belongs to
an up-and-coming politician.”
A shudder swept through her involuntarily. “Does he know my
father?” It wasn’t that she didn’t like her father. She loved him. But the
people he struck deals with often left her feeling dirty.
“Sweetheart, everybody knows your father. But if it makes
you feel better, he’s never worked with him.”
“And he won’t tell my dad? I think he’ll forgive me for not
telling him that I’m alive, someday. But if he hears it from someone else…” She
shook her head as she thought about how badly that would hurt her dad.
“I’ve worked with this guy before. Representative Lee can
keep a secret. And he’s a good guy.”
“Okay. Let’s go check out this ranch in the middle of
nowhere.”
Chapter Six
Michael grimaced as a box rammed into his knee. Thankfully
he was able to bite off the flood of curse words that sprang to mind before
they slipped out. It was his own damn fault he’d gotten hit. He should’ve
anticipated it and stopped the wayward projectile. But he wasn’t paying
attention to what was going on around him as the cargo vessel descended through
the planet’s thick atmosphere. If he were, he’d have noted that anything not
bolted to the floors was moving around freely. He was far too interested in
studying Adam to be paying attention to common, everyday occurrences like boxes
shifting though.
He and Adam had caught up on a lot more than just possible
safe havens while Renee slept. And even after hearing the man say the words, he
just couldn’t believe Adam was Coalition. He’d suspected it when they’d first
met. He’d even admitted those suspicions to Adam. But after Adam had stood by
Renee during the attack, Michael had dismissed his concerns. It just didn’t
make logical sense for the man to go against his own group to protect a
stranger. And yet Adam had done just that. Which put Michael into a bind. He
probably should tell Renee about Adam’s allegiances. But since Adam was working
with them, he wasn’t going to. They needed Adam’s help right now and Michael
was too much of a realist to let political affiliation determine his contact
list.
Good thing too, since it was some of his more shady contacts
who’d been able to get them clothing, new identities and documentation on such
short notice. Now all he had to do was make sure Renee made it to
Representative Lee in one piece and they should be able to start unraveling
this mess.
“I’ve forwarded the meeting coordinates to each of your digital
readers just in case we get separated after the landing.” He tore his attention
away from Adam so he could address the entire group. “Mr. and Mrs. Lee have
been informed of the situation but her ranch hands have not. If anyone else
asks, you’re here to look at a couple head of cattle. Keep it simple. The fewer
details you give, the fewer you have to remember.” The vessel shuddered as it
landed on the planet’s surface. “Are you guys ready for this?”
He wasn’t sure what he’d do if they said they weren’t. And
given their current state, that was a possibility. The people standing around
him looked exhausted and bedraggled. Although for everything they’d been
through that day, he guessed that bedraggled was actually pretty good. Things
could’ve gone much, much worse for them. They could really be dead right now.
Just the thought of Renee being gone forever made his stomach clench painfully.
But he pushed the sensation away. He’d already lived through losing her once
today. He wasn’t going to relive the experience. Not with her sitting right in
front of him.
“We’re ready,” Renee said in a sure tone. And just like that
the men seemed to come alive as the cargo bay doors were opened. On the off
chance that there were security or customs officers in the hangar, they hid
behind the large boxes of cargo. But at the pilot’s “all clear”, they came out
of their hiding spaces and started making their way to the
an up-and-coming politician.”
A shudder swept through her involuntarily. “Does he know my
father?” It wasn’t that she didn’t like her father. She loved him. But the
people he struck deals with often left her feeling dirty.
“Sweetheart, everybody knows your father. But if it makes
you feel better, he’s never worked with him.”
“And he won’t tell my dad? I think he’ll forgive me for not
telling him that I’m alive, someday. But if he hears it from someone else…” She
shook her head as she thought about how badly that would hurt her dad.
“I’ve worked with this guy before. Representative Lee can
keep a secret. And he’s a good guy.”
“Okay. Let’s go check out this ranch in the middle of
nowhere.”
Chapter Six
Michael grimaced as a box rammed into his knee. Thankfully
he was able to bite off the flood of curse words that sprang to mind before
they slipped out. It was his own damn fault he’d gotten hit. He should’ve
anticipated it and stopped the wayward projectile. But he wasn’t paying
attention to what was going on around him as the cargo vessel descended through
the planet’s thick atmosphere. If he were, he’d have noted that anything not
bolted to the floors was moving around freely. He was far too interested in
studying Adam to be paying attention to common, everyday occurrences like boxes
shifting though.
He and Adam had caught up on a lot more than just possible
safe havens while Renee slept. And even after hearing the man say the words, he
just couldn’t believe Adam was Coalition. He’d suspected it when they’d first
met. He’d even admitted those suspicions to Adam. But after Adam had stood by
Renee during the attack, Michael had dismissed his concerns. It just didn’t
make logical sense for the man to go against his own group to protect a
stranger. And yet Adam had done just that. Which put Michael into a bind. He
probably should tell Renee about Adam’s allegiances. But since Adam was working
with them, he wasn’t going to. They needed Adam’s help right now and Michael
was too much of a realist to let political affiliation determine his contact
list.
Good thing too, since it was some of his more shady contacts
who’d been able to get them clothing, new identities and documentation on such
short notice. Now all he had to do was make sure Renee made it to
Representative Lee in one piece and they should be able to start unraveling
this mess.
“I’ve forwarded the meeting coordinates to each of your digital
readers just in case we get separated after the landing.” He tore his attention
away from Adam so he could address the entire group. “Mr. and Mrs. Lee have
been informed of the situation but her ranch hands have not. If anyone else
asks, you’re here to look at a couple head of cattle. Keep it simple. The fewer
details you give, the fewer you have to remember.” The vessel shuddered as it
landed on the planet’s surface. “Are you guys ready for this?”
He wasn’t sure what he’d do if they said they weren’t. And
given their current state, that was a possibility. The people standing around
him looked exhausted and bedraggled. Although for everything they’d been
through that day, he guessed that bedraggled was actually pretty good. Things
could’ve gone much, much worse for them. They could really be dead right now.
Just the thought of Renee being gone forever made his stomach clench painfully.
But he pushed the sensation away. He’d already lived through losing her once
today. He wasn’t going to relive the experience. Not with her sitting right in
front of him.
“We’re ready,” Renee said in a sure tone. And just like that
the men seemed to come alive as the cargo bay doors were opened. On the off
chance that there were security or customs officers in the hangar, they hid
behind the large boxes of cargo. But at the pilot’s “all clear”, they came out
of their hiding spaces and started making their way to the
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