Insatiable

Chapter 1

There was no sound other than heavy breathing and then an in-drawn breath gone liquid. Normally, the sound would have fallen on deaf ears as he simply did his job and walked away. Then again, normally, it would have been quicker, anonymous, so the target wouldn’t know what hit them, even as their life ended.

Today Daniel broke the rules and took a step closer to the ever-looming darkness. He wanted Saul Kerrigan to see his face, to know he was dying because Daniel made it so. To know he was dying because of what he’d done. Not just to the citizens of the Federation but to Daniel’s sister as well.

Saul Kerrigan was a traitor.

The knife did its work as it always did. Deadly sharp, it slid between the ribs, moving unerringly toward the target. It was then Daniel paused to pull his mask away from his face. Saul’s eyes widened with recognition and then fear. Good, even if too late.

Daniel put fingers over Saul’s lips. “Shh. You don’t have much time left.” Those fear-filled eyes widened. “I know you’re surprised, Saul. You thought you could evade House Lyons forever? Consort with the Imperium and not get caught? Thought you could torture and abuse my sister without consequences?” Daniel’s voice was flat, emotionless, even as the rage painted his vision, the rage that this man had harmed the person he loved most in all the ’Verses.

He shook his head as Saul dropped to his knees, his life with the pulse of his slowing heart. His blood slid through his fingers, spilling on the hungry, dry ground at his feet.

Mockingly, Daniel sighed, squatting and resting on his heels. “Right now you’re asking how I found you. How I could be allowed to harm you. You’re outraged. After all, I’m unranked filth.” Daniel laughed without mirth. “Just like you!”

Daniel wanted to remind Kerrigan he’d pushed Roman too far and had been stripped of his Rank. Saul was even lower on the chain than Daniel, as Daniel was a commissioned officer in the military corps.

“How far you’ve fallen. Since it’s just you and me here, Saul, let me tell you a secret. It took me longer than my usual jobs do, but still not longer than a month standard. I knew you’d run. I told Roman that you’d never be satisfied with a simple life. I figured you’d have waited longer than this, though. Tsk. But find you I did. And now my job is done. The ’Verses will be cleaner for your stain having been removed.”

Daniel wiped the blade clean on Saul’s back. Saul squirmed ineffectively.

“Don’t struggle so. It just speeds the bleeding. You’re dying, Saul, you’d best really live these last moments. Back to what I was saying. I found you because one of your people betrayed you. Credits do a lot of work in my business. Ah yes, my business, Saul. I’m not that powerless kid who nearly went to lockup because I defended my sister from your compatriots as they raped her. I’m something you can’t imagine, even though you’re a cruel brute and a craven liar. This is my job, Saul Kerrigan. You and your family made me this way. My sister would say that this is a classic case of irony. But I think it’s fate. Here we are full circle. Not that it matters. You have less than one minute to live, so enjoy it while you can. I know I’ll cherish this moment for the rest of my days. Which are, I’m pleased to remind you, far longer than yours.”

He stood. He’d lured Saul out there to the middle of nowhere, deep into the deserts of the Edge, and here is where he’d be left. A sandstorm was due to kick up shortly, cleaning the body down to the bone.

It was over for that moment in time. There were more people like Saul. Men and women of Family and Rank who’d sold information to the Imperialists. That information had been used to kill their own people, innocent people at work or at play. Saul wasn’t the first, nor would he be the last. But Daniel had felt pleasure, a sense of well-being and accomplishment as he’d killed. Normally, he’d be alarmed. Killing wasn’t something he ever did for pleasure. This time it meant something personal. Yes, he’d done his job and made the Federation safer, but more than that, he’d erased a bad memory for Abbie, eradicated a threat to one of Daniel’s loved ones.

After bending to be sure the job was done, Daniel tugged his mask back into place and headed away, up toward the dunes where he’d left the pack animal he’d arrived on. The conveyance Saul arrived in was already gone, disposed of by one of Daniel’s people.

He’d be off ’Verse by the end of the hour, and Saul Kerrigan wouldn’t be selling secrets anymore.

But someone was. Daniel’s job was not over.

“Ah, yes, do come in, Daniel. Are you looking for Abbie? She’s resting upstairs. I know she’ll be pleased to see you.” Roman Lyons answered his own door, and it still surprised Daniel. The most powerful man in the Known Universes had nearly given it all away to marry Daniel’s sister Abbie less than a year before. In Daniel’s book, this made him almost good enough for Abbie. There was no doubt Roman was a great leader, a man Daniel would follow without question. And no doubt he was also a friend.

And now Abbie was in the early days of her first pregnancy, and Roman, though he already had two grown sons, doted on her totally. Daniel couldn’t talk, really, he doted on her, too. Abbie was his best friend, the person he’d always been able to count on. In ’Verse after ’Verse of fuckups and selfish traitors, that meant something.

“Roman, good afternoon.” He stepped into the grand entry, handing his coat off to Roman, who’d no doubt hand it off to some servant or other. “Before I go check on Abbie, I was just with Wilhelm, and he thought I should brief you.”

Roman’s gaze went hooded at the mention of his top military man. “Good. Why don’t you come on through into my office. Once my lovely bride hears you’re here, I’ll have to fight her off for five minutes alone with you.” He paused on his way through the conservatory, finally laughing with Daniel. “Yes, okay, that did sound dirty. But you know what I mean. I’ve been with your sister too long. I’m starting to see everything as dirty or funny. A rather amusing new way to see the world.”

“She’s a bad influence on all of us, Roman. Thank the gods,” Daniel said dryly as they entered Roman’s home office, and Roman set the security locks behind them.

Once he was back behind his desk, Roman spread his hands out, searching for words. “I’ve gone through this before. The pregnancy thing. It’s not like I think she’s weak. She’s not. It’s just . . .”

Ah, personal first. Daniel nodded. He knew of Roman’s past and realized this was difficult for him on multiple levels. “I know childbirth contributed to your first wife’s decline in health. You don’t have to be The Lyon here with me, with her and your boys. I worry about her, too.” He shrugged. “She will be fine. There’s nothing else that would dare to light upon her. She’s practically indestructible.”

Roman lost some of the fear on his features and then sighed. “Yes. Yes. I know. She’s just so small and fragile. But you’re right, of course. She may be small, but she’s mighty, and frankly, I can’t imagine a more fortunate baby than the one she’s carrying.” And just as quickly, he was business again. “Tell me, then.”

“It’s done. I tracked him to Asphodel, though why he was there is a mystery. Some of our people are looking into it. There’s something going on out there on the Edge. I won’t bore you with details; Ellis says he’ll be speaking to you about it when you two have your regular meeting.”

“Things are in flux. I have come to believe our situation will only get much darker. I regret that I will ask you to do things, ask all my people to do things they’ll be hard-pressed to get over. I regret it, but it remains true, and it remains necessary.” Roman sat back and studied Daniel for long moments without speaking.

Daniel stayed quiet, letting Roman process whatever in hells he wanted to order him to do. He preferred action. Regrets never saved anyone. Then again, he didn’t have the pressure Roman had.

“Because of this new challenge facing us, we’re going to need new approaches and new leadership. I’ve let Wilhelm know you can give me my briefings in the future. He laughed and laughed and said I’d have to propose it to you since it was—in his words, mind you—a shitty deal because Roman Lyons is a pain in the ass.”

Daniel had no problem imagining Wilhelm Ellis saying just that. He was honored and proud of what he’d accomplished, even as he, too, felt the onset of something truly ominous. “Thank you, Roman, I’m honored. Is this because of my sister?” he joked, hoping to lessen the tension just a little bit.

Roman simply stared at him, one brow raised. “Your sister is on me all the time about sending you away from danger. It’s a good thing your job is secret, or she’d bite my ass over this move.” He grinned quickly before sobering again. “No, I think you’re an incredibly qualified person. You’re already Wilhelm’s right hand, and your group is integral to what we do. Right now, with things so dire, we need you on the ground, and I want to hear from you directly about what Phantom Corps is doing. Our focus must shift to defense and planning for an offense. The special teams are more important now than ever.”

He was undeniably pleased and flattered at such a rise in position. “Yes, sir. Of course. My schedule, as you know, can be erratic, but I expect we can work around that.”

“We can. I’m quite happy to be a pain in Wilhelm’s ass when you’re off ’Verse.”

Daniel wondered what it was between the two powerful men that had bonded them so deeply. He had his own twisty, complex and no less deep bond with Wilhelm Ellis, wasn’t sure Ellis had anything but complex relationships with people. “Anything else?”

“I’m concerned about developments on the Edge. Keep me apprised of things as they happen. I want to know why that piece of garbage was out that far.”

“As you’re no doubt aware already, there’s been a marked increase in the gun for hire biz on the Edge. More weapons violations every day. More arrests. We’re watching and listening, calling in favors and trying to work it out. We agree that something is brewing, and we’ve got all available resources on it. I assume Ellis has his other teams on this as well.”

Daniel knew there were things he wasn’t told. That was how it went in their business. Though he had excellent clearance, it wasn’t as high as Ellis. Still, he’d like to know what the big picture held, and he hoped this new rise in responsibilities and position would enable him to finally know more about what the hells was going on.

“I expect you’ll be getting a one-on-one briefing with Wilhelm about all we’re gathering now. Your new position will deem higher clearance. You’ll be liaising with some of the other Corps branches, coordinating the special teams. I’ll leave the details up to him; you know how much he’ll enjoy drawing it all out for the drama.”

Daniel nodded his assent and then jolted when the chimes on the office door rang.

Roman sighed, not without affection. “I believe your sister has realized you’re here.”

“It’s really difficult for her, being so shy and all.” Daniel opened the door, and she all but tumbled into his body, so he caught her up, carefully, and kissed the top of her head.

“I can’t believe you came to see him before you came to see me.” Her face had a roundness it hadn’t before. Pregnancy suited her. Happiness suited her.

“Pressing business. And it’s now out of the way, so I can be with you.” He took her hand. “Roman said you weren’t feeling well?”

“Pressing business, my pregnant ass. You two were being furtive.” She snorted. She led him into the room she’d converted into an intimate family area. Mercy, the house manager, a woman who was like a member of the family, rushed in, clucked at the sight of Abbie being up, ordered her to sit and headed back out to retrieve refreshments.

“My beauty. You believe anything not directly involving you is furtive. We were working. And now we aren’t,” Roman said, dropping a kiss to his wife’s temple.

The way she was with Roman told Daniel they were a forever match. She teased him, played with him, treated him like her mate, her man, instead of a figurehead. In doing so, she risked herself, risked exposing her soft side, knowing Roman would never use it to hurt her.

Mercy brought in a rolling cart laden with food and drink. She unceremoniously pushed Roman’s feet from the low table while putting a pillow behind Abbie’s back.

“She’s nicer to you than she is me,” Roman groused.

Abbie winked at Roman. “It’s my sparkling personality. Or she has a love for nauseated, grumpy women who make gagging noises.”

Mercy laughed as she left the room.

Daniel winced. “Sorry about that. Is it that bad? Can I help?”

“It’s common. I’m not the only woman who’s ever felt this way. It should pass as I get further along. Mercy helps. Mai, too, of course. I’m taken care of. You look handsome.” She eyed him carefully. “But not handsome enough to get away with being gone a whole week without coming to see me.”

He rolled his eyes and ate the food laid out for them. Of course Abbie accused him of inhaling it, but he did chew after all. A man had to eat to stay strong.

“Sorry about that. How dare I do my job when my sister is here in this palace and might have needed a back rub.”

“I totally agree, Daniel.” Abbie winked at him.

“Tell me what you’re doing these days. Not a lady of leisure, never for you.” Daniel wished it were otherwise sometimes, but Abbie was driven and committed, full of passion, and he couldn’t really imagine her any other way.

“Oh you know, agitating Roman’s cronies and enemies, too. Making all the Ranked listen to me. This amuses me, of course, which is a bonus. Nothing better than watching some of these tight-arsed old bastards have to politely listen to the rabble.” She laughed, utterly delighted. “We’re working hard, my little group. When I’m not doing that, I’m here, lolling around, having people serve me food and drink while I objectify Roman. Good times.”

Roman’s surprised laugh made Abbie’s eyes brighten, and their connection strengthened, heated. It embarrassed Daniel even as he envied it, wanted it for himself, wanted a woman to look at him like he was the best thing ever.

“I saw the raised beds you made for Mai’s kitchen garden. Very nice work.”

He nearly blushed. “She needed them. I had the raw materials and the time.”

“You gave her a way to garden again without overtaxing herself. It was a lovely gift, Daniel.” Abbie watched him as she ate. “It’s okay, you know, to be nice to your mother.”

“Does that mean I can throw our father out a window?”

“Ha! No.” Roman interrupted. “If my father gets to bully me and act like a right grumpy old pain in my behind, yours gets to live. Though I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined him with my fist planted in his mouth.”

Daniel laughed this time. “My father or yours?”

“Both.” Roman shrugged and grabbed a sandwich off the tray.

By the time he left, Abbie’s spirits were high, and she was surrounded by people who loved her. That left him content. His other sister was newly married and happy, their mother was healthy and her business thriving and his flighty little brother had become an important man in politics. He had no real fear for himself. He’d accepted the vagaries of his job long ago. But he wanted those people he loved to be safe from harm. Knowing they were happy made it an easier task to leave them behind.

The sky was clear, stars fiery in the distance. His mind flitted briefly to those last moments with Saul. Not to the death. Not that it was ordered. Not that it was done. No, to the location, to the whys of Saul Kerrigan’s presence in Asphodel.

He shifted course, heading to work.