Page 47 of Star Crossed Delta

MAK

K aal, Asa, Kelam, and Mak prowled along the gray utilitarian ship corridor, lit with flickering lights.

Other than their Sidani escorts, no one else seemed to be around.

Mak had expected their weapons to be taken from them, but at no point had their guides requested that they hand them in.

They marched, two at the front and two at the rear, stone-faced, in black gear and boots, their laser rifles in hand.

The air was thick with tension as they made their way to the end of the hallway toward a set of double doors.

They stopped as the lead chaperone pressed the doorbell, and the group exchanged narrowed looks.

Chimes sounded inside, followed by the whir of a camera.

Footsteps approached, and after a brief pause, the door opened, revealing a tall man with a shaved head and tattoos covering his arms.

Zolan’s brother, Shan.

His eyes flickered over the Sauvage men, appraising them.

‘Cousin,’ he grunted, his voice gruff.

‘Shan, let us the fokk in,’ Mak muttered, muscling his way to the front. The Sidani entourage stepped aside, allowing him into the vestibule.

‘Wait here,’ Shan growled.

Despite his anxiousness to see his wife, Mak obeyed. He jerked his chin at Shan as he tracked off, disappearing into the bowels of the dark interior.

Silence fell over the minimal space. Mak’s eyes flicked over the inside.

The chamber had a distinct style.

The synth steel walls were covered in paintings, and the inner doors were antique, elaborately carved timber surfaces.

The interior design featured engraved furniture, carpeting, and tables crafted from hand-woven lattices and intricate patterns.

It didn’t scream wealth, but it had a touch of refinement.

A hint of bitter kahawa blended with the scent of spiced cooking.

The murmur of women’s voices out of sight and toward the rear made the suite of rooms appear welcoming. Far removed from Mak’s imagined idea of where Zolan Asivan might have lived.

‘With me.’

Shan gestured that they follow him. The group trailed behind him up a short flight of stairs into a spacious room.

It was light-filled, characterized by soft silk drapes and an airy, cool ambiance. Shan jerked his chin at a pair of chairs in front of a leather couch and a daybed. They sat, and moments later, a figure stepped into the room.

Zolan.

Mak half-rose toward the man, but Kaal held him back, his fingers biting into Mak’s upper shoulder. ‘Calm now, brother. Your wife’s life depends on it.’

His gambit worked, and Mak simmered down, glaring at Zolan.

Zolan met his gaze unapologetically, jerking a nod at him without malice in his eyes, and that surprised Mak.

Instead, he found an uncharacteristic serenity within them.

What game was Zolan playing?

Zolan settled himself in a leather armchair at one end, finishing his conversation.

His sonorous voice, even in a murmur, resonated with authority.

Kaal and Mak exchanged a look.

Soon, Zolan wrapped up his call and placed his device on the table between them.

He reclined in his chair, his arms crossed and a half-smile on his face. Shan gave him a chin and disappeared.

‘This morning, I meditated,’ Zolan said, his manner nonchalant. ‘I sought to be sober, well-balanced, self-disciplined, alert, and cautious at all times because a deep sense told me my enemy was prowling toward me like a roaring lion. Thank fokk for prescient sight.’

Mak raised a brow and clenched his jaw, holding back his frustration.

‘Zolan, you made your move. We came, and now give me my woman,’ Mak growled.

Two men entered the room.

The first was slight yet super fit, his muscles bunched as if he had lifted weights too much.

His mouth was a slash of disapproval. He had weasel-like energy, and at that instant, Mak disliked him, sensing uncoiled scorn in the way he glared at him.

‘This is Ladik, our consigliere,’ Zolan said.

The second man was taller, leaner, and wily, with the cunning eyes of a hungry fox.

Mak’s senses roiled at the sight of him.

‘This is Enzo, who runs security with Shan.’

Mak nodded at the newcomers but kept his focus on Zolan. ‘Where is Saba?’

‘Relax, she’s with Shan and with family.’

‘With Shiloh, you mean. The bride you stole from me.’

Zolan’s brow rose. ‘She came of her own free will.’

‘You’re a nasty piece of work,’ Mak drawled. ‘First, you steal one sister promised to me, then you invade my home with my current wife alone, and follow that genius move by kidnapping her. Tell me, Zolan, why should I refrain from ripping you apart?’

Mak bared his fangs, leaning forward, ready to pounce. Anger pulsed through his veins, hotter and more intense with every passing second.

Zolan remained calm, unfazed by the accusations. ‘For a good cause.’

His composure only fueled Mak’s rage.

‘You call snatching my woman a good justification?’ Mak spat.

‘It was necessary,’ Zolan growled.

Mak slammed his fist on the table, rattling it. His patience was gone. ‘What fokkin ’ reason would necessitate you kidnapping an innocent woman?’

Zolan’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re angry, I get it. You’re looking for someone to blame. Mak, you need to be smarter than this. You’re chasing the wrong ghost. It’s why I had to waylay Saba and bring her here. Twas the only way to get you to come after her, so you’d see me, discuss our common enemy.’

‘So you’re saying this was all a ruse to get me here?’ Mak snarled.

Zolan leaned forward, folding his hands together. ‘Look outside your assumptions for once. There are more players in this game than just us. Your enemies are growing, whether you choose to see it or not.’

Mak clenched his jaw, still simmering with fury, but something in Zolan’s words gnawed at him. Could someone else have orchestrated this?

‘I swear to you,’ Zolan added, his tone deadly serious, ‘if I had wanted to hurt you, the last person I’d have done it through was Saba. Like you said, she’s family. I also happen to like her and think she’s the shit. Second to her sister, who I fokkin ’ love.’

Mak’s anger cooled somewhat, but his rage still burned when he thought of Saba’s abduction. He gritted his teeth. ‘If I find out you’re lying,’ he growled, his glare lethal, ‘I’ll tear your world apart until nothing stands.’

Zolan met his eyes, silent, his calmness infuriating Mak even more.

Mak glared at him. ‘You’re either a weak Don if you’re not on top of who is going rogue in your name. Or a shit lover who has no scruples using his woman to get what he wants.’

That’s when Zolan bristled. ‘I’m a leader who appreciates how to sift through the chaff and find our true adversary. Those who wish us harm or want to exploit us with malicious intent.’

Zolan leaned in earnest. ‘I’d never use Shiloh or Saba to gain leverage over you. Shiloh and I are in love, so she came to me. If you must know, her uncle was well aware of our relationship and blessed it.’

‘He knows about you two?’ Mak asked in surprise, recalling Tewa’s outrage at the restaurant on hearing about Zolan and Shiloh.

Zolan nodded, with zero pride or arrogance in his gaze.

‘Of course, he did. He introduced me to Shiloh and insisted that I take her on a date. I had no clue she was engaged to you at the time. He instructed me to enjoy her company. It was part of the enticement and payment, along with diamonds for hitting a few of your supply ships.’

‘He pimped Shiloh to you?’

‘I had no idea she was promised to you at the time. He also told her she could court me until the arrangement with you came to fruition. You know, have a little fun.’

‘What he didn’t count on was us falling in love. At first, he was outraged when he found out she was pregnant; he extended us an olive branch and blessed the union.’

‘So, you’re saying he was well aware of the switch at the altar? That Shiloh was out of the picture and Saba stood in her place?’ Mak growled, struggling to keep his temper in check.

Zolan sighed. ‘He was. He committed to sending a packet of valuable diamonds to me after six months if I kept the fact that Shiloh was with me a secret. He said something about maintaining the family’s respectability.

He also promised he’d eventually let me marry her.

This other thing, the hack, has nothing to do with me.

The gemstones, from your bride price, were a lifeline for my people, for the Sidani Order.

However true to form, I haven’t seen one gem of it. ’

Mak’s rage flared again. ‘The fokkin ’ snake.’

Zolan crossed his arms, his gaze steady as he regarded Mak. ‘He’s been playing us both,’ he grunted.

Silence fell until a husky voice broke through the impasse.

‘So I was just a pawn.’

The woman who stepped into the room was beautiful, but her familiar face was incandescent with wrath.

Shiloh.

Stunning, long-haired, with eyes like a doe, her pregnancy was obvious.

‘I didn’t have any idea he paid you,’ she said with a bitter edge.

‘Babe,’ Zolan said, rising to his feet and swiveling to her, hands lifted in a plea. ‘The Sidani clan is on its last legs, my men are unraveling, poverty is spiraling, and I needed an out. Your uncle’s offer for diamonds was meant to keep us afloat, at least until we got to Pegasi.’

Mak shook his head and huffed.

The couple turned to him: Shiloh with wrath, Zolan with confusion.

‘Why am I not surprised?’ he grated. ‘You’ve been stung by yet another Lisade scam, Zolan. Welcome to the party.’

‘That’s not fair,’ Shiloh muttered.

Mak’s lips twisted. ‘Not equitable? Your family, Tewa in particular, contrived a plan to make me wait fourteen years for a bride, in exchange for a fortune-load of diamonds that I broke my back to produce. Tewa pawned you three girls, in effect bartering you until he milked as much as he could from me, while playing Zolan. It’s fokkin ’ messed up. ’

Mak’s cousin nodded, nostrils flaring. ‘Tis. Remember I told you of a dangerous faction inside the Syndicate targeting your husband? Turns out, the one leading the charge is the girl’s uncle, Tewa.’

Mak grunted. ‘ Fokk me.’