by Gail Koger
Cantor vanished.
Oh crap. Not good. Before I could react, Cantor grabbed me in a chokehold and teleported. There was a flash of black and we appeared in the parking lot.
Jake popped in ten seconds later. “Let her go or die.”
“Follow me and I will break her neck,” Cantor warned, tightening his grip.
Black spots danced in my vision and breathing was damn difficult.
“First chance you get, zap him,” Jake commanded on our private link.
“You betcha.” Poof! Cantor teleported again and we were standing on a highway with a semi-truck barreling toward us. “Shit!”
Cantor swayed unsteadily and for a moment his grip loosened.
I slipped out of his hold and ran for it.
The idiot tackled me.
Slamming on the brakes, the semi-truck driver laid on the horn. Smoke billowed from the tires as the truck slid sideways down the roadway.
“Wanna go home,” Oola cried.
“Truck!” I hollered mentally as Cantor yanked me to my feet. “Teleport dammit. He can’t stop in time.”
“Me bite.”
Cantor teleported us an instant before we could become roadkill.
My heart pounding in my chest and my breath coming in shuddering gasps, I glanced around. We were back in Monument Valley. Go figure. “You gotta a death wish, or what?”
“Many have tried to kill me. I cannot die.”
And the sad thing was he believed it. “I hate to shatter your illusion but you’re a dead man walking. Look, I’m a police officer and for your own safety I’m placing you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
“I do not answer to your laws.”
Yep. I didn’t think so, but I had to try. “Surrender or die.”
“Never. I am the most powerful Coletti ever born and the rightful Overlord of the Coletti clans.”
I peered over my shoulder at the idiot who had made no attempt to take my laser pistol. “Really? Wow. Does Zarek know that?”
“I will challenge him when the time is right.”
“And when will that be?” Call me curious.
Cantor bared his broken fangs at me. “Soon.”
“You’re a liar and a fucking coward. You have no intention of fighting Zarek. You’re too damned scared of him.”
Cantor laughed like a demented hyena. “I fear nothing,”
“Oh puhleese. Instead of challenging my father and me to a fair fight, you tried to kill us long distance. But your plan failed. The alien Chupacabras are dead. The Red Kings have been arrested. You’re injured, alone and wearing nothing but a hospital gown.” I pressed my hands against Cantor’s arms and zapped him.
With a bellow of pain, Cantor released me and as I jumped away, he yanked the laser pistol out of my holster. “Now you die!”
Fuck. I should have zapped him sooner. “The thing is, I’m wearing armor and you’re not.” I let lightning crackle around me. “Drop the weapon and I’ll let you live.”
“Me bite. He die,” Oola said.
Cantor’s eyes widened in alarm, he grabbed his throat, made a gurgling noise and did a face plant.
I tapped my bracelet and checked the scanner. Dang. Cantor had no life signs.
Oola crawled across Cantor’s head. “Me warrior. Protect.”
I accessed Jake’s memories. Baby Tabor’s venom was lethal. One bite and their prey were dead before they hit the floor. “You’re a mighty warrior and one special baby girl! I’m going to get you the biggest bowl of mealie bugs I can find.”
Oola’s fur puffed up. “Me like.”
The sheer joy of ending Cantor’s murderous rampage had me moon dancing around a sagebrush and singing, “Ding-dong. Ding. Ding-dong. Ding. A wickeder villain there never was. He filled the Navajo folk with dread. Til one fine day Oola offed him. Ding-dong. Ding. The wicked villain is dead.” I threw in a little hip-hop. Smack. Clap. Stomp. Stomp. Clap.
Giggling madly, Oola boogied on Cantor’s corpse.
I came to an abrupt stop when I noticed Zarek, General Jones, Bey and Jake watching me in amusement. “Cantor’s dead and all it took was a little girl power.”
Zarek examined Cantor. “Tabor venom.”
“Delivered by a girl.”
Jake wrapped me in a bear hug and gave me a smacking kiss. “You’re one of a kind, buttercup.”
“Why thank you.”
“I wanted to interrogate Cantor,” Zarek, the buzzkill, said.
“Oola stopped a cold-blooded murderer and deserves your praise, not your censure.”
A faint smile on his mouth, Zarek nodded. “And she has it. You on the other hand, have created an incident.”
“By using my powers in the line of duty. I don’t think so. Let’s not forget an Askole warrior kidnapped us off your ship. He broke our laws and yours. I suggest you seek reparations from him. We did nothing wrong.”
“The Askole find you so intriguing, they uncovered an obscure clause in our treaty that gives them the right to hunt females of breeding age anywhere they may be,” Zarek replied.
Fuck. Askole warriors could change a girl’s DNA too. This could be a big problem. What girl wanted tentacles for hair? “I’m a police officer, not a politician. My only duty is to protect my people and bring criminals to justice. Which I did. The political stuff is your bailiwick.”
Jake groaned.
“True, but they insist on using you to find these females,” Zarek countered.
Sonovabitch. Someone had told them about my tracking abilities. “A waste of their time and mine. The only psychic females on our lands are over sixty.”
“They want you to track down all Dragos females on Earth.”
Seriously? I crossed my arms and glared at Zarek. “And you’re good with that?”
“Yes. The Askole will be allowed to keep ten percent of the females found.”
My temper flared to life. “I’m a shaman and a police officer. I’m not a slave trader and I won’t hunt down innocent women whose only crime is being psychic. The Askole warriors want them so badly, they can use Central Command hunters.”
“You and Jake serve as my investigators and hunters. You will go and do what I tell you,” Zarek responded testily.
“I work for the Navajo people.”
“You and your father work for me now.”
Oh crap.
Jake interjected, “I haven’t had time to inform CeeCee of her new duties, my lord.”
“See that you do.”
“Yes, my lord.” Jake did the fist-to-chest salute.
Zarek teleported away.
“A word of advice. If you want to keep the Navajo people safe, you’ll do as the Overlord asks,” General Jones said and snagged Oola from my head.
The baby Tabor wailed, “Me stay with CeeCee.”
“No. Your mother and father want you returned,” General Jones said and held out his arm for Bey. Gramps hopped on. Poof. They were gone.
I gave Jake the stink eye. “I don’t like being threatened.”
“When the Tai-Kok found our world, everything changed. To keep our people from being slaughtered, I gave up my humanity. Sometimes I regret that decision, but I would do it all over again. We’re still here and the Tai-Kok aren’t.’
“Good point. The Tai-Kok raids wouldn’t have stopped until they had eaten every one of us.” A humorless laugh broke from me. “To keep humanity safe, we have to sacrifice our future.”
“Being my mate is not a sacrifice. You get hot sex. A partner that will always have your back. We’ll travel the galaxy, meet new lifeforms, solve mysteries and kick some ass. You’re gonna love teleporting, the increase in strength, the ability to heal quickly and don’t forget you get to live for a very long time,” Jake said.
I shook my head. “I won’t hunt down psychic women. I just can’t. It’s wrong on so many levels.�
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“The majority of the Dragos clan are thieves, murderers and conmen. Think of it as making them pay for the crimes they’ve committed. A sort of community service.”
“Huh? You know, I can live with that.”
“Good. They want us to start tomorrow,” Jake said.
I glanced down at my bracelet. “Tomorrow is in six hours.”
“Yep.”
“I need some sleep.”
“Me too.” Poof. We were in our quarters.
I retracted my armor and climbed into bed.
Jake crawled in behind me and his hands closed over my breasts.
I smacked at them. “No funny stuff. Sleep now. Play later.”
“You’re a hard woman, buttercup,” Jake griped as he pulled me on his chest.
I snuggled into him. “You have no idea.” It seemed like I had barely closed my eyes when someone started banging on our door. One look at my bracelet and I groaned. “We still have thirty minutes. Make them go away or I will incinerate them.”
“Yes, buttercup.” Jake slid me off his chest and answered the door buck naked.
I admired his fine ass and yanked the blanket over my girlie parts when Trayon rushed in.
“It is time to begin the search.”
“Not before I’ve had my coffee and a shower.” I hurled a lightning bolt at the Askole warrior. Crack! It slammed into his armored chest and he went flying out into the hallway. The door slid shut.
“Let’s get you that coffee,” Jake hurried over to the food replicator.
I sat up. “Smart man.”
“That bolt came a wee bit close,” Jake said as he handed me my coffee.
I took a sip. “I hit what I aim at sugar.”
“Good to know.”
The door chime sounded repeatedly.
Geezus. Trayon was persistent. “How much lightning do you think his armor can handle?”
“I’ll deal with him. Go take your shower.”
“Good idea.” Smothering a laugh, I strolled into the bathroom. Sometimes being a crazy bitch had its advantages. Walking into the shower, I let the jets of water do their magic.
Jake called, “How does a breakfast burrito sound?”
“Perfect.” I shut off the shower, braided my hair and hit my bracelet. Armor formed around me. I could get used to having a mate.
Chapter Ten
Trayon waited outside our room. Tendrils of smoke still rose from his armor. He held out a chocolate bar. “For my lady.”
I shot Jake a questioning look.
“Take it.”
I took it. “For future reference, bribing a police officer is against the law.”
“Yes, my lady.” Trayon followed us down the hallway. “Where do we start?”
“I start with a sweat lodge ceremony.”
Trayon’s tentacles stood out from his head. “Sweat lodge?”
“It’s a Navajo shaman ritual.”
“I will come.”
“No. You’re neither Navajo, nor a shaman.”
His tentacles slumped. “I wish to help. My true mate awaits me.”
A romantic Askole? Or a horny one? “You can help by finding all of Lily Begay’s missing sheep. You know, the Navajo woman you terrorized by breaking into her hogan.”
“The old one shot me several times,” Trayon protested.
“What did you expect? You kicked her door in.”
Jake snickered.
“What are sheep?”
I shot him a mental image of Lily’s sheep with their unique red painted brand. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go find them and return them, unharmed, to Lily.”
“Yes, my lady.” Trayon zoomed off.
“Are Lily’s sheep really missing?”
“Nope.”
Jake laughed. “You’re an evil, evil woman.”
“Hey, it’ll keep him busy. Call me curious, but how old is Trayon?”
“He’s three hundred years old,” Jake replied.
“Seriously? He acts like he’s twelve.”
“He’s Sariel’s youngest son.”
“Ah. That explains a lot.”
“What’s up with the sweat lodge ceremony?” Jake asked.
“It helps me focus.”
Jake frowned. “You can’t actually find Dragos women that way.”
“Think of it as a stepping-stone. We first run a criminal history search on any Dragos women who have been arrested. We find the ones who have been very bad girls and then I hunt each one mentally.”
Jake chuckled. “You’re going to give the Askole warriors the worst of the worst.”
“Think of it logically. Who could handle an Askole warrior?”
“A stone-cold bitch,” Jake answered.
“Exactly. You and your family know how it feels to be hunted. Do you really want to track down any woman with psychic abilities?”
The amusement in Jake’s eyes died. “No, I don’t.”
“This way, I’m technically doing what Zarek wants and leaving the innocent women alone.”
“Zarek will know what you’re doing.”
“Maybe, but I’m a cop and a shaman. If Zarek wants my loyalty, he will leave my people alone and let me do this my way.”
“Our way.” Jake leaned down and kissed me. “I’m still a cop at heart.”
“Protect and serve. Those are words to live by.”
“They are. Let’s tap into Central Command’s database and find ourselves some bad girls,” Jake said and waved his bracelet at a door. The doors slid back to reveal a room filled with the best of Coletti technology.
“Wow. Nice, and even better, I know how to use all of this.”
Jake patted a chair. “Sit and let’s get busy.”
I took a seat and connected to Central Command’s criminal history database. The Dragos clan had been very busy. Most of the clan were thieves and conmen. Then you had the kidnappers, extortionists, hitmen, and the ones that dealt in human trafficking.
A woman who went by the name of Jia Stanka caught my attention. At thirty-two she had an extensive criminal history and was a paid assassin with twelve confirmed kills. Jia was also a master thief with a talent to confuse minds, but it was her ability to manipulate electricity that made me choose her. I sent her information over to Jake’s screen. “What do you think?”
Jake let out a whistle. “Bingo. We’ve got a winner.”
“You do realize Jia will try to kill Trayon,” I pointed out.
“I do. Challenging an Askole male to a fight is a sure-fire way to start the mating dance.”
“You and the Askole have a lot in common.”
“Hey, we both want a mate that’s fearless and will stand by our side, no matter what comes.” Jake leaned over and gave me a sensual kiss that stole my breath and addled my senses. “You’re perfect for me.”
“So, if I had been a timid mouse, you wouldn’t have been interested?”
Before he could answer, a seriously pissed off General Jones appeared. “Did you or did you not send Trayon to find some missing sheep?”
I exchanged a worried glance with Jake and nodded. “I did.”
“Were the sheep missing?”
“Ah. No. It seemed like a good way to keep Trayon busy.”
The General’s left eye twitched. “Did it now?”
“What did Trayon do?” Jake asked.
“He collected every sheep within a twenty-mile radius and delivered them to Lily Begay’s hogan.”
“Huh? That was fast.”
“Do you know how many calls Central Command received about an Askole warrior stealing sheep?”
I gave the General a bright smile. “A lot?”
“Eight hundred calls which included the governor and state senators.”
Jake stood up. “We’ll make sure all the sheep are returned.”
“You’re damn right you will.” The General vanished.
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“Are Askole warriors always this crazy?”
“Yes.” Jake took my hand.
“Good to know.” There was a flash of black and we appeared next to Lily’s hogan. My jaw dropped. There had to be at least six hundred sheep milling around.
Jake surveyed the animals. “We’re going to need a shitload of trailers.”
“Relax. I know just the person to call.” I tapped my bracelet’s comm-link.
A raspy voice said, “Hubert Transport. How may I help you?”
“Hey Helen, it’s CeeCee. I have a large amount of sheep I need transported to the fairgrounds.”
“Found the missing critters, did ya?”
“I did.”
“Are three semis enough?”
“Better send four. Have them come to Lily Begay’s summer hogan in Monument Valley,” I said.
“Consider it done. Who’s footing the bill?”
“Central Command.” I grinned as Jake rolled his eyes.
Helen chortled. “I’ll have them there within an hour.”
“Thanks.” I disconnected and typed in a message on the Navajo Nation’s emergency alert system: Missing sheep located. Come to the fairgrounds in two hours.
“Nicely done, but Uncle Saul will take the cost of transporting the sheep out of your pay,” Jake said.
“What? Central Command doesn’t pay my salary.”
“They do now.”
Crap. “If Trayon wants me to find him a mate, he’ll pay.”
There was a streak of black and Trayon zoomed up with another sheep.
To my amazement, the sheep weren’t frightened of him. Tiny lightning bolts crackled around me. “Time for fang boy to pay up.”
Jake grabbed me. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Ok. Be sure to point out to him that none of those sheep have red markings on them.”
“Askole warriors don’t see colors the way we do.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” Jake teleported over to Trayon.
I rubbed my suddenly aching forehead. “Now he tells me.”
***
Four dusty hours later, the sheep had been returned to their owners. Jake and I watched the last trailer pull out of the fairgrounds.
“I need a Datol,” Trayon announced.
I was surprised he was still here, but I had to admit his super speed had been a great help. “Datol?”