A Son for the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien #2)(3)

“No! No, I won’t let you.”

She scrabbled frantically at the wall behind her, trying to get away from the threat of the needle even though she had nowhere to go. The shelves next to her contained a variety of boxes and jars and she slid her hand across them as discreetly as possible, trying to find something she could use as a weapon. The alien made what looked like a gesture for her to calm down, patting the air in front of him.

“No! I’m not going to relax. I won’t let you stick that thing in me.”

Her voice rose as she spoke and this time, he cast a quick look over his shoulder and then pressed a hand to his mouth. He wanted her to be quiet? But why?

The obvious answer was that he didn’t want anyone else to know that she was here, but she couldn’t decide if that was an advantage or a disadvantage. Did he just not want to share her with the rest of the crew? Even though that was a horrible thought, a single alien would no doubt be easier to handle than a group of them. And at least so far, he had done nothing threatening, although she still eyed the syringe with suspicion.

“What is that for?” she asked in a much quieter voice.

He pointed to his mouth and then to his ear, then pointed at her and repeated the gesture.

“Do you mean you want to talk to me?” It was the only way she could interpret his gestures, although she had no idea how a shot would help her understand.

He nodded and took a step forward.

“No!” she cried again, trying to press back against the wall.

He stopped immediately, casting another nervous look over his shoulder and pressed his hand to his mouth again. He obviously did not want anyone else to overhear her, and that was a good thing, right? She remembered her earlier fear of being surrounded by a sea of alien faces as every sci-fi horror movie she had ever seen flashed through her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she did her best to keep her voice low and reasonable. “That thing you’re holding, are you saying it will help me understand you?”

He nodded eagerly. The fact that he seemed to understand English was both alarming and encouraging. Obviously, he had encountered humans before, and what if he even knew something about her sister? That hope was enough to make her gingerly move away from the wall.

“Are you going to hurt me?”

He hesitated, then nodded his head. Holding up one hand, he unclenched two fingers, with a brief pause between each. Hopefully that meant the pain would not last longer than it took him to display his fingers. Straightening her shoulders, she stepped forward. How Judith would have laughed to see her voluntarily taking a shot. Throughout her childhood, she had fought her sister every time she had needed any type of inoculation. This is for you, Ju, she thought as she held out her arm.

Instead of taking her outstretched arm, the alien clamped his fingers on her shoulder—long, cold, surprisingly strong fingers. Before she could object, he raised the syringe to her neck and there was a brief flare of agony as an icy cold current raced through her body.

“Ow!” she cried, but she remembered to keep her voice low.

“I am sorry for the pain that I caused,” the alien said apologetically, and she gaped at him. She could understand him perfectly. “I am afraid that less painful methods of inserting a translation implant are not available on a Vedeckian ship.”

Trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was actually talking to an alien, she rubbed the place where he had inserted the syringe. As he had promised, the sting was already fading.

“A Vedeckian ship? Is that what we are on?” she asked uncertainly.

“Yes, it is, and I need to get you off of it as soon as possible.” He tilted his head, red eyes glowing. “Why did you choose to come onboard? Did you not realize that the ship was not native to your planet?”

“Of course I knew that the ship didn’t belong on Earth. But unless I’m wrong—” how she prayed she was not wrong “—a ship like this took my sister and my nephew away last year.”

“You are searching for your kin?” He stepped back with an appalled look on his face. “You must know that is not possible.”

“Why isn’t it possible?”

He shook his head. “You must leave the ship now. I could possibly find out about your kin, but…”

A low, penetrating hum filled the room. Her new companion seemed to sag.

“I’m afraid it is too late. We are leaving.”

“Good,” she said fiercely, even though her stomach cramped with anxiety. She had made it this far; she wasn’t going to let anything else deter her.

“You do not understand. This is a slave ship. Commander Kadica is taking the females on this vessel to be sold at auction.”

Now it was her turn to sag as she stared at him in horror.

“You mean Judith? Charlie? They were sold as slaves?”

What had these aliens done to her family?

Forcing back her tears, she scowled at the male in front of her. “Why are you even trying to be nice to me? And why did you try and get me to leave? I would have thought you wanted more prisoners.”

“I don’t want any prisoners.” He hesitated, casting another look around the small room as if checking to make sure that no one had snuck up on them. He lowered his voice until she could barely hear him. “I am working to stop the slave trade.”

“Stop it?” In her excitement, she stepped forward and grabbed his arm. He flinched and ducked back but she was too excited to wonder about his actions. “Does that mean you could help me find my sister and get her free?”