by Catty Diva
Today the work paid off better than usual which only made it even sweeter. Toby was waiting with the others on the outside of the courthouse. “That was quick. It always takes me longer than that.” Justice grumbled.
“You ever think to tip Jacker?”
“No.”
“That’s why you ain’t the boss.” Cash concluded with a chuckle. He was glad to have that business completed so they could move on to their other business.
“Hey, where to now?” Ralph asked.
“I just sent you coordinates. Let’s get in and on the way.” Cash informed.
This work was getting tiresome. He was strapped in and leaned back. At some point he fell asleep and Dani was all that was on his mind. Maybe he didn’t deserve her, but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying to get her back. Toby shook him and he dragged open his eyes. They were at their next target. At least Toby was willing to stay on the ship with Ralph.
“Come on guys. Let’s go.”
Chapter 6
Caught
Dani listened as Lista explained that Razar and his team had captured the mercenaries that had hunted her. She was relieved, but still concerned. “Are you sure there won’t be more?”
“There’s no way to be a hundred percent sure. Razar thought you should go home, pack up and do whatever you need to. We’ll move you tomorrow morning. He doesn’t see any way they will know their hired thugs failed this soon. We can have another place ready for you by then.”
“Thank you. Both of you. This will be such a big relief. You know how much I hate violence.”
“It’s worth any trouble to see you safe and sound.” Lista responded. “Someday we’ll have these people dealt with and the universe will be a better place.”
“The Mazlans have done so much to deal with the labs. It’s amazing that one group would do so much. I still can’t figure out why they have put so many resources into helping strangers.” Dani commented.
“It wasn’t that long ago that the Mazlans here were the victims of their own emperor. If anyone can relate to being abused and mistreated, they can. With the number of abused victims, many are not strangers. They have found Mazlan DNA among the lab bred. No race seems to be untouched by this heinous activity.” Lista pointed out.
“It’s sad, but you are right. I’d best be on my way and let you and your mate have some privacy.”
“Don’t be silly. You are always welcome here.” Lista declared.
It might be true, but Dani felt in the way with the kids gone. The couple was missing out on a romantic experience because of her presence. Gathering her stuff, she left quickly ready to do what was needed to leave the now dangerous house behind. When she arrived, the homey feeling she’d experienced here, was no longer present. That was alright because she would soon be leaving.
Everything looked just like it had been when she left. Not one to waste time, Dani immediately began to pack. She took this as an opportunity to donate items she didn’t want anymore. Two big boxes ended up being gathered that she wrote donate on. Lista had an organization that gathered these donations and sent them to planets that were extremely poor or hit by some kind of disaster.
Once that was done, she began to pack her stuff in earnest. By the time she was done, she was hungry and exhausted. Going to the kitchen, she saw plenty of choices, but she picked a premade sandwich and a cup of soup. It was easy and quick so she was done in minutes. Tossing the containers in the recycling end of the container creator, she went to take a shower then got ready for bed.
Because she was nervous and more than a little paranoid, she checked the alarm and grabbed a few weapons out of the safe. She also set up a trap by the front door as well as the back door. Feeling safer, she headed to her bedroom to attempt to get some sleep. It was around midnight when something woke her.
Her senses immediately went on alert. Someone was in her house. It was likely they were mercenaries come to capture her. Still, she didn’t like to use deadly force. Her laser guns all stunned rather than killed. She’d been told even stun guns could kill under certain circumstances so she felt that was dangerous enough. Whoever it was, they were cautious since they’d safely made it past a trap and avoided setting off the alarm.
Dani grabbed two stun guns, one for each hand. She’d practiced this a lot so hopefully she’d be good at it. Dressed in a night shirt, she didn’t have time to change besides it covered everything important. Barefoot, she opened her bedroom door slowly then stepped out. A shadow loomed in the living room, but there only appeared to be one. Listening closely, there were no sounds or signs of other intruders. That was odd.
Holding up one of the guns, she pointed it before she aimed. There was no point in thinking this through or delaying. That would only give the intruder who was huge, a chance to get to her. A quick prayer, she closed her eyes and shot. She missed so this time with eyes open she shot again and the huge person dropped like a sack.
She assumed it was a person, but it writhed on the floor making noises. It made sense though since it was so big and the stun gun was set to the same strength for large or small. Maybe the huge size made the gun less effective on this intruder. Dani worked around the edge of the room desperately trying to avoid the writing moaning creature laid out in the center. The light switch was by the door, near to the rolling hulk on the floor.
Once she made it near to the switch, she leaned over as far as she could pulling it up. Temporarily blinded by the light, she was stunned when she could finally see who lay there in misery. “Cash! What in the hell are you doing here?”
“I-I’m looooking for y-you.” He moaned still affected by the stunner. Even though she felt angry at him, she would never have shot him had she known it was him. She cared too much for the male. Not that he’d shown much caring in return.
“You shouldn’t have come here. Mercenaries have been here after me. I’m leaving in the morning so they can’t catch me.”
“C-come with meee.” Cash suggested. His voice was getting closer to normal. She felt a twinge of remorse that she’d hit him at all. Still, she’d do it again under the same circumstances.
“You should know better than to sneak into someone’s house.” Dani admonished.
Cash didn’t answer as he tried to recover from his ordeal. After a few minutes, he managed to sit up. When he looked steadier, she offered him her hand to help him up. Once he was up, she guided him to an easy chair that he dropped into.
“How are you?”
“I feel like shit. At least I’m not as worried about you. You seem able to take care of yourself.’ Cash admitted.
As bad as she felt about shooting him, she was proud that she’d kept her cool and handled things. “I needed to be able to. As soon as I started working for you, I took all the training you had available.” Dani explained.
“So all those times I thought you were playing around doing girly stuff, you were training?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to tell you because then you might expect too much out of me.” Dani admitted. She’d taken most of her overtime in payback time to train. It had cost her in money, but had prepared her for anything that might come. Cash had thought her frivolous. That was alright.
“You could have done some of that training on company time. Why did no one mention it?” Cash asked.
“I asked them not to.”
“I see where their loyalty lies.”
“It wasn’t like that. They wanted me to continue training and they knew I was shy and embarrassed about it. Had they told you, they knew I would quit.”
“Okay, maybe I can see their dilemma. It was beneficial for everyone to have you trained. Did you know we had an attack on headquarters recently?”
“Yes, the so called parent after Toby. I’m glad you made a good bounty off of him and his friends.”
“You’re not even with us anymore and you still know everything that goes on with the hunters.”
“Not everything, but I’m still working som
e of the same cases.”
“Ah, yes. I need to have a talk with Lista about that. She hid you from me.”
“Had she not agreed, I would have left. I’ve been helpful on this mission.” Dani pointed out.
“That’s true, but she could have dropped me a hint.”
“Someone helped you track me.”
“That sweet girl you trained to replace you. I didn’t tell her who she was tracking, only that they were instrumental in helping this mission out. She loves kids and was happy to help.” Cash grinned.
“What do we do now?”
“I’ll have to sleep this off. I can barely walk and I feel like hell. If there’s only one bed, we could share.” He said hopefully.
“I’ll help you to the spare room if you promise to behave.”
“You know me, I’m good as gold.”
“That’s why I need the promise or you can crawl there on your own.”
“Okay. Give a guy a break. I promise to behave for now.” He gave her an innocent look she didn’t believe for a moment. It was a shame she was so hooked on him. Not for a moment did she believe he was ready to have a relationship. The only reason he was so calm and nice right now was she had shocked the evil energy right out of him.
Helping him up, once he stood he draped an arm over her shoulder. One step at a time, they finally made it to the spare room. As he settle on the bed, he shot her a needy look. “Sure I can’t convince you to stay in here? We can protect each other.”
“I’m sure.” She replied as she hurried to her room. Would she ever get to sleep knowing he was so nearby?
It turned out not to be a problem, but she suddenly woke. Maybe it was Cash making the noise, but what if it wasn’t? Better safe than sorry. She grabbed the two stun guns she had used earlier off her nightstand. Moving as carefully and quietly as possible, she slipped out of her room.
There was more than one intruder. She could hear them whispering as they planned there attack although she couldn’t hear the words. Ten people, maybe more so she had to go in like a crazy fiend to throw them off. Both stun guns blazing, she was dropping people right and left. As she slid across the floor, she ducked and dodged. It was probably more than necessary since most of them were on the floor some writhing and moaning while others were out cold.
Hitting the light switch, she now saw there were two she hadn’t gotten. Her guns went up just as theirs did and she shot and ducked taking out one. Peering out from behind the couch, she shot again and again until she heard two more bodies drop. There must have been one she hadn’t seen.
Stealthily, she moved around until she saw everyone was down, if not out. Cash laid next to the last guy she had hit. This time he was out cold. He must have gotten in the way when he was trying to help. He’d been caught by one of the stun guns. Danio felt awful this time. She grabbed restraints out of the desk drawer and restrained their hands and feet.
Once she finally had them all tied up, she called Lista. “This better be damn good!”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got ten intruders out and restrained on my floor. Cash also got in the way twice and now he’s out. I need prisoner pick up and a doctor for Cash.”
“I’m sorry, Dani. I didn’t check the ID. I have a new night assistant who has been calling me on the hour.”
“It’s okay. I like my sleep too.”
“Someone will be there soon. They’ll drop the prisoners off and take Cash to the doctor. How did he find you?”
“I guess the girl I trained to take my place is a little too good. She didn’t know who she was finding for him, he just said it was important. Sneaky conniving men. Huh?” Dani explained.
“I think they all are. Get dressed if you’re not. They’ll be there fast.” They hung up.
Dani ran to the bedroom to throw on something decent. There was a knock on the door. She wasn’t surprised to find Razar standing there with a big smile on his face. “Cash got caught in the fight, huh?” The male chuckled. Cash would never live this down. “Looks like you did some damage. Interested in a place in the Oison army?” Dani shot him a look. “Just thought I’d ask. You devastated these guys and didn’t kill a single one, not even Cash who probably deserved it.”
“They snuck in without tripping the alarm, so did Cash, but he got in earlier. I saw them grouped together so I slid across the floor shooting both stun guns. I missed two so I got behind the chair and managed to get both of them, but there was an extra.”
“Cash?”
“Yes, apparently he came out to help.”
“He’ll be fine, but we’ll take him to medical anyway. He’s a tough bastard.” Razar admitted. High praise coming from the Mazlan prince. Mazlans were demons and tougher than all hell. It was a secret, but she’d figured it out fast.
Razar’s men had loaded all the prisoners and now they were loading Cash. Dani followed behind keeping her eyes on him. Regardless of the fact that he wasn’t ready to settle down, she loved him. She couldn’t bear the thought of any harm coming to him. That man was everything to her. That she was a fool, was a given. It was just something she’d have to live with.
Hopping into the small ship Razar’s crew used, she sat near Cash even holding his hand. He was out cold so he’d never know and it gave her comfort to touch him like this. The ship took off landing at the med center a few minutes later. They dropped Cash and her off before heading to the prison with the criminals she’d taken down.
Now that the adrenaline had worn off, Dani got the shakes. “So who is my patient? The unconscious guy or you?”
“He is. I just had a bad experience and didn’t take it as well as I thought I had.”
The doctor shot her a look. “I’ll examine him first, then I’ll take a look at you.” The doctor scanned him and made noises that worried her. “What happened to him?”
“He got stunned twice.”
“That explains a lot. He’ll be out a while, but it will give his body a chance to heal. I think he’ll recover completely. We can give him an IV if you’d prefer?”
“Does he need it? If not, he wouldn’t want it.”
The doctor chuckled. “Stubborn hunters. He’ll be alright without it. Now let me scan you.” He ran the scanner over her and made more noises. “You’re fine considering your condition.”
“What condition?”
“Did you not realize you’re expecting?”
Dani didn’t know what happened until later because she passed out.
Chapter 7
Dani
Cash was slowly coming awake even though he didn’t want to. He felt safe and warm with his mate in his arms. It wasn’t possible, he knew that which meant he was dreaming. It was a better dream than most so he wished to hang on to it. Who could blame him?
Regardless of how he fought to stay asleep, he was waking in degrees. He could hear noises in the background and smell things in the air. It was the scent of cleaners and antiseptic. Just like a hospital. What had happened to him? His memory started to give him some answers. Dani had stunned him thinking him an intruder. But he’d recovered from that, hadn’t he? Yes, but then something else had happened. There had been real intruders and she’d been taking them out like a pro, but there were too many and she’d missed two.
It had been his intention to help, but then he had no memory of what happened next. They must have jumped him. That was the only reason he could think why he’d be in medical now. Rolling to his side, he felt a body against him. It was Dani. Had she been knocked out too”
“I’m glad to see you’re awake. Your mate is resting. She should wake soon.” The nurse brought him a tray with food and juice.
“Thank you.” Cash said.
“Just call when she wakes up. She needs to be fed regularly.”
Cash agreed. Dani had lost weight. He’d noticed it immediately just looking at her face. If she would agree to come back to test out their relationship, he’d see that she ate when she needed to. Dani moved restlessly and moaned
in her sleep. There was little doubt that she would be waking soon.
His eyes ran over her seeing how skinny she’d grown. When he got up to her eyes, they were open. “You’re awake.”
“Yes.” She admitted as she sat up, scooting away from him.
He called the nurse who came with a tray. She’d assumed Dani was awake. “Here’s your food. Eat it all, okay?”
“I’ll try.” Dani replied. Cash intended to see that she did.
“Come home with me.” He said causing Dani to choke on her juice. He rubbed her back as she tried to catch her breath.
“We both know you’re not the relationship kind of guy.” Dani observed.
“With you, I think I could be. If you leave now, won’t you wonder if we could have made it work? I want to try.”
“You’re not being fair. You push me away only to pull me close then do it all over again.”
“I’d like to try because I think I love you.” Cash whispered.
She barely heard it, but she could barely believe it. “Do you even know what love is?”
“I believe I could learn with you. You make me want forever. You make me want a family and a pet.”
“Are you sure you don’t just want a mother for Toby?”
“Toby picked me. I pick you.”
“I’m not sure it works that way, but I’ll come back with you to stay until the lab raids are done. I won’t be you PA, but I will do some work for you. That will pay for staying in your spare room.”
Cash didn’t know why she’d agreed so easily, but he was happy. He knew with time he’d convince her to stay for good. “Okay. I’ll call Ralph to come get us. If he’s available. I believe we lost a day. They probably went out without me, at least I hope they did.”
“I don’t know Ralph.”