UNLEASHED.

By C. J. Barry.

BEAMED UP.

I must be dreaming, she thought, watching colors appear and dissolve before her. Fallen asleep at the computer again. Wouldn't be the first time. However, the out-of-body experience was something new. A rainbow of light exploded, flooding and overwhelming her senses. And as abruptly as everything had started, Lacey landed on her feet with a jerk. The world spun around her, focusing in a dizzy rush.

She breathed. Prickly warmth and pale beige walls surrounded her. Something smelled like it was burning. She hoped it wasn't her.

"How do you feel?"

The deep voice jarred her from any thought she may have been forming. Slowly and with great dread, she turned to face the source.

It was a man. A gorgeous man. The kind darn-good fantasies were made of, in fact. He had chestnut hair pulled back into a short tail and piercing dark eyes like a black bear. He filled out a taupe crew-collar shirt, tan pants, and brown knee-high boots nicely, with a body as broad and powerful as a Mack truck. Although he was smiling at her, there was something in his stillness, a glint of danger in his eyes that set him apart from any man she'd ever seen.

And he stood there like he'd been expecting her, waiting for her and only her.

To my terrific agent, Roberta Brown, for her fearless and unconditional faith in my brave new worlds.

LOVE SPELL May 2004 Published by Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc. 200 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

Copyright 2004 by C. J. BarryAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anyelectronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage andretrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

ISBN 0-505-52573-9The name "Love Spell" and its logo are trademarks of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.Printed in the United States of America.Visit us on the web at www.dorchesterpub.com.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I'd like to thank my great editor Chris Keeslar and everyone at Dorchester Publishing; the infamous Purple Pens; the CNY Romance Writers; my dedicated critique partners Ratti, Joyce, and Stephanie; Romance Writers of America; and every one of my loyal readers. Special thanks to Catherine Spangler.

As always, I am forever grateful to my beautiful family: Ed, Rachel, and Ryan.

Chapter One.

"That's one dry rock, Reene," Zain said to his computer as he surveyed the horizon over planet P254-334-5 through his ship's viewport. Below was an endless monotony of sunburned sand dunes broken by an occasional rock outcropping.

Reene replied, "An astute assessment, sir. Eighty percent desert, twenty percent water. No detectable human or alien populations. There is a viable atmosphere. However, significant terraforming would be required to place a water-based populace here."

Good, Zain thought. The fieldwork of mapping a new planet was easier when it had no people. "Include that in our report to StarNet."

"Yes, sir."

Zain checked their progress in the planet's holo-image on the console. Reene had divided the planet surface into equal sections forming the typical grid pattern. As they passed over the next section, the sensor readings scrolled up beside the holo-image displaying surface maps, climate, electromagnetism, geochemistry, gravity. Zain scanned them. Nothing special. Another routine survey.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, letting Reene take care of the survey grid. Lately, charting star systems and the planets therein had become downright monotonous. Not that he was looking for excitement. He smirked. Well, maybe just a little.

"Sir, I am getting an unusual reading over grid A5501," Reene announced.

Zain opened his eyes and noted a significant anomaly in the stats. He moved forward for a closer look. In one pinpoint within the grid, the energy readings were off the scale. What the hell was that?

"De-orbit and bring us down," he commanded, the first whispers of adrenaline unfurling in his gut.

As Reene took the ship down, Zain continued to monitor the readings and the planet surface. The terrain remained constant. No breaks and nothing to explain the kind of energy the sensors were picking up.

"We are direcdy over the site now," Reene announced.

"Any idea what this is?" Zain asked.

"We have never encountered this phenomenon before. Therefore, I cannot offer an accurate explanation."

Zain smiled at Reene's flawless logic. "A guess, then?"

"Sir, you may recall that I am not very good at guessing. Intuition is a trait I have not yet mastered."

Zain had to agree with his computer there. The last time he'd let Reene guess, they'd nearly made inadvertent first contact with a new species. Always a bad thing. Besides, it had been a while since he'd stepped foot on land. A little hands-on data investigation might be just the thing he needed to mitigate the restlessness he'd felt over the past few cycles.

"Bring us down for a landing," he ordered. "Let's see what's making all the noise down there."

His ship responded immediately. The planet's energy readings continued to climb the closer they got to the surface, but Zain couldn't detect the source. He'd never seen anything like this in five years of space exploration.

The earlier excitement he'd felt changed to concern as they neared the planet's surface. Zain waited for touchdown, but it never happened. Something wasn't right. "Reene, pull up," he ordered just as they slipped below what had appeared to be solid earth.

At the same instant, Reene reported, "Sir, I have encountered an energy field."

A flash of light crossed the viewport, striking the ship's hull full force. Another flash simultaneously hit the starboard side and sent a surge of current through the main systems.

"Evasive action!" Zain yelled above the alarms.

His ship jerked hard to the right just as another laser streamed above them, striking the left wing. Reene dropped altitude so fast, Zain's stomach roiled.

All the bars on the console panel flashed and alarms sounded from nearly every system.

"Get us out of here now, Reene!"

"Unable to comply," the computer responded. "Navigation systems are compromised."

Another laser shot took out the shields completely and the holo-images scrambled and then vanished on the console. The spacecraft began a slow, surreal spin.

Zain reached for the stabilizers. No response.

"Stabilizers not functioning," Reene verified. "Shields are down. All systems rebooting."

"Shit," Zain growled. The console went black, and he gritted his teeth as the ship spun out of control, rotating wildly. Distant canyon walls and a desert floor half a klick below flashed by the viewport. The laser fire had stopped, but his ship was coming down hard. At this rate, they wouldn't survive impact.

"Reene, bring up the landing jets first," he ground out through the G forces. The floor of the canyon angled into view just below. Ten meters to contact, he clutched his chair arms and braced for what might very well be his final landing.

Panel lights flashed on and the ship heaved slighdy as the landing systems took hold. The final seconds slowed in his mind before the sickening collision of machine and land. Red sand sprayed over his ship as it nosed into the ground. Zain jerked forward, his harness preventing him from going through the viewport.

He shook his head, and it reeled to a stop a few minutes later. The last-second landing jets had saved them from total destruction, but the panel lights wereflashing at low power and it was very quiet.

"Reene?" he asked in concern. "You still there?"

Static filled the ship's interior before his computer responded. "Here, sir. Are you functional?"

Zain rolled his neck with a grimace. "I think so."

"Would you like me to run a scan on you?"

Zain watched the ship's systems come back up one by one. They didn't look at all healthy, especially the energy levels. Nearly every system was damaged to some degree, either from the energy surge or the laser fire. "No thanks, Reene. I'm more worried about you at the moment. Release the nanos to start system repairs. What happened?"

"We breached an energy field acting as a camouflage over this crater and triggered a laser attack emanating from multiple locations around the rim."

Zain peered outside at the sheer rock cliffs enclosing them. Above, he could see the sky through the shimmer of the energy field that covered the basin. It was obviously meant to kill anything or anyone who breached it. Why? Who put it there? What were they protecting?

"Scan the area, Reene."

A few seconds later, the ship replied. "There is a single domed structure approximately eight kilometers from our present location. Once the nanos have repaired navigation, I can attempt to move closer."

Zain eyed the ridge above. "Let's wait on that. I don't want to trigger another attack. I'll take the speeder out to investigate. Any sign of a greeting party?"

"Negative."

And no wonder, Zain thought. A normal ship would never have survived such an assault. Luckily, Reene wasn't a normal ship.

"Looks like we aren't getting out of here until I deactivate either the field or the perimeter fire. We need to find the controls for that energy field. They may be in that domed structure."

"Sir, I am also detecting a large mass below us."

Zain stilled. That didn't sound good either. Obviously, this planet wasn't as boring as he'd originally thought.

"Let's hope we don't have to find out what it is."

Chapter Two.

T minus five days and counting.. .

Lacey watched the clock on her computer flip from 11:59 P.M. to midnight with the kind of anticlimax that pretty much summed up her existence to this point.

"Happy New Year," she murmured above the theme music to Gunfight at the O.K. Corral playing on the TV beside her. A blank Excel spreadsheet sat on her computer monitor with the header, "Lacey Garrett's New Year's Resolutions."

Hell of a way for a woman to ring in the New Year-with her computer and an old Western.

She took a deep, slow, deliberate breath. It was time to get serious and set some goals. Specific, achievable, and sensible goals in a logical order, just like a software program. If she followed the master plan exactly,she wouldn't take any more wrong turns.

So she flexed her fingers and typed, "New Year's Resolution #1: Rebuild career trashed by lying, stealing, scum-sucking, two-timing ex-fiance/partner from hell, Robert E. Gwyn."

There. Definitely concrete and feasible. And she could almost type his name without twitching now. A definite improvement over the past two months.

Rebuild her career. How long could that take, she thought, considering she was completely broke with one tenuous programming contract to cling to. But if it was anyone's fault, it was hers for taking on an applications partner in the first place. Making him her fiance was her second mistake. More followed, but a woman could only handle so much humiliation in one sitting.

Besides, the career was the easy part. Reinventing herself was going to be the real challenge, but this was a new start in a new place in a new year. She was finally taking control of the threads of her life.

Exit: Lacey Garrett, Wishy-washy Doormat.

Enter: Lacey Garrett, Warrior Programmer.

Speaking of which. "#2: Control own destiny and fight to the death anyone who stands in my way."

She smiled. Good one. Xena would be proud. What else could she do to stay out of trouble? Ah, yes.

"#3: When in doubt, play it safe."

She nodded firmly. No more taking chances, no more unnecessary risks. From now on she was going to think about her choices and, after careful consideration, make the right decision. Her decisions, her way.

She jumped when the window above her desktop rattled on its old hinges and the January winds of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley tried to come inside. The farmhouse shuddered around her, and somewhere in the belly of the hundred-year-old structure, the furnace cranked on with a low, prehistoric groan.

It was a small miracle every time the heat came on. In the two months since she'd moved in, she'd discovered that the place needed serious work-from the damp basement to the leaky roof. Her Aunt Glo had finally succumbed to the winters and wisely opted for a condo in Florida, leaving the place empty and rent-free, which happened to be Lacey's exact requirements. Unfortunately, Aunt Glo had let a lot of things go in her golden years, and tackling roofs and basements was definitely out of Lacey's realm of expertise.

Her gaze traveled from the cracked ceiling to the horse wallpaper to the weathered flooring that had lost its true colors long ago. Aside from the questionable decor, it wasn't a bad house. It had good bones. She liked the handsome varnished woodwork and the way the rooms felt comfortable and cozy once the furnace caught up.

Maybe some paint would help. She could paint. Probably. Heck, she designed software applications for a living. She could figure out how to paint. And some new wallpaper. She nodded to herself, warming to the vision of single-handedly wielding a paintbrush. Do-it-yourselfers did it all the time. How hard could it be?

Bravely, she typed. "#4: Restore this old house."

Hmm. On the other hand, those four little words sounded pretty expensive for a woman with no savings account. And it wasn't as if she were going to be here forever. Just until she'd regrouped. Yeah, the place needed work and someday someone would do it. Just not her. She was already on a mission.