Eos was very afraid she was setting herself up for a broken heart.
She turned her back on him. “I’ll get to work.”
There was silence and she thought he’d gone. Then she heard a quiet sigh followed by retreating footsteps. She stared at the amazing Terran artifacts on the wall.
And wondered why she didn’t feel any excitement.
Dathan skiddeddown the sand dune. The storm was now a large red cloud to the west. It was still a little hazy but beyond the ruins he saw the outline of theInfinitas, like a dark beacon.
His time with Eos had left him feeling…itchy. The woman drove him nuts, in all kinds of ways.
He scraped a hand through his hair. She’d be gone soon. They’d find theMona Lisa, she’d get her big promotion and live up to her mother’s memory. Then he could sell the painting, pocket his share, and move onto the next adventure.
Maybe a hunt on Taurus V. Or Malacca. Yeah, the Palatine Syndicate had been after him for ages to do a job there.Dangerous and very, very risky. But maybe that was what he needed.
But instead of the usual burn of exhilaration, he felt strangely unsettled.
He neared the ship, expecting to see his brothers waiting. But there was no welcome party.
The main cargo doors to the ship were open. The eerie silence was about as deafening as the roar of the storm had been.
Then he saw the body.
Fuck.He ran, his heart lodged in his throat. Zayn lay facedown on the sand. Blood stained the back of his head.
“Zayn?” Dathan skidded to a stop and knelt beside his brother. With frantic hands, he pressed two fingers to his brother’s throat.
A strong, steady thrum of a pulse.
Dathan sagged. He studied the blood and glanced at the side of the ramp. He swiped a finger across the metal and red streaked his skin.
Z was as fleet-footed as a Zerzuran gazelle. No way he’d slip on his own damn ship.
Then he saw the mark on the back of Zayn’s neck. A tiny black burn from a Tase stunner.
Jumping up, he drew his thermal carbine from his belt and raced into the ship. There wasn’t a single noise. He crept up to a wall-mounted panel and touched the screen. “BEll?”
No response.
He checked the main cabin and cockpit.Empty.Where the hell was Nik?
He searched all the individual cabins and found his older brother in his bedroom.
Alive and spitting mad.
Niklas was trussed up like a husband on Domina. Tied to a chair, his shirt was missing, a gag covered his mouth, and he had some scratches down his chest.
With a curse, Dathan ripped the gag off and went to work on the plas-ties. “You okay?”
“I am going to fucking chain Nera Darc up and teach her some respect.”
Dathan raised a brow at his brother’s acidic tone. It took a lot to get his big bro riled. “She didn’t hurt you.”
A moment’s silence. “No.”
The ropes fell away. “Well, Z’s unconscious on the cargo ramp. She zapped him and he must have hit his head.”
“I’ll take care of him.” Nik grabbed his arm. “Dath, you need to get to Eos.”
