The Englor Affair by J.L. Langley Read Free Book Online

marriage.”

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    J.L. Langley
    His unfortunate marriage? Nate married a prince, third in line to the throne of Regelence, if one didn’t count Cony. How was that unfortunate? Oh. Tavis referred to the fact that Aiden was a man instead of a woman. Payton swallowed the lump in his throat.
    He’d known Englor was not like Regelence, Nate had warned him so, but the way Tavis said that… Payton’s stomach clenched. Tavis hadn’t sounded hostile, but it was clear from what he’d said some soldiers thought preferring men to women was a defect in one’s personality. What have I gotten myself into? It was a stark reminder that he was on foreign soil.
    “Ah, here we are. These are the IN offices. The building across the way”—Tavis pointed at a white building with a rounded portico with four Doric columns supporting it—“is the Englor Marine officers office building.” They stopped in front of a red brick colonial-style building with white fluted columns on either side of the door. He opened the glass door and held it open for Payton to precede him. “Colonel Hollister, our base commander, has his office in the Englor Marine building—technically, he’s both an IN
    officer and an Englor Marine officer—but everyone else you may need to contact should be in here.”
    Payton nodded. It was good to know. He’d have to pull up that building’s surveillance cameras to get a look at Hollister.
    When they walked in there were several people milling about, men and women, all in IN uniforms.
    Payton swallowed hard, feeling like a phony. His heart sped up. There was such respect and tradition in the IN that he felt ashamed for deceiving these people. He consoled himself with the fact that it was necessary to protect his home, his family and his beloved Regelence.
    A tall thin ensign stepped forward. “Permission to speak freely, Lieutenant?”
    “Permission granted”—Payton glanced at the man’s name tag—“Adams.”
    Adams smiled. “Were you with Admiral Hawk on Regelence when he was promoted to Admiral?”
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    The Englor Affair
    Not only was there excitement in the ensign’s voice, but Payton noticed he suddenly had undivided attention from the room as a whole. These men and women clearly looked to Nate as a hero, a sort of celebrity. It amused him further knowing his brother-in-law would grumble about the attention and his brother would beam proudly while encouraging the admiration of his spouse. He could almost hear Aiden bubbling over with details about the ceremony, and Nate mumbling at him to behave. “Yes, I was. I was lucky enough to have been present at the ceremony.”
    There were excited whispers about Nate’s heroics and him in general.
    Tavis dipped his head, not even trying to conceal his grin. “If you’re ready, Lieutenant, I’ll show you to your office. It’s right next to the admiral’s.” He held out his hand, indicating the way to the offices.
    “Yes, please.” Payton followed Tavis toward a narrow hallway.
    As they left, a man from behind them quietly said, “Too bad the admiral is a sodomite.” A fair amount of hostility laced the voice, and Payton had to fight the urge to turn around to spot the speaker.
    His spine stiffened in outrage and he had to remind himself to relax. He wanted to give them all a piece of his mind. The only thing that stopped him and made him continue down the hall was his resolve to finish this assignment, for the sake of his planet.

    Bloody hell and imploding stars. Payton resisted banging his head against the desk.
    He’d known hacking into the IN Intelligence agency would be tough, but it was bloody nerve-wracking as well. He had to take extra precautions to make certain his efforts to break in weren’t detected. He’d been trying for the past few hours and gotten nowhere. A challenge was nice, but it was getting old. There had been nothing but challenges since he started working on