Page 38 of A Cyborg for the Alien Mercenary

“The one you found?” he prompted gently, still stroking down her back. The rhythmic touch was soothing, comforting.

She swallowed hard, the image of the fallen cyborg burned into her memory. “I killed him,” she whispered. “There was a code on his cheek. J10-8M7E.”

Covak stiffened slightly. “That’s similar to your designation. Any idea what it means?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just… I killed him, Covak. With a dagger. Oh god…”

The memory hit her full force, and her stomach lurched. Scrambling out of bed, she barely made it to the bathroom before everything in her stomach came back up. Covak’s large hands were gentle as he held her hair back while she threw up.

When she was done, he helped her stand up and held her as she rinsed her mouth. With gentle nudges, he guided her back to bed.

“Sleep,” he said as he settled in beside her. “I’ll stay here so you can sleep. We’ll be at the clinic tomorrow so we can get you scanned… we’ll figure this out, I promise.”

Jesh’s stomachlurched as the drop shuttle plummeted through the colony’s upper atmosphere. The skin between her shoulder blades crawled, and her enhanced hearing picked up every minute vibration and groan of metal from the ship and every shift in pressure as they hurtled down toward their destination.

Through the small viewport, clouds whipped past, obscuring any view of the planet below. The air hummed with the ship’s systems and the low murmur of conversation around her.

She was wedged between the alien mercenaries who had rescued her from Amanda Hargrove and whoever her asshole “mother” was working for.

Covak’s massive form pressed against her side, his presence reassuring. He leaned in, his breath warm on her ear to say, “Let me introduce you to the team.”

She nodded, her gaze moving from face to face, cataloging details faster than she could process them. It didn’t matter. She was getting used to the voice in her head. It would pick up anything she needed to know and tell her about it.

They looked big and dangerous, but she wasn’t worried. Given the little shedidknow about herself and the events of the last few days, she was fairly certain she could overpower any of them if necessary.

“Davis, our resident human and engineer.” Covak’s deep voice rumbled next to her ear, and he nodded toward a man sitting across from them.

Davis offered a smile and a small wave of a gloved hand as he checked his weaponry over. She nodded back, noting the contrast between his human features and the alien crew. Or the lack of it. If she hadn’t been told he was human, other than the fact his pupils were round like hers, she wouldn’t have known the difference. He looked just as big and dangerous as the rest of them.

“You’ve met Anson,” Covak continued, gesturing to the man from the corridor last night. “He’s our security expert.”

Anson’s gaze met hers briefly before darting away.

“Then we have Rann, our pilot and second in command,” Covak said, indicating the tall, leaner alien man at the controls.

Rann grunted and lifted a thumb up in the air over his shoulder, his focus staying on the shuttle’s controls as he flew.

“And finally…” Covak’s tone shifted slightly. “Our glorious leader, Ryke.”

He motioned to the tall, imposing man sitting near the back ramp of the shuttle. Ice-blue eyes locked on to hers, a smile in their depths.

“Well, well,” Ryke drawled as a roguish grin spread across his face. “If I’d known we were rescuing such a beauty, I’d have made sure to switch places with the big guy. I?—”

A deep growl ripped through the shuttle, drowning out whatever Ryke was saying. Covak surged forward to the edge of his seat, putting himself between her and Ryke. She peeked around his massive shoulder to see Ryke sit back.

“Down, boy,” the Reapers’ leader chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just being friendly.”

“Well, don’t,” Covak snarled, his fangs fully descended. “Be less friendly with her.”

She raised an eyebrow. Part of her found Covak’s protectiveness oddly endearing, but another part bristled at the implication she needed safeguarding.

She met Ryke’s gaze steadily, letting a hint of steel creep into her voice. “Charmed, I’m sure. But I can speak for myself. I’m good with friendly, but friendly is all it’s going to be.”

Ryke’s eyes widened slightly and then crinkled with amusement.

“Oh, I like her,” he said to Covak before turning back to her with a respectful nod. “Welcome aboard, warrior.”

Covak relaxed a little at her words, but his protective stance remained. She shook her head slightly. These aliens had rescued her, true, and she was grateful for that. But she was no damsel in distress. Best they understood that, sooner rather than later.

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