Burning Up Flint (2 page)
Frowning, Mira looked at the pilot. “Spare parts? I don’t understand.”
The other pilot flashed Mira a frightened look. “They cut us up and use our skin and internal organs to make more of them.”
Her gaze shot to the tall
cyborg
standing next to her. Flint was frowning at the pilot.
“You know,” he said slowly, “I know a downed model about your size
who
needs repairs.”
Horror hit Mira as she yanked her hand out of the
cyborg’s
hold. She turned, inching away from him, to put herself in front of the pilot. “You can’t really mean that. He’s a living person.”
The tall
cyborg
looked at Mira. “So are we. We breathe. It never stopped humans from trying to kill every one of us to benefit
themselves
.”
She swallowed. “We didn’t do that to your kind. I wasn’t even born when those idiots made that law to have your kind destroyed and he’s not much older than I am.”
“You’re right.” The
cyborg
nodded, his attention turned to the general. “You are old enough to have been a part of it. You’re a military man. Perhaps I should take you for spare parts.”
Mira glanced at the general. She bit her lip before moving out of the way. She saw Flint shoot her a surprised look, his eyebrow arching again.
“Aren’t you going to put yourself between us to save him?”
“He tried to kill me and I’m not willing to die for a man who wanted to slice me up with his blazer. I think he’s a little old to be useful but I don’t know anything about what you need or could use.”
The
cyborg
shocked Mira and the three bound men by throwing his head back and laughing. She turned to see the other three
cyborgs
smiling, all obviously amused. Ice moved closer, stopping feet short of her to give her
a
once-over before turning his attention to Flint.
“Just when we think that humanity is at a complete loss. She is cute.”
Flint nodded at Mira. “She is unique. We don’t really use humans for spare parts. We take DNA samples because our gene pool is limited and they come in handy to our scientists when they need fresh ones to work with. We do not kill indiscriminately.”
Relief hit Mira as she smiled, believing him.
He watched her carefully, his gaze studying her expression very closely,
then
sighed. He turned to one of the other
cyborgs
. “Have you salvaged everything we can use?”
“Yes, Flint.
We left it so they could make it back to Earth safely. Their excess fuel has been removed.” The
cyborg
turned to the pilot and said, “Use a short burst. The trip will take longer but you will get there. We monitored for leaks and cracks from our boarding and the integrity of your shuttle is sound. We did no damage that will cause your vessel to fail.”
The other
cyborg
nodded. “One short burst. You could have an issue with it if you full burn. Do you understand? It could cause the tank to ignite.”
The pilot nodded. “I got it.”
“What does that mean?” It was the general.
The second pilot cleared his throat. “It means we’re going to have to just give ourselves a little jerk to coast home. Instead of it taking a few days we’re facing a good week of travel unless someone comes to refuel us when we get closer to Earth.”
“But you took our supplies,” the general sputtered. “You might as well kill us.”
Flint shook his head. “We didn’t take it all so ration what you have left. It won’t be a pleasant trip but you’ll survive.”
The two dark-haired
cyborgs
lifted the crates they had filled from the shuttle. Mira saw all their travel bags wedged in with the food supplies they were taking but she didn’t say a word, thinking everything she owned could be replaced. They had also removed some of the entertainment equipment. That just left Flint and Ice in the shuttle. Mira watched them then her eyes locked with Flint’s. He gazed back at her and extended his hand to her as if he wanted to shake hands.
She only hesitated a second before putting her palm against his. “Thank you for not hurting anyone.”
He gripped her smaller hand. “We’re not killers unless we’re left with no other options.”
“Should I untie the men or let her do it when we’re gone?” Ice waited by the door that docked their ship to the shuttle.
The large hand gripping Mira’s didn’t let go. Flint actually rubbed his thumb over her skin lightly, caressing her, tilting his head to stare deeply into her eyes. “I am wondering something. Will you satisfy my curiosity?”
She couldn’t look away from his beautiful eyes. “Sure. What do you want to know?”
He released her hand and pulled off his glove then offered his bare hand. Mira took it, surprised at how warm his skin was. His palm was slightly roughened with calluses. She thought it was odd that he wanted to shake her hand flesh to flesh but she was more than happy to oblige. His fingers squeezed her hand. A gasp tore from her lips as he jerked her forward, right into his muscular body.
Mira stared up at the foot taller
cyborg
who still gripped her hand. Her free hand had ended up against the hard-shelled chest plate of his black uniform. Her body was flush against his since he’d pulled her there. His arm wrapped around her waist, locking her against him as he stared down at her.
Flint just held her like that for long seconds, watching her. She wondered what he was doing, if maybe he wanted her closer to detect if she was lying or not. She’d read once that
cyborgs
were good at tracking a human’s heart rate by touch. Was he holding her so tightly so he could evaluate her honesty? It was her best guess.
“Um…what do you want to know?” She was proud that her voice didn’t shake in fear.
Cyborgs
were super strong. He could hurt her easily if he wanted to with that massively built body.
He lowered his head so he could gaze into her eyes. He had mesmerizing blue eyes that she couldn’t look away from.
Cyborgs
looked completely human except for their skin tone. He was a damn good-looking man. His hot breath fanned across her face. He smelled of some kind of sweet fruit.
“Flint?”
Flint didn’t even glance at the other
cyborg
when he spoke to him, instead keeping his eyes locked with Mira’s.
“What?”
“What are you doing?” Ice sounded amused.
Flint ignored the question to rub Mira’s hand again. “Do you have any children?”
She’d never expected that question in a million years. She shook her head. “No.”
He took a deep breath. “Good. Then you will forgive me in time.”
She frowned. “Forgive you for what?”
He took a step back and then another as he completely released her. “I do not care if you have a man in your life or if you have family you will miss. The one thing I could not take you from would be a child. That would be deplorable. You do not have
any,
therefore what I do is forgivable.”
Mira’s mind tried to make sense of his words. She gasped as he grabbed her arm above the elbow in a viselike grip. His gaze tore from hers to the other
cyborg
.
“Free the pilot so he can release the other two men when we are away. Let’s go, Ice. I have the only thing I want from the shuttle. I have her.”
Flint’s words sank in as he jerked her toward the door that attached the ship to her shuttle. She stumbled behind the man who gave her no choice but to follow. He kept walking, dragging a stunned Mira behind him.
Chapter Two
Mira was in shock as she was pulled by the
cyborg
as he entered a larger ship. She glanced frantically at metal flooring that he walked on, hearing his boots clank as they moved down a corridor. Her attention flew to the walls as they passed, but the lighting was dim in the corridor as he led her from one into another. The sound of the engines starting couldn’t be missed. Flint suddenly stopped to brace against a wall, tugging her none too gently against his side, tightening his hold. The ship moved, making them both sway a little on their feet, before he started walking again.
“What are you doing?” Her voice shook now. “Please take me back.”
“We have already released the shuttle and are leaving it behind. In a few minutes, when we are clear, we will do a long burn and head for our planet. It is already done and you will not be returning to your shuttle,
Mirasia
Carver.”
He walked her inside a shaft and stopped. Doors slid shut and then Mira moaned a little as a queasy feeling hit her stomach at the fast movement upward, making her realize it wasn’t a shaft after all but a lift. The hand gripping hers tightened.
“No harm will come to you, so relax.” Flint’s voice was husky.
“Why did you take me? What are you going to do with me?”
He hesitated. “Right now I am needed in Control so we’ll discuss that later. You will be quiet until I tell you it is a good time to talk. Are my instructions clear?”
Her heart pounded with fear and adrenaline. “You’re not going to sell me to a pleasure house somewhere, are you?”
He chuckled. “Would you like me to?”
“No! It’s just that the general tried to kill me because he said if I were taken that’s where I’d end up.”
“I promise you that other men will not be having sex with you.”
She blew out a breath of relief. “Thank you. I have a good job that will pay for my safe return since I’m a valued employee. You could ransom me for a lot of money.”
He ignored her suggestion. The lift stopped. “Be quiet until I tell you otherwise. Are my instructions clear? You do not speak or move in Control.”
“I understand.”
“Good.”
He walked out of the lift to turn down another corridor that ended in double doors that automatically slid open in front of them. Flint tugged her into a room behind him, stopping so suddenly just inside the doors that Mira slammed hard into his back. She hit hard enough to bounce off him. His tight hold on her kept her from falling on her ass. She steadied her balance on her feet.
When Flint released her hand she shoved at her blonde hair, pushing the long, curly strands out of her face. Mira stared up at Flint as he turned to face her, giving her an amused look. He studied her for a second before he pointed to the floor.
“Sit.”
She looked at the metal floor, clenching her teeth over being treated like a dog in training, but sat where he pointed. Flint was a large man with wide shoulders and muscular arms that revealed his strength. She knew that in a physical struggle she would be no match. She sat cross-legged and was thankful she wore pants. When Flint stepped away, she took in her surroundings and that’s when more surprise hit her. Flint’s big body had blocked her view when they’d been standing but now she could see everything.
She was in a large control room that was twice the size of her shuttle’s interior. More than the four
cyborgs
she’d seen lived on the ship. She counted seven of them here, besides Flint. The three from the shuttle were not amongst them. So far, she’d seen eleven
cyborgs
.
She sensed their attention on her so she openly stared back at them, curious. All of them were massively built and tall, with an array of different eye and hair colors. Some kept their hair long to their shoulders, as Flint wore his, while one had no hair at all. One of them even had a thick braid of flaming red hair that hung down his back almost to the ass of his black pants. They all had skin tones in shades of metallic gray.
“Have they burst yet?” Flint asked.
The one with the long red braid shook his head. “No, Flint. They are just sitting there. Should we wait for them to leave to see if they need assistance?”
Flint hesitated. “They are far enough away from Earth that transmissions are unstable. We’ll wait to make sure they take off before we blast away.”
A gray-haired
cyborg
who looked no older than thirty nodded. “They have started their engines.”
“Bring it up,” Flint ordered.
The screen filled with a view of space showing, to Mira’s surprise, that they’d already put a lot of distance between the ship and the shuttle. She wondered how big the
cyborg
vessel was, wondering if it was larger than the space station she’d just spent two weeks visiting, since the lift Flint had tugged her into had gone up quite a few levels.
“Shit,” the gray-haired
cyborg
hissed. “They are fully powering up. Didn’t you tell them to only do a short burst?”
“Yes,” Flint said softly.
Mira stared at the screen, watching as the shuttle’s thrusters burned brightly, flaring from the back, and a second later the shuttle exploded. She was horrified as she witnessed it blow apart. Pieces flew in all directions.
“Blast away,” Flint roared.
Mira had the air knocked from her lungs as the large
cyborg
suddenly turned, throwing his body at her, taking her flat to the floor under him when he tackled her. Her back hit the metal surface as his weight crushed down. The ship vibrated roughly as the engines revved around them. Her body slid a few feet even with the massive man on top of her, pinning her down. Long seconds passed where she couldn’t breathe under Flint’s weight. He pushed up to get off her when the shaking under them ceased. Flint climbed to his feet, not even sparing her a glance, as he glared at the viewing screen.
“Did we escape the debris?” He sounded pissed.
“We did,” the redheaded
cyborg
cursed. “The idiot humans full blasted, making their tank
explode
.”
“Damn fools,” the gray-haired
cyborg
spat. “If we knew they wanted to die we could have salvaged the entire vessel.”
Mira lifted her chin to observe Flint as she pushed up to a sitting position. She knew he’d saved her from really getting hurt when they’d suddenly had to blast out of range of the exploding shuttle. Without his weight she would have been thrown across the room. Her back hurt a little but she was relieved that he’d done it. Flint looked furious as he shook his head.
