Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress 1)

“Well, guess what, Kyrin? Lilla belongs to A.I.R. now, and with her history of violence and being a prime suspect in a murder investigation, we’re keeping her. I’m sure you’re aware that her crimes are punishable by death.”

His face paled. He was definitely aware.

“I plan to see her executed,” I finished.

“She is not a criminal.” Something cold and hard washed over his features, returning his color. His eyes gleamed with dangerous intent, like the sharpest of daggers, exquisite to view, lethal to touch. “Let her go.”

“Yeah.Right.”

“I would not be so quick to deny my request, were I you.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I,” he said, studying me with an unnerving intensity, “can save your friend.”

I can save your friend.

Those words beat inside my mind, causing white-hot fury to pound through every fiber of my being. Bastard! How dare he utter such a lie? How dare he attempt to offer false hope, simply to save his sister? Eyes compressed to tiny slits, nostrils flared, I began adjusting the level of power on my gun to its highest setting. I was going to have myself an Arcadian barbecue.

A nurse entered the room. I saw her in my peripheral vision, but didn’t switch my position or my focal point from Kyrin. She dropped her chart when she caught sight of my gun. She froze in place, her eyes a tableau of horror, her mouth open.

“I—I heard a noise,” she stammered, her features ashen with shock.

“Exit the room, ma’am,” I told her. I meant for the words to elicit calm and reassurance, but they exploded from my mouth with all the rage I felt. “I’ve got the situation under control.”

“I—I—should I call the police?” she stuttered to Kyrin, as if he was the one in charge here.

“I am the police,” I shouted. “Now get the f**k out!”

Nurse Idiot didn’t move.

Then Kyrin gave a slight tilt of his head, and she raced from the room as quickly as her feet could carry her. My lips curled in contempt.

“Do you prefer original or extra crispy?” I asked. “Because I’m willing to fry you up either way.”

He ignored me, and instead replied with, “I gave Dallas—that is his name, yes?—some of my blood. Only a drop, mind you, but he will live a few days more because of it. Were I to give him more, he would live out the rest of his life, healthy and whole.”

“If you won’t choose, I’ll choose for you. I say”—I pretended to mull it over—“extra crispy.”

“Is his heartbeat not steadier? His color not brighter?”

I flicked my partner a quick glance, and my eyes widened. Yes, on both counts, I realized, shock pounding through me. My hands stilled. “That doesn’t mean you helped him.”

“You disappoint me. I thought a woman of your talents would be more insightful.”

I bared my teeth in a scowl. “Perhaps you require a demonstration of exactly what my talents are.”

“Perhaps you require a demonstration of mine.” Kyrin slowly rose. He was so tall, I was forced to look up, almost at the ceiling. I scanned his body, but I saw no evidence of weapons. Still, my heart slammed inside my chest, and my palms sweated. I didn’t understand my reaction. I’d squared off with aliens just as intimidating and won. I was the one in control here. I had the authority. I held the weapon.

“You’d say anything to save your sister,” I said.

“I would say anything to free her, yes, but in this, I do not lie.” He stretched out one hand and reached inside his slacks pocket with the other. Gaze locked on mine, he withdrew a small but deadly blade.

Okay, now he had a weapon.

“Stop right there,” I commanded. “I’ll kill you without a qualm.”

“Then you would never know the truth, would you?” Calmly he clasped the blade and placed the tip at his palm. I was too fascinated by his words and actions to follow through with my threat. His features remained expressionless as he sliced a deep incision from one end to the other. Blood sprang from the torn tissues, and the scar on my arm throbbed in reaction.

As I watched, his wound slowly closed itself, the tissues weaving themselves together and leaving the blood pooled in his hand. He wiped away every crimson drop on his shirtsleeve, a red smear against pristine white, then revealed the perfect smoothness of his hand.

“Do you see?” he said. “I cannot die, and those who consume my blood will live, as well.”

My God, this alien was some sort of immortal being.

I didn’t know what to think of that fact. A lot of aliens had special powers, but I’d never heard of one with accelerated healing. I told him so.

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t so. There is only one other like me,” Kyrin said with a shrug, “but you will never find her. So right now, I am your friend’s only hope. My blood can save him.”

That’s when it hit me, truly hit me. Dallas could be saved. The knowledge rocked me to the core. I was almost afraid to speak my next words. “In exchange for his life, you want me to set your sister free?”

“Yes,” he said. “That is all I require.”

Yes, I’ll set her free, I thought in the next instant. I’ll slip inside A.I.R. headquarters, unlock her cell, and escort her from the building. Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Excitement bubbled inside me. Then…the enormity of the situation slammed into me with the force of an antique 9mm Glock. I closed my eyes, lowered my gun. I couldn’t let Lilla go. Six other lives were at stake here—the lives of the five abducted citizens…and my own.

By setting Lilla free, I would severely damage the Steele case. I might doom the very people I’d sworn to protect. Breaking the very rules I worked so hard to enforce meant losing my job, my honor, the respect of my coworkers. And quite possibly gaining a lifetime of imprisonment.

I’d always feared small, dark places—a reminder of my childhood and a fear I had yet to overcome. The cold, the complete and utter blackness. The silence. But I wanted Dallas healed. God, I did. Desperately, I wanted my friend to live a long, healthy life. I hadn’t saved Dare, but now I had a chance to save Dallas.

Opening my eyes, I gazed down at Dallas, at the helpless man who now had a single hope of survival. I tore my gaze away and faced Kyrin imploringly. “What you’re asking is impossible,” I said, guilt already crashing through me because I hadn’t shouted “Yes!” immediately. “My boss would never okay such a trade.”