Coletti Warlords: Vexing Voss by Gail Koger Read Free Book Online Page A

warrior. I can and will fight at your side.”
    “You are no match for a warlord.”
    How quickly they forget.
    My psychic radar went on red alert, and I quickly scanned the area. “Hey, there’s another Coletti warrior coming up behind you.”
    I felt Voss’s surprise. “Degan is one of my warriors, but I did not summon him.”
    Agony seared through every cell in my body. I fought back the blackness threatening to engulf me and barely managed to pull off to the side of the road. “What the hell was that?”
    “Stun ray,” Voss hissed before our link was severed abruptly by another blast of agonizing pain.
    I sucked in a shuddering breath and waited for the pain to subside. Being stunned hurt like a sonovabitch. I reached out. “Voss, you okay? Voss? Answer me, dammit!”
    His only response was a muted groan.
    Cold fear slithered down my spine. We had another fucking traitor. Honor was going the way of the dodo bird. Malik was probably rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of parading the Overlord’s battle commander around in chains.
    A year ago, I had hacked Central Command’s records, trying to get information on the traitors, and had stumbled upon a report on Malik. He’s a monster. Not only had he betrayed his own people, he had kidnapped and tortured his brother, Talree, in an attempt to turn him into a feral monster. My cousin, Kaylee’s, timely intervention had saved him from that fate.
    Malik’s master plan was to rule the galaxy. To achieve that goal, he would capture as many Coletti warriors as he could get his hands on and turn them into an army of bloodthirsty, mindless killing machines. Once he had these ferals under control, the psychotic creep would sic them on his people. If he defeated his father, Zarek, no one would be safe. Earth would again become a feeding ground for Tai-Kok and Rodan raiders.
    No way would I let that happen. If Malik thought ferals were vicious, he had never met an Earth woman with PMS. I made Attila the Hun look like a pussycat.
    Grabbing hold of Voss’s mind, I shouted, “Wake up! Are you really gonna let that bastard win? You’re the Battle Commander, the universe’s bogeyman. C’mon, wake up! You can’t become Malik’s attack dog!”
    His faint whisper sounded in my head. “Summon Jaylan.”
    The low mechanical whine of an aircraft filled the air. I glanced up. A black bullet-shaped shuttle craft zoomed over the rows of long metal chicken houses and feed silos.
    My radar screamed a warning. Eight Tai-Kok raiders were inside. I mentally scanned the ship. So were Malik, Voss, and that rat-bastard Degan.
    I might be able to take out the Tai-Kok, but the minute I dropped my shields, Malik and Degan would be all over me. Could I beat them in a fight? Probably not, but I might be able to slow them down a bit.
    I tapped politely at Jaylan’s mind.
    He snarled, “Go back to the base, female.”
    “But… I need—”
    Jaylan rudely severed our link.
    I pounded on his mind. “Listen, you jerk—”
    “We are at battle status, and I don’t have time for your petty concerns.”
    Petty concerns? Was he serious? “Okay, fine, I just thought you might want to know Degan is a traitor, and you should check your ships for explosive devices or sabotage,” I snapped and severed the link. Testosterone turned men into thick-skulled morons. Who needed them?
    The shuttle landed in the Latin King’s visitor’s parking lot. I grabbed my binoculars and gasped. Two tall, hairless, skeletal humanoids with mouths full of sharp metal teeth dragged Voss from the craft. The Tai-Kok’s bloodred battle suits were covered with metal spikes.
    Wrapped in chains, Voss sagged limply between his captors, and his face was a battered mess. A black rage filled me. They were going to pay for every bruise.
    Horror twisted my stomach. Unfreakin’-believable. I had only known Voss for a little over a day, and I knew without a doubt I would kill for him. How scary was that? What if the mating