Claimed by Cipher - Lolita Lopez Page 0,38
just before it whacked him in the face. He frowned at Venom. “Easy, man, or you’ll have to deal with Ella.”
Venom grimaced. “The last thing I need is Ella and Dizzy ganging up on me because I gave you a black eye.”
“How is Dizzy feeling?” Cipher asked while scanning the next page. Venom’s mate was expecting their first baby and had been having a rough couple of weeks.
“So much better.” Venom grinned and looked happier than Cipher had ever seen him. “It was like someone flipped a switch. She hit fourteen weeks, and the sickness stopped overnight. She was sewing this morning when I left.”
At the mention of Dizzy making clothing, he glanced at Venom. “I may need to commission some things for Brook. She’s going to have problems with the standard clothing sizes offered. She’s very small.”
“Like Hallie small?” Raze asked.
“About,” Cipher confirmed.
Raze made a face. “Underfed her whole life, I guess.”
With a solemn nod, Cipher said, “She’s had a hard life down there.”
“Most of them do.” Venom tapped at his watch. “It’s painful to see some of them at the Grabs. They’re so thin and pale.”
“We think we know what it’s like to suffer and sacrifice, but some of these brides?” Raze shook his head. “It’s a fucking travesty. That planet is overflowing with resources, but they’re all starving down there.”
“Their government is garbage,” Cipher said as he initialed another box.
“Was,” Raze corrected. “Election results were in this morning.”
Cipher glanced up from the tablet. “I take it Ella’s outreach worked?”
Raze smiled. “Every candidate she supported and canvassed for won their races. It’s a brand-new day down there.”
“It’ll get worse before it gets better,” Venom insisted. “The people in power are not going to be happy about losing it.”
“No,” Raze agreed. Then, soberly, he said, “That’s why they brought in Rage and his crew.”
Cipher exchanged a knowing look with Venom. Rage and his small band of specialists everyone called the Mad Lads had a reputation for suppressing rebellion and forcing the governments of planets they planned to annex to accept the terms offered to them. Rage was a hard man, much like the Vicious and Terror who had graduated from his same year at the academy. Rage would get Calyx under control—or the planet would never be the same again.
“Did you get your quarters assignment yet?” Raze asked, changing the subject to one less tense.
“That’s where I’m headed after this.” Cipher swiped to the next page.
Venom leaned back and scratched his shaved head. “There are two units open on our floor. They’re way down at the end of the hall, but Brook would have Dizzy and Ella nearby.”
“Naya, too,” Raze added. “She might get along well with Naya. They had the same hardscrabble upbringing.”
It was an option Cipher hadn’t considered. “I’ll ask Menace if they want to meet her.”
“Let me talk to Ella. She loves throwing parties. I bet I could convince her to host dinner for the two of you. Let Brook meet new people in an organic way, you know?”
Cipher nodded. “That sounds nice.”
“Great.”
All three of their watches started to vibrate, and they groaned in unison. Raze answered the alert by tapping his shoulder mic. “SRU Alpha Command.”
“Raze, Orion here. Bring Venom and Cipher to SFHQ.”
The admiral’s stern voice had them all exchanging worried glances. Orion and Shadow Force had a history, especially after Terror’s stunt with Menace’s mate. If he was calling the three senior officers of SRU down there, it wasn’t good.
“Copy that, sir.” Raze gave them a look. “You heard the admiral.”
“SRU B Team,” Venom called his crew as he stood and exited the office. “Mal, you’re up as team…”
As Venom handled his crew, Raze issued orders to the A squad. Cipher locked the tablet and placed it on the desk before following Raze out of the office and joining up with Venom. They traversed the ship to the Shadow Force unit and cleared security to find Pierce waiting for them.
He led them into the logistics room where Torment, Vicious, Orion and a tired-looking Risk stood around the large table in the center. Savage, the operative that had been sent to take Terror’s place while he had been missing, leaned over a holographic image, his head close together with Keen, the best detective the academy had ever produced. In a corner, arms crossed and dark eyes narrowed, Grim, the deadliest assassin in Shadow Force history, and his protégé Lethal watched silently.
“Raze,” Orion greeted gruffly and extended his hand. He nodded at Cipher and Venom