“They went into the woods,” a man yelled, running after Frost and Snow. “Spread out. Find them. Don’t let them get away.”
The brown-eyed Earthling recovered from Ice’s defensive move and tried to grab him. Ice pushed to his feet and seized the attacker’s arm. He should have been able to stop the assault, but the creature was too nimble, and he was unable to stop the alien physically.
Curses on Galaxy Brides.
Ice tried to defend himself and push the alien away, without doing harm. However, when another human came at him, evidently thinking he didn’t know how to spar, Ice had no problem launching that one into the air. He grabbed hold of a thigh and used the momentum of the man’s attack to heave him on toward the others. The flailing human made contact with the backs of two of his brothers’ pursuers and all three tumbled onto the ground. At their cries, the fifth gave up his pursuit and returned to fight Ice.
The momentary relief he felt at knowing his brothers were safe for the time being was short lived as he realized he was now alone on this strange orb. The sound of thrusters drawing power in preparation of a launch drowned out the human shouts. If that ship finished takeoff, they would be trapped on Earth with no way to get home.
This was a nightmare.
“Hey!” Ice yelled. He picked up a rock and hurled it at the ship, hoping to set off the sensors. He grabbed another, and then another, causing them to reverberate off the metal side.
Maybe they didn’t realize.
Maybe they didn’t know.
Maybe they had set the brothers up.
Curses on Galaxy Brides!
Four of the attackers were coming back for him. The fifth lay on the ground.
Ice picked up another rock, this time chucking it at the nearest figure. The stone hit its target in the shoulder, knocking the Earthling onto his back. The human made a strange noise. He did it again, this time striking a covered face. Before Ice could pick another rock, the two remaining humans charged, hands swinging. Curled fingers balled into complete fists. It was a strange way to fight.
As he lifted his outstretched hand to shove the heel of his palm into a face, he saw those brown eyes…and hesitated. Instead, he went for the other target. He landed a blow on a hard chest. The alien creature made an odd choking noise as he fell back.
He should have been able to take the last attacker. He’d fought bearguars bigger than this human, but as he watched it pull the mask off its head, he realized the attacker was a woman.
She took a deep breath but did not run.
Ice stared at her mouth, waiting for her to speak. She circled him, her arms raised.
“Guuuurgh-gurg,” he said.
She stopped moving, her eyes widening by small degrees.
Ice frowned. Stupid Venimice uploads!
Before he could lift his arms, the woman had hold of them and was flipping him into the air. He flailed, landing on his back on the hard ground. The breath was knocked from his lungs, followed by an electric shock that reverberated through his body.
“Gurgha,” he mumbled, seconds before passing out.
Chapter Three
Elle tapped her fingers against the reinforced glass observation window that overlooked the room in which they kept the alien male. Her forehead pressed against it as she watched him. Ice-blue eyes met hers, but he didn’t move. In fact, he hadn’t moved in three weeks. Not really. The striking color caused her to shiver. It’s what had made her hesitate in her first attempt to stop him. She had wanted to be the one to take him down. The others would not have been so gentle. Even now her co-workers hunted the other two.
Though she would never say it out loud, she hoped they didn’t find them.
There were times she hated her job. This was one of them.
The alien wore the white tunic and scrub pants of the facility. Whatever he’d taken to blend in was beginning to wear off and with each passing day, his skin turned from a darker brown to blue with patches that formed a tribal pattern on his arm. If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.
Secret alien facility with an actual secret alien prisoner.
She was an alien mercenary. Her unofficial job title was actually a real thing. Go figure.
When she’d signed on for the job, she’d honestly thought it would be an easy paycheck from an eccentric, rich asshole who would send them on wild goose chases. She never thought they would catch something.
