Page 75 of The Sterling Acquisition
Dante moved with the fluid precision, his knife finding the space between Labrador’s ribs with surgical accuracy to slide between bone and cartilage to pierce the heart with minimal external bleeding.
Labrador’s eyes went wide with surprise, and he opened his mouth to speak. No sound came out. He toppled backward, and Dante caught him, lowering the body to the ground with the same care he’d use to set down a piece of valuable equipment.
“Well,” Dante said, wiping the blade clean on Labrador’s coveralls, “that’s one variable eliminated.”
He slid the van door shut, leaving Orion in the relative safety of the hidden space in the back, and dragged Labrador’s body to the side of the road. The Neutral Zone was only ten miles away, and Dante had driven far more challenging routes under far worse conditions.
“Are you going to be sick?” Dante asked as he settled into the driver’s seat and began adjusting the mirrors.
“No,” Orion replied from the back, his voice steady despite the obvious strain. “But n-next time you recruit a smuggler, maybe find one with b-better risk tolerance.”
Dante started the engine and pulled back onto the road Labrador had them on to the Neutral Zone and whatever passed for safety in their complicated world.
“I’ll make a note,” he said, and despite everything—the heat, the manhunt, the growing certainty that they were both in far deeper than either of them planned—he found himself smiling.
After all, at least they were making progress.
Chapter twenty-five
Asset Stress Testing
Dante
Drivingwasdifficult,notbecause the van was a piece of shit—which it was—but because he had to listen to the increasingly desperate sounds coming from the back of the van—soft whimpers that hit every bump in the road, quiet gasps that accompanied each hot flash, and the kind of needy little noises that were making it very difficult to focus on anything resembling safe driving.
Focus,he told himself, even as his cock responded to every breathy sound Orion made.You’re a highly trained operative, not a teenager who gets hard from audio porn.But Orion’s heat was affecting him in ways that he hadn’t been prepared for, and every whimper was like a direct line to his primitive brain.
Christ, when did my rut start?The territorial rage, the possessive fury, the way he stabbed Labrador without a second thought—all textbook rut aggression.
The Neutral Zone checkpoint was visible in the distance, a sprawling collection of prefab buildings and security towers that marked the boundary between SVI territory and the lawless stretch of land that separated the major corporate territories. “Neutral” was a generous term for what amounted to a free-for-all trading post where operatives from every major and minor corporation rubbed shoulders, made deals, and sometimes tried to kill each other. The only thing neutral about it was the lack of a governing body—everything else ran on an honor system, and in Dante’s experience, corporate operatives didn’t have much honor to spare.
His encrypted phone buzzed against his hip, and Dante answered on the second ring, grateful for the distraction.
“Dante, darling,” Amalie’s voice was as cheerfully professional as ever. “Please tell me you have good news.”
“Extraction in progress,” he reported, keeping his voice steady despite the particularly loud whimper from the back of the van and the surge of possessive satisfaction that accompanied it.Focus. Professional extraction. Not your Omega making those sounds.“Almost out of SVI territory. I have all the research samples and the test subject.”
“Oh, wonderful!” The excitement in her voice was genuine, and Dante heard the familiar sound of typing in the background. “The Board is thrilled. I’m transferring a performance bonus to your account as we speak. You’ve really outdone yourself this time.”
There was another soft sound from behind him, and Dante’s knuckles went white on the steering wheel. The primitive part of his brain supplied unhelpful suggestions about pulling over and dealing with Orion’s distress in a more direct manner.Focus on Amalie’s voice. Focus on anything except the way Orion sounds.
“What’s the extraction protocol once I clear SVI territory?”
“Well, once you can find your way to friendly territory—that’s our territory, of course—we can send a private plane or helicopter, whichever you prefer. The route will require making it through the Neutral Zone without incident, then eighty-five miles through Static Zone territory before you reach the New St. Louis Land Conglomerate. Should be straightforward enough for someone of your talents.”
Straightforward. Sure. If you ignore the part where I’m well into a rut and there are berserkers in the Static Zones who’ll smell us coming from fifty miles away.
Dante could hear papers rustling, and when Amalie spoke again, her voice carried a note of scientific fascination that made his skin crawl.
“The scientists at headquarters have had a chance to look over Dr. Morrison’s research, and they’re fascinated. Horrified, of course, but fascinated. A twenty-six-year-old Omega virgin with those physical attributes—well, it’s not something our scientists have seen, even the older ones. The combination of beauty, size, and that level of resistance... It’s quite remarkable.”
The clinical way she discussed Orion made Dante’s jaw clench, and he felt the familiar surge of protective rage that had been getting stronger all day.Easy. She doesn’t know she’s talking about your Omega. Yet.
“Now, I do want to remind you to be safe and careful out there. For the sake of protecting the Project Tether data and keeping the test subject in ideal conditions for debriefing, you might want to consider picking up some industrial-strength suppressants. Or better yet, find a way to have the subject sedated for the rest of the trip.”
Dante’s grip on the phone tightened, his hindbrain rejecting the idea of suppressing Orion’s heat with a vehemence that caught him off guard.He doesn’t need to be drugged. He’s perfect as he is.He pushedthe possessive thoughts down.Professional extraction. That’s all this is.
“Any particular reason?”
