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

Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

Mina fought to bring her panting breaths under control as she scanned the trees, slowly backing up. The alien gun swung along with her eyes, shaking with the tremors running through her extended arms. The forest was little more than shadows, black on darker black, against which the snow seemed white only in comparison.

Her heel bumped something solid. Her racing heart leapt into her throat, and she spun, turning the gun toward the threat—a large rock, partially buried in the snow. Apart from the rock, there was nothing behind her but more trees, the nearest of which stood several feet away.

Mina carefully moved around the obstacle, returning her aim to the direction she’d come from. Snow crunched under her feet, trees creaked in the wind, and soft thumps marked clumps of powder falling from the branches.

She’d heard Brekker behind her. She swore she’d seen him only moments ago, darting between the trees like a phantom.

Her teeth chattered, and a chill coursed up her spine, flowing to the tips of her fingers and toes.

It was too dark for her to see. Her feet were numb, and her shivering had worsened. The gun—and her eyelids—only grew heavier with her every broken, stinging breath.

Mina forced her legs into motion, continuing onward in a clumsy jog hampered by her own weariness and the deep snow.

She’d heard the echoes of shouts and gunfire from the clearing. Each sound had tightened the icy vise around her heart. Now the clearing was silent, and her fear for her mate was almost paralyzing. Sevik might’ve been hurt or…or…

No. He’s alive. He is alive .

I’m still alive too.

And they would both stay that way. They would be reuni?—

A branch snapped somewhere behind Mina. She turned around and pulled the trigger. The traveling projectile’s light was almost as fleeting as a flash of lightning, though nowhere near as bright.

Snow crunched elsewhere. She turned again, her arms now dragging well behind her darting eyes.

What if I’m shooting at Sevik?

Just the thought made her stomach twist into a knot. What if she hit him? What if she…

No, Mina! You need to keep moving.

Clouds of her breath obscured her vision further as she trudged on. Moving was the only thing that would keep her away from Brekker, and it was her only means of generating any warmth. The angry heat at her core certainly wasn’t doing anything to battle the chill pervading her limbs. Her face, hands, and feet had already lost feeling, and she was losing sensation in her arms and calves. The metal of her cuffs was so cold it burned as it rubbed against her skin.

Another chill crept up her back. The fear clutching her chest strengthened its grip, making her breaths falter. With impossible, instinctual certainty, she felt eyes upon her—the cold, intent eyes of a predator.

Mina spun around again, braced her shoulder against a tree trunk, and raised the gun.

Though he couldn’t have been more than twenty feet away, the night had transformed Brekker into a demon formed of living shadow, with faintly glowing blue eyes, inky markings on his neck and face, and curved horns. But it wasn’t his imposing size or otherworldly features that held Mina’s attention—it was the gun in his hand, pointed directly at her.

“Chase is over, little female,” he said in thickly accented English.

Mina struggled to keep her gun raised, to keep the barrel aimed at him. Rough bark dug into her shoulder, which received scant padding from her cardigan, but that solid wood was the only thing keeping her upright. “S-stay back.”

Those words might’ve sounded confident if not for her shivering.

Brekker took a step forward.

Mina fired. The shot passed over his head by several feet, drawing not even the slightest flinch from him.

“Put the gun down,” he said through his teeth.

“No.”

Good job, Mina. You managed to keep that to one syllable. That’ll definitely make him think twice.

His jaw ticked, and he stretched his arm further to emphasize his weapon. “I will not miss, human. Can you say the same?”

Mina’s mind flashed to the scar on Sevik’s chest, the mark Brekker had left. That wound had almost stolen Sevik from her before she ever knew he existed. Fury swelled inside her, finally spreading fire through her body.

Brekker’s mouth curled into a perverse blend of a smirk and a sneer as he advanced another step. “You are small. Weak. Keep fighting, and you will only hurt yourse?—”

Mina squeezed the trigger again.

Faster than she could comprehend, the glowing projectile crossed the empty air and struck Brekker’s abdomen. His gun went off so quickly in response that its sound blended with that of her own.

Something small and bright darted toward her. Mina threw herself down reflexively, bringing her arms up to shield her face. She came down on her side, the snow cushioning her fall.

Something sizzled and hissed above her. The smell of burned wood hit the air. As rapidly as her heart was beating, she wouldn’t have been surprised if it had begun smoking too.

A furious growl and heavy footfalls across the snow startled her into lowering her arms. Brekker rushed across the much-too-short distance between them.

Every curse she knew—along with a few she’d heard from Sevik that she didn’t understand—tried to come out of her mouth simultaneously, resulting in only a choked, meaningless sound. She propped her elbow on the ground and aimed at the charging alien.

Brekker’s boot struck her hands. The pain was explosive, her flesh still in the hypersensitive state that preceded numbness. She cried out as the gun flew from her grasp to land in the snow somewhere.

He came to a stumbling halt a few feet past Mina, clutching at his wounded leg and abdomen and snarling in pain.

Mina drew her throbbing hands against her chest. The burn of tears in her eyes only added to the pain.

Need to get up, Mina.

Breathing through the agony, she braced her trembling hands on the ground. The ache in her bones sapped all the strength from her arms. She had to get up, had to keep moving, keep running, had to survi?—

A large, strong hand grasped her hair. Tears spilled down her cheeks as Brekker dragged her up onto her knees.

“ Zekt’al . I should kill you right here.” He pressed the barrel of his gun to Mina’s cheek. Compared to the winter air, the metal was scalding.

She blinked away her tears and looked up at him. His eyes, glowing blue in the darkness, were cold, remorseless, and filled with contempt.

Mina had never been so terrified. She refused to show it, refused to give this monster the satisfaction, but she couldn’t stop her traitorous body from trembling.

Somehow, she held his gaze.

Please be all right, Sevik.

Please…come soon.

“No words now, hruta ?” Brekker pushed harder on the gun, pinching Mina’s cheek against her teeth. His firm hold on her hair prevented her from moving her head to alleviate the pressure and pain.

“L-let me g-go,” she rasped.

He laughed, though the glint in his eyes held no amusement. Using the barrel of the gun, he forced her head to tip, adding to the sting on her scalp. His eyes blazed down at her. “You will learn how fragile you are, Mina .”

Her eyes itched with the urge to look away. It was an almost instinctual impulse; submission to a bigger, stronger, faster, more aggressive beast. Because fear was a survival mechanism, wasn’t it? Fear was your subconscious trying to protect you.

But this wasn’t only about her survival.

She didn’t avert her gaze. She didn’t try to pull away. Despite her body shaking with cold and terror, she kept her eyes on Brekker.

Some of the heroines in her books might’ve said something snarky, bold, or defiant in this situation.

Yet you’re the one who needs a human shield.

We’ll see who’s fragile when my mate catches up to you.

Put down the gun, and let’s see which of us is weak.

But no such words came out of her. Holding his gaze…that was enough in that moment. Facing the monster who wanted to hurt her and kill Sevik, that was enough.

After several ragged breaths, Brekker growled. He pushed the gun so hard against her cheek that Mina swore it would punch through her flesh and shatter her teeth. She tasted fresh blood on her tongue.

“ Zekt’al !” He abruptly withdrew the weapon, slamming it into the holster on his belt.

The ache in Mina’s cheek just became another on a long list of pains, but all those pains were fading as the cold chased away all feeling.

Brekker yanked up on Mina’s hair, pulling her onto her feet. Her legs refused to take her weight. She caught herself by slapping her hands against his stomach. The flaring agony in her fingers remained bone deep.

At best, they were badly bruised from his kick, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if bones had been fractured or broken. Of course, none of that would matter if they succumbed to frostbite…

Or if he killed her.

His free hand wrapped around her throat, and his claws pricked her flesh. “You will pay, Mina, for every wound. For every difficulty. I will enjoy your screams.”

Brekker lowered his face closer to hers. Her gaze flicked to the bite mark on his lip. Mina shuddered at the memory of his mouth on her, at the sense of wrongness, of violation.

He inhaled deeply through his nose. “I already enjoy the smell of your fear. But it does not always have to be this way. Be good to me. Be my obedient little mate, and I will grant you my favor. Sevik will not survive this, human, but you can.”

Sevik will not survive this.

Mina shifted her cuffed hands, attempting to stand straight on her own two legs. Her fingertips brushed the edge of the scorched fabric around his wound. Despite the tremors wracking her, despite her chattering teeth and stuttering breaths, her voice held steady as she said, “I will not let you hurt him.”

Chuckling, Brekker flashed his fangs in a devilish grin. “You will not let me? You are nothing, female. You are?—”

Baring her teeth, Mina stabbed her finger into his open wound.

His body tensed, and a pained grunt rumbled in his chest. He dropped his hand from her neck to grasp her forearms in a crushing grip.

Mina threw all her weight behind her hands. Brekker pulled her arms and hair, bringing fresh, burning tears to her eyes, but she curled her finger, hooking it in. He snarled and staggered, limbs trembling.

You will not take my mate away from me!

She dug her feet into the snow and pushed with all her strength.

Brekker roared. His grip tightened, making his claws break skin on her forearms and scalp, and she let out an agonized, furious cry of her own.

He jerked her head aside. Her temple struck the tree trunk with a thunk she felt through her whole skull. A bright flash filled her vision, her head spun, and her knees wobbled.

Can’t pass out.

Have to fight, Mina!

Brekker tore her hands away from his wound and forced her body back against the tree. He raised a fist, growled something in an alien language, and swung.

As Mina’s eyes widened, another roar—this one more guttural, raw, and bestial—ripped through the night air. Brekker’s fist faltered as he snapped his head toward the sound.

The breath seized in Mina’s lungs and her heart stuttered as overwhelming relief and love flooded her chest, crashing into the fear she’d been battling to create a maelstrom.

Sevik.

A large form moving much too fast for its size collided with Brekker. She glimpsed glowing white eyes and silvery hair.

Sevik knocked Brekker aside. Mina cried out as Brekker’s fingers, tangled in her curls, tore free. Her feet scrambled on the ground for purchase, but her tennis shoes found no traction on the snow. The bark scraped her back as she slid down onto her backside.

The males crashed to the ground nearby.

“ She’s mine!” Sevik snarled, straddling Brekker.

Strands of hair that had escaped Sevik’s bun dangled down his back, which was toward Mina now. She watched those strands sway as his arms moved in blurs of speed, raining blows upon Brekker. His body blocked the other alien from her view; she could see only Brekker’s legs, kicking and thrashing on the ground.

Though the males’ snarls, growls, and grunts were much louder, it was the sounds of flesh hammering flesh and bones cracking that were the clearest to Mina.

Something splattered on the snow around the men, made black by the darkness. Mina couldn’t pretend it was anything other than blood; even with her eyesight impaired, she could see the stain spreading with each punishing strike.

Brekker’s struggles weakened and slowed. The sounds he made did the same, until they diminished to only choked, broken exhalations and shallow, labored gasps.

Even after Brekker fell still and silent, Sevik didn’t relent. His attacks only gained ferocity, each punctuated by a sickening squelching. His shoulders heaved with his harsh breaths.

“S-S-Sevik,” Mina said, her voice little more than a ragged whisper.

Sevik froze but for the rise and fall of his shoulders. The twilight turned his breath into fleeting, shadowy clouds. He braced a hand on the ground beside himself and, moving as slowly as someone waking from a dream, twisted to look back at her.

His eyes were orbs of white fire, blazing beacons in the dark. She barely felt the fresh, scalding tears running down her cheeks.

She’d never seen anything more beautiful.

“Mina.” He crawled toward her only to stop short. “Fuck.”

She drew her arms against her chest. As much as she yearned to go to him, that was all the movement she could manage.

The pain’s mostly gone, at least.

Just need him to hold me, and everything else will be okay…

Sevik knelt just beyond her reach. He tore off his shirt, turned it inside out, and used it—along with handfuls of snow—to frantically scrub his hands and face. The snow came away darker.

He doesn’t want to get blood on me.

More blood, anyway.

Her heart warmed at the gesture.

But the rest of her… God, she was so cold.

The instant he finished, the space between them vanished, and he banded his arms around Mina to draw her against his chest. Even though he’d just taken a snow bath, he radiated heat. She felt his heart pounding, felt its echo in his pulse all around her.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped, his voice uncharacteristically thick and strained, as he smoothed a hand over her hair. “Sorry, val’syra . Sorry.”

“D-Don’t ap-pologize,” Mina stammered, managing a tiny smile.

“ Zekt’al , Mina.” Sevik drew back, moving his hand to cradle the nape of her neck. He gently angled her head up as he ran those glowing eyes over her. “That fucking rheveshk coward.”

Mina felt the tension in him, which only intensified when he turned her head aside to look at her temple. He growled.

“Doesn’t even hurt,” she said. That shouldn’t have been a comforting truth.

“Quiet,” he said, not ungently. Releasing her, he removed something from his pocket and pressed a button in it. The cuffs around her wrists separated and clicked open. He pulled them away.

Without the weight of the metal bindings, her arms felt so light they were in danger of floating away on the wind.

Before she could so much as flex her fingers, Sevik scooped her off the ground, cradling her in his arms. She curled against his chest and closed her eyes.

“My brave wife,” he rumbled. “You fought so fiercely.”

Mina could tell by the sound of his boots on the snow that he was moving fast, but his hold was so solid and steady that she barely felt any movement. He was so warm it almost hurt, yet the cold had penetrated her so wholly, so deeply, that none of his heat seemed to make a difference.

“For you,” she whispered.

“Ah, female… My sweet, strong mate.”

She opened her eyes to the sound of a car door opening. The light from the cab of Sevik’s truck was like the first sunrise after an eon of night.

Sevik sat her on the driver’s seat, reached around the wheel, and pressed the ignition. The engine roared to life. He muttered another curse and tugged off her shoes, followed immediately by her socks.

“Sevik, w-what are y-you?—”

“Shh.” Sevik’s hands, despite a noticeable trembling that had nothing to do with the cold, moved quickly, tearing her blouse down the middle.

Her eyes widened in alarm. “Sevik?”

“Your clothes are soaked.” He pulled her cardigan and shirt off her arms, then removed her pants and panties in one fell swoop, lifting her ass off the seat like she weighed nothing.

“N-Not how I imagined being naked in your t-truck,” she stuttered as frosty air swept over her bare skin.

“ Ornyr valaas duun , female, you are shameless.”

She didn’t miss the quivering in his voice, didn’t miss its rawness and emotion.

Sevik threw open the back door and leaned over the back seat. Mina hugged herself, seeking any shelter she could find from the cold.

His arms were full when he straightened. He draped one of his coats over her lap, tucking it around her legs and feet, then one of hers over her shoulders.

“Should’ve packed one of those fucking car bags,” Sevik growled as he swept a thick, heavy blanket behind her and wrapped her in it.

“S-s-see? T-told you.”

Mina huddled beneath the coverings as he again reached past her, this time to adjust the heater and turn on the seat warmer. Then he cupped her cheek in one big, warm hand. Mina leaned into his touch and let her eyes fall shut.

“This might hurt,” he whispered.

Something small, hard, and circular pressed to the side of her neck.

Behind her eyelids, Mina saw Brekker and Laszlo—saw the injector in Laszlo’s hand.

The device clicked, and she felt the pinch of a needle on her neck. Her eyes flew open, and her racing heart hammered against her ribs. “No!”

She tried to throw off the blanket, tried to fight, to run, but strong hands stilled her arms.

“ Val’syra .” Sevik’s voice broke through that rush of panic. He was there with her. Not Laszlo or Brekker. It was her mate, her husband, her Sevik. “It’s to help you heal. Nothing more. I swear it.”

Swallowing lungfuls of chilled air and willing herself to calm, Mina nodded.

Sevik carefully separated her coverings, took hold of her right wrist, and guided it free. She looked down as he placed one of those alien pistols on her palm, grip first.

Brow furrowing, Mina lifted her gaze to his.

His otherworldly features were somehow grim and gentle at once. “Anyone other than me approaches the truck, you shoot.”

“What?” She shook her head, pushing the gun back toward him. “N-no. Don’t leave me! Let’s go. Please, Sevik. Let’s go home.”

He didn’t take gun back as he bowed his head and touched his forehead to hers. “The last fucking thing I want to do is leave you alone, Mina. Don’t want to ever let you out of reach again, much less out of sight. But if I don’t clean this up…”

They risked someone coming across this scene—dead aliens, sci-fi weaponry, a functioning spaceship. And considering that the local police chief, who was already suspicious of Sevik, had spoken with two of those dead aliens face-to-face in Mina’s shop…

Shitshow wouldn’t be anywhere near adequate enough a term to describe what would unfold.

Mina curled her stiff fingers around the pistol grip. “Then I’ll come with you. I...I can keep watch.”

Sevik pressed his mouth first to her forehead, then to her lips. The kiss was tender, almost delicate, and she recognized it as a thin layer to mask the desperate, thrumming emotions belied by his ragged breaths and thumping pulse. When he broke the kiss, he hooked his hands behind her knees, turned her atop the seat to face the windshield, and tucked the blanket more snugly around her.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“Launch them into the fucking sun.” He slipped strands of her hair behind her ear, caressing its shell. “I’ll be careful and quick, val’syra .”

She could only manage a small nod.

“You are safe now.” He locked the door, stepped back, and hesitated. “ We are safe. Because of you.”

Sevik closed the door, and his form shimmered as his holoshroud activated. Mina watched him stride away to finally put his past to rest. She had no doubt that he would come back to her.

Neither of them would accept anything less.