Ruthless

by Kate Rudolph

  “If you were under my command...” He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, grimacing. “Thank God you aren’t under my command.”

  “This isn’t the only reason it’s a good thing you’re not my commander,” Sierra couldn’t help but say with a smile. “So can you help us?” Despite their differences, she had never doubted that her father would be there for her. But this was different than anything else, far more risky, and if it went wrong his reputation would be ruined and he could easily be sent to prison. Or worse.

  But her father didn’t hesitate. “Do you really think that I didn’t start looking into this the second you called last time?”

  Sierra grinned. “I think it’s your fault that I’m as curious as I am.”

  He glared, but it didn’t have any heat. “Don’t blame me for your career path.”

  Sierra rolled her eyes, and for the first time his comments on her career felt more like teasing than censure. “I’m good at my job. Hopefully they realize it and give it back to me.” Then again, if Earth were destroyed it would be a little difficult to work for the Sol Intelligence Agency.

  “You did the right thing,” her father shocked her by saying. If she weren’t already sitting on the stool, she would’ve had to brace herself against the counter to keep from falling over. But rather than descend into a tearful hug of acceptance, her father straightened and placed his glass in the sink. “The ambassador left Gamma Station not long after placing his complaint about your friends. However, he didn’t return to Earth. He filed a travel plan that stated his intention to venture out to Mars. But I called a friend on that station, and the ambassador has yet to show. He’s in the wind.”

  Sierra had feared that would happen, but her father’s words confirmed that asking for his help had been the right call. “We need to find Yormas before he can do anything to destroy the planet.”

  “We will,” her father promised. And for the first time in a long time they were on the same page.

  THE MORNING HAD BEGUN with lingering kisses and smiles. Iris’s body was still sore in all the right places, and she could feel the imprint of Toran’s fingers against her skin, even if he was no longer in her home. They had planned to spend the day together, but when his men called with more questions about their time on Gamma Station, she’d sent her mate away. Spending the day in bed was a fantasy that would have to wait until the immediate danger was out of the way.

  She wouldn’t begrudge Toran his duty, and she would expect him to give her the same respect. That was how healthy relationships worked, or so she heard. And she was determined to make this thing between them last forever.

  But after Toran took off, the bed felt cold and her plan to sleep in suddenly didn’t sound so smart. She forced herself out of bed with a groan and took a look around the house. Dust had settled on the tables and shelves, and the time away at Gamma Station had given the entire place a slightly abandoned feel. Nothing a little cleaning couldn’t fix.

  Iris put on her raggedy clothes and got to work. Before she knew it, an hour had gone by, and she had only thought of checking in on Toran a half a dozen times. It was like she could feel him burrowed in her chest. She placed a hand just a bit under her heart and rubbed the tender skin there. Was this the denya bond? If she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could feel it tug her in the direction of his quarters. If she followed it, she would find him there.

  Comfort and warmth pulsed through her and Iris couldn’t help but smile. She concentrated, thinking hard about what it felt like to be held safely in Toran’s arms, and then she sent the thought away, trailing down the bond towards her mate.

  Her communicator rang and Iris’s head snapped towards the view screen. She ran her fingers through her hair and pushed herself up from where she’d been kneeling on the floor. A quick glance around showed that the room behind her was perfectly clean, which made her relieved when she saw that the call was coming from Selma. Iris took a deep breath, suddenly fearful of what her boss would have to say.

  She engaged the call and kept her expression calm, greeting the older woman with a smile.

  Selma didn’t return the expression, and Iris’s heart sank. She supposed that was answer enough for where this discussion would be going. And while she was disappointed, she wasn’t crushed, not like she would’ve been before Toran, before the adventures of the last few weeks.

  “I see you’re keeping busy,” said Selma with a nod to the cleaning products sitting on the table behind Iris.

  “I had the time on my hands,” Iris replied.

  “This call is a courtesy,” Selma warned. “I wanted you to know that the investigation into the Detyens has concluded. Your initial findings were very helpful, and I’m sure you’ll soon hear from them that we’ve determined that they posed no threat to the planet.”

  “That is good to hear.” Iris had hoped that any suspicion that her actions had raised wouldn’t reflect poorly on her mate, and she was glad to hear that it hadn’t.

  “That’s not the reason I’m calling,” Selma continued.

  Iris nodded. “I figured.”

  “You, too, have been cleared of all wrongdoing. You were one of my favorites, Iris.” Selma shook her head sadly. “But your contract with the SDA has been terminated. We thank you for the work that you’ve done for us, but we will no longer need your services.”

  That was what Iris had expected, and a strange sense of freedom suffused her. She had loved her job, had loved that it allowed her to protect her planet in her own little way. But it was time to move on from that, and she was capable of greater things. “Thank you for telling me yourself,” she finally said. “I learned a lot from you.”

  “Is it worth it?” Selma surprised her by asking.

  Iris couldn’t help but smile. “It is.” There was nothing more to say and they disengaged the call. Iris thought about getting in touch with Toran and letting him know what had happened, but he would be coming back soon enough and she didn’t need to interrupt him about something like this. As soon as she told him about how she’d gotten out of detainment, they’d both known that she likely wouldn’t keep her job.

  Instead, she glanced at her food processor as her stomach rumbled, but there was nothing listed in her available ingredients that sounded appetizing. Iris changed her clothes and was out the door in a matter of minutes, walking down the street towards one of her favorite little cafés and soaking up the bright sun.

  An unfortunately familiar light head of hair caught her eye, and Iris ducked into a small alleyway before Dan could see her. What was he doing here? She’d made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him, and she doubted his presence by her house was a coincidence. Should she hang back to make sure that he didn’t break in again? Or was it wiser to stay outside, so he didn’t know where she was?

  A vehicle pulled to a stop at the end of the alley and unease raced down Iris’s spine. Had Dan planned something? Did he have accomplices? No one was getting out of the vehicle, and she glanced down the alley, contemplating making a run for it. But a high fence at the other end cut off her exit.

  She was being paranoid. Vehicles stopped all the time, and she had no reason to think that Dan was about to kidnap her or something. He was a sleazebag, and a little violent, but not like that. Iris took a deep breath and started walking towards the car. Once she was back on the main street, she would be able to breathe easier. And if Dan was out there and he saw her, she would live. She could handle another encounter with him. She just didn’t want to.

  But as she got closer to the vehicle, she noticed the darkly tinted windows, and her unease iced into fear. Someone could force her into that vehicle and no one would see her struggle. No, she mentally shook her head, she was just being paranoid.

  When she could practically reach out and touch one of the windows, the door flashed open and a tall man with purple skin and a sinister smile stepped out. Varrow.

  She never thought she would’ve wished for Dan.


  Iris tried to run, but a second Oscavian stepped behind her and placed something against her neck, and between one breath and the next she was out cold.

  Chapter Nineteen

  SOMETHING FELT OFF all morning, but Toran convinced himself that it had to do with the newly minted denya bond. His body needed time to adjust to the connection that now thrummed between him and Iris, and it wasn’t strange to feel a mild sense of discomfort. He kept repeating that reasoning to himself, and if Raze were there, he probably would have asked him to confirm that Toran’s feelings were right.

  But only Kayde and Dryce were at this meeting and neither would be any help, for completely different reasons.

  As lunchtime rolled around, Toran finally gave in to the anxiety and tried to give Iris a call. When she didn’t answer, the unease deepened into something stronger. He called again and there was still no answer. While it was possible that she was sleeping or in the bathroom or simply didn’t hear the chime of the communicator, he couldn’t make his nerves believe that. So Toran called the meeting to a close and promised his men that he would get in touch later. Neither questioned why he was leaving so soon, and when Dryce didn’t make a joke about Toran sneaking off to join his mate, Toran realized that the younger man had picked up on Toran’s unease.

  Kayde said nothing, but that was expected. Toran was grateful for it. Before the journey to Fenryr 1, Kayde had shown some signs of instability, but despite all of the changes and uncertainty of the last several weeks, the soulless Detyen seem to be holding steady.

  Traffic was dense on the drive back to Iris’s house, and Toran grit his teeth the entire time, tempted to run over some of the smaller vehicles that wouldn’t get out of his way. It was only a little after noon when he parked his vehicle, and as he approached the front door something still felt off.

  Toran entered the silent house and immediately knew that Iris wasn’t there. The door slammed shut behind him, but he barely heard it. Nothing was out of place, in fact the entire dwelling gleamed with cleaning polish and hard work. He hadn’t noticed that it was particularly messy the night before, but Iris had clearly used her time to make the place immaculate. He didn’t want to consider that someone might have come in, harmed his mate, and then cleaned the place to destroy the evidence.

  He walked through each of the rooms, trying to convince himself that everything was okay. Iris hadn’t mentioned the need to leave, but this was her neighborhood and she knew it well. She wouldn’t feel in any danger if she needed to head to the store or one of the restaurants down the way. There was no note, but if she had no reason to expect him back this early then she might not have left one.

  Toran checked his communicator again and saw no messages from Iris or from anyone else. He tried to give her another call, but she didn’t answer. Where was she?

  He paced back and forth in the living room, balling his hands into fists and clenching his jaw to keep from screaming in frustration. He had not just claimed her only to lose her immediately, he had to find her and make sure that she was okay. He looked back at his communicator and tapped his finger against the screen idly, contemplating whether or not he should call in the cavalry. His team, along with Sierra and Quinn, would come running the moment he called. Sierra had plenty of friends in the city, including Mindy and Jo, her partners for the mission to Fenryr 1, and he could have a huge search party at his beck and call in less than an hour.

  But if this was just nerves, if he was overreacting, he’d never hear the end of it. It wasn’t just his pride that had him putting his communicator back in his pocket. He and his team were in the middle of a crisis, and they had to trust his judgment.

  Which meant he had to give it a little while and try to find Iris himself before he called for any help. She was fine, he told himself again, she had to be.

  He took a steadying breath and headed for the door. He’d look in the shops down the street and in the restaurants, and if he didn’t find her there he would ask around. And if he didn’t find her then, he’d call his friends. But when he opened the door, a scrawny male figure was retreating at a quick pace, trying to dodge behind one of the plants in front of Iris’s house, as if the spindly branches would be enough to hide him.

  Toran was on the man in seconds, grabbing his arm and tackling him to the ground, his knee lodged firmly in the stranger’s back. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

  The man sputtered and then groaned. “Give her back, or I’ll call the police!”

  “Where’s Iris? Who are you?” His claws threatened to burst out of his skin, but Toran held himself in check. If his claws came out there was no telling what damage he would do to this guy, whoever he was.

  “I’m her boyfriend! And you alien shitheads can’t have her!”

  THE PAIN IN IRIS’S head was worse than the hangover she had the first and last night that she got ragingly drunk. Her mouth tasted of cotton and vomit and when she turned to her side she curled into a ball and couldn’t drag in a deep breath due the sharp pain in her ribs. Her mind was cloudy and she tried to think of how she’d gotten here. Hadn’t she just been going to get lunch? Where was Toran? Was he okay?

  She tried to sit, but it hurt too much and she couldn’t quiet the moan of pain that escaped from her lips.

  “You’re awake,” said a cold voice that she could almost recognize. He sounded a bit surprised.

  Iris tightened further into her ball, as if she could make herself small enough to disappear and escape from wherever she’d been taken. She cracked her eyes open and the bright light of the room nearly blinded her. She flinched and slammed her eyes shut again, but even the afterimages were enough to make her headache worse. What had she been given? How long had she been out? The only way to get answers to those questions would be to talk to the man behind her, but that seemed like a very bad idea. Whatever he wanted to do to her, it couldn’t be good.

  “Pretending to sleep will do you no good,” he warned. “I don’t need you to be awake for what I plan to do, but it’s just that much more fun.”

  A wave of dread washed over her, temporarily dispelling some of the pain in her head. She knew that voice. It wasn’t the ambassador, but his Oscavian friend, Varrow. She opened her eyes slowly this time and squinted against the light. After a moment, Iris forced herself to turn over to get a good look at the man and the room he was keeping her in. It was bigger than a cell, but not as big as her room at home. She was laying on the floor near one of the walls, but there was a gurney sitting in the middle of the room, with a tray beside it. Varrow stood next to the bed, sorting through instruments on the tray.

  Iris remembered that he had spoken of experiments performed on people. Was she about to be one of those victims? Or was this just recreational torture? She pondered that with an odd sort of detachment. She’d been ready to snap, given all of the trauma of the last few days, and she had been certain that when she did she would be reduced to a screaming, crying mess. But it hurt too much to cry right now, and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of the scream. Not if she could help it.

  “How did you find me?” Her voice came out a raspy whisper, her vocal cords practically shredded.

  Varrow paused and looked over his shoulder towards her. “Your address was listed in your personnel file, along with all of your communicator information. It wasn’t difficult to place a tracker.”

  “My personnel file?” SDA documents like that were highly protected, and if he had access to those, there was no telling what other information Varrow or his allies could obtain.

  “You shouldn’t sound so surprised. Any information written down or transmitted can be gathered. That’s basic intelligence knowledge. Then again, spy work isn’t your forte.” He turned back to his work on the tray, dismissing her like she wasn’t a threat.

  Iris wasn’t even tied up, and she hated that he was right. She struggled to a sitting position and had to stop, gasping for breath as another wave of pain washed over her. Moving slowly, m
ostly because she was trying to obscure her movements, she lifted the edge of her shirt and saw an ugly purple bruise blooming along her ribs. That would explain the pain and difficulty to breathe. But she hadn’t gotten that from whatever drug they’d given her.

  “You beat me?” She didn’t mean to ask it, but she was having trouble keeping control of her thoughts.

  Varrow’s shoulders lifted, as if he were huffing out a laugh. “My brother is the scientist in the family. I’ve spent plenty of time in his lab, and you wouldn’t believe the pain that he can extract from his subjects. But he has always needed the trappings. As for me, torture has always had its uses.”

  The blood in Iris’s veins ran cold and ice froze along her spine. Toran, where are you? She was thankful that he didn’t seem to be here, thankful he was out of Varrow’s grasp. But she didn’t know how she was going to get out of this one, and no matter what happened, it was going to hurt.

  TORAN’S HAND FLASHED out and gripped the back of the man’s neck, squeezing hard enough to make a pathetic sound escape his throat. Boyfriend? Not a chance. But with those ill-chosen words, Toran knew exactly who he was talking to. “You’re Dan, aren’t you? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t leave you bleeding?” The last bit came out a growl. He didn’t know everything that Dan had done to his mate, but he knew enough, and he was already on the edge of violence.

  “Wait!” cried Dan. “Wait! I didn’t hurt her, I swear it.” His arms shot out in front of him, palms flat against the short grass. He jerked under Toran, but didn’t try to escape. It was obvious to both of them that Toran wasn’t going to let him go.