. I needed to get brave, fast.

“I don’t think so,” Gia said as she knelt. She felt along his throat, feeling for a pulse. She frowned. “Nothing. Oh shit, I was trying to