Taken by the Alien Next Door (Aliens Among Us #1) - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,99
warriors, then?” he asked.
“Brent is the former Pacific Northwest Amateur MMA champ,” said Vance, “and the rest of us aren’t far behind.”
The first man who’d spoken, Brent, stepped even closer to Zevris, nearly bumping chests with him. He stared up with an aggressive gleam in his eyes.
“Good.” Zevris lowered his arms to his sides.
Tabitha retreated another step, wishing she had a phone, wishing she could bring herself to look away, to look for help. But what would that mean for Zevris? Wouldn’t it put him at risk of being discovered if the police became involved?
All she could manage was one thought, extremely loud and clear—kick their asses, Zevris.
Cody laughed; it sounded forced. “Got a tough guy here. Hits some weights at the gym and thinks he’s badass.”
Sounds like Cody’s doing some of that classic projection.
Just like that, the hurt and embarrassment that had seized Tabitha lost some ground to her anger.
“Probably needs to if he wants to lift his date,” Tad remarked.
“What’s more embarrassing,” Brent said, “that he’s out with a fat chick, or that he’s about to get his ass ki—”
The former champ’s head snapped aside, and he flew back into his friends, who spat curses and exclamations into the air. Tabitha’s brain caught up with the situation a second later, only then registering that Zevris had moved—he’d punched Brent so fast that she’d missed it.
The other men grabbed hold of Brent, whose legs now seemed about as sturdy as wet noodles. Zevris was amongst them in a flash. He hit Tad and Vance before either could defend themselves, sending them reeling. Cody released the semi-unconscious former champ and charged at Zevris, dropping low to throw his arms around Zevris’s middle and slam his shoulder into the alien’s abdomen as though to tackle him.
Zevris leaned forward instantly and wrapped his arms around his attacker’s chest. He slid back a couple feet before coming to a halt; Tabitha had the sense that, were he wearing something other than dress shoes, he wouldn’t have given half as much ground. He reared back, wrenched Cody off his feet and high into the air, flipping him over in the process, and slammed him down atop Brent.
It was just like a move she’d seen wrestlers do on TV those times she’d watched with Josh and Mia, but this was all the more impressive knowing that those wrestlers were working together to make the move look impressive. Zevris didn’t need a willing opponent to show off his unrivaled strength.
Both men, now sprawled on the ground, groaned in pain.
The other two men had recovered, and they rushed at Zevris in tandem. Tabitha’s breath caught in her throat. Tad and Vance unleashed a series of lightning quick punches and kicks, coming at Zevris from two different angles. Apart from the handful of wrestling shows she’d watched, she didn’t know much of anything about fighting, but even she could tell these guys knew what they were doing.
That should have been the moment when her worry for Zevris hit its peak. That should have been when her heart stopped along with her breath, when terror constricted her chest and pressed in on her from every direction.
Zevris dodged their blows for a couple seconds at most. Then his foot slammed into Vance’s chest, knocking him back with a pained grunt. Tad swung his fist at Zevris, mistaking the alien for being off guard.
Zevris caught the Tad’s wrist, slapped a hand on his shoulder, and flung him aside with seemingly little effort. Tad’s feet left the ground. His momentum was halted by the door of a nearby car, which buckled inward as his shoulder slammed into it.
Brent had managed to get onto his knees. His eyes looked a bit glossy, and he still seemed unsteady. He lunged forward, striking Zevris in the backs of his legs. Zevris fell, but before Tabitha could even reflexively panic, he somehow rolled backward and caught Brent’s arm, wrenching it behind the man’s back. Zevris landed with one knee on the ground and the other pressed into the center of Brent’s back, pinning the man face first on the ground.
Cody had regained his feet nearby. He shook his head sharply.
“Fuck, fuck, my fucking arm,” Brent groaned.
“Fucking bastard,” Cody muttered.
Zevris’s face snapped toward Cody, and for an instant Tabitha was granted a surreal view of her male’s face. His eyes gleamed with reflected light like those of a predatory cat, and his teeth were bared in a ferocious snarl.