The Diamond Heartstone Read Free

two then three, some of his
    memories began to fade. The explosion of color was almost an assault on
    his eyes. The red of the meat, the blue, green and orange of the fruits and
    vegetables. His suffering was over.
    "She did it." All doubts about The Peddler disappeared. He looked
    around the communal dining room as if he was a young cub once again,
    gaining the ability to see in color. He could even see the light color in the
    not too distant stars.
    "Did what?" Timbal, his pack brother, asked.
    "Nothing." He refused to raise anyone's hope. This union could be a
    disaster. But if it wasn’t…
    "More secrets?" his brother teased before sinking his teeth into a
    large piece of meat and pulling it from the bone. "First half of your credits,
    now this. Better not let the medics find out. They quarantined you for a
    week over your eyes. Wonder what they’d do if they found out you’re
    talking to yourself?"
    "Shut up," he said, pushing his brother onto the floor. "You breathe
    a word of this and you'll be dealing with more than you can handle." The
    fact that the medics around the plant were all reporting significant
    breakdowns in their DNA meant every single charge was taken seriously.
    14

    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

    Every outbreak dealt with. Some permanently. It was the main reason he
    needed to find a mate off-world. His descendants would live on while the
    purist died out.
    "Threats?"
    "Promises, Lil Bro. Promises." He rose from the table and warmth
    enveloped him. Light fingers ran down the length of his back. He could
    swear someone was stroking him.
    His penis stood at attention. He needed to get out of here before
    someone noticed the large bulge in his pants. He marched to the door and
    left the room without a backwards glance.
    Another long caress down the front of his body pulled a groan from
    him. That damned witch hadn't mentioned anything about this. Another
    one down the front of his face and along his neck. Barrick turned to the
    cool wall outside the door. He leaned his head along the silver metal as his
    body went up in flames.
    His need to mate just revved from zero to light speed in a matter of
    minutes. The Peddler better bring his mate soon.

    * * * * *

    Two million dollars. Two freaking million dollars. The man's words
    seemed foreign to her. How in the world could a ten-dollar piece of glass
    be worth even a fraction of that?
    "Did you hear me, miss?"
    "I'm sorry. It's not for sale." Her fingers trembled as she pushed the
    pendant inside her blouse. She turned around and left the shop.
    This wasn't possible. Things like this didn't happen to her. She'd
    gone to the pawnshop on a whim. An impossible whim.
    She didn't doubt for a moment that the guy behind the counter had
    low-balled the value. Hell, the pawn shops in Oakland where she grew up
    rarely gave more than ten percent of what something was truly worth. She
    wasn't new to how businesses like that operated. And she knew that guy at
    the flea market had been trying to cheat her.

    15

    The Diamond Heartstone by Leila Brown

    * * * * *

    "What the hell do you mean you're not bringing her to me?" Barrick
    growled at the woman on the vid screen inside his office.
    "Just what I said. It's not my job to bring her to you. I’m paid to find
    her." Her boredom with the conversation blared across the speaker. She
    drummed her fingers on the dark glass of the table in front of her.
    "You had her? In front of you, and it was too much to ask that you
    just pick her up and bring her to me?"
    "That's not the way it works."
    "I could give a fuck how it’s supposed to work. I paid a lot of credits
    for you to find my mate and what?" He slammed his hand onto the chair
    arm. The bolts groaned but held.
    "I found her but I cannot bring her over to this side.‛
    "What the hell does that mean?" he asked, running his tongue along
    his top teeth in agitation.
    "It means that your mate exists in another dimension. I can't bring
    her across but since