Plus she had to make him pay for that little white lie he’d told.
They got closer to the staging area around the escape pods but had to pause as more guards and Slasu cowards filled the area.
“We only have one chance to surprise them,” she whispered, resting her hand on his forearm as they crouched behind a logistics terminal. “Just one.”
“The escape pod to the left looks less damaged,” Nokx murmured. His strong arm slid around her waist and pulled her tight against his side in a sudden, reassuring embrace.
It felt like goodbye. EJ shoved the thought away. It wasn’t goodbye. She cleared her throat a few times before she trusted herself to speak. “Who will they want to capture more? We need a distraction.”
“We should have asked your criminal friend,” Nokx said.
“Or Klee,” EJ said. Although she sincerely hoped the Klonz had reached his family and was safely hunkered down until things stabilized. “We’ll only have one chance.”
Nokx nodded, taking a deep breath. “I do not think we can split to approach from two directions; there are too many of them for us to get very far apart safely.”
“I’ll go first,” EJ said. She checked the stunner she carried for its charge and gauged how much she could fire before the damn thing needed to recharge.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Nokx gave her a dark look. “I’ll go and distract them until you get into the escape pod. I can cover you and...”
EJ raised her eyebrows. “Cover me with what? You gave Klee your stunner.”
He frowned, about to argue. But EJ planted her hand on his chest and mustered the fiercest look she could. “And you’re injured. You move slower than me, particularly since you just hauled me around over your shoulder like a lunatic. Your chest doesn’t look good.”
His eyes blazed silver as he growled and reached for her stunner. “I will cover you. You will get in the escape pod.”
She knew this would happen. Knew it. “You’re a lot bigger. They’ll hit you for sure. Just let me go first.”
“I will not risk you,” he said quietly. “I will give you every chance to get out of here. I will be right behind you, but you will go first.”
EJ shook her head, a knot of emotion working into her throat and making it difficult to speak. “No. I don’t trust you to come after me.”
Nokx held her face in his hands and kissed her, so deeply that her eyes closed and she went soft and relaxed against him. His hand slid into her hair to hold her close even when he broke away so they could breathe. EJ blinked and touched her lips, her heart pounding more than when they dropped her off on the Hollbrd. What in the world...
Then she looked down and found he’d taken the stunner right out of her hand while distracting her with the kiss. EJ fumed and punched his side. “How dare you. How dare you. You’re going to leave me without a weapon? What’s the matter with you?”
“You will never be without a weapon,” he said calmly, and handed her his dagger hilt-first. “This will always protect you.”
It was a sweet thought, really, and she appreciated it. But it was completely impractical when they were running from a bunch of aliens with laser weapons and blasters. “If they’re close enough for me to stab them, they’re way too close. Come on, Nokx.”
“There is nothing to come on to,” he murmured, then kissed her forehead. “So. We leave here. I will go first and draw their fire to the right, leading them away from the escape pod. You will make your way to the left and around. Avoid as many as you can, but if you are spotted, run. Run for the pod and get in, begin the power-up sequence. I’ll be on my way to join you.”
She didn’t believe him. She didn’t. But she took the dagger and hefted its comforting weight in her palms. Her eyes prickled with tears and she took a deep breath. “Don’t you dare leave me again, Nokx.” She gave him that fierce look again. “You did it once and I’m not over it. I plan to punish you for it for a long, long time, so you’d better not disappoint me by getting killed or stuck here. Do you understand?”
His scales swirled with blues and purples, deep and lovely, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. “I do understand. You are the brightest star in