Razor's Traitorous Heart: The Alliance Book 2 (4 page)

Her head jerked up in surprise at the change
in his voice. He caught the soft gasp on her lips. He pressed his
lips against hers like she had done earlier. He did not understand
what it meant to do this. He just knew he wanted to feel her lips
again. His people did not press their lips to another. Their sharp
teeth and aggressive behavior made it too dangerous, but her teeth
were smooth. He groaned as her tongue tentatively touched his
lips.

He had an overwhelming urge to rub his nose
along her neck and face. He wanted to leave his scent on her so
others would know that she belonged to him. He wanted to mark her
as his. He tore his mouth free from hers as the thought ripped
through his mind.

Mine,
he thought in shock as he
swayed.
She is mine.

“Hey, big guy. Hold on to me.” She was
saying as she wrapped her arm around his waist. “You’re beginning
to crash from shock and your injuries. Let me check your leg, then
I’ll see if you are hurt anywhere else.”

“I… You are…,” he muttered before he slid
down the wall she had backed him up against.

“Yeah, I am,” she teased in a light voice.
“Destin has a tendency to mutter the same thing whenever I’m
around.”

Razor’s eyes cleared for a moment at the
mention of the other male. “Who is he? What is he… to you?”

Slender fingers tenderly ran down his face
before cupping his cheek. “He’s my brother,” she replied
simply.

Exhaustion, pain and his injuries darkened
his vision, even as he tried to fight it. The feel of her slender
fingers tenderly caressing him felt unbelievably good. He had never
before experienced such a sense of rightness like he felt now at
her touch.

“Mine,” he muttered in a slurred voice.
“What are you called?”

Her soft, warm breath caressed his face as
she leaned forward to hear what he was trying to say.

“I’m called Kali,” she chuckled. “Kali
Parks.”

Razor tilted his head back against the wall
behind him. “You are mine, Kali,” he whispered faintly.

“Whatever makes you happy, big guy,” she
chuckled again as his eyes closed. “Whatever makes you happy as
long as you don’t die on me.”

Her words registered like a gentle breeze in
his mind. A small, unfamiliar smile tugged at his lips as he closed
his eyes. He had a feeling that having her under him would make him
very happy.

Mine,
he thought as darkness
descended around him.
My Amate.

“Razor,” the deep voice quietly called out
from behind him.

Razor didn’t bother to turn. His eyes were
focused on the three figures running, or should he say ‘jumping’,
through the ruins of the city below. He was following one figure in
particular. The slender form in the front was covered in black and
slipped in and out of the shadows, at times disappearing from his
view. He cursed under his breath when that happened and quickly
switched to infrared so he didn’t lose her. His gut tightened when
he saw another human rise from behind a destroyed transport and
open fire on the group.

“What is the current report?” He growled as
his second-in-command approached to kneel beside him.

His eyes continued to follow Kali as she
flipped in midair, sailing over a burnt out shell of another
transport while pulling two firearms out from her waist. She landed
and rolled, coming up on one knee, before firing the weapons in her
hands in rapid succession. He released his breath when she hit both
targets.

“The fighting between the two factions has
escalated. Intelligence information states the two males identified
as Destin Parks and Colbert Allen are fighting for control of
Chicago, as you know. It would appear some of Parks men may have
been responsible for the theft of the military equipment used to
shoot down the helicopter you were in,” Cutter said quietly as he
raised his viewer to his eyes to watch the conflict below. He
whistled under his breath when he saw the figure take out the two
men with a clean shot to the head. “Nice shooting. If nothing else,
some of these humans would make good warriors.”

Razor ignored the comment as he continued to
observe the figure as it rose. Kali. His
.
That was all he
could think about over the past two weeks since she vanished after
flagging down several members of the search team looking for him
and leading them to where she had left him. Since then, he had
ordered every piece of information available on her delivered to
him.

Tonight, there were two other men with her.
He watched as she turned and called out to them. They knelt next to
the dead men, talking for several minutes. Frustration ate at him
that he could not hear what they were saying.

He reluctantly lowered his viewer as they
turned and began moving away. It was the same each night. He was
slowly piecing together a pattern of her movements. Kali frequently
traveled with one or more men. Jealousy flared at the thought of
other males near her. He wondered if these males meant something to
her. He had seen them with her on more than one occasion. It
wouldn’t matter. He had already made his decision. She was his.

“Wasn’t that the female who saved your
life?” Cutter asked suddenly, turning to look at him with a puzzled
expression.

“Yes,” Razor bit out in a low, savage
voice.

*.*.*

Razor scanned the area once more before
standing. Since he regained consciousness in the medical unit
aboard his Flagship, the
Journey
, two weeks ago, he had been
studying both forces with an intensity he hadn’t felt since he took
command of his first warship. While each side was fierce and
methodical in their attacks, there was a clear difference in their
styles. Destin Parks’ followers routinely protected and worked at
rebuilding the city, using more of a defensive rather than
offensive strategy while Colbert Allen waged a war of terror and
destruction. Those fighting under him were aggressive and ruthless;
uncaring of the collateral damage done during their attacks.

This was why he found it difficult to
believe that Parks was responsible for the attack on the
helicopter. Something was missing, he could feel it in his gut. It
didn’t make sense.

The question that continued to bother him
the most was from the Intel he had read through during his
recovery. Human military aircraft had routinely been crossing the
area for the past six months and none had been attacked. Why would
they fire on the human helicopter now? What were the odds of the
rebels picking one that was flying an unscheduled flight, at night,
with him on board, and attack it?

Only a handful of humans were aware of his
sudden change of transportation. A handful of humans… and members
of the council. An immediate report was filed every time a Trivator
warrior was injured or reported missing. He had learned a very
valuable lesson thanks to his younger brother’s new sister, Jordan.
Hunter had informed him four months ago on his journey here that
information proving Dagger may still be alive had come to light. A
rescue mission was currently in progress.

The incident two weeks ago left too many
unanswered questions. He wanted answers, especially for the one
burning a hole through his chest every time he saw Kali Parks in
danger like she was tonight. She could easily have been wounded or
killed. Why would Destin Parks’ allow his sister to constantly be
exposed to such danger?

Watching Kali in action reminded him of some
of the stories his brother, Hunter, had told him about the feats of
his
Amate.
When Hunter told him about how Jesse had saved
his life, not once, but twice, he thought his brother had been
exaggerating. Now, after meeting Kali, he realized that Hunter’s
stories had probably downplayed what really happened.

He pushed aside his disappointment that he
had only caught a brief glimpse of her tonight. He needed to find
the answers to his questions – he had to because time was running
out. He had already delayed his decision to level the city by using
his injuries as an excuse. He knew it was because of the female and
his reluctance to give the order confused him. There was no
rational explanation for his reaction to her.

When he regained consciousness, he was sure
he had been mistaken about his response to her. At first, he tried
to justify his feelings as being due to his injuries. He had almost
convinced himself that was the case until he caught her scent from
the cloth lying on the table next to his bed in the medical unit.
It was the one that she had tied around his leg.

Razor slipped his hand into the pocket of
his pants and touched the soft piece of fabric. He carried it with
him everywhere, even though her scent had faded from it, replaced
with his own. Angered at the traitorous response of his body to
her, he had set out on a ruthless mission to discover any
information he could find pertaining to her and her brother. What
he had found out about them had been disturbing.

Allen’s forces outnumbered Parks’ by almost
two-to-one. Unless something was done, and soon, Chicago would have
to be declared a hostile zone and he would be forced to order the
Destroyers in. When that decision was made, all inhabitants that
resisted would be immediately eliminated without prejudice. He had
a feeling Kali and her brother would be two of those who would
refuse to leave. He would not risk his men’s lives in trying to
negotiate with the remaining rebels; enough Trivator warriors had
been wounded or killed over the last six years. Yet, the thought of
ordering Kali’s almost certain death had been more than he could
do.

A frustrated growl escaped him as he stood.
“I know the fighting has escalated. I want you to tell me something
I don’t already know, Cutter. I want a meeting set up with Parks,”
Razor snapped out as he slid the viewer back into the clip at his
waist.

“Are you sure that is wise?” Cutter asked
cautiously. “So far both sides have refused to negotiate. Allen is
demanding he be recognized as the leader of Chicago and given
assurances that neither the World Government nor the ‘fucking alien
bastards’ as he likes to call us interfere. Parks refused to meet
with any alien representatives, he didn’t give an explanation as to
why, but I found out Badrick made a personal call two years ago. He
was his usual charming self I suspect.”

Razor glanced at Cutter, noting a fresh cut
on his face. “I will meet with Parks before I make a decision as to
whether the Destroyers should be brought in. What happened to you?”
He asked, nodding to the thin cut on Cutter’s cheek.

Cutter grimaced and touched his face. “I got
a little too close to a resident of the city on my way here,” he
replied with a slight curve to his lips. “I’ll have to be a bit
more careful next time.”

“Did you kill him?” Razor asked as he
stepped into the small transport and nodded to his pilot.

Cutter stepped in behind him and sat down on
the narrow metal seat. He pulled the straps over his shoulders and
hooked it. He was quiet for several long moments before he looked
up to see that his commander and friend was studying him with an
intense expression that made him wince. Razor always seemed to know
when he was trying to think of a way to avoid answering a direct
question.

“No,” Cutter sighed, looking out the open
door as the small, military transport rose off the roof of the
building. “I need to know in advance if you plan to level the
city.”

“Why?” Razor asked bluntly.

Cutter turned and glanced at Razor with a
penetrating stare. “I have to find someone.”

“I assume it is a human female,” Razor said
with a raised eyebrow. “She will leave once it becomes clear the
area will be cleansed if the two factions refuse to cooperate and
lay down their arms. If we can get Parks to agree to a truce it
will be easier to contain the southern half of the city.”

Cutter shook his head and turned to look at
the darkening city below him. A few scattered lights glimmered from
burning fires, but that was all. Everything else looked
abandoned.

“I don’t think she will,” he replied
quietly. “These females… they aren’t like any others I’ve met
before. You saw what the female that rescued you did tonight. They
fight right alongside the males, especially if there are young
involved.”

“If a female has young then she will be more
willing to leave,” Razor remarked, looking at the tablet in his
hands as he pulled up the new information Cutter sent to him about
the two men fighting for power. “She will want to protect her young
so she will leave when the order to abandon the city is given.”

“She can’t,” Cutter bit out. “The kids
aren’t hers. They are children whose parents have died or abandoned
them. She will not leave if she thinks any remain behind.”

Razor looked up at the hard tone in Cutter’s
voice. “How do you know this?”

Cutter touched the cut on his cheekbone.
“One of the little devils she protects told me,” he admitted
ruefully.

Razor’s eyes narrowed on the teeth marks
also gracing Cutter’s hand. “This female, she bit you?” He asked,
an amused glint lighting his eyes for a moment.

Cutter chuckled as he turned his hand and
looked at the tiny set of marks. “Yeah, she bit me. I was surprised
how strong she was considering she was so small,” he admitted.
“Just so you know, I also found out that Parks protects them as
well. From what one of the boys she protects told me, Parks has
provided protection, food, and medicine for the northern half of
the city for the past six years. It was only in the last two years
that Allen made a move to take over the northern half of the
city.”

“Why?” Razor murmured, looking at the data
on the tablet with a frown. “Why does Allen suddenly want the
northern section of the city? He could have seized it six years ago
by eliminating Parks when he had a chance.”