Little things had started to go wrong since the men had initiated employment. Things that escalated ever so slightly with each passing day. So far, none of the incidents had raised suspicion in those who should have been overseeing this operation, but it would soon enter into the realm where the group would have to act more overtly.
Lila was right. They were definitely up to something. Chip retracted his implant connection from the computer interface and stood decisively. If he had anything to say about it, the luscious Lila would not be leaving the bar for long. He’d let her go home to her sister’s quarters tonight, but he was going to try to convince her to stay in the private rooms behind the bar, once he got to know her a little better. Just until this situation had been dealt with. The safest place for her was here. Now he just had to convince her of that.
Perhaps it was time for a charm offensive.
Chapter Three
Lila did her best to cool off out at the bar, switching off the bot and taking over serving the handful of retirees who sat, talking quietly. She’d known the King of Clubs was coming. She just didn’t know how disturbing to her equilibrium he’d be.
Handsome as sin, and secretive. It wasn’t a promising combination, but she could work with it. She was good at divining secrets that remained hidden to others. Perhaps she would learn Chip’s secrets while they worked together at The Rabbit Hole. Stranger things had happened.
She just hadn’t expected to be so attracted to him.
Though her sister Della had the strongest gift of foresight in the family—along with a few other interesting talents—for some reason, none of the Senna family clairvoyants ever had a lot of luck foreseeing their own futures. Oh, they could put themselves in the right places at the right times for whatever the universe wanted them to do, but knowing exactly what would happen, or how it would turn out, was definitely not in the picture.
She’d known the King of Clubs would change her life but she hadn’t counted on this incredible attraction to him. She’d thought he’d be instrumental in bringing her back into the game she’d left behind when she’d had her daughter. Her baby girl was grown now and had flown the nest long since.
Lila had wanted a change, but she hadn’t known what form it might take until she’d started seeing the King of Clubs. As soon as she’d followed her instincts and come to the station, she’d realized her skills might be needed again to help keep the station—and the top secret operatives she knew worked out of it—safe. Keeping them safe would ultimately help keep the rest of humanity, and her home galaxy, safe from the alien threat.
It was a cause to which she’d dedicated her early years. She’d been an intel operative when she’d met a gentle man with whom she wanted to share her life. She’d retired from the spy game and settled down to married life, until that lovely man had died and she was left with an empty nest and an even emptier heart.
Was loneliness the reason she found Chip Quartain so darned attractive? She thought about it and threw out that idea. If any handsome man would do, she’d have found half the retirees at the bar suitable candidates. But her heart didn’t skip a beat when any of those guys looked into her eyes.
Only the King of Clubs had that distinction.
It was near closing time when he finally emerged from the private office. He had no discernible expression on his face, but Lila thought she sensed heavy thoughts on his mind. Or maybe that was just her imagination. She hoped he would see the patterns she had in the surveillance vids she’d left him. He probably hadn’t gotten through too many of them yet, but he’d had enough time to at least see some of what she’d observed. Still, his expression showed none of his inner thoughts.
She’d have been surprised if it had. After all, he was a professional. He’d probably been at this longer than she had. And she was admittedly rusty after her long hiatus.
Lila set the cleaning bots to cycle through the outer portion of the room once the last customer cleared out. The bar area was mostly empty too, except for a few retirees who usually stuck around to make sure Lila made it safely to the cart that would be waiting just outside for her. They were such gentlemen in that way. Always looking out for her safety.
But tonight, all it took was a nod and a handshake from Chip to send them on their way. They said goodnight quietly and marched out, leaving her alone with the King of Clubs.
“You’ve got a securecart scheduled?” Chip asked, pitching in to help her clean up behind the bar as if he’d done so every night.
She nodded in answer to his question. “I have a standing reservation with them.”
“Good. I’m sure you know that even though the core is always manned, it’s not always the safest place for a woman alone. For anyone alone, for that matter.”
“I figured that out the first night,” she agreed. “There was a shady character shadowing me through the transit tubes, but I managed to shake him somewhere around the first ring. Still, I learned my lesson and started ordering securecarts the very next day.”
“Good thinking. And good call on that other matter too.”
His vague wording alerted her to the fact that he didn’t want to talk openly about her suspicions in the bar area. She understood. For all they knew, someone could have slid a surveillance device in there during the past few hours. The bots were programmed to search out and neutralize any such devices during every cleaning cycle, but they hadn’t had a chance to make the rounds yet tonight. Until they did, the bar wasn’t necessarily secure.
She nodded again, meeting his gaze while they worked at stacking glasses. “Thanks.”
Message received and understood.
“Why don’t you knock off if your cart is here? I can take care of the rest of this. There’s not much to do anyway.” Chip stepped away, heading around the bar, encouraging her to follow.
“Are you sure?”
Fine lines crinkled around his eyes when he smiled. His was a weathered face that had spent a lot of time on the surface of planets with strong suns. At least that was her romantic vision of why he had faint squint lines around his sparkling blue eyes.
“You’ve already done more than anyone else would have to keep this bar running. I can’t thank you enough. From now on, you’ll draw a fair salary and I’ll pick up the tab for the securecarts too.” He walked beside her through the maze of tables and scurrying bots, ushering her politely to the door.
“That’s too much.” She tried to object, but he shook his head as he opened the front door and let her precede him outside into the station corridor.
“Don’t argue,” he replied gently. “It’s more than fair and I’m glad to do it.”
She had expected him to leave her at the door. He could watch her enter the cart a few yards away from there. Instead, he escorted her right to the cart station and waited while she palmed the ident screen and the hatch clicked open. Once she sat down inside the cart and closed the door, it would lock shut until it delivered her to her destination. It was one of the safest conveyances on the station. And one of the most expensive. The only thing more costly would be an armed guard.
Chip handed her into the cart and waited while she buckled the harness that would keep her safe should there be some unexpected problem on her journey across the station. The way he watched the shoulder strap tighten between her breasts made her breathless. His gaze shot to hers and he leaned in slowly. Was he going to kiss her?
Oh, dear Lady, she thought as he leaned in close, it sure felt like he was going to kiss her. And she wanted it bad. Really bad.
But his hands went to her waist and tugged the supplementary straps out from either side of the cart’s seat. He buckled them across her lap and pulled them tight. Only then did he move back, out of her personal space.
Damn. She was breathing hard and all he’d done was tuck her in like a child in a safety seat.
“You can never be too careful,” he whispered near her ear before he stood clear of the cart’s hatch. “We’ll talk more in the morni
ng, beautiful.”
She was speechless at the intimate tone of his voice and the fact that he’d called her beautiful. Her husband had called her that on rare occasions and she hadn’t heard it from any man since he’d died. It did funny things to her heart—painful, wistful, hopeful things.
All she could do was nod as Chip closed the hatch and waited to hear it click locked. She could see him through the transparent dome that could be set to opaque if the occupant desired privacy. She held his gaze as the cart trundled away down the wide corridor, and was touched by the fact that he watched her cart until it turned out of sight.
Damn. The King of Clubs packed a wallop and Lila wasn’t sure she’d survive with her heart intact.
*
Over the next few days, Chip insinuated himself fully into the workings of the bar and the datastream of the station itself. It was his own unique ability that most operatives did not possess. Few were able to withstand the physical and mental stresses of cybernetic implantation. For one thing, it took a special mind to cope with the influx of data and most found it difficult to acclimate. Chip certainly had, at first. But his medical team had been the best and the lead surgeon had worked with him long after the surgery was complete. The man had taken a personal interest that had really helped Chip at a time when his whole world had been in a state of serious flux.
But that had been years ago. He was fully in tune with his implants now. They had opened up his mind to abilities he’d never before considered. It was amazing, really, what the human brain could do given half a chance. Chip had never been good at science or math before implantation, as an example. Now, he was a technical wiz, able to call on skills and data from sources he never would have contemplated before.
They’d offered him the chance at cybernetic augmentation after a career ending injury had left his skull breached and his brain bruised. Before that, he’d been part of an elite group of soldiers who had voluntarily undergone a genetic procedure known simply as Enhancement. The details of that procedure were accessible by only a select few within the scientific and military communities. Even Chip’s codes wouldn’t get him into that particular database, but he didn’t really mind.
Enhancement had given him abilities few regular humans had. He’d been better, stronger, faster. All those things a soldier strives for. He’d been an excellent operative, but even the best get taken down every once in a while. It had taken an out of control vehicle carrier to take Chip down.
A freak accident had left him permanently changed. The cybernetics had returned his physical abilities and augmented his mental processing to such a degree that he’d begun a new chapter of his professional career. The battlefield had become far too mundane for someone with his abilities and skills. Instead of a front line assignment, he’d been tapped to work behind the scenes, where he’d proven to be devastatingly effective.
He had a string of successes behind him and had become something of a troubleshooter. There was nothing wrong with Alex’s operation here at The Rabbit Hole, but the station itself was another matter. Chip knew Alex reasonably well and respected his abilities. If the other operative had been here, Chip was fairly certain Alex would have spotted what Lila had—mysterious conversations and a string of coincidences that left Chip with little doubt something sinister was going on here.
Once more, he was glad he’d been coming off an assignment when Alex had gone gallivanting across the galaxy with another Senna woman. If Della was anything like her sister, Chip could understand why. Lila was easy on the eyes and was a comforting presence to be around. She was attractive in so many ways.
Chip tortured himself with her nearness. He tried not to be too obvious in his desire, but he couldn’t help his reaction any time their duties in the bar brought them into close proximity. And he couldn’t resist invading her personal space on purpose at least once every night—when he tucked her into the securecart that took her away and out of his reach. He both dreaded and relished that moment each night, knowing the temptation to tumble her back against the bar and fuck her blind would be removed for a few hours.
During the bar’s open hours, Chip and Lila both kept watch over their suspicious patrons in their own ways. Lila kept doing what she had done before—monitoring and recording any conversation from those she suspected. Chip used his cybernetic implants to do more. He searched through the datastreams from the entire station during his downtime and kept feelers out while he had to keep up the pretense of work during the bar’s open shifts.
He also got to know the routine of the club and some of the regulars who were not part of his assigned network. He checked in with the operatives he was running, alerting them to the possibility of danger on the station and enlisting their aid in surveillance. With the whole clandestine crew on the case, it wouldn’t be long now before Chip started getting some actionable data.
“It’s about that time.” Lila dragged him from his thoughts, sidling up beside him at the bar to help stack the last of the glasses. It was past closing time and her securecart would be waiting outside. Time for the nightly torture of breathing in her delicate scent and allowing the want inside him to smolder up, close to the surface.
Goddess help him if it ever flared out of control. Goddess help them both.
He’d dreamed of the ways he wanted to take her. He’d spent hours imagining what she’d be like in his bed, or on the bar, or bent over a barstool. He had all kinds of fantasies about how he would claim her and make her forget any other man she’d ever had. None would matter after he put his love marks on her luscious pale skin and made her scream his name in pleasure. She’d love every second of it. He’d make it his duty to be certain she did.
“Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
Of course, he couldn’t let any of his fantasies come to life. They’d both be screwed—and not in the good way—if he ever lost control.
They’d fallen into a routine over the past few nights. He’d walk her to the cart and tempt himself until he got a grip on his responses, then lock her in and send her safely on her way.
But there was something off tonight. Something unexpected in the short-lived ritual.
The cart wasn’t there.
“Darnit.” Lila’s soft curse shook him out of his thoughts. Damn. He should’ve been more aware of his surroundings but as usual, when Lila was nearby, all he could see was her.
Chip called on his implant and got his head back in the game. Instantly, he was on alert and consulting the datastream of the station on where exactly the cart reserved for Lila had gone astray. It only took a split second to discover a blockage in one of the corridors had delayed arrival of the securecart.
“Guess it’s the transport tube for me tonight,” Lila looked worried as she glanced toward the tube station a few yards from the club’s entrance.
“Not alone, it’s not. Come back to the bar. You can stay there for the night. Alex’s quarters have more than enough room. You can have the bed.” He’d already made up his mind.
Chapter Four
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can use the tubes like everyone else.” He didn’t need the probability calculations his implant spit out to tell him she was very serious about wanting to go home that night. She was polite, but he could see the firm stance she was taking. She wouldn’t be dissuaded. Still, he had to try.
“Come on, Lila. I promise to be a perfect gentleman.”
She laughed and he was glad there would be no hard feelings, no direct challenge standing between them. He might not win this battle, but neither would he lose the war. Not in this engagement, at least.
“I don’t even want to speculate on how many times you’ve used that line over the years.” She started walking toward the entry platform a short distance away. “Sorry. I’m going home tonight. I’ll just be extra careful. In fact, I won’t take a public pod. I’ll spring for a private one. Not as secure as a securecart, but it’ll do in a pinch.”
“I don’t like it, Lila.” He shook
his head, making a show of resistance though he was pretty certain he wouldn’t be able to persuade her.
Picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder was an option he considered, but she’d hate him for it. They weren’t at a stage in their budding friendship where he could ride roughshod over her decisions. Not that he would ever do such a thing easily—but he would keep her safe. And if she was in clear danger, he wouldn’t think twice about using caveman tactics.
But this wasn’t the time. Not yet.
“You don’t have to like it, but you should respect my wishes. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned away, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on her elbow.
“I’ll see you home, Lila.” Chip knew his duty. And damn his wayward thoughts, he was actually looking forward to sharing a transport pod with her. He would’ve liked to talk her into staying at the bar, but he’d take any time alone he could get.
He flicked an inquiry out to the datastream and called a two person pod. It would be sent to the nearby entry station and she’d never know he’d interfered to have the small pod waiting. There was usually an extra that hovered in the station waiting for riders. He’d just make sure it was the small version, so he could sit close to her, sneaky bastard that he was.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Lila protested softly as they began to walk toward the pod station.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t see you home safely, Lila.” He was only half joking. Her safety had come to mean a great deal to him over the past few days. He’d taken to her more quickly than any person he’d ever met. And it wasn’t just because he was so acutely attracted to her.
He’d wanted women before that he didn’t really care about after getting into their panties. With Lila, everything was different. He wanted to fuck her upside down and inside out, no doubt about that, but he also wanted to take care of her, even though he realized she was fully capable of caring for herself in most situations. Something about her brought out his protective instincts to a major degree. He wanted to put himself in the way of any danger that might befall her.
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