“Can you go see how Haeden’s doing? Make sure he’s not going to get trigger happy?”
She nods and heads out of the room.
I immediately shut the door behind her and flip the lock. I turn around, resting my back against the door. “Computer? I need a fail safe.”
“Query: what is fail safe?”
“I need a secondary plan.” I lick my lips, thinking hard. “A weapon I can smuggle on board the alien ship with me if I’m taken captive.” After a moment, I add, “And I need a way to interface your computer to theirs.”
The computer screen flashes with a variety of options, and I listen intently.
If they take me back with them, I’m bringing them down. If I’m not getting out of this alive, neither are they.
? ? ?
It’s sometime later that I emerge from the locked room to find the others. I’ve got a secret packet wrapped in a thin polymer film tucked into my hand, and new determination in my step. Unfortunately, my determination falters when I run into Harlow in the hallway.
“They’re on the move,” Harlow tells me. “The guys are at the front. Come on!”
We race down the narrow halls of the ship, heading toward the entrance. I guess Haeden’s abandoned his post already, because when I arrive at the icy entrance, he’s kneeling there in the meltwater with Aehako. My mate has his ear pressed to the door, listening on the other side. I want to point out that he’s not going to be able to hear anything through the hull of the ship, but he gets to his feet the moment I arrive.
“Aehako,” I say. “What—“
“Their ship has arrived,” he tells me. He caresses my cheek and pulls me against him. “You and Harlow must stay here. Haeden and I will go out and speak to them.”
I push away from him. “No, this is something I need to do.”
“Kira,” he says, a warning tone in his voice. “Let me protect you. You are my mate to take care of.”
“That’s sweet, Aehako.” I reach up and pat his cheek. “But you are my mate, and I’m going to take care of you.” I flick off the switch that covers the trigger-button on my laser cannon. “Now, I’m going to go out and talk to those bastards.”
“Talk?” Harlow’s laugh is nervous. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.” I’m tired of running scared. My heart’s racing a mile a minute, but inwardly, I feel calm. This is it. For once and for all, I’m not going to be scared of these bastards anymore. Because if the worst case scenario happens, there’s no longer anything to fear.
“You are serious?” Aehako’s hand grips my arm. His voice is incredulous. “Kira, this is dangerous.”
“I know.” I look up at him. “So give me a kiss for luck, and make it a really good one.”
He makes a strangled noise in his throat. “I don’t want to kiss you right now. I want to throttle you for being foolish.”
I shake my head. “This isn’t foolishness. I’ve got everything under control. I promise.”
The look on Aehako’s face is pained and full of worry. I expect him to protest again, to tell me that I’m not the right girl for the job. Instead, he grabs me in a fierce bear hug and hauls me up to his face for a kiss. His lips brush against mine, surprisingly tender. His nose nuzzles mine. Then he closes his eyes and murmurs, “I will protect you with my life, you know that, yes?”
I’m overwhelmed by his sweet words. Hot tears threaten, and I fling my arms around his neck and kiss him like he should be kissed – wild and utterly abandoned. This might be the last kiss I have with him, and I let him know how much I love him. My tongue slicks against his ridged one, and I kiss him so passionately and so fervently that Harlow clears her throat behind us.
Right. I have a mission.
I give Aehako one last peck. “I love you,” I whisper to him.
“Be safe, Sad Eyes,” he tells me. “Do not make me come out there to protect you.”
“I won’t.” I force a smile to my face, like everything’s okay. Truth be told, I have a really bad feeling about this. I look at Harlow and the two hunters, both of whom are gripping their spears as if they’d do something against these aliens.
They’ll be slaughtered. I can’t let that happen.
I move toward Harlow and hug her. She seems surprised by my spontaneous gesture, and her arms go around me slowly. “Whatever you do, stay inside the ship,” I tell her in a low whisper. “If I don’t make it back, make sure Aehako and Haeden go back to the caves, all right? They can’t come after me.” I pull back and smile at her, pretending like nothing’s wrong.