Needed in the Night

A singer on the run, a bartender with secrets of his own, and a chance meeting so life-changing it feels like it can't be chance at all...

After a mission to rescue a kidnapped artisan goes awry and her cover is blown, operative Isla Mair decides to lay low on the beautiful planet Fortusia. She trades her undercover skills for that of her voice and lands a job as a nightclub singer in a resort city. The gig doesn't pay much, but it comes with a place to live and much-needed security after a nomadic and dangerous life. She especially treasures her friendship with grumpy bartender Mikas Auren.

Former soldier Mikas, meanwhile, has a problem: the bar's gangster owner has declared Isla off-limits, but the lovely human singer is his true mate. For months he's secretly pined for her, waiting for a chance to tell her the truth. Crossing their boss means he'd have to flee the city and probably the planet too, potentially without his mate if she rejects him. The very last thing Mikas wants is to ruin their friendship or disrupt Isla's life. Still, his hearts demand he risk everything for a chance at a future with his beautiful, talented, and secretive mate.

Almost overnight, the friends turned lovers find themselves fugitives relying on surprising allies to evade their employer's many agents and escape offworld. As they cross the galaxy to make a new life together, Mikas and Isla can't shake the feeling danger has followed them, determined to end their happily-ever-after before it begins.