The Alliance Boxset Books 4-6

Chapter 21-2

Taylor slowly came awake. She was amazed that she had slept so well considering everything that had happened. She blinked in surprise when she saw a pair of glowing amber eyes staring back at her. A soft, unexplained giggle escaped her. She knew she should be terrified, but it was hard to be when all she could see was her dirty face reflected back at her.

“Man, I need a bath,” she said in a voice husky from sleep. “I’m surprised you aren’t running screaming. I swear, I’ve got sand in places where no sand should ever be.”

A slender hand reached up and removed the helmet, revealing the face of a young woman. She stared at Taylor before her eyes moved down to Lonnie. Taylor grabbed the woman’s hand when she started to touch him.

“He’s under my protection,” Taylor said with a pointed look before she released the strange woman’s wrist. “I just want you to know that.”

The woman turned her gaze back to Taylor. “You are either very brave or very stupid,” the woman responded, rising to her feet. “Bring her and Londius.”

“PT Taylor,” Lonnie mumbled sleepily as he sat up. “What’s wrong?”

“How did you know his name?” Taylor demanded, rising to her feet when two helmet-clad men stepped forward.

“Maridi!” Lonnie exclaimed, rolling to his feet with a laugh.

Maridi chuckled as she wrapped her arms around Lonnie. Taylor watched the exchange, feeling very confused. Tucking her messy hair behind her ear, she folded her arms across her chest and scowled at the two embracing figures.

“Ah, Lonnie, who is this?” Taylor asked, raising her eyebrow at the girl that wasn’t much older than she was. “She looks familiar.”

“She should,” Lonnie replied with a huge grin. “This is my sister, Maridi.”

“Maridi?” Taylor said, rubbing her forehead. “But, I thought your family lived in the Eastern section.”

“That is what we wanted you to think,” Maridi said. “Come, our father and mother will be very pleased that my brother has returned.”

“I bet,” Taylor mumbled, hurriedly reaching down to grab her backpack. “What about the other stuff?”

“It is safe,” Maridi replied with a wave of her hand. “Come, we must move before the air patrols cross.”

Taylor stumbled out into the bright morning light. She blinked several times to clear her vision before she could focus on where she was going. This is one of those mornings when anything with a lot of caffeine might have come in handy. She felt like she had fog for brains at the moment.

“Ah, Maridi,” Taylor called out. “Where are we going? I need to be heading to the mountains.”

“I know,” Maridi replied as she picked up her pace.

Taylor grimaced. The girl was really beginning to piss her off. She would have just told her to go on if it hadn’t been for the two guys behind her with the long poles that looked suspiciously like they could light up her ass if she wasn’t careful.

Focusing on her breathing, she decided the best thing to do was make sure that Lonnie was safe, then see if she could steal some kind of transport and go find Saber and the others. A wave of guilt flooded her for a second when she realized that all her thoughts had been on Saber, not Hunter, Dagger, or Razor. Jesse, Jordan, and Kali would kill her if their men didn’t make it back. Knowing how she felt about Saber, she could understand why.

Taylor slowed when she saw Maridi start up a long row of stairs. She stopped and blinked up in awe. At the end of the winding canyon was a monument of some kind. Huge statues stood like silent sentinels staring down at her.

“Back off,” Taylor muttered when one of the men touched her with the end of the rod. “This is like – incredible. You can at least give me a second to appreciate it.”

“Come, PT Taylor, my parents are expecting you,” Maridi called down with a grin.

“It’s just Taylor,” Taylor replied as she stepped up to the sand-colored staircase.

Carefully climbing up the staircase, Taylor felt like she had just jumped from one movie set to another. She shook her head. Saber was never going to believe this! She paused at the entrance to look down the canyon. The tall walls concealed most of the structure. The only thing she could see was the narrowed area at the very end where bright sunlight shown down into the canyon. Swallowing, she cast an annoyed glance at the guards behind her before she turned and stepped through the massive stone entrance.