Free Colliding Worlds Trilogy 02 – Implosion by Berinn Rae Page B

isn’t my first dog and peony show.”
    “It’s
pony
show. You know, I find it ironic that Hillas also struggles with the English language.”
    She punched him in the arm, and the ship swerved. As he regained control, she scowled, and then spoke. “Listen, I get the end game. I’m not playing along to help your career. I’m doing this because Hillas is an evil bastard who needs to pay.”
    “You’re incredibly sexy when you’re angry.”
    “And you’re incredibly great at changing the subject any time it gets uncomfortable for you.”
    Roden sighed. “I gave you my word you’d be free, didn’t I?”
    “Yes,” she replied, albeit begrudgingly.
    He reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “If you don’t survive, that means this whole thing went to hells, and I won’t be left breathing, either. Personally, I’d like to stay alive for a few more years. If we can’t count on each other, we’re dead already. We have to trust each other if we’re going to succeed.”
    She narrowed her gaze at him. “I’ll trust you as much as you trust me, how about that?”
    He smiled. “I accept.” As long as she played along, it didn’t matter what she believed. He’d already admitted to himself the fact that he intended to break his word. He would never let Nalea go. While the end game was important, it went beyond that. If he had to keep her in a cell until she realized that they were better together, then so be it.
    They were further north now, somewhere over Canada, with only a couple hundred more miles of forest to cover before they reached Hillas’s Earthside base. A light bleeped on the panel. His fingers flew across the screen as he punched in the entry access codes. “We’re here. Are you ready to do this, lover?”
    She blew him a kiss, the action looking more hostile than friendly.
    After they docked, he typed in a special code to secure and hold the ship on standby, should they need to make a quick escape. And then he typed in one more code, one that no one knew. He’d made some special modifications of his own to his ship. Even Hillas couldn’t bypass this code, without destroying the ship in the process.
    Nalea stood and stepped toward the door. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her against him. He pressed his lips against hers. Her only response was to push against him. He stepped back and held out a hand. “Shall we?”
    Her glare would’ve shredded a lesser man’s confidence. Fortunately, Roden was no insignificant man. He held up a pair of silver-rimmed dark glasses and waited until she snatched them from his hand, slid them on, and then — finally — slipped her hand into his before he entered the code to open the door. Her grip was firm, as though she desired to break his fingers. He ran a thumb over her skin, and her lips formed a hard line.
    The door slid open to reveal three of Hillas’s guardsmen awaiting their arrival. For protocol, only one was sufficient to escort Roden to the Grand Lord. Sending more was a brazen display of power. Three guardsmen? An affront to his pride. It would take at least a half dozen to take down Roden. The old man clearly underestimated his Second. And that would be his downfall.
    Brushing against his wings, Nalea moved around Roden to step out of the ship first, with Roden right behind, still holding his hand. When he stood at her side, she looked up at him and gave him a warm smile. It nearly melted his frozen heart.
    Fyet,
that woman could act.
    He returned the smile. Only he wasn’t acting.

Chapter Twelve
    Nalea expected betrayal. Or, she at least expected Roden to kick his plan into action the moment the guardsmen closed the door behind them. She hadn’t expected the
waiting.
    It’d been over an hour since they’d been left alone in a small office and still no sign of Hillas. Oh, she had no doubt the Grand Lord was watching them over a live video feed that very moment. She tried to play her part, a part made no easier by