Page 135 of Dancing for the Minotaur

Cody and Lisa sat together in the center of an enormous bed. Their little wrists had been tied with rope, and they were clutching each other as best they could despite the restraints. Lisa’s face was red and blotchy from crying, while Cody was trying to comfort her even though tears were running down his own cheeks.

Taurex’s first instinct was to push the door wide, rush to them and cut them free. But somehow, he stopped himself.

There was no guard in the room, which was a blessing, but Orlov was still somewhere in the apartment. If Taurex freed the children now and one of them cried out—or if they tried to flee before he had neutralized the remaining threat—the situation could become much more dangerous.

Just a little longer, younglings, he thought. I will free you soon.

Cody looked suddenly toward the door and for a terrifying second, Taurex wondered if the boy had seen him, but Cody’s eyes passed over the narrow crack without recognition.

Taurex closed the door silently again. The act cost him a lot—every instinct screamed that he should remain with them, that he should put his body between those children and the rest of the world and never allow anything to frighten them again. But the warrior in him understood that the threat had to be removed first.

Taurex continued down the hallway. Another door stood partly open near the end and faint electronic light flickered through the gap. Taurex approached without making a sound and looked inside.

A human male sat in a swivel chair facing an entire bank of monitors. At first Taurex assumed he had found another alert guard, but then he noticed the male’s head had fallen to one side. A faint snore escaped him—he was sleeping.

Taurex’s gaze moved to the screens and his anger intensified immediately.

Several of the monitors displayed live surveillance images. One showed the exterior of Terra’s bungalow. Another provided a view of her backyard. A third appeared to be aimed directly at the front porch, close enough that Taurex could clearly see Lucy’s glowing purification plant sitting beside one of the chairs.

That fucker Orlov had been watching Terra’s home. Watching her mother. Watching Cody and Lisa. Taurex’s hand tightened around the blaster.

Then he saw another feed and recognized his own penthouse.

For a moment, he simply stared. The camera angle showed the living room and part of the hallway leading toward the office. It was positioned high enough that Taurex immediately began mentally searching his memory for where a surveillance device might have been hidden.

Orlov had been watching him too. Perhaps watching Terra work beside him. Watching them eat lunch. Watching every time Taurex stood too close to her or looked at her for too long.

The realization brought a new level of fury. This human had invaded not only Terra’s life but Taurex’s own domicile, watching them like specimens through glass while he waited for an opportunity to strike.

Taurex looked over the other screens. There were views of the building garage, several hallways and the lobby. One monitor showed the rooftop landing pad where his golden shuttle now sat. How had the operator failed to notice him arrive? Then the man snored again. Taurex almost laughed—what an idiot. A male like this would have been expelled from the Monstrum military on his very first day.

Well, now he was going to pay for working for Orlov.

He slipped through the doorway and the human never stirred. Taurex crossed the room in three silent steps and came up behind him. Then he clamped one enormous hand over the man’s mouth.

The operator jerked awake, his eyes flying wide as he began flailing immediately, both arms striking uselessly against Taurex’s forearm as he tried to wrench himself free.

“Mmmpf! Mmmpf!” were the muffled sounds that came from him.

Taurex pressed the muzzle of the blaster against the back of his neck and the struggling stopped.

“Be still,” Taurex murmured into his ear, his voice so low it was almost a growl. “If you make a sound, you die.”

The human froze. Taurex could smell the sudden burst of fear pouring from him. Good. For the first time since entering the apartment, Taurex allowed himself to smile, though there was no humor in it.

Now he was going to find Viktor Orlov.

35

TAUREX

Taurex kept one massive hand clamped over the surveillance operator’s mouth while the muzzle of the blaster rested against the back of the human’s neck. Beneath his palm, the male’s breathing had gone shallow and rapid, and Taurex could smell the sharp, acrid scent of fear pouring from him, now that he understood exactly how precarious his situation had become.

For several seconds Taurex said nothing. He simply stood behind the chair, watching the bank of monitors and listening with his sensitive ears to every sound in the apartment beyond—the faint crying of the children…the hum of the climate system…the distant sound of some human entertainment program still playing in the living room where the dead guards sat.

Somewhere else inside the suite was Viktor Orlov, and Taurex intended to find him before the male had any idea that death had already entered his domicile.

“I am going to remove my hand,” Taurex murmured at last, pitching his voice low enough that it would not carry beyond the room. “If you shout, I will kill you before the first sound leaves your throat. Do you understand me?”