Factor Read Free

boat and forwarded it to the Guardian’s shuttle, as well as their mainframe.
    “Dispatch to Commander Cowl. There is a situation that you can help with.” She rattled off the information, and he inclined his head.
    “Thank you, Dispatch. We are on our way. Have you loaded—”
    “The information is in the shuttle and the skimmer, depending on what you want to take over the water. With the incoming storm, I would recommend the shuttle.”
    “Suggestion accepted. Can you jolt the others?”
    “I can.”
    Jianne took a deep breath and used her override on the men’s personal coms. “Twist, there is a situation.”
    “Acknowledged.”
    “Roil, there is a situation.”
    “Acknowledged.”
    “Flare, there is a situation.”
    “Acknowledged, and pleased to meet you, Dispatch.”
    She laughed at the flirtation in his tone. “Get to work, Flare. We have missing tourists in the ocean. Go and find them.”
    He was in the common area, and he snapped a salute to the nearest camera as the other members of his team came up behind him, scooting him out the door and into the shuttle.
    Jianne breathed easy that they were not going to continue their tracking of her scent. Sending them six hours out to sea might be a little bit of overkill, but what else could she do? She panicked.
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
     
    An easy assignment ended in triumph, and Jianne felt a little less guilty when she saw the images of the families that had been stranded in a dead ship. She forwarded the best images to the local news distributors and smiled as she watched the Guardians head home.
    Jianne waited until they were back at their home, and then, she disconnected her audio feed. Her video feed would play behind her eyes until they turned their links off.
    Whistling, she brewed a cup of caf and stretched, her bodysuit clinging faithfully to her. In her mind, the images that the Guardians were seeing played out against her visual centre.
    She stepped out onto the deck and smiled at the steep drop off the cliff as well as the one above her. Her small apartment was wedged into the one place no one would think to look, the cliff near the Guardians’ base. Jianne enjoyed her own supply line for food and sundries, but the Guardians had no idea that this small outpost was hidden right under their noses.
    Safety was the watchword. If she was too close, she could become a liability to the team. At this distance, friendships didn’t blind her, nor did they worry about leaving her undefended.
    Jianne still worried about them, but the people of Cadar came first.
    She watched birds fly and twist through the canyon toward the ocean. With a sigh, she sat out on her deck behind her stealth screen, and she watched the wildlife of Cadar while her Guardian feeds were turned off one by one.
     
    * * * *
     
    “You are sure that she went this way?” Cowl scowled behind his hood. The scent of female was all over the desk, and it led down the hall to a tall painting.
    Twist nodded. “She went this way, and here is the code panel she used. Look, it is built right into the frame of the portrait. I would never have seen it if she hadn’t been wearing silver in the shadows.”
    Roil asked, “Why are we so interested in this woman?”
    Twist stared at him in surprise. “Because she isn’t just a woman, she could be Cowl’s woman. We need to see her first.”
    “You believe that Charm’s wife really painted a portrait of you and your mate?” Roil was the skeptic in the group.
    Flare grinned, “She has not been wrong yet. Even Blade says that her uncle is delighted with his new mate, and he has been a bachelor for a third of his lifespan.”
    “What is the rush, Cowl?” As soon as Roil said it, he stopped. “Sorry. I forgot.”
    Cowl tried to ignore the comment, but it was a reminder that he was reaching his mating time and finding a good match was imperative. “It’s fine.”
    Twist and Flare glared at Roil before Twist set about touching the