Riley slammed the drawer shut and walked over to her bright pink suitcase. She tucked the strap of her oversized purse over one shoulder, grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase with the other, and firmly gripped the pistol she had found in her right hand. It was time to liberate the prisoners of this stupid mine! Riley raised her hand, tossed the massive wave of blond curls over her shoulder, and marched out the door, laser pistol blazing at anything that moved.
Vox cursed as he worked beside not just Tor, Lodar, Bob, and Fred, but alongside Titus and the others as well. They had been rounded up earlier than usual and marched to a different part of the mine than they had worked in before. Vox had known something was wrong immediately. First, the guards had refused to let Bob go back up to be with Riley. Second, they had been rounded up not only early but not given the normal tools for work. Finally, he knew they were going to be terminated when he saw the others already waiting for him and his men. All their carefully laid plans were worthless in the face of the twenty Antrox guards surrounding them. The only thing that gave them half a chance was the fact their collars were deactivated.
Vox dropped the large rock he had picked up when he saw Antrox 157 walking toward the group. He flexed his shoulders as rage poured through him. He was going to kill every one of the damn insects on this asteroid, and then he was going to kill him a Valdier royal. Vox's eyes narrowed on the smug expression of the normally passive face of the Antrox.
"Where is my mate?" Vox growled out menacingly.
157 raised his hand to stop the guards who took a step toward Vox with their stunning rods raised. 157 looked Vox up and down with a look of pure enjoyment. He was looking forward to explaining exactly what would happen to the Sarafin king's mate.
"She is in the process of being acclimated to her new position. She is an unusual species, and I was fortunate enough to acquire a large sum of credits for her. She will not be quite so demanding in her new position, but I am sure she will be in quite a lot of demand," 157 said, actually snorting at his own joke.
"What have you done with her?" Vox demanded tensely.
He would rip the Antrox apart, limb by limb, if one curly, blond hair on Riley's head had been touched. He would slowly gut the slimy bastard and listen as he begged for his miserable life. Then he would shove the credits the creature loved so much down his throat and watch him choke to death on them.
"She has been sold to a trader who supplies for the pleasure houses on the Grigillian Spaceport. It was decided if she could handle three huge Sarafin warriors and those two, she could handle even more. The trader has assured me she will bring prime credits," 157 added gleefully, his eyes glowing with greed at the idea of the number of credits he would shortly be receiving.
Lodar and Tor reached out and grabbed Vox by the arms when he roared out in rage. "You'll never live to see those credits, you miserable insect. I am going to rip off your fucking head and shove it up your ass," Vox snarled, fighting as Titus, Banu, and the others moved to help restrain him.
"No, you will be dead," 157 said with a smug smile. "That is where my other credits will come from. If it was not that I am a businessman, I would have offered to kill you for free. But, I am a businessman first. Your lives have been terminated per the Valdier royal Raffvin Reykill."
Vox felt the change sweep over him as the others tried to get him to calm down. He watched even as his vision began to change as Antrox 157 lifted a long slender palm for the device that would kill them all. The Antrox was so focused on pressing the button on the device in his hand that he did not pay attention to the ripple of fur running up and over Vox's arms, chest, and shoulders. He didn't notice Vox's face as his teeth began to elongate and his facial features shifted and transformed into that of the power cat that he was. It was only when 157 glanced up with a look that changed from triumph to horror in one heartbeat to the next as he pressed the button and nothing happened that he realized all was not as it should be.
157 pushed back, grabbing the guards around him and shoving them in front of him even as he screamed for them to use the stunning rods to hold the males back. It was too late. Vox was already clamping down on the skull of one guard while Tor, Lodar, Titus, and Banu did the same. Adur spun around, grabbing one of the long stunning rods and began using it just as Cross shifted into his dragon form and blew a long stream of condensed blue flames at the retreating figure of 157 and several of his guards.
Vox spit out the remains of another guard just as the alarms began blaring. He quickly shifted back into his two-legged form, turning in a confused circle for a moment as the red lights swirled around him. Loud shouts, followed by screams, could be heard in the distance.
"What in Guall's balls is going on?" he snarled out, turning to look at Titus and Banu.
"That is the emergency release system. It deactivates all the systems, including the collars," Titus said in shock. "Do you think our people found us?"
"Or perhaps the Valdier lords?" Cross said hopefully.
"Hello. Can everyone hear me? Hel-lo! Vox, Tor, Lodar?" Riley's husky voice came over the sound system. "Damn it! How do you turn the alarms off? The damn things are giving me a headache. Oh no, you don't, you nasty little insect!"
Vox jerked when he heard the loud sound of a laser pistol firing. "Riley?" he whispered hoarsely before his voice faded again in shock.
"Take that, you son of a bitch! Who's your momma now, asshole?" Riley crowed into the mic. "Fred, Bob honey, if you can hear me, I have all the doors open. I have to tell you, you'd better hurry. Those spaceship thingies are really flying out of here fast. I don't know if there are going to be any left if you don't get your asses up here now. Uh-oh, I don't think those two know how to drive one. Oops, nope. They didn't."
Tor shuddered as the loud sound of screeching could be heard followed by an explosion. "She must be in the control room. Let's get out of here!"
Vox didn't wait for his second in command to repeat himself. He turned and took off as fast as he could. He could hear Fred encouraging Bob to hurry. The little Tiliquan could keep up with them, but the Gelatian were not known for their speed. Vox yelled out a tense order for Banu and Cross to stay with Bob. The two warriors nodded, falling back to cover the large male who was struggling to follow them.
"Go," Bob groaned out. "Go, I will remain here."
"We have our orders, my friend," Cross laughed as he swung around to watch as a group of Antrox tried to escape several former prisoners who were not in the mood to let them go. "Besides, something tells me if you are not on board the spaceship there is no way that we will get the female on board it."
Bob thought of Riley's beautiful sad eyes last night and knew she didn't plan on being on the same ship that they were on. His huge body shuddered as determination swept through him. She was a remarkable female! She had chosen him even though she didn't have to. She had befriended him and cared for him when even the females of his own species wouldn't have thought twice about casting him aside for a stronger male. And she had set not just him and her other mates free but every prisoner on the mining asteroid. If she could fight for what she wanted, could he do any less for her?
"I have a mate to get out of here," Bob mumbled out, picking up speed ever so slightly.
The sound of an automated voice suddenly sounded around them. "Self-destruct has been activated. Countdown is set for ten-point-two-nine and counting. Evacuation of all personnel is recommended immediately."
"Then, I suggest we do not let her wait, my big green warrior," chuckled Banu. "Onward to freedom before she kills us all."
Chapter 8
Riley shot two guards the minute she exited the medical unit. The leathery, red-skinned healer had been coming down the corridor from the control room. The second he saw her shooting, he turned his wacky self around so fast he actually fell down. Riley took off as fast as she could, pulling her big, pink suitcase, and shot his ass as he was entering the control room. She had quickly disposed of him and the three guards inside. Normally she would have had second thoughts about killing anything. Hell, she was known for rescuing and nursing the injured lizards back home before releasing them back into the wild. Since she had never had to save a praying mantis before, she decided those miserable creatures didn't count, and the healer was just too freaky to let live. Those thoughts helped ease her conscience so she could concentrate on trying to figure out what in the hell to do next.
"One of these days, girl," she muttered out loud to herself. "You are going to have an actual plan before you start shooting."