Razor's Traitorous Heart: The Alliance Book 2 (17 page)

“Her tracks disappear here,” Vice said,
standing up and looking around with a frown. “It is like she
vanished.”

Razor looked up. They had only covered a
couple of blocks. The moment a building presented itself as a
possible way to move higher she had taken it. The narrow alley was
cluttered with hidden debris which could trip her or limit her
movements, not so on the rooftops.

“She used the fire escape.”

Thunder’s head jerked up. He frowned as he
calculated the distance to the bottom rung. It was at least eight
feet. Not a difficult task for a Trivator warrior to reach, but for
a human female?

“How tall is she?” He asked skeptically.

“Five foot four, perhaps five,” Razor
responded as he jumped and grabbed the bottom rung. Pulling himself
up hand over hand until he could step on the bottom bar, he turned
to look down at the other men. “She would have no problems reaching
it.”

Thunder watched as Cutter grabbed the metal
ladder and began climbing. “What is it with these females? Don’t
they know their limitations?” He growled under his breath thinking
of another human female who had defied the odds by breaking into an
encampment in front of a bunch of alien rebels.

“Obviously not,” Vice said with a grin.
“After you.”

*.*.*

Kali turned in a circle, warily trying to
keep the three men from surrounding her. Her eyes flashed from one
man to the other. She had almost made it to the divide that
separated the northern and southern part of the city when she
stumbled upon them.

“What’s your name, sweet cakes?” One of the
men called out.

“I think she’s a keeper. What do you think,
Ralph?” Another male with a goatee and no front teeth
snickered.

“Shut up. She goes to the boss man,” the
largest of the three ordered.

“Now Mitt, you know he don’t like girls,”
Ralph whined. “He likes them boys.”

“I said shut up, Ralph. This is Kali Parks.
He’ll want her,” Mitt snapped.

Kali gauged the distance to the wall behind
the three men and the height of the open window on the second floor
of the building. If she could get a running jump, she could be up
and through the second story window before they knew what happened.
She just needed a lucky break.

“Oh no you don’t, lady. I’ve seen what you
can do,” Mitt said coldly.

“I have to get to my brother,” Kali
demanded. “It is a matter of life and death.”

“Maybe if you’re real sweet, Colbert will
exchange you for your brother,” Goatee joked. “I heard he has a
crush on him.”

Kali jerked back another step as they moved
closer. “You don’t understand!” She said angrily. “This affects
Colbert as well! The Trivators want my brother and Colbert to
surrender. If they don’t, they are going to flatten the city like
they did Mexico City!”

“Yeah, maybe Colbert would like one of those
huge asses to fuck when they try it,” Ralph laughed.

“Please,” Kali begged, turning her gaze to
the only one in the group who seemed to have any brains. “Mitt, I’m
serious. Razor has given them twelve hours. If they don’t lay down
their arms and surrender within twelve hours he has ordered the
Destroyers in. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people will
die!”

Mitt shook his head. “You can tell him
yourself, lady. Colbert said if anyone ever found you on this side
of the divide that we better bring you in or we’ll be feeding the
fish.”

Kali shook her head in frustration. She
couldn’t back up any further. She had no choice. It was either
fight and have a chance of escaping, or be taken prisoner. If she
went down, she would rather go down fighting. Making a fake to the
left, she turned to the right and pushed past Ralph, knocking him
to the ground. She twisted as Goatee reached for her, elbowing him
hard in the stomach.

She was almost to the wall when pain
exploded through her back. Her muscles stiffened as a wave of shock
from Taser hit her in the back. Even her jaw clenched, smothering
the cry of agony that went through her at the powerful assault to
her nervous system. She fell forward, unable to protect herself.
Her forehead struck the unforgiving brick of the building as she
collapsed.

Darkness was a blessing. At least the
terrifying agony disappeared as she lost consciousness. She faintly
heard a nervous laugh as she was turned over.

“Damn, Mitt. I think you killed her. Look at
all the blood,” Ralph said.

“Do you want me to take the shot?” Tim asked
quietly as he lined the largest Trivator warrior in his site.

“No,” Destin said coldly.

He carefully watched as the small group of
four males knelt in the narrow alley three hundred yards from them.
He adjusted the night vision binoculars to zero in on them. They
had been tracking the men for the last few blocks.

They had to move carefully. They were in
enemy territory now. So far, they had to detour twice on their
mission to the National Guard Armory. Destin had cursed the last
four days. It would have been suicide if they had tried to get to
the Armory during the storm. He and Tim left as soon as it cleared
enough for them to travel under the cover of darkness.

They had discovered the small group of
Trivator males about ten minutes earlier. It looked like they were
tracking someone, namely Kali if Destin had to guess. Dread twisted
his gut when he saw one male touch the wall of the building, then
lift his hand to his nose.

“Shit! What happened?” Tim asked when a
ferocious roar echoed through the empty streets. “Something has
really pissed him off.”

“I don’t know, but I think it’s time I
introduced myself,” Destin said, standing up.

Tim’s head jerked around in surprise. “Dude,
I don’t think that is a good idea. Those bastards have been wanting
your hide for the past two years.”

Destin’s eyes hardened with determination.
“Yeah, well they are about to find out what happens when they get
what they want. Take out the one that roared first if shit goes
down. I’m pretty sure he’s the leader,” Destin ordered as he threw
his leg over the side of the ledge of the parking garage.

Tim watched as Destin disappeared before
turning his eyes back to the warriors across the street. It didn’t
take long for Destin to get down the two levels. Tim followed his
friend and leader as he moved with a grace born of determination
and confidence.

“I sure hope you know what the fuck you’re
doing,” he muttered under his breath as Destin’s movements caught
the attention of the men.

*.*.*

“Razor,” Cutter’s quiet voice said.

“It’s Kali’s blood,” Razor bit out, curling
his red stained fingers into a fist.

“We’ll find her,” Vice said. “Whoever took
her can’t have gotten far.”

Thunder’s head jerked up and he sniffed the
air before turning in a crouch, his hand pulling the laser pistol
at his waist. The low rumble of warning from him had the other men
turning as well. His eyes scanned the darkness as he opened his
senses and breathed in the scents carried on the frigid air.

“We’ve got company. I smell one, possibly
two distinctive scents,” Thunder growled.

Razor turned, scanning the area. He jerked
his head slightly to the right, signaling Cutter and Vice to spread
out. He froze when a voice called out for everyone to freeze.

“I wouldn’t,” the deep voice echoed in the
narrow alley. “Your main man is targeted. You move, he dies.”

“Human!” Vice snarled.

“Calm,” Razor said coldly as he turned
toward the voice at the end of the alley. “Where is she?”

Destin took a step closer, keeping the rifle
he carried firmly aimed at the alien male. He stopped when he was
almost ten feet from him. His eyes flickered to the other three
males who stood in a semicircle behind him. They were slightly
taller than the one in front but there was something about the way
the bastard in front stood that warned Destin he was probably the
most deadly of the group.

“Who?” Destin asked, already knowing the
answer.

“My
Amate
! Kali Parks,” the male
snarled, flashing his teeth in a way that reminded Destin of a male
lion. “I will rip the answer from you before I kill you.”

Destin’s mind swirled at the hostile tone
and fury behind the male’s threat. Something was wrong. Unless Kali
killed one of them when she escaped, he couldn’t see this type of
reaction coming from the male unless…

“What does
Amate
mean?” Destin asked
with growing anger. “So help me, if you’ve raped my sister, I’ll
blow your fucking balls off first.”

*.*.*

The human’s voice faded on the last word.
The anger, pain and grief in it combined with the word ‘sister’
registered as the man took another step closer. A glimmer of
shadowy moonlight offered enough light for him to recognize the
face of Destin Parks. He reined in the rage he was feeling when he
realized that this human cared about Kali as much as he did.

“I have claimed her as mine,” Razor replied
quietly, watching the fury build again in the man’s eyes.

“You bastard,” Destin choked out. “She’s not
a fucking whore!”

Razor lifted his hand when Cutter shifted to
throw himself in front of him when Destin’s hand tightened on the
grip of the weapon he was holding. He stared into the other male’s
eyes, willing him to hear the truth in his words. Humans could not
scent the deceit the way a Trivator could. He would have to proceed
slowly. He raised his hands up, palms forward, to show he was
unarmed and meant no threat.

“No, she is not,” Razor replied calmly. “She
is my
Amate
. She is my life. I have sworn to protect and
care for her. An
Amate
means the world to a Trivator
warrior. We do not take one lightly, as it is for life.”

Razor could see the indecision flash through
Parks’ eyes as he took another step closer. He knew that the male
didn’t believe him. His eyes flickered to the markings peeking out
from under the end of the sleeve of his jacket. He carefully pulled
one sleeve down so that the dark markings were visible.

“I am Razor. I belong to Kali as she belongs
to me. Forever will I tie my life to hers. I will care for, protect
and give my seed only to her. She is my
Amate
. She is my
life,” Razor said quietly. “These are the markings that bind my
life to your sister. I need your help. She is hurt. Her blood is on
the wall.”

Destin’s eyes widened, not only from what
the warrior said, but who he was. This was Razor. The Destroyer.
His throat worked up and down as he swallowed. His mind raced
through everything he had heard, knew for a fact and what the male
was telling him.

“Destin, I swear on my life I have not
harmed Kali,” Razor insisted stepping close enough that the barrel
of the rifle pushed against the center of his chest. He continued
to keep his hands raised. “I need your help. She is hurt. I fear
Colbert’s men may have captured her. Every minute we delay our
search for her means another minute she is in danger.”

He saw Destin’s eyes flickered past him to
the other three warriors who remained frozen in silence before
turning back to him as he waited for Destin to make up his mind. He
watched as Destin slowly raised his left hand high and fisted it
before holding up two fingers. Only when he lowered the rifle did
Razor release his breath.

“You better be telling me the truth,” Destin
warned in an icy voice. “Tell me what happened.”

Razor nodded, recognizing the same calm
focus and edge of barely suppressed civility in the human male that
made him a strong leader. He glanced over as another human male
approached. It didn’t take long to relate Kali’s escape and their
search for her.

“They’ll take her to Colbert’s
headquarters,” Destin replied, turning to Tim. “Get the team
together. And Tim, let them know we are finishing this
tonight.”

“I’ll let Mason know,” Tim replied, looking
with a touch of caution and a lot of curiosity at the Trivator
warriors who stood to the side. “What are you going to do?”

Destin’s lips curved into a menacing smile.
“I’m going to go have a chat with Colbert. It has been a long time
coming.”

“And them?” Tim asked under his breath.

Razor turned, shooting Tim a look that sent
a shiver of dread down his spine. His cold eyes made Tim hope that
whatever happened tonight would resolve the need for the Trivator
forces to move in. He had no desire to face off against them.

“We will accompany him,” Razor said.

“Tim, make sure everyone is ready. If
anything happens to me, you are in charge,” Destin said quietly
before nodding to Razor. “Let’s go. We’ll move faster along the
rails. Colbert moved his headquarters a few days ago to the old
Central Station.”

“How can you be sure that is where he is?”
Razor asked.

Destin’s lips curved up in a confident
smile. “Because Kali followed one of the bastards back when they
used a tunnel we didn’t know about. Mason found a few more accesses
and sewer tunnels that were on the original blueprints, but not on
the updated ones in the city building archives,” Destin replied.
“We’ll go topside until we get closer then move underground. My men
will be there.”

“Cutter,” Razor called out. “Contact the
advance troops. I want them in position. This will be a ground
assault.”

“The Council isn’t going to like this,”
Cutter replied quietly. “I received a report before we left.
Badrick has them believing you are compromising your position
because of Kali. He is asking for your removal and wants Kali
transferred to his personal security forces so he can interrogate
her.”

“They will not agree. Why does he want Kali
so badly?” Razor bit out in a harsh voice.

“I’ll tell you why. The same reason he
struck a deal with Colbert. He is collecting any female between the
ages of fourteen and forty and shipping them off planet,” Destin
informed him bitterly. “He wanted Kali for himself. He offered
weapons in exchange for her and any other women we supplied for
him. I told the bastard I’d kill him and any other one of you
sons-of-bitches before I let any of you take a female under my
protection.”