Page 24 of Tamed By the Alien Warlord
Not all in pain.
Some Reapers leash them mid-struggle, slap shock collars onto their necks, and drag them back to the pods. Nurses, techs, anyone not actively fighting is branded as loot.
One tries to hide under a surgical cart.
I don’t even glance.
My path is clear.
Straight to the lower labs.
Straight to her.
My comm crackles. “Holding east wing. Heavy resistance near data vault.”
“Forget the vault,” I growl. “Find the gas lab. You see a human female on a slab—you tell me first.”
I cut through a door with my blade, molten edges still glowing red. A guard fires at me. Point-blank.
The bolt hits my chest plate.
Doesn’t dent.
I punch his head against the wall until it’s pulp.
I step over his corpse and keep moving.
Blood spatters my faceplate. I don’t wipe it off.
The next hallway is lined with overturned gurneys. One Reaper is binding two panicked scientists with bio-cable. Another is rooting through a locker filled with sedatives, whistling like it’s a shopping trip.
“I saidfocus.”
They nod. Scatter.
Rix appears in the next junction, sword dripping. “Captain! Found her signal! She’s close.”
I surge forward, heart in my throat.
She’s here.
Somewhere beyond the next corner.
Beyond the next wall.
And when I get there, whoever’s hurting her sister?—
Won’t live to regret it.
CHAPTER 10
GEORGIA
The scientist never hears me coming.
I grab the metal stool from beside a tray of gas canisters and swing it with everything I’ve got. It connects with acrackloud enough to echo across the lab. His skull caves in, and he crumples over the control panel like a sack of garbage.
“Sorry,” I pant, trembling. “Guess I’m not cut out for pacifism.”
