Containing Malice (Rebel Cyborgs #1) - Cynthia Sax Page 0,35

side, not allowing her to leave the chamber. Ever.

But that would place Valor, his friend, a fellow cyborg, in peril.

And there was no clear or immediate risk to Illona. There was nothing he could detect in his scans, in the Humanoid Alliance systems, anywhere, to justify increased caution.

He watched as she dressed in her bloodstained flight suit, stuck her small feet into her boots, donned her white jacket, restocking its pockets with medic supplies.

“You’re a skilled medic.” Emotion roughened his voice. “You will remove the explosive and tracking devices from Valor’s form quickly.”

“I will do my best.” She gazed up at him as she coiled her long black hair on top of her head, fastening that decadent softness in place. Her big brown eyes shone, gold specks glittering in their depths “Don’t get mushy on me, cyborg.” A small smile illuminated her beautiful face. “I’m your enemy, remember?”

“I process who you are to me.” He frowned at her. She was no longer his enemy. She was his female, his captive, his obsession. “I’m deactivating the monitoring equipment in the hallway and in Valor’s chamber.”

“I’m leaving.” She took a step toward the door.

The tension in his form increased.

His female stopped, turned around and ran back to him. “Give me another hit of your nanocybotics just in case.” She gripped his shoulders with her slender fingers, balanced on the toes of her boots, tilted her head back.

He strapped his arms around her waist, securing her to him, and captured those offered lips, tasting her sweetness. His nanocybotics already bubbled inside her, but he transferred more just in case, ravishing her mouth, imprinting himself on her flesh.

Need tugged at him, threatened to shatter his control. If that happened, he would never grant her permission to leave. And that would put Valor in danger.

He released her, stepped back. “Go.”

She stared at him. Her lush lips were plumped from his kiss. Her eyes glowed. “If something happens to me—”

“Nothing bad will happen to you.” He curled his fingers into tight fists.

“Promise me you will escape.” She looked at him as though she had no doubts he could manage that feat. “Be free.”

“I will escape.” He jutted his jaw. “And you will be my captive.” He wasn’t leaving without her.

She gave him another small smile, nodded, and moved toward the exit.

He opened the door for her remotely, stood motionless as she left him. It felt as though a part of himself was missing. Fraggin’ hole. He snorted. His processors were malfunctioning.

The medic is headed toward you. He warned Valor of Illona’s approach.

I process that. His brethren’s tone was dry. You’re transmitting everything.

Valor was transmitting everything also…which wasn’t much. His view consisted of the ceiling, the floor, the four walls. The E Model’s chamber was as devoid of life, as eerily silent as his own now was.

Needing to take action, to distract himself from his little human’s absence, Malice hid the explosives and the tracking devices behind the wall panels, positioning them as far as possible from the previously concealed scalpel. The explosives could be modified, used in their escape.

He paced around the perimeter of the chamber. His female would return to him.

They would touch, talk, breed.

Then he would be forced to release her again. She would resume her normal routine. He and Valor would remain in their assigned spaces, decreasing suspicion.

They would wait for Cadet and his crew to arrive before liberating themselves, killing the guards, other Humanoid Alliance beings, and capturing his medic. To do anything other than that would be to risk the enemy sending ships or World-enders to obliterate them.

Too much had been sacrificed to rush their plans now.

He walked faster. The delay stressed his processors. C Models were manufactured to fight. His design urged him to do that. Now. And the primitive part of him didn’t like that his female was out of his sight, that he couldn’t protect her, safeguard her from threats, from other beings.

She entered Valor’s chamber. His brethren relayed footage of her, transmitting images of her smiling face, streaming her constant chatter. She was well, wasn’t in danger.

Some of the strain within Malice’s physique eased.

He searched through the Humanoid Alliance systems, pinpointed the locations of the enemy’s weapons stashes, of his and Valor’s stored body armor, plotted their escape route. They would kill everyone, but the order of the deaths would be key to their success. They—

Two humans appeared on his lifeform scans. Neither of those beings were his female. She remained in Valor’s chamber, safe, out of