Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  They discovered how much they enjoyed working together on their now complete Twin Souls Trilogy, and plotted out a lot of their new series, Dragon Soul, over Chinese food. They look forward to many more books (and more Chinese food!) in the future.

  Read More from Arizona Tape & Laura Greenwood

  www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/p/arizona-laura.html

  RACING HEARTS

  KIERSTEN FAY

  Racing Hearts copyright 2017 Kiersten Fay

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  RACING HEARTS

  An unexpected reunion leads to a second chance at love.

  Vin Highgard is shocked to find the former love of his life, luggage in hand, ready to board his ship, preparing for the infamous and universal racing competition, Phase Nine. He never imagined ever getting the chance to see her again, not after the terrible way they'd parted ways. Yet here she is. Can he mend her shattered heart and win her back?

  Priya Galian’s dream of running Phase Nine is nearly at hand. With a mysterious invitation to join a crew captained by her trusted friend, Aidan, Priya has quit her job and risked the long trek across space to seize the opportunity of a lifetime—only to come face-to-face with the man who, years ago, had so carelessly destroyed her heart.

  Now she must decide if the tattered appendage behind her ribs can withstand the perilous journey alongside Vin Highgard, or if she must once again walk away from everything she has ever longed for.

  * * *

  This short story gives a glimpse into the world of Kiersten Fay’s Shadow Quest series; a steamy paranormal & sci-fi romance series of full length novels available now.

  ONE

  PRIYA GALION RELEASED a long pent up sigh, descended the landing bay ramp, and then planted her boot on to the solid metal platform of the dreary spaceport. The metallic tinge of musty, recycled air flooded her lungs, along with the familiar cloying scent of rust and sweat.

  Excitement danced in her chest.

  Her journey had finally come to an end.

  Now the real fun begins.

  Gripping her luggage handle in one fist, she thanked the transport ship’s steward before striding forward in search of her next destination.

  As she wound through a crowd of roughnecks, she noticed a pattern of conspicuous stains on the dark-green bulkhead to her left, probably from a recent brawl. A good one by the looks of it.

  The domed quartz glass ceiling provided a murky view of space. She squinted past the thick film of grime to see another ship pulling in where hers had just departed. A few more ships were lined up behind it, waiting to unload passengers. Were they all as intoxicated with anticipation as she was?

  A stranger’s masculine voice sounded from behind. “Do you need a guide, sweetie?”

  She rolled her eyes and turned around, keeping her right side angled away from him out of habit. Usually, that was the side she wore her pulsar gun, but according to the rules of this particular establishment, she was not allowed to keep a weapon on her immediate person. She could, however, stow it in her bag for easy access.

  In place of her customary security work belt she’d tied a stylish strip of fabric over her brown tunic dress with burgundy stripes that matched her hair.

  The man lowered his eyes to her bare legs and black knee-high boots with obvious interest. His features weren’t terrible, but he wouldn’t win any beauty contests. His nose had clearly been broken more than once. His dark hair was a mess. And when he peered back up at her face, he grinned, revealing a full set of crooked teeth. Oh, and two in the back were missing. Lovely. His gruff type were typical here in these far-away space ports.

  Schooling her features, she replied, “I’m looking for a ship—”

  “I got a ship for you,” he interrupted with innuendo buried in the layers of his voice.

  An entourage of rough and tumble onlookers chortled. With their matching stained uniforms and equally unkempt hair, they had the appearance of everyday grunt workers.

  “A tiny one, no doubt,” she countered and then smirked when the hard lines of his mouth fell into a petulant frown.

  His friends, however, thought her response was hilarious. They guffawed boisterously. One slapped him on the back—the most masculine way to comfort another male while laughing at his expense. These weren’t bad men, just products of a hard life and a serious lack of civilized influence. Not that she was any better. She’d practically been raised in places like this.

  “The craft I seek is about to be entered in Phase Nine,” she told them. “I’ve been petitioned to join the crew.”

  The laughter cut off and a round of brows shot up. Their surprise was natural, not because she was a woman entering the most dangerous competition in the known universe. No. Even the most hardened of men would have received incredulous looks. Many who enter Phase Nine didn’t live through to the end. The race had few hard-set rules and spanned vast distances of space. Sabotage and murder, though frowned up on, was unfortunately par for the course. A ship without a good crew and heavy defenses wouldn’t be expected to last long at all.

  Ah, but she wasn’t joining just any crew. She would be captained by a man who had not only run the race before, but had won it. And she fully intended to be with him when he did it again.

  Silently eyeing her with new respect, two of the men pointed toward a corridor while the others continued to gape. Instant celebrity. Throughout the course of the race, her name and the names of her crewmates would become infamous for a time.

  She nodded in thanks and headed toward the direction they’d indicated.

  After a few steps, the first man called out, “Pray, tell me your name, beautiful lady, so I can cheer for you.”

  Blowing them a kiss, she replied with a wave of her hand, “You’ll just have to watch the show, Sugar.” It was the thing people loved most about Phase Nine. Strategically placed cameras would provide entertainment to over thirty planets and countless space cities. Every fifty years, the race became a universal obsession. Some of the most dedicated fans quit their jobs just to watch the twenty-four hour feed. Already there were screens mounted, scanning the docking bay where a variety of ships were lined up, their crews waiting to register. That was where she needed to be. That was where she’d find her captain.

  The wide passageway was crowded with individuals trying to get through, and she had to push her way into the crowd. After getting knocked around by a few careless shoulders, she found herself in a massive shuttle bay where vendors offered supplies to the slew of stationed ships. She counted fifteen. Soon there would be hundreds.

  The high ceilings permitted them to be flown in and out.

  The pungent odor of oil seeped into her nostrils, and memories of her old life swirled through her mind. Many of the ships were in a state of disarray as workers rushed to make them ready for the long flight to come.

  To her right, eager-faced people lined up at a registration booth. Anyone had the privilege to enter and nearly every known planet encouraged participation. It was the few activates that brought both the allied and disjointed sects together. In some cases, the race helped warring nations come to terms, as even a ship that comes in fourth or fifth or even tenth is impressive and likely
technically advanced. That, or the crew is viewed as highly skilled in both combat and tactical strategy. Either way, one might want to think twice before getting into a scuffle with their people.

  A lift vehicle rumbled by, shaking the ground at her feet and honking for folks to make a path. Over the chaos, she spotted the appreciable, dark-brown hair of her captain, Aidan. It had been cut short since she’d last seen him. He stood with a small group of men next the open hatch of a small but sturdy looking ship. She assumed the craft would be her new home for the duration of the race.

  She could hardly contain her glee as she crossed the great room. A few months ago, Aidan had surprised her by showing up at Uli Rings, where, until recently, she’d had a nice, cushy job as head of security. The massive space city was a popular tourist destination, made up of three giant rings that spun to simulate gravity. When she’d seen him, she’d hoped to take him out for a drink and catch up, maybe offer him a job, but he hadn’t had the time. Too busy with some kind of urgent matter regarding a race of people she’d never heard of before.

  Then a few weeks ago she’d received a transmission from Aidan to get her ass to the North Star spaceport and prepare for Phase Nine.

  She’d sat back in her expensive office chair, surrounded by state-of-the-art surveillance equipment, stunned to the core. An hour later she was shoving clothes into a large duffel bag with the tags still attached. No way was she missing this opportunity, not even if she was due for a promotion.

  When Aidan caught sight of her, he rushed forward to clasp her in a bone-crushing hug. His massive arms held her up as though she were light as a pea. “Priya! Thanks for coming.”

  As her feet met the ground again, she couldn’t help but tease, “You know, I received three more offers, besides yours. Pretty good ones too.” She was already pretty infamous as a ship gunner. The other offers were from lesser captains than Aidan, and she didn’t expect any of them to complete phase one of the race, let alone finish.

  “Aw, and you chose me above all others? Aidan replied with a smirk and offered to take her heavy bag. “I’m flattered.”

  Glad to be rid of its weight, she handed it over. “Don’t be. I was considering not coming at all.” Although it was true that she wouldn’t have answered any other call but his, or have traveled so far just to risk her life, she was shocked to hear who Aidan was racing for. “Tell me,” she said. “Why in the name of the gods are you entering Phase Nine under the banner of the Legura Dragon Clan? Since when does your clan mingle with theirs?” It had been the one thing to give her pause. Though Aidan’s people and the Legura share a solar system, they were from different planets, and their cultures were quite different. Never mind they all shifted into dragons.

  “It’s a long story,” he replied, looking frustrated. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  At his back, three men stood patiently observing them, only one of which was a stranger to Priya. With a smile, she approached Asher and Zeek. Seeing them brought her back to a time when she was truly happy—way back when they had all worked together as mercenaries on a POS, rust bucket of a ship. Only one other face was missing from this reunion. And for that she was grateful. She knew if she saw him, her joy would turn sour.

  She greeted her old crewmates with big, squeezing hugs. In turn, they messed her hair with a rough, playful palm, effectively ruining the sleek braid she’d spent all morning on.

  She slapped their hands away with irritation and undid the tie to fluff out her now-wild locks. “In some corners of space, people get shot for that,” she chastised.

  Zeek and Asher only laughed.

  “You two haven’t changed at all,” she grumbled.

  “Have too,” Zeek protested. “Check this out.” He lifted his sleeve to reveal dark swirling ink against his otherwise tan skin. The tattoo was outlined in red as if it were still healing. It was the image of a buxom, black-haired lady looking over her shoulder, hand covering her mouth as her obscenely short skirt rode up to offer a peek of white panties.

  “Classy, Zeek.”

  He gave her a boyish grin that was accentuated by his short blond hair and stormy blue eyes.

  Turning to Asher, she asked, “How about you, Ash? Any tattoos?”

  She knew better. Ash’s skin was as tough as metal, with the hint of a metallic sheen. Most needles couldn’t penetrate it. His pewter, chin length hair was tough as well. As a game, he used to pluck a strand and challenge them all to try and rip it apart with their bare hands. No one had ever succeeded, but they continued to try anyway.

  Asher’s hypnotic silver eyes pinned her with a dubious expression. “No tattoos, Priya. How about you?” He wiggled his brows suggestively.

  “None that you’re ever going to get to see.”

  Typical masculine curiosity covered both their faces. She couldn’t prevent her impish grin. The third unknown man cleared his throat, drawing her attention. She gasped, recognition dawning. Legura royalty?

  Aidan introduced him. “This is Prince Lear of the Legura Clan. He’ll be joining us.”

  Lear bowed respectfully. A black strand of his hair fell over his face as he cooed, “My lady.” Seeing her jaw locked in surprise, he added, “Now doona be intimidated by my rugged good looks.” His accent was thick and sounded nothing like Aidan’s.

  She scoffed and crossed her arms. “Have you ever worked on a ship, kingy?” She recalled learning from Aidan that the Dragons had been one of the first known races to enter space and colonize other planets. Many of the common languages had branched off of theirs, and they had connections or treaties with nearly every amiable planet.

  Lear cocked his head and said confidently, “I am no’ without skill. And I’m no king.”

  That was obvious by the way he stood. He held himself more like a warrior than royalty.

  She faced Aidan. “Is this the whole crew then?”

  Aidan took on a guilty expression and averted his gaze. A deep sense of foreboding dug a pit in her stomach. She’d seen that look before. He was hiding something. Something big.

  Scrubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he tripped over his words. “Uh…well…about that—”

  From within ship’s hatch, a deep voice cut in, “The craft is tight, Aidan, but needs some work.”

  The sound of that deep, rough voice stabbed straight through her ribcage, and she shrank back under a wave of nausea. She unconsciously brought her hand over her chest as if that would save her the pain of seeing him again.

  Vin emerged from the hatch, wiping grease from his hands with a dirty cloth. His grey tank top was equally stained, but no matter how torn up his clothing got, it never distracted from his awe-inspiring, muscle-head physique. He was built like a machine—a machine designed for two things: Fucking like a god, and destroying hearts. Oh, and he knew his way around an engine block, but mostly the destroying hearts thing.

  Even though she knew it was wrong, her eyes took a seductive trip up his body, taking in the corded muscles of his arms and the six-pack that was outlined by his tight tank top. She tried to avoid the crotch area, but come one, she’d once had a very deep and personal love affair with that thick, fat—

  She forced her spine straight, and whipped her thoughts into shape.

  The moment Vin noticed her, he froze mid-step, mouth agape. His arms dropped to his sides. He seemed to deflate right in front of her.

  She ignored the pang in her chest.

  “Oh, hell no.” Priya snatched her bag from Aidan and stalked away. She didn’t quite know where she meant to go. Anywhere but here would do. She wondered if she could get her job back, though knew her position would already have been filled by now.

  “Wait.” Aidan grabbed her by the arm. “I won’t stop you if you really want to go, but take a day or two to think about it. The entry deadline is in three days. I want you both on my team.”

  She ripped her arm free and snapped, “You should have told me he was here.” Her knuckles began to sting from clenching
her bag, and she forced her hand to relax.

  “I wasn’t sure if either of you would show,” he explained, looking sincere. “But if I had mentioned he might join us, would you have come?”

  “No,” she said honestly and without hesitation. She would have kept as far from Phase Nine as she could manage. Not even watching feed to root for her friends. She would have cosigned herself to purgatory before stepping foot in the same room with Vin again.

  Aidan remained silent for a moment, then spoke softly. “I’ve rented you a room. Promise me you’ll stay the night at least and sleep on it.”

  She ground her teeth and tightened her fist. How could Aidan ask this of her? She and Vin couldn’t possibly work efficiently together. Not aver everything that had gone down. This could end up being detrimental to the entire group. How could Aidan not get that?

  Would it be possible for her to put away her past, the heartbreak, lock it up in a tight little box and work with Vin? She could refuse Aidan’s offer, she reasoned. She could walk away right now and not look back. But that would be an impulsive move. And Aidan deserved better. He’d asked her to give it some thought. Out of respect, she would do just that. It was the least she could do.

  And the least Aidan could do was provide free room and board for her trouble.

  Without facing him, she slowly nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

  From behind, came Vin’s low and—damn it—sexy-as-ever voice. “Priya, can we talk?”

  “Screw off, Vin. You’re good at that.” Quick strides led her back the way she came.

  “Run away, then!” he retorted. “You’re good at that!”

  TWO