Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

GAROTH

A nother fist-sized chunk of green, slime-coated glop splatters onto the dented metal tray. The stench hits me like a punch to the gut, but I don't flinch. My stomach churns, but the alternative—space crickets—is enough to make a lesser orc puke on their boots.

Payment for a job. That's all this shit is. Another contract to fulfill, another debt to pay until I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself. Not my family or any other assholes.

The human female sits locked in my makeshift cage, her defiance a thorn in my side. “Peace,” she'd chirped back on the raid, all wide eyes and trembling chin. Peace? In this war-torn sector? Bullshit.

Suddenly, alarms scream through the tight corridors of my ship. Red lights pulse in a frantic rhythm, flashing over the metal bulkheads.

I’m on my feet before my brain catches up, heart hammering. The view-screen flickers to life, revealing a fleet of mismatched vessels—space pirates, the scourge of the galaxy. Their lead ship, a monstrous patchwork of stolen tech, fires again. The impact shakes my vessel to its core. We’re outnumbered and outgunned. But I bare my teeth, ready for a hell of a fight.

“Fuck,” I mutter, using the human cuss word, scanning the control panel where power levels stutter.

Through the chaos, she's a still point—the human diplomat with eyes like twin nebulas of indigo. She's against the wall of the cage, wisps of dark strands from her braid float around her face. Even now, defiance lifts her chin, but there's a glint of fear in those depths that she can't quite hide.

“Enjoying the show?” I ask in a low rumble. Her fierceness despite her captivity sends a jolt of something dangerous through my veins. My gut twists with a hunger that has nothing to do with food.

“Hardly entertaining,” she scoffs, and damn if her sass doesn't light a fire in me.

“You always throw such... electrifying parties?”

“Only for special guests,” I shoot back, reaching for the console, fingers dancing over the controls in a desperate bid to stabilize the power. Sweat slicks my palms, yet I don't let it slow me down.

The pirates fire at us and I dodge their attacks, but there’s too many and the shields won’t hold.

I need her help—I know it—but pride and that festering grudge makes me want to tell her to go to hell. “Looks like we might have to work together if you fancy breathing for much longer,” I say hard as steel.

“Let's not pretend you care about my well-being, orc,” she snaps, but there's a tremor in her words.

“Careful, Diplomat,” I warn, a predatory smirk pulling at my lips. “Keep talking like that and I might think you've grown fond of our little banter.”

The ship lurches, throwing me against the console. Pain shoots through my shoulder, sharp and hot, but I barely feel it. When our gazes lock, there's a promise in her eyes—a fire that matches the burn of my own.

“Release me,” she demands, and it's not a question. It's a challenge.

“Maybe I like you at my mercy,” I counter, even as I key in the code to her restraints. The moment the cuffs click open, her arm brushes mine, setting off a spark.

She eyes me warily. “Now what?”

I gesture to the control panel. “Now you prove you're as useful as you are troublesome. Can you handle weapons systems?”

A wry smile crosses her face. “You have no idea what I'm capable of, Garoth.”

“Then show me, woman,” I challenge, stepping aside to give her access to the controls.

“You know, you'll never see it coming when I take you down,” she says, stepping close, too close. The proximity sends a surge of heat through me that I fight to control.

“Looking forward to it,” I growl as she moves past me to assess the damage on the console. Her scent fills my nostrils—something floral—and I swallow hard.

Another blast rocks the ship, throwing us together, her body pressed against mine. Her heat slams into me, lighting me up like a fucking explosion. She smells like flowers and danger, and something primal roars to life in my chest.

As though oblivious to how she’s affecting me, she moves away from me and heads back to the controls.

Pisses me off how much I crave her.

“ Eyes on the fight,” I growl to more to myself than her, shaking off the pull of her proximity. My hands fly over the controls, dodging debris and returning fire in a deadly dance.

Another fucking mess. Story of my life.

The view-screen flashes, revealing a new threat. Warlord ships, their hulls gleaming with stolen tech, join the fray. Great. Just what we needed.

“What the hell?” I growl, punching in the communication codes. “This is Garoth. I've got your package. Why are you shooting?”

Silence. Then more laser fire.

Fuck! They don't give a shit if we live or die. Probably easier for them if we don't.

“Damn space rats,” I snarl, using a term as old as star navigation itself. Pirates on one side, backstabbing warlords on the other. Just another day in paradise.

I grunt, pushing aside the twinge of... something. And I must be losing my fucking mind thinking about how good she felt against me.

Shit! The battle roars around us. My hands are slick, but I don't miss a beat. Gotta stay sharp. Survive. It's not just my ass on the line anymore.

It's her.

Can't afford distractions. “On my mark, lower the shields,” I bark.

“Gonna use the power to hyperdrive?” She nods, “Smart.”

She moves like a warrior, all lean muscle and purpose. It's... annoying. Yeah, that's it. Annoying.

“Nice to see you know your way around something other than treaties.” And I’m definitely not noticing how she looks in the gunner's seat.

“Keep underestimating me, Garoth,” she fires back. “It'll make my victory all the sweeter.”

The ship bucks again, and she's pressed against me, and fuck if it doesn't light up every nerve.

I shake it off. Survival first, hormones later. She pushes off me, her face flush. I weave us through a hail of laser fire.

“Left thruster's hit!” Lila calls out.

“Compensating,” I growl, pushing my baby beyond her limits. Not just fighting for my hide anymore. When did that happen?

“We're not going to last much longer,” she warns.

“Then let's end this,” I say, a plan forming. It's crazy, but so is this whole situation. “Now!”

But the hyperdrive whines. Shit, shit, shit. “It needs to reboot. Gonna buy us some time.”

I hit the trash release, clouding their sensors. It buys us a moment, but that’s all I need. With the shields down and my ship a bit lighter from the trash release, I punch the button. The ship shudders, and then we’re whizzing past all the ships and stars, spitting us out into another part of the galaxy.

Spotting an asteroid belt, I maneuver us to one part, landing on a huge asteroid while my crippled ship recovers.

“We’ll be safe here for now.” The hyperdrive’s shot and until we can fix it along with the rest of the damage, we’re sitting ducks. Just hope the warlords and pirates are fighting among themselves to try and follow us.

“Looks like you're stuck with me, Diplomat.”

She lifts her chin. “Lila.”

We're not out of this mess, not by a long shot. Somehow I don’t want to turn her over to the warlords now and it’s not just that they double-crossed me. It’s me wanting to know more about her. And that thought? It's more terrifying than any space battle.