Page 63 of A Cyborg for the Alien Mercenary

Summoning every last reserve of strength she possessed, she lifted her arm and hurled Jex’s onboard at the nearest Scorperio suit. Darkness crept in at the edges of her vision as she watched it. She’d tried, but she had nothing left.

She smiled softly, bitterly. “I’m sorry, Covak,” she whispered into the silence. “I hope I made you proud.”

Her eyes fixed on the ceiling, seeing not the harsh lights above but the stars beyond. Somewhere out there, Covak was waiting for her.

She hoped even a cyborg like her could follow him…

18

They’d taken her. They’d frexxing taken her, and he hadn’t been able to stop them.

Covak paced the bridge of theLady’s Dreamlike a caged animal, his massive frame taut with barely contained rage and anguish. His hands clenched and unclenched, his claws dropping to their full length and then retracting as he fought the urge to lash out at everything around him.

“I let them take her,” he growled. The words tasted like ash in his mouth. “I’m supposed to protect her, and I just stood there while they took her.”

He replayed the moment over and over in his mind. Jesh’s face, filled with determination and fear as she surrendered herself to the assholes who had held her captive and hurt her… to save him. The sickening moment the Scorperio hit her and threw her over its shoulder like a limp doll.

“You didn’tletthem do anything,” Ryke said. “Those Scorperio suits caught us all off guard. There was nothing any of us could have done.”

Covak whirled on him, his lips pulled back in a snarl. “I’m Vorrtan! I’m supposed to be stronger, faster, better than…anything!But I couldn’t even protect my own mate!”

Silence fell on the bridge, the others looking at him wide-eyed.

“Trall,that’s why your eyes changed!” Rann hissed. “They’re exactly like hers now. You’ve bonded with her.”

Covak froze and turned to look at Rann in shock. He was Latharian, an off-worlder… not Vorrtan.

“How the frexx do you know that?” Covak demanded, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Rann shrugged, a guarded look in his eyes. “Guess I read it somewhere.”

“That’s not written down. Not anywhere,” Covak growled, taking a menacing step toward him. “We made sure of it. How do you know about Vorrtan bonding?”

Rann’s jaw tightened, the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a knife.

“Dammit, Rann!” Covak slammed his fist down on the console between them, leaving a sizable dent. “We’re supposed to be teammates. Don’t you trust me enough to give me a straight answer?”

The Latharian’s eyes flickered with something—regret, perhaps?—before he shook his head. “I’m sorry. Some things I’m not at liberty to discuss. Not with anyone.”

Covak growled, frustration threatening to boil over. He opened his mouth to demand Rann tell him what the frexx that meant, but Ryke stepped between them, slamming a hand on his chest to keep him from getting to his quarry.

“Leave it. We have bigger fish to fry,” Ryke declared. He turned to Covak, his gaze piercing. “Is Rann right? Have you bonded to Jesh?”

Covak’s broad shoulders slumped, the fight draining out of him like water from a broken vessel.

“Yes.” He nodded. “And now she’s gone. I failed her.”

Shame coursed through him. He’d finally managed to bond but hadn’t been able to protect his new mate. He was a weak, unworthy male.

The pitying looks from his crewmates were like knives to his heart. Anger surged through his veins. He didn’t want their sympathy. He just wanted Jesh back.

“We’ll find her,” Ryke said, clamping a hand down on his shoulder. “Anson, how’s that decryption coming?”

On the other side of the bridge, Anson’s fingers flew over the holo-keyboard in front of him, a frown beetling his heavy brows together.

“It’s not!” Anson growled, still typing at light speed. “She must have used a Zodiac encryption. It’s light-years beyond anything I’ve seen.”

Covak’s heart sank. If Anson couldn’t break the encryption, what hope did they have of finding Jesh? He clenched his massive fists, fighting the urge to punch something… anything.

---