jaw clenched. “Something feels—”
“Axis?”
Nova jumped at the gruff voice coming from only a few feet away. Turning in her new hubby’s now stiff arms, she saw movement coming from a darkened corner that was shielded by the stoop of the nearby brothel. The figure was tall and bulky, its size smaller than Axis but much larger than most of the aliens she’d seen on Euphoria.
In one smooth move, Axis tucked her safely behind him with a scooping motion of his arm. With him between her and the stranger, his body was now acting as one big, muscled breathing shield.
“I think we found our guy,” she whispered out of the side of her mouth the moment she caught her breath from the quick shuffle.
“Stay close.”
Nova shivered at the growled warning that rumbled from Axis. Before the tingle had finished working its way down her neck, she was nodding. She’d promised to follow his lead, and it was a promise she was going to keep.
“10-4.” She didn’t know if he understood what that meant but figured he got the gist when he didn’t say anything else. She trusted him to keep her safe.
“Your name?”
“Bosch,” the warrior said as he walked slowly from the shadows that were concealing him, his eyes trained on where Nova was peeking from behind Axis. “And who is she?”
Pinpricks of unease sprinkled up and down Nova’s spine at the look on Bosch’s face as he studied her. The immediate bad guy vibe that she was picking up from the warrior who was supposed to be helping them was no bueno. She mentally ran through the rules that had kept her alive this long. For some reason, she had a feeling a few of them were going to come into play before the day was out. Whether or not that was a good thing, she wasn’t sure.
“She’s my bride and none of your concern.”
“Councilman Kaine made no mention of the humans already being claimed.” Bosch shook his head and smiled.
Nova bristled at the creepy energy he sent her way. She didn’t know what it was about him that was giving her the willies, but it was definitely there. As a skrammon, he had a physical build comparable to Axis. He was large and muscled, but instead of giving off the protector vibe, like her hubby did, Bosch seemed menacing.
“Is this a new development? I’m curious.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Nova interrupted in her best no-nonsense voice. His cocky attitude and tone put her on edge, and she didn’t have the patience to pretend otherwise. Playing twenty questions wasn’t a part of the plan. “You’re the one that got my SOS from Halla and Kalla?”
“Yes, I am,” he answered with a creepy smile that made her feel bad for her friends. “I ran into the pair while visiting one of my favorite whores. The twins were happy to relay your message after they finished servicing me.” He chuckled to himself before transferring his attention to the man shielding her. “I had worried that I’d spent too much time with Timila, but they were able to get me to spend twice more.”
“Gross.” The word slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it. Although it was not much more than a whisper, she could tell he heard her clearly. The smile he wore like a mask slipped for just a moment, revealing the sneer he’d tried hide. For a hot second, she was tempted to clarify that her disgust had nothing to do with the sex work, which her friends enjoyed. Her disgust was solely directed at the warrior bragging about it. She kept her mouth shut—barely. She didn’t want to waste time picking a fight with some douche when they had women to save.
“You speak more than a female should.”
“Motherfucker,” she hissed, even as she clutched Axis’s tunic in an effort to hold him back from tackling the other skrammon. For a moment, she worried her grip wouldn’t be enough, but Axis stopped pulling when he realized she wasn’t about to let go. “We don’t have the time to waste.” The words were meant for Axis but loud enough for everyone to hear. She wasn’t trying to protect Bosch. In fact, she would have loved to see Axis smack the smile off the dickhead’s face, but they didn’t have time for that right now. Not when they still needed to find the others.
Maybe later, though.
“You are not to speak or even look at her,” Axis growled. His body