In the first few books of the Badari Warriors series, I very carefully had everyone in the packs believing and accepting the general wisdom that  there were no Badari women ever created BUT sneaky author that I am, I knew there was one place where the evil alien scientists had indeed done genetic engineering and created a small pack of Badari females.

In GABE I sprung that surprise on everyone. This is the scene early in the book where Gabe has been shot down by the enemy and rescued by Keshara, one of the Badari Daughters as they’re known. She was on the run herself, trying to escape the isolated lab where she was created but she abandons her plans in an effort to save him because he was badly injured.

My new release BADARI MEDIC is about another of the Daughters and her romance with a human…

The excerpt: 

“Well, you’re the last thing I was expecting.” He managed a lopsided grin despite obvious injuries, blood welling from a bad cut on one thigh and another on his head. He swiped moisture from his face. “Can we get out of the rain before we do introductions?”

Tongue tied, she stared at him. His face was undeniably handsome, although set right now in lines of pain, radiating from his eyes and lips. He was probably the same height as she was, well over six feet, and since his odd uniform was plastered to his body by the rain, Keshara could tell he was solidly built, with the muscles and sinews of one who was a deadly fighter. And what the wet fabric outlined between his legs was impressive as well. Her primary knowledge of males was gleaned from study modules, and observing the few Khagrish men left at the Retreat. This man put them to shame with his physique.

Thunder crashed again and lightning stabbed a tree at the far end of the meadow, throwing massive sparks high into the air and breaking her concentration. “We’d better get inside,” she said in her own tongue since he obviously understood the language. Reflecting on his aborted search for a weapon, she showed him the knife. “I’ll help you, but don’t think me easy meat for your taking.”

“Aww, seven hells, lady, if you’re what I think you are, you have better weapons than that.” His smile, although strained, was warming. “Do you have a shelter?”

“Yes, in the furbana den over there. It’s been abandoned for quite some time so the smell is tolerable.” She came to his side, scanning his condition with a critical eye. In close proximity she could tell one leg was obviously broken in several places, and she feared he might have internal injuries as well. His landing had been rough. “If we get you on your feet, can you lean on me and make it?”

“To get somewhere dry, I’ll do whatever it takes.” He reached out to her, and she helped him rise, balancing his sturdy frame on one leg. Keshara was glad of her own strength, which enabled her to support the injured pilot. He was turning his head gingerly, peering through the rain. “We need to take the antigrav ejection harness. Can’t leave it to draw the enemy’s attention once the storm passes. Let them think I died in the wreck, if they find it.”

So he views the Khagrish of the outer world as enemies too? What else do we have in common?

“Let me get you to safety, and I’ll retrieve it later,” she said, astonished at his ability to disregard the agony he must be enduring and cling to consciousness, let alone move.

He didn’t breathe a word of specific complaint, but grunted and cursed in his own language, and she had to take most of his weight as she guided him slowly toward the den. He was perhaps a foot taller than she, and outweighed her by 50-100 pounds but it was her strength keeping them moving forward.

“We have to crawl through the entrance tunnel into the den proper,” she said in his ear, over the howling wind. “I can drag you on your back if needs be.”

“Will the opening be large enough for my big bones?” he asked, flashing the grin again.

Humor must be his armor against the uncertainty of his situation. Admiration for the stranger made her match his smile. “I believe so.”

He was unable to be much help when it came to making the passage through the tunnel, and she did indeed have to drag him a few feet. Once he was safely in the center of the den, he said, “Just give me a few minutes to recover.” He was breathing hard and lying on his back, his bulk suddenly making the den seem much smaller to Keshara. In the dim light from her hand lamp, he was pale and his jaw was clenched. He took up a lot of room sprawled out.

“I don’t have much in the way of medical supplies to help you with,” she said sorrowfully, preparing to make her second trip into the storm for the harness.

“I’m not dead yet. We’ll figure something out.” The man seemed driven to project good humor at all times.

Keshara approved. Complaining didn’t accomplish anything. He was showing strength of character, which appealed to her.

The wind had increased in the brief time she’d been inside the den, and Keshara had a hard time locating the contraption the man had used to partially break his fall. There was no time to examine it, so she sprinted to the den with her prize and ducked into the tunnel.

“I have your device,” she said.

He took a shallow breath as if to conquer pain before speaking, one hand bracing his ribs on the left side. “Good. No use making it easy for them. Thanks. My name is Gabe Carter, by the way.”

“Keshara, a Second Daughter of the Retreat.” She was curious if her title would carry any meaning for him and was disappointed when he had no reaction. “Your leg is badly broken. Possibly other injuries.”

“Yeah, well nothing we can do about it, I’m afraid. At least I don’t have to die cold and wet, thanks to you.” Gabe lay back on the floor, which the rodents had covered in straw like weeds. “What the seven hells is this place?”

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GABE (A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVEL): Sectors New Allies Series Book 5

Gabe Carter, hotshot pilot and ex-Special Forces soldier, is far from his home in the human Sectors, kidnapped by alien scientists to be the subject of horrifying experiments. Shot down by the enemy over desolate territory far from his Badari allies and gravely injured, Gabe’s only hope is a mysterious woman on the run herself.

Keshara has to decide whether to abandon the human to die of his injuries on a windswept mountain top or give up her own quest for freedom and take him to a place he can be helped. The undeniable spark between them complicates matters.
His attraction to her is off the charts but when she betrays him to the Khagrish enemy, Gabe doesn’t know what to believe. Trapped inside an alien lab bursting with mysteries and lies, his only hope may be to trust her…again.

Because the renegade alien scientist running her own private experiments wants to use him to accomplish her goals and perpetuate the evil, no matter what she has to do to ensure his compliance. Keshara’s life hangs in the balance and Gabe has to make a choice.

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