Chapter 3: In Memory of Rain

Kyan rubbed his temples furiously trying to banish his raging headache. In all honesty, things had gone exactly as he had thought they would. Surprises were never a good thing in his line of work. That was why he had spent months piecing together every shred of information he could get his hands on about the crew of Serenity. Thalia had slipped in and out of several Alliance programs to get the real dirt on them. There wasn’t much about the six remaining members that he didn’t know. He’d thought long and hard about the wisdom of his decision to commission Serenity for his transportation. In the end, he’d mixed his personal life with his business life. It all came down to one word: Zoë.

Zoë was one of the few people in this life that he truly did trust. She had more honor than anyone he’d ever known. No one could deny that Malcolm lived by his own code, but Zoë was the one who had that near infallible inner compass. With any other woman he might doubt her loyalty to an employer who had once been her lover. Kyan couldn’t blame her for hating him. In fact, it was one of the few things he truly understood about the woman.

The sound of booted steps interrupted his thoughts. He heard Sly clear his throat. “Boss?”

“Yes?” Kyan prompted.

“The others have come from the ship. Both of ‘em are real pretty. I tol’ the boys to be keepin’ their distance. Seems one o’ ‘em’s the doc’s wife and t’other is his sister,” Sly told him. The rancher was honestly trying to be helpful, and that was the only reason he let the man think that he didn’t already know all of that.

Kyan nodded. “Well done, Sly. You do realize that I will be gone for some time if all goes well?”

“That I do, sir.”

“Good. I do trust that you will take good care of the place for me. In the event that anything unfortunate should happen, the ranch is yours,” he told the older man. Sly had been exceedingly loyal to him over the years, and he always rewarded loyalty.

“Doubt the little girl would let an’t