Prideful Savage (A Warrior's Redemption #1) - Miranda Bridges Page 0,20

capable of lifting such a weapon let alone shooting down a half dozen Enforcers.

“All right, Ella, time to go. Strap in.”

The female shoots twice more before she obeys, taking the gun with her and resting it in her lap when she claims the chair beside me.

“When did you learn to shoot like that?”

A scrap of metal flies past the window and in its wake an engine that spits oil into the air.

“There’s more to me than meets the eye,” comes her reply.

I keep my attention forward despite wanting to press her for a better answer. The ship’s fully intact engine hums to life as I lift us into the air. My own ship has already disappeared. I’m relieved my brothers reached the ship on time and are out of here. With a worried glance at Kalach tearing his way through the Enforcers, I fly away with the female at my side. There is definitely more to Ella than meets the eye, and I plan on finding out exactly what it is. For now, I need to get her out of here and away from those who wish to claim her.

If anyone’s going to be claiming her, it’s me—as soon as I’m certain doing so will not kill her.

Ella

Being in space never ceases to amaze me. And just for the record, it’s nothing like Star Trek made it out to be. It’s better.

I take a deep breath and release it slowly while keeping my gaze locked on the never-ending abyss that is the Xoriath Galaxy. Some people would be scared of all the nothingness, or unimpressed by the blanket of celestial bodies in the distance, but I love it. To me, it’s a visual representation of the possibilities life can bring. Yes, it’s dark, but the stars you see along the way give hope and lead you to the next thing. I can’t help but imagine a deity creating this massive complexity; that’s how amazing space is. Sometimes I don’t know how I lived the first part of my life just on Earth.

But when I think about how the Galactic Court enslaved my people, I long for the simplicity found on my home planet before we knew aliens existed. They abducted us, which is how I and the rest of the humans ended up in space, but that was after Earth was ablaze with never-ending fires, plummeting us into an apocalyptic era.

Long story short: aliens suck. Well, not all…

I rise from the copilot seat, and Bravik snaps his gaze to me.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“I need to check something.”

He cocks his head, and his brows draw together. “We need to discuss a few things first.”

“It won’t take but a minute.”

Without waiting for his permission, I pick up the metal valise and make my way to the very back of the shuttle, where the single bedroom is located. I plop onto the floor and quickly unlock the briefcase, then fiddle with the communication device inside.

Without alerting the base to my arrival, I’d be taking a chance on my safety. If we don’t report to our supervisor within a certain number of days, then they assume we’ve been compromised. In a way, I was but because of Emji, not the G.C.

Much to my detriment and frustration, the stupid thing won’t work, which means I’m in big trouble. But I have to get to the base first, or none of this matters. Luckily, I was able to get the coordinates. That’s something at least.

“What do you have there?”

I swallow the shriek building in my throat and swing my gaze to Bravik, who’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He stares at me with unnerving focus that completely scatters my thoughts.

“Ella, what is that?” he asks with a jerk of the chin.

“Oh!”

He offers me a hand to help me get to my feet, and I take it. The warmth of his skin is the same as before, reminding me of his ability to melt metal. He’s dangerous in so many ways. And like I’ve touched fire, I retract my hand swiftly.

“Thank you,” I mumble.

“Are you ready to tell me about your plans?”

My mouth falls open. “What?” I finally manage.

“You need to start trusting me if I’m to help you.” He pointedly looks at the device I have a death grip on. “What secrets are you hiding?”

The small room is filled with a dense energy that almost has me twitching out of nervousness. The leaders of the rebellion asked my partner and me