Coletti Warlords: Vexing Voss (16 page)

Great. He was back to being the bossy prick. “Why?”

“Because I command it.” His voice was a purr of menace.

Yeah, like that was going to work. Stuffing more egg in my mouth, I chewed slowly, trying to ignore the merciless predator standing a foot away.

His breath hissed out. “Akeem wants to meet my mate, and he has very traditional views on females.”

“In other words, he’s a male chauvinist pig who thinks females are only good for sex, blood, and making babies.”

A growl rumbled in his chest. “You will treat him with respect.”

I searched Voss’s memories. Akeem headed the Togan clan and was one of Zarek’s most trusted advisors. “Gotcha. Dumb as a rock and mute as well.”

“I expect you to behave as a proper mate would,” the big guy snapped in exasperation.

Oh dear God, he did not just say that. I assumed my timid-mouse demeanor and answered meekly, “As my lord commands.”

“Zoey!”

I let out a terrified sob and cried, “Yes, my lord?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he suddenly had a headache. “Eat your breakfast and please join me in the meeting chamber.”

Oh my God, he had used the
P
word! “I’ll do you proud, my love.”

A smile touched his hard mouth. “That endearment I can live with.” He kissed my forehead, and poof! He was gone.

Getting the big guy to treat me as an equal was going to be an uphill battle. One I wasn’t sure I’d win.

I hastily finished my breakfast, and slipped on my underwear and armor. With all the people trying to kill me, a girl could never be too careful. I dragged the tunic over my head, and the fabric caressed my skin like a lover’s hand. Nice.

Stroking the material, I figured it had to be some kind of blend of silk and velvet. Wonder if I could talk the big guy into buying me a couple of dozen outfits made with the stuff?

Big surprise, the tunic had a copper design woven into the fabric that matched my band. The Battle Commander wasn’t subtle about declaring his ownership.

Another shocker, the legging and boots fit me perfectly. Boinking several thousand women had given Voss an excellent eye for picking women’s clothing and jewelry.

I examined my image in the mirror. My face was still a colorful mess, but the clothes made me look like a million credits.

My Siren radar went on red alert, and horror knotted my stomach. Someone had murder on his mind. I quickly scanned the ship. Shit! Ten very powerful Coletti warriors with seriously bad auras were in the meeting chamber with Voss and Zarek.

The bombshell was that the worst aura belonged to Akeem, their most trusted advisor. Now I had a face to put with the creepy aura of the guy that kept visiting my father just before our planetary defenses went down. No wonder they could never catch Malik.

Akeem’s brainwaves broadcast his psychotic hatred of Zarek. He’d do whatever it took to destroy the Overlord. Except meet him on the battlefield, it seemed. Why? Because he was a sniveling coward? Or simply nuts? Who cared? A murderous glee radiated from Akeem as he poured wine into glasses.

I’d bet a million bucks that wine had something very nasty in it. I quickly linked with Voss and Zarek, and cried,
“Don’t drink the wine, it’s poisoned! Akeem’s in cahoots with Malik!”

I felt their shocked disbelief and showed them Akeem’s murderous aura, then shared my memories of his numerous meetings with my father.
“How do you think Malik always manages to elude you?”

A terrible rage filled both warriors, and their immense power burned through my mind. With a yelp of pain, I broke the link. Holy hell! I would not want to be on the receiving end of that.

Hastily I scanned Akeem’s warbird. Holy Mary, mother of God! He had a raiding party of about fifty heavily armed men standing by, and the weapons control officer was ready to vaporize our engines.

I flashed that information to Voss and felt him blast the hell out of the weapons control officer’s mind while blocking sword thrusts from multiple attackers.
“Warn the others.”

“Yes, sir.”
I hurriedly did a multiple link with Jaylan, Wulf, Lothel, and Hothar.
“Akeem’s a traitor, and we’re going to be under attack in about thirty seconds.

Jaylan’s fury roiled across my mind.
“Are the Battle Commander and the Overlord aware of this?”

“They’re turning Akeem’s mind to mush as we speak.”

“Battle stations,”
Jaylan snapped. A second later, alarms wailed.

Bloodcurdling battle cries echoed through the ship as Akeem’s men teleported onboard and the fight began.

My radar screamed a warning. All the weapons decorating Voss’s walls were right handy. I grabbed a laser pistol and hid it behind my back.

A second later, an enormous warrior in a red battle suit appeared, carrying a big-ass sword in one hand.

“Looking for me?”

Baring his fangs in an evil smile, he answered, “I am to bring Akeem your head.”

“Life is full of disappointments.” Whipping out the pistol, I shot him.

He glowed a fiery red, and his ashes rained down on the floor.

Another warrior popped in.

I shot him too. “Shields up,” I commanded the computer. Nothing happened. Crap, Voss hadn’t programmed me into his voice-recognition software.

Yet another warrior teleported in, and I blasted him.

Unless I wanted to get sliced and diced, staying here wasn’t an option. I hit an icon, and as the door slid open, I took a quick peek.

Chaos reigned in the corridor. Wulf, Lothel, and Hothar desperately fought off a dozen red-suited warriors.

They were moving so fast it was difficult to get a clear shot. Drawing on Voss’s tremendous weapons skills, I started shooting and did a little happy dance as I evened the odds considerably. “Ha! You ain’t taking over this ship.”

“Females do not engage the enemy in battle. Go back inside and get those shields up, Zoey,”
Voss roared in my head.

“Already tried that, dickhead, and the stupid computer won’t respond to me,”
I snapped, shooting down another one of Akeem’s warriors.
“And your warriors are a bit outnumbered.”

“Run and hide,
” Voss snarled furiously.

“Like hell I will. I’m not a fucking coward,”
I snarled back.

“You will obey me.”

“I won’t leave them to die.”

Bellowing his fury, a badly bleeding warrior slammed his sword into my stomach. The force of the blow hurled me back against the wall with a loud
thud
. Everything spun wildly around me. The next thing I knew, I was facedown on the cold metal floor, struggling to breathe and trying to find the strength to get up before I lost my head.

With an ear-shattering roar, Lothel jumped in front of me and chopped off my attacker’s head. I flinched as hot blood sprayed over me.

Voss’s terrifying battle cry echoed throughout the ship.

In my mind’s eye, I could see the Battle Commander hacking his way through Akeem’s warriors. He was relentless, ruthless, and utterly without mercy.

“Zoey!” Hothar dropped down beside me, a laser pistol held ready in one hand.

“It’s…’kay. Armor,” I managed to gasp.

With the eyes of death itself, Zarek appeared in the corridor, and what was left of Akeem’s warriors suddenly crumpled lifelessly to the deck.

“About time,” I whispered.

The Overlord’s head jerked around, and his cold, soulless gaze fell on me.

Crap! He had heard me.

Muscles rippling with power, Zarek strode over to me and bared his fangs in a truly scary smile. “It is fitting a female brought down Akeem.”

“The Battle Commander’s mate is worthy of warrior status,” Wulf announced.

“Without this tiny female’s help, the battle would have been lost,” Lothel added, wiping blood out of his eyes.

“Zoey saved our lives,” Hothar included proudly.

“You have won their loyalty, little one. Not an easy feat.”

“Protected…my…family,” I croaked.

“As you should.” A harsh laugh broke from the Overlord as he used his sword to expose my armor. “I should have known you were the one who ordered the Askole armor.”

A slender warrior with a medic symbol on his gray battle suit appeared. “You summoned me, my lord?”

“Tend to the Battle Commander’s mate, Zye.”

The medic knelt beside me and ran a scanner over my body. “She has four broken ribs, some internal bleeding, and severe bruising to the abdomen. I need to take her to sick bay and put her in a regen tube.”

Zye pressed a pressure injector against my neck, and within seconds, my breathing eased and the pain faded away.

Voss popped in, his sword dripping blood, fangs bared in a vicious snarl, and something terrible glittering in his merciless eyes. “The warbird is secure, and we now command Akeem’s ship, my lord.”

A dangerous smile pulled at Zarek’s mouth. “Excellent. Now I can give Akeem my full attention.” Poof. He vanished.

Part of me wanted to watch as the Overlord tore Akeem’s mind apart. I wanted Akeem to feel the helplessness and terror as he realized he was going to die most horribly and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Would it bring the children back? No, but their deaths would be avenged.

The Battle Commander lifted me.
“I will no longer tolerate your disobedience.”

His fury seared through my head. I had scared the hell out of him, and he didn’t like that feeling one little bit.

Gently stroking Voss’s mind, I said,
“I watched Paul die, and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. I felt my mother dying, and I was too far away to help her. I failed to stop the Tai-Kok from slaughtering all those children, but your men I could save. I will not run from my enemy.”

“You could have been killed.”

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

“This foolishness ends now.”

“You can wrap me in bubble wrap and lock me away at the breeder’s compound, but trouble always finds me.”

There was a disorienting moment of inky blackness, and we were standing in sick bay. Voss placed me, still fully clothed, in a glass regen tube polka-dotted with sensors. “How you have survived this long is a mystery.”

“I’m a damned good Siren.”

He picked up a pressure injector and pressed it against his arm. “You have had no formal training.”

A valid point. “How many times have I saved your butt, sweetness?”

Voss bared his fangs at me. “You take far too many risks.”

“Those bastards have taken everything from me, and I’m not adding you and your men to that list.”

“It is
my
duty to protect you,” Voss growled in exasperation.

Testosterone was the bane of my life. “Golly gee, now I get it. You’re embarrassed at what the other warlords will think when they find out an itty-bitty female saved your ungrateful ass.”

“You go too far.” He jabbed the pressure injector against my neck and triggered it.

Ouch!
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Taming you is going to be more difficult than I thought.”

“I’m not a critter to be tamed. I’m your partner, and forget the jewelry and flowers. Those might work on the thousands of women you’ve boinked, but I’m not that easy.”

Amusement lit his eyes. “Jealous?”

“Some.”

Voss leaned down into the open regen tube, and his lips caressed mine in a gentle kiss. “You have no need. I am yours for the next thousand years.”

“Sweet talk won’t change my mind.”

The hard edges of his mouth softened in a smile. “It was worth a shot.”

“I want to be treated as an equal.”

“A tiny female equal to a Battle Commander?”

“Yep.”

“When you can hold your own against me in hand-to-hand combat, then I will consider it, sugar tits.”

I rolled my eyes. “That will never happen.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s not fair. You’re three times my size.”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead and touched a button. The tube slid shut. “We’ll talk about your desire for equality after you’ve healed.”

We sure as hell would. I stared owlishly at my boots. No drafty gowns in this hospital. Sleep dragged me down into its inky depths.

Chapter Thirteen

What seemed like only a few seconds later, I was roughly yanked out of the regen tube and tossed over a bony shoulder. Who? Hothar?

Alarm swirled through my sleep-fogged mind. Definitely not Hothar. A homicidal fury radiated from the person carrying me. He was plotting to murder someone. Shit! Me?

I tried to link with Voss and groaned. Fuck a duck! That terrible black void was back. My kidnapper had doused me with Drakash. Which explained my inability to think clearly, move, or blast the shit out of the killer’s mind.

A disorienting blackness engulfed me as my captor teleported, and the sick bay vanished. Where was he taking me? Through my wildly tangled hair, all I could see was a metal floor and a wall.

My captor lifted me off his shoulder and dumped me in what I recognized as the copilot’s chair in a lightning-fast Talon fighter. He roughly strapped me in.

Panic bubbled up in me. If he managed to launch, would Jaylan blow him and me into itty-bitty pieces? And if he did make his escape, how long would it take Voss to realize I was gone?

Shifting slightly, I got a good look at my captor and gaped in disbelief. It was Zye. A homicidal medic? Wasn’t that an oxymoron? Why in the world would the medic want to harm me? Today was the first time we had met.

I gave myself a mental head smack. He wanted someone dead all right, and I was the bait. Gee, I wonder who it could be? My honey bunny or Zarek the merciless?

The roar of engines grew, and I was suddenly slammed back against my seat as we launched from Voss’s warbird.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Not good. Frantically I scrolled through Voss’s memories. There had to be something I could use. There. The big guy had been in a similar situation when the Alliance hunters had captured him. He had tapped into the tiny tentacle of power Zarek had left in his head and managed to contact the Overlord by drawing on his captor’s energy.