Page 38 of Guardian's Soul

The thought of her moving alone through Ohrur, buying passage on a strange vessel, disturbed me. I told myself it was a last option and only if I wasn't alive. Still, I nearly picked her up and ran with her for the hills. The urge to protect her at all costs was frightening and deep-rooted.

"Nothing will happen to you," she said, more to assure herself than me. She wrapped her arms around her small frame, making it even harder for me to resist pulling her into my arms.

"That's right. Nothing will happen to me." I forced a crooked grin to curl my lips. "Now you just make sure nothing attacks me from behind."

She took the comm from me, her hands steady. "You can count on me."

"Good."

I glanced at her one more time before I lowered myself to the ground. Time to take the drones out.

HANNAH

My heart poundedas I watched Thrax move across the lawn of Possedion's estate. His silvery skin glinted in the dim sunlight, much brighter here than it had been under the tree canopy.

If those really were ruins of an ancient city out in the forest, there was no trace of it here. Possedion's mansion had a bungalow look to it, with shining white walls and windows reflecting the surroundings, making it impossible to look inside.

The drone feeds were coming in through the comm, some from the air and some from inside now, splitting the screen in five so I could watch all four of them simultaneously and Thrax's footage. Right then, Thrax was stalking toward a pair of Space Guardians posted near a fountain that appeared to have been made from metal and rock, resembling an alien species I hadn't seen yet.

"Two hostiles at your two o'clock, Thrax," I whispered into the comm, my voice tight with tension. He had tried to train me with an impossible-to-remember number system the GTU used but was finally forced to relent that the mission talk used in themovies we had watched was a lot easier, so we made up our own system from there.

He gave no verbal response, but he turned to the right, lifted his blaster, and shot both silver-gray aliens in the back. Both collapsed instantly.

Had I not known that he had set the blasters to stun, I would have had a hard time with this. Even now, seeing their bodies collapse like that made me sick to my stomach. Thrax had told me that he didn't want to kill anyone. "They're only following orders," he'd explained, deepening my already growing feelings for him. "As long as I can help it, I won't harm them."

"Nice work," I murmured, a mix of admiration and worry coloring my tone. "But be careful in there, okay?"

"Always am," came his terse reply.

I watched as he slipped into the shadows cast by the mansion's ornate facade. My fingers flew across the control panel, switching between drone feeds to track his progress.

"Three more inside the foyer," I reported. "Looks like they're just standing there by a door." It was actually eerie to watch the three men. With their black eyes and silver skin, they, too, could have been his clones. Except that they looked several years younger than him. I realized that I had never asked him how old he was, but judging by those three and the other two, they must have been at least ten years younger. Frowning, I recalled Thrax claimed that he had worked over twenty years for the Ohrurs. The five youngsters seemed barely out of their teens, making Thrax's age at least over forty. But he didn't look at day over thirty. It didn't make any sense to me, just like most other things, but I was too preoccupied to dwell on it. Or the other mystery. According to Thrax, Space Guardians mostly worked alone, but here, they seemed to be part of an army.

Thrax's voice came through, low and focused, bringing me back to the job I was supposed to be doing. "Any sign of Possedion?"

I scanned the feeds, searching for our target. "Nothing yet. Wait—movement on the second floor, east side. Could be him."

"Copy that."

I would have laughed at his words, even though they were the ones I had taught him. Still, hearing him say them sounded wrong. In all fairness, the entire situation seemed wrong. If anyone had told me that one day I would be on aJames Bondmission with an alien, I would have thought them insane. As nuts as someone who told me aliens had abducted them…

I zoomed in on Thrax as he ghosted through the mansion's opulent interior. My pulse quickened as he approached the foyer, the three Guardians just around the corner. His focus was deadly, his expression set, and with the way he moved, he looked sexy as hell.

"Thrax," I whispered, "maybe we should?—"

But he was already moving. In a whirlwind of precise strikes, he shot and incapacitated the first two Guardians before they could even raise their weapons. The third managed to get off a wild shot that scorched the wall inches from Thrax's head, creating a wildfire of emotions inside me.

I bit back a cry of alarm, my hands clenching into fists. Thrax ducked low, returning blaster fire at the Guardian and taking him out.

"Dammit, Thrax," I hissed. "That was too close."

"Had it under control," he replied, his tone maddeningly calm.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. "Sure you did. There are more heat imprints to the north and one to the east of you. Two doors down the hallway."

As I guided him through the mansion, I couldn't shake the growing knot of anxiety in my stomach. It wasn't just concern for the mission—I was worried about him. Really worried.

When had that happened? When had this infuriating, sarcastic Space Guardian started to mean so much to me?

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