Born of Shadows Read Free Page A

taught him. It was the only weapon anyone could really use against the Trisani species—unless this guy was as strong as Nero this would work.
    Here’s hoping he’s not.
    He focused it with everything he had. One second the Trisani had him, the next, Caillen was free and slamming the Enforcers into each other. He shot his cord up the wall and started to leave them in his wake… until he heard something in his ear that gave him pause.
    “There’s an unconscious woman here in the street, under some garbage. Not sure if she’s with our perp or not. But she is covered up by what appears to be a man’s coat.”
    Fu-fu-frick.
    They’d found Kasen. If he escaped, they’d take her in and she’d never stand up to their questioning. She was the kind of witness who spilled more guts than a butcher.
    Of all the flying-ass bad luck.
    Caillen sighed as he flicked his wrist to miss the shot and allowed the hook to fall back to the pavement. He let them think they’d done it when the truth burned deep inside him. But for Kasen’s discovery, he’d have made it out.
    They cuffed his hands, then carefully disarmed him over the next twenty-eight minutes.
    “Damn, boy,” one of the officers said as they continued to find weapons hidden on him. “It’s like disarming an assassin. You sure you ain’t in the League?”
    He had to force himself not to lash out and escape again. Submission was not in his nature.
    Think of Kasen…
    Yeah, what he was really thinking about her was how badly he wanted to beat her.
    The Enforcer jerked his cuffed hands. “Who’s with you?”
    Caillen met the Enforcer’s gaze without flinching or hesitating. “No one. I fly alone. Check the logs.” Thank the gods he was good at what he did. They wouldn’t find a trace of anyone except him.
    “What about the woman?”
    “Nameless vic. I stole her wallet. You check my pocket, you’ll find it.” He always had a fake ID and wallet for his sisters with aliases.
    Just in case.
    The Enforcer pulled it out, then lifted his arm to speak into the mic in his cuff. “She’s innocent. Get her to a hospital.”
    “You want me to take a report from her?” the voice asked.
    “No. We have a confession and mugging is the least of what we’re taking him in for. Just dump her and go.”
    Caillen met the Trisani’s frown. The bastard either suspected he was lying or knew it for a fact, but for whatever reason, he kept it to himself.
    End of the day, the Trisani was definitely right about one thing. He was royally screwed and they hadn’t even fondled him yet.
    That was bad enough.
    Worse than bad came as they were hauling him toward the transport and they began reading him his charges.
    “… and for smuggling prillion.”
    He felt his stomach shrink. Shit.
    His sister’s contraband carried a death sentence…

2
     
    Three Weeks Later
     
    How bad would decapitation hurt?
    From the window of his pathetically small, sparse cell that barely accommodated a bunk, sink and toilet, Caillen stared out across the yard teeming with people, at the heavy electronic blade that was being charged and sharpened in preparation for his execution.
    Yeah, that was definitely going to leave a mark.
    Don’t worry, Cai. In just a few more measly minutes your problems will be over.
    Forever.
    His neck tingled in expectation of the coming blow, which would end a life that really hadn’t been all that great. Strange thing though, bad as it was, he wasn’t ready for it to be over. Not by a long shot.
    I could have been something.
    Ah hell, who was he fooling? He was a third-generation smuggler with a gambling problem his family knew nothing about…
    Yeah? So what ? He was still the best damned pilot in all the United Systems. There was nothing he couldn’t fly and no one he couldn’t outmaneuver when he was in a ship.
    He never missed a target. Ever.
    None of that matters now. Not while he was standing toe to toe with death.
    What a way for a warrior to go…
    Forget a last