She wanted to believe him.
When she almost tripped again, she held on to his arm. His biceps were huge and rock solid. It stirred something within her. He didn’t tell her to keep her hands to herself, so she didn’t.
“Are we almost there?”
“Yes. If you’re tired, I can carry you.”
Ella almost laughed out loud until she realized he wasn’t joking. She wasn’t light by any means, but with his muscles, she’d probably feel like it.
“I can manage,” she said. “Where are we going exactly?”
“My transport. It will provide shelter until I can fix it in the morning.”
“You can fix it yourself?”
“Yes, I’m schooled in all forms of ship repair. It’s required of everyone on the taskforce.”
She knew it had to be something like that. He was some kind of a Marine or government agent. It would explain his size and attire. It made her relax because it meant he wasn’t a serial killer.
“That’s great,” she said. “Do you have a family? Wife? Kids?”
Even though an Adonis like Dhiro would never be interested in a girl like her, she could dream. It was hard not to feel a fairy-tale connection to the man who’d saved her with his bare hands.
“I have no wife or children. But having a family is my number one priority.”
That was more intense than she expected.
The distance rumble of bass grew louder. At first, she thought she’d imagined it, but then the headlights bobbing up and down cut the darkness ahead of them.
“It must be Jeff. What an idiot. He was supposed to pick me up hours ago.”
This was where she would be taken back to civilization. She had no more reason to be afraid of her odd rescuer. Then why did she feel disappointed?
The party bus pulled up alongside them. Jeff and a few other scientists hung out the open windows, and they looked plastered. She exhaled her displeasure.
Jeff and Roland hopped off the bus. “Sorry I’m late,” said Jeff. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Dhiro. If it wasn’t for him, I would have been ripped apart by wolves.”
He laughed. “There’re no wolves here.”
“I beg to differ,” she said, growing increasingly angry with her wayward partner. “It was terrifying.”
“Stop being such a prude. Come on, let’s go.” Jeff grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the bus.
She couldn’t even gauge the next sequence of events, it was such a blur. Jeff was on the ground, moaning, and Roland charged Dhiro. After a few quick arm motions, Roland joined Jeff on the ground. Judging by the grotesque angle of his arm, it had to be broken.
The music on the bus stopped.
“Dhiro, what are you doing?”
The other two men rushed off the bus. Mike was in front. He was an asshole, the rookie in their research group. “What the fuck?” They both looked down at Jeff and Roland writhing on the ground. She was in just as much shock, frozen in place.
Mike pulled out a handgun. She gasped.
He aimed at Dhiro. “Who the hell are you?”
Dhiro didn’t answer. He only stared at the other man, his eyes seeming to glow in the darkness.
“Put that away,” she said. “When did you get a damn gun, Mike?”
“Shut up, you fucking cow,” he shouted back. “You’re the reason we’re back out here.”
“You’re the ones who forgot about me.”
“Get on your stomach and don’t move,” Mike told Dhiro.
Dhiro grabbed something from the side of his thigh, then flung it forward with a quick flick. By the time she looked to see what he’d done, Mike was on his knees, a blade glimmering from his shoulder. The last guy ran back on the bus and the driver hit the gas, taking the only light source with them.
Once darkness weighed down on them again, all she could hear were moans and cries.
Was she next on Dhiro’s list?
She felt his hand at the small of her back. “We must go.”
“But…” It was too much to process. Were they going to just leave them there in the darkness? Was Dhiro a criminal? Well, he was now. The other men would no doubt return with the police. She didn’t want any part of this. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’d never hurt you, Ella.”
“What about them?”
“They shouldn’t have threatened my mate.”
Chapter Two
Everything had been going so well, or at least Dhiro had thought so. Ella had been interested in him. Of course, with his lack of human understanding, he hadn’t been entirely convincing in his role as human and he’d inadvertently scared her. Totally acceptable. It was a note he’d make for future expeditions. The men who arrived made his decision even harder. They were not good men. The stench coming from their mouths and skin had repulsed him. He wondered if all human males were as filthy.
He didn’t understand it.
They looked intoxicated with one of the drinks that wasn’t allowed to be spoken of on their planet. He’d tried it a few times but hadn’t enjoyed the lack of control. Some friends enjoyed drinking the substance to forget about everything, but he hadn’t been one of them.