Fighting Kat

  Fighting Kat

  By PJ Schnyder

  Book two of The Triton Experiment

  Intergalactic mercenary Kat Darah has been ordered to keep her shape-shifting ability a secret from everyone but those closest to her, for her own safety. She’s learned how to control the feral rage...for the most part. But when Lieutenant Rygard’s military unit goes missing, she’ll use every skill she has to find her man.

  Lt. Christopher Rygard has witnessed his girl shift, and he still wants her. After Kat rescues him from alien clutches, he’d like nothing more than to wrap her in his arms again, but his first duty is to his men. And half of them have been shipped off-planet to be sold as slaves.

  Kat and Rygard will need to form a new team to go deep undercover, posing as gladiators and learning to fight together in order to survive. In the arena, it’s all about who is the strongest predator...

  See how it all began in Hunting Kat.

  83,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  Happy 2014! You know, I love futuristic romance, and I swear it wasn’t that long ago that I was reading books in the genre that used years like 2014 and 2015 to indicate a time that seemed really far out. Of course, I suppose I’ll be saying something similar twenty years from now, when it’s 2035. (And isn’t that a weird thought?) As it happens, in the lineup this month we have both a futuristic romance and a hero who travels from the future, and both give a unique look into a future that’s actually a little further out.

  I love the premise of Libby Drew’s time-travel male/male romance, Paradox Lost, in which a time-travel guide who takes clients to “whenever” must travel back to 2020 and enlist the aid of a PI to find a missing client. And in PJ Schnyder’s Fighting Kat, Kat and Rygard go deep undercover, posing as gladiators. In the interstellar arena, it’s all about who’s the strongest predator…

  I mentioned futuristic romance, but how about a trip to the past in Jeannie Ruesch’s historical romantic suspense, Cloaked in Danger. Aria Whitney’s life has taken her from the sands of Egypt to the ballrooms of London, but when her father goes missing, can the handsome earl with a dark secret help her find him, or will a dangerous scandal threaten both their lives?

  In Mistress by Magick, Laura Navarre concludes her fallen angel Magick Trilogy, a riveting historical fantasy romance trilogy set in Tudor times. Also wrapping up a trilogy this month is Fiona Lowe. In Runaway Groom, the third book in the Wedding Fever trilogy, can a Harley-riding Aussie guy on the road trip of his life allow an uptight and disgraced lawyer to steal his heart? The first two books, Saved by the Bride and Picture Perfect Wedding, are now available, as well.

  Debut author Anna Richland delivers First to Burn, the first book in her Immortal Vikings series with a hero straight from the time of Beowulf. Wulf Wardsen is an elite soldier whose very existence breaks all the rules—and he’s deep in the military zone of Afghanistan with an army doctor determined to do everything by the book. Meanwhile, Cindy Spencer Pape brings back her very popular steampunk romance series, The Gaslight Chronicles, with the latest installment, Ashes & Alchemy.

  This January, Heather Long delivers the start of a new series of contemporary romances. If you like your romance a little on the crazy, cracktastic side, this book is sure to please. Cinderella had her fairy godmother and Princess Mia had her grandmother, but Alyx—she gets a software magnate who knows that in his world, Some Like It Royal. And speaking of cracktastic, Kelsey Browning has another installment in her steamy Texas Nights series. Roxanne Eberly wants nothing more than to make her lingerie store a success. Enter up-and-coming attorney Jamie Wright, who’s all tangled up in Roxanne’s life...and her lingerie...in Running the Red Light. If you want to start from the beginning, pick up Personal Assets!

  Mystery fans will be glad to welcome another installment from Jean Harrington in her Murders by Design series. In Rooms to Die For, when interior designer Deva Dunne finds a body hanging from a balcony in the gorgeous Naples Design Mall, she soon learns she’s caught up in a mall drug bust gone viral.

  We’re thrilled to offer a large lineup of debut authors this month, in addition to Anna Richland. Joining us with books in the new-adult, erotic romance and contemporary genres are a new group of incredibly talented authors we’re proud to welcome to Carina Press. Elia Winters debuts with erotic romance Purely Professional. When a journalist explores the submissive side of her sexuality with her Dominant neighbor, she must confront what these encounters mean for her own sexual identity, her career and her budding relationship.

  Three debut authors bring new-adult offerings to Carina Press. Danube Adele proves the new-adult genre is more than just contemporary romance in Quicksilver Dreams. One moment Taylor was just a regular girl working two jobs to pay her bills, and the next, she was reading minds, dreamwalking and being saved from bad guys by her sexy neighbor, Ryder Langston. In Tell Me When by Stina Lindenblatt, college freshman Amber Scott begrudgingly lets Marcus Reid into her life, but she didn’t expect the king of hookups would share his painful past. And Kristine Wyllys brings us the first of two steamy, dark-edged stories full of action, vivid storytelling and emotional intensity. Don’t miss Wild Ones.

  Our last debut author, Rhonda Shaw, caught me by surprise with her book, The Changeup. People who know my sports tastes know I don’t normally go in for baseball. And those who know my reading tastes know I don’t usually go for an older heroine/younger man set-up. But Rhonda’s story hooked me from the start and I’m pleased to be releasing her first book this month. I hope you enjoy this contemporary sports romance as much as I did, and perhaps find a new book boyfriend in sweet and sexy pitching phenom Chase Patton!

  I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but I will make one—we’ll continue to strive to bring you a variety of fantastic books from authors who deliver stories that you’ll want to talk about. Thank you for joining us for another year of publishing at Carina Press—we’ll do our absolute best to make it an amazing one!

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to generalinquiries@carinapress.com. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Editorial Director, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Dedication

  For Kaiser, my heart, for your unconditional love and staunch protection in my darkest hours. Thank you for the inspiration.

  Acknowledgments

  To Matthew. Thank you for the kick in the ass to get to writing and for helping me through the hardest scenes. When we go into our darkest places, it helps to know someone is waiting for us to return.

  To Linnea Sinclair. Your mentorship and confidence in me has meant everything.

  To Mallory. Thank you always for believing in the Triton Experiment series and in me.

  To Kerri. Thank you for helping me polish this story and make it even better.

  To Kevin. Thank you again for your beta reading and your thoughts.

  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

&n
bsp; Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  “Unless you are burnt, broken or bleeding, take yourself out of my medical bay.” Kaitlyn didn’t bother to turn as the footsteps paused in her doorway.

  “No follow up threat?” Dev’s voice surprised her. The footsteps hadn’t matched her captain’s usual swagger and the air circulation carried scent up and away too quickly for it to reach her. Considering the multitude of aromas her enhanced sense of smell forced upon her when someone appeared in her doorway, usually shot and bleeding or in some stage of infection, the powerful circulation could be a blessing. Even if it did allow her captain to surprise her.

  She didn’t turn away from the observation window. “The only people on board are crew. They all know I won’t hesitate to tear a man apart, even if I do have to put him back together again.”

  They’d seen her do it. ’’Course, it hadn’t been a crew member and that particular fugitive had tried to kill her. The bounty on the man required him alive so she’d still had to stitch him up afterward.

  “Convenient, you being ship’s medic and all.” Dev stepped into her space anyway. “‘’Course, this is my ship and I am captain, so I could make the point that it’s my medical bay and you are one of my crew.”

  “You could.” But it’d be for a reason. Her captain didn’t play territory games without one. With her, territory meant a lot more than the average humanoid. Still, she had human logic, she could use it. “In response to your hypothetical point, I’d say you gave me this position when I became part of your crew and thus ceded this territory. Still my facility and personal space. Besides, you put in this window specifically for me.”

  “We had a particularly good haul from before I got that installed, made a fair chunk of cred from almost dying. Made sense to invest it in the ship.”

  She raised an eyebrow and watched his reflection in the window. “Modification to the hull of a spaceship never comes cheap and a window isn’t an upgrade to the ship’s structural integrity unless you invested in extremely high quality materials.”

  “Which I did.”

  “It’s got a perch perfect for sitting and staring out into whatever.” She turned from the window and let her legs dangle over the edge as she faced him. “Too high for any normal human to get up here and enjoy.”

  And she needed this space, needed this window. The view into infinity eased the pent up frustration of the beast within. Lately, she needed peace however she could find it. The panther aspect of her lurked restless and irritable beneath her skin. Ready to break loose. Planting her hands on the ledge, she hopped off for a drop of several meters, landing on her feet with ease. The distance was farther than a human would willingly jump too. She hadn’t had to worry about that for almost four years now.

  Straightening, she looked her captain up and down before locking her gaze with his. The predator aspect rose in a wave as the force of her personality crashed into his. Confidence, charisma, command presence, people defined it in their own way. It wasn’t something limited by words or descriptions. It was something a person experienced, a gut reaction, in any interaction with anyone else.

  Her captain had won her respect and her trust years ago, but she still tended to...no, enjoyed butting heads with him on occasion.

  “I’ve also invested a decent amount of cred.” She waved her hand toward the cozy alcove containing her bunk and a neatly organized set of storage cubbies. “None of this was here before, and the separator with adjustable opacity settings wasn’t cheap either.”

  “A little privacy I allow you.” Dev’s gaze didn’t waver. “You’re one of only two females on board. All things considered, including your dual nature, it’s easier for the males on board to give you space away from the rest of the crew.”

  She bared her teeth and it wasn’t a smile. “The males on board wouldn’t escape a spike of aggression from me, is that what you’re saying?”

  “Most wouldn’t survive, especially any of the short term crew. I’d kill ’em first, save you the trouble. This is my ship and my crew is safe on it, every one of you.” No dissembling either. Her captain never bothered since she could identify a lie. Heartbeat and scent were easy giveaways. “Skuld has the engine room but the engine and the room are still mine. You and your medical bay are still mine.”

  Why? Why was he pushing her? Especially when he couldn’t stand toe to toe with her.

  “Sit down before you fall down.” She snapped the words out, aware that her movement toward him took her in a slow half circle. She couldn’t help stalking him. “Please.”

  Okay. Walking in without challenging her would’ve been a bad idea. His tactic forced her to think in human terms, to confront him on a battlefield of words. Her territory was only hers because she was his.

  It kept her from pouncing on him the minute she realized his bum leg was really bad today. And this was why he was her captain. He always did what it took to help her keep herself in check.

  “Temper, temper, Kat.” Dev shook his head. He took his time about it, but he still hooked a stool with his foot and pulled it over to have a seat. “You’re running on a shorter fuse these past couple of days and I need you to put a leash on it.”

  “And I need you hale and whole to hold the leash.” She shot back the truth as she took a scanning device from her work table and began to run a diagnostic. Ever since her first mutation, he’d always been the one to talk her back to finding the human part of herself. He helped her control the beast her torturers had burned into her DNA. “This latest injury to your knee isn’t healing as fast as it should. You’re putting too much strain on it.”

  As mercenaries, their missions tended to be varied and challenging. Every one of the crew maintained a high level of physical performance no matter what their special skill sets might be.

  “No time to be lounging with my feet up, twiddling my thumbs.”

  She snarled. “Do the right thing to heal properly or push it until the damage is irreparable. If you’re not careful, I’m going to end up practicing my first prosthetics installation on you.”

  “You’ve done the research, Kat. Have you found prosthetics good enough to keep a fighter alive?”

  Not against her. And not in the kind of heavy combat they usually faced.

  No, no, no. He couldn’t be injured permanently. More than half their missions came from high up in the Terran military chain of command, confidential ops engaged when official troops couldn’t be assigned. Dev’s team did good when going through the proper channels would have taken too much time. Without Dev and the trust those ranked officers had in him, the connection would be lost and they’d be just another merc team looking for a job. Besides, she needed him to be a hundred percent. The entire crew needed him to keep her under control.

  Memories surfaced of Triton Moon Base, of the invasion and her capture. Young faces blanched white with fear as she’d raged, trapped inside the tiny room they’d put her in after her escape from their attacker. Her fellow cadets hadn’t recognized her at first, couldn’t handle her. The stink of their terror only enraged her further, incited the prey drive in the beast she’d become. It’d been Katzer who’d had the presence of mind to lock her in and stay at the door until Dev could arrive. Until Dev talked her back to coherency and human thought processes.

  “You’re my captain.”

  And the only person still alive who could call her back to herself when she went feral. Katzer was gone.

  “I’m not the only man with a portion of
your trust.” Dev’s voice might have been gentle, but the quirk at the corner of his mouth betrayed the mischief.

  With an effort, she let go the darker worry riding her. “It’s only been a few months and Rygard hasn’t seen that side of me yet.”

  “He’s fought beside you, seen you go furry, and come out of it still a rock solid companion.” Her captain ticked off the good points on each finger. “Those things aside, I do believe you’ve let him put a smile on your sweet face. I owe the man a debt for bringing a bit of light to one of mine.”

  His.

  Okay, a part of her had shifted and settled into place when he’d claimed her as one of his. She recognized the need, but he’d seen it before her. The need to belong, be accepted.

  “I’m also assuming he helped you past a few other key obstacles in your social development.” Dev raised an eyebrow at her. If he wiggled his eyebrows she’d toss all respect to hell and rip him to shreds out of embarrassment.

  Uh huh. No need to discuss any further details of her liaison with Rygard. Dev knew enough, had to. She was not going to indulge in the play by play. She retreated to a safer course of discussion.

  “He’s seen me in cat form...when I was in control.”

  “Ah.” He nodded. Singular knowledge lived behind those eyes. He’d been there as the changes to her genetic code ripped through her body cell by cell, back when her shape-shifts hadn’t been as smooth. They might be quicker and easier these days, but they still caused her seven hells worth of agony.

  Silence.

  Completing her diagnostic scans, she went to her dispensing units and brought back a small bottle. Pills rattled inside it as she slapped it down on the table beside him.

  Unruffled, Dev stood, his weight evenly distributed on both legs, as if the one knee wasn’t a swelling mess. “As it happens, I’ll have some time on ship to give this a bit of tender care.”

  She shot him a glance before fussing with her equipment on the table. As a predator she could sense his weakness, wanted to take a swipe at him, test him. Part of her needed reassurance he could still handle her, wanted him to counter her attack, and another part of her crouched deathly still.