To Protect a Warrior (3 page)

Chapter Five

Hannah waited until he slept before drawing on her clothes and heading to his door. She was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with her sexy Keltair male and sleep the night away, cradled in his arms, but she needed to Dream Jump.

Returning to her room across the hall, she was greeted by the annoying sound of a message on her computer. Clicking the button, her father’s face came onto the screen. “Contact me as soon as you get this.”

So he heard about the attack? Of course he did.

Even though the night had almost faded into the early hours of day, she knew her father wouldn’t be sleeping.
Not after something like this.
Hitting the button to contact him, it took only a moment before he accepted.

“Hannah!” His expression was stern.

“I’m fine. They held me for questioning, but I wasn’t hurt. I do want to talk to you about the way they treated—“

“Have you done it yet?”

She froze, startled by his question.

“No…I was nearly killed tonight, so I—“

Anger flashed across his face. “I’m glad you’re okay. Beyond glad. And I’ll be launching a full investigation about what happened tomorrow. But tonight, the president has contacted me a dozen times wondering why you haven’t reported in yet.”

Hannah closed her eyes, overcome by the feelings of surprise and disappointment that washed over her. “I thought, given the circumstances, that you would be more concerned about me than my duty.”

“I do care about you. I wish I could give you more time, but I can’t. Before you left, I made your responsibilities clear.” He paused, clearing his throat. “If you ever want to be the captain of a Level 10 ship, you’ll need to learn an important lesson. It doesn’t matter what you go through personally, your job always comes first. Whether you nearly die, or whether your only child nearly dies.”

In that moment, she knew how hard this must have been for her father.
Always the admiral, never the dad.

“All right, I’ll do it now and report back in when I’m finished.”

He nodded, rubbing the ever-growing wrinkles on his forehead. “Just remember. There’s no one there to help you if things go wrong. At the first sign of trouble, get out.”

“I
know
—“

“Hannah, don’t give me that. The last time you were thrown into some sick bastard’s dream without being prepared, we almost lost you.”

I couldn’t suck in a breath. Yes, I remembered. I remember coming out of that coma, having suffered what it’s like to die. That’s the day Dream Jumping became something I feared more than I enjoyed. The day I realized that even though my body couldn’t die when I used my gift, my brain certainly could.

“You don’t have to remind me. I’ll never forget.”

Guilt shadowed his eyes as he looked from me to his desk. “Don’t let him touch you. Remember, if he touches you, he can hurt you.” He was quiet for a moment. “All you have to do is go into his dream.”

As always, it wasn’t what her father said, but what he didn’t say.
You’re required to Dream Jump, but not to compromise your safety. No one said you’re required to succeed in your mission tonight.

“Will do.”

He gave a sharp nod, pressed his screen, and her own faded to black.

She let her head drop onto her desk. Exhaustion, pure and simple, flooded through her. It’d been a long day. Probably one of the longest in her life. Her combat training class seemed to have taken place a year ago, even though it’d only been that morning.

But Gabrielle needed her. The president needed her. And her father needed her.

She knew Dream Jumping in her current state was dangerous, but she’d be cautious.

Sitting up, she closed her eyes, gathering the strength to walk to her bed.

No, first she would change, then she would crawl beneath her covers and start the process.

She sensed a movement to her left.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, instincts flaring into panic. She sprang back from her chair as the man’s arms grabbed at her. They stared each other down. The man with his silver eyes, his face hidden beneath a tight black mask.

“You’ll get out of here if you know what’s good for you.”

His eyes twinkled. “I’ll tell you what. I won’t fondle those ample breasts of yours if you submit without a fight.”

She looked at the cloth clutched in one of his hands.
Soaked in chloroform, no doubt.
“You really think this is my first rodeo, cowboy?”

In her life, there’d been more than a few failed kidnapping attempts.
But never when I was this tired.
With each second, she inched closer to the door, maneuvering so the oversize chair and coffee table separated them.

“You want this the hard way?” He laughed. “Good. I like a girl with a little fight in her.”

Her fists clenched in anticipation.

But faster than her eyes could follow, he leaped onto the chair, and then sprang onto her. She hit the ground, the back of her skull smacking the carpet. Her head spun as one of his hands gripped her breast, while the other one pressed the rag to her mouth.

His strength was incredible. Almost like Liam’s.

She fought not to breathe and moved to the left, body-slamming him as hard as she could into the wall. She pinned him and shot her hand out, digging her fingers into his eye. It popped with a sickening squelch.Her attacker gave a high, bloodcurdling scream.

She bucked him off her. Rolled and stood over him. Even though she’d tried not to breathe, she’d gotten a whiff of some of the chloroform. Her head was starting to spin.

The rag had dropped to the ground and she picked it up, jumping on him and smothering his face with it. He wrestled her with one hand, finally kicking her off him.

She sprang up and he climbed to his feet more slowly, hands pressed over his eye. Blood leaked through the cracks between his fingers.

She kicked him in the groin, then spun, sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell back, his head hitting the side of the table with a sickening crack.

He lay where he fell, unmoving.

Running to her intercom, she called down to the security desk and reported the breach. A panicked guard responded they’d be there in moments.

Going back to the man, she touched the side of his throat. No pulse.
All his many enhancements, and a table did him in.
But who is he?
Peeling back his mask, she stared into the face of the head of security, Rick.

Her stomach twisted.
Why the hell did he attack me?Is it revenge for rescuing Liam from him? Or does someone know who I am?

Given the chloroform rag, whoever it was didn’t want to kill her, but instead planned to take her. It was everything her father had warned her about.

She lay on the ground, leaning against the couch, staring at the dead man with his eye clawed out. Her father would want her to leave the academy, effectively destroying any hope she had at ever commanding a Level 10 spacecraft. She could not let that happen.

Whoever was after her, she’d figure out who it was. And she’d make them pay.

Her mind started to turn over the events of the past few weeks. Liam had probably been right.That night at the bar, someone had drugged her drink. And the attack on the roof might’ve been yet another attempt against her. Then the attack tonight.But to accomplish all these things…whoever was after her had to have a lot of power.

Who could have been close enough to slip a drug into her drink? Who could shut down the school’s defenses and allow the enemy vessel onto the grounds? And who could buy off the head of security?

She wasn’t safe here any longer.But she wouldn’t be chased off.

The door to her room slid open. Half a dozen security guards rushed in, then froze at the sight before them.

“What the hell?” one of them stuttered.

She raised a brow. “I hope one of you has a good reason why your boss tried to kidnap me…”

It was utter chaos until Dean Sufters rushed in ten minutes later. To Hannah’s satisfaction, her dark blue uniform hadn’t been tucked inand she’d missed a button on her shirt.

“What—?”

Hannah pointed to the dead body. “It looks like even though you guys beat an ambassador’s son, blaming him for your breach in security, it was your very own head of security to blame.”

The dean paled and gripped the edge of the door. “This can’t be—“

“I hope you aren’t too attached to your job because by the time my dad and Liam’s dad hear about this, you’ll be lucky if you get to scrub the bathrooms at the academy.”

Sufters’s shoulders fell and she stuttered apologies, but even she knew it was too late.

The next hour dragged on as they took her statement, cleaned her room, and the dean personally called both her father and Liam’s. It was by far the most satisfying conversation Hannah had ever witnessed. While her father took the information with a calm that warned Hannah that there would be hell to pay, Liam’s father ended the call by smashing the screen in.

Dean Sufters looked as if she was about to faint.

“I’d hoped to wait until morning to call…” she whispered.

Hannah shrugged, feeling pleased that the bitch who’d allowed Liam to be injured was going to get her comeuppance. Even if it was a different method of suffering. “They wouldn’t have taken the news any better in the morning.”

Dean Sufters tried to stand but her legs wobbled. A guard rushed to her side to help her.

“Your father is immediately sending his own men to guard you, but has asked that we place our own people outside your door until they arrive.”

Hannah had heard it all, but still enjoyed watching the dean sweat over it. “He can’t trust you to do your job, so he’s left with no other choice.”

The woman’s blue eyes met Hannah’s. “And, your father plans to be here in a week’s time.”

Hannah smiled. “If you thought he gave it to you on the phone, just wait until he arrives in person.”

The older woman visibly swallowed. “Get some sleep, cadet. We’ll discuss this in the morning.”

The dean and the guards left her room, with two of the men taking position on either side of her door. When the door slid shut, her smile fell. After all this, she still had work to do.

Chapter Six

Hannah stood outside the murky green bubble that represented Ahmed Zhou’s dream. Her stomach twisted with anxiety as she crept closer, peering in. The alien lay on a wide couch, leaning back with his large arms thrown across the back of the couchon either side of him. His face was a cross between a bull and a human. Dark hair covered him, running across his wide, bare chest, and down his nude body. His erection lay across his leg, stopping at the top of his kneecap.

She wrapped her arms around her chest and took a deep breath.
Stick to the plan.You know this alien…well enough. You’ll be able to fool him. If not, all you have to do is get out.

Plucking her power from the dream world, she transformed herself.

Blinking, she stared at her own reflection on the outside of the bubble. She looked just like Ahmed’s ex-wife, who’d been murdered years before. According to his records, she’d been the one true love of his life, and he harbored a great deal of guilt that he couldn’t save her life.

The woman staring back at her was a Vuret, just like Ahmed. She had two twisting horns on her head, but a mane of long blond hair. She was massive in comparison to Hannah’s true size, but still petite in comparison to Ahmed himself. The clothes she wore were little more than a one-strapped leather bra and a pair of underwear. The cool material felt odd against her furry body.

“Here goes nothing.”
She took a deep breath and stepped into the dream.

Music swelled around her. A pounding, bass-filled music that assaulted her ears. Naked women danced on shimmering platforms not ten feet from where the Vuret lounged.

Hannah felt a wave of panic. If she’d known this man well enough, she would’ve seen the women when she stared at the bubble surrounding his dream. She would’ve heard the music. The fact that she was aware of neither was frightening.

The big creature’s gaze swung to her and froze. “Imera!” he cried. “Come!”

She did, swinging her hips the way the woman had. Although she’d only watched a handful of vids of her.

Motioning her to sit down beside him, the Vuret grabbed her hand and pulled it to rest on his leg, just next to his manhood.

She had to hold back a shudder of disgust.
I need to get out here as quickly as possible.
“You’ve done well, my husband.”

The Vuret smelled of wet fur as he leaned closer to her. “And how is that, wife?”

Hannah forced a seductive smile. “The newest shipment of girls…”

Now, it was his turn to smile. “They will fetch the highest price of any group before.”

Caution now. Don’t do anything to alarm his subconscious. You must sound like his wife. Act like his wife.

“Which one will go for the most?”

He laughed. “Why, the wide-hipped daughter of the pretentious humans, of course! My special buyer has desired her since she was a child.”

Ugh!
“But they must know you took her. Even you may not be able to keep her hidden.”

The music faded away, and the room shifted. Suddenly, they were on a couch in the middle of a freezing room. If not for the fur covering her body, she was sure she’d be shivering.

“You think they will look here?”

The room blurred again, and suddenly, there were huge meats hanging on hooks from the ceiling. “They will search my many ships carrying arms, but they will not think to look through one carrying exotic foods.”

Hannah stared around the room.
But where were the girls?
“I’m certain they’ll search everywhere. Can you really be so certain they won’t find them?”

He gave a roar of laugher and stood, walking to the panels on the wall. He dug his fingers into the sides of oneand yanked it from the wall.

She gasped.

He continued to move about the room, pulling panel after panel off.

Hannah stared in speechless horror at the dozens upon dozens of women crammed into the purple liquid. Large beads pulsed in the water, shimmering. The women opened and closed their mouths, but no words came out. Frightened eyes stared, while their arms and legs stayed bent in odd positions spread out around them.

Every woman was nude.

And then, she caught sight of Gabrielle.

Don’t show your reaction. Stay in character.

But Hannahcouldn’t help rising and walking toward the woman she’d grown up with. Putting her fingertips on the glass, she cried out at the intense cold and pulled back.

“Glorious, isn’t it?” He placed his hand on the small of her back, sliding it lower to cup her ass.

She tried to pull away from him, but he yanked her back, cupping her ass yet again.
You’re not supposed to let him touch you, but you’re also not supposed to alert him. His wife wouldn’t pull away from him.

Just stay calm. Move away as soon as you get the chance.

“Your plan was the perfect one, wife. These beautiful creatures help to keep our precious meats cool. The Kirlian crystals keep their body temperature so low that they’re undetectable by other ships, and no matter how hard each government has tried to discover how we do it, they cannot.”

Hannah swallowed and forced the word past her lips. “Glorious.”

“I’ve missed you,” he said, his grip on her ass growing harder. “You’re the only woman who can take me the way I like and not die from our coupling.”

She inched out of his grip, glad to be relieved of his touch, and turned to him.
Just one last thing, and I’m free.
“What ship are we on?”

He frowned. “
The Magic Spicery
, of course.”

Without warning,his fist slammed into her face.

She fell backward onto the floor, her head spinning. He kicked her in the stomach, then leaped on top of her.

Time to wake up.Time to wake up.

But in her fear, she couldn’t focus enough to pull herself free.

He put an arm against her throat, tightening it until she saw spots. “You’re going to love this,” he panted into her ear. “You always could take all of me.”

She tried to scream as the world went black, but no sound came out.