Prime Target

by Monette Michaels

  “So? Susa can’t read you?” Borac asked.

  “She can sense my emotions and can access my uppermost thoughts and speak to me mind-to-mind. And I can do the same with her. But we can protect deeper thoughts. If there’s danger, the battle-mate connection, in theory, should allow us to breach those walls for safety reasons.” Which in Damon’s mind was anytime Susa was in the slightest bit of danger. “I like the intimacy. It allows me to check into how she is feeling.”

  I feel the same, lubho.

  “The legends are filled with tales of how warrior-gemats and their battle-mates used their telepathy to help defeat our enemies,” Borac said. “What about the physical part of being bonded mates? Is it as wondrous as I was told.”

  “Not talking about that, buddy.” Damon shot him a get-real look. “My sex life with your cousin is off-limits.”

  As he said that, Susa approached with Cissy. Her expression was pure mischief. Damon hid his smile in his whiskey.

  “It’s that good, huh?” Borac chuckled.

  “Yes, it is, cousin.” Susa slapped Borac upside the head. Damon laughed. “And that’s all you need to know.” She walked to Damon. He pulled her into his arms, taking her weight as she leaned into him. “Your ladies love working here. So, good job.”

  Damon felt immense satisfaction at her words.

  Cissy moved to Borac’s side. “It was nice getting to know the women better. I’m ashamed I never made the effort before.” She snatched the beer out of Borac’s hand and took a drink. “So, while we were talking with the group, Susa mentioned vacations. I realized since I married you, my darling, we’ve never been away from the station. I said as much and Susa said—”

  “I strongly urged her to take you away, cousin, and fuck your brains out on some resort planet. You two need to take advantage of the fact that Damon and I are here, can handle things, and watch Zoey and Eban while you get a well-deserved break.”

  “Good idea, Angel.” And one Damon should’ve thought of long before now. He hugged Susa, then shared his whiskey with her. “In two days, the Myriad Line has a cruise ship coming through the jump gate with an overnight layover here and then proceeding non-stop to their home dock in Tooh 2 space. You two should catch that and take a couple of weeks at the resort.”

  Susa leaned forward to look past Damon’s body. “Cissy, the resort has everything. Shops, pools, a first-class spa, and fabulous restaurants. You’ll want a private cabana on the beach. While you’re there, you can apply for your Prime citizenship papers at the embassy.”

  “That’s an excellent idea.” Borac looked down at his mate. “Do you feel okay about leaving the children, CeeCee?”

  “I’ll miss them,” Cissy sighed and buried her face against Borac’s chest, “but I’d love couple’s time with you. And it’s a good idea to get all my and the children’s Prime citizenship papers in order before we begin splitting time between the station and your home planet.”

  Initially, Borac had nixed the idea of job-sharing the jump station operations. Cissy had quickly convinced her stubborn mate the jump station could operate just fine with one partner present. Susa had sealed the deal when she told Borac her and Damon’s home on Cejuru Prime was available for them to use as long as they needed until they found or built one of their own.

  “Once you get back from this vacation,” Susa added. “Cissy and I thought we could start the job-sharing. Damon and I need to go to Cejuru Prime so Bria can obtain samples from us for her medical research. We’ll do our six-months there, then return to the jump station so you and your family can go.”

  “You women have it all planned out, I see.” Borac’s lips twisted into a grin.

  “Yes, because if we women left it up to you men, poor Cissy would never get a vacation,” Susa said.

  Damon kissed Susa’s cheek. “Then it’s settled. Borac and Cissy will get packed and take the Myriad Line out of here in two days’ time. Susa and I will handle the station and watch Zoey and Eban.” He’d been around Borac’s children a lot and loved spending time with them. It would be even more special sharing the parenting duties with Susa.

  Cissy smiled. “The women I share play dates with will help you with the children, if you need them to.”

  Borac set the empty beer bottle down. “I guess we should start packing.”

  Cissy grabbed his arm as he began to rise from his stool. “Just sit. We don’t have that much to pack. I plan on taking the bare essentials. Susa convinced me I’d love buying new things on the ship and the resort. You could use some new clothing also.”

  “Shopping.” Borac groaned and signaled the bartender for another beer. “Cousin, are you trying to bankrupt me?”

  Susa laughed. “You can afford it. Damon showed me the books for the casino after I asked him to put me to work. From that venue alone, you and Damon are making a lot of credits.” She looked at the bartender. “I’ll take a glass of Gliesian white wine, please.”

  Cissy asked for the same and Damon ordered another whiskey.

  When the drinks arrived, Borac proposed a toast. “To my mate, for whom my love is infinite. To our kin, may your stewardship of the station and our children be uneventful.”

  Unease swept over Damon at Borac’s words. What was the old Terran superstition? Something about a goose walking over someone’s grave.

  One standard week later

  So far everything had gone as uneventful as Borac’s toast had wished for. Susa and her gemat had split child-care duties just as any parents might do. It boded well for their future when they had children of their own.

  “Auntie Susa? May I come with you to the casino while you play with the books?” asked Zoey.

  Susa snickered. Playing with the books sounded as if she might be doing something illegal, but to a toddler, everything was a game especially if the child in question got to play hide-and-seek under the gaming tables or build a fort for her stuffed animals. Susa had taken to working on the books in the casino while it was closed during the afternoon for several hours. It gave her the opportunity to jump up and do a quick re-inventory or call over the bartender or the casino manager to ask specific questions about line items.

  Her life now was far different than the one she’d lived on Cejuru Prime. She’d come a long way from being a sex surrogate to a jump station co-owner. Who knew her natural ability with numbers and the mediation skills she’d used as a sex surrogate would serve her well in handling the tasks Damon and Borac had given her?

  “Yes, you may, sweetling.” She smiled at Zoey.

  Today might be one of the last times that Zoey could play in the casino since Damon and Borac had taken Susa’s suggestion and would now operate the casino 24/7. The profit earned by the continuous operation would more than cover the extra employment costs.

  Moving to the com-system, Susa called the next name on the childcare roster provided by Cissy.

  “Gina”—Gina was the wife of one of the security guards—“could you come to my quarters and watch over Eban while Zoey and I go to the casino for a bit? The baby’s been fed, changed, and is taking a post-lunch nap. I wouldn’t ask, but Damon is at Club Hades in the middle of doing a complete liquor inventory with the head bartender. Okay, thanks. See you soon.”

  Susa knelt and gave Zoey a hug. “Pack your tote with some of your toys. I’ll get some snacks and drinks for us, okay?” She swept a curly dark lock out of the little girl’s eyes. The mix of Terran and Prime genetics made beautiful children.

  Susa placed a hand over her lower abdomen where her and Damon’s child was growing. Wonder and sheer joy filled her heart. She hadn’t said anything yet to Damon, because she wanted to be sure. The paramedic had been sworn to secrecy as he’d taken blood for the pregnancy test earlier that morning.

  Because Damon’s mind frequently touched the surface of hers, Susa had taken the precaution of burying all thoughts of her pregnancy behind mental barriers so thick that Damon would never happen across the thoughts accidentally. In an
emergency, he could get through her walls, but keeping secrets from one’s mate wasn’t an emergency.

  The test results would prove to be redundant. She sensed the life inside her. Other than queasiness in the mornings and her breasts becoming more sensitive, she felt wonderful.

  A trip back to Cejuru Prime after Borac and Cissy returned was now imperative. Bria would want to do extensive tests. Susa also expected Damon to become more overprotective as the pregnancy progressed. She suspected they’d remain on the home planet until after she gave birth.

  A baby. She was having a baby. Tears welled in her eyes as she caressed her abdomen once more—an action, she suspected, she’d be doing a lot over the upcoming months.

  “Auntie Susa sad?” Zoey touched a tear which had escaped and trailed down Susa’s cheek.

  “No, sweetling. I’m happy. So happy to be able to spend the time with my most favorite little girl in the whole galaxy.” Susa stood and swept a hand over the top of Zoey’s head. “We’ll spend an hour or so in the casino then come back and prepare supper for Uncle Damon, okay? After supper, we’ll have video time with your mama and papa.”

  “Yay! I like cooking for Uncle Damon. Maybe I can show Mama and Papa what I cooked.”

  “Maybe.” Susa grinned. Since Zoey was only allowed to do cook prep that didn’t involve sharp objects or hot surfaces, Cissy and Borac would be seeing mostly Zoey’s artistic way of plating the food.

  The door chime rang. “Let’s go, sweetling. Gina’s here to watch Eban.”

  Zoey happily followed Susa to the door.

  Susa smiled as Zoey greeted Gina and shared everything she and Auntie Susa had done and planned to do. After their parents had left, both children had made the transition smoothly from their quarters to Damon and hers’. The nightly video com-call to their parents had been a great part of that ease. The rest of the painless changeover could be chalked up to Damon. He was a natural father, loving, but stern when necessary.

  While Susa had grown more comfortable with the children, Damon had definitely demonstrated he’d been the eldest of six boys and knew how to handle everything from sibling rivalry to homesickness to the two testing their aunt and uncle’s limits.

  Susa had soon found her rhythm and worked with Damon to give the children consistency with a smattering of indulgent fun. They were a good team—be it making decisions for the station or the children.

  Life was good.

  The casino was mostly quiet but for the muted sounds the of the bartender doing liquor inventory in a room behind the bar. Every so often Zoey chattered to her doll and stuffed animals in a fort the little girl had made under the craps table a few feet from the high-roller’s table where Susa had set up.

  Currently, the casino was also a safe zone in the larger world of the jump station. The large Volusian guard who’d escorted Susa and Zoey to the casino was stationed outside the locked main entrance.

  Deeply into a world of numbers, Susa happily cross-checked the weekly totals from all the table games and then smiled. Her tweaks to the card games and a slight shifting of pay-outs on the roulette and craps tables had increased the house’s earnings by ten percent. The number of big winners had decreased slightly and the number of smaller pay-outs had increased a bit. With one or two more minor adjustments, she predicted the casino profits would remain the same, but the smaller winner numbers would increase yet again, giving more overall customer satisfaction, and ensuring repeat visits from the happy winners. She’d present the numbers and her recommendations to Damon after they put the children to bed.

  The nightly bedtime routine was something she looked forward to and not even for more casino profits would she cut one millisecond of that precious time with Damon and her little cousins. In fact, she’d miss it when Borac and Cissy returned home.

  “Auntie Susa?” Zoey whispered from underneath the craps table. “Some people came in the door. Strangers.” Borac and Cissy had drummed “stranger danger” into the little girl’s head.

  Susa looked toward the entrance and swore under her breath. His Supreme Majesty Nagli Goldai accompanied by Roc and Celeste, two of the stalkers from the cruise, stared at her across the wide expanse.

  Damon! Her mind reached for her gemat and found him several levels below the casino.

  Damon’s mental touch was light, at first, then his fury colored her vision red for a split second or so as he processed the threat and her fear. I’m coming.

  Just those words allowed her to take a full breath. Her vision cleared as he throttled back his own emotions and fed her reassurance. While Damon was still enraged at the danger she was in, his anger had gone from incinerating to frigid. It was the wintry anger of a warrior-gemat preparing for battle.

  Roc and Celeste moved slowly among the tables with Goldai trailing behind. The pirates scanned constantly. Looking for potential danger? Whatever they searched for, they’d find Zoey if they came too close to Susa’s current position. That could not be allowed to happen.

  Damon, Zoey’s with me. She’s hiding under the craps table near the high-roller’s table. I’m going to let them take me out of the casino.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. Damon’s frustration mixed with anger and fear for her and Zoey blew through her mind like a blast of an icy, cutting wind. Understood. They will not take you off this station. The docks are on lock-down.

  I’ll be fine. She soothed.

  Yes, you will. Nothing less is acceptable. Heads will roll over this, though.

  Damon’s snarl reverberated in her mind. Someone inside dock control had to have helped Goldai and the pirates. Susa had been present at the jump station security meeting where Damon had shown pictures of her pirate stalkers and their employer and warned that these people weren’t allowed on the station. And if they managed to enter the station, they were to be taken into custody and the Alliance Military notified.

  As the three got closer, Susa stood. Her face angled away from the intruders, she muttered in a tone that carried no farther than Zoey. “Stay hidden, sweetling. Don’t come out. No matter what. Uncle Damon will send one of the guards for you.”

  “Okay,” Zoey whispered, her voice trembling.

  Susa moved away from the high-roller’s table. Maneuvering swiftly around the gaming tables, she headed for an employee exit off to the side of the casino. Her tactic forced the three stalking her to change direction and spread out. By the time they cut her off, she’d be far away from Zoey.

  “Stop moving, Ms. Anghard,” Roc called out. “Don’t make me stun you.”

  Damon’s mental touch sizzled. Cooperate, love. We’ve found their ship. We’re setting a trap on the freight dock.

  Susa stopped and her hand went to her stomach. A betraying movement she would have to control, lest Goldai realize she carried Damon’s child.

  Child? Awe, happiness, then gut-wrenching fear.

  Damon’s roar reverberated inside her head and made Susa wince. While she attempted to keep an eye on the trio, she sought to calm the raging beast that was her gemat.

  Then a strange thing happened. Damon’s reaction to the danger to her and their child had him instinctively sharing his strength with his battle-mate. She felt more powerful, more lethal, as if she could take on all three intruders.

  What pounded through Susa’s mind and body now was the claxon call to arms, the call to batel rabia—the rage felt by all Prime warrior-gemats and their battle-mates for millennia. Their energy patterns merged, maximizing each of their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. Their telepathy became even more attuned as if their minds were one. They became a fighting unit that, if legend was correct, had allowed the Prime to conquer and rule most of the Milky Way for thousands and thousands of years.

  The consolidated energy sizzled across her skin and vibrated in every cell of her body. It was all she could do not to lash out at the enemy. Now was not the time to fight. When the opportunity presented itself, she and Damon would kick ass.

  Yes, I will. You, Angel,
will get out of the way when I tell you and let me handle this.

  Susa realized Damon was holding onto his sanity by a mere thread. He really couldn’t handle her, or the child he’d just learned about, being in the cross-fire.

  Assuming a cool facade, she gave Goldai a narrow-eyed glare. “This wasn’t a good move.” She shifted her gaze to include the other two. “You all are dheu mete.” Dead meat.

  Don’t anger them, love. Susa caught the impression of Damon running. Geep and his posse of Ragbags will shadow you from the casino to the docks.

  “Tsk, tsk. Such trouble you’ve caused.” Goldai stood less than a meter from her. His tiny, close-set eyes gleamed with lust as he scanned her body.

  Roc had come up behind her, and Celeste was to the side, cutting her off from the employee exit.

  “I always get what I want,” Goldai continued. “The sooner you learn that, the better. I will begin your lessons on pleasing me once we board the ship. I’ve waited far too long for you.”

  Goldai’s emotions were dark, wormy, and filled with malevolent glee. He liked hurting women. Like Tenar Caradoc, Goldai was a narcissistic sociopath who felt it was his right to control those whom he thought were lesser beings.

  Swallowing her revulsion, Susa tightened her lips and stared unflinchingly at the little man, wondering why no one had killed the cretin before now.

  “Your Majesty,” Celeste spoke, her tone urgent. “We need to leave. Station Security will soon realize the camera feeds between this level and the freight dock have been looped.”

  In the desire to lead the three away from Zoey and into the trap Damon had organized, Susa offered, “The guards report in every fifteen minutes. If you’ve disabled the guard who was on the casino door, you’re pushing up against that time frame now.” As an after-thought, she added in a low mutter, “My gemat gave orders to his security people to kill you all on sight.”

  Damon hadn’t, but they didn’t need to know that.

  If you’re harmed in anyway, Angel, they’ll wish my guards had gotten to them first.

  “We’ll be long gone before anyone even misses you.” Roc grabbed Susa’s arm. “Move. You cause trouble, I’ll stun you.”