Page 40 of Fever

Allowing myself to grieve made me accept Latisha’s death.

A man appears inside the room.

I scream.

It’s silenced by a cold hand over my mouth.

Mike’s silver pupils dilate as he says, “You will exit the apartment with me. Nod so I know you understand.”

I nod, and he removes his hand.

“Should you try to escape or call for help, I will snap your neck and they will kill your mother. Clear?”

I nod.

“Cease producing tears and put on dark clothes.”

Choking on a sob, I nod again.

Patiently, he waits as I collect myself and wipe my eyes, then put on black tights and a gray shirt. He’s not a creep. Didn’t watch me dress in a way that would raise that kind of a flag. I have that going for me. “Where are you taking me?”

“To your mother.”

I’m happy and scared at the same time. Mike leads me outside, where the pod is parked just a few feet away. A commotion on the left draws my attention. Many Collectors are rushing into the compound. Something is going on. I don’t ask questions but climb inside the pod. We lift and fly over the Stronghold. Nobody stops us. Mike said he was the chief of communications. He’s high ranking, and people won’t suspect him. Sotay will never know. I will not make it out of this. It hits me then. I will not make it out of this alive. I have nothing those men want, and I have no bargaining chips. Nausea overwhelms me, and I cover my mouth.

“I’m gonna be sick.”

Mike commands a compartment to open from the dashboard. I vomit inside. Once done, and with bile in my mouth, I lean my head against the back of the passenger seat while the compartment closes and flushes. “You should’ve waited for my heat to end. You didn’t even give me a chance.”

“Negative. Circumstances have changed, and an extraction was necessary.”

“Sotay will come for me,” I say.

“Likely.”

“He will kill you.”

“Unlikely. The risk of me dying is very small.”

“But it’s there or you wouldn’t rush me out. You’re fucking terrified of what he’ll do when he finds an empty nest.”

Mike swings. He catches my nose with the back of his hand. Blood spurts out, and my teeth rattle. Stars play over my eyes.

“Silence while I drive.”

Mike is psychotic.

Chapter 15

Sotay

Dreikx and I try to revive his control. It’s not working. Outside, the Collectors have mobilized, and I gotta go get Leah.

Dreikx taps his com unit. He stills, and I know it’s bad news. I brace for whatever it is. Thousands of things go through my head, namely the princess and the baby since his is the emergency com channel directly from the main ship. Dreikx admitted the gate is draining even his backup tech. A minute passes as Dreikx listens to the com line. Eyes wide, he rattles off a set of instructions in Telean. Frowning, I sort through the Telean language, similar to Rahkan, but not the same. They’ve intercepted a communication between the Stronghold and an unspecified location in the Pacific. They believe someone from the Stronghold is actively communicating with the enemy. The thought of a traitor among us makes my armor itch.

I flex my claws. Blood will spill. Dreikx is still on the line, not saying anything. Due to his self-control, he’s often difficult to read, but I’m closer to him than most, and I read great concern on his face. I’d expect anger, so I’m a little surprised when he bids whoever is on the line farewell and pulls back his shoulders. “We have a situation,” he says.

“Clearly.”

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