Free Marked for Pleasure by Jennifer Leeland Page B

were drunk,” Conner scoffed.
    Leo's gaze held his. “The minute I touched her, I knew. And so did you. The rage doesn't affect you if you're only sexually mated. It hits you when your heart is involved.”
    That was an uncomfortable thought. And one he just didn't have time to indulge. “That name you got. It's one we know, isn't it?”
    Leo's expression turned black. “Yes. You know, I should have realized it. Who else but a Nyral general would kill victims in sex clubs?” He shook his head. “I was blind.”
    “General Halloway.” Conner couldn't wrap his brain around it. The man who recruited them, who trained them, was actually running the fucking thing.
    His friend nodded. “I think when the Teran Four minister was killed, the other planets clamored for action. Halloway arranged the response.” The smile on Leo's face was cold. “It was perfect really. He controlled everything. I couldn't figure out how the Brotherhood always knew I was coming, always outsmarted me. Then I stumbled on Snath.”
    “The Primarian?”
    “He was an attaché, working with Sethos Five, when I discovered he had the Brotherhood brand.” Leo sighed. “It took me a month, but I broke him.”
    “And he gave you Halloway's name?”
    “No, he gave me Ancred's.” Leo focused on the stars whipping past them. “It's some kind of sex club. Ancred and Halloway have worked together to systematically eliminate political figures on various planets. Ancred plans to revive Sethos Prime's aspirations for the surrounding systems, and Halloway wants power.”
    Conner's stomach rolled. The man betrayed everything Nyral stood for. Their whole culture was based on subtle power, the velvet glove over the iron fist. Raw power was rejected. The general wanted to change all that. “How the hell are we going to win this one?”
    Leo blinked and met his gaze. “Chop off the head of the snake, and the snake dies.”
    “This one has two.”
    “No.” Leo shook his head. “Ancred won't do a fucking thing unless Halloway clears the way.” His friend frowned. “You must have been getting close, because he wanted you dead. What did you find out?”
    “I've narrowed down the next two targets. Princess Sera from Placido and Ander Rylan from Teran Five.” It had taken him months to uncover that. He'd managed to rip the information from an assassin he'd caught and tormented. The Brotherhood didn't take what it dished out very well. “Ander Rylan was slated to be on the Star of Pleasure , but he never showed up.”
    “That's because there's more than one Star of Pleasure .” Leo's hand tightened on the controls.
    “What?” Shit! He'd forgotten his intel on the Star of Pleasure had been from the general.
    Leo nodded. “There's a club on Sethos Five called the Star of Pleasure .” He pounded a fist into the console. “We were right there.”
    “We can still stop it,” Conner told him. “We'll have to put off our little plan.”
    Leo's gaze flicked toward the back of the shuttle. “You'll have to drop her off. It will take me a few hours to get everything we need.”
    Conner nodded, his jaw ached from clenching it, a dull pain in his chest. “Okay. Thanks. I'll try not to be too long.”
    “She's your mate, Conner. I can take care of the general. You don't want to leave her marked and alone.” Leo's bleak expression ate at Conner's heart. Damn it. He wished he could heal his friend. Conner couldn't do that for him. No one could. A Nylar male could mark once. Leo could mate, have children, but he could never mark another woman.
    “It's better that she's alone rather than dead. Don't argue with me about this, Leo.” Besides, Rhea was beautiful. She wouldn't be alone for long. Just the thought made his stomach churn and his mark throb.
    They didn't say much more as Leo worked the controls with Conner to land the shuttle on Elison. The planet was a busy trading center with everything from grack from the mines of Teran Four to sex toys from