“Alien?” I rumbled.
Her lips quirked with a hint of humor. “No. I was going to say bad boy.”
I crossed my arms and glared. “I am neither bad nor a child.” I turned to Lady Radu. “Send the boy home. His guardian aunt with him. This is foolishness.”
Warden Egara’s gray gaze somehow sparkled with both sadness and defiance. “His aunt refuses to leave Earth and believes the boy should be raised here. After the last batch of assassins failed to kill her and the child, she changed her name and disappeared.”
Last batch of assassins? Disappeared? “Then how do you know where they are?”
Lady Radu looked down her nose at me—a monumental task due to our size difference—and gave me an ice cold glare. “The Intelligence Core has contacts with the human police and intelligence agencies. A woman named Jennifer, in the humans’ Central Intelligence Agency, is assigned to Coalition matters. She used her resources to track them to a small town in Washington state. We believe the aunt will enroll the boy in school, as he is the correct age, and she wants him to have a normal life. We aren’t sure what aliases they are using, and all imagery has been wiped from the internet.”
Warden Egara chimed in before Lady Radu could take another breath. “Look, she’s savvy. Wiping all traces of herself from the internet here is no small task. Humans like to say ‘the internet is forever’. So, to make that happen, she has contacts and money.”
I scoffed. “No one can hide from an Elite Hunter.”
“Not for long, anyway.” Lady Radu agreed. “Which brings us back to the mission, Warlord. We need your help. The boy needs protection. Real protection.”
“And his human aunt refuses to leave Earth?” Stupid. Foolish. Naïve. Risky.
Dangerous. My beast was not amused that a helpless female would place both herself and the boy in such danger.
“Correct. She doesn’t trust the elite on Everis,” Warden Egara confirmed. “There were multiple attempts on the boy’s life after the suspicious deaths of his parents.”
“Those attempts failed.” Lady Radu was quick to defend herself and her so-called Elite Hunters. Not very elite if assassins got anywhere close to the child.
“So, rather than place the boy in the protective custody of Elite Hunters, his aunt is determined to remain on Earth. Even if it means less protection? That both she and the child could die?” This female relative, whomever she was, was reckless. “This human female is foolish. I would put her over my knee and demand she act in a logical manner.”
“That’s where you come in, Warlord.” Was Warden Egara laughing at me? “They need protection. Lady Radu will accompany you to Washington. Once you’ve identified the boy, she can get close to the boy and his aunt. She will convince them both to return to Everis. With the boy’s fortune, they can hire a top level security team.”
“While I do what? Scowl at every human I see? Wait for the Elite Hunters to find them both and try to kill all four of us?”
Warden Egara spoke with complete confidence, a confidence she would not be feeling if she knew just how close to the edge my beast truly was. “Yes. While you and your beast do what you do best, protect them all.”
Fuck. As the humans would say, I was screwed. Already my beast paced in agitation, demanding we find and protect the helpless child and the naïve, irrational female who could not properly safeguard him. There would be no peace, no reasoning with him now. The beast would trust no other to the task. We had a mission and could not seek rest until the boy, and his aunt, were safe.
2
Krystal Hinkley (aka Christine “Chris” James), Gray’s Harbor, Washington
* * *
Was it ever going to stop raining? Like ever?
I’d brought Broderick James Rojak here because the town was small, far, far away from anyone who would be looking for him. And because it was where I’d been able to get a job. I had three years of teaching experience and loved children, been thrilled to land the spot as the elementary school’s fourth grade teacher. With Brody the age to start kindergarten this year, I could make sure he attended school and be close by all day in case he needed me.
His nightmares had faded from daily to once or twice a week. I had no idea what he’d seen when his parents were killed. Part of me didn’t want to know how my little sister, Kimberly, had died. Yes, she’d been a bit of a wild child, always looking for a new adventure, but she’d been my best friend, confidante and only family I had left. I’d been crushed when she volunteered to be in Interstellar Bride. Although now, I had to admit, I was grateful. The payment she’d received from the program had shown up in my bank account the day she transported off planet to meet her new husband. It was quite generous, enough to allow me to finish school without going into debt, buy a reliable car, and have a nice bit of savings for a rainy day.
“Looks like today is that rainy day.” I lifted the dusty, metal blinds enough to see out into the playground just outside my new school room.
“Excuse me?” The school principal, a tiny fireball of a woman everyone called Mrs. C—because her real name was Polish— Cojciechowski —and far too long, with too many letters, for the students to pronounce—turned from where she’d been erasing something off the freshly cleaned chalkboard. “Sorry dear, I didn’t hear you.”
“Oh, nothing. Just wondering if it’s ever going to stop raining.”
She smiled. “This isn’t rain, dear. This is mist. Although, I imagine it’s going to be quite an adjustment for you after growing up in Los Angeles.”
Oh, right. Sunny California. Another lie I’d told to cover our tracks. So many lies, it was getting harder and harder to keep track of all of them.
I was from Vermont, but I’d changed my name, changed my past. Changed everything I could change in order to leave no trace, no way for anyone to find Brody. As I glanced at my adorable nephew playing with blocks in the corner while I spoke to my new boss, I didn’t care what I had to sacrifice, what I had given up. My entire body filled to overflowing with intense, protective love. My sister was dead. Our parents were dead. He was all I had left of them, and he was worth it. Worth every penny. Worth the running and the sleepless nights. Worth leaving a steady job, a mediocre apartment, and the handful of friends I’d managed to keep over the years. Worth the fear and the lies.
