Coletti Warlords: Vexing Voss Read online

  What a liar. Time to get the fun started. I scuttled round the desk and hid behind the general. “Please, don’t let him eat me.”

  The general gagged. “My God! What is that smell?”

  “My new medicine,” I squeaked, letting the tears roll. My cheap mascara would soon be running down my face in nice black streaks.

  Jaylan took a step back, and his copper-colored skin turned a ghastly green color.

  I had to admit the stench was pretty horrific. I might have overdone it just a tad. Thankfully the Vapor Rub up my nose kept me from hurling. I clutched the general’s jacket. “Please, sir, don’t let him hurt me.”

  My father jerked away from me and vomited into the wastebasket.

  The big warlord grabbed it away from the general and puked violently.

  Who knew warlords had such weak stomachs?

  A beep sounded in my earpiece. Marie’s signal that Ted was coming with a tray of her nice powdered-sugar-covered cakes and coffee. My plan was coming together perfectly.

  Right on cue, Ted stepped in the room. I let out a bloodcurdling shriek and ran for the door.

  Jaylan instinctively leaped out of my way and crashed into Ted.

  He staggered off balance, desperately trying to keep the tray from falling. I stuck out my foot and tripped him.

  The tray tipped over, raining cakes and coffee all over Jaylan and my father.

  A stunned look on his face, Jaylan stared at the coffee running down his spiffy boots and the pieces of smashed cake decorating his battle suit.

  “Dammit! You clumsy fool, look what you’ve done!” my father bellowed, trying to brush the powdered sugar off his uniform.

  I shot out of the office and ran into the parking lot. God, I hadn’t had this much fun in ages, and the looks on their faces were priceless. Grinning, I headed for my car.

  “Zoey!” the general shouted.

  Crap. Hunching my shoulders, I turned to face him. “I’m so sorry, sir.”

  “You worthless bitch, you’re determined to destroy everything I’ve worked for!” My father punched me.

  My head rocked back, the world swam dizzily around me, and I hit the asphalt.

  “Your mother ruined you.”

  Wiping at my bleeding mouth, I fought down the urge to kick the living hell out of the jerk. Staring up at my father’s rage-contorted face, I hissed, “You hit like a girl.”

  “I’m going to beat the truth out of you.” My father pulled back his foot to kick me, and I rolled frantically to the right.

  A frightening Coletti battle cry sounded, and the next instant the general flew across the parking lot and slammed into a wall.

  I took one look at the ferocious expression on Jaylan’s face and quickly huddled into a fetal ball. What had the general done to piss him off that much?

  The warlord stalked over to my father, grabbed him around the throat, and lifted him up. “Touch her again and you die.” He shook my dad hard. “Do you understand me? Voss has claimed her.”

  Say what?

  His face an ominous purple, the general nodded.

  “Zoey!” Marie screamed, rushing toward me in her crappy mustard-yellow maid outfit that clashed violently with her red hair. “Did that bastard hurt you, honey?”

  I scrambled to my feet and ran into her outstretched arms like a scared child, and whispered in her ear, “Did you get my bag?”

  “It’s stashed under the rose bush. I can’t believe he hit you,” she whispered, shooting a worried glance at Jaylan, who still held my father by the throat.

  “I think Daddy just blew any chance of getting that job at Central Command.”

  “What a shame.” Marie took an abrupt step backward. “Dear God! Did you use the entire bottle?”

  “I guess I should have stopped with one good spray, but I wanted to make sure I grossed them out.”

  “By the amount of vomit in that wastebasket, I think you succeeded.”

  Immense power rippled the air around me, and the biggest, scariest warlord I’d ever seen teleported in. The guy was huge, and his battle suit fit him like a glove, emphasizing every bulging muscle. Two daggers protruded from his knee-high armored boots, and on each arm he wore a large copper bracelet. Copper chains were woven into his ebony warrior’s braids. A burn scar on the right side of his hard, chiseled face twisted his mouth into a permanent sneer.

  One look at his aura of sheer menace, and I knew he was the warlord who had been chasing me.

  A frightened gasp broke from Marie. “Isn’t that Voss, the Overlord’s battle commander?”

  My stomach clenched. Dear God, it was him. The only logical reason for his visit was the Alliance cruiser that had blown up in Earth’s orbit a month ago. I was pretty sure the traitor I was investigating had sabotaged the spaceship, but all my research had failed to yield any hard evidence.

  What had Jaylan meant when he said Voss had claimed me? We had never really met, and he didn’t know anything about me. Did he? Nah, I was probably freaking out over nothing. If he laid a hand on me, I’d kick his ass. I eyed his muscles again. Running was good too.

  Marie grabbed my face and turned it toward her. “Unless you want to be a Coletti war bride, you’ll wipe that scowl off your face and start crying.”

  I obediently broke into hysterical sobs.

  “Better.” Marie stiffened. “Holy Mother of God, he’s headed this way.”

  I took a quick peek over my shoulder. Shit! Voss’s pale amber eyes were locked on me, and I didn’t like his gotcha smile.

  The Battle Commander’s baritone voice sounded in my head. “Your disguise is very effective, little one. I shall enjoy discovering what is hidden beneath it.”

  “Holy shit!”

  “He knows,” Marie cried at the same time.

  “He sure as hell does.”

  “9-1-1?”

  “Oh yeah.” I reached into my pocket and hit my special panic button. The base alarm wailed loudly.

  Voss stopped dead, shot me a suspicious look, and commanded in perfect English, “You will go to the bunkers and stay until I come for you.”

  Yeah, like that was going to happen.

  He pointed a long finger at me and warned, “Disobey me, and you will be punished.”

  The menace in his voice did make my knees wobble a bit. I nodded my head obediently, and he vanished.

  Jaylan clamped the general to his chest and teleported.

  Stopping only long enough to grab my get-out-of-jail bag, Marie and I bolted for the tunnels like two scared rabbits. Voss was downright terrifying, and there was no way I could beat him in a fair fight. So I’d have to cheat. A lot.

  Two military police officers waved us through the blast doors, and we tore down eight flights of stairs.

  Marie huffed. “How long do we have?”

  “It won’t take the Battle Commander long to figure out I rigged the computers, and the squadrons of Tai-Kok fighters are nothing but ghost images.”

  I handed her a clip-on bio jammer. “Once these suckers are turned on, we’re invisible to the Coletti’s scanners. I could have used one when the hunters were chasing me around Tucson.”

  Her hands shaking badly, Marie quickly turned it on. “Where did you get these?”

  “I borrowed them from Daddy’s armory, along with a few other things.”

  “If you get caught…”

  “I won’t.” Breathing hard, I skidded to a stop next to a massive steel door and quickly typed in the security code for the emergency evacuation tunnel. Mind reading could be so handy.

  The doors groaned and slowly slid open. We hurried over to a small door, and I ran the security card I had swiped from Daddy over the scanner. The door clicked opened. I rolled out the motorcycle I had stashed there. Warlords being warlords, I figured I better have an escape route and a safe house.

  “You’ve gotta ditch those clothes.” Marie gasped, rubbing more Vapor Rub under her nose.

  “That spray is worth every penny I paid f
or it. No warlord will want to come within ten feet of me.”

  “No, they’ll just throw you in a cell until it wears off.”

  “Good point.” I quickly stripped down to my underwear, yanked a camouflage shirt off the shelf, and put it on.

  “I must compliment you on a well-executed ruse. You are far too clever for a female,” Voss rumbled in my head.

  I think he just insulted every woman on Earth.

  “Surrender and I will be merciful,” the Battle Commander added.

  I burst out laughing. A merciful warlord? Wasn’t that an oxymoron?

  “You find me amusing?”

  “Very.”

  “You refuse my offer?”

  “My, you are a bright one, aren’t you?”

  “I will find you.”

  What a smug asshole. “Wanna bet?”

  “You issue a challenge?”

  “Sure, whatever.”

  “As you wish. A challenge was issued and has been accepted. We will meet on the battlefield in twelve hours.”

  “What? I’m not fighting you.” Was he nuts? I wouldn’t last ten seconds in any kind of hand-to-hand combat with him, and the jerk knew it.

  “The challenge has been accepted. You have no recourse.”

  “The hell I don’t.”

  “Are you without honor?”

  “No, but this is ridiculous.”

  “You have the option of surrender.”

  “Surrender is not an option.”

  “Then we meet on the battlefield, or those close to you will pay the forfeit.”

  “If you want to kill the general, go for it.”

  “Alejandro Vega is my guest. Do you still wish me to go for it?”

  I ground my teeth in frustration. Dammit, I had been outmaneuvered.

  Marie stared at me anxiously. “What’s going on?”

  “The Battle Commander has your son.”

  “What! How? Is he okay?”

  I held up a hand. “I want proof that Alejandro is okay.”

  “He has not been harmed.”

  “Give him access to a phone and—”

  Voss broke in with a menacing growl. “You doubt my word?”

  Insult a Coletti’s honor and you didn’t live very long. “Who, me? Never. His mom wants to speak with him.”

  “I will make the arrangements.”

  “Thank you. Am I allowed to bring weapons to the challenge?”

  “It is permitted.”

  “Where’s the big smackdown happening?”

  “Smackdown?”

  “You know…the battlefield?”

  “The base gym at dawn.”

  That was so lame. You’d think the arrogant bastard would set it up at one of the big arenas and turn it into a media event. See the big bad warlord beat up the itty-bitty human. “Could you specify a time? I’d hate to be five minutes late and find out you had already hacked off Alejandro’s head.”

  “That would be unfortunate. Zero-five-hundred.”

  “Perfect.” I broke the link and sagged against the wall with a groan. What had I done?

  My cell phone beeped. “Hello?”

  The raspy voice of my private investigator, Pete, announced, “El Jefe will be at Latin King’s Family Farm this Friday at ten.”

  Crap. The wiretaps had finally paid off, and I knew where one of the traitors would be tomorrow. If the Battle Commander won, I would never find my mother’s murderer.

  Chapter Two

  The rising sun painted the cloud-covered sky bloodred. I sure hoped it wasn’t an omen. I knew the Battle Commander wouldn’t kill me. My psychic skills made me too valuable.

  Voss might toss me around a bit to teach me a lesson, or he’d just pounce and take me down in the first ten seconds. Game over, and El Jefe and the traitors would keep on killing.

  My inner radar prickled a warning as I rode my motorcycle through the open base gates. Jaylan was lurking nearby, waiting for me to chicken out.

  The two sentries saluted sharply.

  I saluted them back, wincing when the gates slammed shut behind me.

  Grim-faced soldiers lined the roadway to the gym. As I drove past them, they saluted. I was kind of surprised and overwhelmed at the honor. Had the general arranged this? Nah, wasn’t his style. Daddy was probably drunk on his ass celebrating with Jasmine the whore.

  The minute I turned the engine off and removed my helmet, Jaylan appeared in a spiffy black dress uniform with a ceremonial sword strapped to his waist.

  I’d love to be able to teleport anywhere I wanted go.

  His gaze swept over my long shiny black hair, flawless skin marred only by the bruise Daddy had given me; lingered for a moment on my curvy figure revealed by the formfitting black T-shirt and jeans I wore, before examining my steel-toed boots and weapons. “Why would you hide such beauty?”

  “Gee, let me think. Oh yeah, it’s the fate worse than death. You know, being forced to mate with some Coletti asshole.”

  Jaylan bared his fangs in a predator’s smile. “You have no choice. The Battle Commander awaits you.”

  Choice? He might be surprised at how many choices I had. Fluttering my eyelashes like some Southern belle, I gushed, “Gosh, I’m all atwitter in anticipation.”

  “I can see why your father wanted to beat you.”

  “Speaking of beatings, have you ever heard the story of Donna and Goliath?”

  “No.” A firm hand at my back, he herded me toward the gym.

  “Goliath was a giant Philistine warrior brought down by an itty-bitty female.”

  Jaylan laughed. “A female will never defeat the Battle Commander.”

  “You’re one hundred percent sure of that?”

  With a low growl, Jaylan yanked the door open and shoved me inside the gym.

  My eyes widened in horror as I surveyed my opponent. The Battle Commander was shirtless, barefoot, and weaponless. He probably thought the sight of all those awesome muscles would intimidate me, and boy, did they. He’d scare the piss out of anyone with a lick of sense.

  Good thing I didn’t have a lick of sense. I sucked in a deep, calming breath and fought down the urge to run screaming. I wouldn’t get very far even if I did make a run for it.

  “Still think you can win?”

  No, even being a sneaky bitch, my chances ranged from slim to none. “The big guy’s going down,” I blustered.

  Jaylan snorted. “You won’t last one of your minutes.”

  “Care to place a bet on that?”

  The warlord cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. “You wish to wager on the outcome of the fight?”

  “Yep. If I last longer than one of our minutes, I get that nifty sword of yours.”

  “And if you do not?”

  I slid the knife out of my boot, and I held it up. “Then this genuine black oxide SEAL combat knife is yours.”

  Jaylan suddenly snapped to attention. “The Battle Commander waits.”

  “So?”

  “You delay the inevitable,” Voss warned in my head.

  I turned around and gave him the one-finger salute. “Go fuck a duck.”

  Displaying an awesome set of fangs, Voss answered, “I’d rather fuck you.”

  “Not happening. Ever,” I snarled, putting my knife back into the sheath.

  The smug bastard started laughing. “I will soon be inside you.”

  “I’ll die first.”

  “No you will not die, but you will submit to me eagerly.” Voss’s possessive gaze surveyed me from head to toe. “I am very pleased with your beauty.”

  “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” I retorted sarcastically.

  “You would do well to hold your tongue.”

  My temper roared to life. He was so going down. I stomped across the thickly padded floor toward the Battle Commander. He was a satanic figure—massive, motionless, and wholly focused on me.

  I stopped directly in front of him and snapped, “I want Alejandro released now.”
r />   “The only one I accept commands from is the Overlord,” Voss responded, folding his arms across his massive chest.

  I fought down the urge to scream in frustration, plastered a pleasant smile on my face, and said sweetly, “Please release Alejandro, snookums wookums.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “Snookums wookums?”

  “Would you prefer asshole?”

  “I would prefer you show me the proper respect.”

  Hunching my shoulders, I assumed my timid mouse demeanor and let the tears flow. “Please forgive me, my lord, it won’t happen again.”

  The Battle Commander’s big hand tilted my head up. “I think I prefer the fierce little warrior.”

  “No! Get your fucking hands off me!” Alejandro suddenly shouted.

  I spun around. Alejandro fought fiercely against two Coletti warriors who were dragging him out of the gym. “Let me fight in her place. She hasn’t got a chance.”

  Testosterone was the bane of my existence. Alejandro was a homicide cop and built like a pro wrestler, but he was no match for the Battle Commander. The Overlord or Talree, the Overlord’s son, were probably the only ones that could defeat Voss in battle.

  “Stop it, Alejandro!” I yelled, starting toward him.

  Voss’s fingers clamped around my arm like a vise. “You are not permitted to leave until the battle is concluded.”

  Just fucking terrific. If I didn’t do something, Alejandro was going to get himself killed. Once the fight started, Voss would know exactly how powerful I really was anyway, so I might as well go out with a bang.

  Dropping my shields, I slid into Alejandro’s mind and commanded, “Stop fighting.”

  Alejandro stopped struggling, and the warriors released him.

  “The Battle Commander will not harm me. Your mother needs you alive and well. Go, Marie waits for you outside the gates.”

  His face blank, Alejandro obediently walked out the doors.

  “Impressive,” Voss commented, obviously pleased.

  “Then this should really knock your socks off.” I pulled out my bottle of eau de dead skunk perfume and sprayed myself from the chest down.

  Voss took a step back as the stench hit him. “What have you done?”

  “Evened the odds. Still want to fuck me?”