Free To Protect a Warrior by Immortal Angel Page B

“I’m going to ask you one more time, Keltair, and then I’m going to stop playing nice.”
    The man probably expected that eventually there would be a level of pain Liam would reach where he’d start babbling every secret in his heart. It was the height of ignorance. Liam wasn’t just a half human half Keltair with abnormally large strength and size.He was a man who had endured levels of pain unimaginable to even his own species.
    This man couldn’t break him. No matter how hard he tried.“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Rick lowered his mirrored glasses revealing the silver in his eyes.
    Liam’s insides twisted. No wonder this man was so fast and so strong. The silver in his eyes revealed the nanobots running through his system, replacing muscles, bones, and whatever else they could, with metal. Rick wouldn’t break him. But from the sadistic gleam in the other man’s eyes, he would enjoy using every nanobot in his body to try.
    “No more Mr. Gentle then.” Rick cracked his knuckles. “You Keltairs don’t want that, anyway.”
    Liam began to worry that Rick actually meant to kill him. And humans say Keltairs are brutal. I’m just a student. He glanced toward the door.
    Rick turned and followed his gaze. “No one’s coming to help you, traitor.” A second later, he struck out with his foot
    The blow smashed into his face with the speed and power of a bullet. Liam’s head snapped back and his eyes saw stars.
    Hot blood ran from the new wound on his cheek. He rolled to face the ceiling, gasping.
    It’s just pain. Pain means nothing.
    It’d already been an hour of this. He wondered how long it would be until the man tired. Until he realized that Liam knew nothing about the Keltair ship.
    Even though he’d only asked him a handful of questions…
    What if the goal wasn’t ever to get information from me?
    The thought chilled him. Who would question it if they killed the one “responsible” for the attack? His father? There wouldn’t be anyone left willing to tell the truth.
    Except maybe Hannah.
    Hannah. The beautiful dark-haired beauty that haunted his mind and his dreams. Were they hurting her the same way they were hurting him?
    He shivered. Finally the chill of the tile slid under his skin and into his blood.
    Yes, they’d untied Hannah’s bindings and led her off like some kind of princess, but that didn’t mean they’d continue being so gentle with her when they realized she didn’t have any useful information. Or that she was up there having a picnic with me.
    Rick stood and drew back his leg.
    Liam rolled, springing to his feet.
    Rick laughed. “Going to make this interesting, huh? I knew you were only hiding that savage heart.”
    The two men squared off. The head of security matched him in size, but Liam wondered if the nanobots had also given the older man actual skills in fighting along with strength and speed.
    “Do we really need to do this?” Liam asked. “By now you have to know I wasn’t involved in any of this.”
    “Oh, I never really cared whether you were in on it or not.” He gave a chilling smile as he reached into the pocket of his uniform. “I just think that the only good Keltair is a dead one.”
    An electric shock device. Liam growled and charged him, but it was too late.
    Too fast for his eyes to follow, the man shot him.
    Needles from metal grippers burrowed into the flesh of his chest and stomach in a dozen places, making it impossible to remove them. The pain was excruciating. Liam looked at himself in the mirrored glasses of his opponent. The reflection was that of a blood-splattered man with eyes widened with terror. Liam crumpled to his knees.
    “Enjoy,” Rick muttered.
    He turned a dial on the black device in his hands. Electricity raced through the cords in his chest.
    Liam flew back, hitting the ground. It was like being struck by lightning. He smelled smoke. Tasted smoke. The world was a bright flash of light. His body twitched and shook uncontrollably. And it