Read Online Your Planet or Mine? by Susan Grant - Free Book Online Page A

“Earth still controls Earth.”
    “Not for long.” Cavin aimed his wrist gauntlet at a brand-new silver Lexus sedan parked in a driveway. “The Coalition parliament and the queen have approved your world for acquisition.”
    “They what?”
    Bip, bip went the sound of a car alarm being disarmed. Lights came on inside the Lexus.
    “Hey, what are you doing? Cavin, no—”
    “Get in.”
    She folded her arms over her ruined suit. “Make me.”
    He scooped her up into his arms and dropped her into the driver’s seat, leaning over her to buckle her seat belt. His mouth and those mesmerizing lips were very close to hers. “Drive, or die at the hands of the most feared assassin in the galaxy.”
    “You argue very convincingly,” she said, a little breathless.
    “This isn’t an argument.” His voice was thick, telling her he felt the heat between them, too. “It’s an order.”
    “Hey!” Someone shouted from an upstairs window. “Get out of my car!”
    Jana’s stomach dropped. The man aimed his cell phone at her to take a picture. She ducked down before he could get a clear shot. Drive away or run? Quickly she weighed the risk of having to explain her role in all this versus the still-viable chance of getting through this at the end, alive and undiscovered. “Get in, Cavin.”
    He landed in the passenger seat. The car started as the doors slammed, encasing them in leather-soft, luxury-car silence. Cavin had no leg room. His knees were crammed against the dash, halfway to the ceiling.
    “He took a picture of you,” she said frantically.
    “He thinks he did. My armor’s AI saw the camera and blurred the return image. The suit is capable of enhanced invisibility, as well. How do you think I followed you to the market without being seen?”
    “I haven’t had time to think about it. It’s been a little busy. But now that you bring it up, how did you get from the ranch to the store—fly?”
    “Only to the nearest road. I hitchhiked on a series of cars and then a truck. Hung on for the ride.”
    “Omigod.”
    “They never knew I was aboard.”
    “Unlike me,” she muttered. She left streaks of rubber on the driveway as she backed up, tires spinning. The car careened down the block, leaving a trail of bedroom and porch lights coming on behind them.

CHAPTER FOUR
    T HE S AFEWAY BAG SLID across the backseat of the Lexus and thumped into the door. The smell of chocolate mixed with that of factory-new leather. So much for eating the Phish Food. “Where’s the assassin?”
    Cavin checked his gauntlet. “Gods, he’s—” A ball of lightning ripped past her window. The air smelled as if it was on fire.
    Jana screamed. “What the hell was that?”
    “Plasma mortars.”
    “Rifles? Grenades? The guy’s a traveling arsenal.”
    “Accelerate!”
    The urgency in his voice was enough motivation to obey without argument. If Jana slid any lower in the driver’s seat, she wouldn’t be able to see over the dashboard. “How did he sneak up on us like that?”
    “My wrist gauntlet shows the pursuit. Unfortunately, it also helps the assassin hone in on us. I can switch it on long enough to take a peek then I have to turn it off. Until just now, it was off.”
    Great, just great. All that advanced technology and he couldn’t use it. “Why’s this guy after you? Because you came here?”
    “Someone hired him. Someone driven by arrogance, and ignorance, and fear.”
    Okay. He did not sound happy. There was more going on here than she knew. But nothing she had time to worry about now. Her plate was full enough keeping the car moving at top speed without killing any innocents.
    “My visit to Earth has nothing to do with the REEF’s attempts to kill me, but it does complicate things.”
    Jana rolled her eyes. “Ya think?”
    She raced through the surface streets and merged onto the highway, headed west. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she wanted to get there fast.
    The fog was thickening. Cars