Coletti Warlords: Reality Bites (3 page)

“Why? You know nothing about me.”

“You are clever and have strong psychic abilities. As second in command of Earth First, you have demonstrated your excellent battle skills. “

Oh shit. My shields were more than a bit cracked. He knew way too much. Had I endangered our resistance movement?

His lips brushed my mouth.
“I am very pleased with your beauty and your passion.”

No matter how hard I tried to fight, desire had sunk its hot claws into me. My hands began to tremble. The overpowering need to feel Jaylan’s touch on my skin was consuming me. This was really bad. I had to get away from him. Now!

“Drop your shields and accept your fate.”

“Go to hell.”
I broke the link and blew out a shaky breath. Time was rapidly running out. If my plan didn’t work, I’d either get blown to bits or, God forbid, become a broodmare.

After stuffing several smoke bombs, a stun grenade, and his laser pistol into my backpack, I climbed the escape ladder to the second story of the saloon. I cautiously slid the secret panel back and waited ten seconds to see if Jaylan would pop in. Yay. No pushy warlord. Maybe I could escape.

I hurried across the room, opened the window, and started lobbing my smoke bombs into the street.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Billowing clouds of thick smoke obscured the area. While the Colettis were searching the street, I’d be taking the high road.

“A strategic but futile move,”
Jaylan taunted.

Mentally, I gave him the one-finger salute.

“I shall take great pleasure in taming you.”

Good God, he sounded like some old movie villain. If he had a mustache, he’d be twirling it. Grabbing the laser pistol, I put it in the waistband of my jeans and quickly climbed out the window. I dropped onto the balcony.

“Tame this.”
I hurled a stun grenade.

Kaboom!

Someone grunted in pain.

I gave a triumphant fist pump and bolted down the veranda.

“You do not attack my warriors!”
Jaylan bellowed, more than a bit pissed.

“I have the right to defend myself against alien invaders.”
Making a flying leap from the balcony, I managed to grab hold of the flagpole and slithered down.

A Coletti warrior loomed out of the smoke.

I stunned him and ran into the stable.

“Going somewhere?” Jaylan queried politely.

Shit! I spun around.

There he stood with a smirk on his face and a laser pistol pointed at my chest. “Drop your weapon.”

“Actually it’s
your
weapon.”

A laugh broke from Jaylan. “I admit you are a worthy opponent.”

“Gosh, you’re gonna make me blush.”

All the amusement faded from his face, and something dark and terrifying flickered in his eyes. “Put the weapon on the ground, and step away from it.”

“Yes, sir.” He’d probably take great delight in stunning me. Bits of horse manure rained down on my head. Hot damn, I was standing directly underneath Pops’s newfangled manure chute. I swallowed a laugh. Could I have planned this any better?

“Three minutes to detonation. Please evacuate the area,” the mechanical voice announced.

Very slowly, I lowered the pistol to the ground and backed toward the dump lever.

The warlord holstered his weapon and prowled toward me, every inch the predator. “My prey never escapes.”

God, what an arrogant ass. I waited until he was directly beneath the chute and leaning down for the pistol, before quipping, “You’re so full of shit.” Hitting the release lever with my mind, I watched in glee as a ton of stinky manure buried him.

“Adios, chuckles.”

“Two minutes to detonation. Please evacuate the area,” the annoying mechanical voice advised calmly.

“Time to get the hell out of Dodge.” I bolted into the last stall and flipped back the lid on a small alarm panel. I quickly typed the code into the keypad. A trapdoor opened.

I hurried down the steps. Thank the Lord I had left my dirt bike here this morning. I jumped on and kicked the engine to life.

His mental voice cold with menace, Jaylan snapped,
“That was a mistake.”

“Not at all. You belong in a dung heap, along with all the other maggots.”

“Your disrespectful attitude will not be tolerated.”

“Really? I’ve kicked your sorry ass twice today, and I can do it again.”

“You think you have defeated me?”
There was a touch of disbelief in his voice.

“You betcha. Your first mistake was underestimating me. Your second mistake, numb nuts, was thinking I have to fight by your rules. I don’t. Your third mistake was thinking I’m prey. I’m not. I’m a warrior, and you’re my prey. But, I’m the sporting type, and I’ll even give you a ten-minute head start.”
If he fell for that, I had a bridge I’d like to sell him. I stomped on the gas and roared off.

“One minute to detonation. Please evacuate the area.”

Jaylan’s laugh of pure amusement rolled across my mind.
“Warlords never run, and we live for the hunt. A clever opponent makes the capture so much more enjoyable.”

I bared my teeth in a snarl.
“This is one fight you won’t win.”

“I will have you in my bed before the day has ended.”

A thunderous
boom
echoed down the tunnel, and the ground shook violently.

Dirt and rocks rained down on me. Fuck. I had run out of time. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, and a jolt of raw fear sizzled through me. The tunnel was collapsing behind me.

“Drop your shields, and I will teleport you to safety,”
Jaylan commanded urgently.

I increased my speed, swerving around the falling rocks. The lights flickered and died. Lashing out with my mind, I hit the exit door with every bit of power I had. It blew out, and sunlight streamed into the tunnel.

“Do not be a fool. Drop your shields.”

“Surrender is not in my vocabulary.”
I burst out of the tunnel, right into our herd of longhorn steers. “Dammit!” I laid the bike down in a desperate attempt to miss them. Pain exploded in my body as I slid over a shitload of rocks.

The already spooked cattle stampeded, charging right at me.

“Oh fuck!” Rolling behind a small boulder, I curled into a ball as the terrified cows thundered over and around my refuge. I flinched as a hoof missed my head by a scant inch. The last longhorn galloped by, and I sagged against the rock in utter relief. My bike might be a crumpled mess, but I wasn’t dead. How wonderful was that?

“Your foolish actions will not go unpunished
,” Jaylan growled.

My stomach lurched in horror. The warlord was close. Too close.

Jaylan demanded furiously,
“How badly are you injured?”

“I’ll live.”
Every bruise and cut making itself known, I climbed gingerly to my feet and carefully surveyed the area. Where was he?

A thick cloud of dust obscured the landscape. A shadow moved in the dust.

The shadow became a form.

The form became a man. Holy Mother of God! I hit the emergency beacon on my belt and bolted. I hoped Pops was monitoring the frequency.

Jaylan’s powerful body slammed into me, knocking me down. He locked his arms around me in an unbreakable hold. “You will not escape me again.”

I squirmed against his crushing grip. “Wanna bet?”

Jaylan’s teeth scraped lightly across my neck.

Sheer blind panic overwhelmed me. If he took my blood, he could find me anywhere, anytime he wished. “No! Let go of me, you stinky, manure-covered bastard.”

“It ends now,”
Jaylan purred in my head, and sank his teeth deep into my neck.

My body tightened as a pleasure-pain roared through me. The pleasure increased with every draw until my panties were wet and my pussy throbbed.
“Stop! Damn you. Stop!”
I beat frantically at his mind.

Jaylan suddenly stiffened.
“Your blood is most unusual.”

Oh crap. Was my secret about to be exposed?
“Really? How strange.”
Through our link, I felt him swish my blood around his mouth as if he was savoring its very essence.

“Who is your father?”

“Hank Benson.”

Withdrawing his fangs, Jaylan licked the wounds on my neck and growled. “No. Your father is Coletti. You will tell me his name.”

“He’s dead. What difference does it make?”

His fingers clamped painfully around my jaw. “His name.”

One look at the menace glittering in Jaylan’s eyes, and I almost peed my pants. “My mother called him Thor.”

Jaylan jumped to his feet, dragging me with him. “How did he die?”

“He was trampled.”

“By what?”

“Horses. Mom got him hired as a stuntman in her Viking flick. He was a piss-poor rider. He fell off his horse and was trampled.”

“That is not possible. He was Coletti,” Jaylan corrected sharply.

“So you knew him?”

“Yes.”

There was a fleeting second of inky blackness, and we were standing in the war room of a Coletti battle cruiser. Yippee-ki-yay. Escaping just got a tad bit harder.

Six muscle-bound warriors snapped to attention. When the overpowering stench of horse manure hit them, they all took an instinctive step backward.

A horde of flies buzzed merrily around Jaylan’s shit-covered head.

Who knew flies could be teleported? I waved a hand in front of my face. “Wow, someone really stinks, don’t they?” I batted at the nasty critters. “Y’all have a fly swatter?”

The warriors stared at me in disbelief.

With a big smile, I gushed, “I’m Bree, and I think you know stinky guy here. The poor thing is a bit accident-prone. Right, honey bunny?”

His big hand wrapped around the back of my neck, and Jaylan bellowed in my head,
“Not another word or I’ll throw you on the table and complete the mating bond now.”

“You’d do me in front of them?”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
“All covered in manure?”

A low growl rumbled in his throat.
“Yes.”

“Okay. No need to get all snarly.”
I surveyed their battle screens with great interest.
“Wow, where’s a camera when you need one?”

Jaylan thrust me at a big, fierce-looking warrior. “Wulf, take her to the brig and lock her up.”

Wulf clamped his right fist to his chest. “As you command.” Taking a firm grip on my left arm, he escorted me out of the room.

A satisfied grin curved my mouth as he dragged me down a long corridor. That had been way too easy. Dumbass Wulf was really gonna regret not searching me.

Wulf frowned. “You belong to the Jones clan?”

“Who me? No. I’m with the Benson clan.”

“A lie.” He spun me around, slammed me against the wall, and patted me down.

Rats. Wulf was smarter than he looked. Squirming against his hold, I cursed silently as he found my knives, a miniature smoke bomb, a tranquilizer dart, and snagged my bio jammer. “You got some kind of beef with the Jones Clan?”

“Their females are very tricky.” He fastened handcuffs on me.

“Oh, you’ve met Zoey?”

“I have.” Wulf tossed me over his shoulder and strode down the corridor.

Damn. “I can walk.”

He ignored me.

I bit his neck. Colettis like to bite, and turnabout was fair play. Right?

He whacked my bottom. “Enough.”

Ouch, that hurt.

Wulf marched into the brig, dumped me in a cell, and triggered the energy field. “No one has ever escaped from a warbird.”

“You must be so proud.” Sarcasm laced my voice.

He pointed a warning finger at me. “You would be wise not to provoke the Commander.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty terrifying,” I answered, trying to look properly cowed while I busily picked the lock on the cuffs. A bit hard to do when they’re behind your back.

Wulf eyed me for a long moment, then turned on his heel and left.

“Bye-bye, dickhead.” I dropped the cuffs on the floor. Was the cell being monitored? Probably. With quick efficiency, I slid the heel of my right boot open and pinched off a chunk of high-grade explosive. This was my pride and joy. It was hell on energy fields.

A little dab, and poof. I would be the first person in Coletti history to escape a warbird. I pushed my heel back in place.

The communication device in my belt beeped. Pops had the transporter ready.

“I see Wulf failed to secure you properly.”
Jaylan’s displeasure was obvious.

“Ah…what makes you say that?”
I hurriedly placed the marble-size piece of explosive on the wall by the control panel.

“The cuffs on the floor.”

I kicked them under the bunk.
“What cuffs?”
Opening my belt buckle, I took out a miniaturized detonator and stuck it in the explosive.

Jaylan’s voice was lethally matter-of-fact.
“Your defiance ends now.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”
I touched a button on my watch.

Crack!
The shimmering energy field died along with all the power in this section of the ship.

A glittering blue light blossomed around me.
“See ya around, numb nuts.”

With a deadly resolve, Jaylan promised,
“I will come for you.”

Chapter Three

The light faded, and I stood on the icy-cold transporter platform in our Tucson emergency base.

Still wearing his camouflage face paint and fatigues, Pops stepped away from the control console. His concerned gaze swept over me, taking in the dirt, manure, blood, and bruises. “That bastard do that to you?”

“Nope. Believe me, the warlord got the worst of it.” I brushed at the dirt covering my jeans. “Your fancy manure chute came in real handy today.”

“It did?”

I grinned at the memory of Jaylan’s manure-smeared face. “Yeah, it gave a whole new meaning to ‘shitfaced.’”

Pops scowled. “You actually enjoy matching wits with the warlord?”

With a sheepish smile, I admitted, “I haven’t had this much fun in ages.”

Outrage flashed in his eyes. “Are you nuts? If you keep challenging that predator, sooner or later you’re gonna get bit.”