Hunkering down lower to the ground, Garik barely looked in his direction. “Mmm.”
“It’s only because of your pretty mate that I agreed to help,” Sulen added, hiding a smirk.
Garik’s head snapped around and Sulen held in his snort of laughter at the glare aimed his way. If there was one thing guaranteed to get his peer’s attention, it was mention of the woman he’d taken as his mate three months ago.
“Saedra isn’t pretty to you.”
Sulen almost laughed aloud. He never thought he’d see the day. Garik Denison, loner and exceptional assazi, was completely in love with his bond mate.
As Gerelins, it was in their nature to be protective of the one they bonded to but Garik was beyond possessive of the petite Saedra who’d rescued him from imprisonment and the very man they were here to eliminate.
Sulen was about to tease him more when a light in one of the upper rooms they’d been watching went out. All humor vanished and Sulen donned the veneer of ruthless hunter. “Go time.”
Garik matched him step for step as they entered Maurin’s massive estate, slipping past guards and alarms with the disrupters they wore in their pockets. When they reached the bedroom of their target, Sulen stepped back to let Garik enter first. Neither of them partnered much when it came to hunting. Assazi meant lone assassin and both of them had perfected their skills.
But this assignment was different. The Assassins Guild had wanted no mistakes in eliminating the owner of the Quantoon moon station. They’d underestimated Maurin before. They wouldn’t again. This time they’d sent Sulen along with Garik to guarantee success.
Sulen would have done it anyway for one reason only—Saedra Denikon. She was a sweet little thing with a heart so big, it was hard to imagine how she must have suffered in this household. All because of Maurin Cressler. Her father.
Garik eased inside the bedroom and Sulen followed after ensuring their presence hadn’t been detected. The guards’ schedules were predictably routine. He and Garik stood beside the bed of the sleeping Dragonian. Garik held a thin wire stretched taut between his gloved hands, anticipation in his silvery gaze.
As if he felt his death near, Maurin opened his eyes. “You!”
It was all he got out. Sulen watched in satisfaction as the evil man who’d terrorized his only child, stolen artifacts from the royal Zephil family and created a criminal haven was quietly and calmly, killed in his own bed.
“Good riddance,” Sulen muttered though Garik remained silent.
That was Garik. Efficient and eerily quiet on his assignments. Sulen had a healthy respect for his peer’s ability to compartmentalize. Once done, Garik sent the confirmation with visual proof attached to the Assassins Guild.
They would have gotten out of the house unnoticed if a guard hadn’t changed his rotation to take a piss outside. His gaze widened when he caught sight of them rappelling from the room above and shouted.
More guards responded to the noise and an alarm went off. Sulen raced with Garik toward the hover cycles they’d stashed earlier.
“Fuck,” Garik gritted, voicing his first words since they’d entered the house.
Sulen grinned gleefully. “Nothing’s perfect.”
“I am,” Garik snarled. “I knew we should have left through the front door.”
Sulen shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal to him. “I don’t think anyone could account for a loose bladder.”
They arrived at their hover cycles at the edge of the property as the sounds of alarm increased. The ride to the transport station was hectic and exhilarating at the same time.
Reaching the ship and pilot they’d hired was anti-climatic. Knowledge had yet to spread that the one who’d created this haven on the Quantoon moon station was now dead. Soon the resident criminals would no longer have this place to hide from the law.
But clean up work wasn’t Sulen’s job. His part in this had been accomplished. What went on at Quantoon from here on out would be behind him and Sulen would rest until his next target was assigned. “That was fun, at least.”
Silver eyes not amused, Garik glanced over at him as they approached the lowering ramp to the ship. “Considering your reputation, has anyone ever told you your humor is ill-timed?”
Working for the Assassins Guild had changed a lot about him. He’d left his parents and home as soon as he was old enough to vie against them for his independence. There were no regrets for the choices he’d made. Training at the academy had taught him to be tough and rigid when necessary, but most importantly, it had given him a purpose.
Garik might hold the claim for most ruthless among them but Sulen was known for his vengeful wrath. Go against him and he’d bide his time until he could seek revenge no matter how long it took. No slight was ignored.
Humor, however, had not been stamped out of him completely and Sulen took those light moments where he could find them. The nature of their job was grim enough.
Which explained why he chose to tease the usually taciturn Garik. “Whatever do you mean?”
He was anticipating Garik’s growl or profanity laden rant and had a retort on the tip of his tongue when a sizzling band wrapped tightly around his chest. With his air supply abruptly cut off, Sulen spun around when he tried to take a step forward.
“Sulen?!”
Garik’s shout blazed across his senses but Sulen couldn’t catch his breath.
“Sulen, fuck, if this is your idea of a joke!”
The weird sensation passed within moments and he was able to quickly straighten. There was an embarrassing tremble in his hands as he drove his fingers through his hair.
Garik gripped his shoulder in a firm hold and peered closely into his eyes. “What was that?”
Sulen blinked and tried to get his bearings. A connection had snapped into place, pulsing and tugging at the core of him. A bond that shouldn’t exist now tied him to another.
Against his will. Without his consent. Anger rose on a tide threatening to break Sulen’s control as he snarled, “Someone has made a big mistake.”
He’d find out whoever was behind it and make the person pay in ways they couldn’t imagine.
Chapter 3
Unfortunately, for the first time in years, Sulen met a worthy opponent outside his peers at the Guild. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to month after month but he couldn’t track why or how he had a thread connecting him to another being. His anger grew to epic proportions, his fury advancing to white hot rage.
His distraction with searching for who’d done this to him was enough to draw the attention of the Master of the Guild who demanded Sulen’s presence for a face to face meeting.
When he entered the room he’d only been in twice—for his enrollment in training at the academy and upon his completion—there were five others present and dressed in their traditional black hooded cloaks.
Back then, he’d been intimidated by their austere presence. Through the years, the fear had diminished to a healthy respect as he came to appreciate the value their particular skill set brought by aligning with the Alliance to mete out punishment to those who veered outside the scope of the law.
The Guild had carved out a space for themselves because of these founding members who had been assassins themselves at one point.
“What’s going on, Sulen?” The Master went straight to the point.
There was no way Sulen could confess what had happened to him. A binding connection to an anonymous source could and would jeopardize his position as a tenured assassin. He met their concerned stares with a neutral expression. “My apologies. I had a few personal issues to deal with but they are resolved now.”
There was deep silence from the row of men seated at the table before him.
“We trust your future assignments won’t suffer from these...issues?” A deeper voice asked from a shadowy corner.
“It will not.” Sulen wouldn’t let it.
For weeks after, he worked on ignoring the connection. He had to fight his G
erelin heritage and the instinctive need to seek and protect a mate he refused to believe he had.
It took effort but at last Sulen managed to bury the bond into the farthest recesses of his mind.
And it worked for a while. Until it didn’t.
***
“Whew. Shopping for a baby is hard work. Buuut shopping for a baby girl is sheer pain and pleasure.”
Amelie laughed at Scarlett’s statement and collapsed beside her on the sofa in her brand new housing unit. They’d finished furnishing it two days ago and Scarlett decided they might as well decorate the baby’s room since they now knew the gender.
Shoving bags to the side of her feet and ignoring the spillage of pink and yellow clothing, Amelie tilted her head to the side on the back of the sofa and grinned. Scarlett tipped her head and grinned back.
“Thank you.”
She meant it sincerely. Only five months along and Scarlett had been with her every step of the way through this pregnancy. It was fortunate that so far her bean sized baby wasn’t much trouble. The tea Scarlett recommended easily controlled the nausea and now the bean was kicking and poking around inside.
“I’m doing what any friend would do.”
Amelie doubted that. Scarlett was going above and beyond. She kept Amelie’s spirits up, navigated her appointments with the other medics and made sure Amelie didn’t dwell on the fact her family had disowned her. News of their daughter’s pregnancy and lack of a husband hadn’t gone over well and they’d made their feelings clear when they told her not to come back. As if she’d ever thought about it.
“You’re more than a friend. You’re like a sister.”
Scarlett rolled over to the side, facing Amelie and placed her hand on the barely noticeable bump of her belly. “You’ll let me be an honorary aunt to your bean?”
“Of course! You already are.” No one deserved it more.
“How are you feeling about the other thing?” Scarlett asked with a knowing glint in her eyes.
Breath stalled in Amelie’s chest. She’d seen the announcements since it made the news feeds. Roan was marrying the Ambassador of Trigodor’s daughter. It was to be a spectacular affair.
“I’m fine. I mean, I’m glad he’s found someone he wants to be with.” That clearly hadn’t been her and to her surprise, Amelie was quite over any lingering feelings for him.
Scarlett snorted and patted Amelie’s belly before sitting back. “You’re the better person. I’d want to stab him in the eye with a fork.”
Amelie snickered. Scarlett’s commentary about Roan revolved around stabbing him with some utensil or another. She was glad the two weren’t in danger of being in the same room together. Scarlett was turning into a protective wild animal when it came to Amelie and her baby. Which reminded her. “I got the job!”
Scarlett clapped her hands together, her look of glee making her appear years younger than the serious demean she often wore in her role as a medic. “I knew it! When I went to that store to grab something and saw how short handed they were, I immediately thought of you.”
Amelie was the brand new employee at a gardening center. It wasn’t something she had experience with but after talking to the older couple who owned it, she’d been hired on the spot. Something else she had Scarlett to thank for.
“When do you start? Do they know about the baby?”
Scarlett’s enthusiasm was catching and Amelie found herself uncontrollably grinning. “Tomorrow and yes. Ezra and Tula have agreed to give me time off for the birth and are converting space in the back office so I can bring the baby to work. I think they’re more excited about taking turns watching her.”
Scarlett nodded and shoved back a swath of blonde hair. “I’ve gone there a few times and they seem like nice folks. Remember to stick to the story if they ask questions.”
It had been drilled into her head. Scarlett gave Amelie a few details on the Gerelin she’d taken the hormone from. Not much. Apparently, he hadn’t said a lot when he’d burst into her clinic looking for a medic to repair a break to his arm and a severe laceration on his torso.
“I’ll keep it simple if anyone asks and wear the scarf at all times.” Amelie flicked the lightweight scarf she wore as an accessory tied jauntily about her neck when she was out. The strip of material helped to hide the scars on her neck in case anyone studied them too closely.
Rubbing her hands together, Scarlett asked, “More importantly, what about names? Do you have any?”
“Yes.” She’d decided last night. “But I’m not saying until she gets here.”
Scarlett groaned and Amelie felt as if she had the whole world ahead of her.
Chapter 4
At eight months along, Amelie’s stomach had grown into a generous curve. She hummed under her breath as she pulled up the flowers in the little garden she’d managed to plant, placing the flowers on a dry cloth beside her. She’d arrange them in a vase later and have them on her table to look at when she took her meals.
The thought had her sitting back on her haunches and stretching out her aching back. Her shirt clung to her mid-section and Amelie patted the mound, smiling to herself. It wouldn’t be long now before her daughter made her eagerly anticipated arrival.
“Amelie!”
Amelie jerked. Then rose on a wobble to her feet. Standing unaided had become a challenge last month. She had to shake her head at all the changes brought on by carrying this baby.
The figure striding into the small yard in front of her unit was obvious. Her gaze shuttered in recognition. She’d know that carefree amble anywhere. Roan. Months away from him had removed the colored lenses she used to view him with and she could read his insincere smile easily now.
“What are you doing here, Roan?” she asked, taking a protective step back to retain a safe distance between them. Their last conversation was all too clear in her memory.
Roan oozed fake charm as he ignored her efforts and stopped way too close, invading her personal space. “I’m here on a brief stopover because the ambassador is picking up two new members for his team. Imagine my surprise seeing you here.”
No surprise. More like pure rotten luck. Her living unit was on a popular path near the city center. Anyone going to and from would see her if she was out. It wasn’t like she went gallivanting around the Gerelin colony. She kept to herself and minded her business.
“Hello to you, Roan. Sounds like things are going well.”
He eyed her plain shirt and the old shorts she’d thrown on to muddle around in the dirt. His gaze lingered on her bump. The mouth she’d once found sexy twisted in an ugly display. “You didn’t take care of it?”
Shock and annoyance resounded in his question. Amelie straightened to her full height, which still left her far shorter than Roan. “I think you should be on your way.”
He snatched at her shirt and yanked it up, then paled before flushing an unattractive shade of red. “I’m married, Amelie! You can’t still be pregnant.”
Amelie roughly jerked free of his hold and backed up another step. “Leave me be, Roan. You ended things and I haven’t bothered you.”
“You’re going to ruin everything,” he mumbled, driving a hand through his hair and pacing away.
Amelie didn’t like the crazed look in his eyes and took another cautious step back. “I don’t want to ruin anything for you, Roan. In fact, I wish you well.”
“All you had to do was listen and do what you were told,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. His back and forth pacing grew more forceful with each stride.
Amelie’s pulse leaped as she glanced around. Usually, her neighborhood was full of passersby. Today there was no one about.
“When will you realize I don’t want you back?” His voice rose in agitation.
Wait. What? She’d been minding her business at her home on a world far away from where he’d abandoned her. What part of wishing him well meant she wanted him back?
“It’s not too late,” he said, stopping i
n front of her. “You can still get rid of it.”
He must have lost his mind. She didn’t have time for this. Amelie turned on her bare feet and headed confidently for her front door.
“Amelie!”
She looked over her shoulder and Roan’s gaze narrowed on her retreating figure. “Don’t walk away. We’re not finished.”
They were very much finished. Holding her stomach with one hand, Amelie raced up her short walkway. Panting, she shoved the door open and went to slam it behind her but Roan pushed his way in behind her and closed it.
He spun Amelie toward the wall, his chest to her back and rammed her face forward.
“Get off me, Roan. What are you doing?!” The cold of the wall chilled her cheek on one side of her face.
Roan leaned low over her shoulder to peer down into her face. “Aviana loves me. There’s a strong chance my marriage to her will make me the ambassador’s right hand next time there’s an opening. I can’t let you ruin my opportunity because you’re too stupid and jealous to follow direction.”
Amelie had no idea what he was talking about. She wasn’t jealous. She pushed back against his chest but as wiry and lean as he was, he still had her by fifty pounds and five inches.
“Let me go,” she whispered as her heart pounded. Amelie hated the quiver of fear in her tone.
The baby started to kick wildly, picking up on her increased stress levels. Roan was scaring her with his erratic behavior. He flung her away from him suddenly and Amelie missed a step and stumbled. She caught herself with a hand to the end table she’d planned to set the flowers on.
“I’ll take care of it myself,” he declared, heading toward her with a dark look.
Her living room wasn’t large to begin with and left little room to maneuver. With her back against the small table, Amelie had nowhere to run. “What are you going to do, Roan?”
His grin bore no resemblance to humor. How had she ever thought she loved him? The question had no sooner entered her mind when he punched her right in the stomach. The pain blasted through her a second later and Amelie folded forward on a groan.
Claiming His Unexpected Baby Page 2
