For two years, Ares Gallo has been ransacking the galaxy for the woman who meant everything to him. They trained together, killed together, loved together, but now, Anicka Dekker doesn't even know who he is. All she knows every time she meets the enigmatic, scarred stranger is that a part of her trusts him. An even larger part desires him. In any and every way she can have him. Ares wants his wife back. Despite the scars that have changed his appearance and the chronic pain that destroyed his career, he follows Anicka from planet to planet, finding her in seedy bars, stately palaces, and everywhere in between. Every time they have a few moments of pure bliss, his hope blooms that this time…things will be different. Then, STRIKE, the organization that wanted them dead, tears them apart, erasing Anicka's memories, and Ares has to start all over again. But even if she can't remember him, he's certain she'll recognize their bond. Sooner or later.

Across the Universe

“Good.” She sighed and shifted in her seat. “I wonder why she stuck around Paradisus. I would’ve thought STRIKE would pull her in once I went off the grid.”


“I don’t know. The assignment wasn’t finished when we left. She might have decided to stay for that. But then that might mean she decided not to report your disappearance. I’ve checked the logs, and there’s no record of STRIKE shuttles arriving or departing in the past twenty-four hours.”


“We’ll have to assume the team’s been compromised too. Not that we need them. You were always the best man I had. But I don’t want to have to kill them if they get in the way.”


“They were loyal to you. They might have been murderers and thugs, but they wouldn’t follow Mariel’s orders against you.”


“You can’t be sure of that. Mariel can be very persuasive when she needs to be.”


Chapter 45