A’Kar’s face morphed into a fierce scowl. “What would you know? You’re not Taurean.”
Gark stiffened, but didn’t respond.
Not Taurean?
Aletta frowned. Something to ask about later, he certainly looked like the others.
“I’ve seen that symbol on some dead purists,” Arik said. “Very dead.”
What kind of mess had she ended up in? Some kind of intergalactic political intrigue? She just wanted to find Dylan. And this fucker knew something.
A’Kar paled slightly, a sheen of sweat making his skin look glossy under the lights, but he lifted his chin and faced Gark squarely. “What do you want?”
“The truth.”
That was more like it. Aletta nodded, lips pressed into a thin line.
“The truth?” He scoffed. “The truth is, Taurean blood shouldn’t be tainted.” It was like a switch had been flicked, A’Kar suddenly leaning forward, hands pressed flat against the table as he glared at Gark. “The Alliance will ensure that those likeyounever exist again.” A’Kar looked at Gark like he was a cockroach, and not one of the ten-foot-tall monstrous types. “Your whore of a mother should have been put down after polluting her lineage.” Aletta gasped at the vile words spewing from his mouth. But A’Kar wasn’t done. “And with a Gnaggarian? Not even one of the Elite, but a lowly unranked!” A’Kar spat on the table between them. “The Alliance will make things right again.”
The venom in A’Kar’s words made Aletta’s stomach twist. He sounded like a fanatic. Crazed. Unhinged.
Deadly.
Gark tilted his head to one side as if considering A’Kar’s words.
A’Kar’s glare landed on Aletta. “And you? Humans are weak; only good for one thing. I can see why you brought her on the ship.” He smirked. “Who’s going to use her first?”
Oh dear god.
Gark wasn’t looking at her, and Vox wouldn’t meet her eyes.
No. This wasn’t happening. She hadn’t been saved from one hell only to be thrown into another.
Gark growled, the low sound making Aletta sit bolt upright in her seat.
“Watch your mouth.”
A’Kar stood from his seat with a menacing smirk, but managed to get only a step toward her before Gark, Vox, and Arik were suddenly blocking his way.
How had they moved so fast?
He looked between the three. “All of you at once? I’ve seen that done. The bitch loved?—"
Gark punched him in the mouth, A’Kar’s head snapping back with the force of the blow. “I said, watch your mouth!”
Seeing A’Kar get what he deserved had her cheering on the inside. The tight knot in Aletta’s chest loosened a little at Gark’s defense of her.
But she still hadn’t learned anything about Dylan.
Screw this asshole. She was done sitting back. She slid out of the booth and peered around the wall of muscle that was Gark. “Where’s my sister?”
“Who?” A’Kar raised a hand to his mouth, pulling it away to look at the blood on his fingers. “What’s one amongst thousands?” He shrugged.
Aletta curled her fingers into fists, nails biting into her palms.
“Thousands. You kidnapped thousands of women.”
A’Kar lifted a brow. “So what? They’re not Taurean.”
