In the Void

  In the Void

  By Sheryl Nantus

  Book two of Tales from the Edge

  Catherine Rodgers doesn’t like Mercy spaceships, or the courtesans who work on them—not after her husband left her for a Mercy woman. But after her luxurious transport ship gets blown up to prevent her from cracking the lid off a corporate scam that’s left hundreds dead and a few people very rich, the only vessel around to save her is the Bonnie Belle.

  Sean Harrison has worked as one of the Belle’s courtesans for years, bringing happiness to countless women along the space lanes. When he’s asked to look after Catherine while the Belle brings her to safety, it should be just another job. Somehow it’s anything but.

  Sean is captivated by Catherine’s sense of justice and responsibility. And Catherine finds a softer, more emotionally intelligent man in Sean than she expected. Drawn together in darkness under the threat of death, they find the beginning of something lasting. But with pirates after the Belle and a price on Catherine’s head, that beginning might be all they get.

  89,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  Happy October! I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I love October. Not only is it the month in which my daughter was born (ten years ago!!) but I love the weather, the scents and the activities of October. Everything about the month combines to something fun and transporting for me. Of course, I’m sure not everyone feels the same about this fall month, but I’m happy to say we have a great collection of fiction releases to help aid all of you with fun escapes.

  In the spirit of the somewhat paranormal mood of the month, I’ll start with paranormal and fantasy genres. R.L. Naquin returns with an installment in her quirky, fun, romantic urban fantasy Monster Haven series. With Aegises dying all over the world, the only safe place for Zoey is the protection of home—but hiding doesn’t come naturally for Zoey, and she’ll have to act fast to prevent a zombie apocalypse in Demons in My Driveway. And in Dana Marie Bell’s paranormal romance Of Shadows and Ash, when evil attacks from the shadows, dryad Ashton Ward will be the only one who can save his beloved witchdoctor from eternal darkness.

  Matt Sheehan brings back the ever-lovable Helmut and his sidekick in urban fantasy Helmut Goes Abroad. Another round of magic, fistfights and one-liners with the best, most handsome, and of course humble detective Helmut Haase and his apathetic sidekick Shamus O’Sheagan.

  Futuristic romance In the Void by Sheryl Nantus gives us romance set in space—and a brothel spaceship. Answering a distress call can spell the end of the Bonnie Belle and everyone aboard...

  A dragon-shifter intent on executing a high-stakes art heist is forced to juggle a wedding, a family and a pesky attraction to her target’s head of security in paranormal romance ’Til Dragons Do Us Part by Lorenda Christensen. April Taylor’s alternate history fantasy Taste of Treason, the second in her Tudor Enigma series, also releases this month. Master Elemancer Luke Ballard has grown his magical powers since his last encounter with the dark sorcerers who will stop at nothing to destroy the English throne. But is he skilled enough to both protect his own and prevent tragedy from reaching the royal family?

  Moving on to contemporary romance releases in October, the last man that handywoman Georgia Lennox expects to break through her tough-as-nails, ugly-duckling exterior is John Montgomery the Third, the millionaire philanthropist she’s worked for in Because I Can by Tamara Morgan.

  In military contemporary romance His Road Home by Anna Richland, a false engagement story gives injured Special Forces Sergeant Rey Cruz a surprise gift: love. Pitch Imperfect by Elise Alden is a contemporary romance in which the last thing celebrity singer Anjuli Carver wanted was to be dependent on her ex-fiancé to restore her dilapidated manor. Will he rebuild her crumbling walls or demolish her defenses with his sexy pursuit?

  Male/male romance Stand By You by A.M. Arthur is the story of a broken soul who finds solace and safety in the company of a gentle janitor—as well as an unexpected chance at real love.

  Last this month, we’re pleased to welcome co-authors Eileen Griffin and Nikka Michaels with In the Raw, part one of a male/male romance duology about culinary students Ethan Martin and James Lassiter. When they find themselves competing for the same scholarship they also discover they’re competing for something more important—love. Look for part two, In the Fire, next month, in November 2014.

  Coming in November 2014: Carina Press and I both celebrate an anniversary. And we have books from a number of powerhouse authors including Josh Lanyon, Shannon Stacey, Lauren Dane and so many more!

  Here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Editorial Director, Carina Press

  Dedication

  To my sweet hubby, Martin, who puts up with my crazy author behavior and still manages to keep on loving me.

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank Carina Press for continuing to have faith in my work, Alissa Davis for making me write HARDER and all the hopeless romantics out there who keep on keeping on. We won’t give up and we will win in the end!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  “Stimulation of the erogenous zones is essential.”

  Sean Harrison groaned and turned the page.

  “Make sure to maintain eye contact and inform your partner that they’re special.”

  He put down the tablet and rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache starting.

  Some people thought being a Guild courtesan was all about sex.

  It was mostly true.

  But whoever had written this paper on how to sexually satisfy women had to be either a eunuch or Sean’s girlfriend from the sixth grade, who’d thought kissing immediately led to pregnancy.

  He swam over to the bathroom sink and pulled a moist cloth out of the dispenser. He looked in the mirror and spotted a few new wrinkles around his eyes.

  It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.

  And he was getting tired of stomping on the gas pedal.

  Rubbing the hot fabric over his face helped push the pain away, not so much the annoyance.

  He’d had to pay for this report as he had to pay for almost everything from the Guild. The rules and regulations dictated everything from exactly how much he could charge for his services to the cost of a hot shower. It was a constant juggling effort for the courtesans to coax tips from their customers to stay ahead and not end up chained to the Guild beyond their five-year contracts.

  In exchange the Guild provided excellent training and let them travel the universe, visiting distant mining bases to bring civilized conversation to lonely men and women.

  Along with great sex, of course.

  Sean pushed the damp towel into the disposal chute and paddled back to the rec
eiving area where the tablet still spun in zero gravity, waiting for his return.

  “Crap,” he announced to the room. “Crappity crap crap.”

  A knock came at the hatch.

  “It’s open.” He never bothered to lock the door between landfalls.

  Harry Lafayette bounced through the hatch and smacked his legs on the table as he flailed to stop himself.

  “Hey.” He nodded to Sean. “You seen this new report? Man, if I had this in high school I would have scored big time with the ladies.”

  Sean closed his eyes in an attempt to call up that inner peace April kept talking about.

  Had he been this annoying on his first tour?

  Had he ever been that young?

  Sean resisted the urge to check the mirror again.

  “It’s just a guidebook,” he said, trying to sound as kind as he could. “It’s put together by experts,” he paused, almost hearing the air quotes around the word experts, “who claim to know what women want. It’s not gospel.”

  The bare-chested man floated around the receiving room, the smallest of the three-room suite each courtesan occupied on the Bonnie Belle. “But the trainers said they’d tell us everything we needed, teach us what we needed to keep our customers happy.”

  Sean smiled. “Some things only come via life experience.” He resisted the urge to rub the invisible wedding ring on his left hand. “The Guild is good but you’ll pick up things during your first tour that they can’t teach. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the rest of the crew.”

  Harry chuckled. “You mean April, Kendra and Bianca, right? ’Cause I don’t think I’m going to get much from Jenny and Sam.”

  Sean shrugged as he reached out for the tablet hovering between them. “Jenny’s the best mechanic out here. And Sam, well—she’s a damned good captain. This is my second tour and I’d have no one else in the cockpit.”

  Harry nodded. “I’ll take your word for it. Any word on when we’re getting another courtesan?”

  “No.” Sean tapped the screen and sent the report away. “We’re still running one short. You got Dane’s cabin and we’re still waiting for Halley’s replacement.”

  “I’m sorry about all that.” Harry looked down. “I know you were buddies with them both.”

  “Not so much buddies, but work associates.” Sean wasn’t sure how to explain it to the rookie. “You can be on the same ship for months, years and never be friends with anyone else. Halley—” He choked up, thinking of the dead courtesan.

  They hadn’t been friends but they sure as hell hadn’t been enemies. If Sean had been the one to find her dead in her cabin with her throat cut—

  “Dane Morris was an asshole,” Sean growled. “He killed one of our own and tried to kill the captain. He was no friend of mine.”

  Harry nodded. “Understood.”

  Sean released the tablet and rubbed his face with both hands. “I’m sorry. I’m a wee bit on edge.”

  “No problem,” Harry replied. “I guess this gets boring to an old pro like yourself after a while.”

  Old?

  Sean was in the middle of composing an answer when the alarm went off.

  “All personnel immediately report to the galley.” Belle’s calm voice was in contrast to the blaring siren. “Please report to the galley.”

  Harry flailed in zero gravity until Sean got hold of his arm and helped him to the hatch.

  “Is it bad?” Harry asked as they opened the door and swam out into the hall.

  Sean wasn’t in a mood to sugarcoat his response. “Probably.”

  Kendra drifted into the hall, her movements graceful even in weightlessness. She eyed the two men.

  “Trouble.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  Sean rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. “Or Bianca’s having another decorating fit and wants our input.”

  Kendra snickered as she went past them. “I’d put her out the airlock for that if Sam wouldn’t beat me to the punch.”

  Sean fell in behind her with Harry bringing up the rear.

  Bianca and April were already in the galley, waiting near the dining table. April, the senior of the two, nodded to them.

  Bianca scowled. “If this is some sort of drill—”

  The hatch on the opposite side of the room opened and Sam swam through.

  She paused as she surveyed the waiting courtesans. “So, who pulled the fire alarm?”

  Sam was trying to sound funny but Sean saw the nervousness on her face, the way she pulled her mouth into a tight thin line.

  He hadn’t found out what had happened to Sam Keller to make her abandon a military career and run to the Guild but it was apparent she lived with plenty of monsters in her closet.

  Her expression shifted into the professional one he’d come to expect.

  “Belle?” Sam barked. “We’re all here. Spill.”

  “I am receiving a distress call from a nearby ship.” The AI’s feminine voice stayed calm despite the information. “As per my instructions I am notifying all of you and redirecting the call to other ships in the area.”

  “What?” Sam said. “Why aren’t we responding? And why the alarms if we’re not going?”

  “Any emergency requires the alarms be sounded and the entire crew alerted to the situation.” She sounded like a schoolteacher explaining something to a pupil. “And Guild rules say—”

  “Maritime rules say we have to divert to help if we can,” Sam snapped back. “Put us on an interception course immediately, full burn.”

  “The Guild—”

  “They can put the cost for our little detour on my tab. Now pipe that in and get us pointed in the right direction.” Sam’s tone left no room for negotiation.

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Belle’s reply was a mixture of resignation and humor. “I am also relaying the distress signal to any other ships in the vicinity to expand the possible number of rescuers.”

  “Right.” Sam turned toward the hatch leading to the cockpit. “Sean, please check your medical supplies. We may have injured people coming on board.”

  He rubbed his hands on his jeans, the rough fabric cutting through the sudden itchiness in his palms. “Captain, you know I’m not certified as a surgeon or even a full doctor. Combat medic only.” He spread his hands. “Not to mention we don’t have anything remotely resembling a sickbay or the supplies I’d need to deal with serious injuries. Anything more than emergency stitches and I’m done.”

  “I know. But those people are going to need help and right now we’re all they’ve got. All I can ask is that you do your best.” Sam pulled the hatch open to her cockpit and swung through. “The rest of you just—just do whatever. I’ll broadcast everything so you can see what’s going on. If you want to leap in and offer an idea, go ahead. I’m open to all options.”

  Kendra pressed her lips together into a straight line as the captain disappeared from sight. “This is not good.”

  April tilted her head to one side. “Which part?”

  “All of it.” The elder courtesan swam over to a monitor set in the far wall, her light blue dress flowing out around her like wings. “Belle, please pipe the incoming emergency feed in here.”

  “Affirmative.” The black screen went to a speckled picture of black and white, the Belle’s speed twisting some of the white dots around as they sped toward the distress call.

  “Comms are coming up,” Sam said from the cockpit as they watched the screen.

  A burst of static filled the speakers before resolving into a single female voice, high-pitched and panicked.

  “This is the Montgomery S, calling for assistance. We have a fire on board and major systems malfunction—” A loud hiss sent the voice into a stutter. “Life—vital—help—”
<
br />   “How fast before we see it, Belle,” Sam snapped.

  “Approximately two minutes,” the computer AI replied.

  After what seemed like hours the ship came into view. Sean recognized it as a private space yacht, a luxury model used only by the wealthy who loved to wander the space lanes. A fat metal oval with the engines tucked into the back, it reminded him of a giant warped marble.

  Except the marble was spewing atmosphere out from the top, evident from the ice crystals floating above the ship. There was also a huge gaping hole in the left side below a series of observation windows. There was no fire; there wouldn’t be in space.

  It didn’t mean there wasn’t one inside eating up all the oxygen—flames racing through the corridors and suites, devouring anything in its way in a desperate need for more fuel.

  Including human bodies.

  Death in space could come in a variety of ways. Burned alive wasn’t one he’d wish on anyone.

  A hatch in the wall opened, startling Sean. As he backpedaled away from the dark square, Jenny, the mechanic, swam out. Her coveralls were stained with oil and unknown substances. He couldn’t remember a time he’d seen her wear a fresh, unsoiled set.

  She swam down to touch the floor, using the simple touch to spin herself upright to stare at the screen with the rest of the crew.

  Jenny let out a low whistle. “She’s a beauty.”

  “What’s she got?” Sean asked. Jenny loved her ships and she’d know everything about this class backwards and forwards. He wasn’t sure if she’d ever leave the Belle but a ship of that caliber might be able to pry the master mechanic free.

  “Crew of ten, three luxury suites and Galaxy-class engines—way more powerful than what we have.” She looked up. “Sorry, Belle. No offense intended.”

  “None taken,” Belle replied. “A Mercy ship has no need for such powerful engines.”

  April pulled herself closer to the screen, using the leather straps set in the ceiling. “All the bells and whistles. What could go wrong on a ship like that?”

  Jenny opened her mouth at the same time the image on the screen exploded in a flash of light. Everyone instinctively looked away or threw a hand up to cover their eyes, Sean included.