Page 134 of Dancing for the Minotaur

“Taurex, of Intergalactic Imports.” He drew one of his business cards from his pocket and held it where the guard could see it. “I have business with your employer. I was told he might be interested in acquiring rare blue diamonds from the Kuiper Belt.”

The guard stared at the card without taking it.

“From the where?” he asked, frowning in confusion.

“The Kuiper Belt,” Taurex repeated patiently.

“Never mind.” The human shook his head. “He ain’t seeing anyone.”

He started to close the door and Taurex moved.

He caught the edge of the door before it could shut completely. At the same instant he drew the blaster, slipped the muzzle through the narrow opening and pressed it against the guard’s forehead.

The male’s eyes widened.

“What the⁠—”

Taurex squeezed the trigger, and the blaster made a sound like, Zzzzp.

The sound was barely louder than an insect buzzing, and the guard went limp immediately as a steaming hole the size of a golf ball appeared in his head.

Taurex caught him before his body could hit the floor, released the security latch from inside, and pushed his way into the apartment while supporting the dead male’s weight against one shoulder.

The living area beyond was nearly as opulent as his own penthouse, though perhaps half the size. Cream-colored leather furniture surrounded a wide glass table, and an enormous entertainment screen covered most of one wall. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over downtown Tampa, offering a view that under other circumstances might have been impressive.

Two more human males sat in chairs facing the screen—neither had heard the shot.

One turned when the door opened and frowned.

“Hey, what⁠—?”

Taurex had already raised the blaster.

Zzzzp.

The first guard’s head snapped backward.

Before the second male could get out of his chair, Taurex shifted his aim.

Zzzzp.

The man collapsed sideways.

Taurex lowered the weapon.

Three shots. Three kills. His years serving as a warrior in the Monstrum military had not been wasted.

He dragged the first guard fully inside and dropped the body behind the couch where it wouldn’t be immediately visible from the entrance, then moved quickly toward the interior hall. He felt nothing resembling guilt. These males had participated in the kidnapping of two younglings and were armed while guarding them. Whatever choices had led them here were their own.

Cody and Lisa’s crying was louder now.

Taurex followed the sound.

The apartment was arranged around a wide central hallway with several closed doors on either side. Unlike his own penthouse, which Terra had often complained felt too empty and impersonal, Orlov’s suite seemed deliberately ostentatious. Expensive-looking paintings covered the walls and sculpted pieces of glass and metal sat on illuminated pedestals, as though the owner wanted anyone entering to understand immediately how much currency he possessed.

Taurex barely glanced at any of it. He found the children behind the second door on the right. The door was closed but not locked. He turned the handle slowly and opened it only wide enough to look through the gap.

His heart clenched at what he saw.