Alien Sacrifice (Zerconian Warriors Book 9) Page 3

  “The new personal assistant went to help the Empress.”

  Koran raised his eyebrows. “And you are doing her job?”

  Was that a hint of amusement in his voice? Macon’s scowl deepened. “Somebody must do the duty,” he muttered.

  Koran snorted. “I do not envy you. I must see Dex.”

  Macon stepped up between Koran and the door. “He has asked not to be disturbed.”

  Koran narrowed his gaze. “This is important.”

  “He said he was only to be interrupted in the event of an emergency.”

  “I am still your commander.” Koran crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Yes. But I answer directly to the Emperor now.” It was a difficult line to walk at times. But the Emperor’s wishes came first, even if Koran now looked close to violence. Macon did not wish to take the commander on, but he would if he had too. If he was honest, part of him would welcome the challenge. He needed to expend some of his irritation. Zerconian males tended to sort matters between them physically.

  The door slid open behind Koran, but Macon didn’t dare take his gaze from the Commander. Jaxan, who was standing guard outside, would have alerted him to any threat.

  A throat cleared. “Is everything all right?” a quiet voice asked.

  Her.

  He let out a soft growl. This was her fault. Surprised by the anger filling him, he stepped to the side, now totally ignoring Koran so he could glare down at the small female smiling up at him, as though she had no inkling that he and Koran had been about to battle. Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe she as not as intelligent as he had thought.

  “You should have returned thirty minutes ago.”

  She shrugged and slid the handbag she never went anywhere without under her desk. “The Empress needed me. Were your needs greater than hers?”

  If he didn’t know better, he would swear she was baiting him. However, she was not brave enough for that.

  “Annabel, I am glad you have returned,” Koran said, surprising him.

  Stars! He had actually forgotten the commander was there. This human had a weird ability to make him ignore his surroundings. He did not like it. Not one bit.

  “Hi, Koran. How can I help?” she said in a warm voice. She never spoke to him that way, and he was not certain that he liked her using that tone with another male. Even a mated one. He let out a soft snarl, and Koran gave him an assessing look.

  “I need to speak to Dex.”

  “Sure, I—”

  “The Emperor does not wish to be disturbed,” Macon interrupted her. There, let her deal with Koran. This was not part of his job. He would rather take on a hundred Coizils single-handedly than keep Koran from anything he set his mind to.

  “That’s fine. Koran, tell me what you need from the Emperor, and I will see what I can do to help.”

  Macon watched in amazement as she convinced Koran to give her some idea of what he wanted to talk to Dex about, then schedule him an appointment. And absurdly, the Commander actually looked pleased as he left.

  “That was not so difficult, was it?” Koran asked Macon with a disapproving look. He didn’t see that Annabel had kept Koran from seeing Dex also, she had just gone about it differently.

  He watched her after Koran left.

  “Is there anything else?” she asked without looking up.

  “Do not leave your post again,” he made certain to make his voice stern. Forbidding. “This is your job. You are not supposed to take off whenever the whim comes over you. The Emperor does not need someone unreliable and flippant.”

  “Unreliable? Flippant?” Annabel stared up at him, and for a moment he thought he saw those green eyes darken with anger. But then she blinked and she gave him a wary look. “Of course. I will try to do better.”

  But he hadn’t imagined it. He’d seen the flash of temper.

  He would be watching her.

  ***

  As soon as she entered her room, Annabel pulled off her ugly glasses and threw them. She winced as they smashed against the wall. Whoops. Luckily, she had three more pairs exactly the same.

  She tore off the puke green, ankle-length skirt she wore. She’d deliberately bought all her clothes two sizes too big, so she’d look larger than she was. Then she pulled her hair out of the bun she’d forced it into, letting the soft curls fall down her back. Finally, she stripped off the ugliest cardigan in the universe. Seriously, this thing was so disgusting she could barely bring herself to put it on. The clashing orange and fluorescent pink dots were headache-inducing against the poo-colored background.

  Dressed in just a t-shirt and undies, she flung herself back on the bed, took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. She rubbed at her temples. Today had been a bad, bad day. She’d come close to breaking her cover so many times. Rolling over, she smacked her fist against the pillow a few times.

  “Idiot. Idiot.”

  Macon was suspicious of her. She knew he was. And it was her own fault. There was just something about him that made her lose control of her tongue, that had her letting down her guard and allowing the real Annabel to slip through.

  “What the fuck am I doing? I’m gonna ruin everything.” She couldn’t blow her cover and not just because she didn’t have the evidence she’d come for. But because she didn’t want these people knowing who she was.

  She was coming to care for them, and it was tearing her in two. Such a rookie, idiotic thing to do. If her trainers could see her now, they’d kick her ass. But if she didn’t want anyone to figure out she wasn’t who she was pretending to be, then she needed to sort her shit out. Fast. Especially around annoying, too-sexy Macon.

  “Oh my God, I think he’s sexy.”

  The room’s communicator buzzed, and she sat up quickly. Shoot. She was just fucking up over and over today. She moved to the communicator, pressing the button. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Annabel, it’s Maren. We’re going out for some dinner at that restaurant the Joyadans opened. Want to come?”

  Maren was one of the loveliest women she’d ever met. Definitely the only housemate she had any time for. The other two women she was sharing this place with were only here for one thing. To have sex with a Zerconian warrior. Whether it was for bragging rights or they actually wanted a mate, she didn’t know or care. Listening to them go on and on for hours about how hot these warriors were had her wanting to hit something. Once they started talking about whether the size of their hands was an indication of the size of their cocks, she’d had to leave. It wasn’t that she was innocent or a prude. But she had better things to do than sit around and discuss penis size.

  Like, wash her hair. Or have her teeth pulled.

  She actually wouldn’t have minded going out for a meal, though. Zerconia had opened their planet to a group of Joyadans whose village was destroyed by the Coizils. It had been a really generous thing for them to do. Some of the Joyadans had started up a restaurant serving food similar to what was found on earth.

  But she couldn’t go out tonight, Rich was calling. And, it was probably better if the others were out when she talked to him. “Thanks for the invite, Maren. But I’ve got a bit of a headache.”

  “Tough day of work,” Maren sympathized.

  Annabel felt awful for lying to the other woman, but she didn’t have much choice.

  “Yeah, it really was. Next time?” She knew it was rude not to open the door and talk face to face, but she didn’t have time to put her disguise on. “Sorry, I’d open the door, but I’ve also got a bit of a sore throat.”

  “You poor thing,” Maren said.

  She really was going to hell.

  “I’ll bring you back something to eat.”

  Oh, man, and she kept rubbing it in. Annabel leaned her forehead against the door. “Thank you, that’s so kind.”

  She sighed as the other woman left. “I am a horrid person.” She was sick of this. She wanted to go back to what she did best. Hacking. Working with people, pretending to be someone she wasn
’t, was harder than she’d thought. Harder than it had ever been before.

  After checking the time, she grabbed some soft tights and a clean t-shirt to put on after her shower. Then pulling out her tablet, she brought up the bug finder app. She didn’t think anyone suspected her, but she had learned to always be careful. She set her tablet up to run a scan for the whole house and hopped into the shower.

  A quick shower and a check to make sure the scan was clean and she was ready for Rich’s call. It came through a secure channel that was routed through several satellites.

  “What have you found?” he asked as soon as he appeared, the holographic image so clear it was almost like he was right there in the room with her.

  She leaned back on the bed. “Hello, Rich. Nice to see you, too.”

  With a frown, he waved his hand impatiently. “I don’t have time for your sarcasm, Annabel. Give me the facts. Succinctly.”

  She sighed, trying not to take offense. He didn’t mean to be a rude prick; she was pretty certain he’d been born that way. Like father, like son. No, that wasn’t fair. Rich wasn’t like their father. She knew he wouldn’t abandon any child of his. Instead, he’d probably smother them half to death, trying to make everything perfect. Despite being thirty-seven, he had yet to realize he couldn’t control everything.

  She told him everything she’d discovered, which only took a few minutes.

  “That’s it?”

  “I can make something up for you if you want,” she snapped back.

  “Annabel, be serious for once.”

  “I am being serious.” She stood up to pace. “There’s nothing here, Rich. I can’t find anything. I was up all night, going through documents and records about High-Councillor Duncan.” She rubbed her temple. She actually did have a headache now. “There wasn’t much there and what was there was all legit. I’ve spent time with some of the human mates. They’re all independent, strong, intelligent women. And not one of them has been coerced or is being held here against their will. I’ve seen nothing to indicate any untoward behavior on behalf of the Zerconians.”

  He turned away from her, his shoulders tense, his whole body almost vibrating.

  “What do you want me to do next? Shall I come back on the transporter?” It was due to leave in five days. She could hold her cover until then.

  She ignored the whisper of regret filling her. She didn’t want to leave. What the hell did she have to go home to? A brother who was more interested in politics than family. A small apartment. No friends. No other family.

  Wow. She really did have a sad life.

  “No. Not yet.” He turned, a calculating look on his face. Sheesh, what now? Sometimes it amazed her, the way his mind worked. “Human mates, huh?”

  What?

  “Yes,” she said cautiously. “Rich, what are you thinking?”

  He shook his head, giving her a charming smile. Uh-oh, Rich only smiled when he was at his most diabolical. She tensed. “I’m not doing anything that might hurt someone.” She’d defend herself if she had to and she was well trained. But she couldn’t set out to harm any of these people.

  “Of course not. I would never ask that of you.” He actually looked offended. She snorted. Rich would do whatever he had to in order to reach his goal. Sometimes, he kind of scared her with his one-minded focus. But he did have lines he wouldn’t cross.

  At least, she thought he did. Again, she wondered why she’d agreed to do this.

  Because I owe him.

  “The human mates are good people. Nice. They won’t help you.”

  “You’re doing a wonderful job, Annabel,” he told her. “Soon, you can leave. I just need you to hold your place a bit longer while I get things in place.”

  “What things?” she asked suspiciously.

  “All in good time. All in good time.”

  Before she could question him further, he was gone.

  Damn it. She didn’t think anything good was going to come from whatever Rich was thinking. But she couldn’t do much more than wait and see.

  She just hoped it didn’t come back to bite her in the butt.

  Chapter Three

  Macon watched her. Lately, it felt like he watched her far too much. But only when she didn’t see him. He told himself it was part of his job. There was something not quite right about her.

  Nobody else seemed to see it and part of him wondered if he imagined it. But his intuition had never led him astray, so he watched her.

  There were times when she pretended she was not listening to a conversation. But he had figured out some small cues. A tightening of her shoulders, the way she chewed on her thumbnail. She was in a prime spot to learn a lot of information about their planet. He’d long had misgivings about a human holding such a sensitive position. But Dex had believed hiring a human would foster more ties between the two races.

  And just because she was taking everything in didn’t mean she had an ulterior motive. He’d seen no threat and everyone appeared to like her even though she didn’t participate in most of the activities organized by Mila and her team to foster relationships between the humans and the Zerconians.

  She was here tonight, though. Empress Zoey had arranged a going-away party for the humans who were due to leave on the transporter the day after tomorrow. It was being held outdoors, down near the ocean. He was here in a security presence, not to dance and converse as some of the humans had attempted to convince him to do.

  The sooner they left, the better. But he did admit this hadn’t been a complete waste of time. Three Zerconian warriors had found their mates. That was three fewer Zerconians to fall victim to the mating fever. A handful more of these females had decided to stay for longer, Annabel included. Not that he’d thought she would leave. Hoped, not expected.

  Do I really want her to leave?

  Of course, he did. She meant nothing to him. If it wasn’t for his instincts screaming at him that there was something odd about her, then he was certain he would not even notice she existed.

  She stood off to the side, directly across from him. Her clothing was so bright it was hard to miss her. He winced, wondering what possessed her to pair that garishly bright purple top with loose, orange pants. Her dark hair was twisted back into her normal bun, those horrible glasses perched on her nose. He didn’t understand why she had not had her eyes lasered. Very few wore glasses anymore.

  She may have hidden in the corner, but that didn’t mean she was alone. Person after person stopped to talk to her. Zerconian, human, Joyadan, they all came to speak to her. Many left with a smile on their face. She didn’t exactly invite friendships. He didn’t know that she was particularly friendly with anyone here. Yet, everyone appeared to like her.

  It perplexed him.

  She didn’t pull people around her, like the loud blonde who had propositioned him a few weeks ago. That female never went anywhere without a handful of other females to accompany her. Annabel was alone more often than not. And yet, he had noticed her bring the most determined of warriors to a complete standstill, turn them around, and send them on their way, totally happy and not even realizing that they hadn’t gotten what they’d come for.

  “Thank the stars these women are leaving.” Hagartha walked up to him, a frown pulling at her face. “I have had enough of their loud speech, rude manners, and barely-there clothing. Too bad, they are not all leaving.” She turned and looked at Annabel.

  He was surprised by the urge to defend Annabel, to point out that she wasn’t loud or rude, and he definitely wouldn’t say that her clothes were barely-there.

  “There have been three matings,” he pointed out instead, ignoring the fact that Hagartha wasn’t really saying anything he hadn’t already thought.

  “Yes, I believe those males are in need of my condolences.”

  “Hagartha!” He gave her a disapproving look.

  She raised her eyebrows. “It is not something that we have not discussed before. It is one of the reasons we are so comp
atible—our similar views on the inferior humans and their unwelcome presence here on Zerconia.”

  “This is not the place to speak of such.”

  Macon glanced around him worriedly, but there was no one close by. Had he really said such things? Maybe. Hagartha was right. They did hold similar views about the humans. Although he’d never thought them inferior exactly. Just not a suitable fit for him.

  Unbelievably, his gaze drifted to Annabel.

  “You watch her a lot,” Hagartha observed. What? Alarm filled him. He did? What must Hagartha think of that? Was she jealous? “Do you feel suspicious of her also?”

  Relief filled him. Only relief. There was no sliver of disappointment. He did not wish Hagartha to be jealous or to show more feelings for him than a mutual caring and respect. Hagartha was right, of course, he was suspicious. He was also intrigued by the tiny human with the ugly clothes and poor eyesight.

  “There is something unusual about her.” He forced his gaze away from Annabel.

  “I still cannot believe that the Emperor believes an inferior human could perform my job.”

  Actually, from what he observed, she was excellent at her job. But he should sympathize with Hagartha.

  “You would not have been able to work once we were mated anyway,” he said to soothe her. “So perhaps it was for the best that you lost your position. Now you have more time to work on our mating ceremony.”

  Instead of agreeing, she just gave him an irritated look and turned and walked off. Was it something he said? He thought back to their conversation. No, he guessed she was just tired of the celebrations. He glanced over at Annabel again to find she had removed her glasses and was rubbing tiredly at the bridge of her nose.

  Suddenly, she paused, her gaze watchful. He turned to see what she looked at and watched as Hagartha walked past two Joyadan children who were playing with a hoverbee and that ridiculous animal, Norman, who belonged to Darac’s mate, Willa. As he watched, the hoverbee smacked Hagartha firmly in the back. He winced; she would not take that well. Macon started forward, noting from the corner of his eye, that Annabel was moving as well, her eyeglasses now firmly in place.