Kyele's Passion: A World Beyond Book 4 (8 page)

She risked another glance at him and swallowed past the thickness in her throat. But never in all their dealings had Kyele ever been truly angry toward her as he was now.

“No, I’m not on Earth any more, am I?” Joni’s mouth twisted up. She battled back her grief. “Not exactly by choice how I ended up here though. Right, hot shot?”

“Enough,” Torkel said. He leaned away from Faye, reluctance in his step as he put his Chosen back to confront them. “We need to get the females settled. Did the intruders escape?”

“They are dead,” Kyele said through clenched teeth. He crossed the hall and carefully moved to the side so as not to brush against Joni as he shoved the door to the back open. “Creed counted six on the premises.”

Torkel pointed to the blond brothers Geile and Gregir. “Follow him and find out what happened here.”

“Markus has the listening trackers we discovered out front,” Kyele tossed over his shoulder, not bothering to wait for the men to accompany him.

Joni let out a soft sigh once the potency of his presence dimmed with his exit.

The men hugged the special women in their lives and Joni stood aside. Alone. Trust came so hard these days, but she pushed for it. If for no other reason than she deserved to get past her abduction and anything less meant the Marenians won. Those bastards wouldn’t take anything else from her. And yet there was no one to hold her in this moment.

Rydak stepped away from Lissi and his children. He grasped Joni’s fingers lightly in his gloved hands. The gray of his eyes darkened with thunderous intent, but his voice was kind as he spoke. “Lissi told me what you did. She and our children are all the blood family I have left. I can not repay you for that.”

Uncomfortable with the attention, Joni tried to brush it off. “It’s not a big deal.”

His lips tightened and not even that annoyed expression could detract from his gorgeous features. Blond hair pulled back in a sleek tail, smooth golden brows above gray eyes held her riveted to the spot. He was a serious contender for most beautiful man in the world. “It is a
very
big deal as you say to me.”

He squeezed her fingers once, then let go and nodded. “Anything you need, Joni.”

“Um…yes, well I did what anyone else would have done.” It never crossed her mind not to fight when the attackers burst from the trees and charged forward.

Lissi came over and slid an arm around her Chosen’s waist. Joni couldn’t miss how his weight shifted naturally to embrace her. Almost an absent gesture he was long used to making.

“You saved my life, Joni. Our children too.” She peeked up at Rydak. “Maybe I should start training in combat.”

Rydak whirled her around in his arms, one hand gripping the back of her head, burying his fingers in the tousled blonde waves as he pressed his forehead to hers. “I wish I could tell if you were joking with me.”

“Maybe.” Lissi’s retort contained a sassiness Joni totally approved. Rydak’s tortured groan dragged a smile from her as well.

Chapter 10

“What’s gotten into you?” Geile asked Kyele as he hefted a body and threw it to the growing pile they’d started.

Kyele paused after checking the pockets of the fourth man. They’d removed the masks of each one, but their faces offered no clue to their identities. Random mercenaries. “Why would you think something is wrong with me?”

“Because you were short with Joni and as scary as you are to the rest of us, it hasn’t been missed that you watch that female as if you want to make a meal of her.”

“You’re wrong.” The lie slipped easily off Kyele’s tongue as he met Gregir’s look without blinking.

Geile snorted, adding the last body. Six men, all in black. A syringe depresser with an attached vial rolled onto the grass. Frowning, Kyele leaned forward and picked it up. Empty. Like the trackers, none of it made sense. He slipped it into his pockets.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Gregir said as he stretched his arms over head and arched his back.

Kyele stood and brushed his palms against his pants. At least they no longer shook. Control alone had kept him from reaching for Joni upon his arrival as if she belonged to him. Seeing her safe had almost driven him to his knees. Then anger replaced the relief and he wanted to yell at her for putting herself in harm’s way. But she’d been afraid of him. He’d caught the minute flash of it in her eyes before it faded. The sight gave him pause enough to hold back on the crushing need to touch her.

Everything in her had called to him as she stood shoulders back, chin up and wearing a green dress that left little to the imagination. The skimpy material clung to her in all the right places, a jagged tear on one side revealing a reddening blemish on the golden skin at her waist. Bits of grass and dirt crusted on her knees, her strappy sandals damaged. She’d looked like a fierce worn soldier.

Mine
.

Kyele flinched away from the claim. He’d wanted to run his hands over her body, touch every inch in gratitude at finding her whole and unhurt. But he couldn’t do that. He didn’t have the right to touch her. Instead he’d had to throttle back the level of his emotions, catching the dart of need in her amber gold eyes. The small spark compelled even as he fought his ever growing desire.

The brothers were off the mark though. Nothing came close to describing what he’d felt facing Joni as she explained she’d deliberately turned off the perimeter alarms. For a
picnic
. His nostrils flared despite not fully comprehending the Earth custom. When Jaron had called, he’d felt powerless. Weak. If the females hadn’t fought back they would have been taken. He would have been too late.

For the first time since becoming a Jutak warrior, Kyele thought he’d failed a mission. He’d given himself one assignment to take precedence over all else. Joni was never to be hurt. Not on his watch.

“Torkel wants us all in the meeting room.” Jaron leaned out the doorway, his eyes on the bodies. “The Commander’s sending a disposal team for pick up. Any clues?”

If only. Kyele gripped the back of his neck, feeling the knotted muscles. “No. Nothing although the one is possibly a Dorlan. An exam should confirm.”

None of them spoke at they traversed back through the building. Kyele noted the empty alcove and his heart clenched. He rubbed at his chest as they took the elevator to the second floor.

Jaron leaned against the back wall, gaze on him and legs crossed at the ankle. “You good?”

He dropped his hand to his side and fondled the knife in his thigh sheath. His friends were far too observant. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

The Team One Leader’s smug grin tempted Kyele to punch him, but the telling reaction would be exactly what Jaron wished for. Kyele learned long ago not to give in to his natural impulses.

Hoping to send Jaron’s mind in another direction, Kyele handed over the syringe he’d discovered. “Give this to Dr. Maku when you get the chance.”

Jaron pocketed it while smirking. The doors chimed and Kyele bumped his shoulder as they exited the elevator. He ignored Jaron’s snickers and headed for the meeting room where the others waited. Jaron broke off, going in the opposite direction toward the medical center to see Maku.

Geile and Gregir sat to the left of Kyele, while the other members of their Unit claimed the seats around the table with Torkel at the front and Rydak by the door. Everyone was here except Jaron and V’hor.

“Any ideas who would be behind this?” Torkel asked.

A round of shaking heads.

“Is there any way this is because the Marenians want Sylvie and Joni back?” A husky growl accompanied Arak’s question as his displayed claws tapped the arms of his seat in agitation.

Kyele’s fingers clenched on the edge of the table at the possibility. Torkel shoved his hands through his dark hair, disturbing the neat waves. “We are unsure. Joni reported that one of the males said he only needed one Chosen alive.”

Rydak spoke from his position, shoulder propped on the wall. “They came wanting the Chosen of a Jutak. This was an attack aimed at our Unit specifically.”

Kyele silently agreed, except Joni wasn’t a Chosen. She didn’t belong to any of them. His grip tightened until his knuckles turned white.

Torkel nodded. “Joni volunteered to let them take her to save the females and children.”

Kyele’s chair slammed to the floor as he pushed to his feet. Rage like never before tore through him and his lungs labored as he held back his shout of denial. All eyes landed on him but only the members of Team Three rose to their feet.

The already thick tension in the room inched up a notch. Did they think to hold him back? He allowed his lip to curl in warning. Bane took a step in his direction but Arak’s low warning growl stopped the Ceraton in his tracks. White threads bled through Bane’s black eyes but he backed off.

Torkel’s gaze stayed unconcerned as he continued. “It is in our favor they were not successful in their attempt.” His brown eyes darkened. “We owe Joni a debt we’ll never be able to repay. Because of the training she demanded and quick thinking, she fended off the attack and gave Sylvie the courage to stand by her side and help.”

Kyele’s blood boiled, but he couldn’t pinpoint why this information disturbed him to the point of wanting to fight. He resumed his seat and whipped out his knife, playing the blade through his fingers to calm down.

“What do we have on the listening trackers?” Rydak asked. His tone remained smooth and even but his gray eyes clouded like an incoming thunderstorm.

“Black market purchase. Untraceable.” Jaron entered on that pronouncement. Annoyance pinched his brow as he claimed a vacant seat and slouched. “There was also an empty vial Kyele retrieved from one of the intruders. I gave it to Dr. Maku to run test on what it might have contained.”

This time they all stared in confusion.

“Perhaps a sedative,” Arak volunteered. “To make the abduction easier?”

It made sense. They could get off world easier with an unconscious female and less questions in such a circumstance.

“I don’t like it,” Khane from Team Three stated from his position at the end of the table, ruffling a hand through his blond waves. The gold bands on his wrists caught the play of light.

Torkel let out a harsh sigh. “Until we know further the reason behind this attempt, I want one team to stay behind at all times.”

Kyele’s head jerked up. If the Commander needed them they had to respond.

Jaron’s jaw dropped before he spoke up. “Torkel, the Jutak cou—”

“Fuck the Jutak council,” Torkel roared. He pressed his fists to the table and leaned forward. Muscles bunched and amped as his Marenian heritage responded to his emotions. Torkel’s gaze met each of theirs. “I will not leave my Chosen vulnerable again unless we know what’s going on. That means never again will all three teams in the Unit be away at the same time.”

Rydak’s eyes swirled with unchecked displeasure. Lissi and their children were everything to the Team Three leader. Take them out and no force on Enotia would be able to contain him. It didn’t take long for Rydak to concur. Kyele wasn’t surprised at his easy capitulation. “Agreed.”

“Agreed.” Jaron’s voice coincided with Arak’s.

One by one his teammates showed their support for Torkel Alonson, a man who’d been there for each of them at one time or another.

Kyele didn’t hesitate. “Agreed.”

Torkel nodded and dropped into his chair. The day had obviously taken its toll on him as well. “V’hor should arrive any time now but you all should also know the latest news I received from Dr. Maku.”

Kyele froze, halting the movement of the knife in his hand.

Torkel lifted his head to the ceiling. The muscles in his neck drew taut. “Vee managed to send a genetic sample from this Niko.”

Arak’s Chosen gave them a clue that one of the leaders in charge of the Marenian slave trade was possibly Lothar’s son Niko. In addition, Niko hinted to Sylvie that he was their Unit Leader’s brother. None of them wanted to believe it possible, least of all Torkel who’d been adopted by Shaya and Marlin Alonson as a baby.

When Torkel faced them, his brown eyes glowed with torment. “There are similar components in our blood.”

Jaron cursed.

“Not an exact match, which could mean anything, but there is a familial connection.” Torkel braced his forearms on the table. “I plan to share this information with the Commander and if he agrees, the Jutak council will need to be informed.”

No one spoke. The Commander supported them fully. He’d been good friends with Torkel’s papan, Marlin since his days on the Jutak council. The council on the other hand was a wild card. The implications of Torkel having blood ties to such a nefarious Marenian could give them cause to ask for him to step down from the Jutaks.

“Any questions or concerns about this information?” Torkel presented the words in a neutral tone, but they all understood the magnitude of his revelation.

Kyele leaned back in his seat, legs sprawled and used his friend’s words but in a milder tone. “Fuck the governing council.”

Rydak’s lips twitched.

Murmurs of approval followed.

“It’s late, and the only thing I want to do is go to my Chosen and hold her close.” Torkel wrapped his knuckles on the table. “Meeting over. Jaron, keep me aware on what Maku discovers.”

***

“Do you realize what you’ve done?!” Nikol snarled to Arlo.

His supposed partner curled his lip, no remorse in his dark eyes. “I don’t care. We almost had one of the
punans’
women.”

Nikol grabbed Arlo by the shirt. Anger flowing hot and free added strength as he lifted his fellow Marenian to the tip of his booted toes. “Because of you, the Jutaks are more on guard. You attacked one of their home bases. No one has ever dared to attack the Jutaks on Enotia.”

Arlo smirked. “Perhaps you aren’t as well informed as you seem to think. Not long ago Torkel Alonson’s Chosen was snatched from his bed thanks to help from one of their own.”

Nikol narrowed his gaze. He hadn’t known how Faye had been taken but he’d gone through a lot of effort to try and save her only to rescue the wrong woman. “The one responsible for that act is dead now.”

Struggling in Nikol’s grip, Arlo sneered. “It means they have weaknesses in their defense. Why can’t you see that! Your father will be pleased to know this.”

“My father!” Nikol shook him, but it wasn’t enough. Rage poured out at the implied threat and Nikol tossed him across the room.

Arlo skidded over the floor, crashing into a nearby table. His out of control slide didn’t stop until he slammed into the back wall. He crawled up to his hands and knees, the shock in his eyes doing nothing to assuage the surge of emotions coursing through Nikol.

He charged over and grabbed Arlo by his hair, yanking his head back until their faces were close. “There’s a reason no one is to bother that Jutak Unit. Stay. Away. From. Enotia. Do you understand?”

“What difference does it matter? All of the Jutaks deserve to die, especially the traitor with the shorn horns.”

Nikol breathed out heavily. He glared at Arlo. “Listen very carefully to me. You will not draw more attention to us. Lothar gives you leeway but even he would not approve of your reckless actions. Understand?”

Arlo nodded, a glimmer of fear showing at last. Lothar loved creating mayhem but not if it jeopardized his business or risked him losing the credits he made with his illegal enterprises.

Nikol dropped Arlo and rose to his feet. No one went after his brother and he wasn’t gong to let Arlo’s petty vendetta against the Jutak Unit leader change that. If he had to, Nikol would put Arlo down like an uncontrollable animal. He didn’t care if he’d have to deal with his father’s punishment for such an act against one of his loyal followers.

Long ago, Nikol had risked everything for Alonson’s freedom and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.