Page 62 of Legend

“Or it could mean that he was taken prisoner by the Kronock, “Jaxon added, his expression grim.

The Inferno Force pilot knew plenty about being held captive by our enemy. He had been in a dank alien cell and tortured before we had found him. Even now, I could see the painful memories flicker behind his eyes.

“What do you think happened to him?” I asked.

He released a long breath as if purging himself of the past. “My gut tells me that the enemy has him, but I think they have him because he got too close to something they do not want him to find. I think he located the pilot.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I am not.” He raked a hand through his shaggy hair. “That is why I am not suggesting we deploy a rescue team. It could just as easily be a trap.” He released a bitter laugh. “Knowing the Kronock, it is both.”

“You think the Kronock have taken him to lure us into sending more warriors to save him?”

“Like I said, I cannot know any of this for certain, but our warrior was one of the best. He was smart and tough, and he would not have been discovered if he had run the simple recon mission he’d been instructed to carry out.”

I leaned back. An Inferno Force warrior who had gone off-script sounded very familiar. The problem with the elite Drexian fighting force was that it was filled with daredevils and heroes who were more than willing to risk their lives to save others. Most Inferno Force fighters I’d served with would have diverted the mission if they’d thought it meant bringing home the missing pilot. “So, either he is in the middle of his own rescue attempt, or he is also a captive of the Kronock?”

“Those are the best options, but either way, I think we have a better idea of Sasha’s location.”

I rubbed a hand along my beard. “But not enough to justify launching an official rescue mission.”

“Not unless you wish chances to be high that it would be a suicide mission.”

I did not. “Will you send another warrior in after him?”

“We have a plan that involves a team, with one member who excels at subterfuge and, as she calls it, B&E.”

I narrowed my gaze at him. “Do you mean your wife?”

He opened his hands wide. “She is the best, and once she heard that a pilot from Earth was missing, there wasn’t much I could do to talk her out of it. I will be joining her on the mission, as well.”

My chest tightened. I knew what a sacrifice it was for the Drexian to go back into enemy space after his horrific ordeal getting out. “Your courage is admirable.”

“We do not leave warriors behind.”

I nodded. It did not matter if the pilot was human or Drexian, we did not leave allies behind. “I wish you good hunting.”

Jaxon thumped a fist across his chest, and the transmission ended.

I took a moment to digest what he’d told me before standing again. I needed to tell Zoran. This was not information that should be transmitted or sent in a report.

My nerves jangled as I walked briskly from my office. We were quickly approaching the time when the rescue team would leave the academy and race toward danger ourselves. I could not wait.

Chapter

Forty-Eight

Fiona

Ibraced my hands in front of me as I walked straight into Captain Gorman. He grabbed the sides of my arms to steady both of us, chuckling low as he did.

“I was looking for you,” I blurted before I could think how that might sound.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “You were?”

Devon wasn’t even close to a silver fox, but I did like the smile lines he’d acquired. I had to admit that he was a good-looking guy, which was probably why I’d ended up in his bed in the first place. Not that any of that was relevant now.

“I thought we should talk.” I slipped from his grasp and headed down the corridor. “But not in the hall.”

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