Page 83 of The Sterling Acquisition
Without a word, Dante approached the candy vendor—a tired-looking woman with grease-stained aprons—and pointed to the display of colorful sweets. “One of those,” he said, indicating an elaborate candy shaped like a small dragon. “The big one.”
“That’s five iscs,” the vendor said.
Dante handed over the money without hesitation, then crouched down to the crying child’s level. “Hey there,” he said gently. “This one’s even better than the one you dropped. See? It’s got wings.”
The little boy’s tears stopped as he stared at the candy dragon in wonder. “Really? For me?”
“Really,” Dante confirmed, his voice carrying a warmth that made something tighten in Orion’s chest. “But maybe eat it somewhere safe so it doesn’t get dropped again, okay?”
“Okay!” The boy clutched the candy to his chest like it was treasure, then ran off toward what was probably his family.
Dante stood, and when he turned back to Orion, his expression was already shifting back toward professional awareness. But Orion had seen it—that moment of genuine care for a crying child who meant nothing to his mission.
“That was...” Orion started, then stopped, not sure how to finish the sentence.
“Five iscs,” Dante said, deflecting. “Not exactly breaking the bank.”
Who are you?Orion thought, staring at this man who could kill without hesitation but stopped to buy candy for a stranger’s child.
“We should keep moving,” Dante said. “The pharmacy district is just ahead.”
But as they walked away, Orion found himself stealing glances at Dante’s profile, questioning everything he assumed.
Stop,he warned himself.Stop looking for reasons to trust him. Stop looking for signs that he’s different.
The pharmacy district was busier than the market area. Orion noticed more Alphas here, and several of them turned their heads as they passed. His heat might have diminished, but it was still noticeable enough to attract attention.
A Beta woman with elaborate tattoos covering her arms stopped dead in her tracks when they walked by, her eyes going wide. An Alpha man near a food cart dropped what he was eating, his nostrils flaring as he tried to identify the source of the scent.
“Popular tonight,” Dante observed. His hand moved to rest on Orion’s lower back—protective, possessive, a clear signal to anyone watching.
“I don’t like the attention,” Orion muttered, uncomfortable with the way people were staring. In SVI territory, at least the staring had been familiar. This felt different. Hungrier.
“Almost there,” Dante said, and his voice was gentler than it had any right to be.
Stop being nice to me,Orion thought desperately as another warm smile crossed Dante’s face when he pointed out a building where someone had somehow made Elysian environmental controls work with SVI power systems.Stop treating me like I’m something precious instead of just a mission objective.
Because the alternative—that Dante was enjoying his company—was too dangerous to consider. Orion couldn’t afford to start believing that this was anything more than biology and convenience. He learned that lesson with Leo, and Leo had been pathetically obvious about his motivations.
Dante was far more dangerous precisely because he made it look so effortless, so natural. Like protecting Orion and indulging his curiosity was something he wanted to do rather than something his rut compelled him to do.
The blue building with the red cross came into view, but as they got closer, Orion noticed something that made Dante stiffen beside him. Above the medical symbol, carved into the building’s facade, were three distinct marks: claw scratches, stylized fangs, and curved horns.
“What is that?” Orion asked, noting the way Dante’s jaw tightened.
“Chimera Syndicate markings,” Dante explained. “This pharmacy serves all populations. Stay close in case we need to run.”
Just a mission,he reminded himself as they approached the pharmacy entrance, though Dante’s obvious discomfort about the markings was doing nothing to settle his nerves.You’re just a mission to him. Don’t forget that.
But as Dante’s hand settled more firmly against his back, guiding him toward the door with careful consideration for his comfort despite his own apparent unease, Orion was finding it harder and harder to believe his own warnings.
Chapter twenty-eight
Medical Tourism
Dante
TheChimeraSyndicatesymbolhadn’t made Dante feel any better about their odds of getting in and out without incident. He’d been to Neutral Zones across the continent—each with its own unique economies and social hierarchies, its own ways of surviving in the spaces between corporate control and the chaos of the Static Zones. But they all had one thing in common: they were dangerous as hell, especially for anyone carrying something valuable.
