Published by E VERNIGHT PUBLISHING atSmashwords
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright 2019 N.J. Walters
ISBN: 978-1-77339-971-3
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction ordistribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of thisbook may be used or reproduced electronically or in print withoutwritten permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodiedin reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names,characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actualevents, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, isentirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
For all of you who dare to dream.
UNEXPECTEDANGEL
Marks Mercenaries,2
N.J. Walters
Copyright 2019
Chapter One
Angelina Astoferus curled into a tiny ballbehind the large green recycling bin, ignoring the fetid stenchseeping from beneath the lid. Someone must have disobeyed theinstructions and placed organic material inside, even though themetal label on the outside read strictly non-organic only. Sheblinked as the letters on the label blurred and a drug-induced fogthreatening to overpower her brain. It was difficult to focus onanything. She was in danger of being caught if she didnt get heract together.
Damn her uncle and his ambitions. She barelydared to breathe as the pounding of several sets of boots passed afew feet away. It was a security patrol and not her uncles men.Still it was too close for comfort. Her uncle would have peoplecombing the docking station for her as soon as he discovered shewas missing. Not because he missed her, but because she was avaluable commodity. They could be out there searching for her evennow.
Gathering her waning strength, she peeredaround the edge of the recycler. Her limbs trembled uncontrollably.Her heart pounded, a side effect of the drug her uncle had slippedinto her evening meal. It was as if hed expected her to run andhad made a preemptive strike to prevent it. By the time shedrealized something was wrong it had been too late.
She shook her head. No, not too late. Afterher uncle had carried her to her room, Angelina had managed topurge a good portion of the meal and wash out her mouth. There wasstill enough of the drug in her system to weaken her, but at leastshe had a chance.
She would not go meekly like a lamb toslaughter, or in this case, a bride to the altar. A possession tobe bartered for money and power, her uncles true loves.
Angelina placed her palms against the dirtyconcrete floor and pushed to her feet. Chilled in spite of theconstant temperature of the recycled air in the docking station,she pulled her dark cloak more firmly around her, making sure herdistinctive white hair was covered.
The cloak was heavy, as the inside pocketswere stuffed with bottles of water, a picture of her parents, whatlittle money she had, and the documents she needed to prove heridentity so she could gain access to her bank accounts. She hadntdared take more than the very essentials.
She swayed and leaned against the recyclerfor support as the weight of her cloak threatened to toppleher.
She took a deep breath, left the precarioussafety of the metal bin, and walked as fast as she could manage,keeping her eyes downcast. This was the only way on or off thesmall supply planet of Oasis. She was just thankful theyd dockedfor supplies before their final leg of the journey to the dark,barren planet of Gravas where her future husband waited.
She shivered and ignored the sweat thatseeped down her back and made her clothes cling to her body. Shehad a plan, or at least the beginnings of one.
It willwork , she told herself. It hadto.
People hurried past, most of them concerned onlywith their own business. But a few of them stared as she stumbledby. She prayed no one would stop her, or worse, alert one of themany security men and women who patrolled the station. Her heartbeat so hard she was sure they could hear it even above thedin.
She couldnt go back. Wouldnt go back.
She raised her head and glanced around thebusy docking platform at the various ships, desperately searchingfor a way out of her predicament. Some of them were taking on cargowhile others had just arrived. There was a commercial passengershuttle, but most were private vessels.
Then she saw him.
He was a tall man with midnight black hairtied at his nape with a leather cord. Even in the middle of all thechaos, there was something about him that drew her. He was the calmin the midst of the storm. His shoulders were broad and stretchedthe seams of the flightsuit he wore. He raised his left hand andpointed to a large container. The robotic cargo droid zipped intoplace, picked up the shipment, and whizzed aboard the ship that wasdocked next to the man.
The man was missing the pinky finger on hisleft hand.
As though sensing her scrutiny, he swiveledin her direction. Angelina got a glimpse of his face as she duckedher head and stepped behind a wide metal pillar. He was handsome ina rugged way. But what surprised her most was the shock of whitehair in the front, such a contrast to the rest of it.
She held her breath and counted to ten. Whenshe finally dared to peek around the pillar, the man had turnedback toward his ship and was directing the cargo droid as it zoomedup and down the loading ramp. The man consulted his manifest andspoke to the droid. She couldnt make out what he said, but hefrowned and stalked aboard the ship.
This was her chance.
The world was growing blurrier by thesecond. She was running out of time. Already her limbs were heavy,making her clumsy when she lurched away from the pillar. She prayedno one was watching as she made her way across the platform.
The hatch of the ship was open.
Angelina ignored the fatigue pulling at herand stumbled up the ramp. The burst of adrenaline that had takenher this far had run its course, and she knew she would sooncollapse. She had to find somewhere safe to hide before thathappened.
Sweat beaded on herforehead and seeped down onto her lashes, making her eyessting. Almost there. The rest of the world faded, her entire being focused on theentrance only steps away. She pushed herself hard and scrambledinto the loading bay airlock. The huge metal door to her right wasopen, revealing a large cargo bay.
She heard voices nearby, and her heartnearly stopped. She was so close to freedom. Failure was not anoption. The cargo containers were piled high, and she slid behindone just as two men stepped into view. Hunkering down, she did herbest to blend in with her surroundings, letting her cloak cover herentire body.
Were missing onecontainer, but the cargo droid has gone to retrieve it.
Angelina risked a peek around the edge ofthe container. Sure enough, that deep voice belonged to the manfrom the cargo dock.
Get it loaded so we canget the fuck out of here. The man who growled the order was hugeand scary with his hair buzzed short and a patch covering his righteye.
Angelina shivered and tucked her headagainst her knees. She feared shed have nightmares about this man.There was no softness in his face, no sign of compassion. Heappeared ruthless, the kind of man who would turn her over to heruncle without a moments hesitation, especially if there was areward involved.
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