This is the last time I make assumptions about a damned mission. Dante stomped out of his fifth bar of the day and narrowed his eyes against the afternoon sun. Bellex 3 might have been a beautiful planet once, but the corporate-owned world had long since been drained of resources and covered in factories and processing plants. This entire system was basically one massive shipyard, creating and assembling the components for everything from small shuttlecraft to military-class star destroyers. The planet’s entire population worked for Bellex Corporation as freelancers, contractors, or indentured labor.

His transportation here had been part of his cover as a freelancer looking for short-term work. He’d caught a ride with one of the freighters that crisscrossed the cosmos, spending several days with Royan Watson, the pilot of the Sun Sprite. Royan’s sister ran a cargo company out of the Drift and they’d been at the center of the rebellion that uncovered some of the corporations’ darkest secrets. They were solid allies in the fight against the corporation, which made Royan’s ship the ideal way to get onto Bellex unnoticed.

He and Royan used some of their transit time to rehearse a public argument that played out once they landed. It culminated in shouts, thinly veiled threats, and Dante getting ‘fired.’ Now, he was just another transient worker looking for a job until he could find a way off the planet. It was a common story, and it explained why he’d been the one tagged for this mission. The rest of his team were too military to ever pass for drifters, and two of them wouldn’t be allowed in the system at all.

Bellex Corp was so protective of their industrial secrets the whole system was off-limits to anyone with cybernetic implants or anything that could conceivably be used to conduct corporate espionage. Aria and Eric would only be able to enter if Nova Force stepped in to override the restriction. It was an insane level of security considering he’d been in the heart of the system for several days and hadn’t seen anything remotely classified. He hadn’t found any sign of the volunteer medical team he’d been sent to locate, either. In fact, he couldn’t find much to suggest they’d been here at all.

The address Boundless had on file turned out to be an abandoned building, and no one in the neighborhood would admit to knowing anything about the team, their mission, or the hastily painted over blaster marks and blood stains he’d found inside a building everyone swore had been empty for years. He’d found leftover medical supplies stashed in an abandoned room upstairs. In a neighborhood as poor as this one, the fact the supplies were still there, untouched, spoke volumes. The locals were too afraid to even enter the building, never mind talk.

By the end of his second day on the planet, Dante had grown frustrated enough he’d been tempted to ask what color the sky was, just to see if the inhabitants claimed they had never heard the word sky.

There was something off about the population here, too. He’d been to plenty of worlds like Bellex 3. Hell, he’d been raised in places not much different, but he had never seen beings behave the way they did here.

It wasn’t everyone. There were still some people with resigned expressions and the slow, measured pace and stooped shoulders of someone who knew that there was no point in rushing through life because every day would be the same from now until they died. But everywhere he went, there were people striding through the streets with near frenetic energy and vacant eyes. For the first time in his life, Dante found himself moving out of people’s way.

The black marketeers, bootleggers, and pharma dealers still plied their goods and made their money by offering fleeting escapes from reality, but there were fewer of them than there should have been. Bars, brothels, and pharma dens offered their wares along every block he walked, but none of them were doing a booming business. The harder the life, the more likely people were to escape the drudgery through their vice of choice. So, why weren’t there more customers?

His briefing included the drug crisis that supposedly gripped this world, but he hadn’t seen any of the usual signs of addiction or overdose. A former IAF medic who worked security at one of the factories had made the initial report and then disappeared, just like the Boundless team of doctors who had come to Bellex to help.

Boundless had been here less than two weeks before vanishing into thin fraxxing air. After four days of casually worded questions and countless visits to bars and backrooms looking for scuttlebutt, he was only certain of two things. Someone had erased all trace of the Boundless medical team’s visit to Bellex 3, and whatever had happened to the doctors, it wasn’t good.

He’d run into the same people once or twice, and it wouldn’t take the locals long to notice that the hulking newcomer kept asking questions that had nothing to do with finding a job that would get him off the planet, or at least paying for the rundown room he kept so he had a place to sleep at night. The price was steep, too, considering the bed was too small, the walls were infested with lizards, and his fellow renters were a silent, shady crew who seemed to have an aversion to daylight and personal hygiene.

The Malora would be arriving in a matter of days with Commander Rossi and the rest of Team Three. The plan was for him to have scouted all of District Twelve and collected as much intel as he could before they got here to start the official investigation. If he didn’t find a lead soon, the plan was officially fraxxed.

The streets were as quiet as they ever got in a place like this. The factories ran day and night, which meant the businesses did, too. It was another two hours until the next shift change, though, and the mid-afternoon sun had driven most of the off-duty workers inside. It was a good time to revisit the place the doctors had been using as a base. There wouldn’t be many people on the streets to notice he was poking around the empty building again. Maybe this time he’d find some clue to tell him what had happened.

He scoffed at himself. “Yeah, sure. Maybe you’ll find something you missed the last two times you were there. And maybe a flock of green fairies will descend from the sky and offer you cold beers and ice cream, too.”

He was still grumbling to himself when an odd sound caught his attention. He jogged forward a few steps, trying to figure out what it was. A trash-choked alley opened onto the street, the narrow walls amplifying what he heard until it was unmistakable. Quick, light footsteps were coming his way, fast. He froze, considering his options. Did he follow his training and investigate, or stick to his cover and keep walking?

It only took him a nanosecond to make his decision. He turned and headed into the alley. If someone was running in this heat, they were either causing trouble or fleeing it. Either way, it was worth checking into. He only made it a few meters before the source of the noise appeared. She was short, with a matted ponytail of dark hair streaming behind her as she ran full-tilt toward him. Her head was down so he couldn’t see her face, and she didn’t see him at all.

“Hey!” He called out a warning as she closed the distance between them.

Her head snapped up, and he caught a glimpse of vivid green eyes wild with fear as she realized her path was blocked.

He expected her to slow down, but instead, she accelerated, coming straight for him with her teeth bared in a defiant snarl. She feinted left and then veered right trying to deke around him. He reached for her and she dodged, ducking under his hand only to lose her footing in the garbage that littered the alley. She went flying, smashing into the wall with enough force he winced in sympathy.

She was still trying to get back to her feet when he caught up to her. He reached down and grabbed hold of the backpack she wore, lifting her until her feet dangled half a meter off the ground. The little peskin was still fighting, thrashing in his grip and trying her best to land a blow as a string of curses in a variety of languages flew out of her mouth. He recognized Pheran, Galactic Standard, a few choice phrases in Torski, and some others he couldn’t begin to guess.

She was far too well-educated to be a street rat, and her accent wasn’t local, either. Interesting.

“I’m not with whoever is chasing you.”

She raised her head to look up at him, still wary and defiant. “No? So you just make a habit of wandering into alleys and grabbing women at random? I’m in trouble, so if you’re not going to help me, could you at least let me go so I can get out of here?”

He grinned as recognition dawned. She didn’t look much like the polished and professional woman he’d seen in the holos provided at his briefing, but underneath the grime and exhaustion was the first real lead he’d found since setting foot on this fraxxed up planet. “I’m happy to help you, Dr. Li. In fact, you’re the whole reason I’m here.”

Tyra wasn’t sure she believed the walking mountain of muscle who had her dangling in mid-air, but she was short on time and out of options. “Great! Who the fraxx are you? And more importantly, what are you going to do about the three guys trying to kill me?”

The big guy grunted. “Only three? They can’t be trying that hard. My name’s Dante. Sergeant Strak if you want to be formal. I’m Nova Force, and I’m here to find out what happened to you and your team.”

Nova Force. Well, that explained the attitude. They were the elite of the Interstellar Armed Forces. “My team was wiped out by the same assholes hunting me right now. I’m the only one left.” She didn’t mention Oran. He was still alive, but if she didn’t get back with the meds she’d retrieved from their old base, he wouldn’t be for long. She’d tell her rescuer about him once he’d proven she could trust him…and if they survived the next few minutes.

He lowered her to the ground gently. “If I let go of you, are you going to bolt? I’m not really a fan of running.”

“And I’m not a fan of dying. You protect me, I’ll stick around. Just don’t expect me to help.”

He grinned, flashing a set of dimples that made her heart beat even faster. “I don’t need your help, Shortcake. You just stay out of sight. This won’t take long.”

Shortcake? She opened her mouth to tell him what she thought of his nickname, but he pressed a finger to his lips and gave a sharp shake of his head.

She didn’t hear anything for a second and was about to say so when she caught the distant sound of footsteps growing louder. Fraxx. He gestured for her to take cover behind a stack of abandoned crates. Whatever was inside was rancid, and a cloud of insects rose into the air as she slid into the gap, but it was the only place to hide.

She barely made it out of sight before the ones hunting her arrived. She still had no idea who they were or who had hired them, but whoever it was, they had to pay well. They hadn’t stopped looking for her since the attack. The only reason she and Oran were still alive was Nico and his friends. They kept them hidden, fed, and as safe as they could manage. If it wasn’t for Oran’s injuries they’d still be safe, but he was dying, and she had risked going back to see if she could find the meds she needed to save him. They’d been on her seconds after she snuck inside.

The three men slowed as they spotted Dante standing in the middle of the alley. “You see a female run this way?” one of them asked.

“Yeah. And I gotta say, you three seem a little over-prepared for chasing down one itty-bitty female. She wasn’t even armed that I could see.”

The lead male pointed his blaster at Dante. “Which way?”

“What’s it worth?” Dante drawled, ambling a few steps toward them.

Is he fraxxing insane? She wondered.

The others straightened up and raised their weapons. “It’s worth your life. Tell us where she went, ya half-breed freak.”

Dante uttered a heavy sigh and rolled his massive shoulders. “And here I thought we were getting along well. Then you had to start with the insults.” He covered the last few feet of ground with unexpected speed and grabbed the leader by the shoulders, tossing him in the direction of the other two masked men. They landed in a tangled heap of limbs and weapons, and Dante charged in, fists swinging. The crates Tyra was using for concealment blocked her view after that. She briefly considered sneaking away while they were all distracted, but there was no way she’d make it down the rest of the alley without being spotted. Instead, she hunkered down and hoped that when the fight ended, she hadn’t lost her only potential ally.

The fight sounded vicious. There were meaty thuds, grunts, and snarls, and then the wet, gut-twisting sound of bones snapping. There was an agonized wail, too high-pitched to be Dante’s. The shriek ended suddenly, only to be replaced by the sound of blaster fire. A wild shot slammed into the crates protecting her, and the stink of scorched polymer hit her nose a few seconds later.

Adrenaline pumped into her system, and she had to fight through the urge to do something. Run. Fight. Move. Scream. Anything but sit there any longer.

More blaster fire, another pained scream and it was over. She pressed her hands against her thighs, trying to slow their shaking as silence returned to the alley.

“Dammit, I liked this shirt.” There was no mistaking the deep rumble of Dante’s voice.

Tyra breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. Dante stood in the middle of the alley, looking mournfully at a bloody gash on his forearm. He was the only one still on his feet.

The moment she reappeared, his head snapped up and he moved to block the view of the men behind him. “Stay there.”

“I’m a doctor. Once you have them restrained, I can treat them, and you, too.”

His dark eyes widened. “You’d treat the men who want you dead? They might be the same ones who killed your team.”

“I took an oath to preserve all life, not just the lives of the beings I like.”

“Well, I’m sure they’d appreciate the sentiment -- if they still had lives left for you to preserve.” He clamped a hand over his injured arm and walked toward her, still blocking her view. Apart from the blood on his sleeve and a swollen lip, he looked fine.

“They’re dead? All of them? Didn’t you need to interrogate them or something?” Part of her was relieved to know they weren’t a threat anymore, but there was also guilt for feeling that way. She’d seen more than her share of violence growing up in Xinshi, one of Earth’s original hive cities. She accepted that sometimes, violence was necessary, but she’d never been the cause before. Not until she’d come to Bellex 3.

Dante shrugged his broad shoulders with a nonchalance she found irritating. The man had just killed three other beings. Why wasn’t he rattled, or at the very least, breathing hard? “I’m on undercover recon. No backup, no base of operations. Officially, my team isn’t arriving for a few more days, so it’s not like I can march into whatever passes for law enforcement around here and ask to borrow a jail cell to hold my newly captured prisoners.”

“No backup? What kind of rescue is this?”

He curled his lip and she caught a flash of fang. “The kind who would appreciate a thank you instead of a lecture. I did just save your life.”

“Right.” She shook her head and tried to think clearly. It wasn’t easy, but he did deserve a thank you. “I’m grateful you were here, and that you risked your life protecting mine. I shouldn’t have come back here, but I needed meds…”

“You’re hurt?” He was at her side in a second, his demeanor instantly changing to one of gentle concern.

It was the first calm moment since their meeting, and she took the time to get a real look at her rescuer, beyond his massive size and gruff demeanor. His hair was almost shaved at the sides and not much longer on top. It was a classic military cut, but nothing about him seemed military. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and his jaw was shadowed with a beard as jet black as his hair. She could see the top of some kind of tattoo along his neck and was struck with a sudden urge to pull back his collar and take a closer look. His nose had been broken more than once, and his features were too craggy and rough to be called handsome, but there was something appealing about him just the same.

Now that she was close to him, she could see that his eyes were a striking shade of midnight blue. And he had fangs. She should have seen it, but adrenaline and fear had fogged her perceptions. Her rescuer was part Torski.

“Shortcake, I asked you if you were hurt.”

She blinked, and blushed as she realized he’d caught her staring. “I’m a little banged up and bruised, that’s all. I’ve got so much adrenaline zinging through my system right now I can’t even feel it. How’s the arm? Do you want me to take a look at it?”

“Not here. I need to get you somewhere safe, first. Then you’re welcome to play doctor with me.” There was a wicked glint in his eyes as spoke.

Butterflies the size of asteroids took flight inside her stomach at his words. What was it about this big, violent man that piqued her interest? Probably the fact I haven’t been laid in six months, and he just saved my life.

She squared her shoulders and tried to muster a little dignity. “I know I should probably ask to see your ID or something, but I’m in over my head and I need to trust someone, so it doesn’t matter if you’re Nova Force or not. I need your help.”

“I think we established that already,” he drawled, tipping his head toward the pile of recently deceased attackers.

“Uh, yeah. But not just with them. I lied before. I’m not the only one who survived the first attack. Dr. Castille is still alive, but he needs the meds in my pack soon, or he’s not going to make it. That’s why I risked coming back.”

“Interesting logic. You risked your life to save his. If you got caught, you’d both die.” He shook his head. “How did you stay alive this long?”

“A street kid named Nico got us out and is helping us stay hidden. Oran, Dr. Castille, is with him.”

Dante cracked his knuckles and looked around the alley. “Can you find your way to Oran and this kid from here? I hope so because we’ve got about three minutes before the next security drone sweep is due to overfly this sector. They’re going to find those bodies, and once that happens, it’s going to get very busy around here.”

“I can find my way back.” Nico had made sure of that. He’d described landmarks and street names to her repeatedly until they were both confident she’d be able to find her way.

“Good. Then get ready to haul ass. We’ll be leaving in sixty seconds.”

She cocked her head. “Why aren’t we leaving right away? I told you, Oran needs the meds I’m carrying.”

Dante was already walking away from her, back toward the bodies. “I need to ID your friends, first.”

She watched as he stripped off their masks, helmets, and gloves with ruthless efficiency. He took quick scans of their faces and the palms of their hands with what looked like a basic comm-device, while she stood by, staring at the faces of the men who killed her team. None of them looked familiar.

Within a minute he was finished and coming her way. “Unless my ears deceive me, the fraxxing drones are early. We need to move. Now.”

“This way.” She pointed back the way she’d come and started walking.

Three steps later, she was swept off her feet and into Dante’s arms. “Hey!”

“We’re out of time, and I can run faster than you. Save your breath for giving me directions.” He broke into a run, holding her close and doing his best to cushion her body against the worst of the jars and bumps.

She called out directions as he raced through the alleys and backstreets, and he followed her instructions without hesitation. It was oddly empowering to have this big, dangerous male obeying her every command. She was actually starting to enjoy herself a little despite the danger when he finally slowed his pace.

“We’re not quite there, yet.”

“I figured, but we’re far enough away to start trying to blend in.” He used his head to indicate several security cams overlooking the area. “The ones in the alley were all broken, but these ones aren’t.”

“Actually, most of them are inactive. The locals keep them that way. This sector isn’t considered a security priority. No factories. No Bellex offices.”

He dropped his head to give her an assessing look. “How do you know that?”

“Nico.”

His lips twitched. “I can’t wait to meet this kid.”

“If we’re trying to blend in, you should really put me down, now.”

He pursed his lips and considered it, then shook his head. “Request denied. My job is to keep you alive until my team gets here. The closer you are to me, the easier my job is. Now, where do I go from here?”

“Straight for half a block, turn right at the alley marked with red graffiti, third door on the left. See? It’s not that far, so you really need to put me down. I can walk the rest of the way.”

“Nope.” He set off again, ignoring the fact she was trying to wriggle free.

“This is ridiculous!” She swung her feet and managed to catch him in the side with her heel.

“It isn’t, but it will be if you don’t stop squirming.” He tightened his grip and walked faster.

“Don’t test me. In the last week, I’ve been shot at, chased across rooftops, and gone without food, sleep, or even a damned shower.”

“Believe me, I’m aware you need a bath.”

She cursed again, calling him every insult she could remember in every language she knew. They were at the door to the hideaway before she reached the end of her list, and the smug bastard carrying her was laughing at her for the last thirty paces.

“How long did you say it would be before your team got here?” She finally muttered, leaning out of his arms to knock on the door in the code Nico had taught her.

“Three or four days.”

She groaned. Three days in Dante’s company was going to be a test of her patience and sanity. Stars help her, it was going to be a test of her willpower, too. If she didn’t kill him, she might just end up liking the arrogant son of a starbeast.