The Hart Brothers Series Box Set (Including the bonus book Sabin: A Seven Novel): Freeing Her, Freeing Him, Kestrel, The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart, Sabin: A Seven Novel

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Well, Sabin, we can create pink ponies for her if she wants them.”

  Aw, for the love of …” I throw my hands up in the air. “Maybe you better take this, Rafe.”

  “No, I think Edge is better suited.” Rafe shakes as he holds back a laugh.

  “You think this is funny?” My temper teeters on the edge of a blast that is akin to what Judgment Day can produce.

  “Calm down, Sabin. She’s not going anywhere with us. We’ll get this situation under control. You’re going to stroke out on us here.”

  I seethe with unleashed fury. Rafe looks around the room and he says to Verus, “Do you know where Helios is?”

  “In the exercise station.”

  “Sabin, get down there. You need to let off that steam you’re barely containing. In the meantime, we’ll handle Serena.”

  Rafe is right. I usually work out with Helios every day and I haven’t since … I can’t remember.

  When I walk in the station, Helios is prepared for me. He’s laying out our fighting protective gear. Pads and gloves, face masks and helmets. And we begin. He wears my ass out, taking me out with several well aimed strikes, but then I’m back in the game and retaliate. When my game is on, he can’t ever best me. And my game is on. Frustrations evaporate and I land kick after kick, jab after jab. But Helios is a tough bastard and doesn’t go down … ever. We normally have to call it quits after about an hour or two of this. But today, he nails me in the ribs, exactly where I’ve just healed, and it buckles me like a punctured balloon. I go down in a puff of air, as it wheezes right out of my chest. For a couple of minutes, I can’t inhale. He’s not only broken my ribs again, but I think my lungs are affected.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  I can’t respond. I hold up my hand. My chest is on fire as pain rips through me. At last, when I can speak, I explain.

  “Shit, man, I’m on it.” He heads to the kitchen to get the medical kit. He comes back and starts to wave the wand over my injuries. Why is it I’m the one that gets to use this thing all the time?

  “Your woman has you distracted.”

  “You think?”

  “I know. You’re off. Pull it together. If I were a Shaurok, you’d be dead right now. How you gonna fight the Mastermind?”

  Of all the men, Helios is the most taciturn, never saying much unless he has to. The fact that he’s told me this much speaks volumes. It’s like he’s screaming at me.

  “You don’t have the entire picture.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I don’t need it. You’re our commander. Shut her down if you have to. We have a mission here. A very important mission, Sabin.”

  “Are you scolding me, Helios?”

  “Guess I am, sir. Chew my ass out if you want. Doesn’t matter. It needed to be said.”

  “So, since we’re on the subject and since you’re so free with your advice, what do you propose I do?”

  “Pack her up and let’s get the fuck out of here. Go home. Regroup and do what we’re supposed to be doing. Find Judgment Day.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “You’re the one making it so fucking difficult.”

  I arch a brow. “It is difficult, Helios. There’s a lot going on that you aren’t aware of.”

  “Such as?”

  “The Council …”

  “Fuck the Council. They’re not the once risking their necks. We are. If they see another way, let them get off their asses and find the damn thing.”

  “Such bold words.”

  “Bold, yet true.”

  When I was Helios’ age, I thought as he does. Change the world. Change the universe. But then you have the naysayers and the ones who control the bank. The ones with power. And as much as you hate it, despise it, you find yourself bowing before them, agreeing to their terms, to get the job done, only to compromise part of your integrity. It’s a disgusting universe all around.

  “I don’t disagree with you, yet it’s not a battle we will win. They control the money and when they control that, we’re fucked.”

  “So what then? We let them walk all over us? Tell us how to do our jobs? How to put our necks on the line for them?”

  The way he says it pisses even me off. I’ve been around and around with the argument for I don’t know how long and I always end up at the same conclusion. Do as the Council says.

  “I don’t have any other solution.”

  “Come on, Sabin, you’re better than this.”

  “Yes, in the field and in front of you, and the rest of the team. But dealing with a bunch of idiotic bureaucrats, no. They put their spin on everything until my fight isn’t worth a damn.”

  “Then steal Judgment Day and Paradox and use it for your own means. Force them to listen to you.”

  “Bloody fucking hell. Helios, do you know what you’re saying? That’s treason. A crime punishable by death.”

  He shrugs, like he hasn’t a care in the world. “Yeah, I know. We risk dying every day. What else is new?”

  Helios is older than Edge, but not by much. His hair is cut short, military style and it’s blond. But he likes to dye it odd colors sometimes. Right now it’s deep green. His eyes are the palest green, but they are rimmed in dark gold. He’s quiet, introspective, and cunning. He only speaks when he has something important to say and never runs his mouth, which is why I’m listening to him now. For someone so young, he is unusually perceptive about people.

  “As your commander, it’s my duty to care about your life. Whether you live or die has great meaning to me. The fact that we risk our necks isn’t something I take lightly. When we do, we become reckless and then danger ensues.”

  “It’s not that I don’t care. I do. Greatly. But I care about our team and our values even more than I care about the Council and their obtuse rules. That is my point, Sabin. I will risk my life in doing the right thing. Getting Judgment Day and Paradox into the right hands, namely ours, is the right thing to do. We will guard it with our lives, we won’t do foolish and greedy things for it, and we will make peace because of it.”

  “How did you get to be so fucking wise?”

  “I listen instead of running my trap like Edge does.” He smiles and I can’t help but laugh with him.

  “If we do this, the vote has to be put forth and it has to be unanimous.”

  “Agreed.”

  “We need to hold a meeting then to reach a consensus,” I say.

  “And then can we get the hell out of this place? I want to go home. I miss Kernell’s cooking.”

  “As do I.”

  Twelve

  Serena

  If he thinks for one solitary minute he’s leaving me behind, I’ll walk out of this place and he’ll never see me again. He thinks he can boss me around like some employee, well I’ll show him. I pace the floor, trying to burn off my anger. Why can’t he see that I can be a resource for him?

  I’m so engrossed in my angry thoughts, I jump when I hear the knock on the door.

  “Who is it?” I snap.

  “It’s Edge.”

  “Come in.”

  Edge walks in and he looks afraid of me. No doubt Sabin has told him stories of my temper.

  “What do you want?” I’m not in the mood to beat around the bush.

  “I came to explain some things to you and to give you Sabin’s mark.”

  “Sabin’s mark? Why can’t he do it?”

  Edge looks at me, then glances at his feet. “It’s not that he couldn’t. I asked if I could. I think …” he looks up at me and again I’m struck by the glory of his eyes. It’s hard to pull my gaze off of his irises. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

  “Not at all.”

  He takes a seat on the side of the bed. This is odd. “Come.” He points to the spot next to him. “Sabin has done you a great honor.”

  “Sabin has insulted me.”

  “How so?”

  “He thinks I’m incapable of assisting the team.”

  “And you a
re.”

  When I begin to object, Edge stops me. “Hear me out, Serena. You can’t possibly understand the situation we are about to face. You’ve only had a mere taste of what we do, and you saw what Sabin looked like when he came back here.”

  “Your magic wand healed him.” I’m prickly as I sit next to him, my hand fidgeting with the hem of my shirt.

  “The truth is, he would’ve healed on his own without the wand. It would’ve taken days, but he would’ve survived. That is the difference between you and us. Our bodies have experienced evolutionary changes yours hasn’t. We are stronger. You are weak. So to make a flimsy comparison, we are more similar to homo sapiens and you are more like the Neanderthal. Even our brains are more fully developed, more compact. We have an additional cerebellum, we have an extra lobe in our cerebrum, our brain stem is more sensitive to information but also better protected, and our meninges are almost impenetrable. Even the soft tissues in our body are more difficult to injure by the sheer virtue of their density. It’s not just the magic wand. You, Serena, are a much more fragile species than we are.”

  He waits for me to digest this information.

  “Why didn’t Sabin tell me this? He’s such an asshole sometimes.”

  Edge chuckles. “Sabin is Sabin. And there is no other like him. The fact that he has claimed you, and you not being his equal is an amazement.”

  I bristle at his words. “What exactly do you mean by me not being his equal?”

  “Not what you’re thinking. It’s only that you are not his equal. For the reasons I just explained to you. He will always have to worry about you, because of your fragility.”

  “Why should he worry about that?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Now I’m confused. He must be able to see it because he gives me an odd look.

  “Damn, woman, you’re as hard headed as he is. He cares for you. If he didn’t he would never have claimed you. Sabin could have his pick of any woman he’d choose. But he chose you. There’s a reason for that.”

  “He said it was for my protection.”

  “Trust me, Serena. We’ve had to watch over and protect many women. Never once has Sabin come close to claiming one, nor have I scented him on them. Until you.”

  I chew on this for a while. “He wants to take me away from here.”

  “To safety. To his home. We all live there and you’ll love it. It’s magnificent.”

  “You all live in his home? Like some commune or something?”

  Edge tilts his head as if he’s calculating what I said. Then I get my answer. “Yes, like a commune. The Seven don’t separate. We remain together for the most part, at all times.”

  This is one weird group of men.

  “Not weird. We have to remain together because of what we do. We are entrusted with the safety of Paradox.”

  I poke him in the chest with my index finger. “Stay out of my head. It’s rude.”

  “It’s the way we are, Serena. Part of our evolutionary process.”

  “Call it what you will. I say it’s rude.”

  “Very well.” He dismisses my comment. “There is sound reason we stay together. Sometimes we have to leave quickly to hunt our threat. If we are separated, it makes it difficult to do that.”

  The idea of living with seven men isn’t my notion of fun. Then a thought strikes me. “Are any of you married?”

  He laughs. “Marriage is not very common among our species. Claiming is preferred.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Calm down. Our species doesn’t consider marriage necessary. We consider claiming to be adequate.”

  This is not good. “Are you telling me that I am tied to Sabin, much like being married to him?”

  “Exactly. But not as ritualistic.”

  My body freezes. This is not what I expected him to say. In a small voice, I say, “But I don’t want to be married. I never wanted to be married.”

  “And you’re not. You are claimed. It is an honor. You should be happy. Ecstatic, even.”

  I face him head on. “This is not an honor. It was forced on me.”

  He laughs! Of all the nerve. “Let me guess. Sabin asked you in … shall I say a passionate moment?”

  My mouth falls open and I’m sure I appear ridiculous. Then I’m pissed off. “Oh, is this how he usually operates?”

  “Not that I am aware of. It is how I would claim a woman though, if there would be one I would desire to the point of going to that end. Serena, listen to me. Claiming is not to be taken lightly. Sabin will face … how can I say this? There will be ramifications for claiming you. According to our Council, you are beneath him and he will pay the price. He has taken an unimaginable risk.”

  “Why did he have to claim me in the first place?”

  “He didn’t. But if he hadn’t, anyone could have when we take you back to our home. And it would have put you in great danger. Wearing his mark will protect you. But don’t mistake his actions. Danger or no, Sabin also did it because he cares for you. He would not chance anything unpleasant happening to you.”

  Edge’s comments create more questions than answers for me. In fact, my belly is a mess of wadded knots. “If Sabin is taking me to his home to be safe, why is it dangerous?”

  When the words leave my mouth, Edge locks me out. My open book of enlightenment slams shut before me. “I cannot say. You will have to ask Sabin that. Now give me your wrist, please.”

  When I do, Edge uses a device that places a black mark resembling a tattoo on it. It’s a circle with unusual script in the center.

  “That didn’t hurt at all.”

  “Oh, no. I should’ve told you it wouldn’t.”

  “What does it mean?”

  “It’s the symbol for Sabin’s name. It will identify you as his.”

  “Is this permanent?”

  “As long as you are with Sabin, it will remain on your wrist.”

  Edge stands and I stop him, moving between him and the door.

  “You’re not walking out like this. I still want to know what’s so bad that you can’t tell me? The danger?”

  He’s avoids my eyes when he responds. “As I stated, you will have to seek your answers from Sabin.”

  Stepping up to him, I grab a handful of his shirt. “Edge? Tell me. Please.”

  His hand covers mine and he forces me to let go. “Serena, I can’t. It’s not my place. Ask Sabin. I will tell you this. He will not let anything happen to you. He will guard you with his life.”

  I watch him turn and walk out the door. The revelation is frightening, yet interesting. I know he will guard me with his life if Judgment Day is at stake, but this is different. He is willing to do the same, even without the necklace. And my inference from what Edge is saying is that he isn’t talking about protecting me from the Shaurok. But then who would want to harm me? I don’t know anyone where Sabin lives.

  My head spins with Edge’s information. But I’m also scared to death of this place I will journey to. Oh shit! This is space travel. I’ll be going to a different planet. I’ll be leaving Earth behind. Everything I know. My legs go numb and I sink to the floor. What will I do? Like Edge said, I will be the outsider, the inferior one. I can’t read minds, can’t fight, can’t do anything but SCUBA dive, really. Oh, hell, my mom was right all along. My arms wrap around my stomach and I rock back and forth, thinking about all those awful things she said. A cashier at the zippy mart would’ve been much safer than this. Or a job as a waitress.

  The door crashes open and I scream.

  “What happened? What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?” Sabin bellows.

  “Merciful heavens, you scared the bejesus out of me!” By now I’m on my hands and knees, wheezing.

  He picks me up as if I weigh nothing at all, and sets me down on the bed. Then some weird words, interspersed with English, start spewing out of his mouth. It’s bizarre and I know I’m looking at him like he’s as crazed as I am.

 
“What the heck are you saying?” It’s so odd, I almost want to laugh. He gives his head a firm shake and then slaps it. What the heck is he doing?

  “I said, I heard your thoughts as though,” and then he launches into that weird language again in it sounds like, “Narish amad bray naran atu yestudish!”

  “What? You’re talking in tongues.”

  Again, he shakes his head, and barks, “VERUS!”

  I jump about a foot off the bed. Damn his voice is loud. “Can you get any louder? I swear you’re going to rupture my tympanic membrane.”

  “Bishtan stu bre esrubia vetu bara due.”

  “I give up. You’re speaking Russian.”

  “VERUS!”

  Verus rushes in the door, asking, “What’s up?”

  Sabin looks at him and says, “My translator is malfunctioning.” He says it in flawless English.

  “You sound fine to me.”

  Now I pipe in, “Yeah, but a minute ago, he was speaking perfect Russian.”

  “Why the hell were you speaking Russian?”

  Sabin’s rigid posture lets me know he’s too pissed for Verus’ questions. But he answers anyway. “It wasn’t Russian, it was Nyan’truan.”

  “Why were you speaking that?”

  “What’s Neeuntrun?” I ask.

  They both turn to me. Sabin answers and it’s gibberish again. He turns back to Verus and says, “See what I mean?”

  “What language is that?”

  Verus looks at Sabin and Sabin nods. “It is the language of our home,” Verus answers.

  That drives the alien thing in even deeper. Neeuntrun. Jesus. No wonder it was a bunch of gibberish. My hands lock onto each other to keep them from trembling.

  “Let me run a scan on your MSI to see if everything’s okay,” Verus says.

  Verus takes out this tiny device (how many of these damn devices do they have) that looks like a miniature cell phone, and holds it next to Sabin’s head. All of a sudden an image of Sabin’s brain leaps out. Holy smokes. It looks like a true brain. I’ve taken anatomy and physiology, so I have a rudimentary knowledge of what a brain looks like. I hop off the bed and walk up to it. Then I put my arm through it. How cool is that? But Edge was right. It has an extra lobe, and it’s definitely different than a human’s. I look underneath it as it floats in the air and that’s when I see it. The MSI. And it’s not a chip. It’s some kind of an activated thing that’s attached to his brain stem. And it’s moving around in there.