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Confusion flashed across the other man’s face. “You’re still military. Aren’t you? Walk into any government facility, flash your credentials?—”
Theo leaned forward, his face filling the screen as he peered intently into the camera. The sudden proximity made Davis feel as if his brother was right there in the room with him, scrutinizing every micro-expression.
“Michael,” Theo said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Be honest with me… it’s to get a little… work done. Isn’t it?”
He gritted his teeth, knowing full well what his twin was implying. Their father had been obsessed with looks, with erasing the signs of aging, and it had driven them both from home at an early age. It seemed, though, that Theo had gone right down the same route. That, or he was just being an ass.
“Fuck off. It’s not for me. It’s for a friend.”
Theo’s eyes narrowed, blinked, and then looked past him. Davis waited. He had engaged a privacy shield, so his brother couldn’t tell where he was. A deliberate move.
“Where are you?” Theo demanded. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Davis smirked as he dropped the privacy shield to reveal the engine room behind him, and Theo’s eyes widened. He had the satisfaction of seeing his brother speechless for a few seconds.
“That’s not a human engine design.”
Davis shook his head, “Nope.”
“That’s not a Latharian engine design.”
He bit back a smile. The one thing Theo hated more than anything was not knowing things.
“Nope.”
Theo leaned back in his chair, folding his arms and looking thoroughly unimpressed. “Are you going to tell me?”
Davis said, “Also no.”
“Asshole,” Theo said. “Do you want access to this medical facility or not?”
He just shrugged. “You’ll give it to me anyway since I’m on assignment for Buchanan.”
Theo leaned back in his seat. “How is the boss?”
“Married to a Latharian princess and still the scariest SOB in any room.”
Theo’s dry chuckle was the same as he remembered. “Yeah, that tracks. Sending you the coordinates now. Secure facility, very discreet, did a lot of my work.”
Davis nodded. “I appreciate it, brother.”
He ended the transmission and slumped back in his chair, his fingers massaging his throbbing temples. The conversation with Theo—no, Maxim now—had left him drained. Dealing with his brother always did. But the stakes felt higher this time, and the metaphorical ground beneath his feet less stable.
His brother, once his mirror image, now wore the face of an intergalactic crime lord. The transformation went beyond skin deep, and he wondered where Theo’s true loyalties lay. With the NOMADs? With his criminal empire?
Or, more likely, solely with himself?
10
Covak’s heart swelled with pride as he led Jesh through the corridors of the ship. He felt like a conquering hero guiding his lady to sustenance and comfort, a primal instinct that stirred something deep within his Vorrtan soul.
She was tiny compared to him, so he made sure to shorten his stride. Then he frowned to himself. She’d covered a lot of distance between escaping her captors and where he’d caught up with her. So much so that she could easily outpace him if she chose to.
He stole a glance sideways at her. She looked tiny and delicate but he had no doubt that back home, she would easily have made warlady. Vorrtan culture was, frankly, odd… but given they weren’t an evolved species but a constructed one, it made sense that their culture as contradictory as they were themselves.
Once they’d been released from their bonds of slavery to the empire, lawlessness had reigned. Throw a bunch of super-soldiers onto a planet with no hierarchy and… yeah, those years probably hadn’t been pretty. For anyone. Despite the fact that males outnumbered females ten to one, a matriarchal hierarchyhad emerged, and the warladies had brought order and peace to their worlds… more or less. They were still Vorrtan, still primed and bred for combat, so there were wars. Just not ones that would wipe them all out anymore.
A male Vorrtan knew his place and was taught it as soon as he was physically big enough to start a fight. A male had to be strong and dominant, proving his worth through displays of power and aggression. Yet at the same time, he needed to follow orders and function as part of a war party. It didn’t stop there. A male was also expected to be a proficient hunter, capable of providing for a female during her pregnancy and the vulnerable period after birth. Only then would she consider him for her harem, where he would be one of many seeing to her needs.
