by Anna Hackett
“Let me get dressed.” Dathan strode to an adjoining room. “Why don’t you guys take the doctor to the living area?”
The living area was section of the warehouse adjacent to the bedrooms. Lived-in furniture was clustered around a bank of large screens. A tiny kitchen was tucked against one wall.
Zayn called out a command and the screens flickered to life—showcasing the latest sporting craze, VelocityBall. Eos was not a fan of the new version of football with a powered ball. Niklas sat in a leather armchair and she watched him extend the superthin palm-sized Sync communicator until it was tablet size. He flicked at information on the clear touchscreen while Zayn prowled to a nearby cold unit and plucked out a drink. He glanced her way. “Want one?”
Eos shook her head. “No, thank you.” She wandered to a window. Through the glass, she saw the shimmer of the huma-dome. “Pretty interesting setup you have here.”
“We do what we can,” Niklas said.
She’d had a taste of what it was like without the Institute’s large resources this last week. “You miss your work at the Institute?”
“No.”
She sensed…something. “Why did you leave?”
Something stirred in his dark blue eyes. “Dathan needed me. Our father had died and…it was time to come home.”
She cast an eye across the cavernous warehouse. “You have pieces in here that should be in museums. Pieces we could learn so much from.”
Footsteps.
“Locked away for the rich and educated to admire? Gathering dust in some storeroom somewhere?”
She turned. Dathan looked just as good clothed.
Worn jeans hung low and his white shirt was unbuttoned, giving glimpses of that sculpted chest. His ink was hidden, though, and she was sorry she couldn’t see it.
She looked away. It was dangerous to stare at him. Dathan Phoenix wasn’t just legendary for his treasure hunting. “In the hands of people who will ensure their proper preservation.” She wanted to reinforce the galactic laws, but she needed to hire these men, not alienate them. She bit her lip instead.
Dathan shoved his damp hair back and raised an eyebrow. “Yet I’m guessing since you want to hire us, you need us to take something for you?”
He had her there. Her jaw locked. No, she was nothing like this man. “Yes.”
“You going to share, darlin’?”
“It’s Dr. Rai.”
Niklas coughed. Or maybe laughed. “Eos is one of the foremost experts on Terran artifacts.”
“You won’t get us anywhere near Earth,” Dathan said. “No one who goes there ever comes back.”
Eos longed to explore Earth, but she knew the radiation levels from the nuclear fallout of the Terran War were off the scale. Besides, rumors were that something had survived down there…and it didn’t welcome visitors.
“I’m not after Earth.” She lifted her chin. Okay, here goes. “I need you to help me find the last remaining piece of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.”
Silence.
All she could hear was the gentle whoosh of the internal environmental system. It made her nerves stretch tight.
Dathan threw his head back and laughed.
“I’m serious,” she snapped.
He shook his head. “We only take jobs that have a sure payout. The Mona Lisa was destroyed when Earth’s inhabitants turned their planet into a nuclear wasteland.”
“No. It’s at Star’s End.”
Dathan laughed again, grabbing his stomach. Eos felt a burning urge to kick him.
“Star’s End is a myth,” he choked out.
Zayn leaned back against the wall, popping a piece of gum into his mouth. “Legend. Fable. Fairy tale.” He blew another bubble.
Niklas shook his head. “Star’s End and the Lost Treasure of the New Louvre have become so muddled with pseudohistory and garbage no one can be certain it’s even real. No one really believes the director of the New Louvre sent the museum’s most precious treasures on an expedition to set up a distant colony.”
“It makes sense,” Eos insisted. “Earth was on the brink of destruction. The United Countries of the Americas and the Northern Federation were decimating the planet in their bitter war. Lots of people were leaving Earth with the hope of finding habitable planets to set up new colonies, to make new homes. What better way to preserve the Earth’s greatest historical treasures?”
Dathan shifted. “It’s the Holy Grail of the crazy.” He tilted his head. “You crazy, Dr. Rai?”
“No.”
He stalked closer, circling her. “What’s a fine upstanding astro-archeologist like you doing searching for something that could ruin your career?”
He was getting too close. “Finding the last fragment of the Mona Lisa would be a crowning achievement.”
Niklas leaned forward in his chair. “The Institute thinks the expedition never left Earth.”
“My research indicates otherwise.”
Dathan watched her. Silent. Like a predator.
“I found a journal.” Well, partial records of a journal but they didn’t need to know all the detail. “Written by the daughter of one of the head colonists. She didn’t want him to go.”
“Maybe he never did.”
Eos held his gaze. “She talks about how much she missed him.”
“Plenty of Star’s End hoaxes out there.” Dathan shrugged. “I think I have a record of a man who opened the first strip club at Star’s End.”
She ground her teeth. “I’ve seen an archived document from the New Louvre that shows they packaged the last known fragment of the Mona Lisa ready for transport. It was loaded onto the starship New Hope, which was headed for Star’s End.”
Silence again.
She knew it was big.
Dathan raised a brow. “You’re telling me you have a verified document that links the New Louvre to Star’s End?”
She huffed out a breath. “No. I couldn’t take it—”
“I didn’t think so.”
“I’ve heard of the document,” Niklas said. “Institute ruled it a hoax. The last fragment of da Vinci’s masterpiece perished when Paris was nuked at the beginning of the Great Terran War.”
“It isn’t a fake.” God, they were her last hope. She knew it’d be a hard sell, but she didn’t think treasure hunters would be worried about verification of documents.
“Didn’t your mother work on the original authentication?” Niklas asked.
“Yes.” Dr. Asha Rai had been one of the Institute’s most talented. “She never believed it was a fake but bowed to pressure from her team. That belief led to her death.”
“How?” Dathan asked.
Eos felt the familiar tightness of grief. “She went on an expedition to find Star’s End. She was killed by space pirates.”
Dathan leaned closer and her chest tightened. “I’m really sorry about your mother, but do you really want us to scour the galaxy searching for a mythical old Earth colony?”
She smelled him now. Some citrus-scented soap and warm male. “I hear you’re very good at finding things.”
They stared at each other.
Zayn snorted, breaking the moment. “Not so good at holding on to them, though.”
Dathan flashed his brother a narrow look before he turned back to Eos. He caught her chin. “Why isn’t the Institute backing you?”
Oh, she really didn’t want to go there. She tried to jerk away from his touch. “They don’t have enough evidence—”
“I want the truth, Doc. You smell a little of desperation.”
Her spine stiffened. “It’s an old promise I intend to keep and the Institute isn’t interested. Now, do you want to hear what other information I have or not?”
His eyes narrowed and he moved closer. His chest brushed against her. “Not really. This is already more trouble than it’s worth.”
“I can pay you.”
One dark brow rose. “How much?”
She thought of the last e-creds in her ac
count. It was more than most people saved in a lifetime, but she knew it was no fortune. “Five million.”
He snorted. “Not enough to tempt me.”
Eos had to convince him. “I have more information that helps narrow down the location.”
His gaze was so sharp it felt like it cut through her skin. “I’m listening.”
She shook her head, ignoring the heat coming off him. “I won’t tell you until you agree to take the job.”
“That’s asking for a lot of trust, darlin’.” Dathan stepped closer still. They were plastered against each other.
Something told her he was seeing what would make her back away. She stayed where she was and lifted her chin. “I guess trust isn’t a commodity you have in abundance.”
Those intense eyes burned through her.
“You can trust us, Eos,” Niklas said.
She shook her head. “Trust the most notorious treasure hunters in the galaxy? Not with Star’s End and a Da Vinci relic worth a trillion e-creds.”
Dathan’s grip on Eos’s jaw tightened, the rough calluses on his fingertips abrading her skin. She felt like he was staring straight inside her.
“You have a location,” he said.
She swallowed. Heard Niklas’s chair squeak and saw Zayn straighten behind Dathan.
“Look at me.”
She obeyed, caught again by those eyes.
“You know the location of Star’s End, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
The Phoenix Adventures
Among Galactic Ruins
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth
In the aftermath of a deadly alien invasion, a band of survivors fights on...
In a world gone to hell, Elle Milton--once the darling of the Sydney social scene--has carved a role for herself as the communications officer for the toughest commando team fighting for humanity's survival--Hell Squad. It's her chance to make a difference and make up for horrible past mistakes...despite the fact that its battle-hardened commander never wanted her on his team.
When Hell Squad is tasked with destroying a strategic alien facility, Elle knows they need her skills in the field. But first she must go head to head with Marcus Steele and convince him she won't be a liability.
Marcus Steele is a warrior through and through. He fights to protect the innocent and give the human race a chance to survive. And that includes the beautiful, gutsy Elle who twists him up inside with a single look. The last thing he wants is to take her into a warzone, but soon they are thrown together battling both the alien invaders and their overwhelming attraction. And Marcus will learn just how much he'll sacrifice to keep her safe.
Hell Squad
Marcus
Cruz
Gabe
Reed
Also by Anna Hackett
Hell Squad
Marcus
Cruz
Gabe
Reed
The Anomaly Series
Time Thief
Mind Raider
Soul Stealer
Salvation
The Phoenix Adventures
Among Galactic Ruins
At Star’s End
In the Devil’s Nebula
On a Rogue Planet
Beneath a Trojan Moon
Beyond Galaxy’s Edge
On a Cyborg Planet
Return to Dark Earth
Perma Series
Winter Fusion
The WindKeepers Series
Wind Kissed, Fire Bound
Taken by the South Wind
Tempting the West Wind
Defying the North Wind
Claiming the East Wind
Standalone Titles
Savage Dragon
Hunter’s Surrender
One Night with the Wolf
Anthologies
A Galactic Holiday
Moonlight (UK only)
Vampire Hunter (UK only)
Awakening the Dragon (UK Only)
For more information visit AnnaHackettBooks.com
About the Author
I’m a USA Today bestselling author and I’m passionate about action romance. I love stories that combine the thrill of falling in love with the excitement of action, danger and adventure. I’m a sucker for that moment when the team is walking in slow motion, shoulder-to-shoulder heading off into battle. I write about people overcoming unbeatable odds and achieving seemingly impossible goals. I like to believe it’s possible for all of us to do the same.
My books are mixture of action, adventure and sexy romance and they’re recommended for anyone who enjoys fast-paced stories where the boy wins the girl at the end (or sometimes the girl wins the boy!)
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Website: AnnaHackettBooks.com
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