“A-ah.” For once, Rykal was lost for words. All he could manage was a low, strangled expression of pent-up desire.
“Rykal?” she asked again.
“Yes?”
She shook her head, realization dawning on her handsome face. “Oh, shit.” She was fully lucid now, and embarrassment colored her cheeks, quickly covered as she tried to sit up. “Get off me, Rykal.”
“Y-yeah, leave her the fuck alone, Kordolian!”
Rykal looked up. The other human stood over them, pointing a bolt gun at his head. Her arms trembled, and her eyes were wide.
Rykal would usually act with extreme hostility in this kind of situation, but there was something about this scene that was faintly ridiculous, and he was so overwhelmed with Arin’snearness that he simply laughed. “What are you going to do with that thing, little human?”
“Get the fuck off her, or I’ll shoot.” Her voice wavered, but her aim steadied, as concern for her fellow human overrode her fear.
Rykal raised his eyebrows, put his hands in the air, and slowly rose to his feet. “I’m not going to hurt her, see? Now, may I at least help her up?” He didn’t really know why he was acting so polite. It was probably because he wanted to make a good impression on Arin.
“It’s okay, Riana.” Arin was sitting up now. “Don’t antagonize him. He isn’t our enemy right now.”
“Are you fucking serious, Sarge? He’s killed half our squad.”
Arin sighed, rolling her eyes at Rykal. “Harris is dead, but the others aren’t.”
“Th-they’re alive?” Riana regarded Rykal with a look of pure mistrust. “Are you sure?”
“Have I ever given you bad intel, Riana?”
“Once or twice, maybe…”
“Your memory is too sharp for your own good,” Arin grumbled, getting to her feet without Rykal’s help. “You belong in an infotech development lab, not out here shitkicking with the rest of us.”
Rykal’s comm buzzed. “Ry. If you’re done playing with your humans, can you get your ass down here?”
“You dying, Kail?”
“Nah. But I got another red-stripe in the area, and you’re closest by far.”
“Two in the same vicinity? Where have all these cocksuckers come from?”
“Beats me. Just get your ass down here.”
Rykal hesitated. He didn’t want to leave Arin alone, especially if Xargek were crawling all over the ship. For the firsttime in longer than he could remember, he was torn and indecisive.
Kail’s grunt of pain diverted his attention. “Hurry up, pretty-boy. I’ve taken a claw through my gut, and this asshole’s at full speed. I can only hold it off for so long. I need some recovery time, or I’m dead in the next twosivs.Consider it one of the two favors you owe me, Ry.”
The line went quiet as Kail terminated the comm. Rykal swore, turning to Arin. “I have to go,” he said gently. His brother was in danger, and Rykal knew all too well how quickly the situation could go from bad to catastrophic. He pulled out his plasma gun and pressed it into her hand. “I will be back. Use this instead of that flimsy little thing you people call a firearm. Shoot any Xargek larvae you see. If you encounter an adult, get out of there at all costs. Don’t use the elevators. Don’t use the emergency stairs. Check for bad air before entering any confined space. Stay safe, Arin Varga. I will come for you.”
Riana was staring at them in open-mouthed shock. Arin took Rykal’s gun. “Same goes for you, pretty-boy. Don’t worry. We’re on one of the docking levels. No more dodgy stairwells or compromised elevators for us.”
Rykal opened his mouth to protest at the name-calling, but then he realized he liked it when Arin called him that.
“Rykal,” Kail grunted over the comm, sounding like he was at death’s door.
“On my way, brother.” He drank Arin in with a longing gaze. “I’ll ask one of the others to come and map out a safe exit route for your people. Make sure you get your ass onto that evac ship, woman.”
He turned and ran.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
