Protected by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (books that read to you .txt) 📖

place yourself in danger at any time.”

Nevada nods, taking his hand and placing it over her lower stomach. “I’d never risk our baby,” she murmurs. “But I want to be there for Ivy too.”

I glance away, unwilling to break up their intimate moment. I think of our plan along with all the things that could go wrong.

The entire plan hinges on the actions of one reportedly insane male who lives close to the Great Water.

“We are ready,” Rakiz says, drawing me from my thoughts. “Let’s go find your female.”

Chapter Eleven

Ivy

I shiver in the hole all night. After hours of attempting to keep myself warm and after I almost go hoarse screaming that I need the bathroom, the Zintas finally drop down a rope. I’m hoping that I’ll get an opportunity to escape, but the same Zinta who attended me earlier wraps his huge hand around my arm as soon as the rope clears the top of the hole. He escorts me to the tiny, windowless room that passes as a bathroom before locking me inside while I do my business.

I use the same bucket of water to wash my hands and then I search for anything I can use for a weapon.

“Ivy. Ivy. Ivy.”

My mouth drops open as the sound of clashing reaches my ears. Someone is roaring, and I pound on the door, slamming my fists against it as I attempt to break it down.

“Vrex?”

The door opens, but it’s the Zinta who grabs me and pulls me through the large sitting room, which is covered in blood. Red stains the floor and the walls, and I twist in the Zinta’s hold, almost tripping over multiple bodies along the way. The Zinta hauls me back outside, and I freeze.

“Vrex!”

They have him surrounded, and he lunges toward me. The scuffle is short, but within moments, they’re pushing him down the hole, and I choke out a sob as I hear him land with a muffled groan.

The Zinta hands me the rope while Aroth stalks toward me.

“Get down there before I push you down. The warrior will soften your fall.”

I’d rather be stuck in a dark hole in the ground with Vrex than up here with these motherfuckers. The Zinta lowers me down while Aroth roars at his people, obviously enraged that Vrex was able to follow me here and do so much damage. But I block it all out as soon as I’m lowered enough that Vrex can pull me down into his arms.

I stare up at him, furious even though his battered, swollen face is the best thing I’ve ever seen.

“What were you thinking?” I snap.

“I couldn’t leave you here alone.”

I wrestle with that for a moment. This wasn’t a breakout attempt?

“You got put in here on purpose?”

He grins at me. “I couldn’t get you out without first getting in. And I’ve killed enough of them that they need to regroup.”

I sigh, reaching up to prod at my head. Fireworks explode in front of my eyes as my hand brushes over the bump, and Vrex leans forward, catching my hand. The Voildi knocked me out when I was taken, and I’d give just about anything for a few painkillers.

“You know, for a self-confessed villain, you seem to care a lot about the woman you were hired to find.”

His jaw tightens.

“You should have left me. Why would you do something so stupid?”

“I couldn’t leave you.”

“Well, now they have both of us to keep each other in line. They’ll threaten me to make you behave. And as soon as they sell me, they’ll kill you.”

“That’s not the fighting spirit I’m used to.”

I glare at him, and he holds me close while turning his head to examine our surroundings.

If I were going to trap two people in a hole in the ground, I’d definitely design it just like this. The walls are made of smooth stone, and while I’m pretty good at climbing, I doubt I’d be able to scramble up to the top without risking a nasty fall.

And if Vrex tried to climb it and slipped? His huge body would crush me.

It’s suddenly silent above us. “Where do you think they’ve gone?” I whisper.

“Likely to arrange for your sale.”

I grit my teeth at the thought. “Are you okay?”

He nods. “Get on my shoulders.”

“Huh?”

He crouches, and I sigh but climb on until I’m sitting on him like a kid at Disney World. Then he slowly rises to his feet, his huge hands wrapped around my knees to help me balance. I see where this is going.

I’m tall enough to reach the grate, and I push my hands up against it. “Shit.”

It’s not budging. My guess is that they’ve reinforced it with those rocks now that Vrex is in here with me.

Vrex crouches back down, and I climb off his shoulders as I blow out a breath.

“Well, the good news? They can’t force us to come out. If they try and come down here, we can kill them.” I hand Vrex the knife from beneath my tunic. His mouth drops open, and I nod at his frown.

“Yeah, women are continually underestimated. On all planets. The problem is that they’ll eventually just starve us out. If they withhold water, we’ll be begging them to let us out of here.”

I slump down, suddenly depressed, and Vrex leans over, taking my chin in his hand.

“I swear to you, no matter what happens, I will come for you. I will never let them take you away from me, not while I still have breath in my body.”

He brushes away a tear as it falls down my cheek, and then I’m burying my face in his chest as he wraps his arms around me, stroking my back.

“It’s been one hell of a week,” I sob, and he murmurs his agreement.

When my face feels hot and swollen and I’ve got no tears left, I slowly move back. “We need to come up with some kind of plan.”

He nods. “We will respond based on their actions. Let’s see what they