Shades of Dark by Linnea Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page B

all local security positions. That will only exacerbate the situation.”
    The situation was the mysterious deaths—or so it was labeled by investigative officials—of Takan females, while giving birth to…something. We knew what that something was: jukors. Hayden Burke was using Takan females as surrogates. Birthing the jukors ripped the mother apart.
    The authorities denied this was the case. The current official theory was a deranged serial killer.
    But Drogue had seen holos, as had Sully, of the women’s bodies, bits of jukor wing still visible in their wounds. Those images had been circulated in the Takan communities weeks before Drogue saw them, and now a small group of Takans were taking revenge on human women.
    If Tage and Burke wanted to disrupt the Empire, alienating the Takas would be a good place to start.
    “So for now,” Drogue said, folding his hands on the tabletop, “the best I can determine is that Commander Bergen is in the security compound in Marker, still pending transfer.”
    Marker Five, I told Sully mentally, just as his voice echoed the information in my mind. Also known as Marker’s Outer Terminal, it was the official embarkation point for all of Marker Shipyards, where my brother had been posted for the past seven years. It also housed a very secure holding facility on Level Three.
    Not that secure, Sully intoned.
    There was truth to that. I’d grown up in Marker. And whatever codes I knew that no longer worked, Sully could handle. Plus they’d be short-staffed if the Takas were taken off-duty. There was almost an irony in the fact that the very thing Burke was trying to do—manipulate the Takas to disrupt the Empire—might actually help Thad.
    “And yes,” Drogue continued, “Chasidah’s father has been to see him, as has Admiral Guthrie.”
    My father and Philip. Two powerful resources. I dwelled on that as I listened to the rest of Drogue’s message and his acknowledgment of Sully’s information on the Farosians.
    “As I get updates for Chasidah, I’ll contact you,” Drogue promised as he signed off. “Praise the stars.”
    “Well?” I asked as Sully finished transferring the message into a secure file. I wasn’t really sure what my question was. Only that I had several dozen of them. And they were all clothed in my worry colors.
    “Between Guthrie and your father, things may go better than you think,” Sully answered. “They’ll make it appear that I threatened Thad. I’m guessing they’ll end up putting him in protective custody on Marker and then wait for you or me to try to spring him. Which we will,” he added. “Just not in the way they expect.”
    “And just what way will that be?”
    Sully grinned. “I have no idea. But trust me, angel, I will think of something. And it will be the last thing they’d expect.”
    That much I did believe. My knowledge of Marker and Sully’s widely unorthodox creative streak—plus his talents—were damned near unbeatable.
    As was Sully’s charm. While that would play no part in Thad’s situation, it did wonders—temporarily at least—to assuage mine. We’d finished our shift duties, Gregor’s monitoring, and dinner. A light yet exotic melody whispered through the cabin’s speakers when I came out of the lavatory, my robe belted around my waist, my skin damp from the shower, a wide-toothed comb in my hand. Sully took the comb from me then pulled me onto the edge of the bed.
    My hair was almost dry but he combed through it slowly, taking the time to let the fingers of his free hand trail down my neck. The warmth that followed pulsed, increasing. It spiraled through me, knowing just where to settle as if drawn to my most intimate, sensitive spots.
    My breath hitched slightly. Seduction by Sully was still a unique experience, though much less surprising than a few months ago. Then, feeling his pleasure as if it was my own and knowing he could sense mine, had left me exhausted. Deliriously exhausted, but exhausted