Auctioned to the Alpha: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 5) (21 page)

The scrambling duo raced to avoid the red laser bolts. Thiago spotted a recess on the walls of the chamber and took cover, hauling Hercules in with him. Flattening his back against the wall, he pulled out one of the bombs and hurled the explosive sphere into the path of the enemy vehicles.

He closed his eyes, but it didn't help. There was a glaring white flash which temporarily speckled Thiago's vision with glowing blobs of dancing afterimages. A loud explosion followed which sounded like a collision of trains at full speed. They sneaked out of the wall crevice, fanning away the billows of blue smoke and toxic fumes.

Thiago fired his laser magnum, taking out each of the disoriented Noxx sitting dazed in their vehicles before moving past them. Hercules did his share of elimination. He cleared their path by sweeping alien bodies left and right like a rogue demolition worker equipped with a sledgehammer. After the pair fended off about a dozen additional Noxx, they finally arrived at the heart of the lair.

Thiago rapidly assessed the situation in the underground chamber. His eyes lingered on the vessels containing preserved victims. Was Eden in one of them? If she were, she would be stockpiled along the walls like a canned good in an evil supermarket. A complicated series of titanium platforms, winding staircases, and pedestals stood over the frothing lake of acid flowing freely underneath them. Before Thiago could carefully investigate the capsules, a different group of hovering Noxx sailed through the entryway across them.

The bright green bolts that jetted out of Thiago's weapon only managed to scrape the platform of the enemy closest to him before it exhausted its power supply. With the smirking Noxx careening towards him and not enough time to reload, Thiago had to act fast.

He flipped his weapon around and used it to club his assailant on the back of the head. Hercules wrapped his pincers around the Noxx's neck, slashing his arteries before flinging him out of the hijacked sled. The pair clambered into the vehicle. Thiago took the driver's seat as Hercules clung onto the curved back of the chair.

Thiago pulled on a random lever. The sleigh lifted off the ground unsteadily. It tipped from side to side until Thiago became accustomed to the unfamiliar controls. His eyes widened at the sight of Noxx steadily closing the distance between them and beginning to open fire. He steered abruptly to the right, evading the line of laser blasts. He flipping the switches to activate the mounted guns on his sled and his blistered fingertip pulled back a trigger. As he guided the beam of his platform's laser, the smell of singed alien flesh intermingled with the sulfuric air.

Then he heard the sweetest sound in the world.

"Thiago? Oh, thank God – Thiago! I'm up here!"

Thiago looked up, his heart jumping at the sound of Eden's voice. A steel cage hung suspended from the ceiling. It was only accessible by a single staircase that appeared to be at least three stories off the ground. The floor of the cage rocked wildly as Eden excitedly stomped her feet.

He bared his teeth in his wrath, finishing off the rest of the mob moving behind them. He accelerated away from the scene. Hercules gurgled delightedly behind him as they soared up to Eden's height. They hopped off the sled at the top of the staircase. Thiago didn't bother to stop the vehicle, which wasn't large enough to accommodate all three of them. It jerked forward once before plunging into the acid pit underneath them.

"Let's get out of here. I don't know where Malatov and Arleda are, but I think they're coming back at any moment."

"You're okay, Eden. Everything will be fine." He searched in his satchel and pulled out a mechanism resembling a spring clamp. As a puffy-eyed Eden waited in her cage, Thiago fastened the jaws of the tool around the lock. He twisted a knob on the device to activate it. Within seconds, a powerful laser in the clamp jaws began searing away at the metal.

With Thiago's attention completely absorbed with helping Eden escape, he didn't see what was happening behind him. He didn't notice the wounded Noxx guard moving up the stairs, but Hercules did. As the grunting guard swung a rusty spiked baton over his head, intending to decapitate Thiago, Hercules launched himself at the attacker.

Hercules latched onto the guard, and the grappling pair tumbled over the staircase railing. There was a loud crash and splash into liquid. In moments, acid covered the two bodies.

Thiago and Eden looked at each other in disbelief. For the first time in years, Thiago snapped. The broken man collapsed to his knees. He clutched the sides of his head as their heartbreaking cries filled the vast space of the cavern.

"We have to save Hercules!" Eden's words were drowned out by the roar of an animal-like sobbing.

As the pain of a thousand daggers twisted in his chest, it finally occurred to Thiago that the sounds were coming from his mouth. He was screaming in horror. He felt like a pillow covered his face.

More alarms started to go off in the chamber. They sounded like a symphony of foghorns. Thiago stopped looking at the ground, numbly observing the groups of Noxx pouring through all four entrances around them. He only broke out of his haze when he noticed the sneering faces of Malatov and Arleda among the mob of white scaly bastards. An adrenaline rush fueled with hatred and bloodlust drove him to his feet.

"Thiago! Get me out of here. They're coming!"

Thiago broke off the lock hanging from the cage and entered the tiny quarters. He refilled his laser magnum with clips of ammunition and fired at the hinges of the shackles. Eden's outstretched limbs fell from over her head. She yelped in pain as she slammed to the ground. Thiago snapped off Eden's cuffs, giving her a powerful hug before set her free.

"Don't leave me again. I can't protect you if you run away. Can you move?"

"Yes. I'm sore as hell, but the feeling's slowly coming back to my legs."

"Here," said Thiago. He handed her a spare laser pistol from his satchel and the last orb bomb he'd collected from the abandoned sled. He took a moment to instruct her on how to operate the weapon.

He motioned to a switch on the side of the barrel and said, "The blue light's for stun, and the green light's for kill. Be careful with the orb. It's fragile, explosive, and dangerous."

"Okay, I got it," said Eden. The magnum shook in her hands as she slipped it into her belt strap. Peering over Thiago's shoulder, she gasped. Her eyes went round with terror at the Noxx guards gathering at the foot of the staircase. "Can we evade these guys?"

"We'll get them. Be careful." Thiago lifted Eden off the ground and started toward the open cage door.

"Thiago, wait." Eden pulled him down for a kiss. "Be careful, please."

Thiago paused. He tried to press his lips tightly together, but he couldn't help smiling.

"I will. Now let's get these bastards."

Eden threw away her useless heels. Her legs felt like lead underneath her as she ran after Thiago and she looked a filthy, bedraggled mess. Vast areas of her soiled halter jumpsuit were missing sequins. Inflamed alien bug bites peppered her dingy bare arms. The nest of coppery curls that ran past her shoulders had fluffed up from the humidity; it was untamable. Fortunately for Eden, there was no mirror, and discomfort was the last thing on her mind.

Thiago's aim seemed to improve in his trance-like rage. His barrel zeroed in on each of the Noxx running up the staircase, efficiently eliminating each target. Without looking behind him, he grabbed hold of two clips and put them into the chamber of his gun, reloading with mechanical efficiency.

Thiago and Eden started shooting in turns. One began firing while the other reloaded. Fallen guards toppled backward, creating an inescapable domino effect upon the soldiers behind them. As Thiago exterminated the last few attempting to crawl over their comrades' bodies, Eden sidled past them and down the stairs, knocking a few wounded guards over the railing along the way.

She was on a mission.

Eden made a beeline for Arleda. The beaming Arkadian woman stood with her spread legs locked and her arms folded across her chest. Her face looked primped for a red carpet, and her glossy pink hair stayed in place with two bejeweled hairpins. Even in the face of chaos, Arleda was as glamorous as ever.

Eden snorted, flicking away the sweat dangling off her nostrils. There was nothing more she wanted at that moment than to wipe the smug look off Arleda's face. The green bulb flashed on the nose of her pistol. But as Eden raised her weapon, Arleda lunged forward with a high kick and knocked the gun out of Eden's hands.

The weapon bounced on the ground and slid out of reach. Their eyes met for a split second before they both dove for the laser pistol. Eden knew her human strength wouldn't be enough to win against Arleda's Arkadian genes, so she had to resort to rough playground tactics. Eden sprang on top of Arleda and straddled her. She weaved her hands into the threads of Arleda's hair, immobilizing her bun as she pulled and twisted. Arleda shrieked. Tears fell from her eyes as Eden's fists tore off clumps of her hair.

Arleda shook her off, panting heavily. In her discombobulated state, she made the mistake of turning her back on Eden for one brief moment. Eden jumped at the chance, reaching for the orb bomb tucked away in her bra. She bit down on her lip and twisted the sphere to activate it. As Arleda turned back around, Eden stuffed the orb into her mouth. Finally, she gave Arleda a push.

Arleda's eyes bulged in astonishment. Her arms and legs flailed as she fell towards the acid pit behind her. Her cheeks ballooned and turned a ghostly blue before the orb detonated in her mouth. Body parts and jewelry rained into the murky yellow sea from above.

Gagging from the putrid stench, Eden whirled around, looking for Thiago. He was fighting with Maltov in a different struggle beyond the bodies of Noxx guards strewn across the floor. Eden watched as Thiago rolled on top of Malatov, jamming the barrel of his magnum between the Noxx's lips.

"Don't kill him!" Eden called out.

"Not now, Eden," Thiago hissed through clenched teeth. The marking on his forehead glowed a fiery red. "What about my parents?"

"He doesn't deserve a quick death," wheezed Eden as she ran up from behind him. She grabbed hold of his shoulder, squeezing. "Let the asshole rot in prison. We also need his face intact to collect the bounty."

Thiago struggled with himself as his shaking finger hovered over the trigger. He glared at Malatov's steely, unfeeling eyes blinking back at him.

His rational mind prevailed in a moment, and he let his body relax. He removed the weapon from Malatov's mouth.

"It's over now."

Thiago put restraints onto Malatov's wrists. He allowed himself one luxury, however. Thiago blew a glob of spit into Malatov's leering face before Thiago and Eden turned around, leaving the Noxx kingpin's empty threats behind them.

THREE MONTHS LATER

"Why don't you set the ship to autopilot so you can enjoy a glass of bubbly?"

Thiago looked over his shoulder and smiled. Eden had noticed he was happier recently, and not a morose stick-in-the-mud like when she first met him. She entered the cockpit, carrying an expensive bottle of vintage Pasquin ale in one hand and a fancy goblet engraved with ancient Arkadian hieroglyphics in the other. She looked stunning in an emerald green dress which accented her eyes. The asymmetrical neckline showed off a hint of her delicate collarbone.

He let the computer take over the ship and swiveled around in his chair to face Eden. She uncorked the bottle and poured a golden liquid into the glass, handing it to him. Sensing something was wrong, Eden tipped her head to the side and frowned.

"Is something the matter, honey?" she whispered. She snuggled up to him, gently massaging the hard knots permanently lodged in his neck and shoulders.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired of tossing and turning on the new mattress we bought last week."

"Me too. It's going to take a few more nighttime activities before we break it in," Eden said with a grin. She sighed and traced her finger along the buzzed sides of Thiago's head. "If a new mattress is our biggest problem, we've got a good thing going here. Malatov's going to prison as we speak. You're practically a celebrity now, and the payout for his capture was more than we had ever imagined. My family on Earth is living happy and debt-free. I'd say our life is divine right now, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," Thiago replied. He chugged back the rest of his ale and placed the empty goblet on the dashboard.

Eden took the passenger's seat and tapped her toes nervously against the leg of her chair. She wanted to say something to Thiago, but she wasn't sure how to open the topic of conversation.

"You know what this place needs? A little music."

Pulling up the radio on his dashboard screen, she selected a random station and started the music. A faint tune drifted through the speakers before the system sparked and died out. Eden pressed some random buttons, but they had no effect. Thiago bent forward in his seat and removed the cone of the exterior speaker.

"Well, this is a surprise."

The cone dropped between Thiago's feet. Eden clapped a hand over her mouth. Two baby alien arachnids the size of newborn puppies crawled out of the speaker opening. They each scooped one onto their lap. Thiago and Eden's heads hit each other as they peered into the radio opening. Two large broken eggs with purple polka-dots on their shells were nested deep inside the ship, incubated by the warmth.

"Hercules was a girl!" Eden said, gently crooning as she tickled the giggling creature in her lap.

"I suppose she was," said Thiago, his cheeks flushing with rosy affection at the baby animal burrowed in his lap. He glanced up at Eden. "This is amazing. I'm glad Hercules will live on, in a way, through her children. Why don't you take this one, too? These babies call for a proper celebration. You can't have any of the Pasquin ale, but I think there's some honeyberry champagne in the refrigerator that's safe for humans."