“We saw the news transmissions.” Xi’s face hardened. “We found the lab.”

  Another assassin shifted into the light. “I have memories of a planet with twin suns. Memories of a family. I thought I was crazy.”

  Ria’s heart beat loudly in her ears.

  A female assassin pushed her robe from her head. “I have nightmares. I can’t separate the images but I know they aren’t from my life as an assassin.”

  “I’ve always felt like something was missing,” another assassin said.

  “As have I,” Xi added.

  Ria bit her lip, emotion welling inside her.

  “You’ve freed us from a lie,” Xi said. “Thank you.”

  She gripped Zayn’s hand like a lifeline. When he squeezed it, the touch steadied her. She looked at Xi. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “The Guild masters have been imprisoned…or executed. As have any assassins not willing to give up the old ways.” Xi’s voice darkened. “There will be no more regeneration program.”

  She felt dizzy. “The Guild’s been destroyed?”

  “No. We believe it still has a role to play in the galaxy. But it will be rebuilt, on a new code. Regeneration will never, ever happen again.”

  “I can’t believe it,” she said.

  “And another new rule, assassins can leave if they choose.” Xi held out a hand. “Assassin Ria, hand over your official Guild blade.”

  Ria glanced at Zayn. He smiled at her and with a shaking hand, she pulled out her Guild blade. She reached out and placed it on Xi’s wide palm.

  The assassin bowed his head. “You are no longer an assassin, Ria Dante. The execution orders for your death have been rescinded. You have your freedom.”

  “Hot damn.” Zayn slid an arm across her shoulders, tugged her close and pressed a kiss to her lips.

  Xi smiled. “Ensure you make the most of that freedom.”

  Ria managed her own smile through her tears. “I plan to.”

  ***

  Zayn revved the engine of his water speeder. He raced parallel to the pristine white beach, barely noticing the palm trees dancing in the sea breeze.

  Speed. He wanted more.

  The speeder crested a wave and he launched into the air with a laugh. He landed, skidding the rear end outward and sending a spray of water into the air.

  It felt good to just enjoy himself. Enjoy the wind in his face. He wanted to go fast, not to outrun anything, but just because it felt good.

  If anything, he wanted to run toward something.

  He saw her ahead, standing on the white sand in front of their private villa, Duna’s waves lapping at her ankles. She shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand as she watched him. Her tiny blue bikini hugged her fantastic body and made his mouth go dry. It didn’t matter that they’d made love multiple times every day and in every way imaginable. He wanted her again.

  Zayn throttled back and let the speeder skid up onto the beach.

  Without a word, he threw his leg over the speeder, strode toward her and scooped her up in his arms. Her laughter filled his chest to bursting.

  As he kissed her, he waded into the water. The cool waves lapped his waist and she shifted, clamping her legs around his hips.

  “Hello, Commander Phoenix. How was your ride?”

  He nipped her lips. “Fine. I missed you. Come with me next time.”

  She smiled. “Good. And I’ll come with you again when you slow down. You dumped me in the water last time.”

  “You weren’t holding onto me hard enough.”

  Her arms and legs tightened around him. “Trust me, flyboy, I have no intention of letting you go.”

  He let their bodies sway with the waves and brushed her hair off her face. “You happy?”

  “Incandescently.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I feel…at peace. No blades, no guns, no orders.”

  “Freedom.” He understood because he felt the same way. He couldn’t stop himself running his hands down her hips, his thumbs sliding into the narrow strings of her bikini bottoms.

  She undulated against him. “Yes, freedom.”

  He buried his face against her neck, loving the salty taste of her skin. He let one finger slip inside her bikini and brush against where she was so, so hot.

  “Zayn,” she murmured.

  “I’ve already had you in the waves. How about we try something different? Ever made love in a hammock?”

  “I haven’t. Maybe Viktoria had?”

  “Vik? Nah, she wasn’t that adventurous.” Saying Vik’s name didn’t hurt quite as much as it used to. He liked that he and Ria could talk about her without it feeling uncomfortable.

  And he was enjoying watching as Ria accepted who she was. Ria Dante. Former assassin, budding treasure hunter and lover to Zayn Phoenix.

  Damn, he was happy.

  He carried her out of the water and she gripped him hard. “Zayn, you can’t be serious about the hammock. We’ll kill each other! It doesn’t look strong enough.”

  He flashed her a grin. “Come on, live a little.”

  He stepped up onto the wide wooden deck. The multi-colored hammock was swinging in the breeze.

  One step away and he heard the ring of his Sync.

  “Damn it!” He paused. “I’m not answering it.”

  “It’s probably your brothers. They wouldn’t call unless it was important.”

  With another curse, Zayn dumped her in the hammock. Seconds later he snatched up his Sync from the table.

  “Dath? Everything okay?”

  Dathan’s face appeared on the screen. “We’ve got a hunt. Need you two to cut the lazing around and get back here.”

  Zayn scowled. “Dath, I—”

  “What’s the treasure?” Ria leaned over Zayn’s shoulder, wagging a finger at Dathan.

  Dathan waved back. “Terran treasure.”

  Another face pushed in front of Dathan. “Three dusty-looking statues.” Lala poked her tongue out. “The pictures of them look kind of dry and crumbling and not very sparkly, but Mr. Hunky Hunter here tells me they are worth a fooor-tuuune.”

  Zayn hid a smile, especially when he saw the frustration etched on his brother’s face. They’d all been happy when Lala had decided not to go back to Diablo, and all very surprised when she’d decided—without any consultation—to join the Phoenix clan.

  Dathan wrestled the Sync back from the teenager. “We got a lead on three life-sized terracotta warriors.”

  Zayn whistled. Only one terracotta warrior had ever been found and was on display in a Galactic Institute of Historical Preservation museum. There were myths about more. Some said thousands had been created by a Terran emperor whose name had been lost in time.

  Zayn felt that tingle that came at the beginning of every treasure hunt. The excitement, the promise, the possibility. Then he looked at Ria and realized he felt the same way every time he looked at her.

  “Sunshine or adventure? Your call,” he said.

  A slow smile unfurled on her lips. “I suspect every moment with you is going to be an adventure.” She slid her hands into his hair. “Let’s go hunting.”

  ~ Official Document ~

  Galactic Broadcasting Corporation (GBC)

  Daily News Update - #9991023

  Subject: Assassin’s Guild Scandal

  All eyes continue to watch, with incredible interest, the aftermath of the coup in the Assassin’s Guild in the Devil’s Nebula. Since former assassin Ria Dante exposed the Guild’s secret regeneration program, the Guild has been a shambles, but from the ashes, a new leader has emerged in Assassin Xi. Xi assures us the Guild is still open for business but the scandalous regen program has been dismantled…permanently.

  Ria Dante was the first assassin to be granted freedom from the Guild and is now a treasure hunter with the notorious Phoenix brothers. So far her new career is off to an incredible start with her gaining credit for uncovering the famous Terran treasures of the Lincoln Derringer and the spectacular Crown of the Consorts.

  Sources also report that Dante is romantically linked with the youngest Phoenix, ex-Strike Wing pilot, Zayn. Some sources are even telling us that we might have a good, old-fashioned engagement in the works.

  Stay tuned to GBC for more updates on the situation in the Devil’s Nebula and for the first in breaking galaxy news.

  The Phoenix Adventures continue with ON A ROGUE PLANET, the story of Malin and sexy cyborg, Xander.

  Join the adventure!

  Read the first chapter of On a Rogue Planet

  She loved the smell of starship fuel.

  Malin Phoenix grinned to herself and hitched up the well-worn toolbelt around her waist. She also loved the salvage yard at Haxx. The capital city of the planet of Centax had such good stuff. She spun slowly, eyeing the hulks of retired starships, the engines of smashed planetary transports and…a few wrecks even she couldn’t identify.

  Ooh. She spotted an intact Centaxian Infiltrator. She crouched and ran a hand over the side of its dark, obsidian hull. It only seated one pilot and was made to go in fast and stealthy. Centax was renowned throughout the galaxy for designing the some of the best tech—starships, computer systems, armor and biological enhancements. The Infiltrator was a beauty and she wanted it.

  She stood, swiped her hands on her coveralls—only to remember she wasn’t wearing her coveralls since she wasn’t at home in her salvage yard on Khan. She stared at the grease stain on her tan cargo pants. Oopsie. With a shrug, she grabbed her personal Sync communicator off her belt. She had a buyer who’d pay top e-cred for the Infiltrator’s shield system. She tapped the screen, adding the Infiltrator to her list.

  Her long list.

  God, she loved going on salvage trips. She smiled again. Okay, she also loved being at home in her starship graveyard, stripping parts, tinkering with engines, and arguing with her cousins. But her father had put a love of wandering in her blood. A pang hit under her ribs. It had been four years since he’d died and she still missed him so much. But knew he’d be thrilled she’d found a home with her rough and tumble treasure hunter cousins.

  She pictured them now. Her oldest cousin, Niklas would be in his study, hunched over a console studying some sort of ancient historical record. He had astro-archeology running through his blood. Her cousin Dathan and his wife, Eos would be either arguing or locked in their bedroom. And the youngest of the Phoenix Brothers, Zayn, was off-world. Spending his honeymoon with his bride, Ria, amongst the waves of the beach resort world of Duna.

  Mal rubbed a hand between her breasts. A year ago she’d never have guessed that two of her macho cousins would be married. And so in love.

  She sighed. Damn it, she envied them. She was so happy for them but—she glanced around the salvage yard, at the silent hulks of ships and engines—it underscored her own aloneness.

  “Phoenix.”

  The gruff voice made her turn. The salvage yard superintendent, Traxan was stomping toward her with his young offsider, whose name she’d forgotten.

  With a shake of her head, Mal threw off her melancholy. She didn’t bother to hide her interest in the circular metal implants visible on both men’s necks. The Centaxians intrigued her as much as the scrap around her. Centax was a cyborg planet. Man and machine, implants and enhancements to increase strength, speed, brain function and who knew what else. Centaxians had made enhancements a way of life.

  “You finished deciding what you want?” Traxan growled.

  If Traxan were a starship, he’d be an old, battered starfreighter. A Central Starships Lodestar, she decided. The old model. Bulky looking, full of quirks, but always reliable.

  “Yep, Trax.” She held up the Sync. “Got the list here. Hey, how’s your son?”

  Traxan’s plain face softened for a second. “He was accepted into the Xeon Academy here in Haxx. Starship design. My wife’s proud as a Deltan hen. He’s also just received his first enhancement.”

  She knew enhancements were a source of pride here. Most kids got their first around sixteen. “Congratulations.”

  Trax took the Sync from her and handed it to the younger man without looking at it. “Laxon, get what Ms. Malin wants loaded onto her ship. And make it quick.”

  Malin watched the younger man’s face. It was far less expressive than Traxan’s. But Laxon had far more implants and if she wasn’t mistaken from his gait, possibly mechanical legs. She’d heard that the more enhancements Centaxians had, the less they felt. That all the tech dampened their emotions.

  Mal shivered at the horrible thought. Maybe once or twice, she’d wished for the ability to not feel, to numb the pain and hurt. She’d had her heart trampled on more times than she liked to admit but she knew she’d never give up feeling for anything. Without the lows, you couldn’t have the highs life had to offer.

  She focused back on Laxon. If he were a ship, he’d be a newer model freighter. No quirks for him. A Lumbrian Cargomax, then. Touch the control and he’d do exactly what was asked. As if to prove her right, Laxon spun without a word and went to do his boss’ bidding.

  “Trax, as always, it’s a pleasure doing business with you. I’ll transfer the e-creds into your account and—” she waggled her eyebrows “—have your man offload that sweet like Argylian scoutship you wanted.”

  Traxan’s lips quirked. “You know just how to tempt a man, Ms. Malin.”

  If only that were true. Her stomach turned sour. How long had it been since she’d dated, let alone had a good sweaty session between the sheets? She had zero ability to tempt a man. Aston ‘son of a bitch’ Granger certainly wouldn’t agree with Traxan. The charming, cheating salvage dealer had been only too happy to cheat on her and then dump her. She’d thought he’d loved her.

  Boy, had she been wrong.

  And before Aston, it had been Ben and before him, Tarr. All of them had taken great pleasure in showing her just how easy it was to walk away from her.

  Mal squashed her thoughts. Hard and ruthlessly. She wasn’t going to give Aston, or the others, another wasted thought.

  But Aston’s words echoed in her head. A man doesn’t want a woman with grease under her nails, Malin. No one likes a woman who smells like starship fuel and whose wardrobe is filled with coveralls.

  Snotty bastard. She straightened. Better off without them, Mal. She managed another smile for Trax, but inside she wondered if she’d ever find a love like her parents had shared. Her father had pined for his dead wife until the day he died. Just once, Malin wanted to be the center of someone’s universe.

  “Trax, I—”

  An explosion in the distance had them both spinning. Mal saw a huge mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke rising above the central part of Haxx.

  Her pulse tripped. “What in stars’ name—?”

  Trax was frowning. “An accident, maybe.”

  Haxx was a beautiful city. Graceful towers of glass and metal speared into the sky, wide at the bases and tapering to points high in the sky. In between were the lower academy buildings where the planet’s designers worked and trained their apprentices. They were sprawling structures of gleaming white with rounded metallic domes.

  There was a roar as a formation of black Infiltrators screamed overhead.

  “Ms. Malin, something is very wrong. I think you should get back to your ship—”

  Another explosion. This one close.

  The ground beneath them shook and Malin grabbed onto the ruined ship beside her to stay on her feet.

  Laser fire sounded close. Far too close.

  Inside the salvage yard.

  “Go!” Trax yelled as he sprinted toward the sounds of fighting.

  Crap. Mal spun and raced back toward the small landing pad beside the salvage yard where her baby—a Norian starfreighter she’d named the Firebird—was parked. She ducked around the wrecks and engines, running as fast as she could.

  She was in good shape—she yanked parts off ships, swung tools and lifted heavy things every day—but she heard the distinctive sound of laser fire getting closer. And the deep shouts of multiple men in a guttural language her lingual implant didn’t recognize.

  She stopped and pressed her back against the rusting hull of a ship that had obviously been in the yard longer than she’d been alive. Air sawed in and out of her lungs. What the hell was going on? Centax was an orderly planet and they had Centax Security.

  Everyone in the galaxy had heard of the lethal, emotionless CenSecs—heavily enhanced cyborgs, they were said to be faster, stronger and more intelligent. The ultimate fighters. No one was crazy enough to go up against CenSecs.

  Okay, the laser fire had stopped. Time to get out of here.

  She’d taken one step when she was jerked backward.

  Strong black-clad arms wrapped around her and she was yanked back against a hard body.

  Mal went wild. A childhood spent traveling the galaxy with her father as he collected scrap meant her dad had taught her to protect herself. She shoved an elbow back, which met with a rock hard abdomen. She dropped her weight, twisting as she did, trying to break his hold.

  His arms were unyielding. He was strong. Too strong.

  “Be still.”

  A quiet, lethal whisper that raised the hairs on her arms. She opened her mouth to scream.

  A gloved hand slammed over her mouth. She twisted and struggled, but he dragged her back, inside the hulk of the rusted ship. He pulled her down, his big body surrounding hers to hold her still. He felt hot, far hotter than a regular man.

  With his other hand, he pointed.

  When she saw what he pointed at, she stopped moving.

  A huge man, a fricking giant, stalked into view.

  He was at least six foot eight with shoulders as wide as a planet and legs like starship landing struts. His skin was mottled with dark stripes that made her think of the pelt of the hunting cats on Panthon Prime. His head was bald and when he lifted his face, she saw strong features and…God, fangs.

  And he was...sniffing?

  The man behind her loosened his grip on her mouth. “Stay silent.” A near-soundless murmur against her ear.

  The warmth of his breath made her shiver. His other hand rested near her hip, two fingers touching her hip bone. A touch that seared through her. She wasn’t sure if he was ordering her or asking her, but when she nodded, he moved his hand away.