DEX
IT WASN’T EXACTLY the reunion Dex had hoped for.
It’s not like he’d imagined Androma running into his arms and kissing him with the passion of lovers parted for years. Their last moments together hadn’t exactly gone well, what with the whole “Andi soaring away with Dex’s ship, leaving him bleeding and dying on a barren moon” thing.
Then again, he had sold her out to the Patrolmen for her crimes, knowing she’d be sentenced to death upon returning to her home planet.
Love was all well and good, but money was the true key to Dex’s heart.
Still, for what Androma did to him, he should hate her, should want her dead.
But seeing her before him, melting into rage and riot, the smooth metal implants on her cheekbones reflecting the electricity that swam around her swords...
Godstars, she was magnificent; a creature who had released her wrath on the world. It would be worth every drop of blood about to be shed to be the one who finally brought her to the general’s feet.
But as her blades crackled in the too-quiet room, and waves of electricity spiraled around them, Dex wondered if he’d made a mistake. He hadn’t seen her in years, but he’d heard the rumors. He hadn’t known if she truly could wield those weapons with a glory and grace that drew blood and split bones.
But now, as Androma rasped, “I’m going to kill you,” and her words sent a slice of regret cutting through Dex’s heart, he knew.
Gone was the young woman he’d once known, that shivering thing he’d found bruised and broken in the markets of Uulveca.
In her place stood the warrior he’d trained and hardened and turned into something devilishly delicious.
Dex reached for his gun as the Bloody Baroness attacked.
* * *
The world slowed, but Andi moved like a flash of light.
She hurtled her way through the first wave of Patrolmen before they could blink, lashing out her swords, removing smoking limbs from bodies as they screamed and succumbed to the trademark agony of the Bloody Baroness.
Her white hair sprung loose from its braid, the dyed purple streaks almost a blur as she whirled and leaped. She knocked her varillium cuffs into faces, drawing bursts of blood, and kicked her legs out, toppling her opponents like stars falling from the sky.
The Patrolmen finally regained their wits and lifted their rifles to shoot.
An unfortunate weapon they’d chosen. For as soon as they loosed their bullets, the girls dove behind Breck’s towering form. The bullets pinged off her skin, flattening and falling to the floor.
Bless her New Vedan blood, her bulletproof skin.
“You’re going to have to do better than that, gentlemen,” Breck said, hands on her hips, the girls still protected behind her. “What? You’ve never shot at a New Vedan before?”
“Take them out!” Dex shouted. “Save Androma for me.”
His words sent a spike of rage straight through Andi’s heart.
He’d threatened her crew. For that, his life—and the lives of the Patrolmen—were now forfeit.
“Forward!” she shouted. Breck moved, and the girls followed behind as bullets continue to barrage her chest, useless.
A ball of white light shot past Andi’s shoulder. An enemy was blasted backward, already a corpse as he slammed into the door frame.
“Oh, that was a good shot,” Gilly said, giggling and brandishing her double-trigger gun. One trigger killed, one disabled. She blew smoke away from the barrel and grinned as she ducked back behind Breck.
“I want the floor stained with their blood!” Andi yelled to her crew above the chaos.
Gone were her emotions, gone was her heart.
The killing mask of the Baroness slid into place.
* * *
Patrolmen dropped around them as the girls attacked, lunging out from behind Breck’s body at random. Andi swung her swords, lashing out with a fury she kept locked inside for moments just like this. Years of dancing and training at the Academy had turned her body into a fluid, ferocious thing.
A Patrolman turned his rifle around and swung it at Breck’s head.
“Take him!” Andi roared.
Gilly unloaded her gun on the man.
Behind them, Lira flipped, twisted. She was a blur of glowing scaled skin and black bodysuit, fists cracking jaws, legs locking around throats. They moved forward, leaving moaning bodies in their wake, silenced soon after by Gilly’s gun and Breck’s whip as the fight carried on into the hall.
Still, the remaining Patrolmen fought on.
“Take them all down,” Andi commanded her girls as she sliced a Patrolman’s hand off at the wrist. Breck scooped up the gun still clutched in the hand before it could hit the floor and fired it. Silver blood exploded against the metal wall beyond. “But remember, Dex is mine.”
He was standing there, beyond the wave of his fighting men, staring at her as she came out from behind Breck’s protection.
A Patrolman shot.
Andi lifted her arms. The bullet slammed against her varillium cuffs before it could lodge itself into her throat.
“Take care of him,” she said as the bullet clattered to the floor. Breck was suddenly beside her, twisting the man’s neck with a glorious pop. Music to Andi’s ears.
Now there were only three men between Andi and her enemy.
They stood at the ready, guns out, a solid line in front of Dex.
She could see his shadowed outline leaning up against the metal wall of the hallway beyond, his stance so cool and casual it made her want to tear his eyes out.
“What’s wrong, Dex? You don’t want to come out and play with me?” Andi said, her voice a dangerous purr.
Dex chuckled, his mahogany hair falling across one brown eye as he stepped forth to meet her gaze. “You were always one for theatrics, Androma. My little bitter ballerina.”
“I am not—and never will be—yours.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“These three can live,” she said, nodding her head at the final Patrolmen. “It’s you I want a fight with, Dextro.”
She saw his brow furrow at the use of his full name. Definitely not a name one would associate with a Tenebran Guardian, let alone with the most notorious bounty hunter in Mirabel.
“Is that mercy I hear?” Dex smiled as he walked backward, stopping at the silver ladder that led to the deck below. His fingers curled over the railing, his boots poised over the hole in the floor. “Surely not from the Bloody Baroness.”
“Don’t pretend you know me,” Andi retorted. “Though they did invade my ship, and since they insist on protecting you...”
With a crackle of her swords, she lunged forward and cut off three heads in one scissoring slice. The bodies sagged, then landed in a heap at Andi’s feet. The familiar scent of singed flesh wafted up to her nose. And with it, a stab of regret that she buried deep.
Dex blinked once, his only reaction thus far, and Andi’s blood raged at his air of nonchalance. “They were a terrible crew,” he said.
Then he slipped down the ladder. Andi, after holstering one blade, charged after him, not even bothering to use the footholds as she slid down. She landed with a slight thud before turning toward the long corridor behind her.
“Andi, Andi,” Dex said. “So predictable.”
She froze.
Your running is over, a little devil in her mind hissed.
In front of her was another cluster of Arcardian guards, guns trained on her. At the head of them was Dex, a smug grin plastered across his face.
* * *
She’d walked right into his trap for the second time today.
Dex would have patted himself on the back, if not for the crowd of Patrolmen around him.
“Are you ready to talk, or do you want to kill a few more of my men?” he asked, knowing Andi had no choice but to obey. She was vastly outnumbered, no matter how skilled she was with those swords. Not unless she wanted to be shot by hundreds of paralyzing light bullets before she could take a single step.
The look she gave him would’ve made a lesser man cringe, but he stared straight into those light gray eyes, meeting her challenge head-on.
She said nothing. Instead, she holstered her remaining blade and crossed her arms over her black suit, the glowing cuffs on her forearms catching his eye. He’d paid for those varillium cuffs himself, a gift that had saved her life ten times over. They were unbreakable, just like her swords. But the cuffs weren’t just an accessory. They held together the burned flesh on her wrists from an accident long ago. She didn’t have the privilege of seeing a doctor at the time, so her skin had become damaged beyond repair.
Without Dex’s gift, she wouldn’t have the full function of her wrists and forearms—likely wouldn’t have the strength to lift those swords she was so fond of.
It gave him a sick kind of pleasure to know she still had the cuffs, a reminder of his kindness to her when she was at her weakest. A part of him she could never shed from herself.
Dex turned to the blue-uniformed guard standing closest to her.
“Take her weapons.” The burly, horned man looked like he would rather jump out the airlock. “Now,” Dex said more sharply, and the guard rushed to action.
Andi spat in the man’s face as he pulled her swords out of their harness and the gun out of her thigh holster.
“You’re going to regret this,” Andi said, her voice low and menacing.
He glared at her with red-and-white striped eyes. “I’m not so sure that I will.”
She looked up behind her to where the rest of the Marauders were grouped at the top of the ladder.
“If they move, my guards will shoot.” Dex waved a hand, and half the men angled their light rifles upward toward Andi’s motionless crew.
The pilot from Adhira, the giantess beside her. And the red-headed child, glaring down at Dex with all the cold calculation of a seasoned killer.
He wouldn’t show mercy toward them if they continued to fight, and he knew Andi sensed that. She looked up at her crew and said, “Stand down. Do what he says.”
“We can take them, Andi, they’re not—” Lira started.
“That’s enough, Lira,” Andi growled. “It’s over.” He knew she hated to say those words.
Dex clapped his hands.
“Now that is the drama I’ve been waiting for.” Satisfied, he turned toward two guards with badges adorning their uniforms. It took a hell of a lot of work to attain Arcardian officer status, and yet here these two were, bowing their heads to Dex’s every command. “Officer Hurley, your squad will guard the crew. Officer Fraser, follow me and bring your men to guard Captain Racella.”
They made their way down the long metal corridor. The blue light from Andi’s cuffs bounced along the hallway. Four guards surrounded Andi like a box, while the other two were positioned on each end of the line.
Six men, plus Dex, would be enough. She wouldn’t fight while her crew was in danger. As they walked, Dex’s memories took over, his body moving on instinct through the familiar halls of the ship. They passed several doors before stopping at the glass door that led to the meeting room. Dex placed his hand on the scanner next to the door, but it remained as dead as the rest of the ship.
Andi grinned smugly. Dex smiled back, lifted his gun and shot the glass.
A growl rumbled up through her chest, but Dex simply shrugged and said, “I can replace it. The Marauder is mine again.” Then he stepped over the shattered glass and into the room. “Set up the Box.” He stepped aside as the guards brought in a thin silver box no longer than his forearm. The symbol of Arcardius, an exploding star, was engraved on the side. They set the Box on the table and lined up against the back wall of the room, hauling Andi with them.
“Please, do take a seat,” Dex said to Andi, sweeping his arm out in a grand gesture. “I am nothing if not a good host.”
Disgust flashed in her eyes. She did not sit. Instead, she stood with her back up against the wall, her gray eyes roving left and right.
Dex had taught her well.
“Suit yourself,” he said, walking to the opposite side of the conference table, where he plopped down into a chair.
The tension in the room was a living beast. Dex could practically feel it breathing down his neck. So he leaned back in his chair, propped his boots up on the glass table next to the Box and focused all his attention on Andi.
She glared at him, cold as the metal wall she leaned against. “What the hell do you want?”
Oh, this was good. Better than good. It was the best damned thing Dex had experienced in years.
For four years, Andi had been on the run from the fate that awaited her on Arcardius. High-ranking, war-hardened soldiers had been sent to track her down. Other criminals, capable of slinking through the shadows, had tried to find her. Even the general himself, and his personal Spectre guards, had gone out looking a time or two. But after every effort, every Krev spent to discover the fugitive, Dex had been the one to catch her.
Fate was a beautiful thing.
“Just a moment now,” he said, relishing this time, the feel of Andi’s eyes boring into his. “We have another guest joining us before we start.”
Dex waited for her onslaught of questions and was surprised when none came.
She simply stood there, hands balled into fists at her sides, stabbing at him with her cold, unfeeling stare.
“Relax, Andi,” Dex drawled. “You used to love spending time alone with me.”
He knew they were anything but alone, with four guards stationed around the room and two just outside the shattered door, but it felt as if they were. Just like that fateful day on the fire moon.
“You don’t know anything about what I used to love,” Andi said.
She narrowed her eyes, and he waited for her to serenade him with the list of colorful words she loved using—some that Dex had taught her himself—when the Box suddenly chimed. A funnel of light shone out of its side onto the blank wall at the front of the room.
This pulled their attention away from each other and toward the man whose face appeared across from them on the wall.
Andi went rigid.
For the first time today, despite everything Dex had thrown at her, she actually looked stricken. Shocked. Pained.
“Hello, Androma,” the man on the screen said. “I’ve been searching for you for a very, very long time.”
Dex smiled. This was worth more than all the Krevs in the galaxy.