Ka'Cit's Haven (Riv’s Sanctuary #3)

He didn’t seem to be able to move, however, and a dark fluid was staining the ground beneath him.

He was hurt, maybe fatally, and the other one looked dead.

Her body was shuddering with each breath she took and the gun shook in her hands even as she tried to calm herself.

There was only one reason why there would be injured guards on Ka’Cit’s property.

He’d been attacked.

And he was nowhere to be seen.

The reason for that made her tremble some more.

But he could handle himself.

She was sure he was alive.

He had to be alive.

“Where. Is. He?” She spoke through gritted teeth and the guard eyed her, his gaze moving to the blaster in her hand.

Maybe he thought she was bluffing because she was trembling so hard—misinterpreting her panic for fear.

But she wasn’t afraid of him. One thing was sure, the guards didn’t scare her anymore.

What she was afraid of was the fact that Ka’Cit was missing.

As the seconds passed, her mind went through several horrible scenarios, each worse than the last.

When the guard still didn’t answer, something snapped inside her, breaking through her already-thin patience.

She didn’t have time for this.

Gripping the weapon, she disengaged the safety and the guard’s gaze registered some shock.

It was the same as the blaster she’d used at the satellite station. She knew what she was doing.

“Don’t play with me. I am not in the mood. I swear, I will plant a bullet in your head if you don’t tell me where he is. Now, where…is…he?”

The guard hissed again, hatred flooding his gaze, and for a moment, another wave of panic filled her that he wouldn’t tell her the information she needed.

He didn’t have to say a word. He didn’t owe her anything and he was her enemy.

But something changed in the guard’s gaze, something she couldn’t read.

“We came for you,” he said.

“What?”

The guard tried to laugh and ended up coughing up what looked like blood.

“I knew I was right.” He struggled to speak now and pulled in a huge breath through his snout. “I saw you at the service satellite. The Crusher said he didn’t know anything about you. But,” he coughed again, “the general should know I was right. They will kill him and come back to find you.”

Nia’s heart slammed against her chest, the guard’s words slowly making sense.

They’d come for her?

They’d tracked Ka’Cit down because of her and in trying to protect her…