An Excerpt From: ENFORCED LOVE
Copyright © LACEY THORN, 2010
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Chapter One
I am neither good nor bad. I just am. When the law is broken I am the one who
executes punishment. I am not the only one of my kind. But I am the only woman in
my field. I work alone, by choice and I see no reason to change that. Which is why
at the moment my temper was flaring and I was ready to kill. Someone was trying
to change that. My boss. My dad.
“I work alone,” I stated through clenched teeth for the millionth time.
“Not on this one,” my father and top agent Dassan Certze stated, his voice hard and
firm.
“I always work alone,” I reminded him.
This time he sighed and for the first time I noticed how old he was getting. He was
still strong, still solid, but I could see the way his once black hair was now starting
to turn white. I noticed the wrinkles and fatigue. It was a hard job we had as
Enforcers and the life took its toll on the best of us. My dad was now showing it.
“Emma, don’t fight me on this or I’m going to bench you altogether,” Dad said.
“What!” I exploded. “You can’t bench me. I’ve done nothing to merit that.”
“Ignoring a direct order. Showing disrespect to a superior officer. Refusing to follow
protocol.” He looked over at me and one eyebrow winged up over his eye. “I can
continue if you need me to.”
Now it was my turn to sigh. So I wasn’t exactly the perfect soldier. That was almost
entirely his fault. I was his daughter after all. I stood to attention, feet together,
shoulders back, head forward and arms straight at my sides. “I apologize, sir. It will
not happen again.”
“At ease, Emma,” he said and finally walked to sit behind his desk. “I’ve covered
for you when I could. I blame myself for your behavior. I’ve let you get away with
far too much since your mother died.”
I dropped form and hurried to him. “Daddy, what is it? What is wrong?”
“You’ve gained the attention of the liege commander,” he said. “You are being
reassigned. To the fifth quadrant.” He added the last with just a catch in his speech.
The fifth quadrant. Holy shit. That was the hotbed of criminal activity. Enforcers
longed to be thought good enough, tough enough to be sent there. Yet at the same
time they prayed it wouldn’t happen. Mortality rate there for Enforcers was high.
Once you went to the fifth quadrant you usually only came back in a body bag. If
there was a body to be found.
“The liege commander thinks I am fit for the fifth quadrant?” I asked and I couldn’t
help the awe that filled my voice. This was what I had longed for. If I could prove
myself there, among the best of the best then I could open the way for even more
frontline female Enforcers. I could show that we were more than just brains. We
could be brawn as well.
“Yes, Emma,” Dad whispered. “I can’t stop the order. You will be leaving on the
morning shuttle. You have free time until then. Time to say goodbye to your friends
and family. You are to report to the shuttle at 0600.” He came to me then and
wrapped his arms around me. He held me close and I was sure that I could feel him
shaking. I felt my tears well up as I realized how hard this was on him. “I will miss
you, my daughter. May the gods watch over you and bring you home safe at the
end of your six-week service.”
Six weeks on quadrant five. I could do it. I would do it and survive. “I will be careful,
Dad,” I promised. “Do you know who is going with me?”
“No,” he told me squeezing me tighter. “I know that two other agents from another
unit are being sent with you. But I have no information on them.”
That wasn’t unusual here. Protocol allowed for only the direct lieutenant of each
unit to have information on their people but not on any other lieutenant’s. Only the
liege commander had information on every squad. So I was being sent with two
others. I was scared and yet so excited that I could barely control myself.
My dad finally stepped away from me. “Go with the gods’ blessings Emma Certze.
And return to me as whole I send you.”
“I’ll come see you before I leave,” I began but my dad shook his head and cut me
off.
“It is best that we say our goodbyes right here, right now. You have planning to do
and I know you want to go let the girls know about this.” He smiled at me and
brushed his fingers over my cheek. “Besides I have work to do that will keep me
here until late in the night. I have to find a replacement for one of my best agents.”
I smiled at him. He had a lieutenant’s pride and a father’s fear. “I love you, Daddy,” I
told him.
“I love you too,” he spoke softly and I thought I saw a tear slip from his eye before
he turned away and moved back behind his desk. “Now go. You’d best not be late
for that shuttle.”
“I won’t,” I said with a grin and turned to hurry out of the office and back to the
quarters that I shared with Mandy and Soph. I could not wait to tell them the news.
They would understand my excitement and want to celebrate with me.
I burst into our rooms at a run. As soon as I entered I gave a wild whoop and
jumped. Mandy and Soph both burst out of their respective rooms and came to a
stop by me.
“What?” Soph demanded which was just like her. She was a petite dynamo. She
was a junior enforcer and stuck at a desk. She was not happy about it but she did it
and hoped that someday my dad would see that she was capable of more.
“I’ve been reassigned,” I stated and my grin said it all.
“Oh my gods,” Mandy practically vibrated. “You’re going to the fifth aren’t you?”
I nodded my head and we all squealed and jumped around in a circle. These were
my girls, my sisters of the heart. We had been together since we were infants and
never parted ways as we grew. We were so different and yet the same.
Mandy was the oldest of us by exactly twenty hours. She was a five-foot-ten
brunette with bright blue eyes. She worked in intelligence and was sought by many
squads for her ability to break codes and find the things that others often missed or
overlooked. She was smart, funny and beautiful.
Soph was the baby of our group by six hours. She was barely five foot four with
long blonde curls and soft brown eyes. She was curvy and mouthy, both of which
garnered her male attention. She was an enforcer like me but because of her size
and sex she was strictly a desk jockey and hated it. She was fast and strong and
deserved the chance to prove herself. I hoped someone would give it to her soon.
I was the tallest of us standing at six feet even. When left unbound my jet black hair
fell to my waist. I carried my father’s olive complexion and my mother’s bold green
eyes. I was still dressed in uniform at the moment, my black pants tucked into my
boots, my black shirt bearing the symbol of the tiger showing my rank in the squad.
My hair was bound at the moment and tucked into the quetchin that women wore so
that it appeared my hair ended at the bottom of my neck.
“We have to celebrate,” Soph stated.
“Absolutely,” agreed Mandy.
“Let’s all get changed and head out to the club for the night,” I said.
“This is our last night together for six weeks,” Soph said and there was a slight
catch to her voice.
“It will go by faster than we think,” I vowed. “And then I’ll be back to bore you with
all my stories.”
“Well you have three things to do before you leave in the morning,” Mandy stated
and held up her hand counting them off on her fingers. “One is to pack. Two is to go
out and have a hell of a farewell party with your two best friends.”
“And what is number three,” I asked when she stopped.
“Finding some hot piece of ass for you to have a final romp with before you go,”
Mandy said with a cheeky grin. “Six weeks in the fifth will leave no time for play.”
Copyright © LACEY THORN, 2010
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Chapter One
I am neither good nor bad. I just am. When the law is broken I am the one who
executes punishment. I am not the only one of my kind. But I am the only woman in
my field. I work alone, by choice and I see no reason to change that. Which is why
at the moment my temper was flaring and I was ready to kill. Someone was trying
to change that. My boss. My dad.
“I work alone,” I stated through clenched teeth for the millionth time.
“Not on this one,” my father and top agent Dassan Certze stated, his voice hard and
firm.
“I always work alone,” I reminded him.
This time he sighed and for the first time I noticed how old he was getting. He was
still strong, still solid, but I could see the way his once black hair was now starting
to turn white. I noticed the wrinkles and fatigue. It was a hard job we had as
Enforcers and the life took its toll on the best of us. My dad was now showing it.
“Emma, don’t fight me on this or I’m going to bench you altogether,” Dad said.
“What!” I exploded. “You can’t bench me. I’ve done nothing to merit that.”
“Ignoring a direct order. Showing disrespect to a superior officer. Refusing to follow
protocol.” He looked over at me and one eyebrow winged up over his eye. “I can
continue if you need me to.”
Now it was my turn to sigh. So I wasn’t exactly the perfect soldier. That was almost
entirely his fault. I was his daughter after all. I stood to attention, feet together,
shoulders back, head forward and arms straight at my sides. “I apologize, sir. It will
not happen again.”
“At ease, Emma,” he said and finally walked to sit behind his desk. “I’ve covered
for you when I could. I blame myself for your behavior. I’ve let you get away with
far too much since your mother died.”
I dropped form and hurried to him. “Daddy, what is it? What is wrong?”
“You’ve gained the attention of the liege commander,” he said. “You are being
reassigned. To the fifth quadrant.” He added the last with just a catch in his speech.
The fifth quadrant. Holy shit. That was the hotbed of criminal activity. Enforcers
longed to be thought good enough, tough enough to be sent there. Yet at the same
time they prayed it wouldn’t happen. Mortality rate there for Enforcers was high.
Once you went to the fifth quadrant you usually only came back in a body bag. If
there was a body to be found.
“The liege commander thinks I am fit for the fifth quadrant?” I asked and I couldn’t
help the awe that filled my voice. This was what I had longed for. If I could prove
myself there, among the best of the best then I could open the way for even more
frontline female Enforcers. I could show that we were more than just brains. We
could be brawn as well.
“Yes, Emma,” Dad whispered. “I can’t stop the order. You will be leaving on the
morning shuttle. You have free time until then. Time to say goodbye to your friends
and family. You are to report to the shuttle at 0600.” He came to me then and
wrapped his arms around me. He held me close and I was sure that I could feel him
shaking. I felt my tears well up as I realized how hard this was on him. “I will miss
you, my daughter. May the gods watch over you and bring you home safe at the
end of your six-week service.”
Six weeks on quadrant five. I could do it. I would do it and survive. “I will be careful,
Dad,” I promised. “Do you know who is going with me?”
“No,” he told me squeezing me tighter. “I know that two other agents from another
unit are being sent with you. But I have no information on them.”
That wasn’t unusual here. Protocol allowed for only the direct lieutenant of each
unit to have information on their people but not on any other lieutenant’s. Only the
liege commander had information on every squad. So I was being sent with two
others. I was scared and yet so excited that I could barely control myself.
My dad finally stepped away from me. “Go with the gods’ blessings Emma Certze.
And return to me as whole I send you.”
“I’ll come see you before I leave,” I began but my dad shook his head and cut me
off.
“It is best that we say our goodbyes right here, right now. You have planning to do
and I know you want to go let the girls know about this.” He smiled at me and
brushed his fingers over my cheek. “Besides I have work to do that will keep me
here until late in the night. I have to find a replacement for one of my best agents.”
I smiled at him. He had a lieutenant’s pride and a father’s fear. “I love you, Daddy,” I
told him.
“I love you too,” he spoke softly and I thought I saw a tear slip from his eye before
he turned away and moved back behind his desk. “Now go. You’d best not be late
for that shuttle.”
“I won’t,” I said with a grin and turned to hurry out of the office and back to the
quarters that I shared with Mandy and Soph. I could not wait to tell them the news.
They would understand my excitement and want to celebrate with me.
I burst into our rooms at a run. As soon as I entered I gave a wild whoop and
jumped. Mandy and Soph both burst out of their respective rooms and came to a
stop by me.
“What?” Soph demanded which was just like her. She was a petite dynamo. She
was a junior enforcer and stuck at a desk. She was not happy about it but she did it
and hoped that someday my dad would see that she was capable of more.
“I’ve been reassigned,” I stated and my grin said it all.
“Oh my gods,” Mandy practically vibrated. “You’re going to the fifth aren’t you?”
I nodded my head and we all squealed and jumped around in a circle. These were
my girls, my sisters of the heart. We had been together since we were infants and
never parted ways as we grew. We were so different and yet the same.
Mandy was the oldest of us by exactly twenty hours. She was a five-foot-ten
brunette with bright blue eyes. She worked in intelligence and was sought by many
squads for her ability to break codes and find the things that others often missed or
overlooked. She was smart, funny and beautiful.
Soph was the baby of our group by six hours. She was barely five foot four with
long blonde curls and soft brown eyes. She was curvy and mouthy, both of which
garnered her male attention. She was an enforcer like me but because of her size
and sex she was strictly a desk jockey and hated it. She was fast and strong and
deserved the chance to prove herself. I hoped someone would give it to her soon.
I was the tallest of us standing at six feet even. When left unbound my jet black hair
fell to my waist. I carried my father’s olive complexion and my mother’s bold green
eyes. I was still dressed in uniform at the moment, my black pants tucked into my
boots, my black shirt bearing the symbol of the tiger showing my rank in the squad.
My hair was bound at the moment and tucked into the quetchin that women wore so
that it appeared my hair ended at the bottom of my neck.
“We have to celebrate,” Soph stated.
“Absolutely,” agreed Mandy.
“Let’s all get changed and head out to the club for the night,” I said.
“This is our last night together for six weeks,” Soph said and there was a slight
catch to her voice.
“It will go by faster than we think,” I vowed. “And then I’ll be back to bore you with
all my stories.”
“Well you have three things to do before you leave in the morning,” Mandy stated
and held up her hand counting them off on her fingers. “One is to pack. Two is to go
out and have a hell of a farewell party with your two best friends.”
“And what is number three,” I asked when she stopped.
“Finding some hot piece of ass for you to have a final romp with before you go,”
Mandy said with a cheeky grin. “Six weeks in the fifth will leave no time for play.”
Lacey Thorn
It's your world...
unlaced
It's your world...
unlaced