Maelstrom

MAELSTROM Cyborg Force 4 Cara Bristol Maelstrom (Cyborg Force 4) Copyright © February 2023 by Cara Bristol All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. eISBN: 978-1-947203-50-1 Editor: Kate Richards Copy Editor: Nanette Sipe Proofreader: Celeste Jones Cover Artist: Croco Designs Formatting by Wizards in Publishing Published in the United States of America Cara Bristol Website: https://carabristol.com This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Table of 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 Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Epilogue Cyborg Protector Other Titles by Cara Bristol About Cara Bristol She desires to be loved. But that’s the one thing he can’t give her. All Sandy Jodane ever wanted was to belong, to be loved. Instead, she’s become a pawn to be used and discarded by her empire-building politician mother. After turning to stardust to deaden the pain of rejection, she finds the strength to beat her addiction and live life on her own terms. But, just as she makes a clean break, she finds herself on a desolate alien planet, taken into custody by a powerful cyborg determined to break her and get the information he needs. A failed marriage proved to cyborg Quint Stroud that duty and love don’t mix, so he’s dedicated himself to C-Force, fighting for justice in the galaxy. He’s now facing the toughest assignment of his career: protecting the life of a unique intelligent alien species on planet Sajave from a corrupt Earth president who would destroy it. Saving the alien will require help from an insider—the president’s complicit, reprobate daughter. He vows to do whatever it takes to coerce her cooperation. But nothing is as it seems. Quint discovers the gutsy, vulnerable woman needs his protection as much as the alien does, and Sandy suspects Quint’s fierce, almost robotic appearance and manner hide a wounded heart. When they team up in a last-ditch effort to save the alien, they’ll unleash a maelstrom of vengeance that could destroy their future or even their lives. Maelstrom is the exciting, tempestuous final book in the Cyborg Force series. Chapter One Sandy I awakened from a nebulous nightmare to cotton mouth and a sense of dread. I bolted upright, flung off a silvery cover, and sprang for the exit, finding it sealed tight. I pounded on the door and then pressed my fist to my mouth. Where the hell am I? Industrial-gray walls squared into a tiny cell, accommodating only a bunk—its frame bolted down and topped by a thin mattress—and a commode wedged in the corner. The jab! I clapped a hand to my neck. Oh god! It wasn’t a dream. I’d been drugged and abducted! No wonder I felt woozy and off-kilter like I’d crashed after an all-nighter. Leaving for vacation, I’d entered the hovercraft garage, when I sensed someone watching me. I’d run, but somebody had grabbed me, injected me, and I’d gone out like a light. How long had I been unconscious? What had happened to Hal Caruthers, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect me? Had he been taken prisoner, too? Or had he been killed so they could get to me? Jesus! He had a wife and a baby on the way. He’d been mere steps behind me when I’d entered the garage. Who had kidnapped me? An enforcer? Or somebody else? I eyed my cell for telltale clues, sweeping my gaze along the intersection between wall and ceiling. High in the corner, I spotted the tiny eye of a camera lens. They’re watching me. Aware of an uncomfortable fullness in my bladder—an indication I had been in custody for a while—I glanced at the exposed commode then at the camera. I’m not going to pee in front of you, whoever you are, you creepy perv. Reluctance stemmed more from stubbornness than shyness. I’d pulled a lot of stunts over the years with little concern for modesty or propriety. Besides that, everybody was under surveillance. Even ordinary citizens had little expectation of privacy, and, for me, it had never existed. But if I’d learned anything in forty-three misbegotten years, it was that interrogation went hand in hand with incarceration. My captors could appear at any moment, and my now-urgent bladder would sell me out. The silver cover I’d tossed on the floor gave me an idea. As I stepped toward it, I became aware of a slight pulsation through the soles of my shoes. Dropping to my knees, I pressed my palms against the cold metal floor. A definite vibration…like the throb of thrusters…on a spacecraft. I’m on a spaceship? Where are they taking me? I had a hunch it wasn’t to the swanky Lunar Eclipse resort on the moon. I moved to the commode, tossed the cover over my head, undid my slacks, and urinated. A paper dispenser and hand sanitizer popped out of the wall. After completing my business, I tossed the coverlet onto the bunk and considered my options. It didn’t take long. I didn’t have any. My imprisonment on a spaceship suggested maybe I hadn’t been taken into custody by an enforcer. I could be wrong, but, to my knowledge, the government did not have a prison colony