Page 10 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

This one held a plasma thrower, and his finger tightened on the trigger. I twisted, trying to present as small a target as I could and bring my own stolen gun back around.

I’d never find out if I was quick enough. A wrench flew past my head, striking the attacker in the head and knocking him into a spin. Plasma shot from his gun in a searing blast, the recoil only speeding up his tumble and sending him whirling back into the darkness. Iemptied my stolen boarding gun into him as he fell, adding momentum. Even if the pellets didn’t tear his suit open, he was out of the fight.

“I told you to stay put,” I growled, not taking my eyes off the open lock.

“Hey, fuck you. I just saved your life, andthat’sthe thanks I get?”

The fourth guard popped into view, boarding gun at the ready. I swung my gun at him like a club and Rachel flung a hammer into his upper arm. His boarding gun fired just before the man dropped it with a muffled howl of pain.

Planting my foot in his stomach, I kicked hard and sent him out into the void to join his fellows. Perhaps Frax would recover the survivors, perhaps not—I hoped he would try. While they had tried to kill me, it would be unfair to blame them for fighting back against a pirate. Though I have many flaws, hypocrisy is not among them.

Then I turned and saw Rachel sitting on the deck, blood staining her torn white dress. My vision darkened, my heart filled with burning rage, and my hands tightened on the empty boarding gun. Metal creaked under my fingers.

I will kill them all,I promised myself, turning back to look out at the distant, tumbling figures. My heartbeat, loud and wild and angry, called for their blood.

A little whimper of pain cut through that, and I wrestled for control of myself. Their deaths would not help her, and I wasn’t even sure why her injurytriggered such rage in my soul. The boarding gun clattered to the deck as I turned my back on the void, the ramp closing behind me.

Vengeance mattered. Saving her life mattered a lot more.

“What’re you doing?”The human’s words slurred as I lifted her in my arms.

“Do not talk,” I instructed her, hurrying along the corridor and looking into each room we passed for the medbay I was certain I’d find. Built for an emperor, theStarshadowhad to have a top-class medical facility aboard. It had to.

“You aren’t the boss of me,” Rachel said. She squirmed in my arms, perhaps trying to escape my grip, but lacking the strength.

“I certainly am,” I replied, voice stern. “This is my ship now. I am in charge.”

“No fair, I stole it too.”

My scowl deepened, and I hissed. Fortunately, a door slid open, cutting my urge to argue short and revealing the medbay. To my eyes, the room looked over-decorated, but as long as it worked, I didn’t care. My heart surged as I rushed her to the autodoc bed, hoping that it still functioned.

“You don’t havetime for this,” she objected. “There’ll be more of them. Get the ship moving, get us out of here.”

My growl deepened again, a deadly sound that made hardened warriors flinch. Rachel just smiled.Probably the shock,I thought, unwilling to accept that I didn’t frighten her.

Worse than her lack of reaction was the fact that she was right. More of Frax’s men would be on us soon, and I couldn’t fight them all. This part of the plan called for a quick getaway.

But Rachel’s injury needed tending, and I refused to abandon her. A hologram appeared beside the bed, displaying the human’s form and marking her injuries. Several wounds through her right arm, and a few in her torso. Those were worrying, and I wanted to stay with Rachel to make sure the computer didn’t mess up her anatomy.

The autodoc had never seen a human before. Neither, admittedly, had I.

Rachel was staring at me, impatience in her eyes. “Go get us moving, asshole. I’mnotgoing back to Frax. I’d rather die.”

“I will not leave you to die on this computer’s watch,” I declared. “It will do its work quickly, and then we will leave.”

She stared at me, tried to cross her arms, and winced. “How, exactly, do you plan to help it? Are you a doctor? A xenobiologist? If you sit here staring at me and I get captured again, I swear I’ll beat you to a pulp.”

While I snarled at her reply, I respected it. And shewas right—if I stayed here and did nothing, it would be my fault if Frax caught us. As much as it hurt to leave Rachel on her own, I had no choice.

Without another word, I turned and raced for the bridge.

7

RACHEL

Iwatched my silver-skinned savior leave with a pang. Tough front aside, I didn’t really want to face an unknown autodoc alone. And, aggravating as he was, Kreel distracted me from the pain of my wounds.

He sure does,a tiny voice whispered in my mind.I mean, look at his abs! Those eyes! That…everything!

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