Alien Mate (Zerconian Warriors Book 3) (11 page)

Rastian lifted the privacy screen and thankfully left it up. The noise was overwhelming, but at least she could breathe. She watched Rastian slip away, her gaze caught by a figure in the far corner. It was dark and she couldn’t be sure, but she could have sworn it was Boris.

“Boris!” She stood and stepped away from the booth.

“Zoelle, where are you going?” Liula asked.

Lord Astair glanced up with a frown.

“I saw a friend over there. I’ll be right back. She will stay.” She pointed at Liula then darted into the crowd.

“Zoelle! Zoelle!”

Zoey ignored Liula, dodging her way through the crowd of people, brushing off curious hands and standing on the toes of those who didn’t understand she was not interested in having her ass and breasts groped.

“Boris! Boris!” she yelled as she got closer. The dark-skinned man ignored her.

She reached out to touch him then froze, her hand a few inches away as she got a closer look at his face.

“You’re not Boris.”

“Step away.” Oh, dear Lord. His voice was like dark coffee with rich cream. It sent a shiver through her spine.

“Sorry, you look like someone I know.” So much so they could have been brothers. But this man was colder. Harder. And his eyes were green, not purple like Boris’s were.

He glanced over her head, his gaze narrowing. “How can you see me?”

“Ahh, ’cause you’re standing right here,” she pointed out. “Or did you think you were invisible? Did you leave your invisible cloak behind?”

He looked down at her then away again without speaking.

“I swear you’re so much like Boris it’s scary. You sure you’re not missing a brother? If it wasn’t for the scars and his eyes, I would swear you were twins. Must be your doppelganger, huh?”

The man stiffened, his gaze sharpening then he glanced over her head again. “Your friend is waiting for you.”

“What?” She turned to find Rastian standing behind her.

“Rastian?” she queried.

“Lord Astair did not say you could leave.”

Jeez, Lord Astair could kiss her butt. But she didn’t say that. Because she still needed him.

“Sorry.” She smiled brightly. “Thought I saw someone I knew.” She pointed her thumb back over her shoulder.

Rastian frowned as he stared behind her. “There is no one there.”

She turned to find the corner empty. Where the hell did he disappear to?

***

“Crown Prince? There is a communication coming through. From Locali.” Torex turned to look at him questioningly.

Dex frowned. Who would be trying to contact them from Locali?

“There’s a large slave trade on Locali,” Koran said.

Dex tensed. Could someone be contacting him about Zoey and his mother?

“Answer it,” he demanded.

Torex nodded. “No visual. Just sound.”

“Dex? Dex, are you there?” There was a lot of background noise, but her voice was clear.

Dex had to sit to hide how weak his legs had grown. It wouldn’t do for his warriors to see how affected he was from hearing his mate speak.

But thank the stars she was all right.

“Zoey? Where are you? Are you well?” he asked quickly.

“I’m fine. So is your mother. We’re on Locali.”

“Are you safe? Where exactly are you?”

“Ahh, we’re in some sort of bar, or maybe it’s more of a club, I’m not really sure—”

“Zoey, tell me where you are.” He tried to keep his voice calm, but he knew his urgency bled through. He needed to find her. The sooner, the better.

“A place called Torans. Rastian said he can send you directions.”

“Who is Rastian?”

“He’s a lawyer I guess. It’s a long story. I just, can you get here quickly?”

He glanced over at his navigation specialist. “It will take us thirty hours to get to Locali.”

Over a day? He ground his teeth together, but it wasn’t the other warrior’s fault.

“Zoey? It’s going to take us thirty hours to get to there.”

“That long?” she asked with dismay.

It would have been longer if they were still on Zerconia.

“Is there somewhere safe you can stay?”

“I will talk to Rastian. Maybe you can wire him credits to pay for a hotel or whatever is the equivalent around here. Also, we need some credits to pay Stinky for buying us. I’ll get Rastian to tell you how much.”

Stinky? What?

“Someone bought you?” he asked, his voice strangled.

“Yes, but it’s okay. He doesn’t want us. He wants some of Giz’s fur. Giz is with you, right?”

“Yes, I couldn’t leave him behind. He wants his fur?” He glanced down at Giz. The furry creature had barely left his side since Zoey had been taken. He’d stopped eating again; at this rate he was soon going to be skin and bone. He was pining for Zoey. There was no other way to explain it.

“Yes, I promised him some of Giz’s fur if he would buy us. Dex, I have to go. Rastian is going to send you the details.”

“Wait, is there a way we can contact you?”

“Umm. Wait a minute.” There was silence then she returned. “Dex? Are you still there?”

Like he would be anywhere else?

“Yes.”

“Rastian said he will send those details through. Dex, I’ve got to go.” There was panic in her voice.

“Zoey? What is it? Zoey?”

“She’s gone,” Torex told him unnecessarily.

“Get us there as fast as you can.”

An uneasy feeling churned in his stomach. He wouldn’t feel right until he had Zoey back where she belonged.

With him.

***

“What the hell is going on?” Zoey asked as she leaned back against the cold brick wall of a derelict-looking building, panting heavily.

She wiped the back of her hand over her sweaty forehead. Despite the cool night temperatures, their mad dash from the sex club through the streets of Locali had left her overheated and exhausted. Days of little food and sleep had taken their toll.

Rastian and Liula had long legs that easily ate up the distance while she was left scrambling to keep up.

Stinky had caught a ride on Rastian’s back. He clung to the other man like an overgrown monkey.

“Why are we running through the streets?” Liula asked, not looking winded in the slightest.

Double damn it.

Rastian glanced around the corner of the building. “It appears we have lost them.”

“What the hell is going on Rasty?” Zoey asked.

He stared down his nose at her. “My name is Rastian. We are running because someone chased us.”

“That’s generally the only reason I ever like to run,” she told him. “But why is someone chasing us?”

Rastian spoke a few words to Stinky, who snapped something back.

“It appears that my employer paid for the two of you with counterfeit credits.”

“So the slave traders are chasing us?” Liula asked.

“Yes. They want the two of you back.”

Rastian glanced at the two of them speculatively.

“Uh-uh. No way.” She waggled her finger in his face. “You are not going to hand us over to them to save your bacon.”

“Save my what?”

“Your backside. You hand us over and you can say goodbye to our deal. No credits, no fur, oh, and some very angry Zerconian warriors who know your name and will come searching for you.”

When he blanched, she knew she had won.

“Let’s just find a place to hang out until Dex gets here,” she suggested.” There must be some place we can go.”

Rastian spoke over his shoulder to Stinky, who still clung to him. They appeared to argue for a moment then Rastian sighed and nodded.

“There is a place. Come. Follow me.”

***

“Seriously? First a sex club, now a whore house?” Zoey placed her hands on her hips as she glared up at Rastian. “I’m no prude, but this is getting a bit ridiculous.”

“My employer deemed this a safe place for us to hide.”

“Your employer is an oversexed little freak and if he doesn’t stop staring at my mother-in-law like that he’s going to be choking on his own balls.”

“What are balls?” Rastian asked.

“Figures that neither of you have any.”

She snorted as she paced the elaborate bedroom they’d been put in. There was a four-poster bed in one corner with a velvet bed cover—how the hell did they keep that clean?—a matching velvet chaise in the corner, and a large wardrobe against the wall.

At the moment, Liula was perched on the sofa with Stinky sitting on a plush armchair across from her. He watched her intently, every so often licking his lips.

Gross.

Liula stood and strode towards her. “Must we stay here?”

“It’s safe here. Apparently.” She scowled at Rastian, who just shrugged.

“Could we not at least have our own room?” Liula asked.

“They charge by the hour,” Rastian replied. “We used the last of our credits paying for this room.”

“Counterfeit ones?” she asked sharply.

He just shrugged morosely.

Zoey swore under her breath. “Send Dex your details. Get him to wire some credits.”

Rastian nodded and moving over to the chaise lounge, he sat and pulled out his tablet.

Liula grabbed Zoey’s arm. “Zoelle, we really should not be here. I believe this place is a, well, that’s not for your ears.”

Zoey rolled her eyes. “We’re in a whore house, Liula. A place where people come to pay for sex. I know what it is. I’m not a child.”

“I apologize.” Liula’s face closed down. “You act so immature sometimes I forget you are an adult.”

“And sometimes I wonder how you managed to raise such an amazing person as Dex.”

Liula’s eyes widened.

“Listen, Liula. No matter what I do, I will never be good enough for Dex. I get it. But soon you never have to see me again. So let’s try and at least be civil until then.”

“I do not wish Dex to leave.”

“I know you think this is all my doing, but I actually tried to talk Dex out of leaving. He is the one who wants to go.”

Liula appeared confused. “But why? Everything he loves is on Zerconia. His family. His people. His heritage.”

“Maybe it’s his heritage that he’s trying to break free of. You all talk like being Emperor is this great, wonderful thing, but how can he be a ruler when he has no power?”

“What do you mean?”

“Every suggestion Dex has made is shot down. Any changes he wants to make are vetoed by your mate and the council. He’s being suffocated by rules and regulations.”

“He wants to change everything.”

“Not everything. Just the stuff that needs changing.”

“If we were to allow him to make changes he would stay?” Liula asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t speak for him.”

“But he listens to you.” Liula eyed her. “I don’t know why. You do not seem all that intelligent or mature. But I will admit you do have courage. Some females would have broken down by now. Zerconian females have grown used to being heavily protected. They wouldn’t know how to fend for themselves. You do.”

Wow. Was that actually a compliment?

“You’ve done pretty good yourself,” Zoey admitted.

“In the beginning, I was willing to wait to be rescued. But I do remember a time when our females were strong, when they were fighters.”

“You were a warrior?” Zoey asked with surprise. Liula was always so proper, without a hair out of place, her dress impeccable, well, other than right now that is. She could use a shower and a change of clothes. They both could.

“No.” She shook her head with a small smile. “Our males could never allow that. But we were trained. We could defend ourselves if necessary. We didn’t need to be escorted everywhere we went.”

“I understand that those Coizils attacking your women was terrible. But forcing a whole planet to basically go into seclusion is suffocating. Dex just wants what is best for your people.”

“He can’t do that if he does not stay.”

“And he can’t stay if no one will allow him the power to make changes.”

Liula wandered across, glaring at Stinky, who reached out his hand to brush her ass as she walked past him.

She moved over to the large wardrobe then turned to face Zoey.

“I will speak to my mate and the council if you will convince Dex to stay.”

Zoey shook her head. “I will talk to Dex. But he has a mind of his own. You should know that. You raised him.”

Liula drew herself up. “Yes, I did. I raised him to live up to his responsibilities. To be who he was born to be. He only changed when he met you.”

Zoey sat on the floor. No way was she sitting on that bed. Who knew what kind of germs were breeding on it?

“I’m done arguing,” Zoey said tiredly. You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met and you’re going to believe what you want to believe.”