Page 18 of Enthraller

“Where did you go?” Ed asked, and she lifted her head to look at him.

“Brooding about that wreck, and how those assholes in the cult that kidnapped me have probably stripped it bare.”

His lips twitched with amusement. “I know it’s not funny, but you look like you want to take someone apart.”

She found her lips curving upward. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“Let’s wait for what Hyt has to say, but if he doesn’t get a lot of cooperation, then contact your friend,” Ed said. “Tell her about the wreck. At the very least, official eyes will turn in Ytla’sdirection. And if you tell her the whole thing, and ask her to pass it up the Initiative chain, hopefully Aponi will be asked to explain what’s going on, and some hard questions will be asked.”

That made sense. She’d prefer to give the Aponian government the chance to do the right thing, rather than rat them out to the Initiative and get the whole VSC involved in their business.

The way the planets of the VSC ran their governments, there was almost surely only a few people who were acting illegally, but it would still be very embarrassing for Aponi. And Wren felt she should give them a chance to clean up their own mess before they admitted to it to the rest of the Coalition.

Aponi had taken her in when her parents had been killed on Faldine, in a surprise attack that was part of the escalation of violence that had eventually led to the war. She felt a sense of obligation to the planet that had educated her and supported her since she was eighteen. The birthplace of her parents.

“Look lively,” Ed murmured, and she hugged a little closer to him and focused up ahead.

Two men were walking toward them.

“Special Forces?” Wren whispered, looking up at him with what she hoped was a loving smile.

“Maybe. But the SF trains us to blend better than this. These two think a lot of themselves.” Ed bent his head as if he were nuzzling her neck as he whispered his reply.

She had to fight a shiver at the feel of his lips against her pulse.

The men had slowed fractionally at the sight of them, and she could feel them sizing her and Ed up.

These two were on the hunt, and she had a bad feeling it was for the two of them.

“They wouldn’t know we’ve joined forces, would they?” she asked softly. “They think they’re looking for us individually.”

“I would have thought so, but this has been a sophisticated operation, and strings have been pulled at the highest levels, so I just don’t want to bet on it.” Ed had slowed them down a little, mirroring the men’s movements.

Her nanos were busy inside her. She could feel the fizz in her blood, and time seemed to slow. She analyzed the men approaching them with quick glances as she played the role of loving couple with Ed, and worked out the best way to attack.

No dissipating, she told them.We don’t leave Ed on his own.

Plus, she couldn’t keep doing that. Hyt had questions about it. So would others. It was as obvious as a brightly lit sign over her head that there was something very strange going on with her.

The point of no return was fast approaching. They were steps away from the two men, both groups pretending to just be members of the public, out for an evening stroll.

Ed steered her a little to the side, as if to give the two men room to pass, and she caught the man closest to her lunge for her out of the corner of her eye.

She dropped to a crouch, so his hands closed over empty air, and Ed lifted something out of his pocket that extended out into a long stick and struck him, hard and fast.

He went down with a faint cry, and then Ed spun, getting behind the second man. He struck again, and the man went down on one knee.

Wren rose up, slapped an open hand against the man’s neck, and he went down in a faint.

“That might be even handier than the laslock trick.” Ed looked down at the unconscious man, flicked his stick so it retracted, and stuck it back in his pocket. He crouched, searching under their coats for identification. He moved quickly, and she stood guard, looking up and down the street.

“A couple of people are coming,” she murmured, and he stood, slipping what he’d found in a pocket, and then joining her in the shadows.

They moved to the closest side street, keeping out of sight, and kept off the main roads on their way home.

“Who are they?” Wren asked.

“They’ve got ID that says they’re Arkhoran. But look at this . . .” He held out a tiny crystal square.

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