The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance #1) - Dianne Duvall Page 0,31
their rush to evacuate the area.
Lisa followed them onto a two-lane road. Some abandoned the narrow strip of asphalt and drove on the grass to either side of it, turning it into a four-lane road. “I don’t know where I’m going!” she cried, heart pounding, belly cramping.
Stay with them for now.
She nodded, having trouble remaining in her lane with the ground shaking so violently. It was like trying to drive straight on a freeway overpass while strong gusts of wind repeatedly battered them.
The other vehicles only traveled a mile or two before they began to swerve off the road. She peered after them and saw the triage unit one of the soldiers had mentioned.
The Humvees and transport vehicles in front of her slowed to make the turn.
“What do I do?”
Keep driving straight. I’m going to muster what strength I can and try to make anyone watching think we turned alongside the others.
“Okay.”
When it was her turn to swing right, Lisa instead kept going. She glanced in the rearview mirror.
No one followed. No one called after them. No one honked or flashed their lights or fired a weapon.
Pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor, she raced away and didn’t slow down until she had to when they reached a curve. Once she rounded it, she lost sight of the others.
Tall, thick forest rose on either side of the road. No streetlights illuminated their path. Instead, darkness surrounded them as the ground continued to rumble beneath their vehicle. The kind of darkness you could only find far from cities.
Cracks opened in the road.
Are you all right? Taelon asked.
She nodded but continued to clutch the steering wheel with a death grip, fearing the earthquake would drive the road in front of her to either rise like a wall in front of them or drop and send them plunging into an abyss. “Are you?”
Crying out, she squinted and slammed on the brakes.
Momentum thrust her body forward.
Taelon threw an arm across her chest to hold her in place and keep her from slamming into the steering wheel or crashing through the windshield.
The Humvee skidded to a halt. A roaring sound filled her ears as hot wind whipped them.
It seemed to take forever for the light to fade enough for her to see again.
Her heart slamming against her ribs, Lisa looked around and gaped in the direction of the base that had held her captive.
Above the trees, flames and smoke rose, coming damn close to forming a mushroom cloud.
“What the hell?” she whispered. Had the building exploded? Or had a bomb detonated? Or whatever the hell else they stored in the biohazard wing?
She looked at Taelon, who stared out the window in shock.
Turning his head, he met her gaze, then lowered his own.
It wasn’t until then that Lisa realized the hand he’d pressed to her chest to keep her from sailing through the front windshield was clamped to one of her breasts.
His eyes widened seconds before he jerked his hand back. Oh. Forgive me. He sent her a look that made her think he feared she would boot him out of the vehicle. I meant no disrespect.
“I know. You were trying to protect me.” If he hadn’t, she probably would’ve at the very least hit the steering wheel, too weak to brace herself effectively. “Thank you.” She hoped he couldn’t tell that her heart was racing once more and her breast tingled where he’d touched her.
Quiet fell.
The ground no longer shook.
He nodded, his look uncertain. We should go.
“Yes, we should.” Returning her attention to the road, Lisa guided the Humvee forward.
Taelon studied Lisa as unobtrusively as he could from the corner of his eye.
Her grip on the navigation wheel had loosened. The white of her knuckles no longer showed. Her body had ceased trembling. And her breathing had evened out.
Little speckles of blood stood out against the pale skin of her face and neck. More blood stained her shirt. Or dress. He wasn’t sure which it was. The garment hugged her large breasts, then flowed loosely over her belly to her upper thighs. He had seen other Earth women wear dresses that short, something that would’ve been considered scandalous on his planet. But Lisa appeared to be wearing tight pants of some sort beneath it.
Her long brown hair blew in the breeze that swept in through the lowered window. It was beautiful, shining in the light of dawn.
Her face remained pale though. The shadows beneath her