Sentinel: Galactic Gladiators: House of Rone #1

by Hackett, Anna

  Jax fought a vicious punch of desire. He’d gorged himself on her all night, and she’d shown him several things he’d never had the pleasure of doing before. He wanted more.

  Magnus made a noise and Jax managed to tear his gaze away from Quinn. A tiny smile flirted on Magnus’ lips.

  “I want her,” Jax said.

  “I can tell,” his friend replied.

  Jax shook his head. “No, I want to keep her.” He swallowed. “Forever.”

  Magnus’ smile widened slowly. “She’s an impressive woman. I’m happy for you, Jax.”

  “It’s new. I need to make sure it’s what she wants. I won’t force her.”

  “Of course not.”

  Jax blew out a breath. “She needs time to work out what she wants in this new world.” What if that didn’t include him?

  “One step at a time, Jax.”

  He met Magnus’ gaze. “I won’t let you down. I can still do my job and ensure—”

  “Jax.” Magnus gripped his shoulder. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “I owe you everything. You risked your life for me, gave up everything for me.”

  “It wasn’t just for you, Jax. I wanted my freedom, too. I care about you and I wanted you to live. You’ve been my anchor to being more than an unfeeling machine all my life.”

  Jax blew out a breath. “Imagine if the Orionix scientists could see us now. Talking about our feelings.”

  Magnus smiled. Something else the Orionix would have been shocked by. “Live, Jax. That’s why I fought so hard for our freedom. To watch you live, love, and be happy.”

  Jax pressed his hand over the top of Magnus’ and nodded.

  “And make her happy,” Magnus added.

  That, Jax could do. He was no expert at relationships, but he could learn.

  There was a knock at the door. One of the house servers entered, holding out a small note. “For you, Imperator.”

  Magnus took the note and nodded. “Thank you, Rala.” He glanced at the missive. “Zhim and Ryan are calling. We’ll take it in my office.”

  Quinn handed the baby back to Ever, and walked toward them. “What’s going on?”

  “My guess is, Zhim and Ryan have found something,” Jax answered.

  Quinn’s jaw tightened. “Finally.”

  Waving goodbye to Ever, the three of them headed for Magnus’s office. A second later, the imperator had Ryan and Zhim on the screen.

  “We found some information on Gaarl,” Zhim said.

  Ryan’s nose wrinkled. “This guy is a real douchebag. Comes in to buy metal and trade his creations. He makes robots.”

  Quinn pressed a hand to her hip. “The Edull seem to specialize in that.”

  “Their species has an affinity to metal,” Magnus said.

  “What makes him a douche, though,” Ryan continued, “is that he likes to buy slaves. And he often requires new ones.”

  They were all silent for a second. It was unlikely Gaarl needed an army of slaves. Jax’s fingers flexed. It was more likely that his previous slaves hadn’t survived.

  Old memories skated through his mind. He knew what it was to be deemed defective and no longer useful, slated to be terminated.

  “Bastard,” Quinn muttered.

  On the screen, Ryan nodded.

  Jax saw Zhim press a hand to the nape of Ryan’s neck. The woman moved into his touch. Such a small move, but it was clear it brought Ryan comfort.

  Reaching out, Jax pressed his fingers to the nape of Quinn’s neck, brushing the soft silk of her hair. She glanced at him, then smiled. He felt a shot of warmth in his gut.

  “Corsair was the one who came through with the information on Gaarl’s base,” Ryan said.

  “Where?” Magnus demanded.

  “He has a base, den, hideout—” Ryan waved a hand in the air “—whatever you want to call it, in the Dacton Ruins.”

  Jax frowned. “It’s a dangerous area of the desert. It was where they mined for the mineral dacton, but it’s been all mined out for years.”

  Zhim nodded. “That’s right. It’s pockmarked and riddled with old mining tunnels.”

  “We’ll send you the coordinates,” Ryan added.

  Beside Jax, Quinn vibrated with energy. “This is it. I can feel it. We’re going to find Jayna.”

  Jax squeezed her neck again. He didn’t want to see her disappointed. He hoped Jayna was there. “Let’s get prepped. “

  “We’re going to find her,” Quinn said again.

  Jax nodded. “Whatever it takes.”

  * * *

  Quinn fastened the top of her sleek, leather trousers. She slid her hands down the fabric, and wondered what alien creature it came from. She’d have to ask Jax. These trousers were made for fighting, and would protect her, but would also let her move.

  She reached over, pulling a leather harness over her tight, black shirt. Then she grabbed her staff off the bed, running her hands along it. She wasn’t good enough with a sword yet, but this would do just fine. She swung the weapon onto her back and clipped it into the harness.

  “I’m coming, Jayna,” she murmured.

  Lastly, Quinn picked up the vibrant-blue cloak off the bed. She stroked the fabric, then clipped it on. She was House of Rone, now. She was making a place here, a home.

  And then there was Jax.

  She let out a breath. Jax.

  No man had ever looked at her the way he did. Wanted her like he did. She pressed a hand to her heart.

  God, if anyone had told her last week, when Sleeja had her chained up, that she’d soon be having mind-blowing sex with a sexy cyborg, she would’ve laughed so hard she might have passed out. And then, if they’d told her that she’d be falling for him…

  She shook her head. This wasn’t the time to focus on her love life and emotions. Right now, they had to free Jayna and get her away from Gaarl.

  Quinn left her room and walked down the corridor. She spotted Jax talking quietly with the other cyborgs. He lifted his head and their gazes met. His gaze ran over her, appreciation glinting in his eyes.

  Magnus stepped forward. “We’re heading to Varus’ stables. We’ll head to the Dacton Ruins via tarnid.”

  The cyborgs all nodded. As always, Mace and Acton showed no emotion. Toren gave her a small nod.

  The group moved swiftly out of the arena and through the city streets. As they walked under a stone archway and into a cobbled courtyard, Quinn was hit with the scent of animals and hay. The stables were busy, the place packed with tourists.

  She spotted Duna on the other side of the crowd, and the young girl waved. Smiling, Quinn waved back.

  “Magnus.” An older man with the body of a warrior strode forward. “Good to see you.”

  “Varus.”

  The man had clearly been a gladiator. As the men talked, Quinn scanned the stables.

  A group of giggling women stood nearby. It appeared they were getting ready for a tour of the desert. Their harassed guide was trying to get them to focus on his talk about the tarnids, but several of the women were too busy looking at the cyborgs.

  Two women detached from the group and headed for Jax. Quinn’s gaze narrowed. The women, both with long hair past their waists, plastered themselves against him. Touching him.

  Quinn stiffened, anger and jealousy surging through her. Then Jax smiled at the women.

  What the hell? At least he wasn’t touching them back. Deep breath, Quinn. He hasn’t exactly had a lot of relationships.

  “Hey, Quinn!”

  She glanced down and saw Duna. “Hey, there.”

  “You ready to head into the desert?”

  Quinn lifted a shoulder. “I can’t say it’s been my favorite place.”

  Duna’s face turned serious. “I’ll make sure you get where you’re going and find your friend.” She turned. “Varus is bringing the tarnids now.”

  Quinn lifted her head and saw the former gladiator and another of his stable hands leading several of the huge beasts th
eir way. The lead tarnid snorted, its hooves clattering on the stone.

  “For you?” Varus held out the reins for a tarnid with deep-green scales. The animal lifted one of its six hooves and stomped.

  “He’s gorgeous.”

  “He likes you.” Varus nodded at her. “You are an honorable woman to help find your friends.”

  “I won’t leave any of them out there to suffer.”

  With Varus’ help, she swung up into the saddle, finding her seat.

  Jax appeared, frowning. “I thought you’d ride with me.”

  “No, thanks.” She looked away.

  He paused. “Is something wrong?”

  “Yes.”

  His frown deepened. “What is it?”

  She sighed and saw confusion on his face. The man literally had no idea what had upset her. She blew out a breath. “Those women. They were touching you.”

  “The tourists? They meant nothing to me.”

  She growled. “That’s a pretty standard line when a man is disloyal to a woman.”

  He stiffened. “I would never be disloyal.”

  Magnus and Duna were already heading out on their tarnids. The mission had to be the priority. “We’ll work it out later, Jax.” She kicked her tarnid forward.

  A few of the glittery women were close by, and as the tarnid neared, they scuttled out of the way.

  When she looked around, the other cyborgs were almost all seated. Scary Acton’s face was its usual metallic mask, but she got the distinct impression that the cyborg disliked riding a live animal. She saw Jax grab the reins of a tarnid, and swing onto the beast with a lithe move that showed his strength. She couldn’t stop herself from watching him.

  Blowing out a breath, she followed Magnus out of the stables. The imperator rode like he’d been doing it all his life. Duna was ahead, looking tiny on her giant tarnid.

  It wasn’t long before they left the city behind and entered the desert. As sand stretched out ahead, her belly clutched. This place had been her prison for months. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to be back here.

  But her feelings weren’t important right now, freeing Jayna was.

  Ahead, Duna chattered to Magnus. The young girl appeared to be talking a mile a minute to the cyborg, who didn’t appear to be responding.

  They rode on, and then Quinn felt hands snag in her cloak. Then, she was unceremoniously scooped off her tarnid.

  “What the—?” She landed in a hard lap, and knew exactly who was behind her.

  She looked straight ahead, seeing Mace reach out and take the lead of her tarnid. He shot her an inscrutable look, which she returned with a glare, before he urged his own tarnid ahead, hers jogging behind.

  She struggled in Jax’s lap.

  “Hold still.”

  “Screw you.” She elbowed him in the gut.

  Of course, the damn cyborg didn’t react.

  “Quinn, are we fighting?”

  She looked up at him. “People in a relationship do that sometimes.”

  His lips quirked. “We’re in a relationship.”

  “Yes, which means only I get to touch you.”

  A glimmer of understanding shone in Jax’s eyes.

  “You’re mine.” Because she couldn’t stop herself, she lifted a hand and cupped his cheek.

  “I only want you, Quinn. I’ve never wanted any woman the way I want you.”

  Damn. She melted into him. She had to remember that Jax was a cyborg. Understanding all the nuances of emotion and relationships was new to him.

  “Let me put it this way. Imagine if I pressed myself against a man, allowed him to touch me—”

  Jax jerked her close. “I’d kill him.”

  She smiled. God, her cyborg. “Then you understand. No one gets to touch you, Jax. Not while you’re mine.”

  “Deal.” He lowered his head, his mouth taking hers.

  Mmm. Quinn gripped him hard, kissing him back.

  “Remember, this isn’t a pleasure tour. We have a dangerous Edull to capture,” came Magnus’ dry voice.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jax spotted the first of the old mines. The ground was pockmarked, like hundreds of animals had clawed at the sand and rock, leaving depressions. In places, large piles of sand loomed.

  “By the way, I meant to ask—what is dacton?” Quinn asked.

  He tightened his arms around her. He’d been happy that she’d stayed with him on his tarnid for the rest of the journey. “It is a valuable metal that had lots of different uses. It’s been completely mined out on Carthago.”

  Magnus glanced back. “We’re almost at the coordinates.”

  Jax felt Quinn tense, her gaze glued to the surroundings.

  They moved past several rusted relics. It was impossible to tell what the metal frames had once been. It was so deteriorated, that not even the desert scavengers had pillaged it.

  “There.” Quinn pointed.

  Jax eyed the mine entrance. It was dug down into the ground, supported by shiny metal poles. This was no abandoned place.

  A ramp led into the ground, a dark, looming gash in the ground.

  They halted the tarnids and slid off. Duna was tying off the reins and checking the animals over, patting their hides.

  “If you see anything that concerns you, you run,” Magnus told the girl.

  Duna lifted her head, tossing her braids over her shoulder. “I can take care of myself, Imperator.” She patted another tarnid. “These guys will warn me if anyone is sneaking up on us. Besides, the desert had been my home my entire life.”

  “If we don’t return—”

  “I head back to the House of Rone, and ask the House of Galen to send reinforcements.”

  Magnus nodded. Turning to the mine entrance, they left Duna and the sunshine behind, heading into the darkness.

  Jax handed out small lights that the cyborgs clipped onto their harnesses. They all had excellent night vision, but Quinn didn’t. The small beams speared into the gloom, highlighting the rock walls. As they walked, the walls shimmered with glimmers of sparkling mineral veins.

  They continued on, and the air became more humid. The ramp descended at a reasonable angle. In places, smaller tunnels branched out, disappearing into darkness.

  Suddenly, Magnus held up a hand. The tunnel was bisected by a huge chasm. Magnus peered over the side.

  “Isn’t far to the bottom. It appears there was some sort of ladder here in the past, but it’s rusted away.” Then, without another word, Magnus jumped into the hole.

  Jax heard Quinn gasp.

  “God, it freaks me out when you guys jump off things.”

  A second later, Magnus’s deep voice drifted up. “It’s safe.”

  Quinn shook her head. “He’s lucky he didn’t impale himself on something.”

  One by one, the other cyborgs all leaped into the darkness. Jax wrapped an arm around Quinn and she threw her arms around his neck.

  “Okay, I’m ready.” She didn’t sound very pleased.

  He squeezed her hip, then jumped.

  He heard her breath catch. They dropped, and a moment later, landed at the bottom with a small bend of his knees.

  “That was so cool!” Her voice lowered, her lips brushing his ear. “I get so turned on when you do super-cool cyborg things.”

  He shook his head. “Now’s not the time to get me aroused.”

  Her grin was white in the darkness and Jax felt warmth in his chest. He’d spend every day trying to make her smile.

  The bottom of the chasm was ringed by the entrances to lots of tunnels. Jax saw the glow of Magnus’ cybernetic eye. He was likely running scans.

  “That way.” Magnus nodded his head at one tunnel.

  They headed into the passageway. Jax saw no indication that anyone lived down here. If this was Gaarl’s hideout, he hid it well.

  Jax hoped they were in the right place.

  Suddenly, a small, buzzing sound filled the tunnel. Everyone paused, and Jax strained to detect what wa
s generating the noise.

  The buzzing got louder.

  Magnus pulled his sword out of its scabbard. “Be prepared.”

  A cloud of small flying insects came around the corner of the tunnel, glinting in the light. They dipped and weaved as a group. As they neared, Jax realized they weren’t insects, they were tiny, flying robots.

  The insects hit their group like a wave. Jax felt biting pinches on his cheek and chest. He heard grunts from the other cyborgs and curses from Quinn.

  She waved her hands around, slapping at the tiny bots. “The damn things sting.”

  Beside them, Acton lifted his arms. A pulse of energy filled the air.

  The cloud of insects froze, then collapsed to the ground.

  Quinn’s eyes went wide. “That was neat. Thanks, Acton.”

  Acton inclined his head.

  Jax noticed a streak of blood on Quinn’s cheek, but she swiped it away herself, and crouched. She picked up one of the insects between her fingers.

  Jax frowned at it. It was crude engineering. Very simple, with parts held together by magnets.

  “Definitely Edull,” Quinn said.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Magnus ordered.

  Their group continued on, but now everyone had their senses and scanners wide open. Suddenly, there was a vibration in the floor. Magnus stepped back, just as a large, circular saw blade speared up through a small groove in the bottom of the tunnel. It sliced across the tunnel, and then back again.

  Magnus stared at it. “I believe Gaarl has set some booby-traps.”

  “Great,” Quinn muttered.

  Jax touched her arm. “Stay close.”

  Magnus curled his cybernetic hand into a fist, then he waited, watching the moving blade. He punched out, shattering the weapon.

  Coolly, the imperator stepped over the metal remnants and kept moving.

  “Badass,” Quinn murmured.

  They kept walking, and without warning, a large block of stone slammed down from the roof right beside Jax and Quinn. He rammed into her, knocking her out of the way.

  “Thanks,” she said breathlessly.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Projectiles whizzed out from holes on the side of the wall.