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I swallow. “Rokena Brimstone. She planned the assassination of your Queen and she also put a hit out on me.”
A growl rumbles in his chest. “I see. Now I understand the need for secrecy to keep the males on this ranch safe while you stay here. The Hyrrokin mafia is truly formidable and have close ties with the intergalactic mafia, and Rokena Brimstone is the worst of them. I am well aware that they have a new vacation residence on the edge of the wildlands. I have never liked the idea of their recent proximity. Thank you for trusting me with that information. It helps for me to know what I’m up against. It must have been difficult for you to get this evidence.”
“Rokena clearly saw me tap record. She later cut me off from the network, but I’d already thought of that happening and as soon as I returned to my room, I made a quick hard copy. When I left, I kept it with me. I knew I’d need it to ensure I was believed later. Otherwise, I’m a simple human with an unbelievable story. Hard evidence is always smart to have. And also, I couldn’t possibly remember the details.”
“Smart thinking, human.”
“You really don’t need any more than this from me,” I say, sliding the chip across the counter toward him. “If I give you the recording, the authorities should be able to do the rest because it’s complete. You’ll know everything I know. I don’t know anything extra either beyond what’s in that and I would like to stay here and lay low. If you need to ask me things, obviously I will answer, but I would like it if you remain my only contact.Please, please don’t let them show up and take me away.” I tear up and start choking at the thought.
He reaches his claw forward and takes my hand in his and looks me in the eye. “I won’t let it happen. You will remain here and live quietly on the ranch with Thorn while we investigate this matter and take action. I give you my word.”
“Thank you. It feels good to let go of the chip that’s been burning a hole in my pocket.”
“Thankyoufor recording this and risking your life to get it to us.”
“Please make sure that you don’t tell Thorn or anyone here anything. You need to keep them safe. The last thing I want is for anyone here to get hurt because of me.”
“Understood.”
Chapter 8
Thorn
Ileave my domicile and head to the barn to grab a rake and begin mucking out stalls.
I do the job of one of my ranch hands who will be confused later that his work is already complete, but I need the immediate, repetitive hard work to take my mind off what’s happening inside my domicile. This uncomfortable situation is of my own creation, but this is what’s best for Mica. And I will always do what’s best for Mica.
That doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Sheriff Loadstone is one of my closest friends, but he’s also unmated and highly popular with the females in our county. My brothers claim unmated females like me best, but I don’t find this to be true. Whenever I’m out with Erid, they ignore me as if I don’t exist.
I’ve had no pleasure mates, but Erid has had too many to count. Females throw themselves at him wherever he goes and he often complies with their advances. He’s a fierce and formidable warrior and a dedicated peacekeeper, but also has a magic touch concerning females. He seems to know exactly what to say to a female to instantly cause both friendship and arousal, a knowledge which I sadly do not possess.
Erid seemed close to becoming bound to my cousin, Marota. They were pleasure mates for a time and I thought they might continue to the courthouse to make it official, but a few moon cycles ago they mutually agreed to separate. Marota has already found another male she declares is her “true bound,” a male who works in finance she met on vacation. She’s madly in love and happily moving away to the main city to resettle with him and his family. Leaving ranching in the wildlands behind to live in a bustling, large city has always been her dream. So, I suppose her and Erid were indeed wrong for each other.
He's single again and I don’t want him to fixate on the female I want as my own.
I have not yet scented Mica’s arousal for me. We seem to have grown close. She allows me to hold her hand and touch her face gently, and I believe she enjoys my nearness and speaking with me as much as I do with her. But still, there is no waft of arousal. This could simply be the way humans exhibit friendship. Or a delay caused by her recent trauma.
But I didn’t notice any change in her behavior toward either of my brothers. She feels nothing beyond friendship for any of the males she has met so far on the ranch. And I know Mica is unmated and not spoken for on her home planet. This means there is still a chance she might eventually find me attractive and a good choice as a possible mate.
I shake my head. I should let this go. This should not be so all consuming. But the more time I spend with her the more I wish she was in my bed. In the short time I’ve spent with Mica, I can already sense that she is more than just a female I’d want as a temporary pleasure mate. Maybe I want her as…my bound? This might be a female I’d ask to walk to the courthouse with me. A female who could work this ranch with me. The mother of future Flagstones.
I scrub harder at the floor.
And now I’ve left her alone with Erid.
“What is wrong with you?” Burl growls when he joins me in the barn with a sick pyrotaur and I snap at him over nothing. “Go back to the house. You’re no good here.”
I toss down a broom and march back out front, irritated at this confrontation. And that’s when I see Erid returning to his black vehicle. He sees me and lifts his chin. I motion for him to follow me into the barn. He nods in agreement. And we both go inside to use Burl’s small office.
I shut the door behind us. “What happened?”
Erid frowns. “I can’t tell you anything. You know I have to remain confidential and I told her that too.”
“I know. I know.” I wave a claw. “But give me something so I can feel more comfortable about her safety.”
He crosses his arms. “She told me everything I need to know and I’m on it. And the good news is that she wants to stay here. I agreed to this condition because this is a safe location. Make sure word of a human in our midst doesn’t get out beyond our community.”
