Enslaved Read online

  Never having met the former chancellor in person, Lorcan was beginning to understand why the man surrounded himself with mercenaries for hire on a regular basis, never passing an opportunity to make a merciless example of anyone who even looked to be double-crossing him.

  At least a foot shorter than expected, Varek reminded Lorcan of a scholar more than a ruthless criminal, his graying black hair leaning toward rumpled, his expression almost patient and oddly curious. Except for his eyes. Dark, shrewd, deep-set eyes that didn’t even look like they reflected anything at all.

  “I suggest you drop your weapons.”

  With few options, Lorcan followed the suggestion and nodded for Zypher to do the same. His friend hung onto his weapon a few seconds longer, his murderous gaze locked on Zoe, before following suit—and not looking happy about it. Chances were Zypher had at least two more weapons on him somewhere. It was just a question of Varek having him searched before an opportunity to use one presented itself.

  “There’s more,” Zoe added before Varek could issue that kind of order.

  Apprehension twisted down Lorcan’s spine.

  “Don’t,” Zypher snapped, anticipating where she was headed.

  She ignored him. “There’s a woman you might be interested in. A Dominion sentinel.”

  “Where?” The demand came from one of the armed men, his more casual shirt and pants identifying him as a guest more than a member of Varek’s bad-in-black mercenaries.

  Unimpressed by the interruption, Varek nodded at Zoe to continue.

  “Shut up, Zoe.” Zypher snarled, looking ready to snap her neck.

  She didn’t give any indication she heard him or that she cared. “The sentinel was drugged and you’ll find her restrained in the east wing, the farthest guest chamber from the pool.”

  The farthest guest chamber? Some of the tension drained from Lorcan’s spine. Had she moved Kaela back to his quarters or was she lying to Varek for another reason, one she hadn’t shared with him or Zypher?

  Varek glanced at the man interested in Kaela. “This would be the same sentinel you wanted my slave dealer to purchase at the spaceport, Caplan?”

  So Caplan was the Dominion officer Kaela was looking for, Lorcan guessed, and he’d set her up right from the beginning.

  “And she knows we’re connected?” Varek surmised.

  Caplan shook his head. “But it’s just a matter of time before she figures it out. Neither of us needs that.”

  Varek jerked his head, and two of his men left the room, presumably to retrieve Kaela. For Zoe’s sake, Lorcan hoped to hell Kaela wasn’t there. The improved odds in the room were the only thing keeping them from being well and truly fucked.

  Checking the vault and finding it empty, Varek faced them once more. “I’d like my property returned.”

  “Funny, I don’t recall you being there when the pendant was found.”

  “Well now,” Varek began, a humorless smile stretching his lips into a thin curve. “Isn’t this an interesting turn of events?” He glanced back and forth between Lorcan and Zypher. “I don’t suppose one of you two was responsible for the attempted theft on the Outer Rim as well?”

  Lorcan didn’t get the opportunity to respond, distracted by the blur of movement from the corner of his eye. The fusion burst from Zoe’s pistol killed Varek on impact—one clean shot to the back of the head, and the man crumpled to the ground.

  In the next heartbeat Zoe cried out, her weapon clattering to the floor as she stumbled and went down, her hand covering the wound on her shoulder. Zypher fired the knife he kept strapped above his ankle, taking out the man who retaliated against Zoe, and brought up short by Caplan.

  Caplan’s warning shot narrowly missed Zypher’s hip. “Where is Kaela Garrett?”

  “Right behind you.”

  The three lethal words came from the doorway behind Caplan, and the man turned slowly, an exaggerated look of relief crossing his face. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  She didn’t lower her weapon as she edged into the room. “What are you doing here, Caplan?”

  For a woman Lorcan had left out cold and restrained, she was seemed to be holding up pretty damn well. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d proven unpredictable yet again, and he wanted to kiss her senseless for turning up when she had.

  Caplan actually managed to appear insulted at the question. “Doing your job for you.” He inclined his head at the fusion pistol clasped in her hand. “Lower your weapon, Lieutenant.”

  Lorcan shook his head. “Not a good idea, Kaela.”

  “Shut up,” Caplan snarled.

  “He’s lying, Kaela.” Lorcan didn’t take his eyes off her, even when Caplan pointed his weapon at him. “He’s the one who set you up.”

  Kaela frowned.

  “Who’s more likely to be lying, Lieutenant? The commanding officer who came here to cover your ass or a man with a reputation for stealing. Hell, these three just killed Varek and royally fucked up our investigation.”

  “Not really,” Lorcan clarified, trying not to worry about the guarded expression on Kaela’s face. “She wasn’t here for Varek. She came here for you.”

  Caplan gave her a grim look. “I have no idea what kind of number this guy played on you, Kaela, but you’d better ask yourself if he’s worth sacrificing all your hard work. You’ve busted your ass for this promotion, but you can kiss it goodbye if you don’t lower your fucking weapon.”

  Seconds ticked by—an eternity’s worth—and for a moment, Lorcan feared she was buying into the other man’s bullshit. Then she slowly shook her head, her gaze briefly touching on Lorcan before she fixed her attention solely on Caplan.

  “It was you the whole time, wasn’t it? You were the Dominion officer smoothing the way for the Battalia and Varek.”

  “He’s dead,” Zoe murmured, her eyes never leaving the body of the man she’d killed.

  In shock, Lorcan decided. He couldn’t remember Zoe even killing so much as a Solarian sun fly, and those little bastards were vicious.

  “Guess you’re out of a job, Caplan.” Kaela’s cool prediction wobbled at the end, and Lorcan searched her face. Whatever she’d used to counteract the Cynergy, which should have left her incapacitated for another couple of hours, was running out of steam.

  Caplan jerked Zoe toward him, using her as a shield. “You’ve been drugged and it’s affecting your perception of the situation, Kaela.”

  A mocking smile touched her lips. “Would I have been killed outright when Varek’s dealer bought me off the auction block?” Kaela demanded. “Or did you want me to suffer first?” She took another step closer, her footing a little more awkward.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “No?” Her fingers tightened around her weapon. “I suppose you didn’t tip off the Battalia about the possibility of a sentinel on board Varek’s passenger cruiser, either?”

  Caplan said nothing.

  “I hear Dadelus has some great mining facilities,” Lorcan said, wanting Caplan’s attention off Kaela.

  Sweat beaded across her forehead and she shifted her weight unevenly between her heels and the balls of her feet. Seemingly intent on watching Kaela’s condition disintegrate, Caplan remained ignorant of everyone else, letting Lorcan manage another few inches toward Zoe’s weapon.

  “Stand down, Lieutenant. You’re looking at court-martial for disobeying a direct order.”

  “I don’t think so.” Kaela’s arm trembled, and Lorcan knew time had run out for her—for all of them if they didn’t get their asses out of there before Varek’s men came back.

  Zypher shouted at the same moment Kaela stumbled, and Lorcan dove for Zoe’s weapon. Hampered by his grip on Zoe and distracted by Zypher and Kaela, Caplan was slow to twist around to take a shot at Lorcan.

  Taking the opening, Lorcan took Caplan out at the knee, and then Zypher was on him, disarming him with two swift blows to the chest and face.

  Lorcan holstered hi
s weapon, striding toward Kaela and catching her before her knees buckled. She managed to keep a hold of her fusion pistol, trying in vain to keep it trained on Caplan.

  “Zypher has it covered,” he told her, preferring to relieve her of the pistol in case she decided now was as good a time as any to put him in his place.

  Surprisingly, she surrendered the weapon with no argument.

  “Hey,” he said gently when her eyes started to drift shut. Adrenaline still pounded through his system, but not fast or hard enough that he couldn’t feel the icy layer of panic that lingered beneath. If she’d come along even one minute later, things might have turned out a lot differently, and all because he’d foolishly assumed keeping her out of the way would make tonight run smoother.

  “Didn’t last long enough,” she whispered, leaning fully against him. “Damn butterflies.”

  Butterflies?

  Across the room, Zoe managed to get to her feet, but continued to look at Varek’s body. “He killed Erik and now he’s dead.”

  Later he could be mad at her for jeopardizing them all for revenge. Right now, Zypher still looked furious enough for the two of them, and they needed to get the hell out of there.

  Zypher quickly checked her wound, then gestured to Caplan. “What about him?”

  Lorcan spied the restraints on the man’s waist. “Leave him for Varek’s people or the Battalia to fight over. Take Zoe and go, we’ll attract less attention leaving separately.”

  After securing Caplan, Zypher led Zoe from the room.

  Lorcan scooped Kaela into his arms. “Still with me?”

  “You left me,” she murmured, dropping her head against his shoulder.

  The fragile accusation stung more than he expected, and he tightened his hold on her. “It won’t happen again,” he vowed, slipping out of the room.

  * * *

  “You ready?”

  Lorcan turned away from the railing where he’d been watching Dominion officers look over the small transport cruiser they’d used to leave Pursias. What else they expected to find, Lorcan couldn’t imagine. They’d already confiscated the pendant he had been too distracted to fight for.

  He’d come too close to losing Kaela because of the misplaced belief that getting it back would somehow make up for Erik’s death. He knew now that neither Varek’s death nor an Exodus artifact would ease the pain of losing his friend.

  Zypher nodded over his shoulder. “We’re free to go apparently. Whatever your sentinel told them is keeping them off our backs.”

  His sentinel? Nowhere close. The moment the drugs had worn off, she’d been careful to avoid being alone with him. That hadn’t changed when they docked at the closest spaceport and she met with the officers she’d already debriefed while on board the transport cruiser.

  “Have you tried talking to her?”

  Lorcan shook his head. The woman had to be in one place long enough for that to happen. Aside from making arrangements for Zoe to get checked out in the Dominion infirmary, she’d gone out of her way to say as little as possible and look at him even less.

  So why, then, was he still hanging around?

  “Go get Zoe and I’ll meet you two in the merchant district.”

  Zypher hadn’t been gone more than a few minutes when Lorcan turned as a small group of Dominion officials filed out of the rear office Kaela had disappeared into some time ago.

  Having changed into a standard navy-and-white uniform, she blended in with the group. Her steps faltered when she noticed him. He pushed away from the railing, waited.

  She didn’t move for a long moment, her expression unreadable. He shook his head before she retreated that first step, locking his jaw to stop himself from calling her name when she spun on her heel and strode in the opposite direction.

  Had he really expected any less? She was a fucking sentinel, not someone he could drag around to salvage sites. Not to mention being involved with her would certainly make his more questionable buyers nervous, which wouldn’t be good for business.

  Considering the circumstances that tied them together over the past few days, he should just be grateful she’d left him out of everything instead of hanging him out to dry. Especially after he’d admitted his original plan to use her as a bargaining chip if they ran into problems.

  Lorcan ignored the tightening in his gut, cursing himself for wanting to believe she felt the pull of something more between them. The woman he craved, the one who went toe-to-toe with him, who pushed as often as she pulled and gave herself up to him so completely he ached, didn’t really exist.

  How could she when she’d only been playing the part he’d cast her in the second he bought her off the auction block?

  And convincing himself of that was the only way to let it go—let her go—whether he wanted to or not.

  * * *

  Kaela couldn’t decide if she wanted to be sitting or standing. She’d left Lorcan without a word. Used the debriefing as a way to keep her distance, and two weeks later still felt guilty as hell about that. Pinning down why that was prompted her to take a short leave to get her head on straight.

  Her commanding officers had been more than satisfied with the proof of Caplan’s involvement, via the AI compact she’d been carrying the night of the gala, and Caplan’s body being found a hundred kilometers from Varek’s villa. Finally earning her promotion for a job well done should have been the only thing on her mind.

  She turned around in the small space, wanting to walk, to pace, anything that would help her release the restless energy eating her up inside. She shouldn’t have come here, shouldn’t have—

  The door on the portable shelter opened and Lorcan stepped inside, freezing in his tracks when he spotted her.

  “Hi,” she said lamely.

  He let the door close behind him, not saying anything, the dim lighting in the shelter making it hard to read him.

  Was he glad to see her? Annoyed?

  Maybe he assumed he didn’t have to worry about seeing her again and wanted it that way.

  She held out the AI compact she’d been holding onto for three days, not at all comfortable with how she felt about it. “I wanted to let you know that I received the termination of our contract.”

  A small part of her had expected him to fight the Dominion’s efforts to terminate the contract. Instead, he’d taken the necessary steps to terminate the contract on his own. She should have been relieved he initiated everything without any pressure from the Dominion, thrilled even.

  But no, she’d gotten pissed off about it, which made zero sense, and then got drunk. Alone.

  Lorcan crossed his arms without taking the AI unit. “You came all this way—”

  “I was in the area.” After three days of traveling and at least a dozen sun fly bites. Vicious bastards.

  “—to tell me that you’re no longer my slave?”

  “And to return this,” she added, offering the cloth bag containing the pendant she’d fought with her new commanding officer over.

  Without looking in the bag, he took it and tossed it aside.

  She frowned at the table where it landed. “I thought getting that back was important to you?”

  He shook his head.

  Her heart picked up speed as he took a purposeful step in her direction, followed by another, and another. In the two-point-five seconds it took him to reach her, it became harder to breathe, harder to think, harder not to throw herself into his arms.

  And the moment he lowered his head and opened his mouth over hers, there wasn’t a damn thing hard about any of it.

  She parted her lips, whimpering at the slow, hot glide of his lips and tongue. Tracking him to the long abandoned rainforest settlement was worth it to have his arms locked around her, his heart pounding under her palm as wildly as her own, his mouth taking her to the edge of a dangerous drop—and she doubted he even knew it.

  From the moment he’d shown up on the Outer Rim, his presence forced her to acknowledge there was somethi
ng other than her career that made her heart race, something she could get wrapped up in that had nothing to do with earning any promotion or first pick of assignments.

  Somewhere between losing control of the situation and giving in to Lorcan, whether by exquisite coercion or her own desperation, she’d found something just as important as any mission objective, something she’d fight to hold onto for as long as it lasted.

  Him.

  He slowed the kiss, easing apart, then kissing her again, softer. “Took you long enough,” he growled.

  “Does that mean you have use for me beyond being a slave and a pawn?”

  “I don’t need a woman who will give me what I want.” His thumb brushed her cheek. “I need a woman who will make me work for it.”

  Her heart constricted at the feverish conviction in his voice. “Sounds like the hard way to get what you want.”

  “Someone once told me that doing things the easy way meant letting you go.”

  “Someone clearly out of her mind.” Out of her ever-lovin’ mind—and loving every second of it.

  Lorcan laughed, kissing her again, lingering over her mouth until she could barely keep her legs under her. She faintly registered him steering her back toward the small bed set up against the far wall.

  “How long are you staying?” His dragged her shirt over her head, tossing it behind him.

  She grinned against his mouth. “As long as it takes to get even.”

  “And after that?”

  She closed her eyes at the searing trail of his mouth down her throat. “Clearly you think I’m going to let you off easy.”

  “Ground rules?”

  “No stealing.” Arresting him once had been enough. She wasn’t foolish enough to think he wouldn’t bend a few rules now and then, but as long as she didn’t know all the details, she’d find a way to deal with it.

  He groaned. “Done.”

  She twisted around, then eyed him suspiciously. “Did you just cross your fingers behind my back?”

  Grinning, he lowered her to the bed. His blue eyes burned into hers. “Any other demands?”