Arresting the Warlord Read online

  With a startling quick movement, the creature leaped high into the air. The bolt passed under him and cremated the pile of rotting bodies.

  “Well, hell. There went the evidence.”

  A ferocious roar echoed around the chamber and a small black beastie exploded out of the shadows. It was an odd mixture of chihuahua and wolverine. My jaw dropped as the little guy did a great job of mauling the monster’s legs.

  “Mean little shit.” Uncle Jesse helped me up. His fur was covered with mustard colored blood.

  “Isn’t he.”

  Jia climbed to her feet and shook her head as if to clear it.

  The beastie let out a yelp as the monster’s claws raked across its back.

  “Enough!” Her face a mask of rage, Jia scooped up her sword and with a full-throated banshee scream, beheaded the monster.

  “I’ll be damned,” Uncle Jesse rumbled.

  “Yeah, I didn’t think she had it in her.” A stroke of luck, or was Jia more than she appeared?

  Jia picked up the beastie. “My little hero.”

  I walked over to her. “You okay?”

  “I’ll live. You said your uncle is a healer. Can he help him?”

  The little beastie whimpered.

  A golden light spun around Uncle Jesse. When it cleared, he was human again.

  “You’re naked,” Jia exclaimed and squeezed her eyes shut.

  I rolled mine.

  “Yes, I am.” Uncle Jesse held his hands over the beastie. “Hozhq sitsiji shivaagi.” The gashes on the beastie’s back vanished. The little guy gratefully licked Uncle Jesse’s fingers. “Dii hastoi, small one.”

  I rubbed the beastie’s ears and announced, “Your critter is as good as new.”

  Jia opened one eye and gave a yip of relief. “Oh! Wow! He doesn’t have a mark on him.”

  “It’s what I do,” Uncle Jesse said modestly.

  Jia went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I’m sorry I called you an old pervert.”

  “I accept your apology.”

  Jia petted the beastie. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

  “Ah, yeah. Cute as a button,” I lied.

  “Momma,” the beastie said, snuggling against Jia.

  My eyes widened in disbelief. Whoa! He could talk. Giovanni had outdone himself. “What’s your name?”

  “Mean little shit,” the beastie answered.

  Jia hugged him. “No. You need a real name. I’m going to call you Pepe after my grandfather.”

  Pepe’s black fur puffed up with pride. “Me Pepe.”

  “Your grandfather must have been a great guy,” I said politely.

  “No. My grandfather was a mean, old bastard.”

  “Oh, good choice then.”

  Storm clouds rolled down the passageway and explosions rocked the catacombs.

  “Samuel has gotten stronger,” Uncle Jesse said.

  “Not a big surprise. Zarek’s blood changed Father on the cellular level and gave him one hell of a power boost. He’ll soon be a Coletti warlord. Like we need more of them.”

  “Even if I had been there, Samuel’s injuries were beyond my ability to heal. Without that transfusion Samuel would have died,” Uncle Jesse admonished.

  “And I’m grateful for Zarek’s help, but Father’s not the same.”

  “Aren’t you being a bit of a hypocrite?”

  I winced. “I am. I knew the consequences of drinking Jake’s blood, but it was the only way to stop that murdering Chupacabra. Even now I can feel it changing me. I’m becoming something not quite human.”

  A frown creased Jia’s forehead. “I’m not drinking anyone’s blood and who’s Samuel?”

  “My father.”

  “And Jake is?”

  “My mate,” I replied.

  “He’s a warlord?”

  “He is.”

  Jia grimaced. “Let me guess. He works for Zarek too?”

  “And Central Command. General Saul Jones is Jake’s uncle.”

  “Merde!” Jia backed away from me in horror. “Central Command hunts Dragos women.”

  I arched a brow. “Are you Dragos? Is Stanka an alias?”

  “I will never be a Coletti breeder.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Jia eyed me suspiciously. “You’re not going to give me to a Coletti warrior?”

  “Nope.” I placed a hand on my heart. “On my word of honor. You’ll never be a Coletti breeder.”

  Uncle Jess huffed in amusement.

  “You’re not telling me the truth.”

  “I’ll make a deal with you. If you’re honest with me, I’ll be honest with you,” I countered.

  Jia narrowed her eyes. “I don’t trust you.”

  “Right back at ya.”

  “Are you refusing to look for Adam?” Jia asked indignantly.

  “I didn’t say that. We will stop Giovanni and free all his prisoners,” I replied.

  “What is expected of me?”

  Before I could answer, Jake and my father teleported into the chamber with their weapons drawn.

  “Good hunting Father?”

  “Very.” He retracted his helmet and examined my blood covered form and raised an eyebrow at Uncle Jesse’s nudity.

  I gave him a reassuring smile. “Not my blood and his bear came out to play.”

  “Why is the old guy naked?” Jake asked.

  I hunched a shoulder. “When Uncle Jesse turns into a bear, his clothing goes away.”

  Jake’s gaze shot to Uncle Jesse. “You can turn into a bear?”

  “I have many talents,” Uncle Jesse boasted.

  Samuel pulled an Askole belt from a pocket and handed it to Uncle Jesse. “Cover yourself.”

  Uncle Jesse examined the belt. “What kind of belt is this?”

  “Askole armor belt,” Father replied.

  “How does it work?”

  “Let me show you.” Father fastened it around Uncle Jesse’s waist, and with one tap black armor covered my uncle from head-to-toe.

  Jia gingerly touched Uncle Jesse’s back. “I’ve heard this armor restricts your movements.”

  Uncle Jesse broke into his Death Dance.

  “I guess not.”

  Jake watched him for a moment. “Is he having a seizure?”

  “No, he’s dancing.” I cringed when Uncle Jesse did his famous crotch-thrusting move.

  “I know of a good nursing home you could put him in.”

  I smacked Jake in the stomach. “He might be a bit nuts, but never forget he’s family.”

  “The Jones family is full of crazy. He’ll fit right in, but can you get him to stop dancing.”

  Father and I exchanged grins “There’s no stopping him,” we said in unison.

  “I could stun him.”

  I gave Jake the evil eye.

  He held up his hands. “Just saying.”

  Her expression bordering on avarice, Jia asked, “Any chance of me getting a belt? I mean, they are shooting at me.”

  “Maybe,” I hedged.

  Jake switched to his warlord mode. “Introduce us.”

  “Jia, this is my mate, Jake Jones and my father, Samuel Tsosie.”

  “My condolences for the loss of your humanity,” Jia said politely.

  I smothered a groan. When Father got that look in his eyes, watch out.

  “I have lost nothing but gained a great deal. You would do well to remember your manners, child,” Father replied and a small bolt of lightning zapped Jia in the ass.

  Jia yelped.

  Pepe growled.

  I asked, “You hungry, Uncle Jesse?”

  “Now that you mention it, I am.”

  “I apologize. I apologize,” Jia cried.

  Picking up on her distress, Pepe bared his teeth and snarled viciously.

  Jake pointed at the beastie. “What is that?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure. Gio
vanni created him. He’s a smart little guy and he can mind speak.”

  “Huh. Zarek will definitely want to us to confiscate him.”

  “No!” Jia clasped the little guy to her chest. “Pepe’s mine and I won’t let you take him from me.”

  His eyes cold with menace, Jake stated, “Prisoners have no rights.”

  “Prisoner?”

  “Partner,” I hurriedly inserted.

  Jake slid me a narrowed sidelong glare.

  “I’ll explain later,” I said on our private link.

  “Yes, you will.”

  Jia glared at us. “I thought this was a team effort to stop Giovanni and free his prisoners?”

  “We are currently hunting Giovanni and there were no prisoners. Just empty cells,” Jake shot back.

  The color drained from Jia’s face. “Dio mio. I knew it. Giovanni killed my brother.”

  “You don’t know that yet. There are several drugs that can sever mental links. Once his base was under attack, Giovanni probably had the Rodan transport all his test subjects to another location,” I quickly interjected.

  Jake nodded. “We found several stasis chambers in Giovanni’s lab. If your brother was placed in one, you won’t be able to link with him.”

  “Adam could still be alive?” Hope flickered to life in Jia’s eyes. “We’ve got to find him before he turns into one of those horrible creatures. I can’t lose him too.”

  I turned to Jake “The Rodan have to have a cloaked ship nearby. Were you able to track the transporter beams?”

  “Sariel is pursuing the Rodan ship now,” Zarek answered.

  I stifled a shriek. The man needed to wear a bell around his neck.

  Amusement flashed in Zarek’s eyes. “What fun would that be?”

  Holy hell, he was teasing me.

  Pepe let out a warning bark.

  “Shhh. Easy boy. He’s a friend,” I told Pepe.

  Jia looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Friend?”

  “Jia, this is Zarek, the Overlord of the Coletti Empire.”

  “I know who he is, but he’s no friend of mine. I curse you. Xan tu e Ruv!”

  I frowned. “‘The wolves shall eat you’ is a curse?”

  “It’s an old Romany curse,” Jia spat.

  Zarek didn’t seem too concerned. “This is the one you have chosen for Trayon?”

  “She is, but I think Central Command’s records on her are incorrect,” I said.

  Jia bristled. “What? Wait. You said I wouldn’t be given to a Coletti warrior.”

  “And you’re not. Trayon is Askole,” Jake responded.

  “Askole?”

  Trying to ease my guilt, I flashed her a picture of Trayon petting a sheep. “He seems to be good with animals.”

  “Dio Mio. You want me to mate with that alien freak? He has tentacles! Our parts won’t fit,” Jia protested.

  Jake laughed. “Oh, they’ll fit. My cousin is mated to an Askole. According to Sarah, Tihar is hung like a bull elephant and is an excellent lover.”

  “I don’t care if he’s Don Juan himself. I won’t do it,” Jia cried.

  Zarek’s tone was at once menacing and amused, “Not even to save your brother’s life?”

  “I don’t need your help to save Adam,” Jia said defiantly.

  Jake chuckled. “Got a spaceship, do ya?”

  Jia gave him the one-finger salute.

  “Do you know the location of the Rodan base or have enough soldiers to successfully attack it?” I asked gently.

  Jia smiled grimly. “No, but I know someone who does.”

  “Who?” Call me curious.

  A glittering blue light formed around Jia. “Bjarke mercenaries.” She vanished.

  I had the sudden irrational urge to laugh. “Gotta say I didn’t see that one coming. Loki and Ivan did say they wanted an Earth woman as a mate, but how in the hell did they hook up with Jia?”

  “They probably placed a tracker on our shuttle and followed us here. Loki and Ivan are excellent hunters, but a bit on the lazy side. The bastards let us do all the dirty work. When Giovanni escaped with his test subjects, they used telepathy to contact Jia,” Jake replied.

  “And once they knew how desperate Jia was to rescue her brother, they made her an offer she wouldn’t refuse,” I added.

  Uncle Jesse snorted. “The little fool walked right into their trap and which one of them is going to mate with her?”

  “They’ll fight it out. The last one standing wins,” Jake advised.

  “Neither of them will mate with Jia. Their old merchant ship cannot outrun my warbird.” Zarek teleported away.

  Whoosh! There was a flash of black and Trayon appeared. “Where is my mate?”

  I exchanged glances with Jake. “What do we tell him?”

  “The truth.”

  “She took off with some Bjarke mercenaries,” I said.

  Trayon’s tentacles stood out from his head. “How did that happen?”

  “A transporter beam,” Uncle Jesse added helpfully.

  Trayon’s tentacles squirmed wildly around his head. “Why would she go with them?”

  “Giovanni and the Rodan have Jia’s brother. The mercenaries vowed to rescue him,” Father said.

  Trayon looked perplexed. “It is my duty to protect my mate and her family.”

  “I know who took Jia and I give you my word, we’ll get her back, or you can choose another female if you want,” Jake promised.

  The look on Trayon’s face, had me patting his arm carefully. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t get a chance to explain everything to Jia. She’s never met an Askole before and you’re a bit, ah, overwhelming.”

  “Did you not tell my Jia I went to pleasure houses to learn how to make love to a soft skin?” Trayon inquired.

  I blinked. That was kinda sweet and totally unexpected. “No. You never told me that and we were too busy fighting off the Rodan and Giovanni’s monsters to talk about the birds and the bees.”

  “What are these birds and bees?”

  “Sex! I didn’t talk to her about having sex with you.”

  “When I find Jia, you will explain this to her.” Trayon snatched me up. We streaked down the passageway and any Rodan or super soldier we encountered were dead before they hit the floor.

  I grimaced. Trayon had beheadings down to an art form. “Put me down. Now! Or I’m going to fry your ass.” I let lightning bolts dance around us.

  Trayon stopped so abruptly my head spun. “As my lady commands.” He gently lowered me to the floor.

  “Whoa! Headrush.” I leaned against the wall for a moment. “You ever think about working for the Magic Kingdom? You’d make a fortune giving rides.”

  “I am a warrior not entertainment for fools.”

  “True.”

  Jake appeared in the passageway, wearing his scary warlord face.

  “Hi honey, I’m fine.” I wrapped my arms around him. “You can’t kill Trayon.”

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Killing him would break Zarek’s treaty with Sariel and he’d be really angry. I’m just getting used to you and have no desire to break in another warlord. Plus, I’m fine. You know and I know Trayon would never hurt me.”

  Jake let out a long breath. “I do, but you’re not his personal dating counselor.”

  “I kinda am and in case things so south, we need to get him interested in another Dragos female.”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Jake agreed.

  “Ah, Trayon, I’ve been thinking that maybe Jia isn’t the right female for you.”

  “Jia will be mine.”

  “You’ve never met her and there’s a distinct possibility that she can’t summon lightning,” Jake pointed out.

  “I have seen her picture. She was meant for me.”

  Okey-Dokey. How did I put this without hurting his feelings? “Jia finds your tentacles a little disturbing.”

  Trayon p
uffed his chest out. “Many females admire them.”

  Crap. “That’s not quite what I meant. Jia is not attracted to Askole males.”

  “But we are great warriors and lovers.”

  I dropped my face into my hands. “Oh, God.”

  “Jia doesn’t want to have sex with you,” Jake stated bluntly.

  Trayon’s tentacles stood straight up. “Impossible!”

  It was like talking to a rock. “No, it’s not. Jia only wants a human male as a mate.”

  Tihar touched his gauntlet and his armor simply shrank away, leaving him completely nude. “How can she resist this?”

  My eyes bugged as I stared at Trayon’s crotch. Damn! He had a humanlike penis and humongous balls. “Huh? Would you look at that? Even his man parts have scales.”

  Jake pulled his sword.

  “Remember the treaty,” I yelled, jumping in front of him.

  Jake pointed his sword at Trayon. “You have dishonored my lady.”

  “Stop!” Father shouted in our heads.

  I turned.

  Uncle Jesse loped down the corridor with my father riding him like a horse.

  “Now that’s something you don’t see every day.”

  Jake slid his sword back into the scabbard and glared at Trayon. “I know how proud you are of junior there, but you need to cover it up before CeeCee’s father unmans you.”

  Trayon took one look at my father’s expression and his armor formed around him. “I meant no offense, my lady.”

  “I know your cultural norms are different from ours but displaying your private parts in public is frowned on here.”

  Trayon gave a slight bow. “My apologies.”

  “Apology accepted. Now let me check Central Command’s database for another Dragos female.”

  “No. Jia will be mine.” He zoomed off.

  “This is going to get messy.”

  “Very messy,” Jake agreed.

  “I made us reservations at Giulia. Zarek says they have the best risotto in Rome,” Father announced out of the blue.

  Zarek went to restaurants? I frowned. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “I packed a bag for you,” Father replied.

  “Oh, you didn’t bring that horrible paisley print dress, did you?”

  “No, the turquoise one.”

  Great and I need a shower badly. I smell like dead things.”

  “Zarek rented us a villa on the Adriatic Sea and we have a week off to make like tourists.” Jake kissed the tip of my nose. “We’ll go and do anything you want.”