Page 8 of Hunting the Warlord's Daughter

She rummaged through the travel bag, keeping only essentials, fastened both pouches to her belt, and hid them. Then she crouched by her guardian one last time and gently touched her cheek. “Oh, Sabra. I hate to leave you like this.” Lying on the dirt. No final honors. It was disrespectful. “I’ll make it up to you. I’ll do as you asked. I won’t fail.”

She tore herself away as more tears threatened to fall, shouldering open the door. Outside the shed, two soldiers dressed in black uniforms, with blue and red piping and a silver triangular emblem on their sleeves, looked at her. They each held a rifle. One called out, “Miss, is anyone else inside the outbuilding or the residence?”

The door to the shed clicked closed behind her. She shook her head. “I’m the last.” She hoped her glasses hid her swollen eyes, and her lie.

“Follow the others to the ship.” The soldier pointed at the landing pad.

In the streets were dozens of familiar faces—guardians and their much younger charges. The girls she’d known as a child were long gone, off to live their lives. She prepared to give excuses for the absence of Sabra and Ilkka, but the villagers hardly acknowledged her. There was too much confusion, too much worry and fear. They had believed her the daughter of a mid-level government official, a quiet young woman who lived with her aunts at the edges of the galaxy to escape the mayhem of war. A family who had kept to themselves. No one had ever guessed the identity of her real father. No one, she hoped, would guess now.

An immense passenger cruiser loomed ahead. Wren walked toward it with the same measured steps she had once used at her presentation to her father. Instead of a priceless gown weighing her down, her secrets did.

She joined the stream of refugees and didn’t look back.Follow the stars to Ara Ana.She would fulfill her promise to Sabra—and allow no one to get in her way.

CHAPTERFIVE

Somewhere in theBorderlands

“Look at all this freepin’ stuff, would ya, Bolivarr?”

Bolivarr examined items at the gift shop inside theTAS Unity’s main store as Cadet Rakkelle Pehzwan squealed with excitement. Before being inducted into the Triad Space Forces, few of his former Drakken shipmates had ever seen such plenty or lived in such good conditions.

At least, Bolivarr didn’t thinkhehad. Glimpses of his past occasionally broke through in bursts, bringing searing headaches and seizures but no real information. He knew his name, but only one of them, and not if it was his first or his last. The Wraith ink on his body revealed he’d been a covert operative, an elite assassin, but his blazing hatred of the warlord’s regime and anything else from before his rescue four years ago remained a mystery. If not for Captain Rorkken and the crew of thePride, he wouldn’t even be here to wonder about it. They’d found him on Junnapekk Station, badly beaten and unconscious. The Empire had rigged his brain to protect sensitive information. Triggered by the beating on Junnapekk, thought-suppression tech installed inside his skull had activated, blockingallhis memories.

In theory, anyway. Very little was known about Imperial Wraiths. He would be an intelligence bonanza for the Triad—if only he could remember anything. Most on board assumed he grappled with posttraumatic stress. Only a few close associates and the ship’s officers were privy to the real story: he was a malfunctioning bioengineered weapon.

Whoever left him clinging to life on that down-and-out mining world hadn’t intended for him to survive; he was sure of it. Yet the fates had allowed him to live. There must be a reason for that. A purpose. Was he to finish his mission, whatever it was, or atone for it? Who had he been—and could he live with that person? More importantly, could Hadley? Beautiful, sweet Hadley. She was under his shields now—where he wanted her—when he’d never planned on getting close to anyone. He craved her company—her honest soul and her ability to make him laugh. Sometimes, when he was with her, he could almost forget that he’d forgotten who he was.

“Ooh—look at the pretties.” Rakkelle moved back next to him, leaning over the display case with her bottom jutting out and wiggling—clearly baiting the trio of hulking Space Marines walking past. She was irresistible to most men, almost always to their detriment. Her eyes went wide as she took in the baubles; theirs went wider as they looked her over. Not only had theUnitypicked up hundreds of new crew members on their recent stopover at Ennturk Cloud Base, but the ship’s store was also now fully stocked. Everything from toothpaste to clothing to expensive gifts could be bought with either credit or queens.

Joining them at the display case was Zurykk, Bolivarr’s former first officer from thePride. “It must be getting serious if you’re looking at jewelry for Lieutenant Keyren.” Her bright blue, see-everything eyes crinkled with mirth as she searched his face. Like him, she’d suffered her share of trauma—she had as many scars as tattoos on her body. Bolivarr sensed scars on the inside too, but rarely did she share much about her life before thePride.“I wouldn’t mind having a few less memories,”she’d admitted once, after a few too many drinks.

Rakkelle smirked. “In the Coalition worlds, they sayforeverwith rings, not ink—and the Terrans do too.”

Zurykk gave her a funny look. “Since when areyouan expert in committed relationships?”

“I have to be an expert. It’s how I polish my avoidance techniques.” Rakkelle sounded smug. “We learned about rings at the Cultural Cohesion briefing about mating customs—you were there. Remember?” She leaned sideways, her shoulder bumping Bolivarr’s arm. “Mating Rituals of the Triad Worlds. My favorite briefing so far.”

“Only because Tango led the discussion,” Bolivarr reminded her. Admiral Bandar had assigned Tango, Hadley, and him joint leadership of the Cultural Cohesion Team to teach their historic, blended crew each other’s traditions to encourage unity. Twice a month, they held C-Co briefings for the entire ship. As the inexperienced ones on the subject of mating rituals—and the act of mating itself—Hadley and Bolivarr had remained on the sidelines, letting Tango take over.

At least, Bolivarrfeltinexperienced. “I’m a virgin-in-spirit,” he’d confessed to Hadley. Celibacy had been a decision of his choosing after his rescue, and he couldn’t remember any previous lovers. Well, Hadley was the only one for him, anyway. “Not a ring,” he said. “But something special. She’s been studying day and night to pass her first battle simulation and her exams.”Andputting up with him. Hadley never complained, but his health problems kept getting in the way when they should be enjoying their new relationship and even planning for a future.

She deserves a real man. A whole man. One she doesn’t have to worry about all the time.In particular, he knew she thought he might have someone out there searching for him. Someone he was involved with. Another reason to remember his past as soon as possible, to put her at ease about there being anyone else.

A pair of stud earrings snatched his attention, each set with a square-cut red stone. They weren’t really what he was looking for, but they seemed to call out to him. “What do you think of those? The red ones.”

Rakkelle whistled softly. “What’s not to like?”

“I’d wear them,” Zurykk said.

Bolivarr couldn’t pull his gaze from the earrings. They eclipsed everything else in the case. Strange, because he wasn’t a big fan of the color red. It reminded him too much of the uniforms that officers in the Imperial Fleet used to wear. The earringswerestriking, though, and his female friends seemed to like them. Maybe Hadley would too.

“Engineered rubies.” The saleswoman removed them from the case. “More affordable than red diamonds.”

“She means affordable on a lieutenant’s pay.” Zurykk chuckled.

“I’ll model them.” Rakkelle held one of the rubies against her ear, already ringed with numerous earrings and decorative tattoos. She lifted her neck-length black hair out of the way, angling her head to show off the sparkling stone.

“Ah, Bolivarr. They’re lovely. How do they look?”

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