did you attempt to kill him? How do you know the victim?”
Shock muted her. Vera shook her head and swallowed hard, getting her wits back. “I was reading messages and the server set it down. I had ordered wine and an appetizer plate. That wasn’t it. The man…um, you said his name is Zackary? He asked if he could have it because I don’t drink beer. I said yes. I never touched it. I swear.”
The mean-faced officer’s scowl deepened. “You need to come with me to security.”
“I didn’t do anything but tell him he could have the beer I didn’t order.”
“Are you going to come peacefully?”
Pure fear filled Vera. “I’m innocent! Are you arresting me? Look at surveillance. I didn’t touch it. Hell, track down my server. She can tell you that I didn’t order a beer. I hate that stuff. It tastes like cold pee. It was just left at the wrong table. The guy asked if he could have it, and I said sure. That’s all I did. Let him have a beer I’d never drink.”
His jaw clenched. “You did touch it.”
She remembered reaching for her wine, only to realize the glass felt wrong. Her hand had only brushed the side, though. Oh shit. I’m being framed… No.
Her mind worked fast. “That beer…it was meant for me.” She gasped. “I think someone tried to poison me. You need to question the server! She’s the one who brought it to me.”
“It was a man. You can’t even keep your falsified stories straight. You will come with me to security now, Miss Wade.”
Two more security guards approached. One of them withdrew his shock stick, glaring as he advanced.
Terror swamped her. They were going to arrest her.
“Don’t resist,” the older jerk in front of her ordered. “Put your hands behind your back.”
Vera was either being framed or someone had tried to kill her. It made her even more terrified. “I want Roth. He’s a Veslor. I demand you call him!”
“You need an attorney. Not someone from the tactical team.”
She frantically looked around the bar. At least twenty customers were still being held with her. “Someone, please call Roth. Tell him that Vera is in trouble. Please! I didn’t do this! Roth is a Veslor—”
“Miss Wade, stop shouting and put your hands behind your back.”
“I didn’t do this! Call Roth. He knows me!”
The security guard in front of her gave a sharp nod, and she started to relax. Roth would believe her. He might be mad that she’d involved him in her life again, but she knew he was a good man. He’d help her sort everything out with the fleet.
A sudden bolt of electricity hit her back. One of the officers had zapped her! She tried to scream from the pain as her muscles locked up. The sound that came out was more like a whimper before everything went black.
* * * * *
Roth tackled the male in front of him, taking the human down to the mat. He lifted off, climbed to his feet, and then bent to offer a hand. “You flinched and looked away from me. It’s imperative that you keep eye contact with the enemy. That way you know which way to twist and tuck your body to avoid being snagged by their front paws.”
The human male chuckled as he took Roth’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. “You’re scary, man. What can I say? Anyone seeing you coming would react the same way.”
“I won’t kill you. A Razor beast will. They always target mid center of the body to take down their prey.”
“My suit will protect me.”
“It would, but you will find yourself pinned while it attempts to tear through your armor. They weigh twice what you do and are extremely strong. That means you will be useless to the rest of your team. However, when the beasts lunge, they expose their backside if they miss their target. It’s the easiest way to kill them.”
“Just shoot them in the ass,” another human from the tactical team helpfully called out.
Drak agreed. “That is true. Razor beasts have no protective scales where they sit. It might not be the most honorable way to take down prey, but it is the fastest.”
“You do not want a Razor beast to pin you.” Gnaw’s expression was amused as he made eye contact with the members of Team Five, whom they were training for an upcoming mission. “Our suits are hard-shelled, and once they realize their claws and teeth can’t penetrate,