Destin's Hold (The Alliance #5)(51)

“We don’t know that he had anything to do with Alissa’s disappearance. Cutter has been a huge supporter of the rebuilding of Chicago and our law enforcement,” Richard protested, turning to glare at Jason.

“Each of those areas is littered with aliens,” Mike pointed out.

“Yeah, and there are a lot of humans working there, too. We could be dealing with a serial killer for all we know,” Richard argued.

“Why are you defending them, Richard? You know what they did over on Colbert’s side. The women were shipped off world as fast as they could grab them,” Troy pointed out.

“And we have found more than half of the missing women and returned them,” a steely voice from the door stated. “Destin.”

Destin drew up to his full five foot eleven inches. While he wasn’t as tall as the Trivators, years of hard work had made him almost as broad. One thing he had learned during his trip across the galaxy and back: he could hold his own against most of them.

“Cutter,” Destin greeted.

All of the men stood and turned to face Cutter. The man glanced around the room, his face a calm mask. Destin had no doubt that Cutter had heard what they were discussing. A Trivator’s senses were more sensitive than a human’s – something that Trig had unhappily pointed out several hours ago.

“Where’s Trig?” Cutter inquired, glancing around.

“I’m here,” Trig said, stepping into the room.

“Where’s Beth?” Mike asked, frowning when he didn’t see her behind Trig.

“She is with Councilor Ikera,” Trig replied. “The apartment upstairs didn’t have any food.”

“Shit, I forgot about that,” Tim muttered, running his hand down over his face. “Sorry about that, Destin.”

“I should have checked it. It isn’t your fault, Tim,” Destin reassured the other man with a grimace. “Cutter, what are you doing here?”

“Councilor Ikera requested transport to the base. I was in the area. I wanted to discuss several things with you, now that you’ve returned,” Cutter explained in a quiet voice. “It would appear that I came in at the appropriate time.”

“I would like to take a ten minute break first. We’ll meet back here,” Destin replied.

“Who is Councilor Ikera?” Justin asked under his breath.

“A blue-bitch like the Usoleum bastard Badrick,” Mason replied.

Destin reacted without thinking. He moved around the table, invading the large, older man’s space. His face was tight with anger and he didn’t bother to hide it. His fist wrapped in the front of Mason’s shirt and he stared the man down.

“That blue-bitch is my woman,” Destin warned in a voice devoid of all civility. “You will address her with respect. Her name is Princess Jersula Ikera.” He released the front of Mason’s shirt, slightly pushing the man before he stepped back and slowly turned to make sure each man in the room knew he was pissed. “If you can’t be civil to her, stay the hell away from her. You insult Sula, you insult me. I’ll meet you back here in ten fucking minutes. Don’t be late.”

Destin didn’t say anything else. He was afraid if he did, it would be with his fists. He strode out the door and headed down the hallway toward the break room. He didn’t know how Beth would handle Sula being around.

Turning the corner, he slowed when he heard the soft sound of laughter and Beth’s bubbly voice. Pausing outside of the break room, he leaned back against the wall and listened. It was hard to hear what they were saying above the sound of music playing in the background.

“So, you’re a real live Princess, like in the movies?” Beth was asking in a voice filled with awe.

“What is a movie?” Sula asked.

“Movies are videos where people act out things and you can eat popcorn, drink soda, and lose yourself in people acting out things on a large screen. My grandma and I used to go to the dollar matinee on Wednesdays during the summer. My favorites were the classics. Don’t you have movies where you come from?” Beth asked.

“Oh, yes. Entertainment plays,” Sula laughed. “I enjoy them very much. Chelsea gave me quite a few of them the last time I was here.”

Relief flooded Destin at the sound of Sula’s warm laughter. Beth had the type of personality where she never met a stranger. Straightening, he stepped around the corner and into the break room.

“Thank you for helping out, Beth,” Destin murmured with a nod.

“No problem. I’m good with wild animals and aliens,” she teased, winking at Sula. “You’re the alien. I’ll classify Trig as the wild animal.”

Sula laughed again, unable to resist the infectious personality of the other woman. Destin watched Beth rise gracefully out of her seat.

“I’ll let Grandma know you are back. She and Mabel have been worried about you, and they wanted to know about Kali, too,” Beth said, glancing back and forth between Destin and Sula with an amused smile.

Destin nodded. “Tell them that Sula and I will be by later to show them pictures of Kali and Ami,” he added, stepping to the side so Beth could exit the room.

“I will. See you later, Sula. It was nice meeting you,” Beth said with a smile.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Beth,” Sula responded.