She’d studied bloodlines, the families, as a counterpoint to the violence of her military career. Pacing, she clicked off the latecomers. There were several, but only a handful showed up during the right period—when Darius’ grandfather implemented the Saria. Up until that generation, new families weren’t integrated into the structure of Teran One society. They lived on Teran One, but they weren’t a part of the economy and the bloodlines until Lando Stender had stopped the constant bloodshed between families by creating the Saria contracts.
It was the new families, the Ingles, the Vinars, the Byrons, and many more who made the Saria contracts work by arbitrating them, creating rules that all the Teran One families could live with. Tory’s bloodline, once extensive and prolific, began to drop off immediately. Alex remembered when she had studied his bloodline. Before she’d presented a possible Courtship Contract to him, she’d wanted to know everything about him. And his family. His great-grandfather had stood beside Lando Stender, had fought to put him on the throne even though he was from Teran Five. Arden Ingle had fallen deeply in love with a native Teran One woman, Melia Orion, who refused to marry him. It was Arden who began the fairy tale little girls were told for the next three generations.
Arden Ingle, lonely and unmarried, had only his brother to carry on the bloodline on Teran One. The last male heir of the Solly family, in a foolish drunken brawl, killed Arden’s brother. By Teran One’s new Saria law, Arden had the right to kill the last male heir. Instead, he chose to take a woman from the Solly family. It was this Saria contract, created with the Mutual Nullification clause, that carried on the Ingle line. Regina Solly Ingle had five boys for Arden Ingle. A happy ending all around.
Why was she thinking about some random fairy tale? She should be trying to discover who was coming up with this apocalyptic plan. But something about the tale was connected.
The Gregors.
The hatred of the Gregor bloodline for the Sollys’ power dotted Teran One history, each side committing acts of violence. After the joining of the Solly and new Ingle bloodline, the Sollys went on the soar in popularity as the Gregors tumbled to obscurity. Bloodlines ebbed and flowed, but political power on Teran One was held through strong genetic connections. The Sollys recognized that their line had been weakened by isolating. New blood, through the Ingle line, had reinvigorated them, yet allowed them to retain their First Family status.
Only the Gregor bloodline had refused to include new blood. They had stubbornly clung to the old ways, the old families, and as a result, died out. Pontoon Gregor had only two sons, both the last of their line. He’d married Darius’ aunt, but they’d had no children so the Gregor bloodline remained pure. And vulnerable.
Wouldn’t it be in Gregor’s best interest to intermarry with those with the anti-plague gene?
Unless it wasn’t the Gregor family.
Shit.
His own sons didn’t have the gene to protect them. Could the Gregor family be the target?
One of the new bloodlines? Perhaps. But most of them were connected to the old families. It would be a genetic throw of the dice. Some would carry the gene and some wouldn’t. How could anyone be sure?
No, it had to be someone who knew they were immune, their bloodline was safe. She stopped abruptly. The Sollys would feel safe. And they hated the Gregors.
The Sollys had been on their last leg as a bloodline when Regina became Arden’s Saria. Fenton Solly, the last male heir, was a drunk. His two sisters, Regina and Char, were both in danger from destruction by the other families who wanted them dead. Regina married Arden and founded the Ingle family bloodline on Teran One. Char married another newcomer, a Byron, Arden’s closest friend. But Fenton went on to a loveless, contracted mating that produced only one child, who died without producing an heir.
It was Char Solly Byron’s bloodline that inherited the Solly land and the Solly name. And, apparently, the Solly hatred. With their own genes safely stowed in the Byron blood, the new Solly line would benefit the most from the destruction of the old lines.
And killing off the Ingles? Collateral damage. The Ingles were close to the Stenders and the Zeerahs. Kill them all and be the last standing. That was the plan.
She had to be right. And she had to tell Tory. Now.
Her finger stabbed the com button. “Commander Ingle?”
“He’s on his way, Alex.” Jezar’s voice cracked over the radio.
“I think I know who’s planning this.” She didn’t want to wait. Before they reached Teran One, she had to let Tory know.
“Wait.” Jezar was silent for a moment and, for some reason, Alex’s nerves stretched tight.
Something wasn’t right.
“Alex? Come to the bridge. Don’t talk to anyone and stay in contact with me. Tory has been abducted.”
Her stomach contracted as if someone had punched her. “No.”
“Leave now,” Jezar ordered her.
She smacked the door button and fled down the corridor toward the elevator.
I was able to read Tory, but it was faint. Apparently, the traitor has made their move.
Who, Jezar? Who is it?
It looks like Pulzer has kidnapped him. He’s taken him in a shuttle and they’re heading for Teran One.
His contact, Jezar. On Teran One. She had an idea she knew, but she needed Jezar to confirm it. The elevator was too fucking slow. She had to get on that bridge and rescue Tory. I know he had one. To hide Celeste, he had to have someone on the planet giving him information and help.
Her name is Ena. Ena Solly.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I read she is part of the family you suspect.
Yes, and I imagine Pulzer is related somehow.
Tory would not let me do a deep read on his crew, so I don’t know.
The doors whooshed open and Alex strode onto the bridge. Dink looked green, like he was going to puke on his shoes. Bud’s fists were clenched, his face white and ghostly. Jezar wouldn’t meet her gaze. Guilt. Rage. Fear. None of that shit was going to help now.
“Get this bucket moving, Bud. Now. We’re going to catch that shuttle.” She bit the order out and Bud glared at her.
“He’ll kill Tory if we threaten him.”
She shook her head. “He’ll try to bargain with him. You managed to fuck me over and I had explosives, an unknown weapon in my hold and a suicidal resignation. Pulzer doesn’t have shit. Move.” She shouted the last word and the crew was galvanized into action.
Funny, no one questioned her right to step in as commander. Tory’s respect had influenced his crew. The ship sped up and the vibrations felt good, almost soothing, on her skin. She was going to get that fucker.
What about your sister?
If she’s not dead, then the Solly bloodline will use her as leverage. It would have worked too. It still might. But Tory thinks I’d put Celeste before him. He’s a softie.
But not you?
I’ll see them in Hell first.
Chapter Nineteen
The stars flicked past them in streams of light and Alex remained standing on the bridge, no relaxing, no giving up. They were going to kick ass.
The shuttle came into sight.
“Shall I get them on vid?” Dink asked.
“No. Fuck that. Shoot at them.” Aggression was all Pulzer would understand here.
“But Tory—” Dink started and she glared at him.
“You’ll have to trust me. Jezar, fire at their aft burners,” she ordered.
The disintegrator charge resonated off the shuttle’s shields. “Fire the resonator.”
The next blast shook the shuttle and Pulzer’s voice came over the com. “What the fuck are you doing, Jezar?”
Alex answered him. “I’m blowing you out of space, asshole. What does it look like?”
“Tory will die too.”
“I don’t even know he’s alive. Fire again,” she said so Pulzer could hear.
“No!” Pulzer shouted and Alex raised her hand to
indicate Jezar stop.
She waited.
A few million years—or seconds—later, Tory’s voice came over the com and she almost collapsed from relief.
“Alex? Honey, back off. If you kill him, Ena will murder your sister.”
“If she’s not already dead.” In her voice, she let the murderous intent show. “I’ve got nothing to lose, Pulzer, are you listening? If you don’t get your ass back on this ship, I’m going to send the contents of that box to the planet surface. It won’t just be the infected people who will die.”
That’s right, she thought. Your precious Ena will get her body ripped to little bitty pieces, asshole. Give me back my mate. The silence that followed was agony.
“You win.” Pulzer’s voice sounded resigned but Alex didn’t trust him for a minute.
She cut him off and ordered Dink, “Send ten men to the shuttle bay. If Pulzer so much as sneezes, dust him.”
Dink sent the men to the shuttle bay and Alex shot a glance at Jezar. He nodded and headed down the elevator. He’d read Tory and make sure he was okay. Nerves were beginning to take their toll on the crew.
They were in Teran One space. Fighters would appear soon. Her bluff about the vials worked for the moment, but it wouldn’t work on Ena. And Ena probably had the other vials, the other shipment. They’d have to get down to the planet, rescue Celeste and take out Ena Solly. All without setting off an outbreak of a deadly plague that would ravage her planet and possibly the other planets.
He’s fine, Alex. Jezar’s reassurance signaled she could relax.
She slumped into the commander’s chair, her hands shaking as they covered her face.
“Damn. You are fucking amazing,” Dink murmured.
Bud smiled faintly. “She’s a product of good breeding.”
“Fuck you, Bud,” she said, but the words had no heat. He was right, after all. It was all in the genes. “Get us out of here. I don’t want to be this close to Teran One.”
* * * * *
Tory stared through the one-way screen at the man he’d thought was his friend.
Pulzer sat in the interrogation room, calm, collected. He wasn’t afraid.
But he should have been.
Tory wanted to rip him limb from limb and that was nothing compared to what Alex wanted to do to him. The man had risked Alex’s planet, her bloodline, her mate. Jezar had kept her from murdering Pulzer in cold blood by reminding her they needed names of the other Solly traitors.
Pulzer and Tory had fought side by side on Teran Four. They’d been stranded on the wastelands on Teran Three. Tory had saved his life and vice versa several times. How could any man turn away from that?
Apparently, all it took was a woman.
That Pulzer was Ena’s lover became quickly apparent when Alex told him she was going to grind the woman’s face into the floor. It was the only time since the shuttle landed that Pulzer showed any reaction.
He had lunged at Alex, who had started to beat the shit out of him. The man never had a chance. It was only Jezar’s timely interference that had saved Pulzer from being pulverized.
Now what?
Ena had Celeste. Ena had the remaining vials. Ena was the key. And Pulzer wasn’t going to give her up.
Dink was combing through all of Pulzer’s transmission to make sure there wasn’t some code or message to reveal Pulzer had been caught. Alex was on the bridge with Bud, keeping an eye out for Teran One fighters.
And Jezar was about to go into that room and deep read Pulzer. Tory felt sorry for Jezar. What a muck and mire the asshole’s mind must be.
Jezar sat down across from Pulzer who gazed at the Ardasian with hooded eyes.
“Alex wants to kill Ena. Since her whole family is gone, she’d just as soon infect the whole planet.”
“She won’t do it. Celeste will die if she does.”
Jezar’s gaze rose. “You didn’t hear me. She believes Celeste is dead. I don’t have the authority to stop her.”
Pulzer’s nostrils flared. “Tory will.”
“And why would he do that?”
Sweat gathered on Pulzer’s forehead.
Jezar continued. “It might be in your best interests to tell me how Ena can be contacted. Without proof that Celeste is not dead, no one will stop Commander Ingle from wiping out Teran One’s human population.”
“You’re lying,” Pulzer spat.
“Am I?”
“Alex Zeerah would never turn on Teran One. Ever.”
“Even if she had no bloodline left there? Darius isn’t on the planet surface. Her sister is dead. Who is left that she would care about?”
Pulzer opened his mouth and closed it with a snap. “Celeste isn’t dead, I told you.”
Jezar leaned forward, his chin jutting aggressively. “You also told me you were loyal to Tory. That knot on Tory’s head says otherwise.”
The man’s face shuttered. Tory had seen that look on Pulzer’s face before. Once, when a Teran Four officer had spit at him. That officer was dead.
But he didn’t need to warn Jezar. When Pulzer sprang at the Ardasian, there was nothing there. Jezar was up and behind the man pinning him to the surface of the table. “Playtime is over.”
Tory had never seen his friend deep read a human. Never. And he hadn’t watched when Jezar bridged Tesia. His odd eyes expanded, emerald bleeding throughout his entire eye until the whole orb shone green. The inward swirls throughout his enlarged pupils were fascinating, though disturbing. Pulzer jerked, his muscles tense and corded from resisting.
What surprised Tory was the twist of disgust on Jezar’s face as if he tasted something bad. From some bits and pieces of memories of past conversations, Tory had known it cost Jezar to deep read someone. Now he guessed why. Some of the nasty essence bled into Jezar’s mind, infiltrating him. That’s why reading Alex had been such a pleasure. Not a nasty part there. She was all innocence and light. Well, except for the parts he most definitely enjoyed.
Those were pleasant for me too.
Did I distract you?
No. I’m finished. Jezar’s mental tone seemed negative and tired. He hadn’t liked being in Pulzer’s mind.
What did you find?
More than I expected. I have the codes you need. But it may not be as easy as you think to rescue Celeste.
Why is that?
Because Pulzer…formed an attachment with her. And with Ena.
Explain.
Better I show you. And Jezar hit his brain with a vision of Pulzer and Ena in a passionate embrace with Celeste watching. The eyes of the couple were locked on Celeste’s as she masturbated. Pulzer’s promise to Celeste was to include her in his mating to Ena when this is all over.
For a moment, his vision was clouded by a red, hot rage. Was there any intention to follow through?
No, his only intention was to use Celeste to blackmail you out of the vials.
Did you get a location?
No. Ena was supposed to move and give him the new location when he contacts her.
Lock his ass up. He’ll be lucky if I don’t dump him on that planet with his girlfriend and her lethal vials.
His head still spun a little from the blow he’d received from Pulzer earlier. The question now was whether to inform Alex about the unorthodox relationship between her sister and the two traitors.
He slapped the com. “Jezar’s on his way, Alex.”
“Did he talk?”
Talk? No. “We got what we needed.”
“Good. Can I kill him now?”
Tory’s lips twitched. That was his woman—sweet, loyal, and violent. “No, honey. We still need him.”
“Fine. You should rest. The medic said a good night’s sleep and you’ll be good as new.”
“Only if you join me.”
“Tory!” she protested and he chuckled. Yeah, she wouldn’t like him announcing their personal shit over the com. Too bad.
“You’ve got fifteen minutes and then I’m coming to get you.”
>
“Is that an order?”
“Fuck yeah,” he told her. He needed her. Twice in twenty-four hours he had thought he wasn’t going to see her again. There wasn’t enough time in the galaxy to erase those feelings. He was going to bury himself inside her as many times as it took to forget.
“Yes, sir.” She clicked off.
A permanent bridge between you would be strategic. Jezar’s voice intruded on the sexual fantasies spinning in his brain.
I’ll talk to her. It’s a big decision. Besides, it might not work. Permanent bridges were tricky. Sometimes one mind wasn’t capable of the connection. One way wouldn’t work for either him or Alex.
I think it will. And before you arrive on Teran One, you should bridge.
She and I have fought many battles together without it. I won’t push her. You know the consequences.
If one of you dies, the other experiences it.
And is forever alone. Tory strode down the corridor toward his quarters. I don’t want either of us to feel that. There was a good chance he’d die and he wanted Alex to move on if he did. No point in both of them being miserable. Of course, if she died, he wouldn’t rest until he wreaked vengeance.
The connection between you is already strong. I’m in the elevator, almost to the bridge. She’s on her way and she’s… You’re a very lucky man, Ingle.
Okay. Get out of my head, old friend.
I never get to have any fun.
Go talk to Tesia. Tory laughed when Jezar’s mental connection cut off abruptly.
In his quarters, he waited, anticipation built, his cock responding to his fantasies. He wanted it all. The rack. The toys. Her ass. She was probably still sore from the last time.
He took his uniform off and laid on the bed, his cock in his hand. He stroked it slowly, rubbing the skin beneath the head. She’d come in and jump him. She’d strip for him, unbraiding her hair with slow, deliberate fingers and…
His eyes drooped. Shit, he was tired. He hadn’t realized how tired until he lay down. Maybe he could just close his eyes for a moment.
Chapter Twenty
Fuck, his head hurt. But he was warm and comfortable. Something soft and pliable was wrapped around him, something warmer than a blanket. He pried his eyes open.
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