Page 94 of Tribute
Before he could draw another breath, he, Kai, and Aled were swept up into theUngrich’s stranglehold.
“No! Fucking no!” Tentacles poured down his throat and wrapped around his body.
Even as he tried to shout, the three of them were surrounded and hurtled back throughUngrichspace, leaving Anna behind. He started to struggle then—even knowing it was pointless, just wanting to inflict any damage he could on the beings surrounding him and taking him away from his mate.
His breath screamed out as he was dumped on the hard metal platform at the portal. The tentacle down his throat retracted, and he gulped in air.
“Kai? See that black thread on my arm? Get it out as fast as you can.”
He stood and grabbed hold of one of the thick red tentacles that was trying to ease away from his torso. Kai tugged at the stitches and then used his teeth to break open the healing skin. Rehz didn’t even feel the pain.
“Take me back to Anna, you fucking bastard.”
“You three will be returned to your government. Your female will remain. It is an excellent compromise. You will tell them she is dead.”
“No. It doesn’t work like that. We all leave right now.”
“If you persist, we will simply offer them your bodies.”
Blood dripped down his arm as Kai pulled and tugged at the stitches, cursing up a storm.
“No. If you try and kill me, I’ll blow this portal sky high and let all that filthy oxygen in here.”
“You have no weapons.”
“I fucking do. See that door? Have you ever heard of wireless technology?”
“You lie.”
“I fucking never lie. Get me Anna, or I’ll blow that door right off its hinges and destroy you all.”
He looked at Kai and Aled speaking the words out loud as he thought them. “If it kills me, one of you has to take over. The detonator button is just under my skin. Just press it and it will set the explosives off and disable the door.”
“NO.”
This time it was Rehz who was smiling.“Get Anna.”
“NO.”
“Then I’m setting this off.”He nodded at Kai. The probes in Aled’s and Kai’s throats had retracted leaving them free of theUngrich. “As soon as those explosives go off, I want you to run.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Kai said. “And neither is Aled.”
“Then we’ll go with plan B.” Rehz reached up and slammed his hand down over the half-exposed button. “Get down and hang on to thisUngrichfor dear life.”
Even as they hit the ground, the door exploded outward and a rush of air came howling through the mountain caverns. He had never tasted desert air so sweet. TheUngrichattached to Kai and Aled had already retreated through the wall, but thethird and most senior was trapped under Rehz and the weight of the other two males.
“DYING.”
“Good. Where’s Anna? We’re going to put you in a fucking jar and study you for a while. See how you like it. Is that what you want?”
“Can’t function. Need Other.”
Rehz looked up at Kai. “Can you find anything to cover this bastard up in and keep it wet?”
“The wall can’t seal up with half anUngrichout here.” Aled shot to his feet. “I’ll collect some of the goo oozing out of the wall. We can hold it in that if we can contain it in something.”
“Rehz!”
