Read The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) for Free Online Page B

digging her strong fingers into his flesh.
    Even though the baron had deserved to die, assassinating him had turned her already hard heart into unrelenting stone.
    Meta swallowed uneasily. Releasing the locket, she picked up a brush and drew her platinum blonde hair to one side so it draped over her left shoulder and down over a breast.
    Several months ago, she and Captain Maddox had had a terrible fight. Well, she had done all the shouting. He had grown quiet and watchful, with his lips pressed together. It had been the only sign of his emotions. The captain liked to believe he was cool and collected. Meta knew better. A fire raged in his heart, but he didn’t let anyone else know.
    Meta sighed wistfully.
    After endless months of tension and battle in the Beyond—bringing the alien super-ship to the Commonwealth—they had finally reached Earth, spending several glorious weeks together in New York City. Meta had tried to become someone she wasn’t, acting carefree, enjoying the company of the handsome captain.
    Meta set down the brush. She had a secret that only a few people knew. She was damaged goods, a killer who had used good people, and sex, to achieve her deadly ends. Yet what had she accomplished? The Rouen Colony still belonged to the consortium. Her family back home slaved in the mines while she frolicked on Earth.
    Biting her lower lip, Meta considered a truth about her. Men loved to stare at her body. She knew that and had often used it to her advantage.
    Meta stared into her eyes in the mirror. She had to leave the Commonwealth and return to the Rouen Colony. She had to finish what she’d started as an eighteen-year-old assassin.
    Standing, Meta ran her palms over her hips, brushing the Neptunian sequins. They were soft to the touch. Maddox had bought her the dress when they returned to Earth, but he’d never seen her in it except for the one glimpse in the store. They had fought afterward, and that had been the end of their relationship.
    The trouble was that Captain Maddox had called this afternoon. After all this time he was coming over, no doubt to try to patch things up between them. What had changed his mind?
    Could she go back to those carefree nights they’d enjoyed together? To help her decide, she’d put on the dress. She still felt an attraction to the captain. Yet in her heart, she knew one of them would eventually hurt the other. She didn’t want to be that person.
    I have to leave . I should have left months ago already. I don’t know why I lingered .
    She could board a space liner tonight, working her way to the distant Rouen Colony. It was far from “C” Quadrant and the mysterious New Men. Part of her wanted to stay and explain all this to Maddox. The other half wanted to be long gone before he arrived.
    Meta shook her head. I don’t deserve love. If Maddox really understood what I did in order to reach the baron, he would turn away from me in disgust .
    It hurt to realize the truth. She would leave the dress for him. It had cost him too many credits that he could ill afford. She’d wanted to see what she looked like in it one more time, but she couldn’t go through with this. That’s why they’d had the fight in the first place.
    Sitting down, Meta reached for a pad and stylus. She’d leave a note for him with the dress. If she didn’t go now, the captain might convince her to stay. That might turn into another week, a month, and then who knew what. No. She needed to run while she had the resolve to go.
    Picking up the stylus, Meta wrote quickly, almost completing the note before a soft noise alerted her. She paused and raised her head, listening.
    “Maddox?” she called, with a thrill of fear coursing through her. She couldn’t let him see her like this. It would be like the captain to try to surprise her.
    There was nothing, though, just silence. Then a new sensation settled onto Meta. It felt as if someone held his breath, waiting for her to relax.
    Meta frowned. In these