Page 34 of Max
“Hey, Thrix. Hurry up and shoot your wad; we need to get out of here,” Colton called after he had backed down the hall a dozen feet.
“Colt?”
Price stopped as he heard the voice; he’d begun to believe he would never hear again. “Tessa?”
“Colt!” she sobbed.
The cyborg strode to the wooden door and flung it open with such force that the top hinge pulled apart. “You fucking lizard, get off of her!”
Colton grabbed his tail and yanked the Mesaarkan back. “You bastard! You’ve had her all this time, and you knew she is mine.” He grabbed the alien’s arm and jerked him around so he could smash a fist into Thrix’s face.
The Mesaarkan flew out of the room and into the hallway’s far wall. Colton followed, pounding the male’s torso while dodging blows from the alien. Mesaarkans weren’t as strong and fast as even converted cyborgs. Colt pressed his advantage, kicking and punching Thrix without mercy.
“Fuck! Price, she is just a female. We have dozens. Take one of them.”
“You asshole! They are not interchangeable. Tessa’s been mine since we were kids. After I showed you her hologram, you knew this female you called Connie was my Contessa. You kept her hidden every time I came to see if she came in with a new batch. All this time, you’ve been fucking torturing her.”
Thrix was not helpless and got in blows of his own, knocking Colton on his ass and bloodying his nose. Thrix tried to kick the cyborg in the crotch, but Colton blocked and shoved him back, pushing himself back onto his feet. The alien’s face was swelling, and one of his eyes was puffed closed.
“I’ve had enough, Price. I’m leaving. Take the female; I don’t care,” said Thrix starting to walk away.”
Colton turned to the horizontal cross Tessa was strapped, pulling out his combat knife to cut her loose. A sound behind him stopped him.
“Pivoting, Colton plunged the long, sharp blade into Thrix. The Mesaarkan grunted in pain while Colton pulled it out and stabbed him again.
Both wounds would kill him without medical intervention, but Colton wasn’t finished. Thrix staggered, turning to face him, and Colton shoved him into the wall pressing his forearm against the alien’s throat. Holding him there as blood loss made Thrix too weak to fight back, Colton stabbed the knife into the alien’s abdomen several more times, once in the groin.
The alien had his wife the whole time, torturing her and fucking her while Colton was going out of his mind from his loss.
The reptilian gagged and grunted with each puncture. “It didn’t have to come to this, Thrix. You could have just given her back to me when you knew.” By then, Thrix had stopped fighting. Colton was the only reason he hadn’t sunk to the floor. He was clearly dying, so Colton backed away, letting him slide to the floor. “Why didn’t you?
“Because I love her….” Then he died.
“You don’t know the meaning of the word, you arrogant prick.” Colton kicked him in the head then wiped the blood off his knife across Thrix’s chest and sheathed it.
Finally, he turned and went into the sadistic ‘playroom. Tessa was crying, and no wonder. Her back was striped with red welts, and a few were bleeding. Her butt cheeks were pinkened with Mesaarkan hand prints and scratches from his claws.
“Don’t cry, baby. I’m going to get you out of here and take you home,” he soothed.
Colton needed to get her out of there before the Enclave cyborgs came. Colton didn’t doubt that by now they knew he’d been working for Thrix, but he hinted to Max that he was still a Federation agent even if he had gone a little rogue on the operation.
Ripping off the straps that held her arms and legs, he tried to lift her off the contraption without increasing her pain.
That was nearly impossible. When he turned her over, he discovered her nipples painfully crushed in some large clamps. Tessa cried out as he carefully removed them and scooped her up in his arms.
“It’s going to be all right, Tessa. I’ve got you now,” Colton murmured and kissed her forehead tenderly.
“Oh, Colt, I missed you so much!” she cried and put her arms around his neck.
“Me, too, baby.”
Scanning the room, he found no clothing or blankets to wrap her.
Carrying her down the hall, he discovered a closet holding bedsheets and towels. He pulled out a sheet and stood Tessa on her feet to wrap her in it. He would worry about clothing after he got her someplace safe. Once she was covered, Colton lifted her in his arms, hurrying toward the front door.
Before he reached it, it burst open, letting in a team of six Enclave cyborgs. One of them receded his helmet, revealing Max Steele.
Colton’s heart sank. He hadn’t just bent a few rules; he’d gone completely rogue and broken laws. “Look, I’m not one of them. Everything I did was to find my wife. And I finally found her. I want to take her home, and you’ll never have to see me again.”
