Saved by the Alien Crime Boss (Aliens Among Us #4)

Chapter 30

THIRTY

Frigid air stung Mina’s throat and burned her lungs. One cheek throbbed with agonizing heat, while the other pulsed with the freezing, abrasive scrape of snow. Darkness encroached on the edges of her vision.

No. No, you have to stay awake, Mina.

It didn’t matter that she’d only just regained consciousness, that she still hadn’t shaken off the grogginess of whatever drug she’d been injected with. Nor did it matter that Brekker’s blow had felt like being hit by a freight train.

She needed to keep her eyes open. She needed to help Sevik. Somehow.

Nothing else mattered.

Mina drew in a deep breath; the air felt like shards of glass slicing her throat. Brekker’s blood was on her tongue, and she tasted her own from where her teeth had cut into her cheek. Her stomach churned. She spat onto the snow, staining it dark. Trying to ignore the metallic tang, she pressed her lips together and rolled onto her belly. Every muscle in her body ached, and she was so, so cold.

She never would’ve guessed that she’d miss the numbness brought on by being drugged.

“Our contract may be fulfilled, but I’m feeling generous,” Laszlo said. The sound of his slow approach was barely audible over Sevik’s animalistic growls and snarls.

Shivering, Mina gritted her teeth and got her elbows and knees beneath her. Her clothes were wet, only enhancing the chill against her skin—but the cold sharpened her focus. She lifted her head and stilled. There was something ahead of her, a dark object only just breaking the surface of the snow. What little of it she could see was contoured, textured…familiar.

It was the grip of a gun.

Laszlo continued, “Perhaps we may consider this the start of a longer partnership.”

Mina glanced at the males. None of them were looking her way. Scooting forward, she took hold of the grip.

“Just take care of him,” Brekker said. “I will make it worthwhile.”

Rising on her knees, Mina dragged the gun out of the snow.

Her already frantic heart quickened. She knew this weapon, even with the snow clinging to it. This was the alien handgun Sevik carried whenever he went out.

Struggling to slow her breathing, she adjusted her hold on the pistol. The metal restraints digging into her wrists made it difficult to get a firm, comfortable grip, and the gun felt so heavy, so unwieldy.

She’d never used a firearm. They were almost a way of life for many people in Sullford, especially anyone who spent time outdoors. Even in town, moose and bears could sometimes pose a threat. But she’d never had the desire to arm herself—had never felt the need to.

She squeezed her eyes shut. In her mind’s eye, she saw Brekker’s sneering face, saw his fist striking Sevik over and over, saw her husband, her mate, wild with rage but utterly helpless.

Never again.

Mina would never again give up without a fight. She wouldn’t remain idle while someone she loved was hurt.

The anger she’d so long carried tore wide open, crashing into the new rage Brekker had ignited in her today. It overtook her fear, swallowed it, redirected it, repurposed it.

Mina spun on her knee to face the males.

Sevik thrashed in the big men’s hold. Brekker watched with a fanged grin. He didn’t appear as he had in the café, before kidnapping Mina. His skin was an ashy gray, contrasted by his raven hair, horns, and claws. He’d removed his coat; his crimson shirt was molded to the powerful frame the bulkier garment had obscured. The black markings on his cheeks only enhanced the alienness of his features.

Laszlo was beside him, nonchalantly changing the cartridge out of a small injector. Likely the same one he’d used on Mina.

She raised the gun with wobbly arms.

Don’t hit Sevik. Please.

“Take your fucking hands off my mate!” she shouted.

All five males turned their heads toward Mina.

Sevik’s eyes rounded, and he rasped her name.

Brekker laughed, shifting his body to face her. “You are no killer, little female. I see it in your eyes. Put that thing down before you hurt yourself.”

Her finger twitched on the trigger. Everything inside her was taut, thrumming with tension.

Laszlo snickered and snapped the injector’s cartridge compartment closed. “Did he call your bluff, human?”

When it came to Sevik, Mina never bluffed.

Laszlo’s stepped toward her mate.

Mina pulled the trigger.

The barrel flashed. A bolt of fire shot out of it with a high, piercing sound, so bright that it left an afterimage in her vision.

She reflexively flinched away from the flash, but not before she saw the bolt strike Laszlo’s shoulder. He yelled something she didn’t understand as the injector fell from his fingers.

Everything that followed happened impossibly fast. Laszlo staggered, fell, and ducked down with his face in the snow. Brekker reached for something at his waist. The men holding Sevik swung their alien machine guns toward her.

Mina pulled the trigger again and again. The weapon bucked not because of any recoil, but the frenzied motion of her finger. Heated bolts of energy lit up the snow like fireworks in the night sky.

Brekker growled a curse and fled toward the SUV. His gait faltered as one of the shots struck his thigh, but he dove out of sight behind the vehicle.

Sevik roared and shifted his weight, throwing the males holding him off balance before either could aim at Mina. With his arms bound behind his back, he used his torso and legs to tangle himself with his captors.

“Run, Mina!” he commanded.

Some part of her almost refused. She couldn’t leave him behind, couldn’t abandon the man she loved. But she wasn’t a fighter—and she couldn’t keep relying on surprise and blind luck. As long as she was here, she was vulnerable, and her vulnerability would distract and endanger Sevik.

Her legs protested as she struggled onto her feet. She couldn’t tell if her limbs were so shaky and weak because of the drugs, the cold, or the adrenaline, but it made no difference.

Sevik’s eyes caught hers. Their gazes held for only an instant, but that instant conveyed everything—fury, fear, concern, desperation, love. So much love.

But more than anything, Sevik’s eyes held promise.

This would not be the last glance they shared.

Mina hoped her eyes told him the same.

She turned and ran for the trees.