Riley watched as Aculus grabbed her pendant and adhered the device to the back of it. The gray disk was smaller than a nicotine patch, and didn’t look too odd stuck to the skull shaped thumb drive.
“Fine. We need to get out of here.”
“You go out first. I will follow you, till you find that male,” Aculus groused.
He looked out the door then sent her into the grand hall. The esplanade was still crowded but the people weren’t acting like a crazed mob anymore. Riley headed back toward the scene of destruction, since Cyprian’s suite was on the far side of the giant complex. She kept her head low, hiding her face in her borrowed cape, as she walked casually. The last thing she wanted was to be scooped up again.
Aculus said he’s watching out for you, and now you have a panic button.
Riley snorted as she thought about those medical alert commercials she used to see on TV back home. It was sweet of Aculus to be concerned, if she could believe him. Aculus seemed sincere. But so did Cyprian, then a switch would flip, and he’d remind her of her place.
The only one you can really trust, is yourself.
Riley frowned as she realized she was again wearing clandestine jewelry around her neck. If Aculus was telling the truth, then she couldn’t betray his trust. Aculus seemed genuinely worried about the welfare of both his enemies, as well as his allies. That was telling. And he didn’t strike her as a man that rattled easily or without reason.
Those scaly bastards don’t need anything else to wreak havoc on the universe.
Cyprian de Praefectus
Cyprian ran into Vintor as he sprinted down the grand hall.
“What happened in there?” Vintor asked.
“Sabotage, theft, I don’t know. Someone took Riley in the chaos. Help me search.”
“I didn’t get the information out of Adeoda. I hustled him into a washroom when the vestibule started to fill with panicked guests. The stubborn bastard refused to speak. He grabbed my disrupter as we struggled.”
“Son of a metcor,” Cyprian cursed. He shouldn’t have left the job to Vintor, but there was nothing he could do about it now. “We find Riley, then salvage what we can.”
“What about Adeoda’s body?”
“With all the casualties during the incident, it’s doubtful anyone will get suspicious when they find a body in the washroom. We’ll discuss the rest later,” he snarled.
“I’ll search the wing heading to our suite.” Vintor nodded, then took off.
Cyprian let the male go even though he knew Riley wasn’t that direction. He’d given Riley the conjugo mark. It bonded them, making his senses heightened where she was concerned. It was a distracting almost dizzying shift, primarily in his sense of smell.
The burning need to find Riley had his inner beast clawing to get free. The possessive, fearful, rage was overwhelming, pumping large amounts of adrenalin into his body. In all his battles, Cyprian had never felt an intensity like this. He’d been reared to stay calm under pressure. The tunnel vision focused on Riley was unnerving. His inability to concentrate on anything but her, could get him killed.
No wonder Tytus nearly removed my head when I caught him with June.
The Cadi engineer committed several serious infractions while hiding his mate. It seemed unfathomable at the time, but now Cyprian understood how strong the conjugo bond was. He wanted to level everything in his path.
How do males deal with this? Cyprian griped as he searched for Riley.
His handheld pinged.
“What now?” he growled as he looked at the communicator strapped to his wrist. “Tytus, you have uncanny timing. Be quick,” he snarled.
“I intercepted a message. Mave was trying to reach the traitor. I blocked the transmission and sent him a reply, to proceed with buying the weapon. It’ll take me time to determine who the message was intended for.”
“Hail me when you know. I have to go.”
Cyprian ended the transmission. Tytus was a genius. He would trace the message to the traitor. But if he couldn’t, then at least Mave was still in the dark.
Cyprian paused when he realized he no longer scented a trace of Riley’s sweet perfume lingering in the broad hall.
She wasn’t taken this far.
He spun and headed back toward the weapons viewing gallery. He paused at the staircase leading to more guestrooms, but didn’t catch her scent.
“Where are you?” he growled as he moved on.
A shape ahead caught his eye. A small lone figure was winding through the esplanade, avoiding large crowds. Cyprian didn’t need to recognize his cloak to know it was Riley. The distinctive way her hips swayed as she walked, gave her away.
Cyprian jogged to her and scooped her up.