by Susan Hayes
She changed into a soft, stretchy pair of pants, a faded blue T-shirt and her favorite pair of slippers. Her friend, Phaedra, had sent them to her from some quirky little shop she’d found on some backwater space station somewhere. Phaedra’s life choices meant that she never stayed in one place too long, and she loved to send Alyson knickknacks from her travels.
The slippers were lime green with purple spots. The spots lit up with every step she took, casting an ever-changing light show across the walls and floor. She loved the goofy things. No matter how hard her day, the dancing lights and eye-searing colors always improved her mood.
She was brushing out her hair when her comm device chimed. The incoming call was from Zura, and she transferred it to her wall and activated an encryption program before answering.
“Hi, Zura. How are you feeling?” she asked as her friend’s face appeared on the screen.
Zura shook her head, sending her multi-hued blue hair flying. “Oh no. I didn’t call to talk about me. Someone broke into your office and left you a threatening note, and you have three very hot, overprotective cyborgs staying with you as your security detail. I want to talk about that!”
“Well, that news traveled fast.” Alyson sat down on the edge of her bed as she considered where to start.
“Internal comm channels make cyborgs the biggest gossips in the cosmos. Prying it out of Luke and Kit took me awhile, though. They thought it would upset me, and somehow put the twins in danger. I swear they think I turned to glass the second I got pregnant. Now, spill.”
“Someone used my access code to enter my office and leave me a note. It was weird, Zura. They used red paper and folded it into a perfect pyramid. The note wasn’t threatening though. It was a warning to watch my back or I wouldn’t live to finish what I had started.”
“Veth. They got through your security? Didn’t you upgrade that recently?”
“Yeah, I did. And whoever it was only appeared as a faint blur on the security footage. I didn’t even see it the first time I looked. Lance did, though. Once he knew that much, I didn’t have a snowball’s chance in a supernova of keeping them out of it.”
“Of course you didn’t, and you shouldn’t have tried. No one else could keep you as safe as those three will. They’re invested.” Zura grinned. “Or they will be, once you stop fighting the inevitable. Even a blind man could see there’s chemistry between all of you.”
“Chemistry won’t repair Huey,” she muttered.
“Uh oh. Did something happen to your new droid?”
“Blade happened. They weren’t in my home for thirty seconds before he tackled poor Huey and broke him. The other guys have him making dinner as penance.”
Zura burst out laughing. “He tackled Huey? Oh, man. Wait until I share that with my guys. They’ll never let him live it down. I hope you’re making him pay for the repairs.”
Alyson had already considered and dismissed the idea. “He was defending me. Well, he thought he was. I can’t make him pay for trying to save my life. I’ve asked Lieksa to fix him up for me.”
Zura’s silver eyes narrowed, and she cocked her head to one side. “Seriously, how are you doing, Alyson? Is there anything me or the guys can do?”
“I’m not sure how I’m doing. I’m still processing it all. I mean, I knew there were risks. We all knew that when we signed on. Finding that note on my desk made it all too real, though. Someone out there knows what we’re up to and isn’t happy about it. This is a big step up from messing with my inventory shipments.”
“Back up. Who is messing with your shipments? How long has this been going on?”
“Not long. A few weeks. And it’s nothing major. Orders coming in short, shipments being diverted or lost in transit. It’s a petty power play by the corporations. I thought it was a good sign. If they were doing that, then they couldn’t know what I was really up to.”
“Alyson, my friend, do I need to remind you what I do for a living?” Zura asked.
“You run a shipping business. A very successful one that keeps you far too busy to be doing favors for friends.”
“Uh huh. Tell me, do those missing shipments include stuff you need to synthesize the cure?”
Alyson bit her lip. “If I say yes, you’re going to roll your eyes at me, aren’t you?”
Zura chuckled. “Of course I am. And then I’m going to tell you to send me a list of what you need, and I’ll have it here before you know it. You should have told me sooner.”
“You’re not the first one to say that to me today. Apparently, I’m not good at asking for help.”
“Apparently. In other unsurprising news, water is wet, and space is a tad chilly.”
“Point taken. You know, when we first met I wondered how you could possibly cope with those overbearing men of yours. You were so quiet and unassuming.”
Zura laughed. “In my former line of work, it worked to my advantage for everyone to underestimate me. I might have gone legit, but old habits die hard.”
It was hard to imagine the diminutive half-Pheran woman as a smuggler and black marketeer, but that’s what she had been raised to be. Like Alyson, she’d been expected to continue in the family business, but she had decided to forge her own path, instead. “I’ll put together a list tonight and bring it over to you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t. You’re not leaving the med-center until the threat’s eliminated,” one of her new bodyguards announced from the other side of her door.
Zura winced. “They still haven’t learned not to eavesdrop, huh? You can send one of the overkill triplets over tomorrow with the list…if any of them survive the night. Good luck, and watch your back.”
Alyson managed to keep her temper in check until Zura signed off. “What did I tell you about listening in on private conversations?” she snapped as she headed out of her bedroom and into the hall. Dirk was standing so close to the door she barrelled into him, which only irritated her further.
“I was coming to tell you that dinner is ready and overheard you talking.” He touched his ear. “Cyborg hearing, remember?”
She glared up at him. Even at five-foot-eight, she was more than a foot shorter than he was, so she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes. “I’m aware of your enhanced senses. Even if you didn’t eavesdrop on purpose, you shouldn’t have interjected into a private conversation. I’m certain we’ve had this conversation before.” She knew they had because she remembered it clearly. It was the night they had met, and the first time she’d called one of them Officer Overkill. The nickname had stuck, and with good reason.
“But it isn’t safe for you to go out. I thought you’d want to know that before you ended your conversation,” Dirk argued.
“It was still impolite.”
He frowned, but instead of continuing to argue, he lowered his head and sighed. “Will you help us with that? Our first jobs after we were freed didn’t exactly require good manners. We picked up most of our social graces sitting around freighter galleys and mining ship mess halls. If you told us what we’re doing wrong, maybe we’d be less irritating.” He grinned, and her heart beat a little faster just watching him. “Or maybe not. We’ve been told we’re a handful.”
The request caught her off guard, and by the time she answered him, her anger was gone. “I’d be happy to do that.”
“Good.” Dirk reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, stroking his fingers across her cheek. “I don’t like it when you’re angry with me.”
“I wasn’t angry.” And when he touched her like that, she couldn’t imagine ever being mad at him again.
He chuckled and raised a dark brow, a move that made him look even sexier. “Oh yeah, you were. And I imagine you’re going to be mad at us again before this is over. Try to remember, anything we do, we’re doing to keep you safe.”
“I’ll try. But I’ve been making my own choices and living by my rules for a long time now. When I make you crazy, try to remember that, too. Okay?”
The floor tilted and spun away and her breath caught in her throat. Before she could think of anything to say, he moved away again, and Blade called from the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready. Get in here before Lance and I eat all of this delicious bounty.”
“He’s not kidding. That’s probably something we should work into our lessons on good manners,” Dirk said.
“I’ll put it near the top of the list.”
“Right after a refresher course on eavesdropping?”
“Exactly.”
* * * *
Dinner was a boisterous, laughter-filled affair. The brothers took turns telling her about the jobs they had held and the places they’d worked in the years since they were freed. Most of the stories involved embarrassing moments that had the victim groaning denials and insisting the others were lying.
The guys shooed her out of the kitchen after dinner without letting her clear away so much as a fork. She left them to clean and went to her office to check incoming messages and compile the list of items Zura had requested. It felt strange to leave the work to someone else. She’d spent most of her life doing things for herself. Her maternal grandparents were the only ones she trusted to be there for her. Everyone else had always been too busy with their own lives and plans.
In an attempt to appease her bodyguards, she left the office door open. Every ten minutes or so one of them would pass by, but they didn’t disturb her. Their consideration gave her hope that they could make this work. After an hour, Blade dropped in to let her know he was heading back to their residence cubby to pick up what they’d need for their stay. He even remembered to knock and didn’t stay any longer than it took for him to convey his message.
She kept working until her back ached and her eyes felt gritty. When she’d decided to become a doctor, no one had warned her that for every hour she spent with patients, she would spend two more filling out reports and keeping up with the day to day business of running a med-center. When she yawned for the third time, she decided it was time for a cup of tea. That would keep her going for another hour or so. She headed to the kitchen, and stopped short when Dirk appeared in the hall in front of her.
“Your bedroom is in the other direction.”
“Yes, it is. But the kitchen is where the tea is.” She tried to step around him, but he folded his arms across his chest and moved in front of her again.
“You don’t need tea. You need sleep.”
“I’m fine. I learned to go without sleep while I was in med school.” She tapped his forearm with her finger. “So, if you’d get out of my way I’ll go get my tea.”
“Not going to happen. You’ve had a hell of a day, and you’re exhausted. I’m not a doctor, but even I can tell you’re pushing yourself too hard.”
She stifled another yawn and pointed toward the kitchen. “I’ll sleep in an hour. I promise.”
“Are you always this stubborn?” he asked, but his lips were turned up into a grin that belied the annoyed tone in his voice.
“Always.” She hadn’t gotten this far in her career, or her life, by backing down, and she wasn’t going to start now.
“Noted. But you’re still not getting your way. Not this time.”
He moved so fast she didn’t have time to do more than blink before he bent over and hauled her over one massive shoulder. When he straightened, she yelped in surprise and started kicking and squirming. She knew it was hopeless, but she wasn’t going to suffer through this indignity without a fight. Her fuzzy slippers thumped against his side, and every time they connected, dots of purple lights danced across the walls and ceiling.
Put me down, you jerk!”
He clamped an arm across the back of her thighs, locking down her legs and started walking down the hall, away from the kitchen. “I’ll put you down when we get to your bedroom.”
She smacked her hand against his ass, which was the only part of him she could reach as she dangled off his shoulder. “I was wrong. You’re not a jerk. You’re an asshole. You know what’s worse than eavesdropping? This. This is worse.”
A door slid open somewhere in front of them, but all she could see was Dirk’s broad back.
“I heard yelling. Is everything okay?”
She wriggled again. “No, it’s not. You’re supposed to be my bodyguard, so help me! Make Dirk put me down right now.”
“Uh, Dirk, is there a reason our protectee is upside down and royally pissed off?”
“She needs to go to bed and is too stubborn to admit it. So, I’m escorting her there.”
“Uh huh.” Blade appeared beside her, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Cute slippers.”
“You’re not going to help?”
“I’m not. You need rest. You aren’t any good to anyone if you’re too tired to think.”
“You’re both assholes.” She gave up arguing and went limp.
“Yeah, but we’re still right. Good night, Doc.” Blade gave her a jaunty wave and vanished from sight again, still chuckling.
Dirk carried her to her room, which gave her a few uninterrupted seconds to get intimately acquainted with his body. At least his hard muscles and the tight curve of his ass were a distraction from her embarrassment at being carried around like an old-fashioned sack of grain.
Instead of setting her back on her feet, he lowered her carefully onto her bed, nestling her into the blankets with surprising tenderness.
“Goodnight, Alyson. Sleep well.”
She frowned up at him. “I’m tempted to lie awake all night just to spite you.”
He chuckled as he stood up. “I don’t doubt it. But you’re too smart to do that. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She stuck her tongue out for a second but stopped when it struck her that she was being childish. Asshole or not, Dirk and his brothers had put their lives on hold to protect her. “Sleep well.”
“Thank you, but I’m not planning on sleeping. I lost tonight’s round of rock, paper, scissors, so I’m on watch.”
She sat up and stared at him. “You’re going to stay up all night?”
“Uh huh. If you need me, I’ll be on the other side of your door. No one is getting to you without coming through me, first.”
“You need your sleep, too.”
“I’m a cyborg with a body loaded with medi-bots. I don’t need to sleep. At least, not for a few days.”
“Do you need a blanket? Something to read?” It bothered her to think of him sitting in the empty hall all night, alone and far from comfortable.
“Go to sleep, Aly. I’ll be fine.”
He left her room, and she lay quietly, listening to him settle in the hall outside her door. She got up, changed into a pair of pajamas and prepared for bed. Before she got back under the covers, she crossed to the door and pressed her hand against it. “Good night, Dirk. Thank you for watching over me.”
“Get back in bed before I come in there and tuck you in myself.”
She refused to admit how tempting his offer was. Not even to herself. She went to bed and drifted off to sleep, part of her still acutely aware of the man on guard outside. It was comforting to know he was there. Despite the disruptions and chaos they caused, this was going to work out for them, she was certain of it.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Why did I ever think this was a good idea?” Alyson pushed past Blade to get to her desk.
He could’ve moved back another inch or two, but that would have meant missing out on a chance to breathe in her perfume and feel her brush against him on her way by. He wanted more than that, but after two days of non-stop togetherness, the lovely doctor was still resisting the pull between them. It was making him crazy.
“Because it is a good idea. You need protecting, and we’re the best ones for the job.” As far as Blade was concerned, they were the on
ly ones to do it. If she tried to replace them, they’d give a vivid demonstration of their skills while taking down any possible rival. She was theirs to protect. End of discussion.
“You’ve all said that, but I’m still not sure why you think so.”
He straightened to his full height and pointed to the Corp-Sec badge affixed to the chest of his deep red tunic. “We’re Corporate Security, for one thing. We didn’t get this gig because we look good in the uniform.”
“I hate to point this out, but the guy who tried to kill your bosses was Corp-Sec, too. What else have you got?”
He leaned back against the wall and shrugged. “It’s what we were designed for.”
Alyson’s head snapped up. “You were?”
It wasn’t something he talked about. Like most of his kind, Blade didn’t dwell on his unusual creation or the fact that his skills and abilities had been hardwired into his brain instead of learned over time. “We were created to protect high priority targets. High ranking officials, corporate royalty, and VIPs. I’ve got a head full of tactics and strategies all pertaining to keeping you alive at all costs. So, when we tell you there’s no one better, we mean it. Astek designed us to protect their most valuable assets, and they made sure we had every enhancement you can think of so we could do the job right.”
“So when you say you’re the best…”
“We meant it. I know this hasn’t been easy for you, Doc, but we know what we’re doing.”
She snorted with laughter. “Is that why my poor droid needed emergency surgery? Lieksa couldn’t believe how much damage you did with one tackle.”
“Like I said, we know what we’re doing. I still feel bad about Huey. Even if it gave Lance a chance to play repair tech. He loves tinkering with stuff like that.”
“I noticed. I thought that might be part of what you were programmed for, but it can’t be.” She set down her stylus and leaned forward in her chair. “So, Lance likes fixing things. What about you? What do you do for fun?”
