It was a Hunter, but different, modified somehow.

Twisting as I flipped above it, I buried the muzzle of the plasma rifle against its back and held the trigger down.

On auto fire, the bolts should have cut through anything, but the android only stumbled once before pivoting and swatting me away.

I fired again, then cursed.

The battery was empty, with nothing to show for it.

Reversing my grip on the rifle I charged again, swinging it like a club against the black dome of the Hunter’s head.

It grabbed the stock and wrenched it away, tossing it down the corridor with a clatter.

Fine. I was happier using my hands anyway.

The Hunter stood solid, immovable. Every time I dashed against it I sliced a bit of the uniform away, but only managed to reveal the hard plating underneath.

The new armor might’ve slowed it down, but it was fast enough. And stronger now than any I’d fought before.

A heavy gloved hand smashed against my ribs and I staggered back.

’Don’t get cocky,’ I could hear Loree say, and couldn’t tell if her voice was in my head or on the speakers.

She was here, fighting with me.

And that was all I needed to keep going. “Come on you lumbering theriacian tortoise. Can’t you do better than that?”

It turned away again, relentlessly heading towards Loree.

Like hell. “I thought all results of the Daedalus experiment needed to be returned to Base!”

It froze.

“Don’t you still have that command in your programming?”

Not that there was anything left of the ship the Hunters and their masters called Base. But maybe this one didn’t know that.

It slowly pivoted back towards me and I held my breath, arms outstretched.

“Here I am, a member of the Daedalus.”

My fingers curled into claws. My modifications were more subtle than those of some of my brothers. But that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

With a quick strike I sunk my hand into the plating of the bulkhead and pulled, the permisteel screeching as it twisted into ribbons between my fingers.

“Don’t you want to come get me first?”

“All results of the Daedalus experiment…” the Hunter droned and stepped towards me.

Gotcha.

“Xander, fall back!” That was my lady, definitely not in my head this time. “Do you trust me?”

What sort of insane question was that? I gave a quick nod, backing up as the Hunter advanced.

In one breath Loree rattled off a set of directions. Then repeated it and fell silent.

Weaving and rolling back from the Hunter’s lunge I ran through a mental map of the ship, figured out what she was saying.

Correction. That was my clever, clever lady. Her plan should work if I could keep the Hunter’s attention. Stay close enough for it to stay focused on me, but far enough away to survive. No problem.

I ripped off another section of decking and hurled it, just a little something so the Hunter didn’t forget about me.

“Come on,” I called. “Don’t you think-”

Thwak.

Another blow like that and clever plan or not we were going to be in trouble.

Rolling backwards, I gasped for air and winced. Broken ribs. They’d heal. Always had before.

I took the next two turns as per Loree’s instructions, barely managing to stay out of the thing’s reach.

But where the hell was the Queen? I counted minutes while dodging from the Hunter’s next attack.

Message sent to Davien. Two minutes for him to swear at me, then call up Mack. We knew Mack and Zayda were already awake, and the Queen didn’t need much time to get anywhere.

Dammit, they should be here by now.

Soon I left behind the remnants of the destroyed blast doors that littered the corridors. The Hunter hadn’t been through this section of the ship.

I drove at the Hunter, anything to weaken it, slow it, make it forget why it had originally docked on the SysSec ship.

A crack finally appeared in its helmet, fine lines spreading through the opaque glossy mask. Then the web of cracks slowed, stopped, reversed until it was whole again.

Shit.

I guess if our bones could heal on their own, no reason that thing’s armor shouldn’t be able to.

Other than it made for a hell of a fight.

Dropping down a maintenance hatch to the lower level I thought about the next steps. Loree’s plan would work.

Should work.

But too many times I’ve seen a perfectly good plan shatter in the face of reality.

The Hunter landed with a crash beside me and I pulled back again. If my brothers were here, we might have a chance against it. Self-healing armor or not we’d circle it, take turns on the attack, bring it down.

One final junction to pull back through, my heart beat ringing in my ears, the taste of copper in my mouth.

I counted off doors, recessed into the bulkheads, then turned, waiting for the Hunter to approach.

Closer.

Closer.

Now!

I vaulted over the Hunter, rolling to pop up to my feet and race back to the ladder.

“Do it, Loree!”

I knew she couldn’t hear me, but surely she’d see it was time.

And my clever lady did.

Emergency depressurization sequence activated.

The sterile voice rang through the corridor as I ran, repeating the warning.

Emergency depressurization sequence activated. All personnel please vacate this area.

I had to be faster.

In the soles of my feet I registered the vibration of the cargo bay doors opening.

Behind me Loree slammed down blast door after blast door, fighting to buy me enough time, and enough distance.

The building roar of the atmosphere rushing into space filled my ears.

I wasn’t going to make it.

There. There was the ladder. I leapt for it, wrapping my arms around the rungs and started to climb through the final hatch that Loree had left open.

My fingers brushed the opening, but a vice clamped around my leg, jerking me away.

The Hunter had torn its way through the closed blast door. I hadn’t been fast enough.

It gripped my ankles, threatening to pull us both off the ladder and into the void.

“Close the hatch!” I shouted, not caring that she still couldn’t hear me. She’d do it. She had to do it.

The Queen would get here, pick up Loree and Tobias, do something with his partner. My brothers would get here and save her.

She’d come back from the dead once. I couldn’t let her die now.

I took a last gasp of air, filling my lungs, preparing to let go.

If I wrapped my arms around the Hunter it wouldn’t be able to grab on to anything else on the decks, and we’d both be blown out.

She’d be safe.

“Get your ass up here, Xander.”

But man, she’d be pissed.

With my last bit of strength I kicked, swinging my leg back and forth, knocking the Hunter into the base of the ladder then away again.

It wouldn’t do him any harm, but it didn’t have to.

A second time, a third. My knee and hip ached at the strain and then I felt something loosen.

One more swing and my boot slipped off, the Hunter still clutching it.

Lungs screaming for air, I climbed the last few rungs then pulled myself to the top of the ladder while the hatch sealed shut behind me.

One breath. My ribs were not in good shape. Another. Neither was anything else, come to think of it. I pushed myself to my knees, eyes fixed on the circular hatch, waiting for the Hunter to rip through.

The blast door behind me opened, and I whirled. How the hell did the Hunter get behind me?

I sagged as Loree raced to my side, tossing something to the deck beside us.

“You were giving up!” she yelled, burrowing her face into my neck. “I saw you. I saw your face. You were going to...”

A soft hiccup, and her arms tightened painfully around my ribs. Worth the pain, any time.

“No way, babe. Not leaving you.”

“I saw you,” she argued. “I know you. You were going to do something stupid. I watched that thing fly out of the cargo bay on the external cams, and it could have been you!”

“Well, at least you remember, even if you think so poorly of me,” I teased. The feel of her lush body, pressed against mine, made any pain evaporate. I pulled her into my chest, then stiffened as a new scent caught my attention.

“You’re bleeding.” Twisting to look over her shoulder, the ragged tear down her shirt edged in crimson sent my pulse racing again. “What happened?”

“A whacked out SysSec agent happened.” Loree shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Let me see.”

Sighing in irritation, she turned, back to my chest, and I gently eased her shirt up, exposing her silken skin. I ran my right hand around the jagged cut, then rubbed her back, wishing for Doc’s skills. “What did she cut you with, a machete?”

“Piece of a monitor screen, actually.”

I tamped the rage down. Whatever had occurred, she was fine now. Here. And she’d tell me about it when she wanted to.

A soft moan cut through my thoughts. Her head had slumped forward, auburn hair spilling to the side, as she relaxed under the constant stroking.

My left hand tightened on her hip, the urge to drag her to me, to devour her neck with kisses stronger than even the Hunter had been.

“Hmm?” her drowsy voice sparked wicked thoughts. “What’s wrong?”

Just one taste of her skin, just a taste. Leaning in, I breathed in the scent of her, brushed my lips on the side of her neck. The sweet smell set my blood burning, but it was enough.

Until she rolled her head to the side, exposing her throat, leaning back against me with her huge eyes fixed on mine. “More.”

With a groan I fell on her lips, half convinced I’d lost to the Hunter, been blown into space and this was all a dying hallucination. But no dream had ever filled my ears with such soft sweet sounds.

And beeping.

Beeping?

With a gasp she pushed away, scrambling for the commtab she’d dropped on the deck next to us. “Incoming transmission.”

I tensed, willing my body to heal faster, get ready for another fight, as she queued the audio.

“This is the Queen.” Ronan’s voice cut through the static. “Prepare to be boarded.”