We’re getting SO close to the release day for Baring Grudge! Woot!
I’m sharing the third scene from the first chapter this week.
You can read the first scene here:
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Grudge tilted his head to the side, pondering the dilemma facing him.
He wanted to fly one of the new warships, try out their big guns, shoot robots with Rancor. Energy surged through his circuits merely processing the thrills that would give the two of them.
But he desired to blow up the space station more. It was the size and shape of a fraggin’ moon, might be the closest he’d ever come to blasting a planet to bits.
And it was one of the Humanoid Alliance’s most precious weapons. He folded the purely mechanical fingers on his left hand into a tight fist. Destroying their beloved tool of war would give him some much-desired vengeance.
He couldn’t forgo the opportunity before him.
“I will remain here.” He stepped forward, volunteering for that role.
Silence fell in the docking bay. Everyone gaped at him.
“C Model, what are you processing?” Rancor stared at him also. “We can fly Class A Warships.”
For his flying-obsessed friend, that was a reward without equal.
Grudge had more explosive goals. “I’ll fly a warship during the final transfer.” He met Cadet’s gaze. “I’ll guard the space station while you retrieve more pilots.”
The C Model looked at him. Her lips twisted.
One, two, three heartbeats passed.
Grudge didn’t back down, didn’t withdraw his offer. He had earned the right to blow up the space station, wouldn’t allow anyone else to take that from him.
Cadet finally nodded. “Grudge, I will speak with you. The rest of you load the ships with weapons and prepare to leave.”
“Fraggin’ hole. The decision is made now.” His friend didn’t hide his disappointment. “You’ll miss some fun, warrior.” Rancor bumped against him. “But I’ll shoot robots on your behalf.”
“I’ll jettison more of them while I wait for you to return.” Grudge slapped the male’s back. “I’ll beat your record then.”
“You might surpass my robot kill rate.” The D Model walked with the rest of the warriors. They headed toward the weapons storage chambers, preparing to load the ships with guns. “But you’ll never beat my flying speed record.”
His friend’s laughter drifted behind him.
“Never is a long time, D Model.” Grudge couldn’t resist that bit of bravado. It wasn’t a lie, as fabricating the truth wasn’t possible for their kind. Never was a long time.
It would take him that duration to learn to outfly his friend. That was how outmatched he was.
His gaze shifted back to Cadet.
Their leader didn’t appear pleased by his offer to stay on the space station. Her lips were flat, and her expression was dark. She indicated with a twitch of her head that he should come closer to her.
He obeyed that silent command, striding up to her, his head held high. Cadet might be uncertain of his aptitude for the role he’d volunteered to assume, but he had no doubts. He was meant to remain on the space station, was meant to have the reward of blowing it up.
“Why do you want to stay here?” Cadet lifted her eyebrows. “What are you planning?”
“I want to be the warrior placed in charge of the space station’s demolition.” He didn’t hide his motives. Lying wasn’t an option for his kind, his leader was too perceptive to fool, and he wanted her to consider him for the role. “I’m not leaving the structure until that task is completed. By me.”
He crossed both of his arms, the fully functional right limb and the purely mechanical left, in front of his body armor-clad chest. Weapons decorated the protective garment. He widened his stance, bracing his big boots apart, sending the message he wouldn’t be swayed from his course.
“The space station will be destroyed.” Cadet’s head dipped. “But not before we relocate all the ships. The round trip from here to Mercury Minor and back will take at least thirty-six planet rotations. We will then have to stagger the departures. A large fleet would be detected entering the sector.” She lowered her voice. “It would bring us unwanted attention.”
Power, the self-appointed leader of the Cyborg Council and Cadet’s sworn nemesis, was unaware she was retrieving their brethren left behind during the mass rebellion. The ass wouldn’t approve of the fleet, the weapons, or the warriors she was accumulating.
Frag. There was a 99.9999 percent probability the E Model wouldn’t tolerate him. Grudge flexed the fingers of his left hand. He was permanently damaged, hadn’t warranted a rescue from the male. When he’d called for help through the transmission lines, only Cadet had answered.
Only Cadet had his loyalty. His lips flattened. Power could suck on the butt of a gun.
“You have earned the right to blow up the space station, warrior.” Cadet met his gaze. “Your service over the solar cycles—to your brethren, to our team—has been exemplary.”
Grudge stood straighter. Praise from their leader was rare and hard-earned.
“There is no one I trust more with that task.” Cadet lifted her chin. “It is yours if you desire it.”
“I desire it.” Exhilaration lit up his circuits.
He’d be in charge of obliterating the space station. It would be the largest, the most valued object belonging to the Humanoid Alliance—the enemy— he’d ever destroyed.
“I would never ask you to stay on the space station for the entire duration.” Cadet relieved him of that obligation. “That would lack excitement, and there are many other warriors with more…sedate temperaments.”
He would be bored out of his processors. There was an 85.1287 percent probability that would be the truth.
And the destruction of the space station was no longer tied to guarding it. He could blast robots to bits with Rancor, fly a Class A Warship to Mercury Minor, and oversee the explosion of the imitation moon.
But someone had to assume the guard detail. And he had said he would stay.
***
Read the next scene (available August 2nd) here:
***
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Baring Grudge
No one in the universe is more determined than a cyborg warrior tracking his female.
***
Grudge, a C Model cyborg, has been assigned a mission – safeguard a Humanoid Alliance space station for his kind. Honor was once all he had, and he is determined to fulfill his duty.
That resolve is tested when a tiny human female enters the space station and sets the prettiest little explosives the warrior has ever seen. She is Grudge’s genetic match, the one being manufactured for him. He wants to touch her, kiss her, claim her in all ways, but first he has to stop her from blasting him into the next galaxy.
Taelyn has a self-appointed mission—to destroy every battle robot the Humanoid Alliance has ever manufactured. A huge gray-skinned, blue-eyed cyborg warrior with mismatched arms won’t prevent her from achieving her goal. She’ll escape him, leaving destruction in her wake.
Before she departs, she’ll experience one toe-curling moment of hatred-edged passion with her handsome foe. She’ll show him how skilled with detonations she truly is. He will have his universe rocked.
Then she’ll disappear.
Her cyborg, however, has no intention of ever letting her go.
***
Baring Grudge is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.
It features a determined, damaged warrior, an equally resolute human female, and an explosive game of predator and prey played across galaxies.
Baring Grudge is the third of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power
Pre-order Now:
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZL2D986
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08ZL2D986
Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08ZL2D986
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/baring-grudge/id1559566673
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baring-grudge-cynthia-sax/1139086727
