“I do.”
“They’re here to stop you and your warriors from getting a Dragos female. What are you going to do about that?”
Trayon bellowed a terrifying battle cry and charged out the door.
Roaring their war cries, his squad zoomed after him.
“I like the way you think,” Jake commented.
“Hey, whatever gets the job done.” I walked out the door.
Firing wildly at the Askole warriors, Drax and his buddies were teleporting around the parking lot like crazed Jack-in-the-boxes. None of the laser bolts even came close to hitting Trayon or his men, but the bar wasn’t so lucky. The walls were soon full of gaping holes.
Several laser beams zinged by me. “Hey! Watch it.”
Jake’s armor took a direct hit and he growled, “Quit playing with them Trayon.”
I winced as bodies suddenly flew in every direction. “Holy crap! Remind me to never piss an Askole off.”
“You should see those crazy bastards after they’ve had a few dozen beers. Lethal doesn’t even begin to describe them,” Jake said.
“The booze doesn’t slow them down?”
“Not a bit.”
Not even sixty seconds later, Drax’s warriors were scattered across the parking lot like broken dolls.
Drax’s helmet folded away and he struggled to rise. “Help us hybrid.”
“Not a chance. You were trying to take my woman,” Jake replied.
I raised an eyebrow at his possessiveness. Enough was enough. “I’m not a possession. I’m your partner, Jackass.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Trayon gabbed Drax by the neck and shook him violently. “Leave Earth and never return.”
“You cannot dictate to me,” Drax gasped.
“You stay. You die.”
“I. Do not. Answer. To you,” Drax wheezed.
Zarek stepped out of the shadows. “But you do answer to me.”
Drax’s eyes bulged in horror.
Trayon dropped him at the Overlord’s feet.
“You were told to leave Earth,” Zarek growled.
Drax shot to his feet and blustered, “Keyan claimed that female and I came to take what is rightfully his.”
“You can’t cure stupid,” I murmured to Jake.
“Nope.”
Zarek’s voice was low and dangerous. “You were warned.”
A cry of utter agony broke from Drax and he crumpled to the pavement.
Was that brain fluid leaking from his ears? “Is he dead?” I asked Jake on our private link.
“Oh yeah.”
“Return to your ship, Trayon, and take them with you.” Zarek pointed to the unconscious Coletti warriors. “You have my authorization to use them in your training exercises.”
Trayon clamped a hand to his chest. “Thank you, my lord.” He uttered a bunch of guttural grunts, groans, and clucking at his men. They quickly dragged the Coletti warriors into a pile. Glittering blue lights formed around them and they all vanished.
I frowned. “Is training exercises another word for cannon fodder?”
“It is.”
The roof creaked ominously, and pieces of ceiling tile rained down.
I backed away from the bar. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Jake agreed.
Snap! Crack! Pop! The roof crashed down. Churning dust and debris rolled across the parking lot.
“Shit! Billy Bob,” I cried.
Jake grabbed me before I could climb into the rubble. “Relax. He boogied about five minutes ago.”
“Whew! Dead people create a shitload of paperwork.”
“As do you,” Zarek commented.
I flinched when Zarek’s predatory gaze settled on me. “Ah, well, in my defense, I’m not used to dealing with Askole warriors. But the good news is, we found the perfect woman for Trayon.”
A brief smile touched his mouth. “Have you?”
“Yep. Jia Stanka is thirty-two. Her talents range from the ability to confuse minds to manipulating electricity.”
“You neglected to add she is a master thief and assassin,” Zarek replied.
Crap, he was reading my mind again. “That’s true but a docile, Susie Homemaker type wouldn’t last five minutes with any Askole. Zia will keep Trayon on his toes.”
“Undoubtedly. You have my permission to hunt her.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Jake, I am impounding Drax’s shuttle. Have CeeCee fly it back to the ship,” Zarek instructed.
“Me? Really?” I gave a little hop of excitement. “Awesome.”
“You were instrumental in exposing Drax’s traitorous intentions.” Zarek shot me a wolfish grin. “But the cost of transporting the sheep is still coming out of your pay.”
My excitement died. “Oh, great.”
“Askole warriors can be very literal. Think of this as a learning experience.”
“Yes, sir.” To my relief, Zarek teleported away. “Well, there goes my vacation savings.”
“Let me guess. You were planning a trip to Italy,” Jake said.
“I was.”
“Not gonna be a problem. Jia’s in Italy.”
I brightened. “True and maybe I’ll even run into my sperm donor too.”
“Plan on it. Ready to fly a shuttle?”
“Hell, yeah.” Grinning like a kid at Christmas, I trotted over to the shuttle and stepped inside. “Wow. This is kinda fancy for a combat shuttle.”
Jake closed the hatch. “This is Drax’s personal transport.”
“The dude must be loaded.” I ran a hand over the plush seats.
“He was. Zarek will confiscate all of his properties.”
“Keyan’s gonna be pissed.”
“The self-entitled prick thought he could defeat me and take my partner,” Jake snarled, taking the co-pilot’s chair.
I snorted. “Keyan’s not real bright and I’ve seen better mental shields on a ten-year-old.”
“In the last five hundred years, only two males in Drax’s clan have obtained warlord status.”
I settled in the pilot’s seat and drew on Jake’s knowledge. “I’m not surprised.” I tapped several icons on the command console and brought the engines online.
“Fasten your harness,” Jake ordered.
“Yes’um, boss.” I quickly buckled up. Hmm. First, I needed to input the coordinates for Zarek’s ship. A quick check of the scanner and I typed them into the navigational computer.
“Remember. Slow and easy,” Jake said.
“I got it. I got it.” I pulled back on the joystick and the shuttle lifted off.
“Not that slow.”
I added more power. The shuttle was a dream to fly. “Does Drax have his own warbird?”
“He has an old Macchi Class warbird. Why?”
I pointed to the console. “Someone’s hailing us.”
“Let’s see what they want.” Jake punched a button.
A harsh voice stated, “My lord, our informant has advised the prison transport will leave Earth’s orbit in two hours. The assault team is standing by to retrieve Keyan. Have you secured the female yet?”
“Can we say dumb asses?” I quipped.
Jake shook his head in disbelief, hit the transmit icon and did a dead-on impersonation
