Vexing Voss:Coletti Warlords 03(9)

I might be able to take out the Tai-Kok, but the minute I dropped my  shields, Malik and Degan would be all over me. Could I beat them in a  fight? Probably not, but I might be able to slow them down a bit.

I tapped politely at Jaylan's mind.

He snarled, "Go back to the base, female."

"But …  I need-"

Jaylan rudely severed our link.

I pounded on his mind. "Listen, you jerk-"

"We are at battle status, and I don't have time for your petty concerns."

Petty concerns? Was he serious? "Okay, fine, I just thought you might  want to know Degan is a traitor, and you should check your ships for  explosive devices or sabotage," I snapped and severed the link.  Testosterone turned men into thick-skulled morons. Who needed them?

The shuttle landed in the Latin King's visitor's parking lot. I grabbed  my binoculars and gasped. Two tall, hairless, skeletal humanoids with  mouths full of sharp metal teeth dragged Voss from the craft. The  Tai-Kok's bloodred battle suits were covered with metal spikes.                       
       
           



       

Wrapped in chains, Voss sagged limply between his captors, and his face  was a battered mess. A black rage filled me. They were going to pay for  every bruise.

Horror twisted my stomach. Unfreakin'-believable. I had only known Voss  for a little over a day, and I knew without a doubt I would kill for  him. How scary was that? What if the mating bond turned me into a  submissive bimbo? Nah, never gonna happen.

My attention focused on Malik as he stepped out wearing a flaming red  battle suit loaded down with so many medals it made me wonder if he  suffered from little-dick syndrome.

Ick. Malik had definitely been hit by the ugly truck. The traitor's  blunt features had a brutal quality to them. A nasty knife scar  disfigured the right side of his face.

El Jefe, a tall, handsome Hispanic man in his forties, hurried out of  the main entrance and said something to Malik that didn't make him  happy. He snapped a command at the Tai-Kok, and they hauled the Battle  Commander inside.

I needed to create a really big diversion. If I could get the idiots to  think they were under attack, it might give Voss time to make his move.

Where was a miracle when you needed one? I could really use a couple  dozen Coletti warriors, but that prick Jaylan was too busy to listen to  me. That brought up another interesting question. Why hadn't Voss or  Jaylan sensed Malik? Maybe it was a Siren thing.

A bright blue semitruck with LATIN KING'S FAMILY FARM plastered on the  side pulled to a stop in front of me. The driver's door swung open, and a  big pot-bellied man climbed down.

Yahoo! My miracle had arrived. Who needed the cavalry? I waved at him all friendly like.

The driver walked up to my battered truck. "You need some help, kid?"

"I sure do." I slid into the driver's mind. "I need to borrow your truck for a bit, and I want you to wait here."

He nodded obediently.

I felt a bit guilty. The semi was obviously his pride and joy. Not a  speck of dirt marred the glossy finish. I adjusted the seat and looked  over the controls. Boy, was I grateful Mom had insisted on me learning  how to drive a semi when we had to evacuate wounded civilians from the  North African refugee compound.

Jaylan hammered on my shields. "How did you know about the bombs?"

"Gee, could it be because I'm a Siren? Now if you're done with your  petty questions, I'm going to battle status." Revving the engine on my  "borrowed" semitruck, I popped the clutch and drove it straight at the  big metal gate blocking the entrance.

"Battle status? You found the traitors?"

"Yep, and Malik and his goons too." Rolling the window down, I grabbed a  bunch of grenades from my bag of tricks and placed them in my lap.

"You cannot engage Malik in battle." There was a touch of horror in Jaylan's voice.

"That bastard's got Voss, so I think I can."

"I will not allow it."

"How are you gonna stop me, Skippy?"

With an aggravated growl, Jaylan demanded, "What is your plan?"

"I'm gonna blow stuff up."

"Creating a diversion should work to our advantage."

"Ya think?"

The semi was doing sixty when it hit the gates, flinging them like  Frisbees into the surrounding cornfields. "Yippee-ki-yay,  motherfuckers!" I had always wanted a reason to say that.

The gears ground loudly as I fought to shift into first gear and steer  at the same time. I cut the wheel to the right. The trailer swerved  wildly and clipped a huge water fountain at the entrance to the parking  lot. A geyser of water shot high into the air.

I slammed on the brakes. The tires squealed loudly as the truck skidded  to a stop by the shuttle craft. I hurled a grenade inside the open door  and quickly chucked a bunch more at the collection of high-dollar cars  in the lot, and floored it.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Kaboom! In the side mirror, I watched the shuttle disintegrate into a  massive fireball, sending rocketing pieces of metal in every direction.  "Yippee-ki-yay!"

Kablooey! The cars went up like the Fourth of July. Chunks of flaming  metal rained down on the men bursting out of the office with Uzis.

I tossed a couple of grenades at a gigantic clucking plastic chicken on  display by the front doors. The goons took one look at the grenades and  ran for their lives.                       
       
           



       

Boom! The first blast shook the chicken, and it crowed like it had just  laid a king- size egg. Bak-bak. Bak-bak. Bak-bak. Bak-bak.

Boom! With an ear-shattering baaakkk the chicken crashed down, catching several thugs under its enormous plastic wings.

Bullets riddled the semitruck. I flinched as I took a hit to my left  shoulder. That was gonna leave a nasty bruise. My Askole armor was  definitely worth every dime the general had paid for it.

Now came the fun part. Dropping my shields, I took over a Tai-Kok's mind  and commanded, "Kill Malik and Degan." I jumped out of his head as he  fired and hit Malik with every ounce of power I had.

Malik returned the favor, and stars exploded in my vision. Everything went black for a few seconds.

Voss's enraged roar echoed around my aching skull. "Zoey!"

The world snapped backed into focus. Oh my God! I yanked on the steering  wheel, but it was too late. With a teeth-rattling crash, the truck  barreled through the side of a large metal henhouse and slammed into a  section of cages, knocking them over.

The semi shuddered and died. Steam spewed from the hood. Dozens of  broken conveyor belts dumped feed, eggs, and chicken poop on the  concrete floor.

Thousands of frightened chickens flew about wildly, and their squawking  was deafening. A blizzard of feathers filled the air, making it hard to  see.

The Battle Commander demanded, "Are you injured?"

I shook my head to clear it, and a number of bruises immediately made themselves known. "I'm good. Did you get free?"

"Yes." The cold fury in his voice made me shudder. "You ever engage  Malik in battle again, I will personally lock you up with the breeders  until you learn the proper obedience."

"I was saving your ungrateful ass."

"He could have killed you."

"Well, he didn't."

"Only because Malik realized his attacker was female and a Siren. Now he hunts you."

"But … I'm already mated to you."

"He will use you as a breeder."

Didn't that sound like fun?

My radar screamed a warning, and I ducked down. Bullets shattered the  windshield. "Could we finish this little pep talk later? I kinda stirred  up a hornet's nest."

"Indeed." Voss's battle cry sounded, and two thugs flew by the truck and hit the wall with a loud splat.

Okeydokey, the big guy was in a bit of a snit. Shit, who was I kidding?  It was more like a towering rage. It was probably a good idea to get the  hell out of Dodge and let him cool down some. Lock me up with the  breeders, my ass.

Throwing open the driver's door I scrambled from the truck and yelped in surprise when someone grabbed me around the waist.

"Gotcha!" a male voice crowed.

I rammed my elbow into his nose, and there was a satisfying crunching noise.

"Fucking A, you broke my nose!" the guy cried.

I twisted around and gave him a stiff-fingered shot to the throat.

The tattooed thug made a funny gasping sound and fell backward, pulling me down with him.

We landed hard on a crate. I slipped out of his grip and dropped to the floor.

The thug jumped on my back, smashing me into the egg-covered cement.

Grabbing a freaked-out chicken, I whacked the thug in the face with it. "Cock-a-doodle-doo, asshole."

Baaakkk! The chicken went psycho and began pecking the living shit out of the goon. He shrieked like a little girl.

I scrabbled backward, desperately trying to get to my feet, but several  thousand eggs had turned the henhouse floor into a slippery, gooey mess.