by Anson Barber
He chuckled and looked over my shoulder. “Try behind you.”
“Dillon?” There it was, the voice I was running away from like a coward—again.
Corey put his hand to his ear theatrically. “What’s that? I think I hear Mr. Mitchell calling me. Coming, sir!” He pounded his fist lightly to my shoulder with a big grin. “Tell her.”
I turned to see Emery a few yards from me. Corey was still mumbling to himself as he left me alone with her. I took a breath.
I swallowed, trying to find some strength. “Hi.”
“You seem to have mastered that avoiding thing after all,” she said jokingly. She held up two bottles of beer and handed one to me. “I didn’t get to say thank you for saving my life.”
I took the beer, realizing I never really knew the real her. I didn’t even know she liked beer. I took a swig and tried to suppress a frown.
“So thank you, Dillon.”
“No problem.”
She smiled. “I’m sure that’s not true. I’ve been nothing but a problem since we met.” I sat my beer on the edge of the fence, feeling like I needed to be able to run if given the chance.
“You look…well… Like yourself, I mean,” I stammered. I couldn’t pull my eyes from her face. Her bright green eyes, her radiant skin.
“Yes. I like food again and I can stay out in the sunshine.” She turned her face up to the bright morning sky. It was a wonderful sight. “But those were just physical conditions. Like you kept reminding me, I was always a person.”
“I’m really happy for you. I knew you could do this. You wanted it bad enough.”
“I don’t always get everything I want.”
“Are you sure about that?” I sniffed a laugh and she laughed with me. It was an amazing sound.
“Were you angry at me for going ahead with the experiment?” she asked.
I answered honestly. “Yes.”
“Is that why you left?”
“No.” I shook my head. She waited but I didn’t elaborate.
“I got your messages after you left,” she said. “The ones you left when you were going to pick up Corey and when you were coming back with him. I couldn’t answer because I knew I was going to have to lie to you. I thought you’d hear it in my voice and try to stop me.”
“As if anyone could stop you from doing something.” I looked over at Trevor, who was still answering questions from the press pool. “No matter how stupid it is.”
She noticed my glance and took a deep breath.
“Do you love me, Dillon?” she asked. No more beating around the bush, I guess. “Corey said you did, but you never said it, and you haven’t answered my calls…”
“Corey has a big mouth.” I glared at the boy, still talking with Adam.
“Okay, so Corey has a big mouth, but is he a liar?”
Why not tell her the truth? It couldn’t possibly hurt worse to have her know, regardless of what came next.
“Yes! Yes, I do love you. Okay?”
“But you left without saying good-bye. Without making sure I’d wake up. I don’t understand.”
“Trevor assured me you would be fine. He also showed me the ring and told me he was going to wait for you to open your eyes and then he would propose. I—I just… I couldn’t watch that. I’m sorry, I should have left a note maybe or something, but I couldn’t say good-bye, Em. I couldn’t.” I took a deep breath before I continued.
“I didn’t take your calls because I didn’t want to lie to you with false congratulations about your engagement.” I took another deep, painful breath. “Does it really matter, Em? I love you, and you belong with someone else.”
She had come closer, too close. She set her drink on the fence next to mine, and put her warm hand on my cheek. I closed my eyes at her touch.
“You’re so warm,” I said involuntarily. I opened my eyes to see her eyes right in front of me.
“If the Bugs came back today and wiped out every male on the planet except for Trevor, I still wouldn’t marry him.”
I blinked a few times. “What?”
“Did you see a ring on my finger?” she asked. “How can I marry someone when I already know he wouldn’t stand by me through better or worse?”
She tilted her head as I looked at her, bewildered.
“Trevor is a good man, and we work great together as partners. But when I was out here I realized that’s all we were. We were co-workers with chemistry.” I didn’t know what to say.
“When I needed him most, he wasn’t there for me.” She shook her head. “I understood, and I forgave him, because we don’t always know how we’re going to handle stressful situations. Some people rise to the occasion and some don’t. It doesn’t mean they’re bad, it means they’re simply human.” She looked over in his direction and then smiled up at me.
“You, on the other hand, left me when things were good. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. You stood by me when I was crazy and depressed and everything seemed impossible, and then when I was about to be cured, you ran off.”
I looked at the ground feeling the strong stab of shame and regret.
“But you never looked at me like you were repulsed. Not once. You always made me feel attractive and cared for and safe. I felt like you loved me, even if you couldn’t say it. But then I woke up and you weren’t there. The happiest day of my life, and the person I loved wasn’t there to share it with me.”
“I’m sorry. We’re just so different. I didn’t think we had a chance.”
“I hear you’re living in Texas now?”
“Uh, yeah.” I appreciated the change of subject.
“I think I would like Texas.” She smiled at me sweetly. Hinting. Hoping.
“Emery, all I have is a tiny house and a garage business. I can’t buy you a second house in the mountains, and a third by the beach.”
“I don’t really care for the beach anymore,” she said. “The salty air doesn’t do it for me.”
“You don’t belong with me, Em.”
“Isn’t that for me to decide? Who do you think I belong with?” she asked, genuinely curious. She crossed her arms in front of her in a way that told me I was not going to win this argument. “No, wait, let me get this straight. When we were nearly a different species that was okay with you, you could accept me then, but now social status makes us incompatible?” Her brows were creased again. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me, Dillon. What I need is someone to love me unconditionally. And you do.”
A smile began to creep across my face. “Are you not going to take no for an answer?”
“Do I ever?”
I shook my head in happy defeat.
“Emery, I love you.” I stepped closer and put my hand on her cheek. “I love you so much. I’m sorry. I should have stayed and fought for you.”
“You didn’t need to fight for me, Dillon. There was no one but you.”
Unable to hold back any longer, I took Emery in my arms and kissed her—holding her the way I wish I had been able to every single day since I’d left the cabin.
“IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou,” I muttered against her lips. “I’m going to tell you every day until I die.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me closer as I clenched my fingers in her soft, shiny hair. “About damn time.”
Emery and I found each other during humanity’s darkest hour—not from what the invaders had done to our species, but what we had almost done to ourselves.
We had survived.
We would make it through anything.
About the Author
One very early morning, Anson Barber woke up with a conversation going on in her head. It wasn’t so much a dream as being forced awake by her imagination. Unable to go back to sleep, she gave in, went to the computer, and began writing. Years later it sti
ll hasn’t stopped.
Anson lives near Hershey, Pennsylvania. Her contemporary romances include paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery suspense. She enjoys candy immensely, as well as long motorcycle rides, running and reading.
Visit her at www.ansonbarber.com
Or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Anson.Barber3
Twitter @AnsonBarber
They want to save the world — starting with each other.
A Hero for the Empire
© 2014 Christina Westcott
The Dragon’s Bidding, Book 1
Commander Kimber FitzWarren is running on borrowed time. The cybernetic augmentations that give her superhuman strength and speed have also shortened her life. The success of her next mission is imperative, not only to save her Empire, but because this operation could be her last.
She and a cabal of other idealistic officers are plotting to topple the corrupt Imperial government. The key to placing missing military legend Arianne Ransahov on the throne lies with the one man who can find her, mercenary Wolf Youngblood.
Having just survived an Imperial assassination attempt, Wolf is understandably on edge when Fitz shows up in his bedroom at 0-dark-30. Except she isn’t there to kill him, but to plead for his help. Help he’s reluctant to give—until another assassin pushes the issue.
Pursued by Imperial forces, left with no one to depend on but each other, a bond begins to form that even their secrets can’t destroy. But before they can explore what’s left of their future, they have to survive the mission.
Warning: Space is no place to go it alone. We recommend taking along a telepathic cat, an immortal mercenary, and a cybernetically augmented Imperial SpecOps agent. You never know what kind of trouble you’ll run into…
Enjoy the following excerpt for A Hero for the Empire:
By the time Youngblood contacted her, the nightly thunderstorm pounded Ishtok Base, so her guards conducted her through the maze of tunnels beneath the quadrangle to join him at the Officers’ Club.
He sat at a rear table, the wall at his back, and looked up from his dessert, gesturing for her to join him. “What would you like, Commander?”
She wrenched the chair back from the table and dropped into it. “First, I want my spike…”
“I mean, what do you want to drink? A beer? A piece of cake, perhaps?”
“A beer’s fine, but…”
He ignored her and waved over a waiter.
The dissonance of music and laughter, counterpointed by the clink of glasses, felt familiar to Fitz. No one partied as hard as soldiers. Living on the edge of death did that to a person, even, apparently, cats. Jumper faced a pair of scowling soldiers across a gametable and reached to pull the pot to his side. What did merc cats spend their winnings on—catnip shots?
“This could be an O-club on any Imperial installation,” she said. “I didn’t expect a mercenary company…”
“To behave like humans? We don’t spend all our time between contracts getting drunk, belching and farting.”
“There is this general perception of mercenaries.”
“Is that the same one that says all augies are soulless killing machines?”
She winced. “Touché.”
After the waiter delivered their drinks, Fitz picked up her chair and slid it around to sit next to Youngblood. She smiled at his sharp look. “I don’t like sitting with my back to a roomful of armed strangers.”
Beneath his uniform, he wore a tight black turtle neck that looked like a powersuit’s armorcloth underwear. She reached toward it. “Is that…?”
His hand clamped around hers before she realized he’d moved.
“I wasn’t going to throttle you, just wanted to see if that was…”
“Body armor? Of course, someone is trying to kill me.”
His grip slackened, but he didn’t release her fingers. She studied his face, finding no trace of the morning’s coldness in his eyes. Under his intense gaze, she shifted in her chair. “Can I have my hand back?”
He released her fingers, returning his attention to his dessert. They sat in a strained silence for some time before he extracted a small silver box from his pocket.
“Perhaps your story does check out,” he said. “You were appointed Triumvir Kiernan’s Shadow ten years ago and since then, you’ve won the Distinguished Service Star, the Dragon’s Choice—with two clusters—and the Harriman Cross. Rather impressive. I can understand why Kiernan fought so hard to keep you on his staff when all the augies were recalled to DIS headquarters.”
“How the hell did you get that information?”
“I know a very talented hacker.” He pushed the datachip case across the table. “These contain all the information I could gather on Baldark—the system coordinates and the location of Deva-Lorza’s research station. Ari spent a lot of time there as a child, so I suggest that would be an excellent place to start your search.”
“But what if she’s moved on? It’s not like I can go to the nearest computer terminal and look up her address. It’s a class three pre-industrial culture. For Yig’s sake, they’re still using sticks and edged weapons.” Fitz finally gave voice to her deepest worry. “She might not even still be alive.”
Youngblood smiled. “Trust me, she’s alive.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I just know.” He stared at his plate, pushing the last few crumps of cake around.
“That still doesn’t help me locate her.”
“All you need to do is ping the locater beacon on her spike.”
“Ari Ransahov doesn’t have a spike.”
“Yes, she does.” A smug smile twisted his lips.
“CyberOps didn’t come into being until 836. Ransahov had been missing almost a decade by that time.”
“Nevertheless, they’d already begun experimentation.” He stopped to take a drag on his beer. “You did know she lost an eye?”
“Of course, racing flyers when she was a teen. I read all three of her biographies.”
Youngblood snorted. “I guess that sounds better than losing it in drunken brawl at Padraic’s Tavern. She had a standard ocular prosthesis, but when it malfunctioned, she elected to get a few enhancements. Telescopic, infrared and night vision, along with an implanted transceiver. No physical enhancements like you have, of course, and only her closest friends knew. Ari liked the advantage it gave her. It added to her mystique of having preternatural abilities. I’ve included the ID number and frequency. All you’ll have to do is set up a search grid from orbit and wait for a hit. Shouldn’t take long, since it will be the only technology on the planet.”
He picked up the tiny datachip case and tucked it into her shirt pocket. “Plus, you’ll have the added advantage of not having to put up with me on the trip.”
Fitz always worked solo, with only the disembodied voice of her ship’s avatar accompanying her. The option he offered was the best possible outcome. So why wasn’t she happy? The Elizabeth Angstrom’s crew quarters were too small for a couple who didn’t have a personal relationship. The two of them would be at each other’s throats for the entire voyage. Or in each other’s beds.
Where the hell had that thought come from?
“Youngblood, she knows you. There’s a better chance she’ll listen to you instead of someone she’s never met.”
“I have faith in your powers of persuasion, FitzWarren.” He stood, signaling the meeting’s end. “Why don’t you stay here tonight? You might want to take advantage of our hospitality. You won’t find many hot showers or soft beds on Baldark, and the cuisine there leaves something to be desired. You can depart in the morning.”
She followed him outside, her organic eyes slow to adjust to the lower light levels in the corridor.
“Are you going to walk back to headquarters?”
“Of course, w
hy shouldn’t I?” He gestured for her to follow.
“That body armor won’t help you if an assassin goes for a head shot.” She reached up and tapped her finger on his forehead.
He pushed her hand away. “FitzWarren, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need your help.”
Maybe he did. He didn’t seem to be taking this assassination attempt seriously, but she had the information she needed and would be leaving tomorrow. It wouldn’t matter anymore, would it? Except that it did matter, dammit. It mattered a lot. When had she lost her objectivity about this man?
They reached the HQ building without incident. When the lift arrived at the third floor, the door whisked open to reveal an empty corridor.
“What? No guards?” Fitz felt the brush of his hand on the small of her back as she preceded him out of the elevator.
“Do I need to post guards?”
“I might try to escape.”
“I don’t think so.”
She stopped in front of her door. “What if I slipped out and snuck into some place…secret or private?”
“Then I’d just have to restrain you like I did last time.” Amusement gleamed in his eyes.
Fitz shifted her weight, to ease the stiffness in her legs, and a sharp jolt of pain lanced through her knees. She staggered.
He studied her. “Your legs are bothering you.”
“Yeah, and I can’t access my pharmacopeia’s pain killers without my spike.”
He didn’t take the hint.
“You’ve been augmented quite a few years.”
“Twenty-three, but you know that. You read my file.”
“The operational life expectancy of an augie is about twenty-five years.”
“Trying to figure out how long I have left? Two years.” She held up a pair of fingers and wiggled them. “So you can understand why it’s so important to get things right on this mission. It might be my last, and I’d have a better chance of pulling it off if you came with me.”
“I’ve told you, the rules won’t allow that. A mercenary can’t do anything without a contract.”
