Sample: AN ENDURING SUN

An Enduring Sun by AR DeClerk

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SERIES: Project Aeon, Book 1

Sharyn Moran joined the Rangers to save innocent lives. Her personal vow is to never see another broken child in the ERCA Territories again. When she is caught stealing a bike on her newest mission, she's sure she is about to turned over to her enemies.

Surprisingly, the stranger ofers to help her, but afer an accident in the desert, they end up at his isolated home with his family.

It's clear that Ren and his brothers are hiding from something and, more than most, Sharyn knows how hard it is to keep secrets. She senses that the brothers and their father have all been through a terrible ordeal, but hesitates to invade their precious privacy. However, the longer she is with them, the more she begins to care about them. She begins to imagine a life with Ren, even if it can only be an impossible dream.

When Sharyn and Ren get sighted together through facial recognition, Ren's enemies know exactly how to flush out their quarry. They will kidnap, murder, and torture their way across the galaxy in order to accomplish their final goal. Ren knows the only way to stop them is to face what he is...what he was....and what he might become....in order to save Sharyn and the rest of the galaxy from the rising tide of death and destruction in their wake.

An Enduring Sun by AR DeClerk

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Planet ARDA, 2677

“Z

lagging hurry, Shar! The ship is going to leave without me.” Durin pulled the trolley filled with his luggage behind him over the cobblestones. Sharyn trudged afer him and tried not to worry. It was hard, though, because he was right when he said worrying was her second best talent.

“We’ll make it,” she assured him. Secretly she hoped they didn’t. “And watch your language.”

He grinned at her over his shoulder. He was growing up so quickly, and he already had slight stubble on his baby chin. “I’m leaving home, so you can’t really tell me what to do anymore.”

“I will always be able to tell you what to do.” She gave him her best glare, and he dropped his gaze. None of the children could ever withstand that glare. To sofen it, she told him, “I’ve packed some of your favorite treats into your bag. Don’t eat them all in one day. We don’t know when you’ll dock here again.”

His grin returned with full force and Shar sighed silently. Oh the poor girls on the planets where his ship made port. He was a heartbreaker in the making.

“Thanks!”

The ship was still docked as they made their way past the throngs of people preparing to go off-world with this launch. ARDA was the central hub for the ships passing this way toward the other areas of the ERCA Corp empire. A tall Pac member with a bushy tail bumped into her, but he was cordial and bowed before he went on his way. The men of the lupine race rarely spoke, because their tongues ofen got in the way of trade speech. She wondered what their voices really sounded like.

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“Shar, they’re loading the bags. I have to go!” Durin hurried to her and surprised her by wrapping his long arms around her and giving her a hug. He was strong for his age, as most ARDAn men were. He’d been working the fields since he was five, and he had the muscles to prove it. She grunted when he squeezed a bit too tight, but she held on to him hard. He would soon be taller and broader than most ARDAn men, but he would always be a litle boy to her. He was the oldest of “her boys”, and she would miss his bright smile and mischievous disposition.

“Promise me that you’ll be careful,” she said to him again. “I know it seems like a grand adventure, but you’ve not lef the acreage in all your life.”

“You taught me well. I know how to care for myself.”

“Good.” She kissed his cheek, which he allowed for once. “Send me a ‘gram when you can, please. Just to let me know you’re well?”

“Will do!” he promised. With one last hug he grabbed the handle to his trolley and hurried of through the crowd.

Sharyn stood with her hands on her hips and watched his broad back for as long she could see it before he was completely swallowed up.

“You’re looking well, Sharyn.”

She jumped when a smooth voice spoke directly into her ear. She swated him of with a groan. “Go away, Decklan. I don’t have time for your nonsense today.

Durin’s just gone of on the merc ship.”

“Ah, more’s the pity. He would have made an excellent Ranger.”

If she could burn men with her eyes, Decklan would be cinders. “My boys will never be Rangers.”

“But you’re such a good example of what a Ranger can do.” Decklan bent close, so that the words stayed just between them. No one in the city knew that Sharyn was a Ranger, and it was meant to stay that way. “They never ask where you go? Why you come home and cry?”

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“Of course they do.”

Decklan’s blue eyes gleamed. “And do you lie to them? To your precious boys?”

“Of course I lie. I could never tell them I work for the likes of you.”

Decklan laughed. “You don’t work for me, Sharyn. You work for ERCA. For your people and for our continued survival. Do you really want Rissid Ag taking control of our territories? You know what they do to planets they take over.”

She did know. Rissid Ag was the only other agf-corp that could rival the production of ERCA, and when they took over a planet they stripped it of all crops and starved the inhabitants until they agreed to produce for Rissid and Rissid alone.

Half her boys had come from devastated Rissid acquisitions. As much as she hated being a Ranger, she knew that she and the people like her were the only thing standing between Rissid and the vulnerable ERCA outposts.

“By the way.” Decklan straightened to his full height, towering over her. He wiped an imaginary speck of dust of his immaculate coat sleeve and tugged his cuf into place. “You have new orders.”

“I just got home. You promised me I’d have at least seven or eight cycles before I’d have to go out again.” She needed the down time to decompress, because she was usually stripped bare afer a mission. She became a live wire who didn’t belong in charge of orphaned children.

“It can’t be avoided.” He at least had the grace to look a bit apologetic. “You’re the only agent I currently have available who fits my...needs.”

She rolled her eyes at the obvious innuendo. She knew she didn’t look like Ranger material, with her wide hips, ample bosom and long brown hair, and ofen used her adversary’s inevitable underestimation in her favor. Though she looked sof on the outside, on the inside she was harder than Retief steel. “I can’t do it, Decklan.”

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“I’m afraid you have no choice. The CEO himself has requested that this mission go to the top of the list.” He held out a data cube. “We need this intel.”

She let him put the cube in her palm and briefly considered dropping it and crushing it under her boot. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Rangers paid for the orphanage’s expenses, she would have. “What am I supposed to do?”

“The information is on the cube. Priority Nine clearance only, and even I haven’t seen the details. It’s for your eyes only.”

“Nine?” The last time she’d had a Priority Nine mission she’d had to kill a lot of people. “Where?”

“Dryon 2. Smallish planet near our borders.” Decklan held up his hands.

“That’s all I know. The rest of the information is on the disk.”

“If I scan my code for this it means I’ve accepted the mission. How can I accept the mission if I haven’t seen the details?”

“This isn’t the kind of mission you can decline, Sharyn.” Decklan put his hands in his pockets. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

She ignored his platitudes. He was doing his job and she had to respect him for that. He was also a zlagging butrock and she definitely didn’t respect him for any other reasons. “You know I don’t like to be away from the boys for that long.”

“I’ll make sure they’re taken care of.” He looked at the sky and seemed to be pondering something. “Have you considered quiting?”

“You, of all people, know you can’t quit the Rangers.”

“I could get you out, if it’s what you really want.”

She laughed. “You and what army?”

“If you married me, I could make the case to get you released.”

Her smile became an allf-out gufaw. She held her belly as the laugh went on and on. When she finally caught her breath she straightened and looked him directly in the eye. “I’d rather kiss a Phantatwain than marry you, and you know it.”

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“The ofer is always open.” He didn’t look put out by her laughter. The man rarely smiled and almost never shed his cool, collected demeanor. It irritated the hells out of her. “If you really need to get out.”

For a splitf-second she considered the idea. But no, he had no patience with her boys, and she would never tie herself to a man who didn’t love her charges as much as she did. “I’ll keep it in mind,” she lied.

He dipped his head and turned, walking away without another word. Sharyn stood in the humid summer sun and stared down at the data disk in her hand.

Grywat. She’d promised the boys a long summer of skinnyf-dipping in the pond and picking brambleberries for pies. Now she would have to put all that on hold while she carried out her new mission.

She tucked the disk into her pocket and took of across the docks toward the city center. She would do a litle shopping and make a pie tonight. Hopefully it would sweeten the biter news that she was of to work again so soon.

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CHAPTER ONE

Dryon 2- outskirts of the ERCA Territory

“G

rywat.” Sharyn ducked into a deserted alley and crouched down in the shadows. The sound of heavily booted feet passed her by, but she waited a few extra seconds before slowly emerging from the alley. Her mission was going to hells and she was on her own this time.

She looked down at the data cube in her hand. She’d done her job, and swiped the damned thing from the Rissid spies who were hanging around the town.

She had no idea what was on it, but the Rissids were now intent on geting it back.

This was a backwater planet with litle in the way of tech, so she figured she had a cycle at most before the Rissid agents called in backup. They were doing a prety damned good job of searching the city themselves, and she was bound to get caught if any more of them showed up.

“I have to get out of here.” She’d stowed her small ship in a canyon a few kliks from the city limits, but was sure the Rissids would be watching the roads out of town. She needed a fast, safe way out of town without being seen.

An idea came to her as a dusty twof-wheeled auto zoomed past. The rider had his visor down and the auto’s dome up, and he was hardly visible. If she could get her hands on a bike like that, she could pass through the city unnoticed.

Sharyn put the data cube in her bag and hooked it safely on her back. She tucked her hair up under her hood and used her com to change the color of her eyeflenses. The Rissids would be looking for an unassuming brownf-eyed woman with long hair, but now she appeared to have a shorter cut and bright blue eyes. It was the best she could do on short notice.

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She’d seen a few of the bikes outside one of the town’s bars. She could reprogram just about any tech, so all she had to do was get close enough and the bike would be hers. A drop of rain hit her nose and she sighed in irritation. Rain would slow down the Rissids, but it would make her job harder, too. When she got back home she was going to make Decklan pay for sending her on this job.

“Another.”

The bartender was a pudgy man in middle age, and he’d been around long enough to know that arguing with this customer was a bad idea. He poured out a shot of expensive Borthan whiskey and slid the glass across the bar.

“Graca.” Ren tossed back the liquor and let it slide down his throat. The bartender reached for the glass to refill it, but Ren shook his head. No mater how much he drank, he could never get drunk. He just relished the burn. He swiped his plasf-card over the register and stood, puting on his coat. This damned planet was hoter than hells, but he would need it against the rain.

When he got to the door of the bar he realized that all eyes were on him.

Hells, he understood it, he was a hard guy to miss. Over six feet tall and almost as wide as the door, he was the exact opposite of most of the people who lived in the ERCA territories. He looked over his shoulder and caught the eye of every single person, making sure his unspoken threat was understood. One by one gazes dropped, and Ren was satisfied that these people would gladly forget that they’d ever seen him.

He opened the door and stared out at the downpour. He bet none of the butrocks in this place even knew it was raining, but he’d heard the first drop hit the ground nearly a kilometer away.

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These people still relied on rain to water their crops, so Ren didn’t curse it like he normally would. He hated the feeling of droplets on his overly sensitive skin. He pulled the collar of the coat up and slogged through the mud toward his bike.

Then he heard it. He stopped in the dark and stood very still. The breathing of the person in the shadows by his bike. Female. Young. Her sweat smelled oddly sweet, like cassia. Her heart was racing, but she was doing a damned fine job of stealing his ride. Based on what he could see, she was already twof-thirds through the reprogram process.

She had not yet noticed his approach. He could be silent when he chose. He stood still a bit longer and focused on the woman. She was under the console of the bike but a long strand of hair tickled her nose. She absentf-mindedly pushed it away and wrinkled her nose. Ren watched her, fascinated. Her hands moved quickly, the small torch working with precision to change the programming of his bike so that the controls would respond to her. He was tempted to let her have it as a reward for such impressive work, but he needed it to return home.

Deciding not to scare her, he announced his presence with a gentle cough.

Still she jumped, burning her palm with the torch. He closed his eyes as the smell of burnt flesh reached his nostrils. He wanted to gag, but held it down. Pushed back the memories.

She was going to run. He could see it in the way her thighs tensed.

“I would have given you the bike if you would have asked,” he told her in trade speech. It was the common language for most people on the planet, regardless of species or race.

She straightened slowly but deliberately to her full height, which wasn’t much, to be honest. Her hood shielded most of her face, but he saw plump lips before she dropped her chin.

“I’m leaving peacefully. No need for yorkas.”

“Yorkas” was a local word for the authorities. So, she was ERCA Corp, then.

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He was surprised that her heart began to slow, her breathing steady. She was still scared, but she was controlling her body’s response to the fear. Interesting.

“No yorkas,” he agreed.

“Good. I’ll be on my way.”

“Are you in need of a ride somewhere?” Ren surprised himself by asking. For some reason he didn’t want her to leave, and that was strange for him. He didn’t have much use for people on his best days.

She lifed her head, squinting to see him in the dark. Her face was oval and her complexion was dusky brown. She had sun spots across her nose, and startling blue eyes. “A ride?”

Now her heart was pounding again. She took a step back, but Ren forced himself to remain still.

“I can take you wherever you need to go.” He still had no idea why he was ofering to help a female who’d just tried to steal his bike.

Suspicion tasted like lemons. Ren resisted the urge to lick his lips to get rid of the sourness. She was wary of him, but she was also desperate to get somewhere specific. Desperation tasted like almonds.

“I won’t hurt you,” he assured her.

She felt a moment of amusement that tasted like cherries. It was a flavor he liked. His mouth watered. This female was very interesting. Was her desire to get to her destination enough to overcome her distrust? And what was it about his assurance of safety that amused her?

“Does this thing go fast?” she asked, pointing to the bike.

“I modified it myself.” He’d never told anyone that. He liked to ride across the desert at breakneck speeds, just to feel the thrill of the wind on his face.

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She made her decision quickly. He knew that she was going to accept before she nodded. “I have a ship in a canyon near the old reservoir. Can you take me there?”

“Are you in trouble?” The town had a legitimate docking station, so parking a ship in the opposite direction meant that she’d already expected trouble and didn’t want her ship logged. She was also fairly certain of her ability to protect herself against him if she needed to. Females did not go into the desert alone with strangers unless they were very frightened or very certain that they could handle themselves.

She was anxious, but not frightened anymore, which meant she thought she could handle him. It was enough to almost make him smile.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she said, confirming his suspicion. “I just need to get to my ship.”

“Who is it that you want to avoid?” She looked like an ERCAn, so she mostly likely wasn’t an illegal immigrant. She smelled healthy and well fed, meaning she wasn’t dodging the yorkas for panhandling in the streets. Just how much trouble was this woman in?

“Angry boyfriend,” she told him. “Just need to get off-planet before he finds me.”

He tasted her lie, but didn’t let on. She was in trouble, that much was true. If she didn’t want to share her problem, it wasn’t his place to force it out of her. “I’ll take you to your ship. I’m going that way anyway.”

He came closer and she got her first upf-close look at him. She controlled her surprise at his size well, and she looked from the bike to him and back skeptically.

“You’re sure you can fit on this?”

Again, Ren had the temptation to smile. It was an odd pulling sensation at the corner of his mouth that was hard to recognize at first. “Yes.” He touched the dome and it slid back to reveal the two narrow seats. “Front or back?”

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She looked at him and then the bike before she shrugged. “Go ahead.

Hopefully my arms will fit around your waist.”

Ren straddled the bike and she climbed on behind him. He pressed the console and the dome went back up, shielding them from the rain and cocooning them inside the cab of the bike. He started the motor and reached for the controls.

“You’re not wearing a visor?”

He’d forgoten that she wouldn’t understand why he didn’t need the eyesight enhancements of the visor that most people wore with the bike. “I like to take my chances,” he joked.

“Just get me to my ship in one piece.”

He nodded and slanted the bike onto the roadway, heading for the outskirts.

There were other bikes on the street just like his, so he doubted her pursuer would be able to follow them. Despite his size, he knew how to blend in when he needed to.

He took a corner fast, and her arms tightened around him. He could feel her breasts pressing against his back as if there were no clothes between them, and he grited his teeth. He’d forgoten what it was like to be so close to another person. He never allowed anyone within a foot of him if he could help it. Something about her embrace was soothing, though, and afer a moment he felt himself relaxing.

“I take it you don’t like being touched?”

She was perceptive.

“Not usually.”

“So this time is diferent?”

He tasted cherries again, her pheromones sharp on his tongue and in his nose.

“It’s not unpleasant.”

She laughed and it was cherries and vanilla. Ren had never tasted anything like it. It was an addictive flavor.

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“Just take me to my ship, Romeo. I don’t have time for romance tonight.”

Ren had not known disappointment so sharp in a long time. He didn’t take women to his bed as a rule, but she was an exception he was willing to make. Sadly, whatever was chasing her was more urgent than their atraction.

“My name is Ren.” She was considering lying to him, because he tasted lemons again. As the flavor faded, he knew she spoke her real name.

“Sharyn.”

As they made it to the city limits Sharyn let out an audible sigh of relief.

Ren’s curiosity was scratching at his skin as he debated questioning her again about the reasons she was running. He decided to wait and see if she chose to confide in him of her own free will.

They rode over the desert in silence. This part of Dryon had once been lush, but a drought of epic proportions had destroyed all the crops, driving most of the inhabitants to the other side of the planet. He didn’t know why ERCA had allowed the desert to remain when they had the tech to return it to its former glory. Still, it suited his purpose to have the desert between him and the town.

Ren heard the drone first. It was still a klik away, but the buzz was unmistakable. “Who’s chasing you?” he demanded as he slowed the bike.

“No one important. Why are we slowing down?”

“You’re telling me that the drone following us is operated by ‘no one important’?”

She looked over her shoulder at the sky. “What drone?”

“It’s on its way and nobody in that town has the currency to hire a drone to chase you through the desert. So who is it?”

“I’ll get of here,” she told him, loosening her arms from around his waist. “No need to worry yourself about it.”

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“That won’t be happening,” he told her as he sped up again. “You’re no match for a drone.”

“I’ll be fine. This isn’t your problem.”

“It became my problem when you tried to steal my bike in order to get away from this zlag. So who is it? And don’t lie, I’ll know if you’re lying.” Ren concentrated on the terrain ahead. They were out in the middle of nowhere, with no cover.

She hesitated, as if considering the veracity of his claim. Finally she said, “Rissid Ag.” Ren swore a word he’d learned as a boy. He assumed it would have made his mother blush. “What does Rissid want with you?”

“One of the agents saw me in a bar and wanted to...you know. I refused, but he was insistent. Rissids don’t take no for an answer, I guess.”

Ren’s teeth ground together so hard he could hear the crack of his enamel. He wasn’t a saint, but taking advantage of a woman was one of the few lines he did not cross. Ever. Any man who did was a zlag. He knew she wasn’t telling him the whole story, but it was enough of the truth to piss him of. “I lef town for a while but when I came back I lef my ship out here so he wouldn’t know I was back. Today he saw me in the market, so I’m taking of again.”

Ren knew the drone was close. He heard the weapons array drop and he cursed again. “I know you’re not giving me the whole truth,” he told her as he sped up, “but, one way or another, it doesn’t seem like these guys plan on leting you make it back to your ship.”

The first shot was close, but Ren heard the trackers lock before they fired, and managed to dodge the laser. He could smell the scorch mark in the sand and knew it had been too close for comfort.

“This is going to get messy,” he warned Sharyn. “These guys are playing for keeps.”

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“They don’t like it when their mark outruns them, I guess.” Sharyn was rummaging in her bag, and Ren smelled cool steel and gun oil.

“You have a weapon?”

“Drop the dome and slow down,” she said. He was surprised when she drew up her leg and swung around on the bike, siting back to back with him. “I’ll only get one shot. They can pick us of if they get too close.”

“Are you good with that?” he demanded. Dropping the dome exposed them to both the drone and the rain. It would make it harder for him to hear once the drops starting hiting his ears.

“Drop the dome.”

He did as she said and heard the sharp sizzle of the laser as she fired. She had fast reflexes, and he heard the drone tilt and sputer as she scored a direct hit on the engine.

“Good aim,” he praised as the drone fell to the ground. “We’re almost to your ship.”

“Thanks―“ Ren grunted as the bike slid out of control under them. It hit a patch of wet sand and the wheels screamed, even as the balance system tried to keep them upright. He felt Sharyn begin to spill of the seat, and reached back with his arm to grab her. It wasn’t good enough. The only option lef was to let the bike go. He let it slip away from him as he twisted in midf-air, making sure his body ended up between Sharyn and the desert floor. She clutched him, and he grabbed the back of her head, forcing her face against his chest as he cradled her neck. He steeled himself for the impact, and grunted as sand ripped through his clothes and shredded his skin.

They skidded at least twenty feet, but Ren kept himself on his back, dug his heels in, and didn’t allow the inertia to cause them to tumble. He bit his lip and

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tried to think past the pain as they finally came to rest in a small gully that was quickly filling with rainwater.

“Sharyn?” He dragged himself up on an elbow when she didn’t answer.

“Sharyn?”

She was limp. Ren’s back was on fire, his head aching with the pain, but he knew they had to get out of the gully or they’d drown. The water was soothing, but it was filled with grit that felt like broken glass on his shredded skin. He kept Sharyn against his chest as he staggered to his feet. Afer a few atempts he pulled them up the embankment. He put her down gently and then dropped to his stomach, his head on his arm. He closed his eyes and listened.

She was still alive. Her heart was beating, her blood flowing freely through her veins. He reached out and touched her face, and found a cut high on her forehead. She must have hit her head on the dome when he let the bike slide away.

Luckily, it was a small bump, but still enough to knock her unconscious.

The sound of a vehicle made Ren focus all his atention on his hearing. It was a sixf-wheeled truck, and it stopped next to the fallen drone, about a klik away. He heard three men disembark, then start talking, in Rissid’s trade language. He had a passable knowledge of the language, and made out a few words. “―woman went this way,” one man said.

“She has no help. There’s no way she got out of town.”

“Then who shot down the drone?” “―that’s her ship. She’ll come for it eventually. We’ll be waiting.”

The men got back into the truck and it headed of, presumably toward Sharyn’s ship. Ren cursed silently. Once the Rissid group was over the hill they would be out of sight of the bike’s resting place. He lifed his head and looked for the bike. It was twenty or thirty meters away, lying on its side. He looked at Sharyn, whose face was pale, her breathing shallow. He needed to get her out of the weather and some place dry and warm.

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Ren’s brothers had always told him he had an iron will. If he chose to do something, he would do it. He drew on that strength now as he dragged himself to his feet and staggered toward the bike. He ended up falling to his knees around the halfway mark, and crawled the rest of the way. When he got close to the downed vehicle, he slapped his hand down on the console, pressing the buton for calling home.

As he’d expected, his message was picked up almost instantly.

“Sev?” he managed.

“Ren? What’s wrong? Where are you and how many guns do I need?”

If he could have laughed, he would have. “Bike flipped. I’m in the desert.”

“Are you hurt? How bad?”

“I’ve been hurt worse. Had a passenger. She needs help. Bring V.” “She?” Sev didn’t bother questioning it any further.

“Come in quiet, we have a group of Rissid near the old reservoir. I don’t want them to know we’re here.”

Sev took the news in stride. “Will do. See you shortly.”

The console went dark and Ren looked back to where Sharyn lay. He could stay next to the bike until his brothers arrived, but he didn’t want to leave her alone.

He made himself crawl over the sand on his belly, using his elbows to pull his weight, until he lay next to her again. Leting out a deep breath, he put his head on his arm again. If the rain on his intact skin was hell, the rain on his raw back was a hundred times worse. He reached out for Sharyn and realized that she was cold, her skin tinted blue. He moved closer, pulling her body against his own so that she could share his warmth. He would never die of something so trivial as hypothermia or infection. He wasn’t that lucky. Still, he was glad he kept a steady 37.2 degree temperature as he tucked her against him. He put his head on her shoulder, and smelled cassia again. He hadn’t thought of that smell in years. His mother had always grown cassia in her garden. She called it ”poor man’s cinnamon”. Ren 19

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breathed deep. It was earthy and spicy. It didn’t taste or smell like lies, or desperation or anything else. It just smelled like Sharyn.

Ren draped his arm over her and kept her close. His brothers would be here soon, and everything would be beter. He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of cassia, finally leting his mind drif away from the pain in his back.

“Brother?”

Ren blinked himself back to consciousness with a groan. He pushed at the hands that were causing him agony.

“Hold him.”

Ren glared as his arms were forced to the ground and the agony in his back continued. “Let me go.”

“Sorry, brother. Can’t let you hurt yourself more.”

Ren’s foggy mind began to clear, and he recognized the voice. “Sevyn?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Vex is here, too.”

Ren let out a deep breath and tried to make his body relax. He should have known that it was his brothers. No other beings could have held him still so easily.

He turned his head. “Sharyn? Is she okay?”

“Let me help you first.” Vex’s voice was rough, having been damaged years ago. “I’ll look at her afer you’re patched up.”

“I’ll heal. She won’t.” Ren lifed him up on his right arm, just to show Sev he was serious. He lifed the bigger man of the ground with just the strength of his biceps and shoulder.

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“All right, all right. Setle down before you do any more damage,” Vex sighed.

“Let him loose.” He bent his head so that he could stare into Ren’s eyes. “Be still or I’ll come back.”

Ren nodded and remained still as Vex moved to Sharyn. Vex was the smartest of their family, and he chose to use that intelligence to heal. In many ways that made him the best of them.

“She has a concussion, but it’s mild.” Vex turned his head to look at Ren again.

“You kept her warm.”

“I protected her head and neck when we fell, just like you told me.” Ren remembered Vex’s instructions clearly. Humanoid species were especially prone to injury in the head and neck area, so those areas had to be protected at all times during rough travels.

“You saved her life.” Vex let his palm hover over Sharyn’s chest. “Breathing and circulation are normal. I have no doubt she will make a full recovery.”

“Rissid Ag is afer her. They’re watching her ship.”

Sevyn swore. “Then we should leave her here and call the ERCA to come get her.”

“We’re taking her home.”

Even Vex looked surprised.

“You know we can’t do that.” Sevyn’s hand tightened on Ren’s shoulder. “We can’t compromise ourselves for one of them.”

“She needs our help, and we’re not leaving her out here.” Ren began to struggle to sit up, ignoring the searing pain in the muscles of his back.

“Grywat.” Vex crawled to Ren and pushed him down. “Don’t move too much.

You barely have any skin lef on your back.”

“We are not leaving her out here.” Ren looked directly into Vex’s eyes.

“We can’t take her back, either,” Sev argued. “You know the old man won’t...”

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“Then I’ll stay with her.” Ren pushed of Vex’s hand and managed to sit up. He tried not to let them see the pain that streaked through his entire body. “You can go back.”

Finally, his other brother spoke. “Like hells we will.” Ren had wondered how long it would take for Q to interject.

“She’s not staying here alone,” Ren repeated. “We all go home, or I stay with her.”

“Who is she to you anyway?” Sevyn snorted. He had litle use for anyone outside their small family unit. “You don’t know her.”

“She tried to steal my bike.”

Vex chuckled. “So now you owe her something? That’s zlagged up, even for you.”

Ren glared at them all. He didn’t speak, he just let them feel his resolve. He wasn’t leaving without Sharyn, and they would never leave without him.

Sevyn sighed. “Godsf-damn, Ren. You’re the most stubborn zlag I’ve ever met.”

He shook his head. “Fine. We’ll take her home. The old man’s going to be furious.”

“I’ll deal with him.” Ren looked at Sharyn, who was shivering again. “Let’s go before the Rissids decide to come back over the ridge.”

He let Sev and Q lif him up, their shoulders under his arms. The movement lef him dizzy as the pain blared at him again. He stumbled and Vex pursed his lips in disapproval as he approached with his hand out.

“Don’t give me anything,” Ren said, shaking his head. “I don’t want to sleep.”

“Don’t be a zlag, Ren.” Vex placed his hand on Ren’s neck and Ren felt the dose of drugs course through his veins in an instant. “We’ll watch your woman.”

“She’s not my woman,” he said as he staggered again. Q and Sev were mostly carrying him to the truck, and they were careful about laying him in the bed on his

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stomach so his back didn’t take any more abuse. Ren didn’t let himself relax until Q placed Sharyn next to him. “Thank you.”

“I hope you know what you’re geting into, brother.” Q climbed into the back of the truck with them as Sev loaded the bike onto the rooff-rack. He and Vex climbed into the cab and the engine started. Ren knew that they were the only ones who could hear the “silentf-run” tech that powered the truck. Ren reached out and pushed hair of Sharyn’s face carefully.

He knew Q was looking at him, but he glared at his brother. “I promised her I’d help her. I don’t break promises.”

Q didn’t smile, but there was humor in his voice. “Then we’ll patch her up and send her on her way, right?”

When Ren hesitated, Q sighed. “That’s what I thought.”

“Leave me be, Q. I’m tired.”

Ren turned his head to escape the concern and confusion in Q’s eyes. Hells, he didn’t know why he had such strong protective feelings toward Sharyn either. Q was right, Ren barely knew her. Still, something in his head told him that he couldn’t leave her in the desert unprotected.

The movement of the truck and Vex’s drugs began to work in concert to lull Ren back to sleep and he let them. His back was already healing, but it wasn’t pleasant. And he knew he’d need all his strength to face the old man when he learned that they’d returned home with a stranger.

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CHAPTER TWO

S

haryn opened her eyes and wondered why the boys had allowed her to sleep in so late. The sun was cuting through the window and from the way it fell it was already midf-afernoon. She blinked as it dawned on her that the window wasn’t hers. As a mater of fact, the blank white adobe walls weren’t hers, either.

She sat up quickly, then cursed as her head pounded in complaint. Her mind, though, was sharp enough to take in the bare room in an instant. White adobe, simple wooden floors. She lay on a narrow metal bed covered with rough white blankets. Her boots were on the floor, and her jacket was folded neatly on a chair in the corner. She swung her legs of the bed and touched her aching head.

“You were lucky. The concussion was mild.”

The man in the doorway was easily the biggest man she’d ever seen. His shoulders stretched his coton shirt tightly across his massive chest and she felt like the room had shrunk when he entered.

He held a tray in his hand, with a bowl and a cup steaming on top. “I thought you might want food.”

“Where am I?” He raised an eyebrow over heavily lashed dark eyes. He was handsome, or might be, but half his face was covered in a heavy beard so it was hard to tell. “You don’t recall riding with Ren?” His voice was full of heavy gravel, and it hurt her own throat to hear him speak.

“Ren?” She flashed back to the town, and to the man in the dark who’d ofered her a ride on his bike. “Is he all right?”

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The big man moved into the room to deposit the tray at the end of the bed.

The closer he got, the more oxygen he seemed to steal. Sharyn couldn’t help but scoot back, just to give herself room to breathe.

“He’ll heal. He took the brunt of the fall to protect you.”

Sharyn felt instant regret. If she hadn’t tried to steal his bike he would never have goten hurt. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you?”

She blinked at his blunt question. “Yes. I am.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Vex. I’m Ren’s brother.”

“Oh.” That explained his aura of restrained anger. He had every right to be upset with her for geting his brother in the middle of her mess. “Where am I?” “Ren managed to call us to come pick you up afer the accident. He insisted we bring you to our home.”

“Ren’s here? Can I see him? I want to say thank you.”

“He’s resting.” Vex crossed his arms and stared at her, his head at an angle.

She could swear she felt the heat of his gaze on her skin.

“Well, thank you for caring for me.” She stood and picked up her boots. “I can get out of your hair and get back home now.”

Vex didn’t move a muscle. “You think you’re going home?”

“Yes.” She didn’t let him intimidate her with his body size or his mannerisms.

She looked him directly in the eye. “I’d like to go home.”

“That’s not happening.”

“Why not?”

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She saw his beard twitch and she wondered for a moment if he was smiling at her. His eyes, though, were cold. “Your ship is under surveillance. You’ll never make it past the Rissids.”

She swore and sat back down on the bed, tugging on her boots. “That makes it worse. I have to get back to town and get the first transport of the planet.”

“Why?” She raised her head and caught his eye. “You’re beter of if you don’t know.

Look at what happened to your brother because he helped me.”

“We don’t scare easy, Mädchen.”

She didn’t imagine so, with his size. But still, she couldn’t risk geting anyone else involved in her mission. “The Rissids will do anything, kill anyone, to get their hands on me. I’m not a safe person to be around.” She dropped to her knees and looked under the bed, and then back at him, her heart in her throat. “Where’s my bag?”

“In the truck.”

She couldn’t hide her relief. Dropping her head to the bed, she said a quick prayer of thanks to the gods.

“Important, is it?”

“Yes. Very.” She climbed back to her feet. “Can I have it back, please?”

“Perhaps.” He pointed to the tray. “Eat. Then we talk.”

“We’re talking now.”

“It’s not me you have to talk to.”

Sharyn looked at him, and then at the door. He must have caught the glance, because he chuckled. “Don’t bother running, Mädchen. We’d just catch you. There’s nowhere to go; only desert for kilometers in every direction.”

“I am a prisoner, then.”

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“That is up to the old man. Eat.” He turned and headed for the door.

“I want to see Ren.” He opened the door but paused for a second. “You see no one until you see the old man. By the way, your lenses were damaged in the fall. Your eyes are back to brown now.” He shut the door behind him and she heard the lock engage.

“Zlagging grywat!” she mutered crossly, kicking the bed. This was the worst mission she’d been on. She dropped to the bed and glared at the tray. Her stomach betrayed her by growling loudly. “Well, I’ve been in worse prisons,” she told the bowl of soup as she picked up the spoon. “And I haven’t had to kill anyone yet, so that’s a plus.” She dug into the heavy bread and steaming broth, deciding that she needed her strength. Apparently, Ren’s brothers were all as big as him. She felt a moment’s pity for their mother before focusing totally on the food.

“She said she’s been in worse prisons than this,” Q told Vex quietly.

“I heard.”

They sat on the porch, looking out over the mountains that surrounded their compound.

“She also said that she hasn’t had to kill anyone yet.”

“I heard that too, Q.” “I don’t trust her.”

“It’s not our call. The old man will decide what to do with her.” Vex rubbed his beard and shook his head. “She’s a spy for ERCA.”

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“Obviously the Rissids want whatever she has in that bag.” Q rocked his chair with his heels. “Maybe we turn them both over.”

“Ren would kill you if he were conscious right now.” Vex glared at their youngest brother. He wasn’t ofen the one who spoke without thinking, but he was the one with the freshest scars. His fear of outsiders was justified. “We don’t do anything unless the old man tells us to.”

Q nodded, but his eyes remained frightened and it killed Vex to see him scared again. They’d lef that fear behind when they’d found this place. For years, they’d been allowed to live in peace. None of them wanted to see that peace disappear.

The door to the room opened and Vex was in the doorway again.

“Follow me.”

She stood and picked up her jacket, slipping it on. From the weight of it, they’d already stripped out all the weapons. She followed him down a long hallway to a tall white door.

“Go ahead,” he told her, motioning toward the knob. She reached for it, but hesitated. She had no way of knowing what lay on the other side.

“Open it,” Vex told her, his voice a litle sofer. “No one here will hurt you.”

She grasped the knob and turned it, then pushed open the door. Vex started to walk away and she grabbed his arm without thinking. “Wait.”

He looked down at her hand, and then carefully reached out and removed it.

“Don’t touch me.”

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“I’m sorry. I...you’re leaving?”

“This is not for me.”

Sharyn was torn. She didn’t particularly trust the man, but he was the only familiar face at the moment. He must have known she was afraid, because he spoke to her gently. “Go on, Mädchen. He is only an old man. He won’t hurt you.”

She bit her lip, but managed to gather her courage and square her shoulders.

Without another word she turned and went through the door, shuting it in Vex’s face. She heard his surprised chuckle on the other side.

Sharyn blinked against the sudden glare of sunlight. For a moment she thought she was outside, before she realized she was in a greenhouse. There were plants of many species and colors filling the big glassedf-in room, with rows between them to walk. She gasped when she recognized a rare Horvan orchid in full bloom.

She couldn’t stop herself from approaching the plant to admire its delicate blooms.

The scent was intoxicating, but it was the petals made this plant special. The flower was called the ‘galaxy bloom’ because its petals were speckled with glitering pigment on a background of indigo velvet.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

Sharyn jumped, cursing herself for being caught of guard again. What was it about these men that made them able to sneak up on her so easily?

She turned slowly to greet the old man. Except, he wasn’t old at all.

He moved to stand beside her and smiled. “I wasn’t what you were expecting?”

“No. They called you ‘old man’.”

“I am quite a bit older than they are. They have always referred to me that way.”

“You’re no older than I am!”

He chuckled. “I assure you, Sharyn, that I am much, much older than I look.”

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His skin was unlined, his teeth straight and very white. He had a stubborn chin and a nose that had been broken a few times. His eyes were still bright, shadowed by golden lashes and eyebrows. He had the vigor of youth about him that belied his claim.

“My name is One.” He held out his hand.

She took it. “Hello, Juan.”

“Not ‘Juan’. One. Of-Nf-E.” “Oh. My apologies, One.” She frowned over the oddity of his name, but it wasn’t as if she knew the naming rituals of many other cultures. Perhaps his name was typical where he came from.

“Would you care to walk with me through my garden?”

She nodded, expecting him to begin grilling her about her past and her reasons for being on Dryon. He didn’t, however. He simply spoke about each plant at length, very knowledgeably.

“Of them all, the Horvan orchid is my favorite,” he said as they turned into a new row. “So delicate and lovely, but so hearty.”

“Yes, sometimes things aren’t as delicate as they seem.” Now the conversation had turned to her, it seemed.

“No,” One agreed. He paused to show her a heavyf-stemmed plant with thick leafy orangef-ish fronds. “This is the Folvean Palm. Qite deadly.”

“Deadly?” She couldn’t see anything dangerous about the plant at all.

He reached out and touched the edge of a thick leaf, which instantly began to roll around his finger. When he pulled away, she saw large gashes cuting into the skin.

“Teeth marks?” She reached for his hand to examine the wound, but he wouldn’t let her, quickly covering it with a cloth from his pocket.

“Are you the orchid or the palm tree, Sharyn?”

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She crossed her arms. “There was no need for all this prologue. Why not simply ask me in the first place?”

“Because there is more to a male, or a female, that what they usually say out loud.”

She glared at him. “I’m the palm tree.”

“Are you?” He reached into his pocket and took out a roughly bound leather book. She gasped and reached for it, but he held it against his chest. “May I look at it? Please?”

She wanted to say no, but he was obviously searching for something specific about her upon which to base his trust, so she nodded.

One opened the pages of the book and flipped through them, studying each one carefully. He finished and closed it, handing it to her. It was her turn to hold the litle book against her chest.

“Are they all yours?” he asked.

“Yes.” She opened the book and looked at Durin’s picture. Each page was a holo of one of her boys. She usually kept the litle book in a hidden pocket of her bag, so she knew they’d already seen the stolen data cube.

“You seem young to have so many children.”

She gave him her best deadpan stare. “I’m much, much older than I look.”

He laughed. “Tell me about your children.”

“They’re orphans, most rescued from Rissid acquisition planets. I raise them, teach them.”

“Love them?”

She shrugged. “As best I can.”

“And why have you lef your children on ARDA to come here?”

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She wondered how he knew where she was from, but none of that matered at the moment. She had one chance to convince this man to let her get back to ERCA Corp and Decklan with the cube before the Rissids traced her ship back to ARDA and to her boys. She could lie, but she had the sense that he was very good at perceiving deception.

“I’m a Ranger.”

She’d managed to surprise him. “A Ranger?”

“Yes. My mission was to acquire the cube you saw in my bag and take it back to ARDA for the CEO’s eyes alone.”

“But your ship is now compromised and you were atacked by Rissid agents last night?”

“Yes.” She drew in a deep breath. “All I need is a way back to ARDA. If Rissid has my ship it won’t be long before they trace it back to me and to my boys.”

“Surely your ship was purchased under a false name and your records were never properly filed with the ERCA Corp database.”

“I followed all the proper protocols, but Rissid is good. I can’t take the chance that they’ll come afer me and raid my home.”

One seemed to consider her logic as he turned back to the Folvean Palm. “I know what it’s like to want to protect your sons. Ren demanded we bring you here, even though it risked exposing us to our enemies.”

Sharyn shook her head. “Then get me out of here as fast as possible! Rissid will never know I was here and I’ll make sure I leave a trail that leads them away from your family.”

“No.” Ren was standing at the end of the row of flowers, leaning heavily on the table. He looked like grywat but was glaring at One. “Don’t let her go on her own.

It’s not safe.”

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“I can take care of myself,” she told him. In the sunlight he was shockingly handsome and for a minute she forgot to breathe. Even as pale as he was, he had a masculine virility that rolled of him in powerful waves. His eyes were hard with anger, but under his lashes they were the color of summer storms on ARDA. She hadn’t been able to properly see him the night before, and she was glad. She wouldn’t have been able to think straight once she caught sight of his sinfully curved lips or dimpled cheek. He turned his glare on her.

“It’s not safe,” he said again. “Rissid Ag will do worse than kill you, Sharyn.”

“I’m well aware of what Rissid is capable of,” she told him angrily. How dare he presume to tell her what to do? They barely knew each other and he was acting like he was her husband! “And despite what you might think, I can take care of myself. Becoming a Ranger is no picnic on a space station, you know.”

“You should return to bed, Ren.” One looked worried, but Ren waved him of.

“I’m healing as quickly as ever, and we weren’t talking about me. We can’t let her go back to town alone.”

“You can’t stop me!” Sharyn had never felt more like stomping her foot in her life, and she mothered thirteen boys on a daily basis. “You have no say in what I do, I don’t know you!”

“I told you last night, Sharyn, you became my problem when you tried to steal my bike. I promised you I’d help, and I don’t break promises.”

“Well you can zlagging break this one!” She stalked toward him, her hands on her hips. “I didn’t ask you to get in my way. I thank you for what you did last night, and now your obligation to me is done. Done! Do you understand?”

He leaned forward so that they were eye to eye. “No. I won’t let you get killed because you’re too stubborn to accept my help.”

Sharyn was flabbergasted by the man’s certainty that she needed, or even wanted, his help. “This is my mission, Ren. Once I’m back to ARDA I’ll be safe.

ERCA has measures in place to protect the Rangers.”

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“Sharyn is free to go if she pleases,” One said, making them both look at him in surprise.

“She is?” Ren asked.

Simultaneously, Sharyn said, “I am?”

“Yes.” One put his hands behind his back and looked at them both. “As a Ranger I am confident that you are capable of handling yourself.”

“Thank you.” Sharyn glared at Ren to say “see!”.

“However, we are going to ofer you our assistance to return safely home to your children.”

Ren’s face blanched and he went even more pale as he swayed. Sharyn reached for him, her hand on his chest as she feared he’d fall.

“You have children?” He looked down at her with wide eyes. “A husband?”

“No husband, just my boys.”

He seemed to remember to breathe as he managed a nod. “I see.”

“Her orphanage is located on ARDA,” One supplied.

“Orphans,” Ren repeated.

“Yes, orphans from Rissid planets. They’re the reason I work for ERCA as a Ranger. Someone has to stop Rissid from killing innocent people.”

“I see.” Ren blinked a few times as his color returned.

“We will make sure you return safely to ARDA,” One told her.

Sharyn debated whether or not she should accept their help. It wasn’t right to put them in danger simply for assisting her. “What about your own enemies? The ones you didn’t want to find you? Aren’t you risking yourselves to help me?”

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“Perhaps,” One smiled. “We cannot stay hidden forever. If we are careful, no one will know we helped you at all.”

Sharyn looked at Ren, who was staring at her with that same stormy look again. She couldn’t decide if he was angry with her, or happy to see her. Then again, she understood that dichotomy perfectly.

“Okay,” she said at last. “Just get me home to my boys and I won’t be a palm frond in your paw anymore.”

Only One got the joke, but he laughed loudly.

“It will be several cycles before Ren will be fit for travel,” he said when he finally sobered. “I trust it will be acceptable to wait?”

She nodded. A few days of rest and planning would make their chances of success much higher. The Rissids would need their best cryptographers to decipher the encryption on her ship and that might take weeks. At the very least, she had a few days to spare for the man who’d saved her life.

“Good.” One turned to Ren. “You should return to bed. Sharyn will assist you.

Recuperate fully or we will leave you here when we take her home.”

Ren seemed to take the threat seriously as he nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Sharyn eased her shoulder under Ren’s and lent him her body strength as they lef the greenhouse.

“Which way?” she asked in the hall.

He nodded lef and she led him toward a row of closed doors. The walls were more of the bare white adobe, and there were no photographs or artwork hanging anywhere she’d seen. It was certainly a minimalist décor style.

Ren pointed to the third door on the lef and she pushed it open with her foot. This room was identical to the one she’d woken up in, except the bed was three times as wide as hers. She helped him sit on the frame’s edge and then backed away. He was in obvious pain as he began to unbuton his shirt.

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Afer several tries with one buton she swated his hands away and made short work of them all. He let her pull the shirt of his hands and when she peeled it of his back she couldn’t contain her cry of horror.

“Oh the gods!”

He looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “Is it that bad?”

“Your skin is scraped down to the bone!”

“It’ll heal.” He finished removing the shirt and then looked up at her. She was standing between his legs, still craning her neck to see his back. “I’m fine.”

“That is not fine.” She stepped back, and got a good look at his chest. It rippled with muscle and was extremely sexy. She licked her lips and looked away quickly, before he realized what she’d been thinking about doing to his naked body.

The man was perfection, and completely unlike the typical ERCA male.

“I need to lie on my stomach,” he told her as he handed her the shirt. “Can you help me?”

She nodded, but was afraid to touch him again. His skin was addictive and the more she saw and felt the more she wanted to see and feel. He groaned as he maneuvered himself onto the bed, and ended up on one elbow. His blankets were tangled on the end of the bed, so she pulled them down. He rolled and sighed in relief when he found a comfortable spot in the center of the big bed.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked, eyeing the way his back dipped down to even more enticing areas below the covers. Where did the perfection end? she wondered.

“Can you sit with me for a while?”

She was surprised by his request, but she dragged the chair next to the bed and sat. He turned his head so that he was looking at her.

“I didn’t mean to make you angry before. I’m not normally so―“ “Bossy? Chauvinistic? Uncivilized?” she supplied.

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He chuckled, “Yes.” “Apology accepted. For what it’s worth, I do appreciate your help.”

“You’re welcome.” He stared at her for a moment, and she felt uncomfortable under the stormy heat of his gaze. “What’s it like to be a Ranger?”

Sharyn licked her lips. She spoke to no one of her life as a Ranger. She couldn’t talk to the boys about it, and Decklan was a royal zlag. Most of the time, she tried to forget that part of her life. “I joined when I was thirtyf-nine.”

He frowned. “Thirtyf-nine?”

She grinned, “How old do I look?”

“I admit I do not know much about ERCA female physiology but you appear no older than thirty years of age to me.”

“ERCA Corp has genetically modified most of its crops, and those modifications extend our lives. In the scheme of things I’m still very young. We can live to be four hundred, barring accidental death.”

“A babe,” he agreed.

“Hardly.” She showed him the litle brown book. “This is Durin. He was my first foundling. His parents died in a Rissid takeover, and he was only a baby.

Someone brought him to ARDA on a refugee ship and lef him on a milliner’s doorstep. I found him there, crying. There was a note explaining where he’d come from.”

“You chose to raise someone else’s child, even though you were young and unmarried yourself?”

“I loved him from the moment I saw his squalling face.” She turned the pages to show him the other boys. “I love them all. They are the reason I work for ERCA against Rissid.”

“Do they know what you’re doing for them?”

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“No.” She closed the book and dropped her hands to her lap. “I would never bring that darkness to their lives. I’m their Mumar, and I never want them to know the other side of me.”

“But someday it might mean that you don’t return home to them.”

“It might.” She’d prepared for that day, squirreling away money so that they would always be taken care of. “It’s a risk I accept to save more children from that pain.”

He yawned, his eyelids drooping. “A noble heart, Sharyn,” he mutered sleepily.

She couldn’t resist pushing the hair of his forehead, like she did for her sleepy boys. Her fingers lingered on his brow for just a moment longer than they should have. “Thank you, Ren. You saved my life.”

“Worth it.”

She sat quietly next to the bed until he began to lightly snore, then she rose and gently covered his lower half with the blankets. She wondered why his wounds weren’t covered with bandages and salves to ease his pain, and she headed for the door to find out. Whatever could be done to make him comfortable, it should be done. How could they have lef him like that to heal on his own?

She closed the door and marched down the hallway, looking for Vex.

Vex looked up when the door opened and the female stomped out. He’d heard every moment of her conversation with One and Ren, though he would never tell her. He continued with stripping the leaves from the corn in his bucket without looking up.

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“Why isn’t he geting any medical atention?” she demanded, coming down the steps.

He was surprised by her question, so he looked up at her. “What?”

“Why isn’t he geting medical atention? His back is a mess and he doesn’t have any bandages or salves or pain meds.”

“He is being cared for.” Vex went back to shucking the corn.

“No, he’s not. I saw the wounds.” He froze when she tapped him on the shoulder, hard. “It’s inhumane to leave him in there sufering like that.”

Vex dropped the ear of corn into the bucket and stood up. He had hoped that his size might deter her anger, but she took another step closer.

“He needs a doctor.”

“I am a doctor.”

Sharyn’s mouth dropped open and Vex wasn’t sure if he should be amused or ofended by her disbelief.

He crossed his arms. “He is receiving the best possible care.” He couldn’t explain to her why Ren didn’t need bandages or salves. That his body would begin to repair itself more quickly than she could ever imagine.

“I don’t believe you.”

Vex laughed, shaking his head. This small ERCA female had no problem challenging him despite his size advantage, which was astounding to him. She wasn’t going to back down until he could prove that he was taking proper care of his own brother. His respect for her rose a notch. She crossed her arms and raised her chin.

“Ren will make a full recovery. I know his injuries look serious, but the chances of infection are low, and I am managing his pain. If he takes the meds as directed, the zlag.”

She wavered. “You’re sure he’s going to heal quickly without bandages?”

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“I am certain of it.” He put his hand over his heart. “Ren will be fine.”

“I’m so sorry that he got hurt protecting me.”

Vex was sofening toward this woman, and he thought his brother might have brought more trouble into their home than he realized. If all his brothers began to like Sharyn as he had, none of them would want to let her go away when this was all over. It had been too long since any of them had been in the company of a maternal female figure, and none of them really remembered the feeling from their own childhoods.

“Ren chose to assist you of his own free will. That means he knew the possible outcomes.” Vex looked out over the land that surrounded the compound. “It was his decision to bring you here.”

“It’s beautiful here.” Sharyn stood next to him. “You’d never know the desert is out there.”

“Between the mountains we discovered a natural spring. We began to irrigate and plant. You’ve already seen One’s aptitude for growing things,” Vex grinned at her. Their litle oasis was the only green for miles in any direction. Within the shadows of the mountains it was well protected from outsiders wandering in.

“How long have you been here?”

Vex knew if he lied that she’d know immediately, but the truth would only lead to more questions that he didn’t want to answer. Their secrets were their own, and she would soon be on her way back to ARDA and her orphanage. The less she knew of them, the beter.

“Long enough,” he evaded. He turned back to the bucket of corn and sat on the stump. “I need to finish this if we want to eat tonight.”

“I haven’t had real corn in years!” She sat next to him, but was careful not to touch him. He appreciated her concern for his feelings. She reached into the bucket and picked up an ear. He demonstrated how to remove the leaves around the corn, and she repeated the procedure.

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“You are a fast learner,” he praised.

“I need to earn my keep.” She tossed in the ear of corn and picked up another.

“Ren wants you here, and that means you’re welcome.” Vex continued to shuck as she followed suit. He knew that Sev and Q were listening from the house.

“You are our guest.”

“Thank you, but I feel like I should help out if I can.”

Vex heard Sev’s whisper to Q and a smile crossed his face. He looked at Sharyn. “Can you cook?”

Sharyn placed the pot of steaming meat on the table and saw the eyes of the men widen in surprise. They looked wellf-enough fed, but they had promised her that their cooking was barely palatable at best. In a moment of pity for them, she had agreed to make them this meal. There was nothing more she could do until Ren healed, and cooking did take her mind of her worries.

“I hope this is suitable,” she told them as she took a seat next to Vex. “You’re rather short on herbs.”

The man named Q was the quietest of them all, and he rarely looked her in the eye. “It smells delicious to me.”

“Thank you,” Sharyn told him with a smile. “Please, dig in.”

To her surprise, they did not reach for the food, but bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Sharyn caught One’s eyes at the head of the table, and he smiled at her encouragingly. She bowed her head but watched the men around the table through her lashes as One began to speak in a low, smooth voice.

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They kept their eyes closed, their hands folded neatly in front of them. Their mouths moved silently to the foreign words.

Prayer. She was surprised, but hoped that she kept it hidden as they opened their eyes and raised their heads.

“Please.” One held out the plate of heavy, unleavened bread. “As the guest, you should eat first.”

“Thank you.” Sharyn took a flat cake and passed the plate to her lef, to Vex. No one spoke until their plates were full.

“I’ve never tasted anything so good,” Vex told her as he put more of the meat into his mouth. “Mmmm, good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Yeah. It’s good,” Sevyn told her grudgingly. She noticed that he did not seem to extend the same acrimony to her food that he did to her.

One and Q ate quickly but quietly. Sharyn felt a bit out of place, as if they would normally have laughed and joked had she not been around. She chewed her food thoughtfully and wondered what secrets they had that had brought them so far away from civilization in the first place. Not her business, she concluded. They were nice enough to help her get back home to ARDA, but that was as far as their relationship would extend, she was sure.

“What’s it like being a Ranger?” Sevyn asked her suddenly. She put her fork on her plate and looked at him. It sounded like an innocent question, but his eyes said it wasn’t. He blinked at her impassively, daring her to refuse to answer.

Sharyn dabbed her lips with her napkin. “Unpleasant,” she said at last. It was the most polite word she could muster to describe the work.

“Must be hard, doing as you’re told. Following orders no mater what.”

All eyes were on her. Vex seemed not unsympathetic, and One looked intrigued by the turn in the conversation. Q stared at his plate and chewed his food.

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“I suppose it is.”

“What happens if the orders go against what you believe in?” Sevyn crossed his brawny arms and leaned back in his chair. “If you believe in anything.”

“I guess the gods gave me a brain for a reason, so most of the time I use it. I try not to get involved in things that might end up badly for me.”

Vex’s lips twitched a bit, so she knew she’d managed to amuse him, but Sevyn’s light blue eyes were even harsher now. Whatever she said, he was looking for a reason to hate her.

“And if you do?” he demanded. “You just kill who they tell you to kill?”

Sharyn had had about enough of the third degree. The man was a zlag, and she was over his purposeful needling. She leaned toward him, her elbows on the table. She made sure her eyes were trained directly on his, so her meaning could not be missed.

“I kill if I need to kill. I don’t like it, and I don’t want to do it. It makes me sick, if you really need to know. But I’ve seen what happens to the children on Rissid planets. I’ve spent hours rocking them to sleep and trying to explain why their parents were murdered in front of them. So I take the assignments and I gather the intel, and I kill whoever needs to be killed.”

“A noble murderer is beter than an ignoble one, then?” Sevyn sneered.

Sharyn opened her mouth to cut him down, but an angry rasp made her lips snap shut.

“Enough, Sev.” She turned around to see Ren standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He leaned against the doorjamb, his face pale. She stood and hurried to him, hoping he didn’t fall. She had no idea how he could stand the shirt that stretched tight over his wide shoulders.

“You shouldn’t be up,” she scolded.

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“I’m hungry and I can’t take another second of that zlagging room.” He let her hold on to his arm and guide him to an empty chair at the table across from Vex. He sat carefully, keeping his spine straight to avoid touching the back of the chair.

Sharyn went back to her seat, but she didn’t miss the way Ren’s eyes narrowed on her position next to Vex. “She’s a Ranger, Ren. No beter than any of the other...”

“Enough, I said.” Ren picked up a fork and turned his narrowed gaze on Sev. “She’s my guest here and you’ll treat her well or there will be hells to pay.”

“I don’t understand what she’s done to earn your loyalty!” Sev pushed his chair back and stood, glaring at them all. His eyes were ice when he looked at her.

He raised his lip in a sneer. “She cooked a meal and talked about children. How do we know she’s not lying?”

Ren started to stand, his face stony with anger, but One raised a hand and Sev’s mouth snapped shut as Ren subsided.

“I ofered her sanctuary and our assistance.” One looked at Sevyn with a slightly raised eyebrow. “Do you doubt my ability to vet her worth?”

Sevyn clenched his jaw, fury pulsing through his body. He was massively built, like all his brothers, but his muscle was leaner than theirs. The anger thrummed through him like a live wire. The man was capable of real violence, Sharyn knew. She tensed, wishing she had more than a fork and a dull knife to defend herself with. She had no doubt Ren would atempt to defend her, and possibly Vex and One, but she wanted to be able to fight Sevyn of if he was as quick as she thought he was.

The room was silent with tension as Q raised his head to look at Sevyn.

“Leave her alone,” he said in a nearf-whisper. “She’s not going to hurt anyone.”

“You too?” Some of the tension bled out of Sevyn’s shoulders.

Q looked at Sharyn and a ghost of a smile flickered on his lips before he turned back to Sevyn. “Yeah. She isn’t like them.”

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Them? Sharyn quickly surveyed the men in the room. Something about their body language, something about the hollow look in their eyes, told her that they had secrets she probably never wanted to know. Someone had caused the kind of fear and fury that fed Sevyn’s reaction to her. Someone very much like a Ranger, she guessed.

Sevyn sat down in his chair, his lips clamped shut. He picked up his fork and began to eat as if nothing had happened. She looked at One, and he cast her an apologetic shrug. Apparently, they were used to Sevyn’s angry outbursts. She began to slowly release her death grip on the fork, and stretched her cramping fingers.

When she glanced up from her plate she caught Ren watching her. He lifed a forkful of the meat to his lips and chewed, never taking his eyes of hers. He was angry at Sevyn, she could tell, but there was something else glitering in those stormy eyes. She felt her face heat and looked away, reaching for her water glass.

Her hand bumped Vex’s and he snatched his away, rubbing the back of his hand as if she’d biten him. She pretended not to notice, but it bothered her. These men were absolutely appalled by her touch and she had no idea why. She had even begun to think that she and Vex were geting along. At least Ren didn’t seem to mind her touch.

The rest of the meal finished in silence, with everyone staring at their plates and eating as quickly as possible. Sharyn began to yearn for the moment when she could escape the palpable tension that added weight to the air. As the men began to clear their plates she stood and began to gather them up.

“Leave them,” One told her as she reached for his. “Q will wash up.”

Q took the stack of plates from her and carried them to the cleaner without a word. Sharyn stood emptyf-handed and without any idea what to do next. She had been looking forward to geting away from the oppressive atmosphere. She lived with stress, managed it every day, but this kind of barely restrained violence made her nervous and lef her worried that she might have to do “unpleasant” things.

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“I am tired,” Ren said as he stood. “I am going to lie down.” He looked at Sharyn. “Will you help me?”

Sharyn was grateful for any excuse to get away from Ren’s brothers. Vex wasn’t rude, but he treated her as if she had a terrible contagious disease, and Sevyn stared at her with open hostility. One seemed gently amused, and Q was terrified. Ren was the only one who seemed to genuinely want to interact with her.

“Yes. Absolutely.” She hurried to his side and took hold of his forearm with her hand. “I’d be happy to.”

When they were out of the kitchen and down the hall she let out a big sigh.

“They are not used to strangers in our home,” Ren told her quietly.

“I understand,” she said, even though she didn’t. “I have a feeling they hate me because I’m a Ranger.”

“They do not trust easily.”

“I want to go home as much as they want me gone,” she assured him. “I’m just sorry that One is forcing them to help me.”

Ren chuckled. “The old man doesn’t force them to do anything.”

“He ofered me help and agreed to let me stay here for a few days, but it seems like they didn’t want to agree.”

Ren pushed open the door to his bedroom. She led him to his bed and he sat, hissing in pain.

“Stop puting on a shirt,” she told him as she reached for the butons. “It will only make things worse until you’re fully healed.”

He let her remove the shirt from one arm and then the other, not making a sound until it was of. She moved around him to look at his back.

“Gods, you do heal quickly.” Sharyn had never seen rapid healing like this.

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granulated, healing tissue. She touched the edge of one of the wounds gently. “How is the pain?”

“Manageable.” He was tense, but he didn’t seem as averse to her touch as his brothers.

“The others don’t let me touch them.”

“Why would you touch them?” he demanded sharply.

Sharyn smothered a smile. “I bumped into Vex and he backed away like I have the plague. Q and Sevyn won’t come closer than three meters, and even One shied away from my hand when I was passing the dinner plate.”

Ren’s shoulders relaxed a notch. “They distrust anyone outside of our family unit.”

“I can see that.” Sharyn pushed down the covers on Ren’s bed and waved at him to lie down.

He stretched out on his stomach with a groan. His loose synthf-coton pants were nestled just over the swell of his ass, and Sharyn dragged her eyes back up to his mutilated back.

“Are the muscles stif?” she asked.

“Shoulders are grywat,” he mutered, his head on his arm. “They’ll loosen up.”

“Beter to start now.” She held up her hands, palms out. “May I touch you?”

He stared at her for a few seconds and she wondered if he was going to deny her, then he nodded.

She began to gently knead the bunched muscles in his upper shoulders. The boys ofen said she had sof hands, and she tried to make sure her ministrations weren’t causing him pain. As she worked, he began to relax more.

“Why do you smell like cassia?” he murmured.

She paused to ponder his question. “What’s cassia?”

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“Spicy. Poor man’s cinnamon.”

She laughed. “Oh.” “Smells good,” he assured her. She could tell that his exertion had worn him out, and under her gentle massage he was sliding toward sleep.

“That’s good. I assume it’s the hairwash I use. Something specific to ARDA, made by a local woman in our town.”

“Mmmmm.”

She stopped rubbing his shoulders and backed away, certain he was asleep.

She was surprised when his hand shot out to capture hers.

“Stay a while.”

She sat in the chair next to the bed. “One of your brothers could come in, if you’d rather.”

“No.” “Okay.” She had no idea what to say, so she sat quietly. He still held her hand, his head pillowed on his other arm and his eyes closed.

“Why don’t they like me?” she asked. She regreted the question immediately, because it shouldn’t mater if Ren’s family liked her or not. She would be leaving Dryon soon, and would never see them again. It wasn’t the kind of question a hardened Ranger would ask.

His eyes flutered open. Without the anger, they were sofer — the sweet gray of the clouds over the ARDAn sea.

“It doesn’t mater,” she whispered.

He stared at her silently, but afer a moment he said, “Our past has taught us that others are not always kind or trustworthy.”

“I’m fairly certain the same could be said of everyone’s past.”

His lips were drawn down, a crease between his eyes. “No. Not the same.”

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She probably didn’t want to know the details. She’d seen enough horror in her life, and she had a feeling that whatever story Ren had to tell would be worse.

“I’m sorry.”

His hand tightened on hers. “I like you.”

She smiled. “Good. I like you, too. But, you don’t know me either.”

“I know enough.” Ren yawned.

“Sleep now,” she told him pulling her hand away. “You’ll need your strength to continue healing at that rate.”

“We’ll get you home, Sharyn. I promise.”

She stood and, without thinking, bent to press a kiss to his forehead. She felt silly for treating him like one of her boys, but a smile creased his lips. In moments he was snoring lightly. She covered him to his waist with his blankets and lef, closing the door lightly behind her.

Sharyn jumped when she realized Vex was standing outside the door.

“He got hurt because of you.”

“I know.” Sharyn already felt terrible that Ren was sufering because of her.

“I’d give anything to trade places with him.”

Vex was studying her with a speculative gleam in his dark eyes. “Would you?”

“If I could.”

He turned to walk away, then looked back over his shoulder at her. “We’re on the porch.”

Sharyn stared afer him, dumbfounded. Was he inviting her to join them?

Afer the tension at dinner she had figured they wanted to be as far from her as possible.

“Out here!” she heard One call out.

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Her heart was pounding as she imagined another confrontation. Still, she was going to share a house with these men for the next few days and she couldn’t spend it hiding from them or their distrust and anger. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. It was possible they would never trust her, but she wasn’t the kind of woman who gave up that easily.

She found them on the porch staring out over the moonlit land of their litle acreage. Sevyn was as far from her as he could get, rocking slowly in his chair with his eyes closed. Q and Vex acknowledged her with a nod as One waved her to a chair next to his.

“It’s so lovely!” The larger moon flooded the land with light as the smaller hung next to it, glowing slightly red in the shadow of the larger. The trees and the corn swayed with a gentle breeze. She sat, and let her head fall back as the wind washed over her face. She looked up at the starry sky with a frown. “You said you’re safe here, but can’t the satellites detect the compound?”

“Deflector shields,” Q said from his shadowy spot. “They’ll never know we’re here.”

“I apologize for our rudeness at the meal.” One rocked with his heel, his other leg stretched out.

“No need for apologies. I’m a stranger and you have no reason to trust me.”

One smiled. “Ren trusts you.”

“I don’t know why,” she told him honestly. “I trust him, too.”

“Things are not always easy to explain.” One reached out to pat her hand awkwardly. It was a clumsy touch, but it was more than she had expected.

They rocked silently, but the company was more relaxed and Sharyn felt tired for the first time in hours. Her eyelids flutered, and she sighed.

“Go to bed,” One said quietly, jolting her awake. “You must be exhausted.”

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Sharyn stood, yawning. She opened her mouth to say goodnight when a stray sound caught her atention. She froze, and realized that the others were already standing. Sevyn was staring of the porch into the darkness of the trees at the foot of the mountains.

“Go inside,” he said to her without taking his eyes of the trees.

“It’s Rissid.” She knew the nearf-silent footfalls of the agents.

“Go.” Sevyn looked at her and then back to the trees.

“I can fight.” She moved for the stairs, but Vex stepped in her path.

“Go to Ren,” he told her quietly. “We’ll take care of it.”

“I can’t let anyone else get hurt on my behalf,” she argued.

Vex opened his mouth, but before he could speak the whistle of a projectile cut through the night. He moved faster than she had imagined possible for such a large man, and shoved her out of the way as a bullet slammed into the wood of the door.

Sharyn stumbled, slamming her shoulder against the porch post. She winced at the impact as Sevyn vaulted of the porch and ran toward the trees. Sharyn thought she must be seeing things as he moved so fast he was only a blur in the semif-darkness.

“Go inside with Ren. He can’t fight and he will be more likely to stay with you.” One pushed her gently toward the house.

“Please, don’t get hurt,” Sharyn told him. She couldn’t have the weight of another injury, or a death, on her conscience.

“We will be fine.” One pushed her through the doorway and pulled it closed behind her.

The sounds of more bullets cut through the air, and Sharyn heard Ren curse from his room.

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One was right, Ren was in no shape to fight, but he would be hard to convince. She ran down the hallway and intercepted him at his door.

“I heard gunfire.” He was trying to shrug on his shirt.

“They want us inside,” she told him, pushing him back into his room and closing the door. “Your brothers are taking care of it.”

“Rissid?” he demanded, poised to push past her.

“Yes.” She reached for his arms. “Please don’t leave me in here by myself.”

She hoped her plea would stall him, and it did. She was perfectly capable of caring for herself, but he was in no shape to fight anyone. By thinking he was protecting her, she would actually be protecting him from more harm on her behalf.

“Get down in the corner by the bed,” he ordered. She did as he said and crouched in the corner. He moved to stand in front of her, facing the door. He would make sure no one who came through the door got to her.

Warmth bloomed in Sharyn’s chest as she realized that these men were risking their lives for her, even though they didn’t trust her. They trusted Ren, and loved Ren, and it was for his sake that they were fighting. They were a very tightfknit family unit, that much was obvious.

Ren looked over his shoulder at her as the sounds of scufling and screams wafed in from outside. She nodded to let him know she was okay. She reached up and he took her hand, squeezing.

They stayed that way for minutes that seemed like hours, until a knock sounded on the bedroom door. Two short taps and then three long ones. Obviously some kind of code between brothers.

Ren let go of her hand and opened the door. Sharyn gasped to see Sevyn on the other side, covered in blood.

“It’s done.”

“You okay?” Ren looked over his brother, but Sevyn shook his head.

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“Not mine.”

“What about the others?” Sharyn climbed to her feet. “Are they all okay?”

“Disposing of the bodies.” Sevyn turned and walked away, and Sharyn felt the familiar cold begin to setle in her stomach.

She hugged herself and shivered, and Ren turned to her. “Are you all right?”

“Killing is never all right.” She managed a grin. “I’ll get over it. I know it had to be done. The Rissid would have killed me if your brothers hadn’t intervened.”

Anger tightened Ren’s features. “We have to get you home where you are safe.

You can be protected by your people. You’re vulnerable here. If they know you’re here, more will come.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He took her hand again. “For what?”

“I spoiled your beautiful home. I brought death here.” She recalled the sof beauty of the night, and imagined it would never feel the same from that porch again. All because of her.

He shook his head, his eyes hard. “Death has always lived among us. It dwells here as surely as we do.”

Sharyn’s blood felt cold in her veins at his words. She’d tried to deny it, but the truth was plain. Ren and his brothers were dangerous, probably more dangerous than Rangers and Rissid alike. Whatever they were, whatever they were running from, it was deeper and more evil than anything she had dealt with.

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CHAPTER THREE

“Ren. Come in.”

Ren pushed open the door and looked in to see One at his workstation. He didn’t speak, just watched the way the other man’s hands defly parted the soil to place the seeds gently into the pot.

“Sharyn is resting?” One asked without looking up from his plant.

“Yes, she’s in my bed.”

One looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“She finally fell asleep in the chair and I moved her to the bed,” Ren told him with a grimace. Sharyn had paced the floor, worried for One and his brothers until he had managed to convince her that they were all safe and unharmed. She’d then promptly fallen into an exhausted sleep.

One turned back to his poting. “Sevyn and Q are burying the agents over the mountain.”

“There are bound to be more.”

“As we expected would happen someday.”

One sounded so accepting of the fact that the sanctuary of their home had been compromised; it was all Ren’s fault. He had made the choice to bring Sharyn here, even though he knew full well the tenacity of the men who chased her.

One put down his trowel and wiped his hands on a cloth before he turned to fully face Ren. “What is it you’re waiting for, son?”

Ren crossed his arms, stubbornly silent.

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“Blame? Shame? Guilt? Anger?” One shook his head. “We all have plenty of that without handing out more.” He picked up the pot where the tiny sprout nestled snugly in the soil. “This is us.” He touched the leaves of the plant gently. “Protected.”

One dropped the pot and it shatered, the soil and pot shards scatering over his table. He held up the litle plant, now vulnerable with its roots exposed. “This is what the world will make of us all. We have been stripped bare, broken, and lef without function.”

“I know I brought the Rissid here. I destroyed our home.”

One picked up another pot, filled it with soil, and replanted his seedling.

“Home is not a house or an acreage, Ren. Just as this litle plant can survive in any pot, we can survive in any home.”

“Can Q?” Ren sighed, siting next to One on the long bench. “You know he’s more fragile than the rest of us. You have your plants to tend, and Sev has his anger.

Vex deals with it in his own head. Q still needs the safety of the compound.”

“And what about you?” One folded his hands neatly on his table and looked at Ren. Ren had been staring into those eyes for too many years to count. It was possible that One’s face was the first he had ever seen. Likely, his face would also be the last he’d ever see. One was always calm on the surface, but Ren could see how much turmoil churned within him.

“What about me?”

“What do you have?”

Ren opened his mouth, but then he closed it. He was beginning to see where One was headed with his questioning. “No,” he told the other man.

“No?” One smiled. “Why not?”

“She’s human, for one. And she’s a Ranger.”

“Yes? You’re human, too.”

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“I was.” Ren clenched his fist, feeling the bones grind together in his hand.

“I’m not anymore. You know we’re not meant for....that.”

“For love?” One’s question was gentle, but it was aimed directly at the most secret, most vulnerable place in Ren’s chest.

“For females. For children. Family.” Ren picked up One’s trowel and tested the edge with his thumb. He saw a weapon; One saw a tool to grow things. “We break, we kill, we destroy.”

One’s hand covered Ren’s, squeezing lightly. “No. We were made for more than that, and do not ever doubt it. We have hidden too long here, cowering and afraid.”

“We needed time to heal.”

One’s eyes darkened, and Ren knew that he was mired in memories as surely as any of them. “Some wounds never heal. They toughen and hurt less with time, but they’ll never go away. It’s time we faced that.”

“I can take Sharyn to ARDA on my own. You take Q, Vex and Sev and find a new place. A safe place.”

One chuckled and stood. “Why would we do that? No place is safe forever.”

“If they find out who we are, they’ll come for us.” Ren felt the old familiar fear tighten his chest. He wasn’t worried for himself, but for Q, Sev, Vex and One. He would kill them before he ever let them be taken again.

“Let them come.” One’s hand dropped to Ren’s shoulder. “It’s time they faced what they made, if they can.”

Ren looked up, desperate for a way to convince One to take his brothers and run. Run again and never stop running. From the look in One’s eyes, his mind was already made up, and the others would always follow his command. “Don’t tell her what we are,” he begged the ”old man”. “Please.”

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“She has a right to know. Just as her enemies have become ours, our enemies will become hers. She should be aware of what might come.”

“If it comes to that, I’ll tell her,” Ren promised. “But don’t tell her unless we have to.”

One hesitated, but then he nodded. Ren let out a long sigh of relief. He liked the open, unguarded way that Sharyn looked at him. She thought he was just an average human male. She didn’t fear him or look at him with disgust, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.

“You’re healing quickly. We should prepare to leave for ARDA in the next two cycles.”

Ren nodded as One lef the solarium. He looked down at the tiny seedling, struggling to find life in its litle pot. He imagined its roots uncurling now, trying to hold on to its place in the world.

“May you grow strong and tall,” Ren told the plant as he stood. “So that no one can ever shater your pot again.”

Ren stared down at the face of the woman sleeping in his bed. Her hair was brown, but so many shades of brown that it fascinated his sensitive eyes. He’d tried to count all the colors, but kept geting distracted by her lips. They were perfectly curved, the botom lip slightly plumper than the top. Her nose was long and slim, and the tip turned up slightly. Her lashes cast long shadows on her cheeks, and they flutered as she dreamed.

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He reached out again, soothing her restless sleep with a gentle caress to her cheek. She quieted and murmured sofly under her breath before burying her head deeper into his pillow.

Ren sat back in the chair and put his chin in his hand. What was it about this woman that intrigued him? Of course, she was intelligent, as proven by the fact that she’d almost been able to steal his bike. She was brave, as he’d witnessed when she shot the drone out of the air. Those traits were admirable, yes. She was beautiful in an extraordinarily ordinary way, and that was interesting but nothing to keep his atention for long. It was something else about her that made his mind keep turning back to her presence. He wanted to know her.

Ren frowned. It was true. She was the first person outside of his family unit that made him want to know her. He wanted to listen to her tell him stories of her own family, of her orphans. He wanted to hear tales of her missions, and see the way her face changed as she spoke about it all. He rubbed his chin. He had never cared about people who were not his brothers or One. They were blips on a radar of possible danger to his family or himself and nothing more. But Sharyn was more than a blip on his radar. She was a beacon. She was kind and generous, and her warmth drew him. Instead of shunning her touch, he craved it.

All of which meant one thing. Trouble. He was a man of will, and yet he was unsure that he could give up this glimpse into a moment when he might touch and be touched without feeling revulsion or remembered hurt. When he might actually look forward to a caress or a kiss from those lips.

He shook himself out of his musings and looked out the window where Dryon’s two moons were seting and the blazing sun was peeking over the mountains. One had said two cycles, meaning that their time on Dryon was quickly coming to an end. He hoped, for Q’s sake, that they could return here when their mission to ARDA was over. Despite One’s assurances that they could have a home anywhere, he knew that Q needed this place to continue to heal. He was the youngest of them, the most vulnerable and still the most broken.

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The smell of the morning meal wafed through the door and Ren’s stomach growled. Sharyn would begin to wonder why they ate so much and so ofen, he was sure, but they’d figure out some way to explain it. He stood and lef quietly, closing the door behind him. She wouldn’t wake for a few more hours, and by then they’d be ready for another meal anyway. He followed the smells of cooking meat and eggs to the kitchen and saw that Q and Vex had beaten him to the table.

“Sev’s cooking?” he asked as he took his customary place next to Vex. “You know he only does first meal. It’s all he can do without burning it,” Q snorted as Sev walked in with a tray loaded with meat, flatcakes and eggs.

“At least I can fry an egg.” Sev put the tray down and glared at Q. “If my cooking is that bad you don’t have to eat it.”

“I’ll eat,” Q assured him. Though he was technically the youngest, Q was taller and more muscled than both Vex and Sev. He usually needed to eat twice as much as the others at every meal to maintain his metabolic needs.

“Where’s One?” Vex asked. He poured glasses of water and passed them around.

“He went to bed late, he said to eat first meal without him.” Sev looked at Ren. “He said you’ll do the blessing.”

They all bowed their heads and Ren said the blessing of their meal.

Estra, hear us. Bless this nourishment as you bless our bodies with your light.

Give us strength. Give us unity. Guide us. In your name we pray. Alf-Estra.

Ren raised his head as the others reached for the food. He wondered, not for the first time, why they prayed. He ofen blamed it on One’s inane desire to make them seem more human, but couldn’t deny the peace that setled over him when he said the old, familiar words of the meal blessing. They didn’t pray to a god, but to the Universe itself. Fiting, he supposed. They knew who had created them, and it was no benevolent god. Their only hope for salvation came from the darkness of the great void of Estra.

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“Where’s your Ranger?” Sev asked as he bit into a flatcake. He ignored Vex’s warning glare. Sev liked to play with fire, and he knew Ren’s temper was short when it came to Sharyn.

“Resting. Last night upset her.” Ren hoped that was the end of the conversation as he bit into a cured bit of meat.

“She’s playing you. Rangers don’t get upset over death, it’s their job.”

Ren put down his fork and glared at his brother. Sevyn carried the world on his shoulders, and he did it angrily. He was furious at the world, at himself, and anyone who wasn’t One or a brother. Ren could never carry such anger without burning up in its fire, but it seemed to nourish Sevyn. It kept him going when nothing else could.

“Not everyone likes to kill.”

“She’s a zlagging spy. It’s how she makes a living. Wake up, Ren. She’s not a damsel in distress that you need to save,” Sev scofed.

“Leave it alone, Sev,” Vex warned quietly. He was the peacemaker, and disliked animosity between the brothers. He knew when Ren could be pushed, but it was obvious Sev was poking an already tender wound.

Sev shot Vex a glance and ignored his advice. “She’s using you. Using us. Hells, she nearly got us killed last night and now she’s sleeping like a baby. Why? Because she doesn’t give a zlag about us. She doesn’t care about you.”

Ren pushed his chair back from the table and stood. His fists clenched, his teeth ground together as he stared down his brother. “That’s not your business.”

“It is my business,” Sev glared at Ren. “You brought her here and endangered us all and now you want us to pretend that it’s all okay because you want to zlag her.”

Ren did not recall moving, or driving his fist into Sevyn’s face. He did not remember straddling his brother’s chest to pound his fist into his brother’s mouth

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and nose, or Q and Vex pulling him of. A red haze of rage had triggered the beast inside him, and he was operating on pure, hateful instinct.

He came back to himself on the floor, struggling against Q and Vex. He calmed immediately when he saw the blood that coated his hands, the kitchen floor, and his shirt. He looked at Sevyn’s prone body. “How bad?” he managed.

Vex let him go to crawl over to Sevyn. He held his hand over Sevyn’s chest and closed his eyes. A moment later he looked at Ren and Q. “He’ll live.”

Ren sighed, his body shaking with relief. He could feel the areas where his skin was scraped back from his knuckles already healing.

“He never knows when to shut up,” Q mutered. He would not meet Ren’s eyes, but Ren could feel the terror vibrating in his litle brother’s bones.

“It’s my fault.” Ren struggled to stand. “I let him provoke me.”

“Oh my gods.”

Ren turned to see Sharyn in the doorway, her mouth open. Her eyes were fixed on the body of Sevyn on the floor. She tore her gaze away from him and looked at Ren. “What did you do?”

Vex picked up Sevyn easily, and carried him toward the bedrooms over his shoulder. “He deserved it,” Vex assured Sharyn as he passed her by. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“It looks like you murdered someone in here.” Sharyn let Vex pass with Sevyn and then she hurried to Ren. “Your hands are a mess!” She grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him toward the sink. He could have shrugged her of or held his ground, but he followed her willingly. Her hair was a mess of tangles, her eyes still drowsyflooking from her suddenly interrupted sleep. Still, her touch was gentle when she turned on the water and held his hands under the stream to rinse away the blood.

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“Your knuckles are a litle scraped up, but it’s not too bad,” she murmured, looking at his hands. “Most of that blood must be his.”

“It is.”

She looked up at him, her eyes narrow. “Were you fighting about me?”

He refused to answer.

She turned of the water and pressed the towel to the back of his hands. Q was back at the table, silently eating. She looked at him.

“Q, were Sevyn and Ren fighting about me?”

He nodded and she turned accusing eyes to Ren. “You’re barely healed from the bike spill, and now you’re beating your brother to a pulp because he what... insulted me?”

Ren pressed his lips together, refusing to acknowledge Sevyn’s comments about her.

She sighed. “You can’t fight with your family over me. I won’t allow my presence to be the cause of animosity between you.”

“We don’t need a reason for animosity sometimes,” he assured her. “We’re brothers. We fight.”

“Don’t fight over me. I’ll soon be home and all of this will be an unpleasant memory.”

Ren hated the idea of only seeing her face in his memories. His life had been a series of unfortunate events that had somehow culminated in meeting her, but for once he wasn’t cursing the universe. He liked Sharyn, and never seeing her again caused him pain deep in his gut.

“We like you,” Q said from the table.

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Sharyn’s presence in their lives was far more monumental an achievement than raising Sevyn’s ire.

Sharyn’s face broke into a generous smile. It lit up her eyes and made her prety face beautiful. Ren tried to hide his admiration as she smiled at Q. “Thank you. I like you, too.”

“Sev says you’re a Ranger, so it’s your job to pretend you like us to get what you want.” Q raised his head to look directly at her. “That’s not true, is it?”

“Of course not.” Sharyn’s smile wavered, dimming the light in Ren’s world.

“Your brother has a terribly low opinion of Rangers.”

“It’s all military,” Ren told her. “It’s not personal. He just can’t trust anyone easily anymore.”

“It’s okay.” Sharyn raised her chin, and Ren could tell she was forcing her smile back to her lips. “I’m a terrible Ranger, anyway. Maybe that’s why I was never a great agent; I’ve never treated people badly enough.”

Ren chuckled. “Maybe it is,” he agreed. He reached for the towel in her hands.

“My shower is free, if you need it. I’ll clean this up.” Ren pointed to the blood on the floor.

“Real water?” she asked, her eyes going big. She was used to enzyme showers, he knew, so a true water shower was bound to be a luxury she had probably never experienced.

“No enzyme deliveries out here,” he confirmed. “The water comes from the spring in the base of the mountains.”

“That sounds amazing.” She glanced at the blood on the floor again, and then she caught his eyes. “Don’t fight anyone while I’m gone.”

“He never gets mad at me, so we’re safe,” Q said from the table.

Sharyn laughed and then sailed out of the kitchen, a spring in her step at the idea of a water shower.

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Ren sighed and dropped to a chair at the table. “Thank you, Q.” His brother looked up briefly from his food. “For what?”

“For treating her well.”

Q shrugged. “Sometimes you get a feeling about people. One likes her, and you like her. Vex even said she’s a good cook. She has a sof heart.”

“She does, doesn’t she?” Ren recalled the way she was instantly concerned about Sevyn and about him.

Q mumbled something, and Ren looked up. “What?”

“I never had a sister.”

Ren nodded slowly, surprised Q had even thought about such a thing. Their family unit was as it had always been. He’d never considered adding anyone else.

“I’ve never thought about it.”

“We’ll take care of her,” Q promised. “Sev will come around. You know how he is.”

“Yeah.” Ren knew that the beating would only make Sevyn’s distrust of Sharyn stronger. He would be thinking that Ren was drifing away from them toward her, which was one of Sevyn’s greatest fears. Losing one of them, for any reason, worried him most of all. It would take all of Ren’s convincing to make him accept Sharyn as the others seemed to.

“Beter clean that up before One sees,” Q suggested, nodding toward the red stains on the floor. “You know how he is about blood.”

Ren picked up the towel and stood. One had a particular dislike for the sight and smell of blood, and he would lecture Ren for days if he saw one bit of evidence of his lack of control. Ren knelt and began to mop up Sevyn’s blood, but his mind was on the woman in his shower, and how he could manage to keep her.

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Sharyn removed her clothes and slid under the hot fall of water. She closed her eyes and held in a moan of pure bliss. ARDA was a growing planet, meaning that water was a precious commodity. For all the scientific advancements in their galaxy, there was no replacement for pure, fresh water. Every living thing needed water in some form or another, especially for agriculture. Water baths on ARDA had been banned in 2665, when a great drought had covered 75% of the planet. The citizens had installed enzyme baths, and the practice of water bathing had never really been rekindled.

She let her head fall back as the water cascaded over her shoulders. The people of ARDA had no idea what they were missing. Every droplet felt like it was energizing her soul. She picked up a pot of cream on the side of the tub, and when she pulled open the top she breathed in the smell. It was Ren’s smell. Her mind wandered to the image of him showering, and she had to catch the pot as it shook in her hands. As magnificent as his chest had been, she could only imagine the powerfully sleek muscles that would cover the rest of his body. She took a dollop of the cream and lathered up her body, drenching herself in his scent. She knew that when she returned to ARDA she would most likely never see him again, but for the moment she had the hopeful daydream that he might want to take her and her boys with him to wherever he was headed next. She rinsed out her hair with a wistful sigh. She barely knew the man and she was imagining a future together.

Good men with honest hearts were hard to find, and the idea of waking up next to someone was appealing. Sometimes her heart got ahead of her brain, and she had to reel it back in. But not right this minute. While she was here, in his shower and bathed in his smell, she would pretend for just a few moments longer.

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cooking, and wondered how long she’d lingered under the water. Her stomach growled as she pulled on her wrinkled, dusty clothes and hurried from the lavatory with the towel over her hair.

“How was it?”

She turned in surprise, and smiled at Ren, who lounged on the other side of the hallway with his shoulder against his bedroom door. “It was amazing! Thank you for the opportunity.”

“My pleasure.”

She did not imagine the way his gaze traveled from the top of her damp head to her bare toes. It lingered on every curve and line of her body, and she felt a blush climb over her cheeks.

“You weren’t lying. You do heal quickly,” she said to cover her embarrassment.

Why did she feel so clumsy and inept around him?

He raised a shoulder. “Family trait.” He straightened and held out his hand.

“We’re about to eat.”

She stared at his wide palm and long fingers, and hesitated. His fingers curled, and a look of stark hurt crossed his face and was quickly gone, replaced with a cool smile. He started to drop his hand, but she reached out quickly and grabbed his fist with her hand. With a gentle tug she opened his hand again, and clasped his palm with hers. “That’s good. I’m hungry.”

She moved closer, standing next to him with her hand in his. He was stif, but she bumped him with her hip and he glanced at her.

“I don’t bite,” she assured him.

“I...Yeah, I know you don’t.” His fingers held hers just a bit more tightly.

“Is Sevyn okay?” she asked him quietly. She wanted to speak with the man, explain to him that she didn’t want to hurt his family or cause them any pain, but she had the feeling he wouldn’t want to listen to her empty promises.

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“Good as new.” Ren moved and she kept pace with him down the hall toward the kitchen. “He’s just a butrock sometimes.”

“It’s fueled by fear.”

Ren’s eyes dropped to hers with a startled flare of his nostrils.

“The anger,” she explained. “Sometimes when we’re afraid, we lash out because it’s the only thing we have control of.”

“He’s very angry. How do you know so much about people?”

Sharyn laughed. “People, no. Boys, yes. Especially traumatized boys.”

“What makes you think he’s traumatized?”

“Aren’t we all?” She slowed a litle at the entrance to the kitchen, holding him back for a moment. “I know the signs. The anger, the way you all react to things. The way One questioned me.” She held up her free hand. “I don’t need to know your business; I know I’m a stranger here. But I can see you’ve all been through something terrible, and I’ll always listen if you want to talk. The boys tell me I’m a good listener.”

She held her breath, wondering if he would shun her ofer, but he only nodded thoughtfully. Maybe someday, she decided, he would confide in her about his past.

He led her into the kitchen, and she saw that everyone was already at the table. It was piled high with more flatcakes and bowls of vegetables. Ren held her chair, then sat next to her. She noticed that Sevyn was at the far end of the table, staring at his plate.

One was at the head of the table again, and he did not look happy. His brow was furrowed and a frown turned his lips down.

“Ren, you know the rules,” he said sternly.

“I do.” Ren didn’t break eye contact or appear cowed in any way. “If I cannot control my anger, it will control me.”

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“I know it’s hard, but your brother is not your punching bag.”

“Then my brother should control his tongue, and I’ll control my fists.” Ren glared at Sev, who did not look up.

“Sevyn has already been warned. Sharyn is our guest and she is to be treated with respect.”

Ren accepted that, and he nodded. “I’ll take the punishment.”

Sharyn watched Vex and Q’s faces and she saw Q wince. Whatever the punishment was, it would not be pleasant for Ren. “No.” All eyes turned her way. “I’ll take the punishment.”

“Sharyn, stay out of this,” Ren told her quietly. “This is not your concern.”

“Not my concern?” It was her turn to glare. “I caused this. I am the one who deserves the punishment, not you.”

“Sharyn.”

She looked up at One. “Do you really believe that you deserve to be punished, or are you simply trying to save Ren from it?”

Sharyn caught Sevyn’s gaze as his head finally came up. He had a scrape across his nose that was already scabbed over, and his lip was a bit pufy. He looked truly curious to hear her answer.

She couldn’t lie. “For Ren.” One’s frown became a smile. “I see.”

“She’s not taking the punishment,” Ren said loudly as he leaned toward One. “I’m the one who broke the rules.”

“Don’t play the overbearing male grywat with me, Ren!” Sharyn pushed a finger against his biceps to get his atention. “I make decisions for myself, thank you.”

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He turned to her, leaning close. “Sharyn, you don’t understand...”

She cut him of. “You are not going to be punished for something I caused just by being here.”

“I lost my temper.”

“Just as I’m about to lose mine,” she warned through grited teeth. She could feel the eyes of everyone else on them, but was too angry to care. This would not be a patern they would follow for the time they were together. She refused to allow him to continue being hurt because he’d tried to help her.

“Enough.”

They all looked at One. He folded his hands on the table and sighed. “Very well. If you cannot agree then you both will bear the punishment.”

Sharyn stood, ignoring Ren’s hand on her arm. “No. I won’t let you hurt him.”

“Who said anything about hurting him?” One frowned at her. “We would never hurt him, Sharyn.”

She felt the blush stain her cheeks again. “What? But you said...”

“I said punishment.”

“Q looked like it was a death sentence!” She pointed at the youngest male in the room, who was looking at her with big eyes.

“That’s because Q doesn’t like weeding the garden.” Vex was trying to hold in his laughter, but he was having a hard time.

“Weeding the garden?” She looked at Ren, lost in confusion. “What?”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her seat. “If we break the rules we have to spend the next day weeding One’s garden.”

“Weeding. The. Garden.” She breathed in a deep breath. “You had me thinking that you were going to flog him or something equally horrible.”

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“And you were willing to take that for him?” Sevyn was looking at her, and for once, he wasn’t angry.

“I would have.”

“We would never hurt each other that way on purpose, Sharyn,” One assured her. “There is nothing but hatred to be learned from pain.”

She wholeheartedly agreed, having endured enough in her lifetime. She felt Ren’s hand cover hers under the table.

“Bow your heads,” One ordered, but he winked at her when she caught his eye. “We have to bless this meal before it gets any colder.”

“Now I know why this is punishment,” Sharyn lamented as she wiped the sweat of her forehead. She looked across the big patch of vegetables and groaned. “We’re not even close to being done.”

Ren smiled. Ever since she’d ofered to take his punishment on herself he’d had a warm feeling in his gut that he couldn’t shake. When he looked at her, it got hoter and more intense. Afer the meal they’d agreed to begin their chore, because One wanted the garden done before they lef for ARDA. “I don’t know why he insists we weed if we’re not coming back.”

Sharyn yanked hard on a stubborn wissock root. “I hope you can come back. If I get back to ARDA with the data cube, the Rissids are likely to leave you alone and focus on me.”

That idea didn’t sit well with Ren at all. “Will your Rangers protect you?”

She shrugged and tossed the weed into her bucket. “Maybe. Decklan likes me.”

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“Decklan?” Ren pulled on a wissock particularly hard, and tossed the weeds into the bucket.

“My zlag of a boss.”

He liked the way she talked about Decklan, so he was more gentle on the next weed. “You don’t care much for him?”

“If a Hosannii male and Decklan both proposed to me, I’d choose the Hosannii male.”

Ren grinned.

“He actually did propose to me, before I lef for this mission.” She was oblivious to the way Ren ripped the next three wissock roots from the ground and strangled them in his hands. “He said he could convince the Rangers to let me out.”

“Marriage is the only way out?” Was that his voice, so full of irritation?

“No, you could die.” She smiled up at him, but he didn’t find it funny. When he didn’t smile back she shrugged. “For a female Ranger, being a wife could be an excuse to exit the program, especially if she has children. Families are a liability.”

“But you have children.”

“Not biological children, and those are the only kind the Rangers recognize.”

She rolled her eyes and moved on to the next weed.

Ren found himself wanting to say, “I’d give you my children”, and was immediately reminded of why that wasn’t possible on any level. His kind wasn’t designed to procreate.

“Families make us stronger, not weaker,” he said instead.

She turned back to him with her wide grin. “Yes they do. They give us something to come home to. Something to fight for.”

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mentally and physically. “You missed one,” he told her, pointing to a weed near her bucket.

She plucked it and moved down the row. He knew that she’d plucked his heart just as easily and she didn’t even know she had it.

“May I sit?”

Sharyn looked up in surprise. “Yes.” She moved over on the step so that Sevyn could sit next to her.

She and Ren had finished the garden punishment late in the afernoon, and afer another decadent shower she’d found her way to the porch to watch the Dryon sun set over the mountains.

She didn’t try to talk to Sevyn. If he had something to say, he’d say it in his own time.

They sat together as the twilight crept over the acreage. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He was handsome like his brothers, but in a diferent way.

Ren had chiseled features and a perfect profile. Q had a young man’s face, still filling out. Vex was handsome in a more rugged way, but Sevyn was beautiful. His light blond hair was silky, laying against his forehead. He wore it shaggy against his cheeks. His lips were lush and full, and his eyes were a fathomless icy blue.

“I said some things I’m not proud of,” he said at last.

Sharyn decided to remain quiet, but she nodded.

“It’s not an excuse to act like grywat, but Ren is my brother.”

“You love him, and you don’t want him to get hurt.”

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He nodded. “Yeah. I don’t trust strangers, but I should have listened to Ren and One when they told me to be respectful of you as a guest.”

“I appreciate your apology,” she said, saving him the actual apologies.

He sighed. “Would you have really taken a beating for him, if that was the punishment?”

“Wouldn’t be my first,” she assured him. “I’m a Ranger, you know.” She couldn’t resist teasing him just a litle.

He didn’t smile, but his lips twitched. “I don’t want Ren to get hurt either.”

Sharyn had the idea that they suddenly weren’t talking about physical pain.

“I don’t want Ren to be in pain on my behalf,” she assured him. “I feel awful that I got you all into this mess in the first place.”

He looked at her. “We can handle Rissid. We were built for that kind of work.”

His words made her uncomfortable, but she couldn’t determine exactly why.

“Ren has never acted that way about a stranger before.”

“You mean he’s never beaten your face in?”

He managed a small smile. “That’s happened a few times. We irritate each other. But never over an outsider.”

His words were hurtful, even though he had no idea. Sharyn knew she was an outsider to them, a stranger, but hearing the words was more painful than she’d imagined. “He feels responsible for me.”

“It’s more than that.” Sevyn stood and looked down at her. The newly risen moon cast his icy beauty in stark relief against the darker night. “I want to believe that you won’t hurt him, but I think it’s inevitable now.”

“I mean him no harm,” she assured Sev. “I’d rather die than see him hurt because of me.”

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“It won’t be because he’s trying to protect you,” Sev said as he turned away.

“It’ll be because he wants to keep you.”

Sharyn watched him walk away, her mouth dry. Would Ren want to keep her, as she’d dreamed about in the shower? Would he let her go home to ARDA without ever saying how he really felt? Would she hurt him without even knowing it?

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COPYRIGHT PAGE

AN ENDURING SUN ISBN 978f-0f-988758441f-4f-8 Copyright Š Kgruppe LLC 2017 Editors: Challis Tower Ebook conversion: Challis Tower Cover design: Challis Tower A Takamo Universe book This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the authors imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to events, places or persons, living or dead or residing on a planet other than Earth, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This ebook has been made available without DRM, subject to individual retailer conditions. Please don’t reproduce in any form. (An exception is the use of brief quotations for the purposes of critical articles and/or reviews.) That includes printing, photocopying, scanning, uploading to torrent sites or any other practice that is somehow meant to circumvent a royalty being rightfully paid to the author.

The author and cover artist have asserted their respective rights to be identified as the author of this book and producer of the cover artwork.

The development team for Takamo Universe includes Randall Ritnour, Vanessa Emlich, Thom Walla, Bill Hayes, David Snodgrass, Aaron Groethe, Dale Hayes Sr., Sam Stockton, and Dmitri Borodin and Cooper the wonder dog.

Special thanks to L. Emlich, A. Edecker, and many others for their support and encouragement over the years.

The members of the original Takamo development team were Randall Ritnour, Bill Bunselmeyer, Alan Edecker, and Bill Hayes.