Page 5 of Caught By Menace

Alone now, Vicious turned his full attention to him. “You’re going to Connor’s Run?”

Menace nodded. “It’s a midsized Grab today. Less than twenty girls, apparently.”

“Good odds,” Vicious commented. “You want my advice?”

Menace laughed. “Not really, but you’re going to give it anyway.”

“That’s what superior officers do, Menace. But seriously, pick a woman and stick with her. Don’t change your tactic halfway through the Grab. Listen to your gut. You won’t be led astray.”

“Did your gut tell you to Grab Hallie?”

Vicious chuckled. “I had this crazy idea that I wanted some tall, blonde, buxom beauty. My head told me that this imaginary woman was the perfect match for me. You know, someone with similar genes to complement my own.” He shook his head. “But the moment I spied Hallie with that dark hair and those darkeyes?” Vicious touched his chest. “I felt it here. I knew she was the one.”

Menace couldn’t help himself. He let the image of that young woman from the flower stall in Connor’s Run invade his thoughts. With her soft brown skin and black hair, she was so unlike the typical Harcos woman. One look at her and his heart had stuttered in his chest.

But that mouth of hers! He’d been wrong to knock her over but she’d bitten his head off before he could apologize for his accidental collision. The string of expletives that had left those pouty lips had blitzed his instant attraction, but her friend, the sweet brunette with dark eyes who had sold him the flowers? Now that was a woman he wouldn’t mind catching. Modest, quiet, friendly, sweet. Maybe he’d look for someone just like that.

“Are you taking the full honeymoon period?”

Pulled from his thoughts by his commander’s question, Menace shook his head. “Raze and the SRU boys have some weapons recertification needs. I’ll be doing those during my days off just to get them out of the way. Terror and his crew will probably need rearming at some point. You know how they are about running through weapons and ammo.”

Vicious grunted at the mention of his best friend’s name. Terror excelled in his work with the Shadow Force the silent, secret arm of the military that carried out all the covert operations required to keep their people safe, but he was such a difficult man. The war hadn’t been kind to him and he seemed to grow colder and more withdrawn with each passing year.

“Try not to work too hard during your bonding period,” Vicious instructed. “Hallie and I weren’t able to have any kind of honeymoon and it made things difficult in the beginning. You should take the time to get to know your new wife. You only get one chance to do things right.”

“Understood.”

Vicious clapped him on the back. “Let me know how it goes.”

“Will do.” Menace headed toward the reception desk and checked in for his physical. He was in and out in twenty minutes and on his way to the departures deck for the trip to the surface. He eyed the small crowd of waiting men and judged his competition. Only three were fellow officers and all of them lower ranking. As the highest-ranking officer taking part, the younger, lower-ranking soldiers would defer to him. He would have the pick of the litter, so to speak.

An hour later, a quiver of excitement pierced his belly. Menace leaned against the railing of the hastily erected stage and gazed down into the group of women who had been picked by the lottery to participate in the Grab. He scanned the offerings and tried to find a woman who piqued his interest.

A few of the women were much too young to tempt him. He wanted someone equal to the task of being his partner and someone with enough life experience to relate to him. He instantly skipped over their faces in search of just the right woman. He only had once chance to find his life mate. He had to choose just right or risk years of unhappiness.

A familiar face caught his eye. His gut clenched. It couldn’t be—but it was.

Menace frowned at the sight of the young woman who had cussed him out in the market that day. From the stunned look on her face, she remembered him too. Her dark eyes narrowed to a piercing glare that silently warned him to back off and leave her be. She shouldn’t have wasted the energy. He planned to avoid her at all costs. One taste of that waspish tongue was quite enough for him.

His searching gaze skipped to her right. He spotted her friend, the one from the flower stall who had enthralled him with her sweet smile and kind voice. She was exactly the kindof woman he had in mind. There was no doubt now. He was chasing that one.

Menace’s brow furrowed as the bratty one leaned over and whispered in her friend’s ear. They glanced furtively his way. From the way they talked behind their hands, it was clear they were strategizing. Vicious had told him all about Hallie’s battle plan for the day she’d run. She’d almost beaten him. What if the mouthy one helped the woman he wanted evade him today?

Bold as brass, the young woman with the dark, impish eyes flashed him a big smirk and gestured rudely in his direction. The crude one-fingered salute was a silent version of the nasty remark she’d tossed his way that day in the market.

He couldn’t believe her audacity. She laughed and glanced away from him. Her behavior grated on his nerves. He planned to tell the man who Grabbed her to spank her—and often. Clearly she needed a little discipline in her life.

The mayor of Connor’s Run climbed onto the stage. One of the Harcos liaisons, who monitored the Grabs and ensured complete cooperation by the people of Calyx, joined the mayor. While the mayor read from a piece of paper, the Harcos bureaucrat held his touchscreen tablet at the ready. The liaison would make sure all the rules of the Grab were followed to the letter. No violence against the women. No underhanded or devious means to catch them. No bribing or trading money or gifts to entice them.

Menace noticed the two women inching their way toward the starting line. They obviously planned to be the first out of the pen. The moment the mayor whacked the bell, the pair sprinted from the crowd and quickly left the other women in their dust.

Impressed, Menace stretched his neck and glanced at his watch. The women had three full minutes of running before the men could enter the race. His hand drifted to his shirt pocket. He felt the raised outline of the white bride’s collar tucked safelythere. It was the generic collar given to every man boarding a shuttle bound for one of the Grabs.

“Hey, Gunner!”

Without tearing his gaze away from his intended target, Menace answered to the nickname usually given to his rank and specialty. “Yes?”

“You have your woman picked out, sir?”

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