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  She tested the handle and winced as her hand brushed hot metal. But the door opened and Iris’s pain was soon forgotten. She listened carefully before sticking her head out, trying to figure out if anyone was waiting in the hall. But it was empty. Varrow had at least one accomplice; she remembered he’d captured her with one other person. He’d had more guards on Gamma Station, but she had no idea if they were with him now.

  Every step she took tested her nerves, but Iris was relieved to see that she was in some sort of house, not a place designed to hold people captive. It might even be Varrow’s house, she had no way to know. There was a fine layer of dust on the floor, and everything smelled a bit musty, as if the place hadn’t been used in a while. A board creaked underfoot and Iris froze before she made herself move again. She felt too exposed as she walked down the hall, and she had to clench her fists to keep them from shaking.

  A commotion somewhere ahead of her caught her attention. Fighting, that was what she was hearing. Every instinct told her to turn around and find another way out, but she forced her feet forward. The denya bond thrummed within her and she knew that her mate was near. The heavy ozone scent of blaster fire was in the air, and Iris moved carefully, afraid of being struck by a stray shot.

  She came to a staircase and the sounds of fighting grew even louder. That was why no one was upstairs, they were too busy fighting off the intruders to guard her. Maybe that was why Varrow had left her alone.

  With cautious steps, Iris descended, staying low and hoping the railing would do something to obscure her movement. Varrow, along with three of his guards, faced off against Toran and his team. She didn’t know how many people Toran had brought with him, she couldn’t quite make them all out.

  If she had a blaster, her position would be perfect—she could’ve taken Varrow out from behind before he realized she was there. No one, not even her mate had spotted her yet. But all she had was the damn laser scalpel and she would need to get close to somebody before that was any use.

  Two of the guards went down at almost the exact same time. Rather than stay and fight, Varrow left his man and retreated towards the stairs. Iris tried to scramble up, tried to get out of his path, but he was on her before she’d gone up two steps.

  Varrow stared at her in shock, but his instincts must’ve kicked in. He grabbed her around the neck and spun around, holding her tightly and placing a blaster to her temple. “Put down your weapons or she’s dead,” he called to the fighting men below. He wasn’t quick enough to save his third guard, who went down as Varrow was making his escape.

  The fighting stopped. She met Toran’s eyes and offered a weak smile. She expected anger, but she saw relief in his expression. She understood. Things might’ve been bad, but they were alive, and they could see each other. Even if this was the end, they were going out together.

  Varrow forced her down the steps and she could see that Toran had Raze, Dryce, Kayde, and Sierra with him. Kayde had fallen to blaster fire and was propped up against one of the walls, clutching his shoulder. He was conscious, but was making no effort to get up. Toran slowly lowered his blaster towards the ground and the rest of his team followed suit. They couldn’t take out Varrow when he was using her as a human shield.

  “Let her go,” Toran demanded. There was no quiver in his voice, nothing to give away his anger other than his flashing red eyes.

  The Oscavian actually laughed, and Iris’s body jerked as his chest bumped against her. “We both know that’s not happening.” He scraped the side of her head with his blaster and moved it down to rest the barrel against her neck.

  The scalpel was heavy in Iris’s hand, and she wasn’t sure if it was pointed at him or not. Even if she hit him fatally, he’d be able to get off a shot. And with the blaster pointed point-blank at her neck, it just might kill her. She looked at Toran for strength, for some sign of what she should do. “They’ll let you go if you don’t hurt me,” she tried to bargain with Varrow. “Just get to the door and no one will chase after you.”

  He shuffled his grip again and she tensed as the blaster dug further into her skin; it would leave a bruise if she survived this. “Even if you believe that, your beast doesn’t,” Varrow hissed at her.

  Iris looked directly at Toran. “Give me your word, if he lets me go unharmed, you’ll let him go.” They could still get out of this relatively unscathed, but Toran had to leash his killing rage. He had to make Varrow believe his word.

  Her mate’s jaw locked and she could see his fingers curling into fists. Frustration and anger barreled into her through their connection and Iris wished she had some calming emotion to send him, but she was just as on edge.

  Toran took half a step forward, and Varrow’s attention shifted. The blaster slipped, not quite aiming directly at her. It was now or never. Iris lit up the scalpel and swiped back, aiming for anything soft and vital. Varrow cried out and turned her, letting off three blasts, and as one connected, the scalpel slid from her fingers as her body locked up and she fell to the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  IT WAS EASIER TO DEAL with things like this in space. There was no paperwork when it came to disposing of the bodies of bottom feeders and sadists like Varrow. Toran sat in the hospital speaking with someone who had identified herself as a police officer and explained everything that had happened in the past few hours.

  Well, he explained the story that he and his team had agreed to tell. The human police weren’t particularly interested in dealing with alien crime, and Sierra had made it clear that once they got their hands on Varrow’s house and declared it a crime scene there would be no hope of getting in to search for any relevant intelligence.

  When she’d said that, Toran’s only concern had been getting Iris the medical care she needed. The blaster had clipped her face and knocked her out, and a nasty scorch mark scored her chin. He’d rushed her to the nearest hospital while the rest of the team scoured Varrow’s house.

  The officer bid him farewell, promising to look into the false crime that he’d described. He’d told her that he and Iris had been mugged by an alien matching Varrow’s description. He kept the details bare, another piece of advice from Sierra, and he didn’t have to pretend his worry for Iris. Whether he would get in trouble for lying depended on what the police found, but at the moment he couldn’t care less. He just wanted to know that his mate would be okay.

  An android attendant wearing a lab coat came down the hall and asked for him by name.

  Toran stood and greeted the bot. “Is she okay?”

  The android gave him a flat smile, like something one of the soulless would try. “She’s asking for you, sir.”

  The walk down the hall seemed to take longer than the wait, though it in reality only took a minute. Toran was led to a private room, and the android left him there. Iris lay in a small bed, her hair fanned out against the pillow, and her skin disturbingly pale against the white sheets. But she was awake and her face lit up with a smile when she saw him. A bandage covered the bottom half of one of her cheeks and part of her jaw. Toran closed the door behind him and took a seat beside her. She reached out and he laced their fingers together and they enjoyed a moment of silence, peace settling over them.

  “What happened?” she asked, her voice raspy and a little slurred. “Didn’t want to pass out.”

  Toran involuntarily squeezed her hand, the memory of her falling down washing over him like an icy wave. “You got him. Must have nicked something important. He went down not long after he got the shot off. By the time I was across the room, he was gone.”

  “Gone?” she whispered. “He got away?” Whatever painkillers they had her on must have been making her think slower. A moment later she stiffened and shook her head slightly. “He’s dead?”

  Toran nodded, unsure of how his mate would feel about this. He was a warrior, one who’d dealt death across the galaxy where it needed to be dealt. He would’ve taken Varrow down in an instant for the crime of threatening his mate. But
Iris was not him, and he knew she’d never killed anyone before.

  But Iris let out a relieved sigh. “Good,” she mumbled. “Can’t hurt you, good.” Her eyes drifted shut but she forced them open after a second and looked at him seriously, the expression almost comical on her tired face. “He said Yormas wasn’t working alone. More than just Varrow. Maybe his planet is involved. Don’t know.”

  Toran leaned forward and brushed his lips against her forehead. “You did good. You’re so strong.”

  “Had to make it for you.” It was hard to make out exactly what she was saying as drowsiness started to win the battle. “Had to tell you I love you.”

  Toran’s heart clenched and he kissed her again, but before he could say anything else she was already asleep.

  IRIS EXAMINED HER FACE in the mirror, looking for any sign of scarring from the blaster shot, any hint of the injury she’d taken three days before. But the miracle of regen gel and a few other medical tricks made it impossible to tell that she’d been seriously injured, except for a little redness that she’d been promised would disappear.

  She’d been in the hospital for less than a full day before being released to return home. Toran had gone with her and he hadn’t left. He seemed to be getting joy out of playing the role of nursemaid, but Iris was now healed and all of the threats and worries of life were still waiting for them.

  She left the bathroom before Toran caught her staring again and plopped down on the couch. Her mate was in the kitchen, arguing with the food processor. He claimed it didn’t like him, and Iris had not yet given him the trick to making the finicky device work properly. A part of her liked to watch him struggle.

  After letting out a series of curses, Toran came out of the kitchen holding a tray of food, his expression serene, as if she couldn’t hear what he’d been saying to her electronics.

  “My face was broken, not my ears,” she said with a smile.

  “That machine is possessed by evil spirits, I take no blame for what I said.” He sat beside her and placed the tray on the table in front of them.

  Iris leaned forward and plucked up one of the vegetables before popping it into her mouth, leaning against her mate. “Evil spirits?”

  “The most sinister,” he said in his gravest voice.

  Iris smiled. She loved seeing this side of her mate, the playful side that was just for her. He was so serious, so in charge around his team, that they probably wouldn’t recognize him when he spoke of the evil spirits living in her food processor. “When is everybody coming over?” she asked.

  “Soon,” said Toran.

  “Do you have any more information about Wreet? Or about where Yormas went?” On the first day after her injury Toran had told her nothing, insisting that she rest up and not worry. On the second day he fed her small bites of information that had only whet her curiosity. Now everyone—Raze, Sierra, Kayde, Dryce, and Quinn—was on their way to go over what had happened to Iris and what they needed to do next. She’d heard mention of two other women, Mindy and Jo, but apparently they’d been reinstated at the SIA and weren’t available to join the meeting.

  “I’m sure we’ll know more soon,” Toran promised. He slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer. “You told me you loved me in the hospital,” he said quietly, as if it had been eating at him for a while.

  Iris tilted her head towards him and offered a smile. “I know.” She had been a bit loopy, but she remembered everything that happened after she woke up. She hadn’t been that injured.

  “You fell back asleep before I could say anything.” Her mate wrapped a finger around strands of her hair and played with it idly.

  “What do you have to say?” She couldn’t help but grin, and her tone was a bit teasing. She knew that Toran cared for her, that he would do anything for her. And she could feel the tender beat of his emotions through the denya bond. She’d never felt more secure in a man before, and knew that he was the only one for her.

  “I love you, my denya,” he said like a vow. “I should have said it sooner.”

  Iris laughed out loud at the thought that two weeks was too long to go without admitting love and Toran gave her a harsh look, but she swiped a kiss against his lips to soften the blow. “We have a lifetime, there’s no need to rush.”

  Toran placed his hand against her hip and leaned over her, swiping his lips over hers and tasting her with his tongue. “We may have enough time to rush before the others get here,” he tempted.

  “How soon is soon?” Iris wanted to take him up on his offer, but she didn’t want every person he knew to catch them with their pants down. They would never hear the end of it.

  Before Toran could answer, there was a knock at the door, and all thoughts of rushing washed away on a wave of frustrated desire. “Later, you are mine,” he declared.

  Iris pushed him off of her and gave him a kiss as she got up to answer the door. “I’m always yours,” she said with a smile. But for now the team was waiting. With the threat of Varrow taken care of, and the information they’d found at his house, they were that many steps closer to hunting down Yormas of Wreet and getting justice for the destruction of Detya. Their group was small, but they had allies, and Iris knew that as long as she stood at Toran’s side she would do anything to help him heal this generational wound.

  So she opened the door and greeted her guests, ready for the things to come.

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  I HOPE YOU LIKED READING about Toran and Iris and learning about the Detyen Legion. The story continues when Kayde and Quinn take an unexpected journey in Heartless.

  Just because one soulless warrior found his mate doesn’t mean that another can gain back his emotions. Will the denya bond be strong enough to overcome all the obstacles between a Detyen warrior and his human mate? Find out today.

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  About Kate Rudolph

  KATE RUDOLPH IS AN ex-derby girl who lives in Indiana. She loves writing about kick butt heroines and the steamy heroes who love them. She's been devouring romance novels since she was too young to be reading them and had to hide her books so no one would take them away. She couldn't imagine a better job in this world than writing romances and sharing them with her fellow readers.

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