Page 42 of Guardian's Destiny

"Two more," I announced, checking the radar, coming straight at us.

Our ship was a lot bigger than the smaller jets and, as such, handled much slower. A shudder moved through our vessel as they opened fire at us.

"What are you going to do?" I asked Vraax.

"I can't lose them here. We need to get back in space," he stated.

"They won't let us back in," I warned.

He threw me a quick glance that said as much as,no shit, Sherlock, or an alien version of it.

"Alright," I got up from my chair, "change of plans."

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"We are changing our plans from stealth to full frontal assault," I explained. "Keep moving toward Moddekdum's house. Open fire at them and let me out."

He narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning?"

"How long can you keep those yahoos busy?" I thumbed toward the jets on our tail.

"As long as it takes."

"Can you let me out? I'll collect our Ohrurs, and you come back and pick us up?"

"Sloane, this isn't?—"

"An Uber, I get it." I waved him off. I knew he had no clue what I was talking about, but for once, he kept his smart replies to himself. "Is there a way to let me out?" I also prayed the damn mating marks wouldn't act up, otherwise this would turn into a quick: abort mission.

He nodded; his expression was grim. He didn't like my idea one bit. Too bad. I understood that he was used to working alone, but we were a team now, and I was pretty sure I was the one in command of it.

"Alright, we'll go in hot. Once you let me out, you fly a loop and send a missile or whatever into his house, and I'll catch us two Ohrurs."

His chest rose as he took a deep inhale. I could see his mind working feverishly on an alternate plan, but another jolt going through our ship as our force shield was hit brought the urgency of our situation home to him. He knew there was no other way.

I sure as shit couldn't fly his ship, I could however capture a couple of Ohrurs. If he could just stay ahead of the seven—my bad, nine now—jets after us, we might still have a chance of pulling this mission off successfully.

There was no way in hell the Ohrurs would even let us come close to their planet again after this stunt.

"Alright," Vraax evaded another shot at us, sending a decoy and brought the ship into a small nose dive, toppling me off balance. "There," he brought up a very detailed map of several sprawling mansions surrounding a hill. One was lit up in red, and I gathered it was Moddekdum's. "That hill," the hill lit up in red. "When I start coming toward it, you better be on top of it, with or without the Ohrurs," he sent a stern glance at me.

"With or without the Ohrurs, cross my heart and hope to die," I promised, crossing my heart.

"Sloane, I'm serious."

"So am I," I assured him, having no intentions of coming empty-handed to our rendezvous; he might have to do another pass.

His eyes penetrated me deep down to my soul, making my heart jump for a split second. Damn, this man was intense.

"Just to be clear, if you're not there, I will come looking for you," he said between pressed teeth, and I knew he was serious. There would be no second pass. Instead, he would land, and we'd have to figure out how to get away from this planet.

"I'll be there," I assured him.

"Good," he nodded, his dark eyes promising he would follow through with his threat. Shit, he was really, really hot. Regret for not having given in to my desires the previous night rushed through me, and I promised myself that tonight—if we were still alive—would be different. "Get into the cargo bay and jump when it's time. Also make sure to grab a comm."

"How do I know when it's time?" I grinned in anticipation of his answer.

He didn't disappoint. "You'll know."

---