Duke (Moon Hunter's Inc. Book 8) Read online

  Moon Hunter’s Inc.

  Book 8

  Duke

  By Catty Diva

  Edited by Addicted to Reviews Editing

  Cover by Jesh Art

  2017 Copyright by Catty Diva

  This book is a work of fiction. All contents, including names, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to persons, living or deceased, businesses, locations or events are completely coincidental.

  Any reproductions of this book in any part or any form must be done with the express written permission of the author or not at all.

  Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

  This series is a spinoff from the 10 book series The Mating Games.

  The Mating Games series

  Book 1

  Razar

  Razar needs a mate, but on his planet, there are nine males to one female. Humans look like they are compatible, but if they find out the secrets of his kind they will refuse to send them mates.

  Lista needs money for her mother's operation or she will die. Her sister has volunteered her to be a bride for an alien. If she wins the mating game, she will be free to keep the money and return home.

  Can she outwit him or will he claim her heart before it's game over?

  Moon Hunters Inc.

  Book 1

  Justice

  When did the good guys get so bad? Justice comes on swift wings in the dark. His friend and boss, Cash, has sent him to Earth to exterminate a criminal convicted on Oison and protected by the corrupt Earth government. While carrying out the judgement, he finds her.

  Envy is a pet kept by her evil master. Luckily, he's old and incapable of breeding, so she is still innocent in many ways. Justice has come to make her master pay for his misdeeds. Can she convince him to free her so she can live life on her terms? Will the handsome assassin accept her innocence as a payment for her freedom or will he demand her heart as well?

  Book 2

  Cyn

  Deadly as Cyn, she’s sent on a mission after a bad guy. Alex is sexy as hell. Can he really be the monster her boss believes he is? It’s up to her to prove his innocence or take him out. If he’s really the anonymous mastermind behind the secrets at space station Alpha and the heinous lab hidden at Pluto, can she take out a man she’s grown to love? And how can she love a creature that loves to kill the innocent?

  Alex doesn’t know what to make of the beautiful but distant woman who was sent to negotiate a contract with him for Oison. One minute she’s hot as she shows interest in him as a man, the next minute she’s once again the cold negotiator. How can he find a way to get to the woman inside?

  With so much at stake and so much muddying their relationship, can they ever find their way to the heart of the matter?

  Book 3

  Terrik

  She had escaped somehow and he felt guilty for not stopping her. The female was the chief of security, guilty of heinous crimes and must be brought to justice for them. Terrik felt guilt for another reason, too. How could he feel drawn to a woman so evil? It was his inability to react that had allowed her to escape. He’d frozen because of the attraction he’d felt for that woman, Lorelai.

  Lorelai had almost gotten caught. She’d been like a deer in the headlights as that incredibly sexy man had stared at her. Luckily, reason had returned and she’d gotten out of there. There was a job to be done and she was the only one that could do it. All she had to do was explain to the commander over all the labs, how she had been the only one to escape and make him believe it. The sexy stranger had to be cast to the back of her mind as she prepared to perform her duty.

  On opposite sides, was there any way they could ever get together?

  Book 4

  Brutus

  Brutus dreams of a beautiful woman for weeks before he heads to Space Station Gamma. She calls to him and he wants to save her but he isn’t sure where she is. If he could find her, he would protect her from everything, including himself.

  Shari has known nothing but a life of hardship and abuse. She wonders if these new people who have come into her life will keep their promises or just give her the same old excuses and pain the others always have.

  Book 5

  Jazzy

  Jazzy is captured during a lab raid and taken far away to another lab. They intend to breed her to the local Romeo and while he’s hot as hell, he lacks personality.

  Jetson finds the new girl infuriating but strangely appealing. If she doesn’t give in, she might get them all killed. How can he seduce her when she seems determined to resist?

  Book 6

  Gabe

  Once he reaches Space Station Theta, Gabe is appalled by how the subjects are treated. He is also intrigued by one particular subject. His need to be with her and care for her almost overwhelms his discipline which requires him to stay on target for his mission.

  Donato is drawn to the handsome guard, but all guards are bad news. She tries to fight her attraction to him, but for some reason she feels he’s a protector. If she is wrong, it could be the death of her.

  Book 7

  Isis

  Isis was an undercover operative for Moon Hunter’s Inc. most of the time. She has gone into the most dangerous and scariest places there were. She has done things that made her skin crawl to get her job done. Cash wants to send her in undercover in the latest lab he’s found, but there’s a catch. He wants her to work with a government operative named Steve Gorman. She’s been involved with Steve before and that’s just not going to work.

  Steve believes he’s in love with the beautiful hunter. They had a one night stand after space station Theta was taken down and now she’s avoiding him. There’s something between them and he’d convinced Cash to team them up so he can explore their connection. Too bad Isis is pissed. She’ll have to learn to compromise because he plans to claim her.

  Love and hate can be closely related. Will Isis learn what she really feels for Steve isn’t dislike after all?

  Duke is one of Moon Hunter’s originals and he loves his job and helping people. He always thought he’d grow old alone, but that was before he met her. Now all he wants to do is protect her, because she’s been through enough.

  Clancy knows she’s nothing. She’s been told that all her life, but something is going on and even though space station Zero is far away, something followed her here and threatens her safety and that of those who protect her. Duke is one of her protectors and she can’t bear to see him hurt. What in the world will she do?

  Prologue

  The people that had been stuck in that horrible lab, some for their whole lives, had been through enough. The problem was, someone wasn’t through with them. One of the ladies had gone for a walk and went past the line of sight from their new home on Oison and she’d been attacked and taken. Clancy now worried someone was trying to reclaim those who were from space station Zero and Duke was afraid that was exactly what was happening.

  When the next day Clancy had been attacked and beaten, Cash sent him to investigate and set up protection for the Zero refugees. How could someone like that hide on Oison and stalk the innocent victims of the lab without being seen or heard? That’s what he was there to find out. He would take care of the job and get the hell out of there. Most of the refugees were female and being around that many women made him nervous as hell.

  The one that made him the most nervous, Clancy. He seemed to enjoy being around her entirely too much.

  Chapter 1

  Fearful

  Clancy was in medical. She was recovering from her recent experience with an unknown stranger. Her black eye was a testament to the fact that he wasn’t
a nice guy. She’d never realized she could yell so loud or so long and put up enough of a fight that he was delayed until help came and he fled. Thank the gods that help had come in time.

  Her life hadn’t been much to cling to, and yet she had. Now after being rescued from the lab, her life had begun to change and she thought things might turn out okay and this happened. She’d already started on high school subjects and eventually she intended to get a degree in botany with a minor in marine biology. Both of those would be put to good use on this planet, Lista had assured her of that. It was weird for the mate of the second most powerful man on the planet to be hanging around with refugees.

  She’d decided pretty quickly that Lista was no snob. Lista was just a nice person who wanted to help people. Duke had come down with them, but he’d had to leave and go on a mission. That was why it had been really nice that Lista had taken an interest in her.

  Lista had said to consider them friends. Some of the other girls had mentors, but Lista said she was hopeless in science and she’d help Clancy find a mentor once she graduated high school. That was when she’d seriously pursue the science degree she wanted. Clancy couldn’t wait. It was just a shame now that all of them had settled in and life was turning around for them all, they were being stalked. Their stalker had probably been sent by the people who ran Zero. Clancy was sure they wanted their property back.

  Clancy knew someone was being sent in to protect them and investigate the woman that had been abducted, but she didn’t know who. She secretly hoped it would be Duke, because she really liked him. Dary and Mosy had teased her about what they called her little crush, but she was sure it was more than that.

  It was true she was inexperienced with men, but she knew how she felt and she had strong feelings for Duke. They were so intense, they scared her. He was so tall and well built, who wouldn’t be attracted to him? Tall, dark, and handsome was how Lista had described him and she said she had one like him at home.

  “Sometimes attraction can hit you like a snake bite. It’s fast and painful. That doesn’t mean it can’t develop into something wonderful. It’s the way things were with Razar and me, but I tried to fight it. Fighting love was like swimming against the tide. I felt better once I finally gave in.”

  “Weren’t you worried that it wouldn’t work out?”

  “I was terrified, but you can’t live life always afraid to take a chance. I jumped in with both feet and I’ve never regretted it. If you both feel the same and you pick a good man, odds are it will work out just fine.”

  Clancy thought a lot about what Lista said. The truth of the matter was she didn’t know if Duke would come back any time soon and if he did, how would she know how he felt? It seemed like he liked her and she knew she liked him, maybe more than liked him. Was that enough?

  She got back to her school work because that was something she could do right now. Thoughts of Duke would have to go on hold until he came back. Clancy was breezing through the start of high school. Her only problem subjects were those dealing with language. She could speak English fine, it was the written language, spelling and punctuation that she struggled with. Reading was easier, even though that didn’t seem to make sense.

  Chapter 2

  Oison Bound

  Duke had wasted no time getting his mission done. The mercenary attempting to assassinate the richest man in three worlds lay at his feet restrained. He hoped now Cash would let him have the time off he was owed. Clancy was on his mind, more than he’d expected and more than she should be for the short time they’d known each other. Her image persisted in reappearing when he least expected it, taking up a big part of his mind.

  He could see what she would be, both physically and mentally, once her healing was through. She was an amazing woman now, but when she met her goals, she’d be incredible. She’d never discussed what those goals might be, but it was clear she was working with single minded focus towards something. It was his hope that when he saw her next, she would share them with him.

  It was somewhat disconcerting for a man who had expected to spend his life alone to find someone he could see himself with in five, ten, or twenty years down the road. Duke couldn’t say exactly when his point of view had changed to include a possible mate in his future. The thought of being with Clancy didn’t scare him as it had with other women in the past.

  His prisoner moaned and he thought about knocking him out again. He wasn’t in the mood to handle a bothersome prisoner right now. The guy settled down and Duke checked his screens. They were getting close, he could make it now. Nothing was going to slow him down or upset him.

  “I’m an hour out, Boss,” he informed headquarters.

  “We got you on radar,” Cash replied. “See you when you arrive.”

  “I’ll be glad to see you,” Duke admitted. This wasn’t a mission he’d wanted. Not because it was hard or dangerous, which it was. No, it was because he’d not wanted to leave Clancy. He’d been forced to, anyway.

  The last hour went fast and he was landing at headquarters which was located on Oison’s moon. There was a landing pad for small shuttles and scout ships like the one he was flying. He exited the ship and went into headquarters, finding Cash in the waiting room looking as if he was waiting for him. The prisoner walked in front of him and Cash called out for one of the other hunters hanging around to come and settle the prisoner into their holding cell. They had the facilities for a handful of prisoners and in an emergency, they doubled them up in the cells.

  “I have another job for you,” Cash said and he saw Duke’s disappointed look. “I think this one will be more to your liking. I need the refugees on Oison safeguarded. One was attacked and another one disappeared.”

  “Who?”

  “Clancy was attacked and Sharon was taken,” he replied.

  “You didn’t think to tell me this sooner?” Cash could tell Duke was mad at him.

  “You were already on the job and it needed done. Now you will be assigned there so you’ll be with her.” Cash didn’t even pretend he didn’t know exactly how things were.

  Duke went to the spare room upstairs to shower and change into clean clothes. Not wanting to go see her while he was dirty and unkempt, the few minutes it took was worth the effort since he was trying to woo his woman. Heading back to the same scout ship, even though he. He could wait and ride a shuttle, because he was in a hurry and there might be a need for transportation during the investigation of the events that had occurred while during his absence.

  No ships had been allowed to leave without being searched, so he felt certain Sharon was still on the planet somewhere. He would search until he found and freed her. Then he would hunt down those who had taken her and harmed Clancy and they would pay.

  Flying was something Duke loved. He enjoyed exploring the universe and watching stars and planets fly by. This was where he felt at home, but he hoped to build another home with Clancy. That thought surprised him, but it was the natural progression of his intense attachment to the woman. Duke knew she liked him and he prayed her feelings were as strong as his seemed to be.

  He’d never really seen himself as anything but a hunter since the day he’d signed up with Cash. Now he wasn’t sure if he would continue in his current position or have to choose something else if he and Clancy decided on something permanent. That was something he wanted to explore with Clancy. Her dreams were more important since she’d never had a chance to explore them. Duke acknowledged that he might have to give up what was more than a job, it was his identity. Even if he stepped back, he’d still do the odd mission, after all, he was a one percenter and the income from that would help support them if he had to look for another job.

  Poor Cash. He was losing hunters at an alarming rate. Duke had thought Isis would be next, but she had pulled her mate into her life with her. Steve was alright and not a half bad hunter himself. He liked it better than working for his old agency, at least that’s what he’d said. Duke couldn’t imagine Clancy as a hunte
r.

  He got on the com to get clearance to land. Time passed quickly when he was lost in thought. Soon, he would see his woman and he hoped she was alright. Duke was given approval and he set her down near the building the refugees from Zero were staying. None of them were outside and that was good considering the risks. It was odd that after Clancy had been attacked that anyone would be allowed outside or even want to go there. That was a mystery he would soon solve. Exiting his ship, he headed to the building.

  There was little privacy since it was set up like barracks. There was a large women’s side and a smaller side for men. Most of the lab subjects were female. Since this would take time, he’d be staying on Oison. He had the choice of being someone’s guest, staying on his ship which had a bed and small bathroom, or staying on the men’s side of the dorm or barracks. Whatever you chose to call it, there was no privacy. Of course, he didn’t need much privacy to sleep.

  Duke felt he needed to be close to those he was protecting so he leaned toward the idea of staying in the men’s dorm. He intended to set up a schedule where the doors would lock at a certain time and no one would go out after that time until a certain time in the morning. It was his hope that considering the danger, no one would protest too much.

  As he walked into the building used to house the refugees, he realized no one was milling around because they were all sitting down to lunch. It was probably enjoyable for them to be able to eat as a group since they’d never had the freedom to do so before. He saw Clancy and made his way over to her. There was a seat on one side of her empty and he sat there.