“Do you still have the direct link comm?” He asked. They held a built-in transponder and relay, and were harder to get hands on than the scales of a drak-lizard.
Mo’ata just stared at him.
“Right.” Demil cleared his throat. He needed to get his head back in this game—he was off. It wasn’t the girl. It was the girl with her men. Mo’ata and his damned questions last night had reminded Demil of a time he’d long ago buried in a deep, dark cave in the back of his mind. Seeing Blue come to the defense of Felix and Forrest brought back everything Demil had long ago given up. “It would be best if you headed out the first day of the mid-term break. Contact me once you’re there. I’ll send any new information we uncover in the meantime.” He paused. “And contact me if the situation devolves out of your control.”
Mo’ata nodded and stood. As he walked away, Demil stared down at a thin scar on his left hand, just below the knuckles. I won’t let anything happen.
Not this time.
LEVI
Silence filled the transport as the group made their way home. Felix was the only one seemingly unbothered by this new development, humming under his breath as he watched buildings and lights flash by. But Levi knew, all too well, how good the mercenary was at covering his thoughts with a carefree facade.
Levi understood this was hard for Felix and Blue, though this was not the first time her relationships had been used as a cover for an assignment. At that time, Felix and Levi had only been pretending.
And at that time, the cover was a mere excuse. Nothing that happened in Firik would have had a direct impact on any of their relationships, real and imagined. This was different.
Blue and Felix were not as quiet as they assumed, and the rooms of the apartment were not as well insulated as they should be. Plus, Levi had very good hearing. It made things interesting on those nights Blue was with one of the others.
This assignment was not only about tracing information and forcing the hands of Ekarill and Pakesh. This was about fighting for the integrity of their family. Anything that happened while meeting the Audal family would have far reaching consequences—for Felix, for Blue, and for the entire prida.
Levi shifted in his seat. There wasn’t anything he could do. He was not a direct player in this assignment. Nor did he have any influence over those who were.
No, all he could do for them was watch, and wait, and be there for Blue and Felix when they needed a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen to them. Or a hand to wield a weapon.
Maybe he’d try to reach Trevon. The Families of Martika had a long history with Cularna. He may have insights into the culture that could be used. Felix was too close to the situation.
Levi turned his attention to Forrest. They were about to begin the hunt for the monsters behind the man who abducted and drugged him. Yes, Levi had been taken as well. But other than the occasional nightmare, he’d escaped unscathed, unlike Forrest.
Anger surged within him. These people had come all too close to breaking Levi’s new family.
They needed to be stopped.
This trip to Cularna would have two purposes: to gain formal approval from the Audal family for Felix and Blue’s relationship, and to track down the monsters who’d hurt his family.
Chapter 11
BLUE
A man sat in the hallway beside their door, a large package sitting next to him.
She was tired, pissed, and ready to call fuck-topus for real. She did not want to deal with yet another situation or crisis.
The man turned his head up to them as Blue and the others drew to a halt half-way down the hall.
“Duri!” she cried out. They’d received a care-package from Trevon a few days ago. If they stuck to the pattern he’d set, the next shouldn’t have arrived for another couple of days. “What are you doing here?”
He rose to his feet. “Miss Blue.” Eyes narrowed. “Are you all right?”
She looked between Duri and the men behind her. “I think we should all go inside.” Her tone was grim.
Duri nodded, scooped up the package, and stepped back to allow Blue to unlock and open the door.
Pushing through, she headed straight for her room. “I’m going to change.” Her hand twitched, either for paper and pen to begin sorting through the information Demil had given them, or to hit something. Maybe both.
After changing into her fuzziest pajamas and stashing Garfield’s harness and leash, she returned to the living room. The piquets lounged on the couch and the guys were congregated around the dining table and the box Duri had brought. Mo’ata whispered quietly to Duri, no doubt filling him in on… everything.
“Miss Blue,” the young guard said when he spotted her. “Mr. Zeynar has sent along a few things you may enjoy, and… me.”
She snorted. “Are you saying he thought I’d enjoy you?”
Duri’s cheeks flushed. “I am to be your guard again. We suspected you may have been running into trouble…” His gaze cut to Mo’ata.
Did he mean Blaine? How had Trevon found out about that? “And you were correct. Though I’m not sure how much that matters now. We’re off to Cularna at the end of this ten-day.” Based on Felix’s reactions to all things Martikan, she didn’t think Duri would be welcome. Though, their assignment was to stir things up…
She turned her attention to Felix, who now held a bag of pastel pink candied almonds in his hand. His eyes were narrowed, but his mouth was soft with bemusement.
Was he as okay with this new assignment as he seemed? Even though she’d agreed to it, and understood its importance, she wasn’t okay with it. What if this ruined any chance they had to win over his father?
What if this was the exact opportunity they needed to prove to his father that the life Felix had chosen was the best one for him to lead?
What if I stop asking ‘what if’ and just do what needs to be done?
“Pixie, you’re going to want to see this.” Forrest looked up from the box, his eyes shining.
“What, did he send another game?” she asked. She couldn’t work up her usual enthusiasm for the care-package.
“Better.” He held up nine envelopes, spread into a fan. “Letters.”
She recalled the notes she’d written at Trevon’s request. Had he really…
Hurrying to Forrest’s side, Blue ignored Duri’s sudden movements to pull out his comm and snatched the letters from Forrest. Four were for him. Those she handed back. The other five were addressed to her. She stared at her name written in five different handwritings, and at the five different names in the upper left corners of the envelopes.
Kevin, Phe, Mom, Sheila. Jason. Trevon had somehow gotten notes to all of them, and they’d written back.
She swallowed down the lump in her throat. “How’s that for timing, huh?” she murmured to no one in particular.
Something else was shoved in front of her. A photo of a shirtless man’s butt, the jeans he wore conforming to its shape. Her brows rose.
“Turn it over,” Duri said.
She did. There was a note. Blue let out a bark of laughter and flipped the photo back over, then went back to Trevon’s scribbled words. She giggled.
It was snatched away from her. Snorts and chuckles could be heard a moment later, as well as a muttered “Culan’s bones.”
She smiled again.
“Got it,” Duri whispered. She looked up to find him lowering his comm and tucking it away in his pocket.
“Got what?”
His cheeks flushed. “He wanted pictures,” he muttered.
“Oh?” Forrest looked up from his own notes and a wicked grin spread across his face. “Pictures? We can do pictures. Felix, get over here! The criminal wants pictures.” Forrest maneuvered them until Felix was between Blue and Forrest. Duri looked on with growing horror. “Now, raise your hand and extend your middle finger, like this.” Forrest demonstrated, flipping off Duri.
“Like the fuck-topus,” Blue whispered up to Felix. She held up her
hand just like Forrest.
A half-second later Felix followed suit.
“Take the picture,” Forrest ordered.
Duri took the picture, shaking his head. His lips quivered.
Blue turned her attention back to the letters from home.
Home. Damn she missed her mom, and Phe. She missed Kevin. An almost overwhelming urge to see them filled her. It wouldn’t happen any time soon, but now she could at least contact them. Let them know she was okay, tell them about her life—some of it at least. Not that Trevon would get too snippy about what should and shouldn’t be revealed to the Earthlings about life on other planets.
Which would she open first? Maybe Jason’s? It was the thinnest, and if she was honest with herself, she missed him as much, if not more, than she did Phe and Kevin. Even Trevon’s ass.
Tearing open the envelope, she unfolded the single sheet of paper.
I miss you.
Three simple words. Not for the first time she wondered just who he had in his life that he could rely on, that he could write to and miss. Blue was grateful that she could be one of those people for him.
After folding the letter with careful movements and sliding it back in its envelope, she looked for Duri. He and Mo’ata had slipped to a corner of the room. Both men wore stoney expressions. Duri gestured to the folder in the older man’s hand, and after a slight hesitation, Mo’ata handed it over.
“Thank you,” she heard as she drew nearer. “I will pass this along to Mr. Zeynar. He has been conducting his own investigations into this matter, as a point of honor for Martika and the Zeynar Family. I am sure he will have useful information to share as well. Of course, I will also be with you, and can assist in coordination.”
Blue froze. She didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her earlier. This was the reason the Boss wanted her on this assignment. Not only Mo’ata and Felix, but her, and by extension, the rest of her prida. Because as the woman Zeynar courted, and trusted, she had access to resources even The Great Asshole Boss didn’t.
She felt used.
Come on, Blue, it’s not like you haven’t thought of this yourself. Hell, you’ve used Trev before, in the last investigation. You used him for Phillip, and for Shardon. You’ve used all the men for their connections in one way or the other. You thought it was a brilliant idea. What makes this so different? What makes you better than the Boss in this respect?
None of those thoughts sat well with her.
She gritted her teeth and drew in a slow, deep breath. “Doing sneaky spy things without me?” Yes, she sounded like a bitch. No, she didn’t care right now.
Mo’ata turned a blank face her way. “I was just filling him in, shopa. The more resources for this, the smoother it will go.” His expression softened. “I know you are worried. I will make sure we figure this out.”
Her lips thinned. “Fine. I’m going to go read my letters. You guys stay out here and do manly planning shit.” Spinning on her heel and stalking away, she forced her muscles to relax. As she passed the shelves of carved figurines, she thought about grabbing the fuck-topus to place outside her door. Just as quickly she dismissed it the idea.
For the next hour, she read her letters, then read them again. Eventually she tucked them away. She would answer them when she’d calmed down. Although, it was tempting to rant to her mother and pour out all her frustrations. After a quick visit to the bathroom, she tucked herself under her covers and closed her eyes.
When her clansman slipped into the room a half hour later she was far from asleep. He pulled back the covers and tucked himself behind her, leaving a small space between them.
“Shopa?”
“Not tonight. Please.”
“I am sorry I did not tell you about the meeting. I truly am. I was only trying to allow Forrest’s day to be worry free. And I apologize for the Boss. He is not usually so… abrasive”
She’d never heard him so subdued. That’s right. The clans are matriarchal. Maybe I need to write D’rama a letter, ask how she would handle a situation like this.
“I understand all of that, in my head. The rest of me… is just going to be angry for a while. And I really don’t want to talk about it tonight.”
“Yes, shopa.”
They lay like that, untouching, with inches separating them.
“Coconut,” he whispered.
She turned to him. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She didn’t snug into him like she normally would, but she didn’t pull away.
Soon she was asleep, surrounded by pine and herbs and warmth.
Chapter 12
EKARILL
John Ekarill knocked on the plain white door. Soldiers in pressed and razor seamed uniforms rushed through the corridors around him, their boots sounding with dull thuds on the concrete floor. Pale light filtered through the ceiling. The overall effect was sterile, austere, and uncompromising, just like the Mercenary Guild.
“Come.”
Palming open the door, Ekarill stepped through and waited just on the other side of the threshold. He waited for the man behind the desk to raise his head and give him his full attention. After signing the form before him and placing it to the side, General Jackson Audal looked up.
“John.” Warmth suffused his voice though his expression didn’t change. The four diamonds of his rank winked from the collar of his uniform.
Lieutenant General Ekarill relaxed his stance at the use of his first name.
General Audal waved a hand. “Have a seat.”
Ekarill moved forward with precise steps, concentrating on the discipline of the movements to keep his nerves at bay. Taking a seat, he folded his hands in his lap. This would all fall apart if the man across from him noticed their trembling.
“How is your girl? Well, I hope.” General Audal leaned back in his seat, his hard face only faintly lined. “What can I do for you?”
“Nicole is fine, thank you for asking. It was actually her I wanted to talk to you about.”
Something that he would have called wariness on anyone else moved through Audal’s eyes. “Oh?”
“Have you heard from your youngest lately?” The words were smooth, casual. Audal could have no idea how much Ekarill needed the answer to that particular question.
A fierce frown pulled at the other man’s expression. “I haven’t. Not since he pushed for the transfer to a Karranian unit. Why?”
Some of the tension riding Ekarill lifted. Maybe he’d found those cursed communications early enough. He’d thought he’d purged everything from his system, but a week ago he found a few message strings between him and Pakesh. It was too much of a coincidence for him to easily dismiss that they’d appeared so abruptly. And Felix had been involved in the Miyari business, though luckily the incident was suppressed. And not even by his sponsor.
If Felix did know about Ekarill’s involvement, he couldn’t imagine the other man would stay silent.
“Oh,” Ekarill said with a wave of his hand. “Janice has been pushing me to arrange a trial period for her. Of course I immediately thought of Felix. After that sad business with Portia…”
Audal’s lips tightened. “I would appreciate you not mentioning that again.”
Suppressing his smirk, Ekarill nodded. If there was one way to rile up Jackson Audal and throw him off, it was to mention his youngest’s failed relationship and subsequent abandonment of his rank. When Felix Audal broke off his engagement, transferred to the Special Infantry Forces, and took the rank of Chief, the scandal shook the upper echelons of the Guild.
“I’ll speak with Mira. For some reason she is still holding out hope that the boy will come to his senses and return to Portia. She’s convinced it’s just some kind of misunderstanding.” Audal’s frown turned to a wry smile. “I know Felix better than that. He’s stubborn, but he’s not stupid. If he broke off the relationship like that, there was a very good reason.”
“So Nicole has a shot?” Ekarill held his breath. He didn’t
want a joining between his daughter and Felix. He wanted to know exactly how much Audal knew of what his son had been up to.
Audal shook his head, though it was more resigned than anything. “I won’t say that either. Look, why don’t you come by the residence next rest-day? Mira is really the one to talk to about this.”
“I could do that. I’ll bring Janice. We can have dinner, a drink or two. It’s been a while since you indulged me in a game of quilns.” Tension flowed from Ekarill. If Jackson was inviting him to his residence, there was no way he suspected Ekarill of involvement with Miyari, if he even knew of the situation.
Audal’s eye twitched. “Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve played.”
Ekarill stiffened as his relief fled.
Fingers tapped a stack of papers. “I was about to look over this quarter’s proposal for the medical division’s funds. Anything you want to add while you’re here?”
Was that suspicion drawing in the corners of General Audal’s mouth and tipping his eyes with wrinkles? Was Ekarill imagining the stiff note in the other man’s tone?
“No,” Ekarill finally said, “I don’t think that will be necessary.” There was nothing there to cast suspicion on the projects Pakesh was running. There was no—
“I did have a question about next season’s shots. My understanding was the booster serum wasn’t ready?”
“We were able to speed production.”
Brows raised.
“I’ve been liaising with Michael Pakesh.”
Audal’s eyes tightened at the name, and Ekarill knew he had not imagined that reaction. He began to sweat.
“This is the same man who was once behind the Enhancement Addendum to the Alliance agreements.”
“Yes.” And at one point you supported those addendums.
“You’ve checked his work? He’s not after doing unauthorized trials again? I won’t have those men mucking about with my soldiers. Don’t think I’ve forgotten the mess that Yorik Skit left behind. There’s still a warrant out for his arrest. I don’t think I need to say it, but don’t trust Pakesh too readily. Nothing was proven, but there’s no way he was unaware of what his colleague was up to.”
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