“It’s done, and I messed up,” she muttered.
Regret was a terrible thing. She missed the big alien more than she wanted to admit. She might have still been a little drugged when she’d thrown herself at Roth…but she’d honestly felt a powerful connection to him.
Her stomach fluttered and she clenched her teeth. Okay, she’d been super attracted to Roth. Still felt aroused just thinking about him. He had the best bod and smelled like someone she’d wanted to lick.
She had, in fact. And he’d tasted good. So damn good.
Her nipples beaded just at the memory, and she hated herself for it. I’m a terrible person.
“Miss Wade?”
She startled and placed the device on the table, staring up at a woman wearing a security uniform. “That’s me.”
“I’m Investigator Clord. Can you please step out from the booth?” The tall woman backed up.
“Sure.” Vera slid out of the booth and stood. “Is that man going to okay?”
“They’re still working on him.”
That meant he wasn’t dead. Which was good news. The security office pulled out a scanner and ordered her to hold still, which Vera did. Then Investigator Clord scowled. “Step away from the table and move right there.” She pointed to an open spot near the center of the room.
Vera went to reach for her data device on the table.
“No! Leave it.”
Vera jerked at the sharp order but backed off, going to where she was told to stand.
Clord scanned the entire booth, from the tabletop, to the benches, even the floor. Another security officer joined her, climbing into the booth and manually searching it.
“Miss Wade?”
She turned at the new voice. This security officer was about sixty, a man with short white hair…and he had a mean-looking face. “Yes. That’s me.”
“Why did you poison Zackary Mule?”
She blinked, gawking at him. “What?”
“The poison he drank came from the beer you gave him from your table. We have it all on surveillance. The doctor confirmed he drank the poison. The glass from his table has traces of the poison. Why did you attempt to kill him? How do you know the victim?”
Shock muted her. Vera shook her head and swallowed hard, getting her wits back. “I was reading messages and the server set it down. I had ordered wine and an appetizer plate. That wasn’t it. The man…um, you said his name is Zackary? He asked if he could have it because I don’t drink beer. I said yes. I never touched it. I swear.”
The mean-faced officer’s scowl deepened. “You need to come with me to security.”
“I didn’t do anything but tell him he could have the beer I didn’t order.”
“Are you going to come peacefully?”
Pure fear filled Vera. “I’m innocent! Are you arresting me? Look at surveillance. I didn’t touch it. Hell, track down my server. She can tell you that I didn’t order a beer. I hate that stuff. It tastes like cold pee. It was just left at the wrong table. The guy asked if he could have it, and I said sure. That’s all I did. Let him have a beer I’d never drink.”
His jaw clenched. “You did touch it.”
She remembered reaching for her wine, only to realize the glass felt wrong. Her hand had only brushed the side, though. Oh shit. I’m being framed… No.
Her mind worked fast. “That beer…it was meant for me.” She gasped. “I think someone tried to poison me. You need to question the server! She’s the one who brought it to me.”
“It was a man. You can’t even keep your falsified stories straight. You will come with me to security now, Miss Wade.”
Two more security guards approached. One of them withdrew his shock stick, glaring as he advanced.
Terror swamped her. They were going to arrest her.
“Don’t resist,” the older jerk in front of her ordered. “Put your hands behind your back.”
Vera was either being framed or someone had tried to kill her. It made her even more terrified. “I want Roth. He’s a Veslor. I demand you call him!”
“You need an attorney. Not someone from the tactical team.”
She frantically looked around the bar. At least twenty customers were still being held with her. “Someone, please call Roth. Tell him that Vera is in trouble. Please! I didn’t do this! Roth is a Veslor—”
“Miss Wade, stop shouting and put your hands behind your back.”
“I didn’t do this! Call Roth. He knows me!”
The security guard in front of her gave a sharp nod, and she started to relax. Roth would believe her. He might be mad that she’d involved him in her life again, but she knew he was a good man. He’d help her sort everything out with the fleet.
A sudden bolt of electricity hit her back. One of the officers had zapped her! She tried to scream from the pain as her muscles locked up. The sound that came out was more like a whimper before everything went black.
* * * * *
Roth tackled the male in front of him, taking the human down to the mat. He lifted off, climbed to his feet, and then bent to offer a hand. “You flinched and looked away from me. It’s imperative that you keep eye contact with the enemy. That way you know which way to twist and tuck your body to avoid being snagged by their front paws.”
The human male chuckled as he took Roth’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. “You’re scary, man. What can I say? Anyone seeing you coming would react the same way.”
“I won’t kill you. A Razor beast will. They always target mid center of the body to take down their prey.”
“My suit will protect me.”
“It would, but you will find yourself pinned while it attempts to tear through your armor. They weigh twice what you do and are extremely strong. That means you will be useless to the rest of your team. However, when the beasts lunge, they expose their backside if they miss their target. It’s the easiest way to kill them.”
“Just shoot them in the ass,” another human from the tactical team helpfully called out.
Drak agreed. “That is true. Razor beasts have no protective scales where they sit. It might not be the most honorable way to take down prey, but it is the fastest.”
“You do not want a Razor beast to pin you.” Gnaw’s expression was amused as he made eye contact with the members of Team Five, whom they were training for an upcoming mission. “Our suits are hard-shelled, and once they realize their claws and teeth can’t penetrate, they might mistake you for a female—and they are always horny.”
“No way!” one of the humans gasped.
“Way.” Gnaw grinned. “We trained some Arbellions to fight them. They also wear armor. One of their males didn’t learn well, and a beast pinned him.”
“I remember that,” Maith chuckled. “We were laughing too hard to pull the beast off him right away. The Razor believed he’d found a female to breed.”
Roth shook his head, smiling too. “Avoid that traumatic experience by learning what you are taught. Keep eye contact and dodge when they leap to pin you. It is important to―”
“Which one of you is Roth?”
They all turned, seeing a human female in civilian clothing rushing toward them. Roth strode toward her. Most civilians never entered their training room. “I am Roth.”
She was an older female, one he didn’t know, but there were a lot of humans on Defcon Red. She was slightly out of breath as she stopped. “I’ve seen you Veslors around and know you’re on the tactical team. I was hoping I’d find you here.”
Maith growled.
Roth ignored him, knowing his medic hated when humans sought them out to appease their curiosity, wishing to talk to an alien. “You have found us. What do you want?”
She pushed her pale silver hair back from her face. “Some woman was yelling for you. I forgot her name. She looked really scared and begged everyone in the bar to call you. You’re not listed in the directory, so I came down here.” The female chewed on her bottom lip. “I have daughters, an
d that girl is about their age. Those security bullies hit her in the back with a shock stick and knocked her out before they carried her off. It was totally unnecessary. She wasn’t fighting them; she was just really scared.”
Roth tensed. “What did this female look like?”
“About my height, kind of skinny, with dark curly hair.”
“Vera?”
“Yes! I think that’s what she said her name was.”
He snarled, seeing a red haze. Someone had hurt Vera.
The female staggered back, an alarmed expression on her face.
He got control of his temper. “Apologies. Who hit her?”
“Security stunned her. They were saying the man who collapsed in the bar on level three was poisoned. I was there having a drink. Security said she did it, but she was swearing she was innocent—and I believe her. I raised three kids and half a dozen of their friends. I can spot a lie a mile away. That’s not what I saw on that poor girl’s face.”
“Thank you.” Roth dodged around her and sprinted toward the door. Once he reached the corridor, he increased his pace.
The female had mentioned level three. He reached the lift, then punched the wall out of frustration, having no patience that it didn’t immediately open.
Roth heard his grouping coming behind him, and he glanced their way. They paused at his side, all three appearing worried. “You heard?”
“We heard.” Maith stepped closer. “Calm yourself.”
Roth growled. He didn’t want to be calm. Someone had stunned Vera.
The lift opened, and he rushed inside. “Move.”
His males got in fast and they headed toward level three.
“It may not be her,” Gnaw reasoned.
“Did you hear that older female?”
“Yes.” Gnaw sighed. “It probably is Vera. Why would she poison a male?”
“She wouldn’t.” Roth refused to believe it.
The lift doors opened on level three and he pushed past his males, sprinting toward the security office. They were clearly marked on the walls, easy to find on every deck. He made it to the door and slowed.
The door automatically opened and he stormed inside. Two females wearing security uniforms were seated behind a counter, and he could see their surprise as they looked at him.
“Where is Vera Wade?”
Both females flinched as his deep, harsh tone. One got to her feet and reached for the blaster strapped to her waist belt. “She’s being processed.”
“What does that mean?” Roth didn’t like the sound of that.
The females glanced at each other, before looking at him again. “They are stripping her down to do a search for the poison she used, and then she’ll be put in a cell until more evidence is logged.”
The humans were stripping her bare? “No,” he snarled. “Drak, contact Clark and your mate. Tell them to get here. I am going to find Vera.”
Maith tried to get in his way. “You can’t harm them. Wait until we have humans who can talk sense into these ones.”
“They stunned her and are removing her clothing!” Roth shoved the male, moving fast and rushing around the counter.
“Do not fire on him,” Gnaw snarled at the female officers. “You are outnumbered. He will not attack unless you force him to. He is protective of the female.”
Roth wasn’t hit in the back with a stun blast, so they must have heeded Gnaw’s warning. He entered a wide hallway and listened. Security offices weren’t large. He’d toured one with Clark on level two once. He moved past a few small offices…and then he heard Vera yelling.
“I didn’t do it! Just stay back. I demand an attorney. I have rights!”
The hallway turned to the left, and he hurried his pace. He spotted one male and one female cornering Vera inside a room with the door open.
The male waved a shock stick in his hand. “You can either comply, or we’ll knock you out again to conduct the search. Where on your person have you concealed the poison?”
“Vera!” Roth roared her name.
The two security humans spun. He ignored them when they ordered him to halt.
The male tried to stab him in the chest with the shock stick. Roth dodged it and grabbed the male’s weapon, ripping it out of his hold. He tossed it out of the man’s reach.
The security female fumbled for her sidearm.
“Do not,” Roth warned. “I don’t wish to hurt you, and human females are fragile. I need to speak to Vera. I won’t take her. But you won’t touch her again. Do you understand?”
Both humans backed up, but they didn’t pull their sidearms from their holsters. Roth went to Vera, where she had crouched into the corner.
She threw herself at him and hugged his waist, burying her face against his workout shirt. “I’m so glad to see you! I’m innocent! I think someone tried to poison me. I don’t—” Her voice broke. “I hate beer!”
He reached down and got a grip on her waist, lifting her a few inches off the floor, and then slowly turned until his back wasn’t to the two security humans anymore, or the door. Vera didn’t protest.
He gently placed her back on her feet. “Who tried to poison you?”
She lifted her head to peer up at him. He saw fear in her eyes. “I don’t know! Maybe I’m wrong—but someone did leave a poisoned beer at my table while I was distracted.”
Roth glared at the two security humans. “This is Vera Wade. She has no reason to poison a male. There is no way she would even have access to something like that. She was just released from Med Bay last evening. Clothing and personal supplies had to be issued to her. She came with nothing from the surface of the planet we stopped at to answer a distress hail. We went through decontamination together, and the only outfit she wore was taken as evidence.
“She was a victim of sabotage. Many humans died in her facility, if you aren’t aware. She was the only survivor. It is possible that she is in danger.”
Both humans glanced at each other. The female finally looked at Roth. “Let me see what I can find out. Just stay here.” She fled.
“I’m either being set up or someone tried to kill me.” Vera sounded frightened.
He peered down at her upturned face. “I know.”
“Really? You believe me?”
“Yes.” He gently stroked her back.
She nodded and ducked her head, pressing her cheek to his chest. “You’re sweaty, but I don’t even care. Thank you for coming.”
“I will always come when you need me,” he said, glaring at the security male.
Chapter Nine
Vera felt much calmer with Roth and the three other Veslors present. They’d been led from a security room, where they’d first taken her, to one that looked like a small conference space.
She tried not to gawk at Roth’s friends.
All Veslors appeared to be big and intimidating. None of the three had spoken, but they’d remained close, almost like her own personal bodyguards. She appreciated that. Roth had seated her at the long table before taking the seat next to her. He’d also offered her his hand, which she’d gladly clasped.
The door opened and two human men walked in. One sported jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, the other wearing a security uniform with decorations on the front part of his shoulder area.
Roth spoke first. “Clark, I’m glad you are here.”
The older man in jeans took a seat on the other side of Roth. “This is Investigator Trowly. He and I just went over all the surveillance footage taken inside the bar. Miss Wade has been cleared.”
The uniformed man also took a seat across the table and neatly folded his hands on the surface. His gaze fixed on her. “Miss Wade, you have my regrets for your detainment.”
“They were going to remove her clothing,” Roth growled.
Trowly flinched. “The initial intel made her appear to be the guilty party. The poisoned beer did come from her table, and the surveillance footage the security team viewed showed her touching it before it
was given to Zackary Mule.”
“What they didn’t do was view all angles, or go back any further than the beer being dropped off at her table,” Clark stated. “The view from the door proved she just touched the side of the mug. It also showed her head down, reading her device, when a man wearing a baseball cap swiftly walked by and placed it on her table. All employees on duty were accounted for, but they couldn’t identify him. He wore one of their jumpsuit-type outfits, but the hat isn’t permitted on the job. He wore it to hide his face from being picked up on the cameras.”
Trowly jumped in then. “It was as if he knew where the surveillance cameras were located. We went back further to find out how and when he’d entered the bar. He stepped into the kitchen from a maintenance access hatch, already carrying the beer he left at Miss Wade’s table, and dropped it off there. Then he quickly retraced his path and exited out of that same maintenance hatch.”
“There are no cameras in those tunnels,” Clark spat. “There should be.”
“In conclusion,” Trowly said, raising his voice over Clarks, then quickly lowering it, “we believe Miss Wade was the intended target. Not Zackary Mule. Thankfully, he is recovering.” He peered at Vera. “Who would want you dead?”
Vera gripped Roth’s hand tighter. It was horrifying to realize she’d been right. Someone had tried to kill her. “I don’t know.”
“Who is your beneficiary if you die?”
Vera licked her lips. “A charity. They wouldn’t be aware of that. I didn’t contact them to let them know.”
“You have no family?” Trowly asked.
“I have a biological father still alive. We aren’t close. At all. He knows I’d never leave him a dime.”
“And where is he?”
Vera met the investigator’s gaze. “On Earth.” She gave him her father’s full name. “I got a recent message from him. You can verify it with the data pad assigned to me by your fleet. He’s tried to gain access to my apartment on Earth. I’m sure the management can verify that, too, since he’s been bothering them.”
Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates Book 4) Page 10
