Rogue Alien's Legacy
Page 9
Zeesa accepted it and placed it back in her pocket. “No catch. This is payment. Let me know when your crew is ready to leave and I’ll see to it that you’re outfitted.” She stood and looked at him for a moment before leaving him alone in the room.
A new ship. A new purpose. The same crew. Could it really be that easy?
He wanted time to think about it, but he needed to see the crew more. He was the captain, but this decision couldn’t be his alone to make. It took a bit of wandering to find the crew and he shouldn’t have been surprised that they’d ended up in the garden. Space offered a lot of freedom, but it couldn’t replicate sunshine and fresh air.
Sayevi, Hayk, and Malax had joined the group at some point last night, having been summoned from Nevys’s ship after Nevys’s crew was arrested. Despite the days of imprisonment in the guest house and the night of freeing prisoners and taking on the duke, they all looked good. Andie saw him first and stood up from where she was sitting, talking with Sayevi and Keana. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the crew.
“So, captain, do we have another jail break in our future?”
The rest of the crew looked ready to tear the estate down brick by brick if they had to and Xandr smiled. He wouldn’t trade these people for a hundred dukedoms. “Actually, we’ve got a job. If we want it.”
That got their attention. They didn’t quite all lean in towards him, but there was a general shifting and tilting of heads. When it took Xandr too long to speak, Keana prompted him. “Well?”
“Zeesa, that is, the duchess of Mebion would like to hire us to hunt down slavers. On an ongoing basis. It’s dangerous work, but can be lucrative as we’ll be entitled to anything on the ships we capture. But this also means we’ll be registered agents of the Oscavian Empire. That’s not what any of you signed on for, so I can’t ask this of you, not unless you’re all willing. Are you?” Andie squeezed his hand but said nothing. In that moment, as he was waiting for the crew to make their opinions known, he realized what he wanted. He was tired of living life at the edge of the law, falling into scrapes and prison and barely getting by. He was no longer the kind of man who could live idly on a planet as pleasant as Mebion, but he wanted his crew safe, he wanted to build a life with Andie by his side.
“What would we do for a ship?” Sayevi asked. “Ours is stuck back on Praltez. It’s probably been picked over by the vultures at their docks.”
“A ship’s a ship.” It hurt Xandr to think of the Seventh stripped for parts, but it wasn’t the first vessel he’d captained and it wouldn’t be the last. “Part of the contract included payment to acquire and outfit a ship. We can find something meant for the job, something that won’t fall apart from a little rough flying.”
Malax grunted, though Xandr wasn’t sure whether his engineer agreed with getting a new ship or was merely acknowledging that their previous ship had been prone to falling apart.
“There’s a certain appeal to showing the Oscavian fleet how to take out slavers,” Taryn said. “And if it means we’re not pulling babysitting gigs anymore I can’t say I’d complain.”
With Taryn’s endorsement came Malax, and once the two of them were on board the rest of the crew swiftly followed. Keana grinned at him. “We’re your crew, captain. We follow where you lead.”
“Yeah, my lord, that’s right!” Sayevi laughed.
Xandr groaned. “First rule of the new ship, no mentioning my title. It’s bullshit. I’m your captain, and that’s all that matters.”
Of course that declaration led to another round of ribbing, but for the moment the crew was happy. Andie tugged Xandr away once the laughter died down and they stole into a little nook in the garden maze. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close.
“You were quiet out there,” he couldn’t help but point out. “What do you think about all of this?”
She tilted her head up and trailed kisses along his jaw. “I think as long as we’re together I’m going to be happy. And giving some pain to the kind of people who abducted me? That’s just a bonus. I love you, my lord captain.”
“Really? You too?” He shut his eyes and clenched his jaw to keep from grinning, but that didn’t last long. He stole a kiss and pulled back. “I love you, my human cavria.”
“You ready to go save the universe?” she challenged, one eyebrow raised.
Xandr kissed her again. “With you at my side? I can’t wait.”
Thank you for reading the Alien Outlaws series!
Did you like the Alien Outlaws series? Share the love with your fellow readers by leaving a review on Goodreads, Bookbub, and/or your preferred retailer!
Keep up to date with what’s coming soon, get access to exclusive giveaways, and hang out with me online in my Facebook group. Kate Rudolph’s Detyen Dreamers is where Kate Rudolph fans can hang out and talk about the latest in alien romance.
If you’d like to read chapters from my books months before they reach the bookstores and get early copies of my books, please follow me on Patreon.
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Soulless.
Also by Kate Rudolph
Holiday Romance
Snowed in with the Alien Beast
The Alien’s Winter Gift
The Alien Reindeer’s Wild Ride
Bundles
Detyen Warriors Volume One
Mated to the Alien Volume One
Alien Outlaws: The Complete Series
Stealing the Alpha: The Complete Series
The Mate Bundle
Sci-Fi Romance
Crashed
Mated on the Moon
Mated to the Alien Dragon
Alien Outlaws
Rogue Alien’s Escape
Rogue Alien’s Woman
Rogue Alien’s Secret
Rogue Alien’s Legacy
Mated to the Alien
Ruwen
Tyral
Stoan
Cyborg
Krayter
Kayleb
Shayn
Braxtyn
Doryan
Detyen Warriors
Soulless
Ruthless
Heartless
Faultless
Endless
Zulir Warrior Mates
Synnr’s Saint
Synnr’s Hope
Paranormal Romance
Marked
Bear in Mind
Alpha’s Mercy
Gemma’s Mate
The Mate Bundle
The Alpha Heist
Entangled with the Thief
In the Alpha’s Bed
Find more by Kate Rudolph at www.katerudolph.net
About Kate Rudolph
KATE RUDOLPH IS AN ex-derby girl who lives in Indiana. She loves writing about kick butt heroines and the steamy heroes who love them. She's been devouring romance novels since she was too young to be reading them and had to hide her books so no one would take them away. She couldn't imagine a better job in this world than writing romances and sharing them with her fellow readers.
If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review.
To learn about new releases from Kate Rudolph and to receive a free ebook, you can sign up below:
Kate Rudolph’s Reader Club
Preview Soulless: Detyen Warriors Book One
CHAPTER ONE
SIERRA DIDN’T KNOW why she’d agreed to family dinner. Her father sat ramrod straight with a glass of whiskey clenched in one hand and studiously ignored the insignia on the sleeve of her uniform. She ate her peas one by one and only spared him glances when he shifted or sighed. Three years of this shit and she still hadn’t learned.
“I talked to Commander Mitchell about the training course I told you about. Two years of officer training and then you’ll have a command. Say the word and it’s yours.” He wasn’t using his General voice, which Sierra appreciated. But it also made her want to cry. He’d given up ordering her around. How long would it be before he
gave up on her all together?
It was moments like these that she could still smell the stench of the Wastes where she’d spent her first years sticking to her skin. Her father, General Remington Alvarez, had saved her life. And all she was to him was a disappointment.
“I like my job, Dad.” She forced herself to look up. Even though he was in his mid-sixties, her dad barely had any gray hair and his muscles made her think he could lift a tree if he had to. He’d been stationed behind a desk for more than a decade, but none of the work had made him soft. No, Remington Alvarez was all hard edges and strict rules.
“The job that means I have to spend every night you’re in the field wondering if you’re safe? The job that I can’t talk about to any of my friends? The one that will steal away your future before you even realize it?” He jerked his glass up to his mouth and threw the whiskey back, hissing as the liquid burned its way down his throat.
“I wouldn’t be any safer in the fleet,” she felt the need to point out, even as his other statements flayed her alive. “And if it weren’t for the work I did, the fleet would be flying blind.” He made it all sound so sordid, and not a necessary part of any defense apparatus.
Her father sucked in a deep breath and Sierra had to look away, staring at a still photograph her father had taken at some fancy event with an alien with bright yellow skin and sharp teeth. They’d had this fight a hundred times before and the only sure thing about it was that both of them would be left hurting and resentful by the time the night was over. “I’m—” she cut herself off before the apology could flit across her tongue. That was the problem. She wasn’t sorry.
“Sneaking behind enemy lines, lying to people. It’s not honor—” he, too, choked on his words.
Sierra still flinched. It’s not honorable. Yeah, she’d heard that one plenty of times too. This had to end now. If they spoke for any longer, it would lead to more months of silence and shitty tempers.
She placed her napkin on the table and scooted her chair back. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll give you a call when I get back and we can do this again.” Emotion lodged in her throat and she swallowed it, unwilling to break in front of this man.
“Back?” her father demanded, throwing his own napkin down. “Where are you going?”
“A mission. Classified. Dishonorable stuff, you wouldn’t want to hear about it anyway.” Her eyes itched and if she didn’t get out of there in the next minute she’d end up crying. Sierra didn’t cry in front of her father, not ever. That was even worse than dishonor, that was weakness.
“Erra—” he tried to stop her with her old childhood nickname. Sierra didn’t even pause as she scooped up her jacket from where she’d laid it on the back of his couch. She made her way through the narrow hallway of his quarters and to the front door.
Something that might have been regret danced in his eyes as he met her at the door. “Be safe,” he finally said, grabbing her in a tight hug and yanking her close. “Come back in one piece, I still need a date to the reception for Ambassador Yormas of Wreet.”
Sierra squeezed her eyes shut, but when she opened them again, her eyelashes were wet. Her dad said nothing. “I’ll give you a call,” she promised, not ready to agree to anything when her emotions were so raw.
He just nodded and let her go.
The hallway outside of his apartment was the same boring gray as the walls inside her father’s quarters. He shared the floor with three other units, but she saw no one as she made her way down the faded carpet to the stairwell beside the elevator. She took the stairs at a fast clip, as if speed were enough to outrun everything on her mind and in her heart. She hated disappointing her father. He’d saved her from a short, hard life of unspeakable cruelty and darkness. She doubted she would have made it to twenty-nine if he hadn’t adopted her. But Sierra had long ago realized that being grateful for her existence didn’t mean she owed her dad her entire future.
He saw it all for her: officer training, command, rank. Everything he’d doggedly pursued for his entire life. The only life he could conceive of. She’d taken one look at the training manuals and run screaming. Sierra was no stranger to discipline. How could she be when her father was General Remington Alvarez? But if she made that life hers, she’d be extinguishing herself. And as much as she loved her dad, she couldn’t do it.
He’d give her that derisive laugh of his if he knew she thought that way. How, he’d ask, could she be more true to herself as a spy than as a soldier?
She didn’t have the answer, but he wouldn’t care to hear it even if she did.
Her vehicle was located in the parking garage under his building. Sierra scanned the area, noting the android attendant near the entrance and a flickering light near where she’d parked. Awareness prickled at the back of her neck and her muscles loosened, her stride long and confident as she waited for the threat to make itself known.
A cat darted out from a dark corner and Sierra’s blaster was out, her finger on the trigger before she even registered the movement. When the animal jumped on top of her vehicle, she laughed and put her weapon away. She needed a damn vacation.
But vacation was the last thing she had to look forward to, not when planetary defense had to come first. Sierra gave the cat a gentle pet and then shooed it on its way before sliding into the car. As soon as she was on the road, her communicator lit up. She engaged the call without video and didn’t bother to glance at the identification to see who was calling. Anyone who had her code wouldn’t call if it wasn’t an emergency.
“Joyce is calling us in,” her friend and navigator, Mindy Branch said in lieu of a greeting.
“Right now?” A glance at the clock showed it wasn’t even close to midnight, let alone their 0500 call time.
“Yeah, Jo’s already on her way.” Mindy sounded about as pleased with that turn of events as Sierra was, but neither voiced their concerns.
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
“Got it. Drive safe.” She disengaged and the communication’s display went dim.
Sierra sent a silent prayer of thanks to anyone who was listening and turned her car around to head to the rendezvous point. She needed to get the fuck off of Earth to remember why it was worth saving in the first place.
Read Soulless Now