Forged (Star Breed #10) - Elin Wyn Page 0,61

be.

“Hey, Denau!” I shouted as I sprang over the barricade. “You’ve got more holes in your security than you tried to put in me.”

Jenke’s mouth twisted into a half smile, and I nodded in acknowledgment.

Denau sputtered. “How are you here?”

I moved closer to the stage, closer to Yasmin, even as the crowd of unarmed workers shrank back.

Two of Denau’s guards rushed me. Suckers.

In moments, they were out cold on the floor, and their blasters had been tossed back to Alcyon and Thalcorr.

“Apparently, after you pulled in this guy for not keeping a close enough eye on your niece, no one felt like telling you I’d gone for a stroll myself.” I risked a quick glance at Yasmin, forced myself to keep the easy, relaxed pace instead of rushing to her side. Her eyes shone, and her hands were clamped over her mouth. “Sorry for the surprise, mate. Your uncle wasn’t the only one trying to find you.”

“We’ll talk about appropriate surprises later,” she managed to croak out, and the smile on her face made every lingering pain worth it.

“I hear flowers are traditional,” I offered, keeping an eye on Denau. He looked like he’d short-circuited, head pivoting between us. Maybe it had been too long since anyone had dared go against his plans.

Maybe he wasn’t used to being interrupted mid-rant.

Either way, I was halfway to my mate, where I could touch her, protect her.

“What if I want glowing mushrooms instead?” Yasmin answered, the teasing lightness in her voice not quite covering the tension.

“No.” Just a few more yards and I’d be at her side. “I’m drawing the line at mushrooms. Or giant purple dinosaur things. We can discuss moss or flowers, your choice.”

And Denau snapped. “Kill them, kill them all!” he screeched. “All three of them, traitors and spies!”

Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, Jenke grabbed the nearest guard, planted a fist in the man’s face, and swung the unconscious body in a circle, clearing a space around where he and Yasmin stood, the rest of the guards scrambling back in shock.

“Glad to see you’re on our side,” I shouted as I leaped into the fray, slamming into guards at high speed, taking out as many as possible on my way to Yasmin.

“Not sure about you yet,” Jenke answered, pulling a blaster off one of the guards and tossing it to me. “But I like her.”

“Thanks,” Yasmin said, as she darted to stay out of the line of fire. “But maybe we could do the family reunion after we’re out of here?”

“Hey,” I took out two more guards, covering another few yards towards her. “We’re not the only ones with a dysfunctional family dynamic here.”

“Your mate, huh?” Jenke answered. “Good choice.”

“And we’re talking about that, too,” Yasmin shouted, stripping another blaster from an unconscious guard and handing it to Jenke.

Weaving between the next wave of guards, I rolled low, then sprang up, toppling the next idiot in my path.

A shot over my shoulder caught a guy I hadn’t noticed.

“Don’t get cocky,” Thalcorr shouted from behind the barricade, then took aim at the next one.

I kept the next one’s blaster, and continued battling my way through.

For all his talk, Alcyon’s numbers were wrong. This was more than forty, but there was no stopping to count now.

But finally, I was at her side.

“Cover us,” I asked Jenke gruffly, and pulled Yasmin to me, needing to touch her, to know she was real, to know she was safe.

At least for now.

“Survive now, make out later,” Jenke said. “Congratulations, by the way. I’m pretty sure you don’t deserve her.”

Yasmin’s fingers trailed down my jaw before she pulled away. “We have so many things you’re going to be explaining. Don’t think I’m not making a list.”

Jenke and I took back-to-back positions, circling with Yasmin in the middle, protecting her as well as we could in a room full of hostiles.

“Tell me you’ve got an endgame for this,” Jenke said. “We’re wearing them down, but it only takes one lucky shot.”

“My guy says his people should be in position any time,” I grunted.

“How many people does he have?”

“No idea,” I admitted, spinning to kick away another guard that had gotten too close. “Not enough that he was willing to risk them without a little help.”

CLANG!

All across the far wall of the hub, panels fell down, revealing a dozen helmeted guards in dark blue uniforms, the shrieks of the huddled workers adding to the chaos.

“Shit!” Jenke said. “Doesn’t it ever let up?

“I think they’re on