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  Emmett turned to her, his expression taut with concern. “Oh, gods, Molly. I’m so sorry. Did he hurt you?”

  She bit her lip and shook her head. She would not cry this time. And yet she wanted to. When he pulled her into his arms in the middle of the lobby and smoothed a hand down her back, she wanted to.

  Turning her head against his chest, she slid her arms around his waist, not giving a damn who would be watching them.

  “I was waiting for you to show for dinner,” she muttered. “And you didn’t arrive, so I took a walk.”

  “I was detained. Gods, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I should have called. I’m such an ass.”

  “You’re not an ass. But yes, you should have called.” She gave a soft laugh. “I was quite angry with you, actually. Or else I might have heard his approach.”

  Emmett’s arms tightened around her. “I want to kill him.”

  “Bloodshed solves nothing and will only have you detained, silly. You’re hardly any good to me locked up.”

  “He’s a fool, Molly. I warned him to stay away. What could he possibly be thinking to try and assault you again?”

  “He is a fool, for he thought to change my mind.”

  “I’m sorry I was not with you. I should have been there.”

  “It is not your fault.” She pulled away and stiffened as she spotted Brendon leading the other man down the stairs.

  Emmett must have sensed her sudden tension, for he spun and pushed her gently behind him. She gripped his shoulders when he made to stride forward.

  “Please, Emmett,” she said softly. “Brendon has taken care of it.”

  The blood drinker’s expression was twisted into a mask of fury. When his gaze landed on her his eyes seemed to glow darker red and he bared his fangs.

  “Get out,” Emmett growled. “And never return, or we won’t be as civilized next time.”

  Brendon gave him a nudge forward when the man would’ve stopped to argue.

  And then they were gone from the lodge and her body went weak with relief.

  She sighed and admitted, “I don’t like that man. He frightens me, and I usually don’t frighten easily.”

  “He’s gone now, and I promise he won’t be back.” Emmett caught her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I owe you dinner. It will do you good to have a glass of wine and relax a bit. Would you like to eat here or go off to another restaurant?”

  Molly hesitated and glanced into her restaurant. Initially she’d made the decision to have them dine in another locale. That way there would be no reason for gossip. But the thought of leaving the lodge and following that man out into the night sent her stomach into turmoil.

  “Here,” she said softly. “Let’s eat here.”

  He brushed a kiss across her forehead and led her toward the restaurant.

  * * * *

  Gods. She was in trouble.

  Nika paced her room inside the lodge and thrust a hand through her hair.

  The sun had barely risen, and Brendon had just left for work. Her nerves had been raw since he’d told her what had happened last night between Molly and the blood drinker.

  And of the man’s parting words. You will regret this. All of you. As if him being a bounty hunter and blood drinker had not been enough, now he cast threats about the safety of all of them.

  Her blood chilled as she thought again about what he might be hunting for. And of the possibility that the military had put a bounty on her head.

  Drawing in a deep breath she moved to the bed and sat down. She needed to make firm her plans. Decide how and when exactly to infiltrate the lab. She would get the samples, send them back to Tresden, and be on her way shortly after.

  The memory of last night’s intimacy with Brendon heated her blood, made her limbs feel weak again. And then the way he’d helped Molly. Had been so protective and strong when dealing with the blood drinker. He truly was a wonderful man. Any woman would be blessed to have him. And for some reason he seems taken with you.

  Her stomach fluttered and she pressed a hand to her suddenly warm cheek.

  She flinched at the realization. She could not afford such tender emotions toward Brendon. Not in the short run and certainly not in the long run.

  She forced her mind to switch its course. To focus on her mission and what she’d trained for: breaking into the lab.

  The best time to infiltrate the lab might be on a weekend day, when it sounded as if the security might just be a tad bit lax.

  Fortunately, Brendon did not work weekends, which was a relief. She had no wish to encounter him face to face again. Already she regretted having to hurt him once. But she would not attempt another infiltration until she was completely prepared this time.

  Climbing off the bed, she knelt down and pulled her case from beneath.

  Dialing the code in it issued a series of beeps before decompressing and then popping open a moment later.

  She reached inside, checking her necessary tools for the mission, she ensured she had enough preloaded syringes and eye shields.

  Glancing at the time, she sealed the case once more and pushed it back beneath the bed.

  It was time to bathe and prepare for the day. In just a few short hours Brendon would lead her on a tour of the lab again. And this time, she’d be sure not to be distracted.

  * * * *

  “How are you today, Molly?”

  Nika approached her friend from behind, brows knit with concern. She’d just returned from her tour of the lab and was quite pleased with the results. When she infiltrated the lab this time, she would not leave empty handed.

  About to head up to her room, Nika had stopped when she’d spotted Molly alone in the restaurant.

  Her arms were folded on a table and her head lay upon them. The lunch hour had recently ended and the supper rush was still hours off.

  Molly let out a sigh and finally lifted her head. “I’m all right, I suppose.”

  But she wasn’t entirely. That much was obvious. Nika pulled out a chair and sat down across from the other woman.

  “Did you not sleep well?”

  Molly’s lips thinned. “No. I did not. I had terrible dreams in my sleep.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I swear it’s as if he has these powers, Rebecca. He invaded my dreams.” Molly scrubbed her palms down her cheeks and shook her head, whispering, “Raped me in my dreams.”

  “Oh, Molly, that’s awful. Though I’m sure it was simply your fears. He could not possibly control your dreams.” But even as Nika spoke the words she was not quite convinced. He was a blood drinker; who knew what kind of powers these beings had?

  The idea that someone could go in and control a person’s dreams was unsettling at the least. To use it to visualize a rape was just horrific.

  She searched Molly’s face, saw how pale she was, how haunted her eyes were. Nika’s gut clenched with sympathy.

  “Did Emmett stay with you last night?” she asked softly.

  “Yes.” Molly nodded. “But not in my bed, just the chair nearby.”

  “You have no desire to let him in your bed?”

  “I have too much desire. But things are complicated.” Molly lowered her gaze. “I’m afraid I was rather harsh in my clarifying what I was looking for with him. Specifically, not a relationship.”

  Nika shrugged and lifted an eyebrow. “So just have sex.”

  “Rebecca!”

  “What?” Nika laughed and pushed her hair behind her shoulder. “There is no shame in taking pleasure when we need it.”

  Molly flushed, finally some amusement seeping into her eyes. “That is quite true. Emmett seems almost afraid to touch me after the attack.” She sighed. “And I think I may have been wrong. The more I try to emotionally distance myself from him, the more I want him in my life. Not just my bed. I’m afraid I care for him quite a bit more than I realized. Maybe a relationship is not such a bad thing.”

  “No, it is not,” Nika agreed mildly, but cou
ld not let herself compare Molly’s feelings for Emmett, with her own feelings for Brendon. Because they seemed quite similar.

  Her thoughts turned back to her lab visit of this morning. There was little doubt she would succeed next time in her attempt. The biggest obstacle would be getting past the guards. Three. Perhaps two on the weekend.

  She would need something more potent and capable than the injections. Something that could take out both men at once. There were items in her case upstairs she had not yet explored. Perhaps there was a way.

  Once she discovered it, she’d complete this mission and be on her way back home.

  Home. Her stomach clenched and she drew in a slow breath. It seemed odd to think of Tresden as her home. Truly, there was little emotional attachment to the planet she’d resided on for two years.

  But it mattered not. She would return shortly. Settle into a life and hopefully find happiness. Doing what…? A voice taunted inside her head. All you’ve ever known is how to fuck or fight. What will you do when both are no longer your entire purpose in life?

  And leaving Belton meant leaving Brendon. Leaving the one man who’d stirred any form of desire within her body. Not to mention her heart…

  “Your thoughts look universes away,” Molly teased. “A coin for them?”

  Nika blinked and shook her head, pulling herself from her reflections.

  “Sorry, I was simply wondering where Brendon was,” she lied and once again her stomach churned, protesting the deception. “We are to have an early dinner after he leaves work.”

  “He is a good man, is he not?”

  Nika barely hesitated. “He is a very good man.”

  “I have to say, Rebecca, I have not seen him so uninterested in the female population. Well, save for you,” she rushed to add. “And that is my point entirely. Ever since your arrival on this planet, he has seemed to only have eyes for you.”

  Nika flushed. “No, I’m sure he’s simply—”

  “Besotted. To say the least. Completely.” Molly leaned forward and touched her hand. “Do you not think we see how he watches you? Emmett and I have both noticed. The man is smitten.”

  It could not be possible. Her body felt strangely light at the idea, her pulse fluttery and her cheeks warm. It almost…pleased her. A little too much.

  “Truly, I do not see how you have time to see your cousin when Brendon monopolizes your company so often.”

  Her cousin. Her light mood was doused with a sudden realization. Molly thought her to be visiting a cousin, while Brendon believed her to be an ambassador on business. Never when she had begun the lies could she have imagined that Molly and Brendon would be friends.

  Obviously they had not compared stories as of yet, but what if they did in the future?

  “My cousin is busy as well. We have met for lunch a couple of times,” she said briskly and then licked her lips. Preparing for another lie. “But did I not mention? I am also an ambassador from Glorus. Touring and giving a report back to my city.”

  Molly’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion. “Oh. I had not guessed. Truly, you are a busy woman, my friend.”

  You have no idea. Nika just offered a slight smile and glanced around the restaurant.

  “What will happen when you return to Glorus?” Molly asked quietly. “Do you think you will see Brendon again?”

  Her heart clenched and for a moment it was hard to breathe.

  “I’m not certain what the future holds,” she murmured.

  But she knew what it didn’t hold. And that was Brendon and anything related to Belton. And the realization was far more depressing than she could ever have anticipated.

  * * * *

  Finding the time and the tools to infiltrate the lab wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. Two weeks passed before she knew the time approached.

  And despite Rachel’s insistence that Nika not contact her as much, she had done so a handful of times. She had discovered the right combination of Tresden herbs and chemicals and timing to render the guards unconscious without killing them.

  Rachel had sent the obscure herbs via a messenger a few days ago, and only now was Nika almost ready to attempt another mission.

  She sat in her room, memorizing the recipe for the concoction. Soon this would all be over. Soon she would return to life as normal.

  Thank gods. Every day she spent on this planet compounded the guilt in her heart. Molly had become a true friend, which was a bit troubling.

  And Brendon, gods…even just thinking about him sent her stomach flipping and her pulse quickening. Spread a happiness through her she knew she was not entitled to.

  Each night he spent in her bed connected them on a deeper level. And it almost seemed to grow beyond sex, though the sex was still extraordinary. He showed her such tenderness and passion. Such things she never could have imagined with a man a month ago.

  Tomorrow night, Saturday, she would complete this mission. There was no room for failure now. Because she knew on a gut level that if she failed, this time she would not be so lucky as to escape.

  And she must escape. Escape this planet…and the relationships she’d begun to form with its people.

  * * * *

  Brendon left the interior of the lab, having discussed the new safety routine with the scientists on duty, and let the door hiss shut behind him. A series of beeps signaled it was again locked.

  “Lieutenant Peterson.”

  He turned, glancing down the hall to see the approaching captain. Straightening, he saluted the older man.

  “Yes, Captain?”

  “If I may request your presence in my office. There’s been a small development in the break-in.”

  His blood rushed faster through his veins. Good. He would love to get his hands on the scrawny bastard who had blackened his eye weeks ago.

  He followed the captain into his office and sat down in the chair across from him.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant.” The captain settled himself behind his desk and adjusted a group of files. “The information we have learned is not great in quantity, but great in impact.”

  Brendon nodded, nearly on the edge of his seat for any information about the man who’d already infiltrated the lab once.

  “There was very little evidence left behind. Almost nothing. It took several days of combing the premises to find any hint of DNA.”

  “But you did?” Brendon said knowingly.

  “Barely.” The captain leaned back in his chair, his expression pensive. “There are no records of this person on our planet. And though, while unfortunate, that is not quite unexpected.”

  Brendon nodded slowly. “So that eliminates any man from Belton or Zortou. As all incoming citizens of Zortou were required to give a DNA sample.”

  “Correct. So we can only assume this thief is from another planet.”

  “Is he human?” Brendon arched a brow. “Is it possible that he comes from the planet Multron? Could he be one of those blood drinkers?”

  The captain shook his head slowly and thrust his lower lip out. “No. All evidence points to human. And our thief…is a she.”

  Brendon stilled, his muscles coiling with tension. “It is not possible.”

  “DNA does not lie,” the captain murmured, making Brendon aware he’d spoken the words aloud.

  A woman? But how was that even remotely possible?

  Heat stole up his neck. “I would have noticed. No woman can fight as such.”

  The captain laughed softly. “Can they not? I know it must be a wound to your pride to realize a woman bested you.”

  “That is not it,” though he lied. It was partially that. “The intruder was built like…”

  “A small boy, you said.” The captain paused, letting his meaning sink in. “Or perhaps just a slim woman.”

  Brendon felt sick. His stomach churned with the memory of how hard they’d fought. Of how he’d nailed the boy—or woman, apparently—in the side with a merciless kick.

  Something prickl
ed in the back of his mind, but before he could acknowledge it, the captain was speaking again.

  “I have not told all the soldiers on duty of this info, Lieutenant Marshall. And I would prefer not to. I fear many would hesitate to fight a woman, not realizing how skilled of a fighter she is.”

  The unease increased inside him, but he refused to show it. He had his own misgivings about fighting a woman, but apparently the captain failed to see that in him.

  “Why have you told me this?”

  The captain splayed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Because I want you to be aware, Lieutenant. You are my best soldier by far. You are smart. Quick. Tolerate very little bullshit. The fact that our thief is a woman should matter very little to you.”

  His words just confirmed Brendon’s suspicion. That the captain assumed he’d fight a woman without remorse or hesitation. It appeared now he would have no choice.

  “Thank you for informing me of these details. I do not take your conferral lightly. Is there any more information I should be aware of?” Brendon asked flatly.

  “Sadly, no. That is all we have at this time. But should any more information become available, then know that you will be the second to be informed.” The captain smiled. “I, of course, will be the first.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “That is all, Lieutenant. You are dismissed.”

  Brendon stood and saluted, then turned and left the office.

  Well, hell. The thief was a woman. This was a complication he just didn’t need. Before, he’d been hoping for another go-round with the boy. But now that the boy was indeed a woman, he wished for the opposite.

  He could only pray to the gods that this woman thief struck on somebody else’s shift.

  Chapter 12

  “So you haven’t slept with Emmett again?” Nika asked, lifting the tea to her mouth.

  Molly sighed and picked up a biscuit, nibbling a bite. “I have not. I sense he is interested again, but…he hasn’t outright attempted anything.”

  Nika rolled her eyes. “So you be the brazen one and attempt with him.”

  Molly’s cheeks flushed. “What if I am wrong and he doesn’t want me?”

  “You are overthinking this. Of course he wants you.”