Granted, we did blend in, except for that steamy kiss. Everyone was doing exactly as she was, and I made myself follow along, offering greetings and clinking glasses with the people nearest tous. I saw that there was a method to Daria’s madness; we were on the move now. The entire crowd was moving, actually.
When I realized that everyone was guided to the exit, I breathed a sigh of relief. A fireworks display, I should have known.Thatwas going to be our moment to leave, but would I be able to convince my mate to come with me to my ship? Or would I have to chase after her into the city? I was about to find out.
Chapter 9
Daria
I could tell that Ian, no Killian, was tense, but he hid it very well. His smile was warm and welcoming as he said hello and wished strangers a Happy New Year like he’d done it a million times before. For the first time since I’d learned aliens were real, I wondered if they celebrated the changing of the year. Or did Killian think this was a strange custom?
Our chance to slip away was coming up now, but I kept glancing for the general to check that the nifty fake pin was still on his lapel. If not for that thing, which I’d onlybarelynoticed Killian swapping for the real thing, we’d already be caught. Or I at least, I would be, because it was definitely me that kept drawing the eye of the security guards.
In the hustle and bustle of everyone going outside to catch the fireworks display, it was easier to escape their notice. All we had to do was slip into that crowd with Senator Lewel for a minute. Yes, got it. I was going to have to leave my wrap, which meant I’d be freezing my ass off in this dress. But what was a little discomfort when it meant staying alive?
“This way,” I whispered to Killian when we’d edged to the side of the crowd. He’d slung an arm around my shoulders and the heat that blazed from his body was almost enough to keep me warm. “We can hit the stairs and head around the block. I left my car there.”
Now that I knew that Killian existed, that he was my proof as much as the stuff on that data chip, I wasn’t going to let him leave my sight. I also recalled certain advice I’d given my friend Stella when she dealt withheralien. Something along the lines of, if he’s hot, why not jump his bones when you have the chance? I hadn’t counted on her decision to leave Earth with her lover forever. Not that I begrudged her the choice. She deserved some happiness.
I glanced at Killian and took in his stubborn, golden chin and the pretty gold curls. Everything was just a tad disheveled after we’d made out twice, and I loved how that made him look. I wanted to touch his pointed ears, hidden beneath that hair, and assure myself that they were real and not some weird prop.
“Your car? No, we should head for my ship,” Killian murmured back at me. I could feel how his voice made his chest rumble through his jacket. I also felt the bulge of that gun pressing against my hip. Could he still reach that if we needed it? I wasn’t a big fan of the ‘shoot-your-way-out’ tactic, but if it came down to it…
His ship? That sounded promising, and my curiosity almost made me take the backseat so he could lead me there. A real spaceship, I wanted to see that! If I filmed it and took pictures, that was going to be really good proof. My contacts at several large news stations would be all over that.
“There they are! Stop them!” The cry went out behind us and I knew they were talking about us. I chanced a glance over my shoulders as we hurried down the steps and onto the sidewalk. Several guards in uniform were chasing after us, leaping around guests and shoving and pushing through the crowd. A spotlightcaught General Mullberry so I could make out his face. The shocked disappointment there made my stomach turn.
Darryl was a bit like a distant uncle. I knew he cared, and he was proud of my career, unlike my father. I realized then that he hadn’t truly believed that I was there to steal his data and I’d hurt him. Well, too bad. I had good memories growing up of him, and he’d helped me throughout my career, but he was still part of making a really bad deal for humans. Just like my father had an even bigger slice of that pie, motivated by his greed and hunger for power.
“Cross here,” Killian urged, and he swung us abruptly into the street under the sound of shouts and the booming of the fireworks displays going off all around the city. That noise masked the first bullet as it whizzed past my head, but I knew it for what it was as it impacted the street. They were shooting at us!
I was good at running in heels, but my feet ached, and when dodging lethal projectiles, I knew they had to be sacrificed. I kicked them off as we leaped onto the curb and zigzagged parked cars and street signs. The street burned against my stocking-clad feet, the icy surface hurting my skin, but I didn’t let that slow my pace. I didn’t even feel the cold that plagued the rest of my body; adrenaline had numbed me to it. Soon, the icy street would be an afterthought too, because survival was the only thing that mattered.
We couldn’t lead them toward the getaway car I’d parked a block away. We had to lose our tail first, and I didn’t know if we’d be able to do that on foot. The festivities helped. Soon, wewere ducking into a crowd, and our chasing gunmen couldn’t risk firing at us any longer.
“Up here,” Killian said, and he swung me toward an alley at the side of a parking garage. It was a dead end, and our pursuers were too close. Inside the lot, they’d open fire on us again, not a smart move if we wanted to survive.
“No, through the restaurant,” I hissed at him, spinning out from beneath his arm so I could duck into the crowd out front. Killian paused at the mouth of the alley he wanted, our eyes clashing, and for a moment I thought he would go his own way. Then his mouth firmed, and he dove after me and into the crowd inside, dodging with me around tables until we bowled into a waiter just exiting the kitchen. Something warm and savory splashed over my dress, followed by a rain of champagne.
Small price to pay for the exit at the back of the kitchen. We might be able to lose them this way.
Chapter 10
Killian
Callum was cursing in my ear, but he was also feeding me information from the scanners of the ship. “Three hostiles ducked into the restaurant after you. The rest are circling. Hurry or you’ll be trapped.” I flung myself to the side as fire erupted from a pan on the stove I was passing, then I snatched Daria around her waist and tossed her over my shoulder.
Her indignant scream would have made me laugh in any other situation, but I was more focused on the exit and survival. Putting on more speed, I dodged the kitchen staff and managed to burst outside without stopping. Daria went silent when she felt the cold air hit her, her body growing stiff, but I knew she’d seen them just like I had. Nearly a dozen guards.
We’d escaped the restaurant before they could box us in, but they were so close I could feel them breathing down my back. Well, I would have if not for the icy winter weather. Without a crowd to provide cover and rein in their murderous intent, we were easy targets. Fuck that, to use a favorite Earth swearword of mine, survival trumped not giving away what I was.
A Terafin could outrun a human, anytime. It was a simple fact: we were physically superior to the Earth race. Bigger, stronger, faster, and more long-lived too. I left them in the dust as I stopped holding back, but even I could not outrun a bullet. The projectile weapons were crude, but they were still effective.
I shifted Daria as I ducked and weaved to avoid getting hit, cradling her against my chest so my body protected her. Of course, the spitfire did not do anything halfway, and she did not play damsel. Her fingers slid into my jacket, unerringly locating the butt of the laser pistol I carried. She couldn’t possibly be familiar with the weapon, but she held it expertly as she squeezed the trigger for a warning shot.
Everyone behind us ducked for cover, creating a lull in the rain of fire. I turned a corner, running as fast as I could, then ducked around several more under the advice of my handler. Callum had the maps to the city, he’d guide us back to the ship, eventually. When it was safe.
“No, not that way. Go left,” Daria said suddenly. She’d been quiet after that one burst of laser fire had created the opening I needed to put our hunters behind us. She had not protested that I was carrying her, and I had started to grow worried about how cold she felt. I paused at her words, cocking my head in the direction she wanted to go and contemplating my options.
She wanted to go left for a reason. It would delay my safe return to the ship, but Callum did not need me to be safe to pass on the data to our superiors. That data was already winging its way through space to inform the High Command on Afir. That part was done… I turned left as my woman had demanded; and let my curiosity, and my desire to please her, win out.
