Suddenly I was standing in that cold, cold morgue, staring down at her mutilated corpse. Her milky eyes popped open. "You must avenge me."
"I will. I promise. No matter how long it takes. I will avenge you."
With a mocking laugh, Malik stepped out of the shadows. "That is a promise you cannot keep. You do not have the skills to defeat me."
Voss appeared. "But I do."
"My father is the only one powerful enough to kill me." A laser pistol materialized in Malik's hand, and he shot Voss in the chest.
His mouth opened in an endless scream of agony, Voss glowed a fiery red and vanished.
"Noooo! Not again. You can't die. I need you!" I shrieked.
"You are mine now," Malik said gleefully and grabbed my arm.
I fought desperately to free myself from his painful grip. "Never. I'd rather be dead."
"As you wish." Malik raised a bloody sword.
"No!" I threw up an arm in an instinctive attempt to block the blade.
"Wake up, Zoey. It's only a dream. Wake up." Voss's demanding voice reverberated through my head.
I jerked upright with an anguished cry. "Voss!"
My Battle Commander's strong arms cradled me. "I'm here. You're safe. It was just a dream."
Wrapping my arms around Voss's neck, I clung to him. "Malik was in my head."
"No, he wasn't. Your shields are far too strong for him to breach." Voss's eyes were full of calm reassurance.
"You're sure?"
"Very." He kissed me gently. "If Malik comes anywhere near you, I'll know."
A shudder shook me. "It was so real."
"Your memories of the attack on Phoenix made it seem that way."
I felt Voss moving through my mind, and the images of that horrible day began to fade. "You're mucking with my head again."
His mouth tightened. "Do you want me to stop?"
Another shudder shook me as I remembered the gutted corpses, the screams of the dying, the bright red blood coating the sidewalks, and the wails of the children as they were taken aboard the Tai-Kok and Rodan ships to be slaughtered.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. That day would haunt me forever. So many had died. I had fought the Tai-Kok with every ounce of my being, but I hadn't been able to save the children. Those memories drove me. They gave me the strength to keep hunting the ones responsible for the massacre. "I need to remember what those monsters did. What Malik and my father allowed to happen."
Voss brushed away my tears with his thumbs. "We will find him."
"You're damned right we will, and Malik will be the one bleeding out on the pavement."
"My fierce little warrior." He mouth devoured mine.
My stomach growled loudly, and I broke the kiss. "Sorry."
Grinning, Voss shifted me in his arms and pointed with his chin. "Your meal awaits you."
I stared in amazement at the table. A vase of copper-colored flowers graced the snowy white cloth. The heated plate held a Spanish omelet, toast, and hash browns.
"Aw, you brought me my favorite breakfast."
"I take care of what belongs to me," Voss responded, carrying me over to the table.
"How utterly romantic," I muttered as he sat me on the chair.
"What did you expect, sugar tits? I'm a warlord."
I gaped at him in astonishment. "Sugar tits?"
"Sugar tits is a proper Earth endearment, is it not?"
Holy hell, he was teasing me. I nodded solemnly. "If I was a hooker."
"As snookums is a proper endearment for a small yappy dog, not a warlord."
"Point made," I said with a laugh. "Okay, how about honey buns?"
Voss gave me an affronted look. "I think not."
"What do you want me to call you?"
All arrogant Battle Commander, he answered, "Voss or sir will do."
"Uh-huh." I hastily shoveled a forkful of eggs into my mouth before I could say something I would regret. I reached for my glass of juice and shot a glance at him.
Voss stared hungrily at my breasts.
Swallowing hard, I cleared my throat and squeaked, "You look like you want to eat me."
"I do. Every inch of you."
Heat pooled in my belly. "Oh."
An implacable harshness settled over his features. "But duty calls."
"Bummer."
"Exactly." Voss pointed to a silky black tunic, leggings, and boots lying on the bed. "Once you have eaten, put those on and come to the meeting chamber."
Great. He was back to being the bossy prick. "Why?"
"Because I command it." His voice was a purr of menace.
Yeah, like that was going to work. Stuffing more egg in my mouth, I chewed slowly, trying to ignore the merciless predator standing a foot away.
His breath hissed out. "Akeem wants to meet my mate, and he has very traditional views on females."
"In other words, he's a male chauvinist pig who thinks females are only good for sex, blood, and making babies."
A growl rumbled in his chest. "You will treat him with respect."
I searched Voss's memories. Akeem headed the Togan clan and was one of Zarek's most trusted advisors. "Gotcha. Dumb as a rock and mute as well."
"I expect you to behave as a proper mate would," the big guy snapped in exasperation.
Oh dear God, he did not just say that. I assumed my timid-mouse demeanor and answered meekly, "As my lord commands."
"Zoey!"
I let out a terrified sob and cried, "Yes, my lord?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he suddenly had a headache. "Eat your breakfast and please join me in the meeting chamber."
Oh my God, he had used the P word! "I'll do you proud, my love."
A smile touched his hard mouth. "That endearment I can live with." He kissed my forehead, and poof! He was gone.
Getting the big guy to treat me as an equal was going to be an uphill battle. One I wasn't sure I'd win.
I hastily finished my breakfast, and slipped on my underwear and armor. With all the people trying to kill me, a girl could never be too careful. I dragged the tunic over my head, and the fabric caressed my skin like a lover's hand. Nice.
Stroking the material, I figured it had to be some kind of blend of silk and velvet. Wonder if I could talk the big guy into buying me a couple of dozen outfits made with the stuff?
Big surprise, the tunic had a copper design woven into the fabric that matched my band. The Battle Commander wasn't subtle about declaring his ownership.
Another shocker, the legging and boots fit me perfectly. Boinking several thousand women had given Voss an excellent eye for picking women's clothing and jewelry.
I examined my image in the mirror. My face was still a colorful mess, but the clothes made me look like a million credits.
My Siren radar went on red alert, and horror knotted my stomach. Someone had murder on his mind. I quickly scanned the ship. Shit! Ten very powerful Coletti warriors with seriously bad auras were in the meeting chamber with Voss and Zarek.
The bombshell was that the worst aura belonged to Akeem, their most trusted advisor. Now I had a face to put with the creepy aura of the guy that kept visiting my father just before our planetary defenses went down. No wonder they could never catch Malik.
Akeem's brainwaves broadcast his psychotic hatred of Zarek. He'd do whatever it took to destroy the Overlord. Except meet him on the battlefield, it seemed. Why? Because he was a sniveling coward? Or simply nuts? Who cared? A murderous glee radiated from Akeem as he poured wine into glasses.
I'd bet a million bucks that wine had something very nasty in it. I quickly linked with Voss and Zarek, and cried, "Don't drink the wine, it's poisoned! Akeem's in cahoots with Malik!"
I felt their shocked disbelief and showed them Akeem's murderous aura, then shared my memories of his numerous meetings with my father. "How do you think Malik always manages to elude you?"
A terrible rage filled both warriors, and their immense power burned through my mind. With a yelp of pain, I broke the link. Holy hell! I would not want to be on the receiving end of that.
Hastily I scanned Akeem's warbird. Holy Mary, mother of God! He had a raiding party of about fifty heavily armed men standing by, and the weapons control officer was ready to vaporize our engines.
I flashed that information to Voss and felt him blast the hell out of the weapons control officer's mind while blocking sword thrusts from multiple attackers. "Warn the others."
"Yes, sir." I hurriedly did a multiple link with Jaylan, Wulf, Lothel, and Hothar. "Akeem's a traitor, and we're going to be under attack in about thirty seconds.
Jaylan's fury roiled across my mind. "Are the Battle Commander and the Overlord aware of this?"