by Zara Zenia
“I asked around with some of my old friends in security firms, seeing what kind of guy this Egeon Nor is—”
“A piece of shit,” Naela growled, fist balling up.
Silent agreement rippled around through everyone else. Naela probably had the most reason to be furious with Nor out of any of them. Melody was close. Getting ripped away from her home planet was bad, but not quite as bad as bearing the son of the man who raped her.
“Yes,” Mabav said carefully, tiptoeing on proverbial eggshells, “and an uninspiring employer to boot, it seems.”
“Oh?” asked Jorwon.
Mabav nodded slowly, still with a careful eye to Naela. “A former employee of his, head of security. Seems Devron’s stunt got him canned and blackballed and he’s not too happy about it.”
Naela scowled. “Wouldn’t he be angry with Devron, then?”
Mabav chuckled. “Quite the contrary. He’s hated the bastard for years and thought he had it coming to him. Now that he’s not collecting a paycheck, he’s ready to dismantle the rest of his empire.”
Melody whistled, leaning back in her chair. “That’s . . . that’s huge. What does he know?”
“What doesn’t he know?” Mabav said gleefully. “He has blueprints and schematics of the fortress, and he knows the shift schedules and the patrol routes. We have to assume that Nor has changed passwords and keycodes, but he can only do so much in the time that’s passed.”
“And he’s willing to help us for a reasonable price?” Naela asked skeptically, her mouth still pressed flat into a frown.
“We can contribute funds if necessary,” Gaddis chimed in for the first time. He and Sina had lingered in the kitchen after clearing breakfast, giving everyone a bit more room to breathe, but they were still close enough to be part of the conversation.
“Unlikely,” Mabav said. “I think he cares more about payback than payment. He accepted my first offer. Didn’t even try to haggle.”
Naela squinted, her shoulders tight. “Does that not seem suspicious to you?”
Normally, Melody would be inclined to agree, but after meeting Nor and dealing with him, she wasn’t surprised that he inspired enough hatred to push mercenaries to work for free.
“I’ve vetted him thoroughly, Captain. I see no indication of deception.”
Naela still didn’t look pleased, but she nodded. Melody could understand her hesitance. After being kidnapped and mistreated by Nor, neither one of them wanted to take any chances of being his prisoner again. But they couldn’t leave Devron to that fate either, and they’d already wasted enough time waiting for her to wake up.
“All right, find out what he knows,” Naela said with a sigh, pushing back from the table. “Human, come with me,” she ordered in a rough voice, crooking a finger.
Melody frowned, confused, but there was no one else Naela could possibly be speaking to, so she followed. Curiosity would be the death of her some day.
She followed her out the little cottage apartment and to the small back yard behind it that nestled close to the rocky mountain wall. Along the wall, there were targets posted at different intervals, varying in size and placement. Naela stopped suddenly and turned, blaster in hand.
Melody froze on the spot, her body breaking out in a sweat at the memory of the last time she came face to face with one of those weapons. Her body seemed to remember the incident better than her mind did, and panic lanced through her.
“Easy,” Naela said, lowering the weapon as she approached with slow, even steps. “You’re gonna need to know how to use one of these things. Hopefully, you won’t have to, but—”
“It’s better to know how and not need it than need it and not know,” Melody finished. Naela’s eyes widened a fraction, a small smile curving her lips that made Melody feel like the older woman might be a little proud or at least pleasantly surprised.
Why did Melody feel the need to prove her worth to Devron’s mother?
She dismissed that question outright and blew out a heavy breath, shaking off the nerves that the sight of the blaster had brought on.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
30
Rayhan Gould was the former head of security for Lord Egeon Nor, the world-renowned slaver and Omega-trainer.
It wasn’t something he was particularly proud of, but when he’d accepted the job, it had come with some perks—or promised ones, at least.
He was victim to the same Frenzy that plagued the noblemen of higher status than him, though his lower ranking in society meant he was fairly far down the list for the Omega lottery, and he’d never even dream of going private through a guy like Nor.
But working for him was a way around the system. With enough time served in Nor’s security force, he’d earn himself a credit toward an Omega of his very own, one Nor promised he’d hand-pick for him.
Only Rayhan never got his Omega. He’d served his time, all right. Worked his way up through the ranks from the bottom rung of the security ladder all the way to the top. He served the guy with unwavering loyalty even though he knew him to be a slimy crook. That was the job, and if there was a job to be done, it was to be done correctly. But when he brought up the Omega he was owed with Nor, the slaver demurred and tried to play dumb about the whole agreement before finally caving. Screwing over the guy he’d entrusted as one of his personal bodyguards wasn’t a smart move, and even Egeon Nor knew that.
If it wasn’t the theft, it would’ve been something else that got Ray fired. Nor was looking for an excuse—any excuse.
So when the thief’s mother got up in Rayhan’s face, her eyes as sharp as steel, and demanded to know whether he harbored ill will toward her son, he had no qualms answering with a confident, “No.”
The woman seemed unsatisfied with the answer, but another, the Omega who’d been stolen, stepped forward, spine stiff as the steel used for the other’s eyes.
“We already made the choice to trust him, Naela. We’ve brought him here. It’s a little late to back out of including him,” the human said, surprisingly calm and resolute for an Omega.
Rayhan was used to them being quivering, trembling piles of nerves.
Perhaps that was because of Nor’s treatment of them more than a product of being an Omega.
“I assure you, your son holds no blame for my current status as far as I’m concerned. Master Nor was on the hunt for a reason to dismiss me,” he said.
“I told you, Nae, he’s good,” said Mabav, the guy who’d first contacted him. He was eager to jump at the chance to ruin Nor’s day—or more, if he could manage it.
“Fine,” Naela groaned, arms still crossed tightly over her chest. “Show us what you’ve got, pretty boy.”
Rayhan arched a brow at the nickname but said nothing as he pulled a tablet from his belongings. The moment he’d seen the writing on the wall with Nor, he’d copied everything he could access—floor plans, back doors in the security system, contact lists, everything—for some added security. If nothing else, the price he could get for some of the information might make up the cost of an Omega. Nor owed him that much.
“I’ve already thought about this quite a bit,” he said, pulling up the blueprint of Nor’s mountainside fortress. “The mountains here are meant to be a natural barrier to intruders, but if you know the terrain, there’s actually a back road in that’s never patrolled.”
“Never?” Melody asked, head tilted as she looked at the screen. She’d been caught off-guard enough times in the past by people being in places that were ‘never’ watched.
“There’s no need. This is actually an older version of this map. The updated security map doesn’t even show it after a rockslide made part of it impassable. The new Head might not even know it exists to patrol it,” he assured her.
“But you just said it’s impassable,” Melody countered.
“It is,” Rayhan conceded, “but the rockslide happened down here, fairly early on in the path.”
“What about vehicles? Coul
d we fly over the obstacle?” Jorwon asked.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Rayhan said, nodding. “But the path is too narrow to land, and the roadblock is close enough to the fortress that radar is likely to spot the ship and take action.”
“Action?” asked Melody.
“Warning shots,” Rayhan said. “Pursuit, if necessary.”
“He’ll definitely chase if he knows it’s us coming for Dev,” Naela said.
Melody shook her head, all of the information swirling together in a jumble. “I’m confused. What’s the plan?”
“Mab, you’re a better evasive pilot than me,” Jorwon said with a grin.
“What? No . . . you’re not . . . fuck,” Mabav hissed.
“Uh . . . still confused over here,” Melody said, looking around the table for any sympathy.
“Have you forgotten what happened on LB-284?” Naela asked incredulously, both her and Mabav staring at Jorwon while he chuckled to himself. Rayhan smiled awkwardly, not nearly as amused by everything as Jorwon was. No one was offering Melody any help at all in figuring this out.
“So . . . what? Mabav flies in and acts as decoy for us to . . . ?” The blanks still weren’t filling themselves in.
“Mab will fly us in close enough to drop behind the roadblock,” Jorwon said. “They won’t be looking for people coming in on foot on a road that doesn’t exist when there’s a gunner flying around.”
Melody frowned. “Drop behind?”
“I swore I was never going to jump out of the sky again,” Naela grumbled.
“Are you talking about parachuting?” Melody squeaked, palms suddenly sweaty. She wasn’t exactly afraid of heights, but she also didn’t have any beef with gravity. Why test it?
“I really have put a lot of thought into it,” Rayhan said, sounding defensive for the first time. “I don’t see another way.”
“That still only solves the problem of getting to the fortress undetected,” Sina said, leaning over the table, cutting through the inter-crew tension by virtue of being an outsider. “What about getting in? Egeon may leave his roads unguarded, but I doubt he leaves his doors unlocked.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“I can help with that,” Melody chimed in quickly, all eyes snapping to her. “I’m kind of a lock expert back on my home planet.”
Naela pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. “You’re a thief,” she said, a statement, not a question.
“So is Devron,” Melody shot back defensively. This woman just would not like her. Why did she care so much?
That was definitely the wrong thing to say, though. Naela’s eyes flashed fierce and bright, nostrils flaring as her face flushed with anger.
“Why, you—”
“Naela,” Jorwon said firmly, a hand on her arm. Naela stiffened instantly, then softened, her eyes following suit as she sent an apologetic look to Jorwon. Melody got no such look.
“Are you sure you can manage his locks? They’re likely more sophisticated than what you’re used to,” Sina cautioned.
“Can you get me some tools?” Sina and Gaddis both nodded. “I’ll be fine, then,” she promised. There wasn’t a lot she was good for—especially not on an alien planet—but she could handle a door or two.
That settled, Rayhan started talking about the possible guards they’d run into, the weapons they were outfitted with, even the standard moves they were taught to take down an intruder, complete with the counter to each move.
He proved to be a valuable asset, and even though the plan with him was much more laid out, solid, and feasible, Melody felt less confident with him than she did with Devron’s ‘winging it’ plan.
There wasn’t room for error this time. It was her life on the line last time, but now it was his, and as much as she hated to admit it, she missed him.
And she was pretty sure it wasn’t just the Omega thing. Her world was dimmer without him in it, and it took her a little while to realize why she felt so glum, but she realized it had been too long since she’d seen his smile or felt his warmth. The faint lingering scent of him in the apartment was all but gone and only taunted her with memories.
Should she have been more forgiving? More understanding?
She still wasn’t sure she could be, but this whole experience had begun to make her at least consider trying to.
“Let’s do this according to plan,” Rayhan said as they loaded into the helicopter-like craft. They were each outfitted with a parachute and helmet. Melody’s didn’t fit well since they didn’t exactly make them for humans here, which wasn’t encouraging for the integrity of her skull. Every one of them bore the same determined expression. Only Melody seemed to feel like she was going to be sick.
“All aboard?” asked Mabav from the pilot’s seat.
“Clear,” answered Rayhan.
Melody’s stomach lurched as the craft lifted silently, too quiet to be real, too fast for her insides to keep up. She was sure they were still back on the rapidly-receding ground, but there was no going back for her guts. They moved swiftly over the dense jungle and jagged mountains. None of them spoke as they traveled. Jorwon drummed his fingers on his thigh, Sina and Gaddis locked claws, heads together, Naela watched the landscape whipping by with her feet already pointed toward the door, and Rayhan kept a sharp eye on it all. You could take a guy out of the security game, but you couldn’t take the instincts out of the guy. Melody knew that feeling, albeit from the other side of the law.
“See that up ahead?” Rayhan called to Mabav, leaning over the seat from behind. Melody strained to see what he pointed at—a thin scar through the landscape, invisible if you didn’t know what to look for. “Right down there is the drop.”
Mabav nodded, turning the yoke and sending Melody’s insides to the other side of the cabin.
If she didn’t puke before they hit the ground, it would be a miracle.
Everything inside her iced up at that thought. They weren’t hitting the ground in the normal sense. Oh, no. Nothing could be that easy. She had to jump out of a freaking helicopter to get to the ground again.
Although, at this point, with her stomach in knots and the ground a million miles below, she was ready to do whatever it took to be on solid ground again.
“Ready?” Rayhan called, crouch-walking to the door.
“What? Now?” Melody shrieked. She didn’t feel like she’d had time to mentally prepare herself.
Jorwon wasn’t hesitating, though. He stepped right up to the edge of the doorway and looked back to Mabav for confirmation.
“You’re good,” the pilot said, and down when Jorwon with a hoot.
Melody tasted the acid in the back of her throat.
Sina and Gaddis jumped next, followed by Naela, muttering curses the whole time.
“I’ll jump with you,” Rayhan said, patient yet firm. He wasn’t giving her the option to back out. But she didn’t need him to.
“I can’t,” she said, stepping back, shaking her head. “I mean . . . I just need a minute.” An angry-sounding buzzer sounded in the cockpit and she frowned, looking over her shoulder to Mabav.
“What was that?”
“Your minute running out,” Rayhan said, grabbing her hand. He dragged her to the door and pulled them both out into the rush of dense, blinding fog.
How the hell were they even going to know where to land? How to avoid smashing to the rocks like glass?
“Now!” Rayhan shouted over the roar of air. Melody hardly had the chance to enjoy the coolness all around her, the weightless feeling, the peace of being suspended like this, because she was too busy panicking about her impending death.
“What?” she shouted.
“Now!” he repeated. “Pull the cord!” He disappeared as his chute opened and yanked him up away from her.
A new flash of panic raced through her as she pieced it together, the ground still rushing closer and closer somewhere under that fog. Did she wait too long to pull it? She couldn’t find the stupid thing to p
ull on with her fingers so cold from the clouds. Her fingers finally brushed the metal handle, not a moment before real panic set in, and she yanked. It felt like the parachute was trying to rip her upper body off with the first yank, but the force didn’t last long, and soon, she was drifting peacefully down, her heart starting to slow.
“You survived,” Naela said as she touched down near the others. The road was rocky and narrow, but it looked like they’d all made it in one piece. Naela sounded kind of disappointed that Melody was okay. She tried not to take it personally while Rayhan and Gaddis gathered up all the parachutes and hid them in the nearby wilderness.
The hike up to the fortress wasn’t long or difficult, but it was nerve-wracking. Melody’s head was on a swivel—even though Rayhan was convinced they’d be clear on this path, she couldn’t be so confident—and she found herself reaching for her blaster at the smallest sound. Despite her jumpiness, they made it to the door Rayhan had told them about without incident.
In fact, so far, everything had gone according to plan. Surprisingly well, if Melody was honest.
But now they were at the door. The door with the lock she promised she’d be able to pick. If any part of the plan was to fall apart, she really hoped it wouldn’t be her part. She didn’t want to be the reason everything went to shit. Of course, that added pressure didn’t help things.
“Well?” Naela hissed as Melody bent to scope out the lock, hands sweaty, breath shallow. She felt every one of them behind her, breathing on her, watching her. Naela didn’t even try to hide her skepticism regarding Melody’s skills.
“It’ll just take me a minute,” Melody said, pulling out the tools Gaddis had acquired for her. Her hands shook as she withdrew the shiny new picks from the pouch.
The lock really wasn’t anything special. It had a keypad for a code, but that only operated a manual tumbler inside, so it wasn’t difficult to bypass once she cut the power. The moment she started working, all the pressures and worries melted into the background. Practice and instinct took over. She closed her eyes and visualized the grooves inside the lock, depressing each spot where a key would hit, and then . . .
