Page 8 of Seduced By the Alien Mercenary

Dimon’s expression was so sour, the corners of his massive mouth actually dipped down an impressive amount. He could not appreciate any of my words, but they were the hard facts I’d managed to gather since my capture, most of them coming directly from him. Xathena had supplied the rest, and right now, she looked like she’d swallowed a very sour Keftir whole. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was the one who’d gotten them into this mess to begin with. Dimon usually knew how to pick his targets, but she was a burn-the-whole-world kind of female.

“You want me to steal the Verana Diamond, don’t you?” We’d almost had our hands on it once, before it vanished without a trace. He’d be very right to think I hadn’t let that go. Nothing ever got away from me, least of all a diamond the size of my fist. Selling something like that on the black market would probably allow them to get Jalima off their backs and still retire with a fortune.

“Can you do it?” Xathena demanded. She finally straightened and walked to the bars of my cell, her eyes on my face. A deep red, they were unsettling in her pretty green face, like glowing rubies. Her hair was a thick, lush green, dark as Arvon firs but tipped with highlights of spun gold. Not a natural effect, but very striking all the same.

I shrugged, and the wound in my side only ached a little. The limited work done by the tissue regenerator was helping, and for that I was grateful. “Of course I can do it. If you have a lead…” Had they figured out where it was, like I had? Or was I going to have to do all the heavy lifting?

Dimon proved to be a clever old male here, sharper than I would like him to be. I respected the cunning look in his eyes, though. “Oh, you know, Flack. I know you. You would have searched everywhere to get your hands on the one that got away. This is your chance. It was never about the money for you anyway, but the thrill. Don’t you want to experience that again? Don’t tell me you’re satisfied finding human contraband like chocolate for the Varakartoom’s ladies. You’re not that boring.”

Ah stars, he had good intel. How had he known that? It was very concerning. When I got back to the ship, I had to inform the captain and Mitnick that we had a leak of some sort. We didn’t need word getting out about the sweet female mates who now lived with the better half of a dozen on the ship.

Dimon was wrong, though. I took a kind of satisfaction in seeing those happy faces nobody would ever understand. Bringing Mandy the coveted chocolate, or Harper her mega-strong coffee beans, that was better than stealing a gem for some crook. They were truly happy, and it wasn’t greed that made them request something, but a softer feeling, like nostalgia or homesickness. Feelings I would probably never have for myself.

If it was just me I had to worry about, I’d stall for as long as I had to. Eventually, the Varakartoom would find me. Our pilot and navigator were just too good, our ship too fast, and our intel officer, Mitnick, a miracle worker. They’d figure it out, come after us, because Asmoded had one golden rule: leave no male behind. That—right there—was why Dimon had never managed to hold onto me and my profitable skills. His lack of a moral compass had done the rest.

If I said yes to this deal, agreed to find the diamond for them, would they let me out of here? I’d always been very careful with my reputation, never welched on a promise or a deal. My word was my bond, and that’s why I’d had such success trading illegal contraband all over the quadrant. Dimon might believe I wouldn’t stab him in the back until after I’d gotten him the diamond, and be arrogant enough to think he’d be prepared for what was coming. Xathena, though? No, she’d keep me locked up until the very last moment.

I studied their faces a moment longer, and then I shrugged. “You need me, and I don’t think it’s because you couldn’t find the bloody diamond. I think it’s because you couldn’t get close enough to steal it, am I right?” Dimon nodded, and the smirk pulling at his dangerous mouth told me he thought he’d won. He had no idea—no idea at all—how I’d turn the tables on him the moment he let me out of this cell. My word was my bond? Not this time. Not with Irena’s life in the balance.

Sune mated for life, and I’d discovered one very hard, indisputable truth since I woke here. Even broken, even flawed and amoral, I had a mate too. Her. My little human. For her, I’d burn this ship down to ashes. For her, I’d break any vow if it meant she was safe. She was my mate, mine, and soon she’d know it too.

So I said, “Sure, we have a deal. Why not? I’m bored anyway. I steal your diamond, you let me go, and we’ll pretend this never happened…” I snarled the last words with venom and took great satisfaction in how Dimon leaped back. Fool that he was, he thought I’d keep my word, as much as I hated it. He believed it was the one flaw in my character he could count on. He was wrong.