by Cara Bristol
He hugged her, his heart aching from the weight of his dilemma. As he folded her into his arms, he caught a flash on the monitor, then another, before the drone flew off in a different direction. He stiffened.
“What’s wrong?” Kevanne asked.
“Two members of the team have returned. You’re going to get to meet more of my friends,” he said.
Chapter Eighteen
The way Cam went rigid when he spotted his “friends” on the monitor and hustled her off the ship signaled loud and clear she wasn’t supposed to be on the Castaway.
They were exiting the craft as the two men approached. Although Cam had described his fellow travelers, she’d still expected them to resemble him. Not even close.
One man could have been a wrestler on steroids with two huge feathered scepters strapped to his back. Then he flexed, and she realized they were wings. His features were nothing short of beautiful—he had the face of an angel—but instead of a halo, he wore a ball cap and an angry scowl.
And he was accompanied by Lucifer. If the other ’Topian had been human, he might have passed for a Caucasian with a first-degree sunburn—if not for the devilish horns protruding from his skull. She snorted a nervous laugh into her palm. An encounter with this pair would send church attendance skyrocketing.
“These are my friends. Wingman and Inferno,” Cam introduced her.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said politely and extended her hand to Inferno first—since his expression appeared the most welcoming.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you face-to-face. Chameleon has spoken of you.” His hand felt warm as if he had a fever, but she assumed that was normal for a man named Inferno.
From Wingman’s forbidding scowl, she half expected a snub, but he gave her a twisted smile. “Nice to meet you,” he offered in a gruff voice.
His gaze hardened again when it shifted to Cam.
“I thought you had a meeting with Mysk,” Cam said.
“Wingman and I didn’t go. Didn’t think they needed all of us. But then Tigre pinged us to find you. There have been new developments, and he wants us all to meet,” Inferno said.
“Good news? Bad news?”
“He didn’t say. Just that we should all meet at the ship as soon as possible.” Inferno glanced at Kevanne.
She could take the hint. They wanted her to leave. She didn’t like the daggers Wingman kept shooting at him, and Inferno looked uncomfortable. They obviously had some issues to work out, and her presence seemed to add fuel to the fire. Cam shouldn’t have given her a tour. “I’d better get back to the house,” she said.
Cam pressed his lips together as if to disagree, but then he nodded. “I’ll run you home.”
“You need to come back,” Wingman said. “So we can talk.”
“About the new developments, got it,” Cam replied. He placed his hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go.”
The growing tension reminded her too much of living with Dayton, tip toeing on eggshells as he stewed. She preferred open disagreements. No guessing games. No bad surprises.
However, she had no desire to jump into the middle of someone else’s battle. Yes, she’d been on the spacecraft, and that hadn’t set well with Wingman, but Cam had invited her, and their issues predated her. If they were having a pissing match, it wasn’t her fault, she reassured herself as the old habit of accepting blame reared its ugly head. Not my fault.
She and Cam strode toward the scooter.
“In light of her visit, I’m going to recommend to Tigre that Psy erase...” Wingman called after them.
Cam nudged her. “Go to the scooter. I’ll join you in a minute.”
“What? Why?”
“Please, go to the scooter. I’ll be right there.” Tail snapping, he stalked back to where Wingman stood. “Don’t you even think of getting Psy involved—”
Psy had helped her on the farm. He’d seemed nice. Why had the mention of his name gotten Cam so worked up?
Wingman puffed up, growing larger, and, as she watched, she’d swear the tips of his feathers sharpened to razor points. Oh my god, are they going to fight?
“She’s not going to tell anybody anything,” Cam said.
Shit! It is about me.
“We’ll be long gone soon anyway,” Inferno said. “Cool it, you two!”
“You endangered us all. You’ve broken the code of silence time and again,” Wingman said.
“Kevanne presents no threat,” Cam said.
“Says the Xeno.”
“What is your problem?” Cam demanded.
“Please, don’t fight. Stop,” she said, nauseous she’d somehow played a part in the disagreement.
Both men ignored her.
“Every time I start to trust you, you pull some Xeno shit.”
“Hey, hey…” Inferno stepped between them. “Let’s not go there…”
Wingman whipped an angry glance in Inferno’s direction. “I don’t understand how you can forget what he is, what his people did!”
“What did the Xenos do?” Kevanne muttered.
“You didn’t tell her?” Wingman hooted. “I guess you can keep some secrets.” He strode toward her. “Did he tell you he’s a member of the High Council of the Xeno Consortium?”
“Wingman, I don’t think—” Inferno cut in.
She glanced between Wingman and Inferno. “Yes, he did.”
“What else did he tell you?” He almost seemed to be goading Cam.
She looked to Cam, but he stared off into the woods, his tail snapping back and forth.
“Wingman, stop,” Inferno said. “Kevanne—leave, go back to your farm.”
How does he know I have a farm—did Cam tell him? Why wasn’t he saying something? His jaw appeared welded shut. His posture was rigid, his jerking tail the only movement. Her stomach knotted with dread.
“Well, what did he tell you about the Xenos?” Wingman repeated. His wing tips had sharpened to razors.
“Th-that they’re a creator species. They created your planet… ’Topia.”
“They’re a destroyer species,” Wingman said. “Your Xeno lover murdered our people, firebombed our planet, decimated our civilization. He killed our families, our friends, everyone. He and the consortium bombarded ’Topia and killed every living thing.”
She shook her head. “No—no—”
“Why do you think we’re here on Earth?”
“Your-your ship needed repairs.”
“Because the Xenos fired on it when we fled ’Topia as it was being destroyed—by order of the High Council of which your lover is a voting member. He’s responsible for an act of genocide, wiping out millions of ’Topians just because they were ’Topians.”
“No…” She shook her head. The man she’d fallen in love with would not have been involved in genocide! Kevanne sought out Cam, expecting a denial. What she saw rocked her to the core. His coloring had turned yellowish green, the guilt in his eyes erasing everything she’d believed.
“Wingman is right. I can’t refute what he says,” he said in a defeated voice. “Millions died because of me—”
Her stomach churned, and she feared she would throw up. How stupid could she have been? An alien lands on Earth, and she trusts him? Hadn’t she learned anything after Dayton? This man was a mass murderer! A monster. Oh my god. She’d slept with him. Invited him into her life and her home. She clapped a hand over mouth and backed away.
Pain sliced across his face. “Kevanne—please…” He swallowed. “I’ll drive you home.” He stepped toward her.
“No! Stay away. Don’t come near me ever again!” She turned and ran down the forest service road.
* * * *
Chameleon watched his mate tear down the wooded road as if she feared he’d attack her. He felt like he was dying.
“Don’t leave it like this. Go after her.” Inferno nudged him.
He clenched his fist. “She hates me. She’s afraid of me now.”
“If
she’s your mate, she’ll understand when you explain.”
“I wouldn’t, if I was her,” Wingman said.
“Why do you have to be such an asshole?” Inferno snapped, using an Earth insult.
“I lost a potential mate and parents!” Wingman’s face contorted. “I saw the destroyers blast the village where they lived. I watched as the entire planet burned. Maybe Chameleon didn’t give the order or push the button himself, but he was a member of the High Council. He knew of the bombardment.”
“We all lost somebody! But the situation isn’t quite the way you presented it to Kevanne. You didn’t tell her how he led us to the ship. How he saved us,” Inferno snapped at Wingman but then glowered at Chameleon. “Why didn’t you defend yourself?”
“Because he’s right. I am responsible. The Xeno Consortium did everything he said, and I served on the High Council. The information I provided to the council led to the destruction. I didn’t mean to, but it happened. I tried to save as many ’Topians as I could, but it was too little, too late. I don’t even know if the last group of refugees got to safety or if they were killed.”
“They’re safe. Safer than we ever hoped.” Tigre stepped out of the woods, flanked by Psy and Shadow. “We have confirmation.”
“Are you sure? How? What confirmation could you have?” Chameleon hardly dared to hope.
“Well, that’s an interesting story,” Tigre grinned. “Very interesting.” He waved the object he carried. “It almost makes this anticlimactic.”
“Is that the matter-energy transformer core?” Inferno asked.
“Yep. It’s been fixed.”
“We can move the ship without being seen.”
“I believe so. After installing the part, we can fly the ship to the Mysk campus so his people can work on it.”
“So, we’ll be out of here in two months,” Chameleon said dully. It didn’t matter now. Kevanne never wanted to see him again.
“If we choose to.”
“Why wouldn’t we choose to?” Wingman asked.
“I need to fill you in on the new developments.” Tigre shifted his gaze between Chameleon and Wingman. “But, what’s been going on here?”
“I gave Kevanne a tour of the ship.” Chameleon felt sick at what had happened, but he couldn’t blame Wingman. He hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true.
“Why was she running down the road, then?”
“I related how the Xenos destroyed ’Topia,” Wingman said. “And Chameleon’s involvement.”
“Chameleon did everything he could to save ’Topia,” Shadow said. “He founded the Xeno Opposition Movement.”
“Yeah, right.” Wingman snorted, but uncertainty flickered in his eyes.
“I was in the opposition. I was his contact on ’Topia.”
Chameleon did a double take. “You’re…Wisp?”
Shadow nodded. “I should have said something sooner. When we encountered you on ’Topia and you led us to the Castaway, I guessed you were in the opposition, and you were the consortium contact I’d been dealing with, but I needed to ensure you weren’t a spy for the council before I revealed who I was. I have since verified your identity.” Shadow glanced between Wingman and Inferno. “Chameleon is legit. He opposed the bombardment of ’Topia at the council level, he met with ’Topian government officials in an attempt to get them to shore up our military defenses, and the whole time, he was secretly sneaking off the planet. But then the High Council moved up the bombardment date…and, well, you know what happened.”
“I can attest to his veracity and his motives,” Psy said. “Tigre had me read everyone aboard the Castaway.”
Psy had been in his head again?
Wingman raised his hands and then let them drop. “It looks like I, uh, owe you an apology. I’m sorry. For everything. For the things I said, for how I treated you, for what I said to Kevanne.” His wings drooped. “I have no excuse for my actions.”
“You lost people you cared about,” Chameleon said. Grief embittered people. He’d never come right out and told anybody how fiercely he’d tried to save everyone because in the end, he’d failed. He’d rescued only a very small percentage, while massive numbers had died. The deaths would forever weigh on his conscience.
“I had a hard time accepting you at first, too,” Inferno confessed. “The Xenos created us—we revered them. To see the fleet hovering overhead, watch as they destroyed our cities…” His face contorted. “But they created us to be unique. And if we’re all unique, then how can we judge one individual by the actions of others?”
“Thank you,” Chameleon said and then turned to Tigre. “You said you had good news about the last ship of refugees?”
“Let’s board the ship,” Tigre said. “While Shadow installs the matter-energy transformer core, I’ll bring you up to date. We have much to discuss and some decisions to make.”
Chapter Nineteen
Kevanne tore down the access road until her lungs threatened to burst and her cramping legs gave out. She fell, hitting the ground hard, skinning her palms on the gravel beneath the pine needles. She lay there, her breathing raspy.
Had Chameleon come after her? With a frantic gaze, she swept the lane. No sight of him. Yet.
Rolling onto her hands and knees, she scrambled to her feet. She seemed to move in slow motion, her knees so shaky she feared they’d collapse again. Her palms stung. Her legs and lungs couldn’t be pushed any more.
I haven’t learned anything! She’d thought her judgment had improved after her marriage to Dayton, but it had worsened. Once again, she’d fallen for outward charm before getting to know the inner man—and had paid the price.
No, the others had paid the price. The ’Topians.
No wonder Wingman hated him.
But Inferno didn’t. Psy hadn’t seemed to. They were ’Topians.
No wonder Chameleon had deemed so many topics of conversation off-limits. How many times had he said, “I can’t tell you?” He’d been hiding his culpability. If she was a mass murderer, she wouldn’t tell anybody, either.
She peered behind her. Still no sign of him. Her heart ached like he’d died, grieving in a way she never had for Dayton. She loved Chameleon, had feared the day he would leave. He’d seemed so kind, so gentle, so loving…Wingman’s accusations didn’t jive with the man she’d known.
Everybody had believed Dayton to be a nice guy, too.
They didn’t know him as well as I did.
Intimately. The way she knew Cam. Their time together had been short, but their conversations had been long. They’d discussed everything under the sun. They’d talked, debated, laughed, cuddled, and made love. Their relationship, the man, had seemed so genuine. How could she have been so wrong about him?
Unless she wasn’t.
She stopped dead in the middle of the lane.
“I bear responsibility,” he’d said. Not, I did it or I killed those people. A big gap existed between doing the deed and accepting responsibility for the outcome.
What else had he said? She wracked her brain to remember their conversations. I righted as many of the wrongs as I could before time ran out. He had shared how Xeno mixed and matched DNA to create new species in the lab before transplanting them. She also remembered his grim expression when she’d said it sounded like playing god, and he’d replied they weren’t playing.
I am guilty of inaction, of not doing enough to stop a travesty and doing it too late. When he condemned himself with those words, and she’d told him he judged himself too harshly. I see goodness and kindness in you. If you tried, then you did your best, and that’s all you can do. Hadn’t she said that?
And now, she hadn’t even asked for an explanation. After professing her love, she’d accepted an opponent’s word at face value. Cam’s eyes had been tormented with guilt, and she’d taken that as culpability…but didn’t he blame himself for everything—just as she did? She’d walked into her marriage with Dayton with her eyes wide shut, ignoring the red fl
ags, his irrational jealousy, the flashes of unprovoked anger, the way he subtly severed her friendships.
In Cam, she’d seen only kindness, concern. He’d supported, never undermined her.
Kevanne pressed a knuckle to her mouth. He didn’t do it. I ran without even listening to him.
This was like when he revealed himself, and she’d freaked and ordered him out of the house. He’d gone without resistance because she’d told him to. Because he was a decent, loving man who would never do anything to hurt her or anybody else. She didn’t know why or how he thought he was responsible for millions of deaths, but she owed him a chance to explain.
Could he ever forgive her?
She spun around and sprinted for the spacecraft. Hurry. Hurry. Her legs threatened to rebel, but she forced herself to run. She had to repair the situation as soon as possible. Even if he couldn’t forgive her, she couldn’t allow Cam to believe she hated him.
Her side and calves were in stitches when she staggered into the clearing.
Empty. Vacant.
The spacecraft had disappeared.
It couldn’t be gone. It couldn’t! Could she have taken a wrong turn? She raced back down the forest service road until she came to the crooked tree. On the scooter, he’d veered off there. She retraced her steps to the clearing. Empty. Blackened field grass offered the sole evidence the craft had been there at all.
The ship can’t be gone! It can’t! She pivoted, scanning. “Cam! Cam! It’s me! Kevanne!”
She thought she’d heard a buzz, but when she scanned the sky for the drone, she saw only blank blue expanse.
They’d left. Cam was gone. He’d left without saying goodbye.
Can I blame him after the way I reacted?
A sob caught in her throat as she stared at the place where the Castaway had been. He’ll never know how I feel.
Tears fell as she turned and left the clearing.
Chapter Twenty
They would be launching soon. Inferno, Tigre, Shadow, Psy, and especially Wingman, had urged him to go after his mate, but Chameleon couldn’t forget the horror and betrayal in Kevanne’s shocked eyes. How could anything he’d say change how she felt about him? His actions, however unintentional, had led to the deaths of millions.
