Page 108 of Shielded Heart 1
He’d rather face Samantha while freshly cleaned and clothed; only the best for his mate.
He hurried to his bedchamber, stripped, and bathed. He selected a crimson loincloth when he was done—one that matched the color of the fabric draped over his pelvis in Sam’s painting—and had just opened his closet when the bedroom’s lights switched to pulsing orange and yellow, accompanied by a high, whining alarm.
The excitement that had been fluttering in his stomach petrified and sank, coalescing into a lump of dread.
He pulled up his holocom control screen and tapped the flashing alert. It split into several surveillance feeds from around the compound. Armed individuals were at several of the outside entrances, overwhelming the door guards with speed and firepower.
Arcanthus watched as several members of his security crew were gunned down in the alleyways they’d been posted in, their bodies collapsing in unidentifiable puddles and filth. He curled his left hand into a fist while the attackers rushed to the entry doors and placed explosive charges.
Not yet. Can’t be this soon. Can’t behere.
The ice in his blood turned to fire when he shifted his attention to the main-level entrance—the only entrance that didn’t let out onto the street two floors below—and saw a tall, slender figure clad in black striding along the path opened by the attacking gunmen. Arcanthus knew who it was just by the way he moved.
Vaund.
Simultaneous explosions at several doors filled the corresponding feeds with static; he heard their roars echo distantly through the corridors outside his room.
Arcanthus’s heart skipped a beat when he realized that Samantha, his sweet, precious little flower, was in the lounge—nearly on the opposite end of the compound from him, but only twenty meters away from the main entrance.
Only twenty meters away from Vaund and the Syndicate.
TWENTY-FOUR
Samantha flashed Koroq and Razi a triumphant grin as she pulled the credit chips toward her growing pile. “I win. Again.”
Koroq groaned and threw his hands up in frustration. “Never should have taught her to play!”
Kiloq snickered, leaning back in his chair. “No chance ofeverwinning now. The terran’s too good.”
“Beginner’s luck,” Razi muttered. “It’ll run out. Eventually.”
Thargen barked laughter and took another swig of his drink. “You’re just pissed because you got knocked off the top of the hill, cren.”
Razi frowned, brows falling low over his piercing blue eyes. “No. I’m happy for the competition. Not like any of you ever gave me a challenge.”
“That’s cause you’re a cheat,” Koroq said.
“I don’t cheat. You’re just too dumb to understand the game,” Razi growled.
Koroq pushed himself up, but Kiloq—grinning as though heenjoyed the spectacle—stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “He doesn’t cheat, Kor. You just suck.”
“You’re not any better,” Koroq said.
Kiloq shrugged. “Don’t want you to feel bad, so I lose on purpose.”
“No you don’t, you lying—”
Someone cleared his throat; Sam looked toward the doorway to see Drakkal standing just inside the lounge with his powerful arms crossed over his broad chest—his signature stance.
“Everyone’s getting along great,right?” the azhera asked.
“You always spoil the fun,” grumbled Thargen. “I was just about to start taking bets on who’d win the fight.”
Samantha chuckled. “We’re playing Conquerors. Do you want to join us?”
Drakkal dropped his arms to his sides and strode to the table, glancing down at the stacks of credit chips in front of the players—not that anyone had much left, apart from Razi and Sam. “Might be tempted to when Arc gets here. It’s more fun when I know he’s losing, too.”
Excitement thrummed inside Sam. “Arc is coming? Is he finally taking a break?”
