Alex Wales: Promise

called her good luck charm. She didn’t think he took notice, but he always heard everything she said and knew she carried twogood luck charms wherever she went. The one he’d given her and what he clutched in his left hand.

One way or another, he would give both back to her. Just as he would make sure she eventually saw things his way. He wanted Alex more than he’d ever wanted anything else in his life, and he wasn’t about to let her slip from his grasp. No other woman could satisfy him physically or intellectually, anymore. He’d tried to amuse himself when she was gone, just as he’d done at the beginning of their casual relationship, but something had changed.

Sex didn’t mean anything anymore, unless it was with her.

Alex Wales had gotten under his skin, deep enough to make him nuts when she wasn’t around. He started to worry about her. So much that he’d sent his most trusted bodyguard to follow her on several occasions, to ensure she returned to him safely. This time, he’d decided he would be the best man for the job.

She’s going to be mine. No other man would ever lay a hand on her again. The thought of someone else touching her made his blood boil with jealousy.

As the ship’s temperature rose around him and oxygen failed his lungs, every bit of him burned, as if his skin was literally seeping from his body. Almost as if something was shifting beneath his skin. Something hidden so deep, he hadn’t even known it was there.

Alex. I hope Alex is okay.

He made a move toward the cockpit but collapsed on his hands and knees. Ignoring the cramping of his fingers, as he curled them around the two tokens belonging to the one woman he hadn’t been able to shake since the day they’d met, was bearable. Yet, what struck next wasn’t.

Ulric roared as his skin rippled, and a world of pain tore through his body.

Chapter Five

Alex lifted her head slowly. A kink of pain shot through the back of her neck. How long had she been out? At least she hoped she’d just been unconscious and was now waking up, instead of dead and soon to be facing the afterlife.

She turned her face to one side, then the other. She appeared to still be strapped inside the safety of her ship. There wasn’t a single light left blinking on the dashboard. It was dark, with some places melted from the fire that had ignited before everything went black. Most of the damage on the actual dash looked cosmetic. She prayed she was right.

As her eyes adjusted and focused on the large window in front of her, she noticed the tangle of shrubbery the ship rested on. She took a small breath and released it. It hurt to do so. Her ribs felt achy, maybe bruised, but she was sure they weren’t broken. She patted herself down. Nothingseemed to be broken.

Okay, so she wasstill alive. Surely, she wouldn’t take Promisewith her into the afterlife. Then again, it was the only constant in her life.

She pulled the oxygen mask off her face and let it bounce back into its holder above her head, where it dangled uselessly.

Alex pressed the button on the seatbelt still strapped tightly around her, but it refused to come undone. This meant that every single circuit controlling every facet of the ship had fried, and now she was trapped inside her own ship.

“Great,” she whispered. Not only had she crash-landed somewhere she didn’t recognize and wasn’t on any map, but the cargo Sackor hired her to deliver wouldn’t make it in time.

Alex pulled her left wrist up near her eyes. Her heart was hammering like crazy. According to her watch, there were only three hours left until the scheduled delivery. So much for making it early!

The bandage around her hand felt moist, but she chose not to concentrate on it. It’s best to tackle one problem at a time.

The gods weren’t smiling on her, today. Hell, what was she thinking? Alex didn’t believe in any damn gods. There were planets, space stations, and whole sectors dedicated to ancient deities and even made-up ones. She tried to stay clear of those places, though she did accept jobs distributing religious memorabilia every once in a while. Only a few months before, she’d delivered a multitude of gold-plated Aphrodite statues to Zeal-a planet filled with people who worshipped everything about the goddess of love. Those people conveniently used her worship as an excuse to walk around naked all the time and to engage in any and every sexual fantasy they desired with whoever happened to be closest at the time.

Alex had little understanding of why a society so loose with their morals needed religious tokens. That is, until her customer-Santhia, the pervert-gave her one of them and showed her the statues were really battery-operated sex toys.

She hadn’t used the contraption-yet-but she still had it somewhere in the ship. Though now, she doubted she’d be able to find anything. The way the ship had headed into the planet and landed nose-down suggested everything she owned was probably strewn about where it didn’t belong.

First thing she needed to do was get outside to find out where she’d landed.

As hard as it was to reach her boots, with the hard edge of the belt cutting into the side of her neck and her ribs protesting every time she inched lower, Alex dislodged the small pocket knife she always kept there. After several agonizing minutes of failed carvings, she managed to slice away the taut fabric enough for it to snap off. She sighed in relief.

Alex re-sheathed the knife in her boot and stood up.

Her head spun a little, but she anchored herself by spreading her legs a bit wider. She lifted her arms up as far as she could and stretched her spine. As she surveyed her surroundings, her stomach sank. She didn’t have the kind of credits it would take to fix the interior of the ship, let alone whatever had happened to the exterior, assuming it could even be repaired.

This ship was the only reminder she had left of her father. Louis Wales might not have been an honest man, but he always took great pains to care for his daughter. He had meant the world to her.

He told her how important she was every night before tucking her into bed on the small cot at the back of the ship. The one she kept bare and unused. There were too many memories in the tiny room to disturb them.

Louis may never have actuallytold her he loved her, but what he didsay was enough to convince her he cared. His actions spoke much louder than his words most of the time. Even now, she missed him so much.

Alex reached for the necklace her father had given her, but it wasn’t there. Of course, how could she have forgotten? She’d left it behind, and now everything was going wrong and wouldn’t get any better.

Alex closed her eyes for a second, trying to keep the memories from filling her mind. There was no point. Every time she thought of her father, the anguish would strike. It was always best to let it ride out.

Her mother had practically kicked them out of her life when Alex was only five years old. Then, she hadn’t been old enough to understand what was really going on and had no idea her mother’s aspirations as a politician on her home planet were more important than a husband and daughter. That’s exactly what Lorraine had done, though. It never bothered Alex, because being with her father always made her happy.

When Lorraine tracked Alex down and forced her onto planet terrain, Alex wasn’t allowed to see Louis. She’d assumed he was either killed by her mother’s guards or by one of his dirty business partners. The last time she’d seen him was when he sneaked into her room to give her the key to access Promise. He’d told her where he’d hidden it for her, kissed her forehead, and left.

That was over ten years ago.

Not knowing if he was dead or alive hurt the most.