Chapter 9
Yahn
The encryption protocols for my personal communicator were rigorous—standard operating procedure for anyone who’d ever done the kind of work we did—but that doesn’t mean it was perfect.
Especially not if our mole was in tech. So, following Aano’s orders, I hadn’t accessed it since we’d left the gala.
Someone had tipped the Ducal Syndicate off about our mission, and that had almost gotten us all killed.
The mole knew that Aano was carrying evidence that could put their boss behind bars for years, and the syndicate’s enforcers would stop at nothing to protect the Duke.
Aano would stop at nothing to protect the evidence, it seemed.
So my communicator had been off for the time we’d spent with Leah, and I didn’t turn it on until we were on final approach to Arec, and Aano gave me permission to check in with my brother.
But what I found amongst all of my missed notifications made my heart stop.
I pulled up the full message. A short text followed by an encrypted video file.
Ruhn’s face filled the screen, copper eyes wide with a fear he was trying desperately to mask.
He was tied to a chair in a dark, nondescript room.
My brilliant little brother, always lost in his research, always believing the best of people.
A bruise darkened his left cheekbone, and dried blood crusted at the corner of his mouth.
I cursed, fingers shaking as I hit the play button.
Ruhn was a scientist, and he didn’t have anything to do with any of this.
He cleared his throat, his eyes darting up to whoever held the camera. “Hey, Yahn. I’m sorry. They came to the lab. Um, they told me to tell you to turn over the evidence. You have 48 . Then they’ll start... uh.” He swallowed hard. “Removing pieces of me. Please.”
Something cold slithered down my spine that had nothing to do with the ship’s temperature controls. My brother wasn’t given to dramatic statements. If he said they’d remove pieces, he meant it literally. The Ducal Syndicate had made an art form of creative dismemberment.
I played the video with shaking fingers.
Another voice came on screen. “The evidence for your brother. Bring it to the coordinates we’ll transmit. Come alone. Don’t tell that jackass you’re traveling with, or he dies sooner.”
The screen went black.
I closed my eyes, pressing my fingers against them until I saw stars. This was the scenario we’d trained for—and what I’d feared from the moment our operation went sideways.
Three weeks ago, Aano and I had been closing in on the final piece of our investigation, and we’d brought the whole team in.
Three months of deep cover work, building a case against the Ducal Syndicate piece by painstaking piece.
We’d infiltrated their organization through their legitimate shipping business, working our way up until we had access to their financial records.
What we found was enough to put the Duke away for three consecutive lifetimes—detailed logs of human trafficking operations, blackmail schemes involving government officials, and a sophisticated drug manufacturing network that spanned seventeen systems.
By the time Aano and I extracted the final evidence—an encrypted data key containing irrefutable proof linking the Duke directly to these operations—we’d been made.
Our covers blown, our safe houses compromised.
And the operation was through our employer, Bodyguards in Space.
Off-book, black ops stuff that meant we couldn’t go straight to the stations IUC offices with our information -- we had to take it to our handler, to someone who we were sure wasn’t compromised by the widespread syndicate corruption. The Duke had eyes everywhere.
The Every Child Foundation gala had been our impromptu escape plan. Five security agents hiding in plain sight among a parade of eligible bachelors for the charity auction.
And then there was Leah—beautiful, naive, sheltered Leah with her pink-streaked hair and ready smile. Leah, who’d boldly bid on Aano, then invited me along without a second thought. Leah, whose ship was our unexpected salvation.
Guilt twisted through me. We’d manipulated her, plain and simple.
The attraction had been real enough—the heat between us undeniable—but we’d deliberately steered her toward offering her ship for our “adventure.” My brother’s life hung in the balance, and the fact that we’d likely placed Leah squarely in the crosshairs of the most dangerous criminal organization in the sector made my stomach churn.
The data key rested against my chest, hidden in a secret pocket just below my collarbone. Old-school tech—immune to scanning, detectable only if you knew where to look. The encryption was biometrically locked to me and to Aano. Without a direct neural interface from one of us, the data was useless.
I closed Ruhn’s message and checked the coordinates he’d sent.
Arec. The very planet we’d “convinced” Leah to fly us to.
Did that mean they’d followed us here? I’d claimed I wanted to show her the legendary floating markets.
In reality, we’d planned to rendezvous with our extraction team at a safe house there and turn over the evidence.
“Planning our next adventure without me?”
Aano’s deep voice sent my heart ricocheting against my ribs. I slammed my palm on the communicator, cutting the display as I spun around, tail uncoiling in a defensive posture.
Aano filled the doorway, his blue skin almost purple in the dim light of the communications bay. He wore only loose sleeping pants, his broad chest bare, the defined muscles of his abdomen catching shadows as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Fuck, you startled me,” I said, forcing a casual tone I didn’t feel. My eyes darted to the dark communicator, confirming the display had shut down completely. “Just checking messages. Meant to touch base with my brother and let him know that we’re visiting.”
Aano raised an eyebrow, his eyes studying me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. “Any other word?”
I shrugged, reaching for nonchalance. “Nothing critical. The team has gone radio silent.”
Aano stepped into the room, moving with that predatory grace that belied his size. I was acutely aware of every shift in his posture, every subtle change in his expression. Right now, he was suspicious—the slight narrowing of his eyes, the careful way he held his shoulders.
“You’ve been on edge since we left the gala,” he said, stopping just short of me. Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, smell the faint spice of his skin. “Something you’re not telling me, Yahn?”
My throat tightened. I should tell Aano, but what if somehow they knew? “Just anxious to get to Arec and complete the handoff,” I said, the half-truth bitter on my tongue. “The longer we carry this evidence, the more risk to everyone.”
Aano’s gaze held mine for a long moment, searching. Then something in his expression softened. His hand came up to cup my cheek, his touch surprisingly gentle for someone of his size and strength.
“We’ll be there in just a few hours,” he said. “The extraction team is ready, but I’m feeling edgy about it, not sure we can trust them. But once we’re clear, we can decide what to do about this... situation with Leah.”
The mention of her name sent another surge of guilt through me. “She deserves better than being dragged into our mess.”
“She’s tougher than she looks,” Aano said, his thumb tracing my jawline. “But yes, we need to come clean with her once the evidence is secure. I don’t like lying to her.”
“You should get some sleep,” I said, placing my hand on his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart. “I’ll be there soon.”
Aano caught my wrist, his grip firm. “Don’t stay up too long overthinking, Yahn. We’re almost through this.”
He released my wrist, fingers trailing down my arm before he turned and left, his broad shoulders disappearing around the corner.
I waited until his footsteps faded, then pressed my forehead against the cold metal of the console.
Forty-eight hours to save my brother. An uncertain number of hours before the Ducal Syndicate realized Leah’s ship wasn’t just a random vessel, but carrying the very evidence they wanted destroyed.
An unknown traitor within our own organization.
And Leah—sweet, beautiful, innocent Leah—caught in the middle of it all.