Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs Book 1) by Charlee Allden

drop-pod. “The damage to the ship from the collision is too extensive to get her skip-ready and they’ll never believe me about the rest if I don’t go down with them.”
    “She’s right,” growled Lo. “They won’t believe her.”
    Mercury snapped at Lo to silence him.
    “Please,” she said. “Trust me and be ready.”
    She stopped at the hatch to the cargo-drop and unlocked it. “I’ve programmed it so all you have to do is step inside. After it’s launched I’ll set the cargo doors to blow.”
    “And you?”
    “I’ll be long gone in the passenger pod before the explosion.”
    She pushed the pallet in, disappearing from sight for a moment before returning to stand in front of his cage, but still out of reach. “The supplies will make things easier for you on the surface. Now promise me, you won’t come after Drake and Resler. That none of you will harm them.” His brothers growled softly, but Sam kept her gaze locked to his, body tense as her voice dropped to a whisper. “Please. Prove you aren’t the animals they claim you are.”
    Helpless to bend her to his will, Mercury keened low with worry and pain. She had no reason to think them more than the animals Drake had labeled them. Yet, she had protected them at every turn. That spoke more of her heart than her fear. This plan of hers was set and they had to see this through, but it would kill him if anything happened to her.
    “I promise, courra . For me and my brothers. We won’t harm them.” Once spilled the words left a burning hole in his gut. He didn’t blame her for the shrieking ache. She couldn’t know how many times the whip-master’s lash had torn through skin to strike at his pride. How many times watching it dig into the flesh of his brothers had left his heart in tatters.
    She nodded, pulling out the code-key. “And you won’t try to go after them now either? You’ll stick to the plan?”
    Her jaw tightened and her eyes searched his face as if she wasn’t sure he would keep his promise. He didn’t want to, but he had little choice but to rely on her knowledge of how to survive beyond the world of the arena. He nodded. “I’ve promised. Will you trust me, courra ?”
    “Step back away from the doors.” She took them all in at a glance making it clear her command extended to them all. “It’s going to be okay,” she said, pressing the code-key to the lock.
    She moved on to the other locks and Mercury fought instinct. His muscled trembled with the need to claim her and keep her safe. He wanted to shove open the cage door and pull her into his arms even more than he wanted to track his tormentors down and end their lives. The damn woman had him in knots, so he would keep his distance. There wasn’t time for what he wanted. What he needed.
    As she stepped back, putting as much distance as possible between them, Mercury finally stepped free of the cage and led his brothers to the cargo-drop.
    The interior was lit in low red light. He walked inside and turned to see her with her hand on the door.
    “You’ll be fine,” she assured, unaware that she was the object of his worry.
    Somehow, he promised himself, he would get to her before Drake and Resler hurt her. As he watched, the hatch swung shut. The click of the lock sealing scraped against his sensitive eardrums like sandpaper.
    A jolt threw him against a container. It knocked him off his feet and emptied his lungs of air.
    A moment later, the floor fell out from under him. He scrambled for better footing. Bones rattling, oxygen deprived brain screaming in protest; Mercury knew Samantha had been right. She never would have survived the cargo-drop’s rapid decent to the planet surface. His belly lodged somewhere near his throat and the vibrations were so intense the ligaments all through his body strained to keep muscle and bone together. Lo and Carn had to be experiencing the same sensations, but he didn’t have enough air in his lungs for a whimper let alone a