Page 19 of On a Rogue Planet
She heard the others coming, Dathan swearing. Nik was saying something about reaching the weapons locker.
She tried to tug Xander’s arm away. “Can’t. Breathe.”
His hold loosened a fraction.
“Xander? Do you know where you are?”
He went still, suddenly he spun her around.
His eyes were still glowing, but she saw the green flickering, knew his systems still weren’t functioning correctly.
Then he swung her into his arms. With a squeak, she clung to his neck.
Dathan, Eos, and Nik came around a corner, all three of them armed with laser pistols.
“Let her go.” Dathan’s voice was low. Pissed.
“No. No…stay back,” Mal choked out.
Xander gripped her harder, then bent his knees.
And leaped high into the air.
She swallowed a scream. They flew up so high. She had a dizzying view of the hangar below and her cousins’ shocked expressions.
Xander landed on the mezzanine platform that ringed the warehouse. His boots echoed on the metal mesh floor.
He raced across the mezzanine and into the adjoining, smaller warehouse.
All Malin could hear was the thunder of his footsteps and the roar of her heartbeat.
Where was he?Who were these strangers?
And why were there so many blanks in his memories?
Xander knew something was wrong with his systems. The first sign was that he couldn’t pull up the retinal display that would overlay tactical information on his vision. A small countdown at the bottom of his right eye’s vision told him the system was rebooting and would be back online shortly.
The second sign was that his enhanced senses were offline. Usually he could switch to thermal imaging or zoom his view. All he had now was his regular vision. Same for his auditory and olfactory senses.
The third sign was the pain. It was…unpleasant, but until his filters were back up and running he couldn’t block it.
Ten minutes and fifty-one seconds until reboot completion.
The woman’s scent tickled his nose. She smelled like starship fuel and coconut. For some strange reason he liked it.
She was soft under his hands, her small, compact body pressed against his. The heat of her, the strength of her, the smoothness of her skin—it all overwhelmed him. Then hefrowned. Even without his enhanced senses, he detected her racing heartbeat. She was afraid.
He didn’t like that. He felt a bewildering and overwhelming need to soothe her fear, to protect her.
That was the final sign that he was not functioning correctly. Hefelt.
Xander gentled his grip on her fine-boned wrist and slowed his pace until he reached the end of the walkway. Another walkway lined the adjacent wall, spearing off into the darkness. There was a five-point-three meter gap between them.
He gripped the woman securely and leaped across the space.
She dug her fingers into his shoulders, turning her face into his bare chest. They landed safely and he was happy to hear the voices of their pursuers fading into the distance.
Eight minutes and thirty-three secondsuntil reboot completion.
