Oh fuck, no.Eyes closed, my sweet lover’s slumped in a chair, supported by her bindings. Please God, let her be alive.
While I cut her free, Adrian presses a finger to her neck and gives me a curt nod. “Her heartbeat is strong.”
“Dean?” When her brown eyes flutter open, I swallow hard at the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.
With no time for explanations, I swing her over my shoulder, and duck under the rising accordion door. In the driveway, our extraction SUV screeches to a stop. Armed men rush out of the house, a bullet whizzes by my head, and I drop Sky in the back seat. Turning, I take aim, fire, and as I race away, fist pump the air.
“We have her. I repeat, operation is a success.” At O’Brien’s confirmation, the entire team cheers in my comm unit.
Chapter 22
Sky
An engine roars, tires squeal, and bullets ping. In a metal spaceship, I thrash my limbs and struggle to lift my eyelids. If I’ve been abducted by aliens, I’m sure as hell going to get a glimpse of the little gray guys.
“Butterfly, stop. It’s me.” Dean’s voice pierces through my foggy dream, a few synapses fire, and one eye opens.
Ignoring his grimace, I lock onto his concerned gaze. “Where am I?”
“You were kidnapped, and we rescued you. Is anything broken?” His manly scent of leather and musk act as an aphrodisiac, or perhaps it’s the needle in my arm.
“You have the sexiest lips.” With my index finger at his mouth, he kisses my bruised knuckles, and cups my cheek. “Sky? Are. You. Hurt?”
“Umm. I don’t think so.” My abs throb and the interior of the vehicle rotates, but other than that, I’m perfectly fine.
Yay me.Fingers and toes wiggle, so I move my shoulders and limbs. Encouraged, I venture my palm over my face and gasp at the golf-ball-sized bump on my jaw.
Crap. “I’m sure I look worse than I feel.”
He should be focused on the bullets pinging us from behind. They could be men in black and have memory eraser thingies. While I speak, the driver turns so fast, two wheels of the hovercraft leave the ground and gravity thrusts me into his arms.
“You’re safe now.” His outlandish claim would make me smile if my lip wasn’t split.
“You think so?”
“Ninety-nine percent certain.” He chuckles and as the other three aliens in the vehicle do the same, I swear to God, their eyes grow huge and their heads more bulbous.
Rats.Before I pass out, I need to tell the extraterrestrials something important but damn if I can remember what it is.
“Francine.” Throat dry, I hack up a lung until water is brought to my lips.
After I swallow, the one other human in the car, besides me, lowers his scruffy face and pats my cheek. “The Russian? What about her?”
“She’s the puppet master.” I wish I could explain better, but my brain cells are all out of whack. These extraterrestrial drugs are strong. “Talk to Charlie. She has the goods on her.”
The being to our left, who used to be Jasper, presses on his ear and speaks into his chest. “Drac, ask the kid what she knows about her stepmother.”
A few seconds later, the alien shakes his head and taps my hero’s elbow. “She said, and I quote,‘Everything.’”
I recall how Tommy had her followed and add my two cents. “O’Malley doesn’t trust the bitch.”
“Then why marry the woman? He’s one of the most successful arms dealers on the planet and can do as he pleases.” At Dean’s frustrated tone, Adrian, our driver, growls from the front seat.
“Charlie wants to say something. Go ahead, kid.”
Her voice sounds through the SUV’s speakers. “My father may have thought he was using her, but it was the other way around. Once I found out, I had to step in.”
“Help me. None of this makes sense. Tommy sold nukes to the ORA. Is that right?” I pray that much is true.
