“No.” I lifted the stick higher, waved it in front of her. She didn’t budge. I lunged like a samurai and got her in the torso. Not even a flicker of pain. Did she have zero pain receptors or was she wearing something that blocked the charge? Either way, the stick only made her smile. “You belong to Cerberus, female. You will not run from me.”
Fuck. I tried again. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step toward me. I widened my stance, ready for a catfight. I hated fighting other women. They were ruthless. But I was not going with her. Not happening.
One second, she was ready to take me out, the next she was shoved out of the way as if she were a forward who’d been body-checked at the World Cup. A guy, who looked more human than the blue female stood before me with a pretty serious scowl on his face. He’d tackled the blue alien, but when he straightened to his full—gorgeous—height, he didn’t look happy about it.
“Thanks,” I murmured, not sure he would welcome the sentiment.
“I’m an idiot.” He ducked a punch to the head coming from his left. I whipped the electrical stick around like a baton and zapped the offender, who screeched like an injured owl and whirled away. I gripped the stick and whipped it around, keeping everyone else as far from us as possible.
“Thanks,” he offered right back, the corner of his mouth tipped up.
“Stop them!” Jirghogis shouted. I recognized his slithery voice.
The guy narrowed his eyes and hardened his jaw as he grabbed my wrist. “Time to go, gara.”
Tall, dark and handsome tugged me toward the exit. I didn’t know if he was a good guy or a bad guy, but he was helping me get out of here.
I’d decide later if I should zap him or not.
He was strong and had his shit dialed in because he kept a hold of my wrist and cleared a path for us as if chopping through a jungle with a machete. He didn’t stop when we were outside the place but tugged me along behind him. I had to run to keep up with his long-legged gait.
Glancing up, it appeared as if we were inside some kind of snow globe. There was no breeze or change in temperature. We weren’t outside.
I followed for a few minutes as he took various paths between buildings just as I would have on Earth to avoid being followed. Only when we ducked into an alley of some sort did he stop.
He looked me over, breathing hard. While he did that, I scoped him out in return, holding my weapon at the ready. He appeared to be helping me, but I wasn’t taking any chances. And the fact that he was moderately attractive was not going to influence my decision.
Nope. Not at all. He was not sexy. He was an alien. I needed to remember that.
“Thanks for saving me back there,” I said.
“You were doing a pretty good job all on your own. You’re skilled with a titan stick. Got those on Earth?”
I laughed. “No, but I’m skilled at dealing with assholes. They usually aren’t blue though.”
This guy, he wasn’t blue. He looked… not blue. I couldn’t say normal because I had a feeling I was the not normal one around here. But he looked more human than anyone else as I’d seen.
Dark hair in need of a haircut. I had a feeling it was long enough to go into a tie, but he kept it down. Piercing dark eyes. Scruff on his square jaw. He was big, well over six feet, but not huge like an Atlan I’d seen on the Bachelor Beast show on TV. He wore all black, and a weapon was strapped to his thigh.
I had to admit, he was really attractive. Hot. Ruggedly handsome. I felt small beside him, but unlike the milling group of thugs, or even Bertok, I didn’t feel threatened. His gaze held heat but more frustration and some anger although I didn’t think it was directed at me.
He was calm, which meant this kind of action wasn’t new for him.
I looked into his eyes again, and they were focused squarely on mine.
“You’ll want to steer clear of the Ulza.” He thumbed over his shoulder.
“The blue lady?”
“Yes, she’s part of Cerberus legion. She’s also a Xeriman hybrid, which makes her meaner than most.”
“I don’t know what any of that is but noted.” No sense lying.
“Red arm bands. All different hybrid species. They’re everywhere in the dome.”
“Ah, gang colors?” I knew all about that. And looking back, both the hard-as-nails blue woman and a bunch of creepers in the ogle-fest had been wearing dark red bands around their biceps, bands the color of red wine. Or blood.
“Where is Cerberus?” I’d never heard of that planet before, but I’d make a mental note not to go there.