Page 4 of 3013: Justice

“I don’t think it hurts to be cautious, but the cure wasn’t created by the Alliance. It was made by an elite scientist and his Xenon mate,” Secret pointed out. “The Xenon wouldn’t have gone out of their way to come here and help create a cure if they were deliberately trying to hurt humans.”

That perked the redhead up. “That totally makes sense.”

Secret couldn’t help but add, “Do you really think Jade, Rogan, and Lucian would have helped distribute the cure if it was dangerous?”

“Okay, you got me there,” the brunette grudgingly admitted. “But I’m still going to wait to make sure people don’t start dropping dead before I sign up.”

Secret turned toward the entrance of the bar at the sound of a commotion. A young Krytos male was causing a stir as he pushed his way through the crowd of people that were waiting for tables. Secret frowned at him through the glass, then her expression cleared when she noticed he was carrying the petite Tarin female he was in love with.

They might have looked odd together since he was so much bigger than she was, but they were a good match. Rex was a soft-spoken, sweet, empathic young male, while Mara was struggling to overcome a life that had been filled with pain and suffering. Although they were taking things slow, it was nice to see the relationship building between them.

But something had obviously disturbed their newfound happiness.

For the sake of expediency, Secret boosted herself up and over the bar top instead of wasting time taking the long way around. Patrons and servers gasped and scrambled to get out of her way as she hurried toward the entrance.

“What’s wrong?” Secret demanded as soon as the glass doors slid open.

Hearing her voice, the Tarin female leaped out of Rex’s arms and flung herself at Secret. She hated being touched. Everyone at the sanctuary knew that, but Secret understood the Tarin female wasn’t thinking straight at the moment.

“What happened, Mara?” she asked, awkwardly patting the Tarin on the back. When all she did was continue to shake and shiver, Secret glanced over at the large male wringing his hands together. “Rex?”

“I—she—”

Juno hurried over to join them. “Rex, you know you shouldn’t be here. Hey, what’s wrong with Mara?”

“She saw a spider downstairs and totally freaked out,” Rex blurted out. “I didn’t know she had this bad of a phobia. I didn’t see anything, but she wouldn’t calm down. She said she needed to see you, so I brought her here.”

Hearing what he’d said made Secret stiffen.

She knew exactly what had made Mara freak out, and it wasn’t about spiders. At least, not the kind with eight legs. Spider was the nickname for one of their former captors, and the main cause of most of Mara’s nightmares. The male deserved to die in the most painful way possible, and Secret was longing to be the one to provide that for him.

Without a word, she gently pushed the female back at Rex and turned away.

Snapping out of her haze, Mara reached out and grabbed hold of her wrist. “I wasn’t seeing things. He’s here,” she whispered. “He’s really here.”

“I believe you,” Secret assured as she gently pulled her arm away. “Rex, take her back to the kitchen and stay there until it’s done.”

“Until what’s done? Where are you going?” Rex called out.

Leaving them behind, Secret didn’t bother turning around as she stalked toward the stairs. “I’m going hunting.”

Chapter Two

Commander Talon Spartanhad a talent for killing.

While most would consider what he could do a curse, he chose to think of it as a gift. A dark and deadly gift he used against the blights on society who sought to hurt others, and those with enough money or connections to hide their evil deeds. Those particular individuals were almost impossible to take down by ordinary measures.

But Talon was anything but ordinary.

People definitely did not want to find themselves on his hit list since one needed to permanently stop breathing to be taken off it. Like his current target. The man didn’t know it yet, but the unfortunate soul was already as good as gone. His fate had been sealed the moment Talon had marked him for extermination. Even though they had only brushed past one another on the crowded street, it was more than enough to get the job done.

Talon only needed the briefest touch to kill.

His unique abilities made him one of the Alliance’s most efficient assassins. He was quick, clean, and deadly accurate every time. Best of all, no one was even aware he was responsible for taking out his targets after he was done.

Although there were countless elites who had developed a wide range of special abilities after they had been enhanced, Talon’s particular skills had earned him classified status as a living, breathing weapon. That was saying something since the Alliance didn’t even know the true extent of his gifts.

He’d never allowed anyone to document what his real talents were for fear those in power would try to use or exploit him. Although hiding his abilities was a direct violation of Alliance’s regulations, he didn’t give a fuck. Truthfully, the rules didn’t apply when it came to protecting himself, his family, and those under his command.

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