Ambasadora (Book 1 of Ambasadora) by Heidi Ruby Miller

you wouldn’t have thought
of that. Guess she was the better choice.”
    “The stims helped, didn’t
they? That’s why you offered yourself to me all those times, out of
gratitude.” He leaned closer until she could feel his breath on her ear,
his whole body pressed against hers. “But, whatever made you think I’d
want to touch you? Let’s face it, you weren’t exactly at your best.”
    If she could have turned around,
she would have spit in Rainer’s face. Her stomach churned with the memories of
her obsession with him. It had nothing to do with him; it was all about
relieving her misery, if only for a short while. She was right not to trust
him.
    “Don’t flatter yourself,
Rainer. I was so desperate for the comfort of a warm body even a fragger
would’ve done.”
    “You’re a liar.”
    “Piss off.”
    The overhead light blinked on.
    “Contractor Varden, do you
need any help?”
    Rainer pulled Sara out and flung
her into the awaiting guards.
    “No, I think our ambasadora
is willing to go quietly. You still have a little dignity left, don’t you,
Sara?”
     
    “Have a seat, Ambasadora
Mendoza.” Simon’s back was to her as the guards pulled her into his office.
He watched a large viewer that covered almost half of the dark green wall. It
showed a man and a woman sitting in the waiting area just outside. That’s why
they brought Sara in through the back, so she wouldn’t be seen.
    She slid into a metal-framed blue
chair. The dimly lit office unnerved her. Maybe he just didn’t want her to see
his many shelved trinkets. He branded her a thief, after all. That was the
reason he kept her alive, to catch another thief, a fragger who had stolen
Simon’s most prized possession, his longevity. He also probably hoped to flush
out Chen in the process.
    During those first few weeks of
the hallucinogens and Faya’s cuts, Sara believed Chen would come back. Now she
knew better. She was on her own.
    “Do you see the man and
woman waiting out there?” Simon stepped aside to offer her a better view
of the airscreen. “Their names are David Anlow and Solimar Robbins,
respectively. He would have been your pilot. She , a fellow
passenger, perhaps even a friend.”
    “And that means what to
me?” Anger welled in her.
    “It means they are no longer
unknown to you. You’ve seen their faces. You know their names.” Finally he
looked at her. “When they die because of your actions, you’ll remember
them.”
    “Why would knowing their
names make me care if you hurt them, Simon? A lot of people knew my name when
Faya was hurting me.” She glared at Rainer. To her surprise he looked
away.
    “I wouldn’t just hurt them.
I would kill them.” The blunt statement was more for clarity than
dramatics.
    If he had wanted them dead, he
would have ordered it done, especially after they witnessed her escape
attempt. She wanted to call his bluff. “I don’t care, Simon.”
    “You should at least care
about Navigational Leader Anlow.” He walked closer and leaned in
discreetly.
    She avoided looking into Simon’s
eerie grey eyes, but couldn’t avoid his scent. It was woody like Rainer’s, but
with a hint of spice. Though not unpleasant, it made her want to gag because
the scent was specific to him…and she hated him, more than anyone she’d ever
known, except maybe Faya. She should have taken the time to snap his neck on
the magno.
    He whispered to her then.
“He’s the fragger operative.”
    “Then why not have Rainer
just cut the information out of him?” she asked.
    “Because fraggers have an
exceptionally high tolerance to pain. It’s all that dosing and training, you
see, mixed with some absurd code of loyalty. We’re finding that our
modification sessions with many of their operatives produce no useful
information. But one thing fraggers can’t ignore is their biology. They are
still ruled by their physical desires. It’s interesting to see what even the
most disciplined will do if the attraction is