I grazed her cheeks with my knuckles and knelt in front of her, gently prying her knees apart to nestle my body between her thighs. Her eyes grew big, and she wet her lips. “I really need your help, sweetheart,” I said. “Your life depends on it.”
“I can’t tell you what you want to know,” she said, beseeching me with her gaze to understand.
“You can,” I insisted. My fingers traced the waist of her pants, making her stomach clench. “You want to help me; you know you do.”
“No, I can’t,” she said, but I could see the war raging inside her mind. EenLi had probably threatened her life or her family’s life if she ever dared speak a word about his activities. But she didn’t want to get in any more trouble.
“Please,” I said, all feminine eagerness.
She gulped. “What do you need to know?” she asked hesitantly.
I played a look of reluctance across my face, as if I didn’t want to involve her but had no choice. “I need to know about EenLi and his…cattle business.”
Her lips compressed in fear, and she shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t know anything.”
I spread my fingers over her thighs and ran them upward until I grasped her hips. Her mouth dropped open in surprise, but she didn’t pull away. My eyelids dipped to half-mast, casting shadows over my cheekbones. I knew she caught a glimpse of my bra because when I glanced up at her, she flicked her eyes away guiltily. Her cheeks warmed to a rosy shade of pink.
Good. I had her attention, and she was responding to my femininity. “Sahara Rose,” I said, pronouncing her name like it was my favorite food.
She gulped again. “Yes?”
“Please help me.” I returned my hands to her waist, toying with the ties on her pants. “In return, I’ll help you however I can. You’ll never have to see EenLi again.” That much was true, since I planned to kill the bastard. “Let’s start with something little. Why don’t you tell me why you helped EenLi in the first place? That’s easy enough, isn’t it?”
She bit her lip and nodded hesitantly. “I was living on the streets. He found me and took me in, made me his lover. He gave me money and food and a place to stay and he told me he would…”
Kill her if she betrayed or left him, I finished for her. “He trusted you enough to help with his cattle.”
That war inside her continued to wage for several more minutes. Should she, shouldn’t she? Should she risk angering EenLi, or risk believing in my aid? Finally, she sighed, and her shoulders sagged.
I knew then that victory was mine, and I fought to contain my grin.
“If I didn’t help,I would have become cattle.” Tears pricked her eyes, brimming over her lids. “He would have sold me, and I would have been taken to another planet.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “Tell me about the ones who are taken off-planet.”
“People give him orders,” she said, taking my hands and linking our fingers. She was shaking, seeking comfort. “Like off of a restaurant menu. Red hair, brown eyes, and so on.”
“Who buys the slaves?”
“Humans. Other-worlders. Origins don’t matter. Some of the buyers don’t even live on Earth.”
“Then how do they give EenLi their orders?”
She shrugged. “They come through the portals for a visit, I guess.”
The muscles in my back jumped in anticipation of her next words. “Do you know where the portals are located?”
“No.”
A wave of disappointment crashed through me. I reached up and brushed her hair aside. Her eyes closed, and she leaned into my touch.
“He never told me,” she added. “His only job for me was to take care of the sick.”
“If a human wanted to place an order, how would he do it?”
She pressed her lips together for a moment. “There’s a man, Jonathan Parker. He’s old money. Oil, I think. He hosts parties at his house, and people tell him what they want. He tells EenLi.”
I knew that the moment she spoke the name, every agent listening began searching our databases for Jonathan Parker. We’d have a printout of his entire history within minutes.
“Do you know the type of people EenLi is looking for now?”
She shook her head. “He never gives me those details.”
“What about dates? When is a shipment due?”
“I don’t know.” She bit her bottom lip and gripped my hand. “Can I go home now?” A beseeching note layered her voice. “I never hurt anyone, I promise. I took care of them.”
“I know you did. But you need to stay here a while longer in case we have any more questions. Besides that, you’re safe from EenLi here,” I added, squeezing her hand, “just like I promised.” But more than that, if we ever decided to use her as bait, she’d be readily available.
Callous, I know, but innocent lives came before this one woman. Sometimes bad things had to be done to facilitate peace.
“I’ll see that you’re fed and moved to a comfortable room. All right?”
“Yes,” she said reluctantly. “All right.”
“You did real good, Sahara. I’m proud of you.” Cupping her jaw, I inched upward and slowly brought my lips to hers. She immediately opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, but I kept it sweet, gentle, breathing in her scent and she mine. Feeling her softness, and she mine. She was a sad girl with a sad life, but she wasn’t evil. “You’ll tell me if you remember anything else, won’t you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
I stood and stepped away, my fingers coasting over her jaw as I did. Giving her one last, lingering glance, I moved toward the door.
“Wait,” she called. She too stood, the chair skidding behind her.
I didn’t turn fully, but glanced over my shoulder. “Yes?”
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Eden Black.” I paused. “Alien assassin. Don’t worry. I will take care of EenLi.”
Her “thank you” echoed in my ears as the door closed behind me.
Chapter 6
Blanketing my features to reveal nothing, I sauntered into the observation room. Lucius sat alone. Ren had probably bailed the moment I’d stepped out of Interrogation. Either that or Lucius had kicked him out, not wanting an audience for what was about to happen.
I remained in the open doorway, taking in the scene and allowing my anticipation to unfurl. Lucius occupied the only chair, his gaze locked with mine, his legs splayed out in front of him, his arms locked behind his neck. Never had a man appeared more relaxed and at ease. He pushed a button on a remote he held, and the holoscreen went blank, blocking out Sahara’s image.
“Close the door,” he said in that rough, gravelly voice of his. I caught a hint of fury in the undertone.
Not so relaxed, after all.
A shiver trekked down my spine as I continued to stare over at the man, at my unwanted partner. I wanted to hear him say “Please,” but knew there was a better chance of EenLi’s head falling from the sky like manna.
I stepped inside, causing the double doors to slide closed automatically. Lucius tossed the remote on the floor. With every second that passed, something…murderous grew in his eyes, a gleam that belied his casual pose yet fit perfectly with his tone.
Feigning my own sense of nonchalance, I leaned one shoulder against the wall. “We’re alone now, Sparkie. Was there something you wanted to say to me? Something you needed to do?”
His gaze slitted, blocking every hint of color from those ice-blue lasers. He remained very still.
“Tsk, tsk. You know that’s not the required position.” I showed no mercy.
Still he remained standing.
“You lost.”
“I know.”
“Drop to your knees.”