by Lolita Lopez
But no. There was no mistaking that profile, that nose and those ears. There was no mistaking the way he held his left arm. And that jacket? That dirty, old jacket? It still had the uneven patch she had sewn onto the elbow after he’d ripped it open while jumping a fence.
Shaking with shock and fear, she smashed the call button until a medic appeared. “Are you okay?” he asked, obviously concerned.
“I need to speak with someone from Shadow Force. Right now,” she added forcefully.
He assessed her for a moment before coming closer to her bed. “Ma’am, it’s very late, and you still have a lot of pain medicine in your system. You may be having nightmares or hallucinations—”
“I’m not hallucinating,” Ella cut in rudely. “I’m not high on painkillers either.” Holding up her tablet, she pointed to the screen. “This man? The one that planted the bomb on Jesco? I know him.”
The medic seemed taken aback. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! Please,” she all but begged. “I need to speak with Torment or Pierce or anyone else in Shadow Force.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
After the medic left, she zoomed in on the photos and confirmed to herself that she wasn’t wrong. It was him.
Should I message Raze?
She decided not to chance it. The messaging app wasn’t secure, and she would probably violate a hundred different regulations if she used it to warn him. Her anxious gaze darted toward the doorway of her room. What is taking so long?
Just as she was about to hit the call button again, Torment walked into her room and shut the door. He pulled the curtain over the window that looked out toward the main area of the post-surgery unit. Their privacy secured, he strode toward her bed and dropped into the chair Dizzy had been in earlier. Rubbing his bloodshot eyes, he asked, “What is so damn important that you needed to drag me out of an intel briefing?”
“This.” She handed over the tablet. “That guy right there? The one they want to question about the bombing?”
“Yes?”
“It’s Harkin.”
Torment glanced down at the tablet again and zoomed in on the photo. “How can you tell? You can’t see his face.”
“I don’t have to see his face to know it’s him.” Realizing he would need more detail to convince him, she said, “His arm? The way he holds it at that odd angle? He broke it when we were kids, and it never healed correctly. This jacket? I gave it to him. I found it in a box behind a liquidated shop. He tore the elbow out of it when he jumped a fence, and I patched it with an old pair of my pants. It’s him. It’s Harkin.”
Torment studied her for an uncomfortably long moment. Finally, he said, “The briefing I just left? The techs on Jesco identified some of the metal projectiles that were used in the explosive device. Some of them have had production stamps on them. They were made for specific jobs down in The City.”
“Yeah, the factories do that for their wealthier clients. It makes them easier to track and deters theft. Nobody wants to steal tons of nails or bolts from a maniac like George.”
“That’s the thing,” Torment explained. “The stamps tied the projectiles back to George and one of his job sites.”
Still under the influence of the pain medication, Ella tried to make sense of what Raze had just told her. “Are you saying George and Harkin are working together?”
Torment shook his head. “I think Harkin is trying to frame George or cause him a lot of trouble.”
“But why?”
Torment speared her with a look. “Why do you think?”
“Me?” She touched her chest. “Harkin left me first, and George grabbed me up later.”
“Did George ever visit the cotton mill where you two worked? Did you ever have a run-in with him?”
“Once,” she said, remembering the cold winter day George and his squad had come to the mill looking for a wanted man. “I noticed him watching me. It made me uncomfortable, and Harkin told him off. I never saw George again, but I learned who he was. I knew he was dangerous, and I begged Harkin to steer clear of him.”
“Maybe Harkin thinks George decided to have you all for himself way back then,” Torment suggested.
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “That’s not…” She wanted to argue that George wouldn’t do something devious like machinate a way to get Harkin out of her life to make her vulnerable and desperate, but she couldn’t. “That’s…exactly the sort of horrible game he would love to play.”
“So, maybe, all these years later, Harkin is at loose ends. He’s disillusioned with the Splinters. His wife is dead—”
“Wife? Dead?”
“He married a woman involved in the Splinters,” Torment said. “She died last year in one of our counter-insurgency campaigns.”
“Oh.” She didn’t understand the unexpected pang of jealousy at the mention of Harkin marrying. She had long ago settled her feelings about him. So why the surge of pain now?
Because he didn’t love you enough to marry you and help raise your baby together. Because he obviously found someone else worthy of his love.
“We have to find him before he does something even worse.” He handed back the tablet. “And you’re going to help.”
“Me? The hell do you expect me to do?”
“Exactly what I tell you,” he replied matter-of-factly. “You’re going to be my bait.”
“I may be tired and doped up on painkillers, but you’re not about to push me into doing your dirty work without getting something for myself in return.”
He grinned as he rose to his feet. “I expected nothing less. Think about what you want, and I’ll do what I can to get it for you.”
“You better send a message to Raze before you take me off this ship,” Ella warned. “He’ll go ballistic if he finds out after the fact.”
“I’ll make sure he’s informed.”
As Torment left the room, she suspected he would inform Raze only minutes before he took her off the ship. Not thrilled with the idea of angering Raze by running off with Torment to track down her wayward ex, Ella nonetheless believed it was the correct thing to do. People had been killed. If there were more bombs out there, she had to do whatever she could to help.
Feeling a twinge of pain starting to build in her abdomen, Ella hit the button to give herself a little jolt of medicine. The warm sensation washed over her, making her drowsy and loopy. The memories of her years on the streets came rushing to the forefront of her mind. She didn’t want to relive those memories at all, but she couldn’t push them away this time.
As her eyes closed, it was to a disturbing vision of Harkin, not Raze, climbing into bed with her…
Chapter Nineteen
Feeling the stares of his team boring into his back, Raze crossed the distance to Sosie and her son. From a distance, she hadn’t changed much in the years they had been separated, and as he got closer, he could see that life had been kind to her. Although her once shiny blonde hair was duller now and pulled back into a utilitarian braid, she was still just as beautiful as the last time he had seen her.
When he was close enough to stand in front of her, she dropped her gaze in that submissive way that was ingrained in all purebred Harcos females. It was a look that used to ignite his passion. Today, it hardly registered except to remind him that he preferred Ella’s playful submission instead.
“Ma’am.” He addressed her in a cool tone, unsure whether her son was aware of their history.
“Major,” she said, her gaze now meeting his. Her smile turned friendly. “It’s been a long time, Raze.”
“It has.” His expression softened. “How are you?” He slanted his gaze toward her scowling son. The boy was at that lanky stage, all long legs and skinny arms. “How is your family?”
“We’re doing well.” She touched her son’s shoulder. “This is our eldest. Emmon and I have three daughters and another son at home.”
The knowledge that her husband had given her the fam
ily that she had wanted served as a painful reminder of the discussion that awaited him back on the Valiant. “That’s wonderful to hear, Sosie.”
Nudging her son, she frowned at him. “Avram? I think you have something to say to the major?”
With a dramatic sigh, the kid rolled his eyes. “Sorry about the rock, man.”
“Sir!” Sosie corrected, her face reddening with what seemed to be a mixture of irritation and embarrassment.
“Sir,” Avram said sulkily.
“Avi! You’re lucky you haven’t been arrested!” Sosie hissed. “Show some respect!”
“Why?” Avram asked rudely. “What have they done to earn our respect? They brought their trouble to our planet. They’ve run off tourists and killed off jobs.” He shook his head. “You can stay here and apologize all you want. I’m going home.”
“Avi!” Sosie called after her son as he angrily fled. “Avi!”
“Sosie,” Raze said gently, “let him go.”
Rubbing her face, Sosie sighed. “I’m sorry, Raze.”
“He’s not wrong. We have made things worse here,” Raze admitted.
“That doesn’t give him the right to riot or throw rocks.” She reached out and touched the wound on his head. “He could have killed you.”
“I’ve been hit by worse.” He grasped her wrist and carefully drew her hand away. It felt strange to hold her hand after all these years. In some ways, it felt like a transgression against Ella, an intimacy he shouldn’t be sharing. Letting go, he warned, “You should keep him off the streets until this mess settles down, Sosie.”
“You think it’s going to get worse?” she asked with concern.
“It might.”
“I’ll have Emmon talk to him. He’s been wanting Avi to join him on his transports, but I’ve been too stubborn to let him go. Emmon is right. Avi needs something to keep him busy and flying with his father is just the thing.”
“Business is good?” he asked, hoping her family wasn’t suffering financially.
“Very,” she assured him. “Emmon has transport contracts between the colonies and The City. He’s added four ships just this year.”
“That’s good. I’m glad things have worked out well for you,” he said genuinely. “No matter how things ended with us, I always wanted the best for you.”
“And I have it,” she promised him. Carefully, she asked, “And you? Have you found someone that makes you happy?”
“Yes.”
“You Grabbed her?”
His mouth slanted with a smile. “Not exactly.”
“I see,” she said with a laugh. “I suppose the how isn’t as important if you’re both happy.”
“We are.” They were. For now. Until he had to confess his secret to Ella.
His left earbud clicked, and a second later, Cipher said, “Boss, we’ve got orders from the outpost.”
“Received,” Raze acknowledged. Turning to Sosie, he said, “I have to go.”
She glanced around the empty streets. “I need to get home, too.”
“Will you be safe on your own? I can have someone escort you.”
“I’ll be fine.” Surprising him, she embraced him quickly and patted his back. “It was good to see you again, Raze. I wish it had been under different circumstances.” She stepped away from him. “I really am sorry about Avram hitting you with that rock.”
He waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. But—send him off with his father. He’ll be safer if he’s not running the streets.”
“I will.” She backed away. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” Nodding, he turned on his heel and returned to his team. He ignored their pointed stares. “What are the orders?”
“Fall back to the outpost.”
“You heard Cipher. Load up. We’re headed back to base.”
On the transport back to the outpost, Raze tried to make sense of his emotions. When he and Sosie had separated, he had been angry and resentful. He had expected some flash of those same feelings today, but there was none of it. He seemed to have finally let all of that painful shit go.
But he was worried about her son. He hoped she followed through and sent her boy away with his father. Disaffected youth were the biggest recruiting pool for the Splinters. A kid like Avram would be a high value recruit.
“You okay?” Keen asked, his voice low as they dismounted the transport.
“Yes.” Raze kept his reply clipped to discourage any further questions about Sosie. “Where is your team headed next?”
“Calyx,” he said, tapping at his handheld tablet. “Forensics identified some of the projectiles used in the bomb. They were made on Calyx and had the stamp of a well-known developer on them. This guy here.”
Raze glanced at the tablet screen and stopped. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah. Why? You know him?”
“We had a run-in with him a few weeks back outside The City. His name is George. He has connections with politicians and deep pockets. Corrupt as they come,” he added, trying to keep his personal feelings about the man at bay.
“That matches what our intel reports say about him,” Keen confirmed. “Torment has a note in the file about this guy’s ties to the labor camps on the planet.”
“Yeah, he’s a real piece of work,” Raze growled. “Still—he didn’t strike me as the blow-up-an-embassy type. He’s too slick for that.”
“I think you’re right. I don’t think he’s behind the bombing. I have a feeling all the dirty deeds he’s done have come back to haunt him. Maybe one of the prisoners he put in the labor camps got out and wants revenge? Maybe a family member?”
“That makes more sense,” Raze concurred. “Good luck running that down. I doubt they keep very good records of who goes into those camps and whether any of them ever make it out alive.”
“We have ways of making wardens and prison guards talk,” he said nonchalantly.
Not wanting to think about those methods, he asked, “Has any of your team ever been to Calyx?”
“No, but I hear it’s a backward little shit hole.”
“Some parts of it,” Raze agreed. “Probably the parts your team will need to investigate.”
“Sounds about right,” Keen remarked dryly. He gestured to a small building nearby. “We set up our team in here. Your squad should join us until we get orders to leave.”
Raze relayed the offer to his team and made sure his men had food and water and a place to nap. After debriefing with the outpost commander, he contacted the Valiant to relay a report and get any updated intel or orders. Before he signed off, he was notified Risk had sent him a message. Worry gripped him. Had something happened to Ella?
His fears were allayed as the message was read to him by the communications tech. The surgery was successful, and she was resting well. Relieved, he asked the comm tech to let Ella know he would contact her as soon as possible.
Alone with his thoughts, Raze found an empty desk in the corner and propped his tired feet on it. He tilted back in the chair and closed his eyes for a few brief moments of rest. But it wouldn’t come.
His brain seemed determined to torment him with every troubling thought it could conjure. Flashes of memories taunted him. He was taken back to those early days with Sosie when his life had been filled with hope for their future. Whatever his shortcomings—and they had been many—Sosie had been a perfect mate. Pretty. Modest. Submissive. He had no doubt she was a loving mother and wife to Emmon and their children. He could just imagine how she kept her home tidy and welcoming.
And then there was Ella. Beautiful. Wild. Submissive and—yet—not so submissive. She didn’t follow the rules. She wasn’t afraid to challenge him. She took what she wanted. She was selfless to a fault, putting her life at risk to raise money to help kids who were in the same position she had been. Granted, she was a terrible homemaker—laughably so—but he had always been perfectly happy to clean his own quarters.
It occurred to him suddenly that Ella and Sosie w
ere more alike than different. They were each loving, gentle women who wanted to make their own choices. Sosie had wanted passion and excitement in the colonies. Ella wanted stability and protection and the ability to help others.
He could give Ella almost everything she wanted. Almost.
Knowing that the soft, pink blanket she had kept all these years would remain empty if she stayed with him cut at him like a razor. He couldn’t give her a baby, but he could make sure she was safe and protected. When he returned to the Valiant, he would come clean and tell her the truth about his sterility.
And then I have to let her go.
Still reeling from the painful ache such loss would bring, he didn’t even hear Cipher approach. His eyes flashed open at the sound of Cipher clearing his throat. “Boss?”
He narrowed his gaze at the team’s engineer. “That look on your face is never a good sign.” Sighing, he sat up and dropped his heavy booted feet to the floor. “What is it?”
Cipher glanced over his shoulder as if to make sure they were alone. Lowering his voice, he said, “I just picked up a coded transmission from the Valiant.”
“And?”
“Uhh,” Cipher hesitated, “well, it seems that Torment has identified the suspect in the bombing.”
“That’s good! That gets Keen and his team closer to tracking him down and bringing him in for interrogation.”
“That’s the thing,” Cipher said uneasily. “Shadow Force was able to track him back to The City. He hopped on a transport ship about an hour after the bombing.” Cipher made a face. “The transport company? Uh, well, it’s the one that your ex-mate’s husband owns.”
Raze blinked in shock. “Are you suggesting Sosie or her husband is involved with the bombing?”
“No!” Cipher hurriedly assured him. “No, that’s not even a question. It seems to be a really unlucky coincidence.”
