by Anna Hackett
“Later.” His deep voice was laced with promise.
They ate their food, and soon they both dressed for the party. Mina’s uniform tonight was a tiny skirt and slinky top all made of shimmering black fabric, shot through with a nebula-colored sheen. She loved the way the light caught the multicolored sparkles. It reminded her of the diamond glint of Tannon’s eyes.
He eyed her short skirt with an unconcealed frown. “Someone forgot to finish making your skirt.”
She stepped into the elevator and snorted. “Take it up with Dayliss.”
He touched the elevator controls. “Maybe I will.”
Mina grinned, imagining all the female servers clad in severe long pants and long sleeves.
But as the elevator descended, the humor faded. She sensed tension creeping back into Tannon’s body. His face turned into its usual serious mask.
Her lover was gone for now, and the head of the Dark Nebula’s security was back.
She felt the insane need to mess him up a little. Tannon needed someone to remind him to have a little fun. The elevator stopped at another floor and several people got on.
Tannon nodded at them, moving himself and Mina back to make room. She stepped in front of him, brushing up against his body. That naughty little voice whispered in her ear and she smiled. She moved her hand, brushing it up his hard thigh. She could practically feel his gaze boring into the back of her head. She cupped his thickening cock and squeezed.
She heard his soft groan, and that lovely cock flexed under her fingers.
His hands locked on her hips. “Troublemaker.” It was the softest whisper in her ear.
She glanced back and shot him a grin. “Your troublemaker.”
The satisfaction in his eyes made her insides gooey. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened and an influx of sound hit them. The party was beginning.
The people in front of them stepped off the elevator and Mina followed. She looked back at Tannon and shot him a saucy wink.
He looked like he wanted to grab her, but several members of the security team spotted him and were heading in their direction. She waved and was soon swept up into a whirlwind of preparation.
“Mina.” Her supervisor, Dayliss, appeared and handed her a tray. “The guests are starting to arrive.”
An army of servers were loading their trays with food and drinks. Other supervisors stood nearby, barking out orders.
“I’m on it.”
Then the doors opened and the guests of honor started to arrive.
Wow. The House of Galen came first, and they sure knew how to make an entrance. Imperator Galen walked at the head of the group, an attractive, athletic woman by his side. He was an imposing man, with a black cloak falling off broad shoulders and a black eye patch over one eye. Mina guessed that he was a little older than most of his gladiators, but was still in fighting-fit form.
His woman was tall, her brown hair threaded with gold, and warm, golden skin. Her toned body was clad in a tight black dress that left one shoulder bare. That would be Sam Santos. The woman who’d survived her abduction and become the Champion of the lawless Zaabha Arena before she’d helped Galen bring it down.
Sam was scanning the crowd like she was assessing it for security threats. Her gaze met Mina’s, and they stared at each other for an electric second. Heart beating hard for some strange reason, Mina stepped back into the crowd of servers.
More big, muscled gladiators entered—most wearing leather trousers, with their chests bare. Beside them were their mates, women of all shapes and sizes, wearing glittering, sleek dresses. They were all smiling.
Clutching her tray to her chest, Mina found herself fascinated by the humans. She saw another athletic brunette laughing with a smaller woman who had vibrant, red hair. Dayna had made her way to the group, hugging a small blonde woman with her hair cut short. Mina recognized the woman. She had a beautiful voice and had sung at the Dark Nebula before.
With a small smile, Mina moved back to the bar to fill her tray. They were all so happy. Those people had been through the worst, most horrible situations, and now, here they were—happy. They deserved it.
She prayed the evening went off without a hitch. Her stomach tightened. She hoped any plots to target the party had died with those attackers. Besides, she wanted the party to be over sooner rather than later, so she could get rid of her drakking heels and be back in Tannon’s arms as soon as she could.
But as Mina balanced her tray and smiled at a guest, she felt her skin itching.
Tannon scanned the busy crowd. He hadn’t seen Mina for a while, and like an addict, he needed his fix.
He was on edge. He felt like he was waiting for a sword to fall. He lifted his communicator. “Report?”
His security team all checked in. Everything was running smoothly. He had security bots circling overhead. He should feel relieved, but he didn’t.
Rillian waved him over. Dayna stood by his side, a long column of black and gold Fildan silk looking amazing on her. When she’d first come to the Dark Nebula, Tannon hadn’t trusted her. He’d seen her as a risk to Rillian.
But since then, Tannon had come to know her—her sharp mind and brilliant instincts. Add to that, now that Mina had shaken up his world, he understood better how Rillian felt about the woman.
“Dayna, you look lovely,” Tannon said.
She smiled. “Thanks, Tannon. I’m pretty sure I’ve won you over now.”
He raised a brow. “Don’t get overconfident.”
She laughed.
Tannon looked at the men standing beside Rillian. “Imperator Galen. Imperator Rone.”
Galen looked tough, a man who’d seen all the darkness that life had to offer and had wrestled it into submission. He was known as a tough but fair man, who protected every member of his house, and often rescued people from the arena who weren’t suited to a life of fighting.
Magnus Rone was just as imposing, but where Galen radiated life, Magnus was as cool as the steel that made up his cybernetic arm. And yet—Tannon glanced past the cyborg to the small woman holding a baby in her arms. All Tannon’s intel said that Magnus Rone would risk anything, kill any foe, and die for his mate.
Galen nodded at Tannon. “Rillian’s kept us informed about the possible attack.”
“We’ve taken all precautions,” Tannon assured the men. “We weren’t able to identify who was planning the attack.”
“Unfortunately, we both have plenty of enemies.” Magnus’ voice was cool, like the stroke of a blade. “Rillian showed us pictures of the man and woman who attacked your staff. Jaxer managed to track down some intel on the male.”
Tannon’s pulse spiked. He hated that his team hadn’t found the information, but he wanted to find the sandsuckers. “You identified him?”
Magnus nodded. The cyborg pulled out a small, translucent comp screen.
Tannon studied the image of the man with the horns. “That’s him.”
“He was a thug called Krish. He worked for the Vin crime syndicate.”
“The Vin are bad news.” Tannon had a thick file on them. His team monitored all major players in Kor Magna. “They did a lot of business with the Thraxians. Perhaps they’re looking for revenge since the House of Rone and the House of Galen put the Thraxians out of business?”
“Maybe.” Magnus turned the screen so Rillian could see. The cyborg flicked through some more images. “This Krish was certainly busy before he died.”
Rillian stiffened.
Tannon frowned. “What is it?” He stepped closer so he could see the screen.
His body locked. The image showed Krish standing in an alleyway…with Mina.
Tannon felt like he’d taken a punch to the gut. It looked like they were having an argument. It was no chance meeting, it appeared they knew each other. Tannon sucked in a deep breath, barely keeping a grip on his control.
“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” Rillian said.
Magnus frowned. “The woman?”
Tannon took the screen, the image burned into his brain. Had Mina fooled him? Had she used him?
He lifted his head and searched the crowd. “I’ll find out.”
“Tannon—”
He ignored Rillian’s warning, and spotted Mina on the other side of the room. He shouldered through the crowd. As he reached her, he grabbed her arm.
“Hey.” She frowned at him and tugged on her arm. “You’re hurting me.”
He towed her away from the busy bar, heading toward a quieter corner of the room.
“Tannon, can you let up a little?”
“Explain this.” He thrust the screen in front of her.
She looked at the picture and frowned. “That’s the man who attacked me. I… That’s me.”
“His name was Krish. He works for a crime syndicate and was planning to attack this party.”
Her frown deepened and her eyes widened. “That’s not possible. I… I don’t remember this.”
Tannon felt like acid was sliding through his veins. “That’s your defense?”
Something shut down in her eyes. “I didn’t realize I needed a defense.”
He gritted his teeth together. “That’s not good enough, Mina.”
She rubbed her head. “Tannon—”
“I want an explanation.”
“I don’t have one.” Her face went pale. “You don’t believe me.”
Emotions churned in Tannon. All the emotions this woman generated, and now mixed with them were disbelief, anger, hurt.
“You don’t trust me.” She took a step back.
“I work security. I live and die by evidence, and it is my job to keep all the people in this casino safe.”
“And I don’t have any evidence to explain this. All I can tell you is that I’d never betray you.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Hell, I’m falling for you, Tannon. But you probably don’t believe that either.”
Tannon felt like she’d punched him.
She spun on her ridiculous heels and raced into the crowd.
Chapter Eight
Mina’s headache went from easily-ignored annoyance, to nausea-inducing throbbing. She stumbled through the crowd, feeling like someone was trying to hammer out of her head. The noise of the party was a horrible din in her ears.
But nowhere near as bad as the pain in her heart.
She staggered to a halt near the edge of the crowd and pressed a palm to the wall. Don’t be sick, Mina. Don’t be sick. Her stomach turned in a vicious whirl. Tannon didn’t believe her. He didn’t trust her.
She had no idea how she could be in pictures when she’d never seen that Krish before.
And Tannon now believed she was some sort of spy. Or worse.
She bit her lip. Trust her to fall for a man—for the first time ever—and he thought she was a criminal. She gave a hiccupping laugh and felt a tear slide down her face. Then she felt a trickle from her nose.
Drak. She snatched a napkin off a nearby table and pressed it to her face. Yep, her nose was bleeding. Just what she needed.
“It’s Mina, isn’t it?”
She spun and saw one of the human women from the House of Galen. The small blonde-haired singer. Not far away, a blue-skinned and very possessive gladiator stood, scowling at the party.
“Yes.” Mina looked at the woman’s pretty face. “And you’re Mia.”
The woman’s face creased with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Fine.” Mina forced a smile and tucked the blood-stained cloth away. “Are you singing tonight? You have a fabulous voice.”
“Thank you, and yes, I’m singing a little later. Right now, I’m just trying to keep my man from bolting out of here.” Mia shot a smile at the blue-skinned alien. Then she tipped her head to the side. “This party must be lots of work for you.”
“From what I hear, you guys deserve it. I’d better get back to work.”
But as Mina spun away from the woman, she headed straight to the restrooms. She kept her head down, and accidentally bumped into someone.
For a second, she thought the hard body belonged to Tannon. She couldn’t see him right now.
But it wasn’t Tannon. “Sorry.”
The man grunted and she watched him stride past her. Mina frowned, eyeing the man’s rough-hewn face. He looked…familiar. She couldn’t place him, but when she saw the ink on his neck—two suns rising above the horizon—all the hairs on the back of her neck rose.
The same tattoo as the brown-haired woman with Krish. Mina’s head pounded. She didn’t like the way he scanned the party, eyes cold and calculated. She was sure he wasn’t there to have a good time.
She took a step back toward the party, searching for Tannon or someone from the security team. She couldn’t spot a drakking black uniform anywhere.
When she looked back at the man, she saw he was holding something in his hands. Her chest hitched. What the drak was it?
Instincts screaming, she watched him disappear into the crowd.
She had to stop him.
Mina ran forward, shoving her way through the partygoers. The man was heading onto the dance floor right in the center of the room. If she was wrong, she was about to make a pretty big fool of herself.
But the humans at this party had suffered enough. No one else was going to hurt them.
Mina leaped and tackled the man around his knees. They crashed to the floor.
A small object, shaped like a bag, slid out of the man’s hand and skittered across the floor. Then it started to flicker.
What the—? The image of a bag disappeared, leaving a metallic explosive device.
She sucked in a breath. The device had possessed a holographic camouflage, which must have been how he’d smuggled it into the party.
Mina heard cries and shouts, but she focused on the cursing man beneath her. She wrestled with him, trying to pin him down. He shoved back with an elbow and hit her in the head. Her ears were ringing, but she held on.
She rammed her fist into his side and heard him grunt. She did it again.
With a roar, he bucked her off. They both leaped to their feet.
“You should have died long ago,” the man bit out.
Her heart clenched. He knew her? Was it really her in the picture Tannon had showed her? Well, drak that. Whatever the hell had happened in the past, right here, right now, she wasn’t going to let this sandsucker hurt the courageous survivors in this room.
The man spun and Mina ran at him. She leaped onto his back, clinging.
He turned, trying to knock her off. She brought her hand down, chopping hard against his neck and shoulder.
He made a growling sound. Then he reached over his shoulder and grabbed her shirt. He yanked her over his shoulder and she heard fabric tear.
Mina landed on her butt, but bounced back up. Screw this. She reached down and slid one of her high heels off. She raised it high and charged him. She stabbed the sharp heel into his chest.
The man howled.
She reared back and stabbed him again.
“Mina!”
She heard Tannon’s shout, but she focused on the attacker. She whacked with the heel again and again, until he raised his arms to protect himself.
“You don’t get to hurt these people!” she yelled. “They’ve been through enough.”
Then hard arms wrapped around her and yanked her off the man. He collapsed onto his knees, his chest bleeding. He whimpered.
Tannon set Mina down. Then he spun, leaned down, and punched the man in the face. The man crumpled like a wet rag and slumped onto the floor.
“Tannon, the bomb.” Mina pointed.
Tannon looked at the gladiators around them. “Get everyone out of here.”
Then he turned and together, he and Mina scrambled toward the device.
<
br /> She knelt beside him. “Can you defuse it?” She saw the lights blinking on it. It was active.
Around them, his security team and gladiators were trying to get people clear.
“No,” he answered.
Her stomach dropped. “Oh, drak.”
“But I can fry the controls. But I need someone to hold it open to expose the core.”
Her eyes met his. “I’ll do it.”
“The energy will hurt you—”
She lifted her chin. “I’ll be fine. Do it before we all get blown to pieces.”
Something moved through his gaze. “You don’t have to prove yourself to me, Mina. I believe you. I know you had nothing to do with this.”
Her lips quirked. “I’m glad, but we’re running out of time. Do it, Tannon.”
He lifted a hand and she saw his veins glow silver. His skin turned white-hot. It was almost pretty.
She held the bomb up, pulling the hinged sides of it open to expose the guts of the device. Tannon brought his hand down.
Electricity ran through Mina, searing her insides. She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out. Oh, it hurt so bad. Like being dipped in molten rock.
Her body started shaking. She felt the metal in her hands go soft. The lights flickered and died.
The device slipped from her hands, and then she fell sideways to the floor.
“Mina!” Tannon was there. He lifted her off the hard floor and into his lap.
She’d stay in his arms forever if she could. She felt a horrible pressure in her head and realized her nose was bleeding again. Everything was blurry and foggy.
Tannon was looking down at her, his face shocked.
“What?” Her tongue felt like it was twice its normal size.
“Is it safe?” someone called out.
“Tannon took care of it.” Rillian’s voice.
Mina saw others circling them. Rillian and Dayna, the menacing-looking cyborgs from the House of Rone, the gladiators from the House of Galen, and their women from Earth.
“The pattern on your temples…” Tannon touched a finger to her temples and came back with brown staining his fingertips. “It’s melted off. It’s some sort of ink.”