Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

Her heart sped up. She’d never lost her blaster before.

“He says he has the weapon,” Levi added.

“That’s not possible. I always make sure it’s with me. No one’s been in this room but us.” Ulric had, but he’d been totally naked, so he hadn’t taken it. She headed for the armchair and quickly rummaged through her bag. Nope, it wasn’t in there.

Alex dumped the bag and made her way to stand beside Damon. He was watching Levi with narrowed eyes.

She stared at the empty holster in her hand for a long moment, before strapping it around her thigh.

“What are you leaving out?” he asked.

The teenager swallowed but met Damon’s eye. “When you left me to watch over Alex, someone else did come by.”

“Who was it?” Damon’s voice sounded deeper.

For a moment, Alex swallowed the lump in her throat. She held her breath, wondering if Levi knew about Ulric’s bizarre visit.

“Milo hung out with me, but we were outside the whole time.”

“I don’t understand what the problem is, then.”

Sweat ran down Levi’s face. “Well, he and I are…we’re sort of in a…um…in a…relationship.”

“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with Alex-”

“I swear. I didn’t leave the building. I only ducked around the corner with him. We just wanted a little privacy and found it down the corridor.”

“Did you see anyone get in or out?”

Levi shook his head.

Alex couldn’t stop a shiver from running through her. If Levi had been with his lover around the corner to get some privacy, there was no way he would have heard someone sneaking into her room. For all they knew, two people could have sneaked in while she slept and was dreaming about her father’s last visit.

Things just get freakier around here.

“Afterward, Milo told me that Elroy knew about us. He sent Milo to distract me, so he could sneak into the room. If Milo didn’t agree to do it, Elroy told him I’d be the next person to die-”

“So what you’re telling me is that Elroy sneaked into this room and took Alex’s weapon to kill someone, and then planned to frame her?” Damon looked furious.

Levi nodded, and he looked so much younger. It didn’t stop Damon from closing the distance between them and slapping him in the face.

“You lied to me! I thought I could trust you.”

“You can.” Tears streamed down Levi’s face, and his cheek had turned red.

“Where’s Elroy, now?”

“I don’t know.”

A knock sounded on the door, and Levi jumped, as if it suddenly burned his skin.

Damon held a finger over his lips.

“Damon, I know you’re in there, so you might as well open the door before I tear it down.”

He headed for the door, but Alex called his name. When he turned to look at her, she tossed him his pants. It took him seconds to slip them on, and tie up the cord. Damon opened the door, slowly.

The security guy stood in the doorway. “Well, it’s about time you opened up. You know I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

“What do you want, Elroy?”

“I want you to stop protecting a criminal.”

“I don’t know of any criminal.”

“Very well, then.” Elroy stepped into the room, pointed the blaster at Damon, and shot him point-blank.

“No!” Alex yelled, somewhere behind him.

Damon fell back against the bed. The burn of the laser strike spread over his shoulder like boiling water slowly pouring over his skin. At least Elroy hadn’t hit any vital organs or ruptured anything important. He lifted a shaky hand to the smoking wound and pressed his left palm over it. He might not be able to regenerate skin and tissue on himself as quickly as he could on others, but he could still heal his own injuries.

Elroy knew that and had no doubt shot with the intention of incapacitating him for the moment. What did he plan to do?

“Damon, are you all right?”Alex appeared beside him. She grabbed a hold of his uninjured arm and helped him to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

He managed a quick nod, never taking his eyes off his attacker.

“Oh, this is really touching. Too bad you’re not going to get a chance to be together after I’m done with you.” Elroy stepped into the room with a smirk on his thin lips, keeping the weapon out in front of him. “The Priestess is finally going to realize I was right. We don’t need you here. We offered you shelter after your crash, and you’ve repaid us by killing with no remorse.” He paused for a moment, glaring at Alex. “You were so desperate to kill our people, not even having your dog do your bidding was enough. You had to use your weapon as well.”

“I don’t have a dog,” she whispered.

Damon winced. “Don’t listen to him.” His whole left arm felt numb. Pins and needles ran down the entire side. This wasn’t good. Not when he wanted to protect her so badly.

Knowing a little bit more about Alex, and seeing the photo of her father, he understood her lack of magical awareness. If her father kept it from her, and she spent her entire life travelling from one end of the galaxy to another, how could she be expected to believe in anything but guns, ships, and technology? The way her magical capacity had been numbed as soon as she put the key around her neck made Damon realize she was probably right. Maybe her father and I are of the same kind. Of course, that only saddened him, because it meant Aleena had lied to him about everything.

“Oh, Damon. It makes no difference if she listens to me or not. I’m going to prove everything to Aleena, and you’re all coming with me.”

“You can’t prove anything without the animal,” Damon said with a sigh.

“Who says I don’t have the animal?”

Alex stiffened beside him, her fingers clinging more tightly to his arm. “You caught him?”

Elroy eyed her with disgust, and Damon’s fingers itched to smack him. How dare he show such disrespect toward her when she hadn’t done anything wrong. How could Elroy have singlehandedly captured a feral monster who feasted on flesh and blood? Damon could still remember the murderous rage he’d read off Laurie’s memory of the animal. Whether he was entirely beast, or a creature of legend, didn’t matter. The animal only had one thing in mind, and he doubted this poor excuse of a man had been able to capture it.

“Yes, I caught the beast when he leaped out of your window and passed out in the garden.” Elroy stepped closer, still glaring at Alex. “Tell me. What was he doing in here with you? Does a dog satisfy you in bed? I guess it’s understandable why Damon wouldn’t be enough for you.” His dry chuckle filled the room.

What was he talking about? Damon wondered if Alex had left this out of her story on purpose, or had she intended to tell him how the animal fit into her life eventually? He wasn’t sure and didn’t have the energy to be angry with her at the moment.

While Elroy gloated, Alex caught him by surprise. She let go of Damon, took a step forward, and kicked out a long leg. She knocked the blaster out of Elroy’s hand, and it tumbled to the floor, but before she could grab it, Elroy booted it toward the open door.

Milo appeared in the doorway. He bent over and secured the weapon, as if he were holding a piece of rotted fruit or a dead animal.

Elroy held out his hand. “Give me the weapon.”

Alex made a move to get around him, but Elroy wrapped a hand around her wrist, spun her around, and secured it at the small of her back.

“Don’t move, you whore.” He looked at Milo. “Give it to me.”

“No,” both Damon and Levi said in unison.

Elroy’s face was red, his eyes blazing with rage. “If you don’t give it to me now, Levi will be the first one I kill when I pry it from your dead hands.”