There.His radar screen had finally picked up a cloaked ship in the vicinity.A short while later, he verified that Wren was in the cargo hold of the ship—there was no mistaking the unique marker in the nanobots.It was her.His sweet mate.A captive on a strange ship.
But it didn’t take him long to uncover the cloaked ship’s true signature, even though it was well-masked.It was a ship belonging to Poseidon.A quick scan showed it carried three human males in addition to Wren.
The scans also revealed that its weapons were inferior to theKerrla’s.
But he couldn’t fire on the Poseidon ship.Not when his mate was in the cargo hold.The only relief he felt as he tracked the individuals on the cloaked ship came from knowing the males were all on the bridge.Thus far, none of them had gone to the cargo hold to bother Wren.
A series of dirty transmissions hit theKerrla, momentarily paralyzing his systems.But he was quick to deflect the attempts to infect his ship with another virus, and he flew closer to the fleeing Poseidon ship.
He couldn’t see the enemy ship in the main viewport, but thanks to the enhancements he’d made to his radar screen, he knew it was there.He set theKerrlato auto-pilot mode again, directing it to remain within beaming distance of Poseidon’s ship.
He rose to his feet, affixed an extra blaster to his waistband with two stunners, and lastly placed several knives in the outer straps of his boots.
A quick glance at the nearest screen showed one of the human males on the Poseidon ship was on the move.Fluxx.It appeared he was on his way to greet Wren.But Lorrd intended to get there first.
“Computer, beam me directly to the cargo bay of the nearest cloaked vessel.”
Nothing happened.
A curse tore from his mouth.
An error flashed across the nearest display—a temporary disruption in the beaming tech’s power matrix.Afluxxingglitch.
He rushed back to the main console, determined to fix the error and rescue his mate.
He would not fail her.
Chapter17
Wren huddledin a darkened corner of what she assumed was a spaceship’s cargo bay, awash in cold fear.There were large storage containers everywhere, and it was so frigid that she could see her breath in the dim light.
Did Lorrd know where she was?
He’d outfitted theKerrlawith an invisibility shield and masked his ship’s signature, so she worried about the advanced resources and technology the person—or persons—who’d taken her might possess.
Lorrd hadn’t seen the enemy ship coming, and neither had she.The shudder to his ship, which she assumed was the result of weapons fire, had taken him by surprise.Before she’d had a chance to ask what was happening, she’d suddenly felt faint, and then she’d just appeared—appeared—in the darkened cargo bay of a strange ship.
She missed Lorrd, and she hoped he didn’t get hurt as he tried to rescue her.She assumed he would try to find her and save her, but she couldn’t help worry that he might have trouble locating her.If her kidnappers had more powerful technology than her Vaxxlian mate, she might never see him again.
Tears blurred her vision at the thought.But she blinked rapidly and tried to summon bravery.Whoever had taken her, she didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her fear.She wanted to be brave.She reminded herself that it had taken bravery to plan her escape from Harmony and then execute it.It had also taken bravery to sign up for the Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides program.
I’m not a coward.I’m strong.I can persevere.
But the pep talk didn’t quite work, and when she heard footsteps echoing in the cargo bay, her stomach plunged to the floor.
She wasn’t alone.
Rather than keep cowering in the corner, she rose to her feet and stood with her hands fisted at her sides.She squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the form of the tall male who was approaching her.
Finally, a familiar face emerged in the darkness.
Her guts turned to water.
It was the Prophet, and he was holding handcuffs.
“There’s my errant bride,” he said with a cackle.
All her suspicions and the recent creepiness he’d projected toward her came rushing back.But…how?How could he or anyone from Harmony have the one hundred thousand galactic credits needed to pay off Poseidon?
