by KD Jones
Zara by KD Jones
Zara
Galactic Cage Fighters
Book Four
by KD Jones
© Copyright October 2013 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN#9781301728756
All cover art and logo © Copyright October 2013 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Edited by ML Hill
Artwork by JK Publishing, Inc.
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
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Dedication
I want to acknowledge Rochelle, Jessica, and Bryce—three amazing women who inspire and encourage me to go for my dreams. And the most important thanks goes to my fans, without your support I would be nowhere. Thanks so much for your loyalty.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Highlight
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Books by KD Jones
Excerpt from Katieran Prime
Excerpt from Rage
Highlight
They call her—Zara the Amazon. She has been a fighter from birth, a fighter growing up, and a fighter with a life's mission, so it made sense for her to fight for a living. The Galactic Cage Fighter Association is the ideal venue. She is paid to do something she enjoys, which is fighting and kicking ass. At the same time, it takes her all over the different regions where she can continue her search for the prize possession that had been taken from her years ago.
Special Agent Trig Roberts agrees to help the female fighter with her search. It is part of his job and he is the best at what he does. He travels with the GCFA while doing his investigation and finds himself frustrated when the beautiful leggy woman wants to be an active participant. He normally doesn’t allow the inexperienced to get involved, but he has a hard time turning her down. As they spend more time together, he realizes there is more to the woman than she allows the world to see. He finds himself not only wanting to know more—but everything.
As Trig and Zara proceed with their investigation, they uncover an illegal activity that could blow the roof off the governments. There are dangerous people who want to keep things under wrap and are willing to take the drastic measures to ensure their dirty secrets—stay secrets.
Will Trig and Zara find what they are looking for? How long will they continue to fight their growing attraction for one another? And when all is said and done, will they survive the dangers thrown their way?
Prologue
“Get back up you little runt!” A big bald man yelled from outside the cage.
The little girl with a dark braid pulled herself back up to her feet. She wiped the blood from her nose. Her ribs hurt real bad. She may have broken one. Her breathing was off too. She looked at the man who owned her. He wasn’t her father, though he told people outside of the ‘club’ that he was. No, he was her owner or as he like to call himself, her handler. He was a scumbag, all the handlers were. He made it clear to her when she came to him three years ago that she had to work the fights he set up for her if she planned to eat. She had to lose when he said to lose—win when he said to win. However, it could never be made to look easy. All the kids in the ‘club’ were expected to put on a good show.
“Come on…we have to do this,” a boy about her age whispered to her as he waited for her to get ready.
He was the one she was fighting this time. Neither of them wanted to be doing this, but they didn’t have a choice. Both their handlers had threatened extreme punishment if either of them ended the fight too soon. The paying crowd wanted to see pain and blood if possible. They weren’t allowed to maim or kill, but it didn’t mean that accidents didn't occur.
“Kick him in the balls!” yelled out a man from the crowd.
Her opponent cringed and maneuvered his body so she couldn't do that. She wouldn’t have, it wasn’t sportsmanlike. It didn’t mean her opponent wouldn’t do something just as bad to her. Especially if he listened to what the crowds were yelling for him to do. These people were sick and twisted.
The kid fighters were expected to put on a good show and not to damage one another—too badly. It happened sometimes. The kids ‘recruited’ for the unsanctioned fights were pretty much desperate to do anything to survive. Their handlers tried to keep them in check so there were few fatalities. But every now and then, there would be a few who were either desperate and didn’t pull back when needed or they began to enjoy causing the most pain.
She ducked the punch that came her way and swung her leg out, knocking the boy to the ground. She acted quickly and punched him in the face just enough to cause blood to gush a bit and keep him down for the count.
&
nbsp; The boy’s handler was livid. “What the hell!”
Chapter One
If there was a Hell, Zara was in it. It was a pink and purple ribbon, helium balloon filled, surrounded by cartoon animal figurines, and a white puffy cloud version of Hell. The only thing that made this even bearable was that Rachel hated it just as much as she did. Zara smiled as the blond human female cringed at the sudden cackles of glee by the other females present.
“Ohhh...this is so cute!” a woman called out as she held up a small baby outfit.
“I love the little penguins on it!” another woman called out.
Penguins? Oh, fuck no! Zara inched her way toward the door. Hopefully none of these vultures would notice if she simply slipped out the door.
“Oh no you don’t! Zara, you get your ass back here! They haven’t gotten to yours yet.”
Zara closed her eyes and prayed to whatever God was listening to help her get through this. Why had she let Taurus’s woman, Maya, talk her into coming to this thing? Not only to come, she had to help arrange this shindig, and now she was expected to participate in it.
This was not what she had in mind. All she had intended to do was donate money to get the two pregnant women, Talon’s wife, Lindy and Joanne, one of the ring girls, things for their babies. Unfortunately, Maya wouldn’t let her get away with that.
Maya came over to her and pulled her arm. “Come on. Lindy is about to open the present you got her.”
Zara was nervous. Maya made her pick out the present on her own when they went shopping, but she swore Lindy would like it. Zara wasn’t as in touch with her feminine side. Who would expect her to be since she was the current GCFA Female Champion—undefeated.
Maya made her stand right beside the sofa where the very pregnant Lindy sat. Zara shuffled her feet a little. She looked at all the other baby gifts Lindy and Joanne had received. There were baby clothes, diapers, bottles, and even something strange called breast pumps. What the hell were those used for anyway? All of those items had been on the gift registry, but Zara got something that wasn’t on there. She was worried her gift would be a flop.
“If you don’t like it, you can take it back. I left the gift receipt inside,” Zara said quickly to Lindy before the woman had even opened the pale yellow, neatly wrapped gift box.
Lindy slowly pulled the ends of the wrapping paper apart, careful not to tear it. The other women leaned forward to see what the gift was. Even Rachel moved closer to get a better view.
“Oh my God.” Lindy lifted the item up out of the box. There was a moment of silence as everyone viewed the gift. “A digital family tree plaque. I don’t think I have seen anything so beautiful.” Lindy had tears in her eyes.
“I had it made special. Maya got the names, dates, and pictures from your mother and I snuck Talon’s albums from his suite for a day to make copies. The technician who put it together said it can be added to and changed easily.”
“That’s cool,” Rachel commented as she actually leaned close enough to look at the thing.
“It is. Look at the beautiful designs on the plaque, they’re little wings.” Lindy traced the patterns with her fingertips.
Zara blushed when everyone looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and tried to play things off. It took forever for her to decide on a gift for Talon and Lindy’s baby. But this plaque had caught her eye. It was something she wished she could give her own daughter, if she was there. But it would have been almost impossible anyway. Zara’s heritage had been created in a lab. She had no clue about Angel’s father. Only that he had been a full Beastial. Truth was she hadn’t known who the father was for sure, until her baby had been born.
Lindy placed the plaque down on the sofa next to her and scooted to the edge of the sofa to stand. It was a struggle for her to maneuver herself up because of her large protruding belly. She turned and gave the much taller woman a hug.
“Thank you, Zara. It is a lovely gift.” Then she burst into tears.
Oh fuck! She made the pregnant woman cry. She patted the dark haired beauty on the shoulder. It was awkward for her. “There, there.” Were all humans this way when they were pregnant? She didn’t know and she had nothing to compare it with.
Zara’s own conception and pregnancy were foggy. She was kept sedated for a good deal of the time until they knew for sure she was pregnant. It wasn’t until she felt the baby moving inside of her that it became real for her. She had found an unexpected joy. She loved her baby and looked forward to the day she could hold her child in her arms. That day didn’t last long, only two years. Then her innocent child was ripped from her arms. She could still hear her Angel calling for her as she was taken away. Mama! Mama!
She needed to get out of here before she started crying too. “Well, I have to go.”
“Oh, I’ll come with you. I have to stop by the bar and see Rage,” Rachel said.
Rachel Kegan, former Special Agent of the Intergalactic Department of Justice, was now heading up the Galactic Cage Fighters' Association security. She was the girlfriend of Rage the Animal, GCFA's male Champion.
“Tell Talon the baby shower is winding down and it’s safe for him to come back up,” Lindy said with a smile.
All the males had hidden out in the ship’s bar until the shower was over. Zara wished she had gone there instead. She wasn’t used to all these women with hormonal emotions. She could tell Rachel was feeling the same way.
“Okay.” Zara and Rachel said their quick goodbyes and headed out of the suite.
*****
She walked alongside of the small human female. Her docile appearance was a facade though. Rachel was a tough human. At one time Rachel had posed as a fighter in order to do an investigation for the IDJ. Rachel Starr had been her fighting name. Zara snorted. She had sounded like a stripper or something. She kinda looked like one too.
“What are you laughing at?” Rachel asked her carefully.
“Just remembering the good ole days. Don’t you miss getting in the cage, Rachel Starr?” Zara asked her when they got into the elevator. She emphasized the fighting name that Rachel hated. She was rewarded when Rachel cringed.
Rachel looked at the Amazon with a quirked blond eyebrow. “Why are you asking? You want to partner up with me again or something?”
Zara laughed. “You wish, little human. I don’t want to see Rage get all pissy just because you have a little boo boo.”
Rachel smiled in agreement. “He freaks out every time one of the GCFA members asks if I would fill in with a fight. He told them that I might be carrying his child and no way would he allow me or the possible child to be endangered.”
Zara looked at her in surprise. “You are pregnant too?”
Rachel snorted. “No, not yet. He just told them that so they would stop asking me. It worked. I think he wants one though…a baby.”
“You don’t want one?”
Rachel shrugged. “After we've had more time as a couple, then I would consider it. I have seen too much in my line of work to rush into something like that.” She desperately wanted to change the subject. She had this fear she might not be able to get pregnant and she didn’t want anyone to know that.
“Trig’s going to be traveling on board the ship for a couple of weeks,” Rachel said, trying to gage Zara’s reaction. Zara and Trig were being very hush-hush about his real reason for being on board the ship. But Rachel hadn’t been a top SA for nothing. She had figured some of it on her own.
Zara shrugged her shoulders. “Another human on board. Great.”
Rachel wanted to say something else but the elevator doors finally opened and Zara walked past her without saying anything else. That was one prickly woman. Trig better watch himself.
The bar was located on the second level. As they neared the entrance, Zara shuddered at the crowd. She suddenly felt like a towering giant compared to the petite Rachel.
Zara usually didn’t mind being tall and muscular. It gave her an advantage over everyone else. She wasn’
t interested in males but if she did get the need to date someone, it was usually a male halfsie. The full species were attracted to her, but she found them to be too aggressive and possessive. They also never wanted her for any length of time. She looked at Rachel with a little bit of envy because of the relationship she was in.
Rachel was a strong human female and she had Rage the Animal eating out of the palm of her hand. The male would do anything for her. It wasn’t that she wanted Rage for herself, despite the fact they did have a history together. No, what she envied was the emotion they felt toward one another. The love. It was obvious for anyone to see. Sometimes it got uncomfortable when the two of them were in the same room. The heat they generated was palpable. No man had every looked at her the way Rage did with Rachel. Man, she needed a drink badly.
The ship’s bar was busy tonight. They had just left one of the spaceports and were heading to where the next GCFA event was taking place. Most of those on the GCFA ship were fighters, GCFA employees, or VIPs. She walked in and immediately wished she had changed before coming.
Every man in the bar turned to look at her. Zara was wearing a one-piece pale blue silk halter-top and pants suit combination. It was so different from her leathers or jeans, which was her typical wear in between her fight outfits. Her hair was pulled up and piled on top of her head. It looked a little messy to her but Maya assured her it was a sexy look. Maya had also picked out the outfit for the baby shower, telling her it was more appropriate attire. She ignored the looks and made her way to the bar.
Rachel got quite a few looks herself. However, Rage’s growling had the men, and some women, turning to look in other directions. He was pretty scary when it came to protecting his female.
