The Krinar's Informant

by Charmaine Pauls

  Forcing herself to behave normally, she carried a tray with mugs to the table and poured the tea. They drank in strained silence, and when Hans called it a night and left, Erik took the mugs to the sink and started rinsing them.

  As she reached for a kitchen towel, he said, “Leave it. They can drip-dry.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he didn’t give her a chance. “We need to practice your defense moves. You’re not nearly as good with a knife as you should be.”

  He was halfway to the basement door when she found her voice. “Why now? It’s late.”

  “We’re up, anyway.”

  “Not tonight, Erik.”

  He stopped, impatience etched on his face. “We have to be ready, Liv.”

  She gave an apologetic shrug. “I’m tired.”

  The truth was, after what happened with the K, her whole body was cold and shaking. She needed time to pull herself together. She needed time to get the information she promised Zavir in exchange for their lives.

  “Tired will get you killed,” Erik said in a stern voice.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t care. Quite the contrary. He loved her. Survival was everything in their lives. She got that, but she stood her ground, unmoving from her position even as he pointed at the stairs that led to the basement that served as their training room.

  “Erik,” Karl said softly. “You heard her. Let it go. I’ll take care of her training tomorrow.”

  For a moment, Erik seemed indecisive, but then his features smoothed out. “No more night strolling, Liv. Not alone. If you need air, go for a walk by the river where we have boundary alarms.”

  “I’m not a child.”

  “You’re our responsibility. I don’t need to remind you how dangerous this mission is. People are watching everywhere. Our job is to stay low, not to gallivant around the jungle.”

  “You want me to be a prisoner here?”

  “If you don’t act responsibly, you will be.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “That’s enough.” Karl got to his feet. “We’re family. We have no one but each other.” His voice softened as he turned to his sister. “I know you’re not a child, Liv, but Erik and I are only trying to protect you. He’s right. No more excursions alone. This mission is hard on all of us, but you have to keep the end-goal in sight. Once the Ks come down, we’ll have our freedom back. What we’re working on is bigger than you or me or this organization. It’s not worth compromising for the sake of getting some air. We’re all suffering from cabin fever. We just have to deal.” Speech done, he nodded. “Go on. Get some rest. I’ll meet you at five in the morning for weapon training. Agreed?”

  She didn’t agree with any of it, but there was no point in arguing. Her older brothers believed with all their hearts in what they were doing. No argument was going to sway them. There was nothing to do but fake acceptance and bid them goodnight.

  Once in the tiny room next to the one the three men shared, she lay down on the bed in the dark, listing to the noises they made as they retired for the night. Even with the men right next door, she’d never felt lonelier. They were close, she and her brothers. Hans was their childhood friend. What she was planning ate a hole in her gut, but she saw no other way. She focused on the sounds coming through the thin wall instead, and when she heard three distinct snoring noises, she got up quietly. Avoiding the floorboards that creaked, she sneaked down the hallway and into the basement on bare feet, feeling her way. Once she was inside the room with the door closed behind her, she used the light of her phone to access the safe where Hans kept the USB drive that held the most incriminating information in the world. Only four people knew the code–her, her brothers, and Hans. When they discovered their information had been leaked, her guilt would be obvious, but it wouldn’t matter. By then, they’d be safe and far away from here, and five thousand lives in Lenkarda saved.

  There was no time to waste. Palms sweating, she extracted the drive and booted up the laptop on Hans’ desk. She’d lied to Zavir about where the information was kept. Hans argued their cabin was the perfect hiding place because it was so obvious. No one would think them stupid enough to keep it there. The minutes drew on as the files copied, her heart keeping track of each second as it clicked over. After what felt like forever, the green light pinged. She inserted the empty drive, dragged and dropped the information, and wiped out her traces on Hans’ computer, thanks to Karl’s training in electronics.

  The way back to her room was like walking a minefield. Every creak of the wooden walls made her jump, but it wasn’t nearly as gut wrenching as the guilt that burned a hole in her soul.

  This was for Erik and Karl.

  They’d promised her parents on their deathbed to take care of her, but she’d made a promise, too. She’d vowed to watch out for them and keep her family safe. They were all she had left, and she wasn’t going to watch them die in a dead-end mission with a futile purpose.

  Back in her room, she hid the drive under the floorboard she’d wiggled loose and got into bed, fully clothed. It was only then, when she grew quiet and her heartbeat stilled, that she became aware of the throbbing in her neck again.

  Chapter Four

  No information was available on a Resistance cell growing right under their noses, especially since the last Resistance attempt had been squashed with the Keiths still awaiting trial, but the Krinar had their hunches. There had been talk of new attacks, although vague. It couldn’t hurt doing a little investigation himself. One should never put all your faith in an informant. It wasn’t that Zavir didn’t believe the enticing human. It was just his nature to be cautious. Some called it distrustful, but he preferred to call it levelheaded. No informant was one hundred percent loyal, which was why he put out word of a reward being offered for any information pertaining to a Costa Rican Resistance cell. The reward was big enough to make spilling the beans, as the human saying went, well worth the effort.

  The informant was everything he hadn’t expected. He hadn’t had the time to read the file Korum had sent before their meeting. He’d only gotten it an hour before he’d entered the bar, as he’d been wrapping up an ambush. For starters, she was short, even for a human. Delicate. The color of her eyes was most unusual, a violet-blue like the trizni flower on Krina. Most Krinar had dark-colored eyes, and he was still not used to the lighter tones of humans. Her pale skin had glistened with perspiration. A dark braid had fallen over her shoulder, the ends of the silky hair brushing the tip of her breast. Breasts. She had beautiful ones. A woman’s ones. The female who had been waiting in the bar for one of the most dangerous men in ten galaxies from here to Krina didn’t look like she had many Earth years in age, although her file confirmed she was twenty-five. Indeed, it had seemed impossible that she was his target, but from the way the males had stared, not to mention the filthy bastard who’d had his hands on her, she’d turned into the target of many a man. A young, pretty woman with wide eyes and fretting fingers in a place like that had two things written all over her–innocence and prey. He’d been a step away from taking the man’s head off, but she’d surprised him even more with the knife stunt. She had more guts than all the men who’d been in that room put together. Still, she was no match for a pack of human wolves, which is partially why he’d kissed her. Creating an excuse hadn’t been the only reason, though. In a non-verbal language all males, regardless from which planet, understood, he’d staked a claim. At least, that had eliminated the dangerous intentions of those wolves who’d practically been drooling over the lamb who’d been so foolish as to enter their lair.

  He’d followed the little human to her cabin to make sure she returned safe and established there were three men, assumedly her brothers and the leader. He could’ve taken the men then and there, but he knew their type. Chances were they wouldn’t give up their teammates, not even under torture. The best strategy was to let Liv do the work and bring him the information. In order to complete this mission successfully, he needed to win her trust, no
t an easy task, seeing they’d gotten off on a rocky start. That rocky start had everything to do with his dick and nothing with his military conditioned brain, but he couldn’t be blamed for getting hot and bothered around her. With her soft curves and cute freckles, he’d never seen any woman like her. She was different from the tall, slender, toned Krinar women he usually entertained. Frail and vulnerable, she awakened his protective side. For the first time, he understood Korum’s reaction in the arena when he’d thought Mia’s life had been in danger from Saret. Zavir had helped to protect Mia, but it had only been a job. He hadn’t felt the fear for the human woman’s life he’d glimpsed in Korum’s eyes. He got an inkling of that fear now. Liv was brave, but she was mortal. Her ultra-femininity called to the male inside him while her humanity drew him in the most basic sense of her biological makeup–his lust for her blood. The combination of male protectiveness and lust was what had made him not only kiss her, but also bite her. No, no one could blame him for getting physical. The absurdness of the situation in the bar hadn’t escaped him. He’d been sitting there with his dick half exposed and fast growing hard, but what was to be expected when a pretty woman was staring down his pants? She’d flashed him a good view of her cleavage as she’d leaned over the table, which hadn’t helped. At the sight of his arousal, her cheeks had glowed like the pinkest love apples on Krina. He’d wanted nothing more than to taste her then and there, which he’d foolishly done, and it was going to happen again. He wasn’t in the habit of lying to himself or making promises he couldn’t keep. He wanted the informant, maybe too much. The solution to every problem was logic. It was simple. He knew what he had to do. He’d be cured from this persistent hard-on and obsessive thoughts, and the Resistance would come crashing down before harm could be done to the Krinar Center. Two birds with one stone, another favorite human expression of his. Korum wasn’t going to like it, but Zavir wouldn’t be the first to play dirty.

  * * *

  The following night, he scanned the surroundings in advance to ensure there were no threats before waiting at the same table. The female arrived five minutes before the agreed time. The second she stepped over the threshold, his body took notice. His lust combusted like a big bang, instantaneous and loud, the rush of it deafening in his ears. All his intentions of keeping this meeting cool blew up in vain. Dressed in mud-stained jeans and a faded, long-sleeved shirt with heavy-duty boots, he’d never seen anyone more beautiful. Or delicious. The glands under his tongue swelled, bathing his mouth in saliva. He was like a conditioned dog, his tongue dragging on the floor from the mere memory of how she tasted. How was it possible that this meager human could hold such power over him?

  Scrutinizing him, she took the chair at the opposite side of the table. He pushed the food he’d ordered toward her. At the sight of the fried chicken, her eyes widened before her expression tightened.

  “What?” he said, adopting a tone of mock innocence. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  “How did you know–?” She bit off the sentence, shaking her head.

  “That greasy food is your favorite?” He’d done some investigations that had nothing to do with the Resistance, but she didn’t need to know.

  “Chicken?” she said, eyeing him with distrust.

  “It’s a soya substitute, so don’t get too excited. It’s the best I could do.”

  “I know how hard it is to come by even the substitute here. Why would you go to so much trouble for me?”

  “You need to eat.”

  “You’re trying to make this look like a date, aren’t you?”

  “There’s that, too.”

  “As long as you remember this is make-belief. No kissing this time.”

  “What if I asked you on a real date?” He was only half-kidding. “Would you kiss me?”

  “I’m not in the habit of kissing men in public.”

  “A date in private can easily be arranged.”

  “I’m not meeting with you alone.”

  She was right not to trust him, but it wasn’t going to make much of a difference. He’d always get her alone.

  “Eat,” he said. “I’m not going to poison my informant.”

  She glanced at the food again. “I suppose it would be rude to waste it, since you’ve gone to so much effort.”

  He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or sincere, but he didn’t care. As long as she was wolfing down the food like a starved kitten, he could watch her all night.

  Nothing was left on the plate when she wiped her mouth on the napkin and downed the glass of sparkling water with a slice of lemon waiting on the side.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  It was the first nice thing she’d said to him, and he liked it, more than he’d ever expected.

  “You’re welcome, kitten.”

  “I’m not a kitten.”

  “You are when your claws come out.”

  She crossed her arms. “I don’t get you.”

  “What’s there not to get?”

  “I never know when you’re serious.”

  “I’m always serious.”

  She sighed before motioning at his empty place setting. “You’re not eating?”

  “Not what’s in here.”

  “Right.” She eyed his body. “Not the greasy type, huh?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, thank you again for the meal. It’s been a while since I ate anything that tasted like fried chicken.”

  She smiled, and a hundred mega volts of lightning hit his stomach.

  Pushing to her feet, she continued, “I better get going soon before my brothers become suspicious.”

  This time, she took the lead, taking them into the darkness of the jungle that bordered on the bar. She stuck her hand down her bra and pulled out something that she handed him. A computer stick, the old-fashioned kind.

  As if reading his mind, she said, “Hans prefers to spend money where it matters, on weapons. We don’t have a state-of-the-art IT system.”

  Their fingers brushed when he took the stick. He dropped it in his pocket. “Do you trust me, Liv?”

  Her wide, blue eyes searched his. “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not good enough. If we’re going to work together, I need to know you’re on my side.”

  Her expression softened, denting the hard armor of his heart. He was a first-class jerk, but she’d learn soon enough he was the devil himself.

  “Yes.” She blew out a breath. “I trust you. Korum spoke very highly of you.”

  “Good.” Gently, he cupped her cheek. “I’ll get you and your brothers out, but if no one is to be hurt, my attack needs to come as a surprise. I can’t come in with weapons and blow up the place. If your leader has even an inkling of our plans, I’m a dead man. Do you understand?”

  Her eyes grew even bigger as the reality of their somber situation sank in. “You’re planning on capturing the entire team alone?”

  “This is the safest way to take everyone alive.”

  “You will let everyone go unharmed, as agreed?”

  He dropped his hand to her shoulder. “They will have to be rehabilitated to some extent. You know that.”

  Biting her lip, she stared into the distance.

  “It’s better than getting killed, Liv, because that’s what’ll happen if I don’t stop them. That’s what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come to me.”

  She scanned his face. “How will that affect their lives?”

  “It’s only the Resistance part they won’t remember. It’ll be as if it never happened. If you want, we can fill the blank with any memory of your choice. They could’ve come to Costa Rica on holiday or for humanitarian work.”

  “No,” she said quickly. “No false memories. If it has to happen, I don’t want more erased than what’s absolutely necessary.” She wrapped her arms around her body. “Even then, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “Liv.” His grip on her shoulder tightened, drawing her closer. “You know these me
n better than anyone. You grew up with them. Am I right? They’ll never give up, not until they’re dead. You said so yourself.”

  She didn’t answer, but he could see the truth in her eyes.

  “It’s not your fault, kitten. You’re doing the right thing.”

  Her voice came out on a whisper. “Is it safe?”

  “You know it is.”

  Her chest rose with a deep breath. “Fine.” She covered her face with her hands. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I’m making a decision on behalf of others’ minds, their very memories, as if bargaining over the price of a loaf of bread.”

  “Don’t. We do what we have to for the ones we love.”

  “Yes.” She gave him a pained look. “For the ones we love.”

  “That’s my girl.” His smile was meant to be reassuring, but the tension in her slight body didn’t abate.

  Pulling her to his chest, his arms went around her as if it was the most natural thing on Earth to do. She rested her head against his chest as if his body was made for her. Their worries, distinct and yet empathetic in the cause that bound them, intertwined. Her heat bled into his cooler skin. In a nanosecond, flames licked over his body. What he promised himself wouldn’t happen, did. He lost all reason. He forgot every promise he’d made to himself as he lowered his head to hers, searching for the warmth of her lips. He expected resistance, half hoped for it, because it would’ve forced him to take a step back and clear his mind, but she not only welcomed him, she met him with her own brand of heat. Her fingers speared through his hair, dragging him closer while she sucked his tongue into her mouth. He groaned into the kiss, letting his hands roam to the curve of her hips, cupping them possessively.

  “Zavir,” she moaned, jerking the T-shirt from the waistband of his pants. “I want to feel your skin.”