Sanctuary: Delroi Empire, #2

By Loribelle Hunt

Harmony Marks has spent months tracking down the surviving members of the Tel Group, a secret organization of psychics that operated in the shadows for generations, and probably still does.

 

Tel isn't her only headache, though. As head of family security, along with her twin sister Adalind, she's investigating a series of very slick thefts. When a unit of Delroi warriors show up at her carefully laid trap also searching for thieves, she is certain it is all somehow connected.

 

Arkyn Trace has been on planet a whole six hours when his cousin drags him into an investigation. As the former Trace spymaster, he has the necessary skills, and it's interesting enough. Especially when he encounters Harmony Marks.

 

He journeyed to Earth to search for his mate. Since he hadn't found one in fifty years on Delroi, he figured Earth was his last hope. He's stunned to meet her so quickly, though, and she's everything he'd hoped for. Smart. A warrior. Beautiful. She's also wary and independent.

 

Arkyn will need all his charm—and his investigation skills—to convince her they're perfect for each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Loribelle Hunt
• Release date: Nov 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223073413

Loribelle Hunt

Loribelle is like the South she calls home. Hot and sultry. Languid and sexy. Magnolias and gardenias scent her silk lined boudoir, and men and children alike bow to her magnificence... Okay, maybe it isn’t quite that glamorous. She does have two smart and lovely daughters who give her a run for her money and a son that will one day be someone’s model of a romance hero. (She promises.) Her husband is a real life hero, and Loribelle just tries to keep up with the demands of military life. In between, she writes a book or two. She’s had every job under the sun, but haven’t most writers? That Army military police, bookstore manager, waitress, wedding photographer, website designer experience has to come in useful sometimes. As they say in the South, it all washes out in the end. She loves hearing from her readers and can be found at http://www.loribellehunt.com.

Book preview

ONE

Harmony ducked behind a large steel shipping container and looked up as laser fire shot over their heads.

Why the hell are they shooting at us?

Gee, I don’t know, her sister, Adalind, said sarcastically. Maybe because we set a trap for them?

That’s a little extreme, don’t you think? And there shouldn’t be anyone here, she snapped back.

Not only was it Sunday, but it was World Peace Day, celebrating the end of the Alliance wars and the Treaty of Delroi. They hadn’t had any trouble picking the gate lock or hacking the security system, which was sloppy in her opinion, and hadn’t seen anyone else when they’d entered the warehouse complex. Unfortunately, they hadn’t checked for hidden vehicles, which was also sloppy and a mistake she wouldn’t make again, wouldn’t have made in the first place if she wasn’t so damned angry. This situation was distracting her from her hunt for the surviving members of Tel, a distraction she couldn’t afford.

No idea. What I’d like to know is where the hell they got Delroi weapons? Adalind asked.

You’re sure they aren’t Delroi? Harmony asked.

Adalind scooted around her and used a very low-tech makeup mirror to look around the corner of the container. Pretty sure they’re not. For one, they’re lousy shots.

They were firing high, and she was pretty sure that was on purpose. I don’t think they’re actually trying to hit us.

Probably not. They’re also a lot shorter and they don’t have that warrior look.

And after the last few years, they all knew that look. At least those who paid attention. Suddenly there was more laser fire from somewhere else in the maze of crates, and the group shooting at them panicked.

That’s Delroi warriors! We have to get out of here, dumbass number one yelled.

He wasn’t wrong, they really did. Stealing from the Marks family was a bad idea. Stealing from the Delroi was suicidal. Was she going to help them? No fucking way. They’d stolen from her, hadn’t they? Any sympathy she might have felt because of the Delroi situation was totally canceled out.

That way, dumbass number two said. Harmony imagined him pointing in their direction and she wasn’t disappointed.

That’s where those women went. They might be with the Delroi. A third dumbass. How many of these idiots were there? She hadn’t gotten a head count before the shooting started.

I don’t think so. Just run past them flat out. They probably don’t want to deal with the Delroi either.

He had a point there. She and Adalind exchanged a glance and moved further into the shadows between the wall and the container. Just in time.

See? No problem? the first one said as he sped past. They’re already gone.

The others followed him, one lagging in the rear. Adalind moved quicker than he did, snagged and gagged him before he could call out. If his friends noticed, none bothered to come back to help him. She and Harmony moved quickly to secure him, zip tying his hands. She’d had no idea Adalind had brought the ties along, but she always had something useful in the giant ass bag she hauled around everywhere.

They rolled him over and got a good look at him. Damn, he was just a kid. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. She had a flash of him standing in her foyer, looking apprehensive. She didn’t have full visions, but sometimes she saw images, moments, and her instincts were stellar. It wasn’t the only time she’d seen him, either. The first was a few months ago in a desert, the second on a Delroi shuttle just a few days ago. The kid was important, but she hadn’t expected to find him here. She automatically shared that with Adalind telepathically.

We’re getting too old for this shit, she said aloud.

Adalind grinned. "Nah. Speak for yourself, but you are older."

By a whole ten minutes, she said, grinning back.

Definitely counts.

They heard a commotion on the other side of the warehouse, people surrendering she assumed, and got to their feet, hauling their prisoner up too.

What’s your name, kid? she asked.

He gulped. Luke.

What were y’all looking for here?

Medical stuff. He noticed the look she and Adalind shared. We paid for it, he said defensively.

Paid who?

Some guy named Kemp.

Adalind swore creatively under her breath and Harmony almost joined her. She hadn’t seen that, but she’d suspected it. Kemp oversaw all the company warehouses, but this shipment was stolen from the private family storage facility. It was earmarked for a small, isolated medical clinic their cousin Felicity ran at a research center in the middle of nowhere near the Great Lakes, and it wasn’t the only shipment that had gone missing either. The others weren’t for the family though, so this was personal. Kemp always had an iron-clad alibi. He also had a hell of a lot of help. The thefts had seemed random, the trackers deactivated at the warehouse. Some were stolen from the warehouses and some in transit. It was a slick operation. The guards or drivers were always drugged and didn’t remember anything but guns and masked men. They’d all been cleared of any suspicion.

So she and Adalind had gotten sneaky. They’d managed to get some new, undetectable tech from the Varangians at an exorbitant price, but no one outside a select few in the family knew about it. She’d gotten a lot of flack from the ones who did, but luckily she’d get to say, I told you so now. She was really looking forward to that. Before she could mention it to Adalind, several Delroi warriors showed up. It could have been tricky explaining their presence, but thankfully they knew one of them. Falkor Trace took in the scene, including the unlucky Luke in his restraints, and set his hands on his hips.

What the hell are you two doing here?

We’re just retrieving something that was stolen from us, she said innocently.

Stolen? Luke asked, gulping. Maybe she felt a little bad for him.

With a prisoner?

Well, he did shoot at us. Okay, she didn’t feel that sorry for him and, she thought she sounded perfectly reasonable. He’s all yours. After I get a few answers from him.

She knew she’d see Luke later, but he didn’t. He whimpered and tried to get behind her. Like a damned puppy. She sighed. She knew the Delroi wouldn’t hurt him or his friends, but he didn’t.

We have few questions ourselves. Falkor gave Luke a hard look, before turning back to her. "I’m sure the Overchief will be thrilled two women in his family put themselves at such risk for something."

She narrowed her eyes and ignored that unspoken demand, only responding because time was critical. First, it’s a medical shipment that’s probably going to be overdue now. Second, I don’t need to remind him that we run the Marks’s family security. And third, I don’t answer to Daggar Torfa.

Some of the warriors, including Falkor, actually flinched at that last bit. She didn’t much care. She hadn’t even met the overchief, but his warriors were constantly poking their noses into her business. Kendall just had to go and marry the leader of Delroi’s warrior caste.

Ah, family. Can’t live with them, can’t shoot them, right cousin? said a warrior standing just off to the side.

He was older, around fifty she guessed, and an was advertiser’s dream of a silver fox. Great body, chiseled face, black and silver shot hair cropped short. There was a smile in his eyes, and a promise that made her shiver, wish for privacy, and her favorite vibrator. And a knowing she refused to acknowledge.

Falkor shot him a dark look. Are you sure about that, Arkyn? I know how to get rid of a body.

Okay. That had gone in a direction she hadn’t expected. She and Adalind moved a little closer, exchanged a look.

We have nothing to do with this little family drama, gentleman, Adalind said cheerfully, with a big fake smile.

The other man, Arkyn, laughed, and spoke in Delroi to Falkor. Harmony had no idea what he was saying, but she picked up one word, der’lan. She’d heard it a number of times since the Delroi invasion. It meant wife, though they usually said mate, and there were rumors that it was some kind of psychic bond. Given her cousins Kendall and Angie, and their relationships with Delroi warriors, she was reluctant to dismiss those rumors out of hand since both had been very cagey when asked directly.

TWO

I think we need to have a little chat with Angie. She’s more likely to break under pressure than Kendall, she said to Adalind.

You caught that too, huh?

Which one of us is he talking about, do you think?

She looked his way again. Electric blue eyes seared her, their interest clear, and she felt an unwelcome flush of heat.

Guess we know, Adalind laughed in her mind.

Oh no. No no no. She’d seen too many women pulled into that orbit, two of them her cousins, currently living in a whole other damned solar system. He did have a nice smile, though. And he was seriously hot. She looked him over as blatantly as he did her. He had tattoos, geometric designs and alien symbols, on his right side, from his face to what she’d been told would go all the way down his leg, and that they’d learned was a sign of a southern warrior. He also had really great shoulders and arms. A long lean torso. Powerful muscled legs, defined in tight pants. He was only about three inches over her six feet, which was a touch short for a Delroi male. It in no way made him look less powerful, however. Oh god, she had to stop.

You’re hooked already, Adalind teased.

Harmony shot her a dirty look. Bite your tongue.

She decided to ignore the stranger. I need to get a crew in here and get these containers on a plane ASAP. If she was lucky, she’d just beat the snowstorm forecast to hit in a few hours. Feel free to take Luke, but we need to speak to him later.

Falkor looked annoyed, but that wasn’t her problem. The other warrior stepped forward.

I think we can handle that for you, he said, and held his hand out. I’m Arkyn Trace.

She clasped his hand briefly and studied his face, then Falkor’s. One of their facial tattoos was the same, so according to rumor, Arkyn was a close relative, not some distant cousin. Great. Just great. Barak Trace, Falkor’s twin brother, ruled the south of Delroi and answered only to Daggar Torfa, and Falkor was his second in command and in charge of all the Delroi on Earth. Arkyn would be a lot easier to blow off if he was a distant relation.

We can handle it, she said firmly. She didn’t want to spend any more time in his company than she had to. Well, she wanted to, but she knew better. She’d seen enough of these warriors to know they were possessive and bossy, and she knew enough of their wives, mates, whatever, to know she wanted no part of it. It baffled her though. A lot of the mates she knew were former military and human, and they just seemed to accept it. Falkor’s was a perfect example. She’d known Janice Hawkins casually for years. The woman was tough as nails, and yet she wasn’t here.

Where’s Janice?

Falkor’s eyes narrowed. On another mission.

Well, that was interesting. The last she’d heard Janice was pregnant. Did he consider that a mission, or was she doing something else?

Where does this shipment need to go? he asked, changing the subject.

Even more interesting. She shouldn’t accept their help, but Felicity was waiting, their shuttles were fast, and the storm wouldn’t wait for her to get her ducks in a row.

A research station in near Lake Superior in a tiny town called Nelson, in what used to be Canada, she said.

Used to be? Arkyn asked.

The Alliance is all of north, central, and south America, but a lot of local names have changed. Most of us use the old maps as a reference.

Falkor already knew that, so she assumed his cousin was new to Earth. Arkyn will assist you and bring you back to HQ when it’s done. I have a feeling it might be useful to share information on this.

I’m sure it won’t be necessary to take your cousin from his other duties. All we need is a shuttle, pilot, and help loading and unloading the crates.

She saw a few hastily suppressed grins, and Falkor’s expression morphed from severe and annoyed to amused and a little predatory.

Once a Delroi warrior has decided to do something, it’s very hard to change his mind, but you’re welcome to try.

Arkyn looked up with a grin at that—he’d been typing on his comm, presumably sending for transportation. Harmony sighed, knowing she’d been outmaneuvered. At least the weather wasn’t forecast to be bad enough to leave her stranded with him for more than a day.

Fine, she ground out.

She felt Adalind smirking, but thankfully her sister tamped it down and nothing showed on her face.

Fifteen minutes, Arkyn said. Where are the crates? We’ll move them outside so they’re ready to load.

These two. Harmony pointed at them. They were three feet tall and six long. Will you have the space?

Arkyn nodded. Easily.

He motioned to some younger warriors and while they got to work, she grabbed her laptop and overnight bag from the car. Before she knew it, she was sliding into the copilot’s chair next to Arkyn, and four warriors were on benches lining the hull behind them. Adalind had abandoned her to take her car back to the office to report in. The traitor. Not that Harmony blamed her. You never knew when one of these warriors would go cave man on you. It was ten minutes before he spoke into a surprisingly comfortable silence.

How did you find the warehouse?

A little bit of not exactly legal tech that we acquired, uh, through back channels.

He snorted and after putting the shuttle on autopilot, swiveled to look at her—the shuttle was on autopilot. I’ve heard that on Earth that’s often code for Varangians.

Shrugging, she met his gaze. We’ve been having an issue with stolen shipments. The person behind them knew our tech and how to disable it. We needed something we could hide that he wouldn’t recognize.

You know who’s behind it? Why not stop it sooner?

Suspicions aren’t proof. Luke gave us the name right before y’all showed up. 

Do you have anything on the warehouse owner? I have the rest of my team looking into him.

Scott Jones. Thirty-eight, working on his third divorce, and not real bright, she said. My instinct is that he doesn’t know anything about this, but Adalind will be looking to see if he and Kemp have any connection.

There are ways around that. Unregistered devices, secret meetings or exchange places.

She might have smirked a little. Ah, that slightly illegal tech might have come in handy there too.

This I have to hear.

Should she tell him? He’d already insinuated that she was his der’lan, mate, whatever. Surely he wouldn’t turn her in.

I won’t tell a soul, he promised. She glanced at the warriors behind them, speaking quietly among themselves and pretending Harmony and Arkyn weren’t there. They won’t either.

She reached for her laptop bag and pulled out a small box. Opened, it revealed a couple of tiny circles that could be programed to change colors.

Varangian dots.

Handy little buggers. Expensive little buggers, too, she said ruefully. But they paid off.

So you’re tracking Kemp.

His cars, his phone, his laptop. So far he hasn’t done anything unusual.

How did you know which shipment to track?

She shook her head. "We didn’t. We put trackers on the most expensive things scheduled to go out in the next couple of weeks. This was