Wrath (Operation Outreach Book 1)

by Elle Thorne

  Razor threw the folder down. “You clearly haven’t thought this through.”

  “The hell I haven’t.” Smyrna collected the pages that had scattered. The headshot was on top. She glanced at it. It seemed Caayn’s eyes looked straight into her soul. As though he could read her mind, her purpose for going.

  “Really? Okay, then Miss I-Thought-It-Through, tell me what the hell you’re going to do after you kill that bastard Porter? You going to hop on a shuttle and return to MidMerica?”

  Smyrna occupied herself with arranging the papers so Razor couldn’t see that she had no clue. “Guess I’ll face their judicial system.”

  “That bastard Porter isn’t even a citizen of Janus. Or a citizen of Zama.”

  Zama had collaborated with several countries and provinces on Earth to co-settle one of its colony planets—Janus—and build a community that was composed of various nationalities.

  “So, what’s your point? Who cares what he’s a citizen of?”

  Razor shrugged. “They won’t know how to sentence you. Where to send you to be incarcerated.”

  Branson walked their way, his Irish-blue eyes twinkling as he beheld the man he considered a brother from another mother. Smyrna had no doubt that Branson was closer to Razor that he could have been to any brother he shared blood with.

  They were at Razor’s bar, though, officially, it wasn’t Razor’s. On paper, it belonged to one of the men that Razor served with in Special Ops. The man it belonged to had gone off the radar to work as a mercenary and told Razor to run it for him, keep all profits, but to be ready, in case he needed something. Not even Smyrna knew who that man was.

  “Who’s getting incarcerated?” Branson pulled up a bar stool.

  Razor pointed at Smyrna. “She is. But at least she’ll be in a colony that used to be a prison.”

  Janus was to Zama what Australia had been to the English, long ago.

  Smyrna stuck her tongue out at Razor.

  “You should put that tongue to use,” Branson waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  “You wish.” Smyrna knew better. She knew if ever there were a set of men that she’d be safe from, these hulking men were it.

  “She’s signing a contract to marry an alien.” Razor popped the top on a beer for Branson.

  Bran took a long pull before studying Smyrna. “And, what? You have to stay married?”

  “It gets better.” Razor didn’t let her answer.

  Smyrna gave him a dirty look.

  “How so?”

  “If she reneges, before or after the ceremony, she faces a penalty of five years indentured.”

  Branson did a double take. “What the hell does that mean?”

  Smyrna heaved an exaggerated sigh. “It means I will be working in whatever capacity I’m told to for the state.”

  “Or…” Razor reminded her. “Or for whomever buys the bond of your indenture from the state.”

  “What’s it matter? She’ll probably be serving life for murder,” Branson pointed out.

  “Ha, ha. Funny.” Smyrna scoffed. “I don’t plan to get caught.”

  “Of course, you’ll be caught, foolish one,” Razor reminded her. “You don’t know the first thing about surviving or traversing Janus. That place is supposed to be like the wild west used to be in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, pick whichever former state. It will be the same as it was then.”

  “You don’t give me enough credit.” Smyrna frowned.

  “Oh, you want credit, do you?” Branson sneered. “What’d you do for a living before you were a bounty hunter?”

  As if he didn’t know.

  “I was a cashier at PennyMart.”

  But Razor had taught her a few things.

  Smyrna placed the flowers next to the stone that marked Leticia’s birth and death.

  She sighed.

  “Almost there, Letty.”

  She could imagine Letty shaking her head and yelling at her for this.

  “I’m flying out tomorrow.”

  Leticia wouldn’t have wanted Smyrna to dedicate herself to seeking justice from the man who put her in a grave.

  Let it go, she could almost hear Letty’s voice telling her to let the matter go, to live a life.

  I can’t.

  When things had been the hardest for Smyrna, when Razor had been fighting in the war, Letty had been Smyrna’s best friend. They’d lost touch for a couple years after Letty met a new guy and moved to a new province. When that didn’t work out, Letty had returned to MidMerica and roomed with Smyrna.

  Until that day. The day.

  Tears wouldn’t come. They threatened, but they wouldn’t come. Smyrna had not shed a single one since Letty passed.

  Why can’t I cry?

  Chapter Five

  Caayn looked at his younger brother. “You did what?”

  “You don’t have a woman. You won’t take one—on a permanent basis. You won’t get hand-fasted. You’re too picky. And we will lose the family property.”

  “This is the stupidest law the government of Zama has ever come up with. Conscription for hand-fasting?”

  Tramark shrugged. “I don’t argue with the government. You know that’s fruitless.”

  “But you had to sign me up?”

  “I’m sure as hell not going to sign myself up. I have a woman. I’m taking Viniva as my mate, formally, right after your own hand-fasting ceremony is complete.”

  “We are so backwards.”

  “If other planets—” Tramark never had a chance to finish his words.

  Caayn’s fist interrupted him.

  Tramark fell backward. “You’re overreacting.” He rubbed his jaw.

  “I have a happy life. I’m not…” Caayn exhaled. “I’m not looking for a damned bride. And I sure as hell don’t plan to have a bride from Earth.”

  “They are not so very different from us. You already have a translator implanted for UniLan. She’ll have one before she arrives here. Then you can communicate in UniLan.” The universal language of the cosmos.

  “I’m not interested.”

  “Every single one of the Cardinal Few families with more than one son has to conscript a son to the cause. It’s to show solidarity to the governments on Earth.”

  “First.” Caayn shoved an index finger in his brother’s face. “What the hell makes you think that between the two of us, I should be the one.” He raised a second finger. “Two, you had no right to sign my name to it. You should have talked to me. Third—”

  “Hey.” Tramark shoved him. “I’m not going to watch us lose property that has been in our family’s name for generations. Our parents are buried there. All of our ancestors going back are.”

  “You had no right. Now I am bound. If I don’t go through with the hand-fasting, I’ll be sent to a penal institution for violation of a contract.”

  “Wouldn’t it be ironic if they sent you to the penal colony on Janus?”

  “Janus is no longer a penal colony.” Caayn frowned at his brother. “That’s why they’re doing this—” He waved his hands around, though what he really wanted to do was feed his brother his fist again.

  “You’re always up for an adventure. I don’t understand why this should be any different.”

  This time, Tramark had gone too far. Caayn released a solid left hook that caught his brother squarely on target.

  Tramark fell back, landed on his ass. “You’re taking this entirely too hard.”

  Caayn clenched his jaw. “How about if I go sign you up to hand-fast another woman? Let’s see how you take that.”

  “You damned well best not, by the curses of the seven planets, I’ll—”

  “I’m going to tell them you forged my name.”

  “They won’t believe you.”

  Caayn glared at his brother. It was true. Tramark was a decorated military man, leader of many missions to the far side of the galaxy containing the uprisings of rebels.

  As for Caayn? Not quite so celebrated. Not held in hig
h regard. He’d been on the wrong path since the day he finished his tertiary education. The moment they’d handed him the scroll proclaiming his accomplishment, he’d touched it to the nearest torch and tossed it.

  Then he’d taken a ride on a shuttle to the outskirts of Marcomal, a lawless planet where illegal traffic and trade was rampant in black markets and pubs.

  There, Caayn had made a name for himself, but not the name he carried here on his home planet.

  Yes, the lawlessness on Janus wasn’t a problem. Being saddled with a woman…

  That was a huge problem.

  Chapter Six

  Smyrna rolled over in the bunk that she was supposed to be asleep in and studied the quarters she’d been assigned in the spaceship she was on.

  Sleek and built for efficiency, all the walls were a pristine brushed silver finish, bare of any furnishings that wouldn’t be deemed as necessary. The lights were inset, ensconced in the walls, with only a tiny button beneath that served as on/off switches.

  An austere chair with no cushion and a plain table were all that existed, other than the bunk, which at the push of a button would raise and be tucked into the wall.

  She hadn’t had a tour of the ship, per se, but what she’d seen as she’d made her way to her own quarters was much the same.

  A vehicle without comforts, warmth, or personality. Much like the captain, she’d have to say if asked.

  The room was filled with silence. The lamp by the door cast shadows in the room, but it was better than darkness. She had no roommate, though the other two girls shared with each other.

  The other duo was enthusiastic. Animated giggles burst forth whenever they had talked about their prospective mates and the life they’d have on Janus. When Captain Frax told them he had two rooms and that two of them would have to room, the two girls had jumped at the chance. Giving Smyrna an apologetic look, they’d clasped each other’s hands.

  Smyrna had shrugged and pretended it didn’t bother her.

  Tossing one more time, she gave up the sheep counting and the idea of some shut-eye. She didn’t sleep. She couldn’t. She buzzed with excitement, anticipation, and a bit of trepidation. To say that she was excited about going to Janus would be accurate, but not because she was going to be meeting the man in the picture.

  “Caayn Fellish.”

  She whispered the name under her breath, flicked on a lamp inset into the vessel’s walls, and picked up the file that was next to her bunk. She looked into those eyes again. Then she read his bio.

  The Fellish family is one of the Cardinal Few families, the original families that formed the government on Zama. Caayn is the eldest. The younger is Tramark. Upon finishing his tertiary grades and receiving his certificate, Caayn made for the outer bounds of the galaxy, where he amassed a fortune to add to the Fellish family’s considerable wealth—

  —It looked like she would be hooking up with a guy that wasn’t hard up for money.

  That’d be a change.

  Smyrna usually dated losers that conveniently forgot their money.

  Except I’m not hooking up with him, she reminded herself. She had business to do there. Kill that bastard Baldwin Porter, then get the hell off that planet before she was caught.

  She put the paperwork away and stretched out on the bunk, crossing one arm over her face to block the light. She didn’t want to turn the lamp off. Smyrna hadn’t been in complete darkness since that night long ago. She shoved that thought away. She had no time for weaknesses, right now. Her full energy and headspace needed to be dedicated to vengeance.

  Baldwin Porter must pay.

  For Leticia’s sake, he would pay with his life.

  The vessel’s noises changed. It sounded like it was slowing, or shifting.

  Could they be there already?

  “Now arriving at Station Eight-Fourteen-Zee-Fifty. Please be aware that the ship will be docking for two hours. Do not miss boarding or you will be left behind.”

  Chapter Seven

  Caayn watched the ship dock. Vessel A-7568. Frax’s ship. The doors slid open and out stepped Captain Frax.

  Frax’s vessel was sleek and shiny, made for speed—not the speed his vessel had, he thought with derision, but it was still a nice new specimen that the government had invested plenty of coin in.

  Caayn sneered. He’d attended tertiary with Frax. Useless, conniving, bastard.

  Caayn had taken pleasure in plundering Frax’s vessel three years ago. Of course, Frax didn’t know it was his old classmate. And Caayn wasn’t about to tell Frax he was the one who’d held them up and pirated the taxes they’d collected from the innocent citizens of a remote farming community on Marcomal.

  Now, Caayn would never confess to being the type to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Not exactly. Though he did do that. He also took a small cut for himself. Small being five percent. But five percent of many coins yielded many coins.

  Naturally, he gave up that way of life. He wasn’t sure why he did it to begin with. Except that he hadn’t wanted a penny of his father’s money. His father had rejected him for many years until it had been proven that Caayn really was his son from an affair long before he met the woman he married, Tramark’s mother. So Caayn had been the black sheep. And he’d dealt with it.

  Now his father was gone, Tramark’s mother as well, and all that was left was Caayn and Tramark. Legally, the old man had claimed Caayn, but once a black sheep, always a black sheep, as far as Caayn was concerned. But now, he didn’t shun his inheritance. He’d even taken steps to look into his ancestry a couple of times. And he’d become closer to Tramark.

  Though, this time, I’m going to kill him for this stunt.

  Sitting at the space station, waiting for Frax’s ship, Caayn had formed solution to his brother’s folly though. He’d come up with a brilliant one.

  “There he goes,” Ruska said, pointing at Frax’s doughy, under-exercised body.

  Ruska, Caayn’s second, was privy to the situation. Privy to Caayn’s plan to get out of the situation. Situation being the hand-fasting his brother had locked him into contractually.

  Can’t hand-fast to a woman who’s been kidnapped.

  Even if he was the one who did the kidnapping. Yes, even if. She’d never know it was him. The government would never know. She’d simply have vanished. He’d be free.

  “You didn’t say, by the way,” Ruska added.

  “Say what?” Caayn raised a brow.

  “Say what you planned to do with the cargo—the women.”

  “Yeah, you’ve been asking that.” Caayn kept his gaze focused on the doors. If they’d come out, if she’d come out, it would be so much easier than jacking Frax’s entire ship.

  He wouldn’t get that lucky, would he?

  “And you’ve been avoiding that.”

  “I have no clue. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her,” he kept his voice to a low hiss. “Quit bugging me about that.”

  His conscience was troubling him enough about this matter. He would be kidnapping a woman. He didn’t deal in the trafficking of individuals, regardless of what planet they were from.

  Finally, he looked at Ruska. “Rush.” His nickname for his second in command. “I’m no—I don’t—”

  “There.” Rush inclined his head. “Is that her?”

  Caayn studied the attractive brunette. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? Was there no picture provided?”

  “I didn’t look at the file. Didn’t care.” Why would Rush think that he would have studied the file on a woman he had no intention of including in his life?

  “Cursed stars.” Rush made a whooshing sound under his breath. “You are in trouble.” He pointed.

  “Don’t point, damnation. You’ll attract attention.”

  Caayn looked.

  Two more women were exiting the vessel.

  “Barmanese cluster of damned stars,” Caayn exclaimed. He wished he’d looked at a picture of the
woman he was to hand-fast.

  “Which one is her?” Rush asked

  “Well, how the creations of Alvas would I know?” Caayn responded.

  “So, looks like now we’re going to have three passengers?”

  Caayn rolled his eyes. “Unless a few more exit the ship.” Then what?”

  “I don’t think…” Rush began.

  One look from Caayn and he backed off.

  “So, that’s what we’re doing, right?” Rush mustered up the courage to look past Caayn’s dark gaze.

  “Looks like it.”

  Chapter Eight

  “It shouldn’t have been that easy.” Caayn flipped the controls, pushed the buttons, and within seconds, his vessel, the Javelin, was speeding away from Station Eight-Fourteen-Zee-Fifty.

  “I don’t think you should question when the goddess of luck decides to shine down on you.”

  “Still.”

  “I can’t believe they bought that story. We didn’t have to use violence. We didn’t have to hurt them. Just a little harmless lie.” Rush grinned.

  “Hardly harmless.” Caayn flipped the final switch. “Get Mn’eth to take my place. We’re going to Marcomal.”

  “Is that wise?”

  “It’s the safest place I can think of. They’ll give us sanctuary. Hell, after what we’ve done for them, they’d lie to their own mothers for us.”

  “True.” Rush rubbed his hands together. “They have the best cantinas and the cleanest whorehou—”

  “Rush.”

  Rush turned his way.

  “We’re going there on business.”

  “Oh, hey, no. You got the wrong idea. I don’t—you know, there’s all kinds of diseases.”

  “Right.” Caayn let the tone of doubt slip into his voice. “Sure.”

  “Really. But there are two girls there that will let you watch, for a little extra tip.”

  Caayn shook his head. “Just make sure you don’t forget, we are on a mission. A mission to keep me from getting caught, and keep me from hand-fasting.”

  “Don’t worry.”