Authors: Caroline McCall
Pete’s “list” was infamous. There wasn’t a single system on
the ship he didn’t know intimately. Although the recreation and food systems
somehow always got priority, no matter what other tasks awaited him. The timer.
Why hadn’t she thought of it before—the damn timer. She grabbed Pete by the
ears and planted a kiss on his mouth. “You are a genius.”
Tanith ran from the mess hall, leaving a stunned Pete behind
her. The labs in engineering were almost empty, apart from the techies who
never seemed to eat or sleep. They set her up with a computer that was isolated
from the rest of the ship’s network and left her to it. Her first two efforts
didn’t work. They were too clunky and there was no way that they would pass
Ranan security unnoticed. The third virus had a rampaging need to propagate
itself into other systems.
That one must be male
.
After she dispatched it to virus hell, she realized that she
was approaching this the wrong way. She needed more computers. Five frustrating
hours later she had the first glimmer of hope, and by mid-morning it was
working intermittently. She couldn’t believe that she had worked through the
night. Tanith scowled at anyone who tried to enter her lab, even if they were
just trying to retrieve equipment she had “borrowed” during the night.
Pete wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Bed—now.”
Ignoring him, Tanith started to run another test. “Sorry,
Techie, you’re just not my type.”
“Tanith, we’ll be at Rana in a few days. You don’t want to
look all tired and washed out when you see Jake, do you? Otherwise, he might
decide to stay with the hotties.”
She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass window
of the lab. Her flight suit was grubby. She hadn’t been to bed or had a shower
in almost two days and there were dark circles under her eyes from staring at
the screen. “Four hours,” she sighed.
“Not a chance. Make it six, or I’ll revoke your lab access.”
* * * * *
Tanith thought that she had only been asleep for minutes
when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. “Is six
hours up already?”
Strom’s presence made her sit up immediately. “I’m sorry to
wake you, but there’s been some kind of incident in this sector.”
He looked down at his hands and she noticed that one
trembled slightly. Something was wrong. She reached out for him. “Tell me,
please.”
“We’ve come across a debris field. It appears to be the
remains of a Delta-class transporter. I’m sorry, Tanith, but the ship was
Cyraelian. They’re searching for the transponder unit now.”
Tanith felt as if someone had ripped out her heart and
crushed it. Not her human. Not Jake. Surely she would know. Surely she would
feel something if he had died. If she had gone with Alaysha none of this would
have happened. Jake would be safe. It wasn’t true.
“It’s not true.” She was shouting at Strom now, pounding her
fists against his chest.
His arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly against him
as broken, guttural sobs poured out of her. Other people came and went, the doc
tried to give her something to make her sleep but she struggled, screaming
furiously at him.
“Tanith, Tanith.” Strom’s voice calmed her and the doctor
pressed something into her arm. As she fought to hold on to consciousness she
realized that today was the first time Strom had called her by her name.
Strom looked through the window of the isolation lab. “How
long as she been in there, Pete?”
“Nine hours. She says she wants to finish it before we get
to Rana. I’m worried about her, boss.”
Tanith refused to talk about the missing ship and turned
away if anyone mentioned Jake’s name. Despite hours of searching, they hadn’t
been able to locate the transponder from the wrecked vessel and all inquiries
regarding other Cyraelian ships in the area had drawn a blank. Worryingly,
there had been no communication from Captain Zander and tomorrow they would
reach Rana.
“I want her out of there by midnight. I don’t care if you
have to call the doc to do it.”
Strom returned to his quarters. He was reluctant to file a
report about Jake to Fleet Command yet. Without definite proof, Jake was still
classified as
missing
. They would proceed to Rana as planned. Tanith
deserved that much. Although how she would react if Jake failed to appear was
too awful to contemplate. It would be up to him and Pete to take care of her.
Jake would do as much for either of them.
The symbols on the screen swam before her eyes. She couldn’t
look at the com screen anymore. It was as perfect as she was going to get it,
one tiny virus with a single aim in life. Once the virus on the harlequin key
was activated, Alaysha would have access to the account but she wouldn’t be
able to spend a single credit. Atam’s money would never stay in one place long
enough for her to withdraw it. Forty-two million credits spinning randomly
around the galaxy at a thousand times the speed of every other Ranan credit
transfer. Any attempt to defeat the virus would result in it spreading to other
accounts, and the Ranan bankers wouldn’t like that one little bit. They would
never admit that their precious security systems had been breached. Atam could
sue them, if he dared. But in the meantime, he would be broke. The virus was so
beautiful that she wanted to cry.
Pete hovered in the doorway. “How’s it going, Tanith?”
“It’s perfect.” She sniffed. “It’s the most flawlessly
lethal thing that I’ve ever created.”
“Then there’s no point in you staying here any longer. Bed,
and that is an order.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re not my
type?”
Pete grinned shamelessly at her. “I’m nobody’s type but that
doesn’t mean that I don’t get lucky.”
A ghost of a smile played across her lips. The techie was
completely incorrigible. “I don’t want to go to bed, Pete. I don’t think that I
could sleep.”
“You and me both.” He touched her shoulder lightly in a
gesture of comfort. “I don’t suppose you drink scotch?”
The bottle sat in the middle of the table flanked by two
decks of cards and several stacks of poker chips. “Welcome to full moon night.
Jake usually plays with us. I guess you’ll have to stand in.”
It was strange to see Strom without his captain’s uniform or
his usual serious expression. Music played low in the background and there was an
appetizing smell coming from the covered dish on the console table.
Pete lifted the lid. “Hot dogs and scotch—the captain’s
secret vices.”
“What are we playing for?” she asked. “I don’t have any
credits with me.”
Pete erupted with laughter. “Tanith, you are the richest
person I’m ever likely to meet. Don’t tell me you’ve spent it on shoes
already?”
Tanith thought of the fortune waiting for her on Rana. She
would never see it and tomorrow it would be gone. Pete was right. For one night
in her life, she was rich beyond her imagination. She smiled flirtatiously at
them. “You gentlemen wouldn’t be trying to cheat a girl out of her fortune?”
Strom poured three shots and handed one to her. “Of course
we are. Otherwise there’d be no fun in it.”
Pete shuffled the deck, spinning the cards easily from one
hand to the other.
Show-off.
Strom would be much more difficult to read.
Pete dealt the first hand. “Okay, the game is seven-card
stud. The minimum bet is one thousand credits and, given the lady’s bottomless
purse, there is no limit on the pot.”
Much to Pete’s annoyance, she won the first three games. A
neat pile of chips sat beside her glass. It might have been the scotch but she
felt confident and reckless. They didn’t stand a chance. “Let’s up the stakes.
Minimum bet is ten thousand credits. Come on, you know I’m good for it.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Pete was easy to read, but
Strom’s face was as expressionless as a column of basalt. He blanked her
completely. Not a flicker of the eyes, not a twitch around the mouth, nothing.
Her eyes roved along the column of his throat, but not a single gesture
betrayed what he was thinking. He leaned forward to pour another round of
scotch and a gold chain escaped the confines of his shirt. A wedding band
dangled on the end of the chain. Jake had never mentioned that Strom had a
wife. Strom caught her gaze and his hand reached up and touched the ring. His
fingers caressed it briefly before he tucked it carefully inside his shirt and
his expression became guarded once again.
The brief flicker of sadness in his eyes unnerved her and
Tanith lost her concentration on the game. Her luck soon followed and her stack
of chips dwindled rapidly. Trying to recover her losses, she bet with
ever-increasing abandonment, pouring good money after bad until the final hand.
With a smile of unconcealed triumph, Strom spread his cards on the table. She
had just lost two million credits.
Pete raised his glass and swallowed the contents in one
gulp. “Sweet merciful stars. Now that was a game. Tanith, I think it’s time to
take you home.”
They walked along the silent decks back to Pete’s cabin. The
scotch had done something to her balance and she linked her arm through his in
an effort to stay upright. “I didn’t know that Strom had a wife.”
“Who, Ingrid? Well, they weren’t exactly married. Didn’t
have to be, I guess. They were crazy about each other.”
“But what was she doing with Jake? I mean…the images in the
club and she was kissing—”
Pete roared with laughter. “You saw them? Ingrid was just
trying to make Strom jealous. You didn’t seriously think that Jake and her… Oh,
that is so funny. Wait ‘til I tell him.”
Tanith withdrew her arm and punched him in the shoulder.
“Don’t you dare tell Jake. It’s bad enough that I love the treacherous human,
but what’s going to happen when we reach Earth?”
She felt like crying. If Jake was alive and if they got him
back, what would happen to them? She had seen enough of Jake’s collection of
images to know what he was like with women. How long would it be before he went
back to his roving ways?
“Women.” Pete gave an exasperated sigh as he pulled her into
the cabin. “You’ve just found out that he’s not cheating on you and you’re
still moaning.”
Collecting some bedding from his room, he dumped it onto the
couch in an untidy pile beside her. “Jake loves you. There hasn’t been a single
one-night stand since he met you. And believe me, for Jake, that says a lot.
Don’t hang the guy for something he hasn’t done yet.”
When Pete was gone, Tanith curled up under the quilt. Jake
loved her. He had never actually said the words, but he loved her, and tomorrow
she would see him again.
* * * * *
The following day stretched endlessly. The ship stayed in
orbit high above Rana and she watched through the view-screen as shuttlecraft
from other vessels landed and departed at regular intervals. Rana was the
largest of seven moons surrounding the icy wastes of Shorshon Five, where the
temperature rarely got above freezing. As the day wore on and there was no sign
of Zander’s ship, Tanith became more anxious. They should have been here by
now. She hadn’t seen Strom since last night and the techie was busy in
engineering. By the time evening came, she was frantic.
The com sprang to life with a message from Pete. “They’re
here. Zander says they were delayed. Meet me in Strom’s quarters in ten.”
Pete and Strom were already waiting. “The good captain wants
to make the transaction and be on her way as soon as possible. Sensors indicate
that her ship has been attacked recently.”
“Is Jake okay?”
“He’s fine, Tanith. But Alaysha is very edgy. I don’t trust
her. Are you sure you can do this?”
“Try and stop me. That bitch has my human and I want him
back.”
Strom bit back a smile. “I’ll see you in shuttle bay three
in one hour. Pete, you’re in command until I return.”
Tanith knew that the security systems at the bank would
automatically deactivate all electronic weapons. But the ship’s weapon stores
had unearthed a stiletto knife, which was now concealed in her elaborately
arranged hair. It was worth a shot, and knowing Alaysha, she would need every
advantage she could get.
Alaysha’s “gift” had included a red flight suit made of the
softest leather. It skimmed her curves and exposed her back. The
Dermatrax
had come to life again in the past hour, at the thought of seeing Jake again.
It was all the confirmation she needed. She was mated to him. She hadn’t known
if such a link was possible with a different species, but the
Dermatrax
had proven her wrong. The damn thing had been sulking for days since Jake left,
and what was her human going to do when he found out?
She stifled a laugh when she thought of Jake being trapped
on a ship full of women and not being able to do a thing about it. Now that he
was mated to her, Jake would have zero physical interest in any other females.
The mating bond wouldn’t permit it, and now the womanizing human was tied to
one female for the rest of his life.
She always thought that she would hate to be linked to one
person for the rest of her life, but it felt strangely liberating to know that
she belonged to the human. Jake would probably want to run when he found out,
but she would enjoy that particular chase. When she got Jake back, she was
never letting him go.
Tanith applied some makeup, paying particular attention to
her eyes, outlining them with dark eyeliner before applying some carmine
lipstick. She stepped away from the mirror and looked at her reflection. She
looked almost the same as the first night she met him, but perhaps a little
more dangerous.
A very different Tanith appeared in the shuttle bay. Strom
was pacing alongside the shuttle and he did a double take when he saw her. She
tried not to grin when she heard a low whistle from one of the crew. “Sorry I’m
late. The Ranans are expecting a Cyraelian terrorist and I didn’t want to
disappoint them.”
Strom looked comfortable in the pilot’s seat. He navigated
his way easily until they reached the upper atmosphere of Rana, then he
switched off the engines. “Tanith, Jake is my friend, but if this doesn’t work,
I can’t let that money go to Atam. You know that, don’t you?”
Tanith quashed small niggle of self-doubt and took a deep
breath. All of their lives depended on the tiny virus she had created. It would
work. It had to. “Take us down.”
The small ship moved through the upper atmosphere and then
down to the surface of the moon below. The landing bay was empty, apart from
one other craft. Alaysha’s shuttle was already waiting and the blonde pilot
smiled when she recognized them. “Alaysha’s inside with the human.”
Tanith breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the stars Jake was
safe. The pilot spoke quietly into her com badge, informing Alaysha of their
arrival. There was one last thing she had to do before they went inside and
Strom wasn’t going to like it one little bit. “Is the pilot still watching us?”
she whispered.
“I think so. Why?”
Tanith slid her arms up his chest and rearranged the collar
on his jacket. She could sense his discomfort at her nearness. Standing on
tiptoe, she pressed her lips against his jaw. The muscles of his shoulders
became rigid under her hands and she dug her nails into his upper arm, holding
him still. “Don’t you dare move, Strom,” she hissed, “or I will kiss you
again.”
She nuzzled his jaw again before stepping back to admire her
work. The edge of Strom’s jaw was nicely marked with carmine lipstick. The poor
human was doing his best not to look terrified, but he stayed obediently in
place while she rubbed some of the lipstick away with the tip of her finger,
leaving just enough of a display for Alaysha to notice.
“Try not to look so uncomfortable, Strom. We have to
convince Alaysha that I don’t care about Jake. Otherwise she won’t give him
back. So whatever you do, please don’t call me Ms. Jasson.”
The reception halls of the Ranan financial services center
were luxuriously appointed, as would befit a corporation that handled billions
of credits on a daily basis. A dark-suited Ranan stepped forward. “Ah, Ms.
Jasson, your associate is waiting. This way, please.”
Threading her arm through Strom’s, they followed the aide to
a plush reception room. Tanith focused her attention on Alaysha, trying to
ignore the thundering of her heart when she saw Jake. The
Dermatrax
hummed to life immediately, calling silently to him, desperate for his touch.
Down,
girl.
“You have the key?” Alaysha’s tone was clipped and
impatient.
“Of course,” Tanith reached inside the flight suit and waved
the pendant teasingly.
“Let’s get this done.”
The Ranan advisor stepped forward to greet them. “Welcome to
Rana, ladies. We have just a little paperwork to do before we organize the
transfer.”
“Just one moment,” Tanith interrupted. “I want to make a
withdrawal first.”
“Surely that can wait.” Alaysha scowled with impatience.
“I’m afraid not. You have no idea how expensive it is to buy
a Fleet Command captain these days and Strom prefers credits. Don’t you,
Sweetie?”