Fallen Star (30 page)

“What’s the gizmo do?” She moved to
Odintar’s side and stroked his hair back from his brow. He was
still shirtless, a state of affairs the female medics were enjoying
no doubt.

“Not a clue,” he muttered sleepily.

“Has Gerrod stirred at all?” Blayne asked as
he moved to the far side of the bed where it was less crowded.

Odintar shook his head. “I’ve sensed several
spikes of awareness, but he hasn’t made a sound.”

Without another word, Blayne pressed his
hand against Gerrod’s forearm and sent him wave after wave of
energy. It didn’t take long for Gerrod’s color to improve and his
breathing seemed less labored. Blayne looked up and smiled at her.
“Next.”

She stepped away from Odintar long enough
for Blayne to feed him. “If he needs more, I can come back later.
They both seem pretty peaceful.”

She looked at Odintar and found his eyes
closed, his body relaxed. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Blayne winked at her then left
the clinic.

She moved to the far side of the bed so she
could see Gerrod and Odintar. Her father and her mate. She wasn’t
sure which was more surprising. She studied Gerrod’s face,
searching for something of herself in his features. This was her
father. The man who had captured her mother’s heart then stomped it
into the dirt. Did knowing he had an in-depth ulterior motive make
it better or worse?

Gerrod moaned and his eyelids fluttered.

Odintar jerked awake, coming up out of the
chair before he remembered where he was and sat back down. “Where’s
Kim? I’m feeling pretty woozy?”

“I’ll go get her.” There was a large window
in the door leading to the lab and Kim saw her approaching.

“Is everything all right?”

“Odintar is feeling weak. Can you make sure
he’s not giving too much?”

Kim moved to the bed and checked the readout
on the device. “If blood volumes in Rodyte/Bilarrian hybrids is
similar to humans, we better call this good.” She powered down the
device then quickly gathered what she’d need to disconnect
Odintar.

“Shoe.” Gerrod said without opening his
eyes. His voice was rough and raspy. Had the blade damaged his
vocal cords? Or had the damage been done by the fire Odintar used
to cauterize the wound? It didn’t matter. He was alive.

After clearing his throat, Gerrod tried
again. “Where is my shoe?”

He’d nearly bled to death in an ally and he
was worried about losing his shoes? Both of his feet were bare now,
so she looked at Kim.

“It’s in a bag in the closet.”

Jillian retrieved the bag and pulled out the
shoe. “Safe and sound.” She held it up so he could see it.

He made a hand motion, but it made no sense
to her. She quickly filled a glass with water and took it to him.
He shook his head and motioned toward the shoe that she’d left on
the counter near the sink. Curious now, she brought the shoe to him
and held it steady as he pulled a foam lining out of the
bottom.

“For you.” He handed the linerless shoe back
to her.

“Is there something in there?” Odintar
asked, obviously having watched the entire exchange.

She angled the shoe toward the light, so she
could see inside. A small trench had been dug out of the bottom of
the shoe and a thumb drive was nestled in the opening. She dug the
thumb drive out of its hiding place and looked at Gerrod.

“What’s on it?” she asked.

All he said was, “Insurance.”

“How do we know this isn’t a setup?” Morgan
asked from the head of the conference table.

Odintar understood her suspicion. The
thought had crossed his mind more than once during the past two
days. Gerrod’s thumb drive was filled with dates, times, and
specific locations, but all of the events had already happened.
Gerrod had compiled a detailed log of Sevrin Keire’s activities
since her arrival on Earth. The log frequently mentioned
interaction with “muscle-bound mercs”, but it was obvious Gerrod
didn’t understand the importance of those meetings. The log would
help them convict her of numerous crimes, but it couldn’t help them
catch her.

“You weren’t there.” Jillian leaned forward
so she could see around him. “Whoever slit his throat meant
business.”

“She’s right.” Elias sat at Morgan’s left
and their opinions usually aligned. However, Elias wasn’t a
mindless yes man. He was always respectful while he formed his own
conclusions. “Even Doctor Reyes agrees; it’s a miracle Gerrod
survived.”

Morgan shook her head, still unconvinced.
“It was Odintar’s fast thinking and a well-known Bilarrian ability
that saved Gerrod’s life. I’m not saying he was in on it. It’s more
likely Sevrin used him as a sort of parting shot. Even if he had
died, it’s probable that we would have found the drive. I can
almost guarantee there’s a nasty surprise waiting for us at one of
those locations.”

“So we ignore the info and wait for them to
strike in another city?” Frustration tightened Lor’s voice, yet his
face revealed no emotion. It was a game they all played. Contain.
Compartmentalize. Remain composed, while inside everyone was
punching through walls and screaming obscenities.

“Of course not. I want a munitions expert to
clear each location before anyone else goes in.”

“Understood,” Elias replied.

“So what’s this about a code?” Morgan tapped
her thumb against the table top, illustrating her agitation.

“There’s a section on the drive that’s
encoded and the code looks very much like what’s used in the last
two-thirds of the notebook,” Odintar told her. “It’s possible
Gerrod can decode the rest of the notebook for us.”

She scoffed. “If we can trust his
results.”

Lor shrugged. “The information is useless as
it is. In my opinion, it’s worth a try.”

After nodding in response to Lor’s
conclusion, Morgan looked at Jillian and asked, “Is Gerrod strong
enough for questioning. The information on that drive isn’t nearly
as valuable as his memories and observations.”

“He was sedated yesterday so they could
remove the collar. He should be more lucid today.”

“Speaking of his collar…” Morgan looked at
Lor. “Were you able to determine if it’s functional? Have the
Rodytes reengineered the suppression collar?”

“Yes and yes. There is no good news
today.”

The revelation was upsetting enough to bring
Blayne out of silent observation mode. “That bitch can suppress our
abilities and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it?”

Finally looking as frustrated as he sounded,
Lor nodded. “I tried all three of the neutralizers. None of them
disrupted the collar’s effect. If she gets one of those things
around our necks, we’re powerless.”

“Then how did Gerrod send his telepathic
SOS?” Morgan wanted to know.

“They’re family. Nothing is powerful enough
to silence that connection.”

Odintar glanced at Jillian to see if Lor’s
words upset her.

I’m fine.
She reinforced the claim
with a gentle smile.

He nodded then returned his attention to the
subject at hand. “It doesn’t make sense.” He crossed his arms over
his chest and shook his head. “Why wait so long to use such an
advantage?”

“There was a massive energy pulse four days
ago,” Morgan told them. “We weren’t sure what it was, but
subsequent developments have led me to believe it was the arrival
of some sort of ship.”

Lor’s hands slapped the tabletop as he came
up out of his chair. “And you’re telling us now? Does alliance mean
the same thing to humans as it does to Ontarians?”

“We weren’t sure what it was, didn’t know if
it was important enough to mention.”

“Bullshit.” Odintar managed to remain
seated, but he was every bit as incensed as his commander.

Morgan’s brows arched as challenge filled
her gaze. “When were you going to tell me about the twelve
Bilarrian soldiers in my holding cell?”

Lor rubbed his forehead and sighed. “They
weren’t scheduled to arrive until tomorrow.”

“They flashed in unannounced, setting off
alarms all over the base. You’re damn lucky they’re alive. My
guards are authorized to shoot intruders. Some sort of Mystic is
with them. Claims to be Jillian’s tutor.” Morgan looked around the
table, her eyes slightly narrowed. “Someone want to explain why
Jillian needs a Bilarrian tutor?”

“That one’s on me,” Elias admitted. “I was
on my way to brief you when they arrived with Gerrod.”

Morgan eased back in her chair. “It appears
communication can improve all the way around.” Lor had returned to
his seat and she looked at him as she said, “I’m not intentionally
keeping things from you. We’ve all been unusually busy the past few
days.”

“I apologize for my outburst.”

“Don’t let it happen again.” Authority
snapped through her tone and then she smiled. “So what’s with the
Bilarrians?” They quickly told her about Jillian’s ancestry and how
it had been discovered. “King Indric was here?” She glared at
Elias, but Odintar didn’t know her well enough to determine if her
ire was real. “You are in so much trouble.”

“I figured as much,” Elias grumbled.

When neither of them said anything else, Lor
brought the conversation back around to the present. “We’ve
prioritized the list of possible cities. Hopefully, Gerrod can help
us narrow the list even further.”

“I think I can do even better than that.”
Morgan folded her hands on the tabletop, appearing more relaxed
than before. “The energy spikes didn’t lead us to the team houses
as we’d hoped. It’s likely the houses are shielded, so the spikes
don’t register when they flash into or out of those locations.
However, the phenomenon could prove useful now. There have been no
spikes at all in Las Vegas the past few days.”

“So as soon as the spikes resume, we’ll know
which city or cities they’ve targeted.” Lor nodded, obviously
pleased by the possibility.

“That’s the hope anyway.” She offered him
one last smile. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Not at present.” Lor returned her smile.
“I’ll go talk to the Bilarrians.”

“I’ll come with you, unless you object.”

“Not at all.” They walked out of the
conference room together.

Odintar shook his head as he pushed back his
chair and turned to Jillian. “It’s always entertaining to watch two
alphas attempting to play nicely with each other.”

“I think they’re doing a wonderful job,
considering all of the challenges.” She stood and stretched. “I’m
going to go check on Gerrod.”

“Want some company?”

“Always, but I’m sure you have better things
to do than shadow me.”

“Actually, I’m in desperate need of a good
workout and Blayne has agreed to let me kick his ass.”

“I’ve agreed to let him try,” Blayne
countered from the other side of the table.

“Go on.” She rocked to the balls of her feet
and kissed Odintar on the cheek. “I’ll catch up with you in the
gym.”

“Don’t I get a kiss?” Blayne pursed his lips
and closed his eyes.

“Go find your mate.” She waved away his
silliness and kept on walking.

Jillian released a sigh as she hurried
toward the clinic. She appreciated Odintar’s concern, but she
wanted a few minutes alone with Gerrod. She couldn’t bring herself
to call him Dad, even in her mind. He was a sperm donor, nothing
more.

No, there was more to it than that. She just
hadn’t shared her discovery with anyone else.

Gerrod was alone in his curtained-off
section of the clinic. He was also sitting up in bed and wide
awake. “You look better.” It wasn’t much of a greeting, but it was
the best she could do. Her emotions were so conflicted; she
couldn’t begin to untangle them.

“Thank you.” His voice still sounded
raspy.

“You need to thank Odintar. Without his
help, I wouldn’t have found you and you would have bled to
death.”

He nodded, but didn’t speak.

“I’ve seen you before, more than once. In
fact, you showed up in so many places I was afraid I had a stalker.
But you never approached me, never tried to make contact.”

“I couldn’t stay away.”

Indignation warmed her cheeks and pulled her
hands into fists. “We both know that’s ridiculous. It only took a
murder attempt to make you break your silence.”

“Hate me if you must, but there is so much I
need to tell you.”

She tensed, tempted to turn around, walk
away and never look back. “I doubt anything you have to say would
interest me.”

“Indric came to see you, so you know I’m
battle born. What he doesn’t know—what Lierra never told him—was
the identity of her captor.” He pressed his hand over his scorched
throat. Each time he swallowed appeared excruciating. Good. He
deserved pain and a whole lot more.

“The details are irrelevant.” Even in her
ears the claim didn’t sound convincing.

“They won’t be if Sevrin figures it
out.”

Her hands clenched even tighter. This had
been a mistake. The last thing she needed was another surprise.
Despite her determination not to give a damn, curiosity won out in
the end. “Figures out what?”

“That I’m her half-brother. Lierra’s captor
was Pern Keire, Crown Stirate of Rodymia.”

If Lierra had confessed the identity of her
captor, it would have exploded hostilities between Bilarri and
Rodymia. No wonder she’d kept silent. Jillian would have done the
same. Unless… There was another possibility. Had Lierra developed
feelings for her captor? Had she loved Pern enough to protect him
even as he tore her son from her arms?

“It’s an interesting bit of trivia, but I’m
not sure why Sevrin would care. Lierra and Pern are both dead. The
Rodyte throne has passed on to another.”

“Which is exactly why Sevrin will care. Once
she completes her mission on Earth, she intends to return to
Rodymia and claim her rightful place on the throne. Don’t
underestimate her ambition or her ruthlessness.”