Page 72 of Captured By the Scaled Outlaw
I don’t believe they’ve come to “talk” now, either.
The Nilsanian vehicles approach steadily, the engines dulling the mechanical sounds of machinery hastily mounted by panicked soldiers. It’s only a matter of time before the first shot will be fired.
The vehicles roar closer until all sound is suddenly cut, a few engines still idling.
I peer over the barricade, and Guy tries to push my head back down immediately.
“Don’t let them see you just yet,” he whispers.
I swat him away, barely able to make out the silhouette of the approaching figures. None of them bear weapons or wear armor. They appear strangely vulnerable.
“Huh,” I vocalize skeptically. “They should’ve shot at you all by now.”
Ginny approaches the leading figure, armored Lizardfolk following close behind. Her mouth moves, but I can’t hear anything.
I press myself into the barricade, turning my ear to catch even a single syllable. To my chagrin, there is too much noise to make out anything of value.
With my eyes locked on the gangly Nilsanian soldier who wears a helmet much too big, I stare at the inaudible conversation.
“Who is that?” Guy asks, both of us watching as the soldier fiddles with the helmet as it wobbles around his head.
I squint, but it does nothing to improve my blurry vision. “I think it’s someone who was probably recently promoted. I don’t know for sure, but it’s likely a new soldier Nilsan is shoving to the front lines asan expendable.”
As if the Goddess herself were listening, the soldier uses both hands to steady the helmet before lifting it off his head to cradle it in his arms.
Guy clicks his tongue. “I’m not sure why I thought I’d know him. He looks like every other Nilsanian human,” he says with a bland chuckle.
My restrained gasp draws Guy’s attention to me, his questioning eyes focusing on my stunned expression.
Both hands hover over my mouth. I blink rapidly to confirm what I’m seeing, as though it were a mirage. A dream. A hallucination.
No.
There is no way.
No.
“That’s…” I start, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palms.
“Who?” Guy prods. “Do you know him?”
Although it’s difficult for me to speak, my heart pumping and my mouth suddenly dry, I reply, “That’s my boss, Kinsley.”
Chapter 24
“Ah— I remember you complaining about him,” Guy replies, snapping his fingers. He pauses for a moment, scaled brows pulling taut. “But wait, why is hehere? He’s not a soldier… is he? He doesn’t look like one.”
Guy’s befuddled ramblings do nothing to quiet the onslaught of questions crowding my head.
Every thought materializes into words, splintering as each explanation makes less sense than the one before. “I don’t know why he’s here. There is no way the Nilsan military authorized a civilian to approach a terrorist organization, let aloneleadthe group,” I explain, slipping past Guy to plant myself near a closer barricade.
Grabbing the collar of my shirt, Guy yanks me backward so hard I fall on my butt. He whispers a gentle apology.
“We need to get closer. I can’t hear anything,” I strain, the wind knocked out of my lungs.
“Why would you need to hear? Ginny is probably just making threats or something. There is no reason for you to put yourself in this mess if you want a chance at going home,” he says, dusting off the bits of sand that cling to my legs and arms.
I suck in my cheeks, vehemently shaking my head. “I don’t trust what’s coming from the Nilsan side, especially if it’s about me. And with knowing how they found out about you all, it probably is.”
