Hunter: Galactic Gladiators #12

by Hackett, Anna

  “What?” Her tongue felt like it was twice its normal size.

  “Is it safe?” someone called out.

  “Tannon took care of it.” Rillian’s voice.

  Mina saw others circling them. Rillian and Dayna, the menacing-looking cyborgs from the House of Rone, the gladiators from the House of Galen, and their women from Earth.

  “The pattern on your temples…” Tannon touched a finger to her temples and came back with brown staining his fingertips. “It’s melted off. It’s some sort of ink.”

  She looked around and saw everyone staring at her.

  “Oh, my God,” Sam Santos murmured. “She’s human.”

  * * *

  Tannon helped Mina to sit up, supporting her with one arm. She was blinking and looked woozy.

  His electrical charge had melted the ink off her face, and her hair was no longer black. He saw that the black coloring had been bleached away, leaving sunny, blonde strands.

  “My head!” She cried out, grabbing her temples. “It hurts, like it’s going to explode.” Blood trickled from her nose.

  “Mina.” He scooped her up off the floor, panic charging through him.

  “Bring her over here.” Rillian pointed to some armchairs nearby.

  Tannon dropped into a chair, cradling Mina in his lap.

  “Someone get a healer,” a deep voice called out.

  Mina whimpered. “My head is going to burst.”

  “I’ve called O’Garrie,” Rillian said.

  Tannon swallowed. Mina was in agony and it would take time for the healer to reach them.

  “Maybe I can help.” A woman pushed through the group.

  Tannon recognized Winter from the House of Galen. The woman had been a doctor on Earth and was now one of Galen’s healers. A big barbarian gladiator moved in behind her. Scowling, he handed her a small bag.

  “She never goes anywhere without her kit,” Nero rumbled.

  Winter smiled her thanks at her mate, then crouched down. “Hey, Mina, I’m Winter. I want to help you.” The healer touched Mina’s temple with slender fingers. “Is that all right?”

  Mina managed a pained sound of assent.

  Then Winter lifted a small scanner.

  “Will she be okay?” Tannon demanded as he stroked her hair. “Can you stop the pain?”

  Winter frowned, studying the scanner screen. Then she looked up. “Your mind has been tampered with.”

  Mina gasped and Tannon tensed.

  “Someone instigated a memory block on you.”

  “What?” Tannon scowled.

  Mina shook her head soundlessly.

  “Someone tampered with your memories. Your more recent memories appear to be implanted, and the earlier ones caught behind the block. The block is disintegrating. That is what’s causing the pain and nose bleeds.”

  “Rillian’s physician didn’t detect a memory block,” Tannon said.

  “I’m not surprised,” Winter said. “From what I know about them, they only become obvious as they start to fail.” She looked at Mina. “Have you suffered any blows to the head recently?”

  Mina pressed a fist to her chest. “Um, yes.”

  “That would accelerate the disintegration.”

  Mina bent over. “So my life in the desert?”

  “Isn’t real,” Winter said softly.

  Tannon wrapped his arms tighter around Mina. “I’m here, Mina. I’m here.”

  “I feel like something is forcing its way through my head.”

  Tannon pressed his lips to her temple. “Stop fighting it. Let it come.”

  She gasped, her spine snapping straight. She stared straight ahead.

  Fear gripped Tannon’s heart. “Winter?”

  “She’s okay.”

  Mina blinked. “My name is Romina Dixon, although I go by Mina. I was a security officer aboard the Earth exploration ship the Helios.”

  Sam hissed. “The Helios had been at Fortuna Space Station, just two days before the Thraxians attacked.”

  Mina nodded. “We’d headed out past Jupiter. We were intercepted by the Thraxians.” She shuddered. “They attacked and took several of my crew hostage. I fought alongside my security chief.” She closed her eyes. “I don’t know who they took, or how many. They kept us on a smaller Thraxian ship. The only other person I saw was my security chief.”

  “What’s the chief’s name?” Galen asked.

  “I…I can’t remember.” Mina rubbed her temples. “Why can’t I remember? She was my friend.”

  “Take it easy,” Winter said. “Your brain’s sustained a terrible trauma. Some memories may take longer to come back to you.”

  Tannon pulled her tighter against him. “It’s okay, Mina.”

  She shook her head. “I remember the desert, but I’m not sure what memories are real and what aren’t.” Her breath hitched. “I remember a slave auction. Cells.”

  “Sandsuckers,” Blaine Strong muttered. The dark-skinned man had been part of Fortuna’s security before he’d been abducted. He looked pissed, but kept a tight arm around his female gladiator, Saff.

  “I have friends, colleagues who are still out there.” Mina’s hands clenched on Tannon’s arms. “They’re out there somewhere and I forgot them.”

  “You were forced to forget.” Tannon smoothed her hair back.

  “Why did they mess with your memories and let you go?” Magnus asked.

  Mina smiled. “I remember some of that. I was a troublemaker. I tried to escape several times.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Tannon rubbed her back, liking when she leaned into his touch.

  “I have to find them.” Mina turned to look at him.

  He nodded. “We’ll find them.”

  A man stepped forward, bending down on one knee.

  “Mina, my name’s Jaxer and I’m from the House of Rone.”

  She eyed the cyborg and nodded.

  “We’d already heard rumors that there were more human abductees,” Jaxer said.

  She gasped.

  “I’ve been given the job of finding your friends, and I assure you, I will not fail.” The man’s voice held a firm, unyielding promise.

  Mina grabbed the cyborg’s arm. The man had an intricate tattoo of circuits and wires on his skin.

  “I’d like to help,” she said.

  Jaxer nodded, and then Mina sagged against Tannon.

  “She needs to rest,” Tannon said.

  “I trust you to take care of her, Tannon,” Rillian said.

  Tannon rose with Mina in his arms. “That is something you never have to doubt.” He nodded to the gladiators and humans. They moved out of his way.

  “We’ll see you soon, Mina,” Mia called out.

  Tannon wasted no time returning to his suite. He set Mina down on his bed. He wanted to get her warm and comfortable.

  “I’m human. I’m from Earth.” She turned dazed eyes his way. “I’m from Canada.” Her voice cracked. “I have a mother, a father, two younger brothers.”

  Tannon stroked her cheek. “You can’t go back, but there is a home for you here.”

  She frowned. “You mean Carthago?”

  “No.”

  “Kor Magna?”

  “Keep going.”

  A faint smile chased some of the sadness off her face. “At the Dark Nebula?”

  “Partly.” He lifted her palm and pressed it to his chest. “You have a home here, Mina. With me.”

  Her smile bloomed now. “I think you really like me.”

  “I suspect that it’s a lot more than that. Apparently, I like troublemakers.” He softly touched his lips to hers.

  “What are you saying, Tannon?”

  “That I’m falling in love with you. I don’t care where you’re from, you’re mine.”

  She bit her lip. “I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you, too.”

  Emotion kicked in his chest. “Let me take care of you, Mina.”

  “As long as I can take care of you right bac
k.”

  “Deal.” He kissed her. The rightness of their connection vibrated through him. He pulled her into the circle of his arms. “By the way, I believe your skills are wasted as a cocktail waitress.”

  She tilted her head. “You offering me a better job?”

  “Yes. With my security team.”

  Her chest hitched. “Um, isn’t it a problem with you being the head of security? You’re essentially offering your girlfriend a job?”

  “Girlfriend?”

  Her nose wrinkled. “It does sound a bit high school. Um, partner? Woman?”

  “Mine. I’ll just call you mine.”

  “That works for me.” Her smile faded. “Tannon, my friends.”

  “We’ll find them. Whatever it takes. With the combined power and resources of the House of Galen, the House of Rone, and the Dark Nebula Casino focused on finding them, it won’t take long.”

  She nodded.

  “Now, you need to rest and relax.” He started to unfasten her skirt.

  She lay back on the covers and lifted her hips. “Don’t let me stop you.” Her words were a purr.

  Tannon skimmed his hands up her slim legs. “You’re going to turn my world upside down, aren’t you?”

  Her smile was wide. “Count on it.”

  With a rough laugh, Tannon lowered his head and pressed his mouth to her smiling lips.

  * * *

  I hope you enjoyed Tannon and Mina’s story!

  This story leads us right into my brand-new series, Galactic Gladiators: House of Rone. The gladiator cyborgs of the House of Rone are championing the search for the other human abductees being held captive in the dangerous desert sands of Carthago.

  Stay tuned for Jaxer Rone’s story in Sentinel (House of Rone #1) coming 23rd July 2019.

  For more action-packed romance, read on for a preview of the first chapter of Edge of Eon, the first book in my best-selling Eon Warriors series.

  Don’t miss out! For updates about new releases, action romance info, free books, and other fun stuff, sign up for my VIP mailing list and get your free box set containing three action-packed romances.

  Visit here to get started: www.annahackettbooks.com

  Preview: Edge of Eon

  She shifted on the chair, causing the chains binding her hands to clank together. Eve Traynor snorted. The wrist and ankle restraints were overkill. She was on a low-orbit prison circling Earth. Where the fuck did they think she was going to go?

  Eve shifted her shoulders to try to ease the tension from having her hands tied behind her back. For the millionth time, she studied her surroundings. The medium-sized room was empty, except for her chair. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was dull-gray metal. All of the Citadel Prison was drab and sparse. She’d learned every boring inch of it the last few months.

  One wide window provided the only break in the otherwise uniform space. Outside, she caught a tantalizing glimpse of the blue-green orb of Earth below.

  Her gut clenched and she drank in the sight of her home. Five months she’d been locked away in this prison. Five months since her life had imploded.

  She automatically thought of her sisters. She sucked in a deep breath. She hated everything they’d had to go through because of what had happened. Hell, she thought of her mom as well, even though their last contact had been the day after Eve had been imprisoned. Her mom had left Eve a drunken, scathing message.

  The door to the room opened, and Eve lifted her chin and braced.

  When she saw the dark-blue Space Corps uniform, she stiffened. When she saw the row of stars on the lapel, she gritted her teeth.

  Admiral Linda Barber stepped into the room, accompanied by a female prison guard. The admiral’s hair was its usual sleek bob of highlighted, ash-blonde hair. Her brown eyes were steady.

  Eve looked at the guard. “Take me back to my cell.”

  The admiral lifted a hand. “Please leave us.”

  The guard hesitated. “That’s against protocol, ma’am—”

  “It’ll be fine.” The admiral’s stern voice said she was giving an order, not making a request.

  The guard hesitated again, then ducked through the door. It clicked closed behind her.

  Eve sniffed. “Say what you have to say and leave.”

  Admiral Barber sighed, taking a few steps closer. “I know you’re angry. You have a right to be—”

  “You think?” Eve sucked back the rush of molten anger. “I got tossed under the fucking starship to save a mama’s boy. A mama’s boy who had no right to be in command of one of Space Corps’ vessels.”

  Shit. Eve wanted to pummel something. Preferably the face of Robert J. Hathaway—golden son of Rear-Admiral Elisabeth Hathaway. A man who, because of family connections, was given captaincy of the Orion, even though he lacked the intelligence and experience needed to lead it.

  Meanwhile, Eve—a Space Corps veteran—had worked her ass off during her career in the Corps, and had been promised her own ship, only to be denied her chance. Instead, she’d been assigned as Hathaway’s second-in-command. To be a glorified babysitter, and to actually run the ship, just without the title and the pay raise.

  She’d swallowed it. Swallowed Hathaway’s incompetence and blowhard bullshit. Until he’d fucked up. Big-time.

  “The Haumea Incident was regrettable,” Barber said.

  Eve snorted. “Mostly for the people who died. And definitely for me, since I’m the one shackled to a chair in the Citadel. Meanwhile, I assume Bobby Hathaway is still a dedicated Space Corps employee.”

  “He’s no longer a captain of a ship. And he never will be again.”

  “Right. Mommy got him a cushy desk job back at Space Corps Headquarters.”

  The silence was deafening and it made Eve want to kick something.

  “I’m sorry, Eve. We all know what happened wasn’t right.”

  Eve jerked on her chains and they clanked against the chair. “And you let it happen. All of Space Corps leadership did, to appease Mommy Hathaway. I dedicated my life to the Corps, and you all screwed me over for an admiral’s incompetent son. I got sentenced to prison for his mistakes.” Stomach turning in vicious circles, Eve looked at the floor, sucking in air. She stared at the soft booties on her feet. Damned inmate footwear. She wasn’t even allowed proper fucking shoes.

  Admiral Barber moved to her side. “I’m here to offer you a chance at freedom.”

  Gaze narrowing, Eve looked up. Barber looked…nervous. Eve had never seen the self-assured woman nervous before.

  “There’s a mission. If you complete it, you’ll be released from prison.”

  Interesting. “And reinstated? With a full pardon?”

  Barber’s lips pursed and her face looked pinched. “We can negotiate.”

  So, no. “Screw your offer.” Eve would prefer to rot in her cell, rather than help the Space Corps.

  The admiral moved in front of her, her low-heeled pumps echoing on the floor. “Eve, the fate of the world depends on this mission.”

  Barber’s serious tone sent a shiver skating down Eve’s spine. She met the woman’s brown eyes.

  “The Kantos are gathering their forces just beyond the boundary at Station Omega V.”

  Fuck. The Kantos. The insectoid alien race had been nipping at Earth for years. Their humanoid-insectoid soldiers were the brains of the operation, but they encompassed all manner of ugly, insect-like beasts as well.

  With the invention of zero-point drives several decades ago, Earth’s abilities for space exploration had exploded. Then, thirty years ago, they’d made first contact with an alien species—the Eon.

  The Eon shared a common ancestor with the humans of Earth. They were bigger and broader, with a few differing organs, but generally human-looking. They had larger lungs, a stronger, bigger heart, and a more efficiently-designed digestion system. This gave them increased strength and stamina, which in turn made them excellent warriors. Unfortunately, they also wanted nothing to do with Earth an
d its inferior Terrans.

  The Eon, and their fearsome warriors and warships, stayed inside their own space and had banned Terrans from crossing their boundaries.

  Then, twenty years ago, the first unfortunate and bloody meeting with the Kantos had occurred.

  Since then, the Kantos had returned repeatedly to nip at the Terran borders—attacking ships, space stations, and colonies.

  But it had become obvious in the last year or so that the Kantos had something bigger planned. The Haumea Incident had made that crystal clear.

  The Kantos wanted Earth. There were to be no treaties, alliances, or negotiations. They wanted to descend like locusts and decimate everything—all the planet’s resources, and most of all, the humans.

  Yes, the Kantos wanted to freaking use humans as a food source. Eve suppressed a shudder.

  “And?” she said.

  “We have to do whatever it takes to save our planet.”

  Eve tilted her head. “The Eon.”

  Admiral Barber smiled. “You were always sharp, Eve. Yes, the Eon are the only ones with the numbers, the technology, and the capability to help us repel the Kantos.”

  “Except they want nothing to do with us.” No one had seen or spoken with an Eon for three decades.

  “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  Okay, Eve felt that shiver again. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a platform, about to be shoved under the starship again.

  “What’s the mission?” she asked carefully.

  “We want you to abduct War Commander Davion Thann-Eon.”

  Holy fuck. Eve’s chest clenched so tight she couldn’t even draw a breath. Then the air rushed into her lungs, and she threw her head back and laughed. Tears ran down her face.

  “You’re kidding.”

  But the admiral wasn’t laughing.

  Eve shook her head. “That’s a fucking suicide mission. You want me to abduct the deadliest, most decorated Eon war commander who controls the largest, most destructive Eon warship in their fleet?”

  “Yes.”