Page 32 of The Ozar Triad

“The Norvegicus. He was the only one that knew about Riley, the fact we’d found her, or had a clue how important she was to us. He saw it all,” Klaej said.

Rujali hadn’t liked leaving like they did, but Riley had needed medical attention after they’d found her in the refuse container and he’d allowed his attention to wander. Another oversight that shouldn’t have happened.

He frowned. “I’ll kill him again after you.”

“Then he’ll die three times over,” Setzan said.

“Where do you think she is?” Klaej said.

Rujali’s gut twisted. He’d had so many ups and downs since he’d met their mate. Maybe that was all a part of it. When they found her again, there was no way he was letting her out of his sight.

“If she’s not lying injured somewhere,” he said, “hopefully she’s on her way back to the spaceport. She’ll be able to find shelter there.”

“Do you think she’ll be safe?” Setzan said.

“If there’s one thing I know about our mate, it’s that she’s a survivor. She came here hurt and confused and still managed to escape us. No mean feat,” Rujali said. He came to his feet and ploughed his fingers through his hair.

“And rendered Klaej helpless with the analgesic,” Setzan said.

“She took me by surprise,” Klaej said, his brows rising high on his bald head.

“Sure,” Setzan added with a smirk.

“I think our mate has more skills than we give her credit for. I can only hope that she’s not stupid enough to try and help us. Even with such impressive skills, she stands no chance against so many scaled ones. Not if they’ve been able to harness the power of the crystal.” Rujali pulled against the immovable bars as frustration bubbled up.

“Do you really think she’ll try and come for us?” Setzan said.

“If she does, she’ll be in for a spanking of a lifetime once we’ve gotten her safe,” Klaej said.

“That’s if she doesn’t get you with the analgesic again. It seems to be overly easy for her to get the best of you,” Setzan said.

“Bug off, brother. She could just have easily gotten you as well,” Klaej said.

Setzan grunted. “But I’m not as dimwitted as you.”

“Shut it, you piece ofdrumasturd.”

Rujali sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, watching his pulse beat heavily behind his eyelids in time with the throbbing in his head. They could do nothing while contained in this cell. It was just a waiting game. Once the scaled ones came for them again, he would be ready. They had fought their way out of other scrapes and they would do so again.

Hopefully.

He could only hope that Riley was safe. Once they got out of here, they would track her down. She had to be somewhere. She had a knack for looking after herself. That was one consolation.

Logically, she should get herself to safety. If Riley was a female from their Homeland, they knew she wouldn’t dream of endangering herself. But she wasn’t from their Homeland and she’d shown just how independent she actually was.

She wasn’t likeanythinghe’d encountered before, and damn if that didn’t turn him on so fast his cock went from limp to ramrod stiff in an instant.

As much as he hoped Riley wouldn’t put herself in danger, part of him wasn’t sure what she was capable of.

Chapter Thirteen

Riley

At least the craft had enough juice left in it to power some low-level lighting, otherwise it would have been pitch black.

Riley silently moved through the jet’s corridors. She needed to weapon up. Attempting to rescue her men empty-handed was paramount to stupidity of the highest order. Not when she had no idea what she was up against.Her men? Since when had she begun to consider themher men?

They were colleagues, put in harm’s way because of her. They’d aided her and she would return the favor. That was all, she a good solider never left anyone behind. As forher men..? She set the startling thought aside, needing to keep her mind clear.

---