Defiance by Beth D. Carter Read Free Book Online Page B

letting their skin turn black to blend into the shadows. Laith brought his blaster up, and David did the same. They
waited, tense, counted to three and entered the holding room. He barely
registered the fact that Jordan was on the ground, looking terrified, before shooting the Xyran guard. David killed the second.
    He saw a third body in the doorway
of a storage closet.
    “David? Laith ?” Jordan’s quivering
voice grabbed his attention, and he moved toward her. Without thought, he
scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tightly.
    “ Sh ,” he
murmured as he rocked her. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
    “I’m so sorry for running away.”
    He pulled back and stared down at
her. “You will be punished.”
    She bit her lip. “Another
spanking?”
    “Hey, Jordan ,” David called out. He had
turned off the air compressor and looked from the dead Xyran guard toward her. “You turned an air compressor into a gun?”
    She nodded.
    “That’s fucking hot that you knew
how to do that.”
    She grinned. “Why is your skin
black?”
    “Camouflage,” Laith replied.
    “Thank you for rescuing me. You
might have been somewhat correct that escape was slightly futile.”
    David’s eyebrows shot up. “What did
I just hear? Jordan Kuper admitting she was wrong?”
    Her chin jutted up. “I didn’t say I
was wrong. I just said you might be somewhat correct. There’s a difference.”
    He folded his arms. There came a
little snicker behind him, and he and Laith glanced
at each before bending a little to see into the storage closet.
    “Who else is in there?” David
raised his blaster.
    “No!” Jordan cried and hurried forward,
placing her body between David’s weapon and someone in the shadows.
    “Is that a child?” he asked.
    “She’s been kidnapped, like me,
only I promised we’d take her back to her parents.”
    Laith frowned. “Why would you promise something like that?”
    “Oh no, don’t start being an
asshole again.”
    Laith bent
down to look at the little girl. “Which tribe do you belong to?”
    The child shifted a little and peeked
at him. He jerked to his feet, pointing.
    “She is Alphan ,”
he whispered.
    The girl shrieked and wrapped her
arms around Jordan .
    “Damn it, Laith ,
you scared her.” Jordan turned and hugged the girl, who was shaking. “ It’s okay, Rell . He’s a good Xyran .”
    “ Jordan , where did she come from?” David
asked.
    “She was in the room with me. I can’t
leave her behind. Do you know how to get to her planet so we can find her
family?”
    “She is Alphan ,” Laith repeated himself, as if that explained
everything.
    “Yes, you said that. So?”
    “We can’t go to Alphan space. There is probably a massive manhunt for her.”
    “Oh, so you know who she is?”
    He shook his head. “It does not
matter who she is, it’s how rare she
is.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Many years ago Planet Alpha was
struck with fertility problems,” David explained. “ Which is
the reason they made a treaty with Earth. Females to
mate with in exchange for sanctuary. Alphan children are extremely rare, but the fact that you found a female Alphan child, well, Kath could name
his price for her on the Targin Market.”
    “Her abduction might even reignite
the war,” Laith said grimly.
    “We have to go, Laith ,”
David urged. “Kath’s raiders are going to figure out quickly that both of them
are gone. We need to leave this station.”
    Laith shook his head. “If Kath is here—”
    “It doesn’t matter if Kath is
here,” David interrupted. “He is not important right now. Look at the girl. Look
at Jordan .
If you ever wanted to escape your sins start with them, right now.”
    Laith’s dark eyes flickered over to them. The anger inside clawed his gut, demanding to
be released. His need for vengeance was a bitter knot in his throat. But … he
felt himself nodding in agreement.
    “She’s coming with us,” Jordan said. “She
can’t stay here with those