Wild Card (The Drift Book 3)

by Susan Hayes

  * * * *

  Mack walked into Dash’s room intent on finding out what the hell was going on with Lieksa. He hadn’t missed the shadows in her eyes or the pain that fueled her angry words. “What in starsfury did you say to Lieksa?”

  Dash touched a finger to his lips. “Quiet. She’s talking to Alyson, and I want to hear what they’re saying.”

  Mack shrugged and took a seat. Dash didn’t use his intel gathering abilities lightly, especially not when it concerned friends. If he wanted to eavesdrop, then there was a good reason for it. “How long have you been listening?”

  “Since I heard you barking orders at her.”

  “Not my finest moment. Loop me in?”

  A brief nod from Dash was all the warning he got before his partner opened the connection between them. This was the experimental upgrade Lieksa had given them, and it had strengthened the bond between them in ways none of them had expected.

  Lieksa’s voice sounded in his head, as clear as if she were standing next to him. “…if you tell me what the problem is, maybe I can find a way to help.”

  “I’ve got three female cyborg patients, all of whom have given me permission to speak to you in hopes you can shed some light on their condition.”

  He knew about Cynder’s situation already.

  The corporations had done something to the female cyborgs and then lied about it. Something that made it impossible for them to get pregnant. Despite more than two months’ work, the doctor was still at a loss as to how to reverse what had been done.

  He listened as Alyson explained in detail to Lieksa, and it occurred to him that the doctor trusted Lieksa more than he did. It was an uncomfortable revelation; one that left him with a knot in his stomach. In his mind, she’d wronged them, and he had treated her that way without giving her a chance to explain herself. It was time for him to do better.

  If she gave him the chance, that is.

  “I never heard about a program like this, but I was on a hospital ship. It was my job to put them back together and send them back into battle.” Lieksa’s voice broke a little as she added. “I quit the day I found out I wasn’t working on machines at all. Mack and Dash…they showed me the truth. I thought it was because they trusted me. Once I knew, I left. I wasn’t with any corporation when the war ended.”

  The doctor sighed. “I figured it was a long shot, but I had to ask. I hate not being able to give these women any answers, you know?”

  “I can’t imagine how they must feel. The corporations took so much from them already. I don’t have the answers you need, but maybe I can get them. I work for Astek, I’ve got a decent security clearance. If you can write down the terminology I should be looking for, I’ll see what I can dig up.”

  “Like hell she’s digging for anything in Astek’s files. If they catch her…” Dash grumbled, his expression stormy.

  “From what she said to me outside, I’d say we would have a better chance of stopping a star from going nova than getting her to listen to us right now. What the fraxx did you say to her, anyway?”

  Dash closed the connection between them, and there was a disorienting moment as Mack adjusted to being alone inside his head again.

  “What did I say? A bunch of things I regretted the second I said them. And before you go blaming me for this mess, I’ll point out I was trying to defend the lousy way you’ve been treating her when it all went sideways.”

  “Well, clearly that went well. Next time how about you let me own my stupidity instead of compounding it with yours? I thought you were the one gifted with god-like charm and charisma?”

  “Compared to you, I am.”

  “Says the guy who just hurt Lieksa,” Mack shot back.

  “Which is at the top of the list of things I regret right now. That’s not going to be enough to fix this, though, is it?”

  “Nope.” Mack ran a hand through his hair, sweeping it off his face with a groan of pure frustration. “To be honest, I’m not even sure what we’re trying to fix. I’ve been so busy dealing with the fallout from the ambush and the overdose deaths, I haven’t had time to process the fact she’s here, alive and well.”

  Dash arched a blonde brow. “Bullshit. You had the time if you wanted to take it. I know you, Mack. You buried yourself in your work because it was easier than dealing with this—with her.” He waved his hand in Lieksa’s general direction.

  He grunted. “Maybe.”

  “I stand by what I said before. We owe her a chance to tell her side of the story.”

  “Agreed.” That much, Mack could agree to.

  “So, any ideas on what we do now? Apart from apologize. I think that’s a given.”

  “I have no idea,” Mack admitted.

  “You’re the analyst, think of something!”

  Mack rolled his eyes. “And you’re the one programmed in seduction, infiltration, and charm. Why is this my job, again?”

  “Give me a second, and I’ll think of a reason.”

  Female voices in the hallway announced that they were out of time. He needed to get out there and say something before Lieksa decided to walk out of their lives again.

  He didn’t make it to the door before it slid open. Surprise and relief filled him when he saw she hadn’t left at all. She had come to them. It was a good sign, and probably more than they deserved.

  She took two steps inside the room and stopped, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing them both with a cool stare. “You asked me not to go until we talked. So, here I am. Talk.”

  Time to step into the comet’s path and see what survived impact. “I owe you an apology. I haven’t been fair to you. In fact, I’ve barely been civil. I’m sorry, Lieksa.”

  “And so am I. Fraxx, am I ever.” Dash got out of bed and stood next to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  “You said the only reason you two kissed me was because you were high on medications, and you regretted it. Did you think I was going to be okay with that? I gave up everything to protect the two of you. I quit my job that night and swore to never work on another cyborg. I couldn’t. Not once I knew the truth.”

  She dragged in a ragged breath and kept talking, her words spilling out over each other in a torrent. “I kept your secret until the war was over. Then, I testified on behalf of your brethren, attesting to the fact I knew of at least two self-aware cyborgs who were on active duty during the war. My account was sealed, because if the corporations ever found out who wrote it, I’d be blacklisted. I thought you were both dead, and I still kept my promise.”

  “You testified? You were one of the anonymous witnesses?” Dash asked.

  “I did. I was.”

  The need to reach out and comfort her overcame him, and Mack took a step toward Lieksa, stopping short when he saw the doubt and hurt that still lurked in her eyes. He’d put that pain there. Given her reason to doubt them.

  He was an idiot.

  “Can we try again?” He held out a hand to her. “I don’t know all of what Dash said to you before, but I can tell you this much—not a day went by that we haven’t thought about you. That night we kissed you, that wasn’t a mistake. My only regret was that we never got another chance.”

  Her mouth quirked into a brief smile. “I thought Dash was supposed to be the smooth talker?”

  “I must be rubbing off on him because I couldn’t have said it any better, myself.” Dash appeared at his side and held out his hand, too. “Please forgive us?”

  “If I do, what then?” she asked.

  “Then we finish what we started that night on the Salan. Like you said before, the war is over. There’s nothing stopping us from spending time together. Getting to know each other,” Mack said.

  She stared at them both. “The way you’ve been acting, I thought you might hate me.”

  “Never.” He’d felt a lot of things about Lieksa over the years, but hate wasn’t one of them.

  She scrubbed her hands on her thighs. “Why are you askin
g me out? I need you to be clear. I don’t want to misunderstand what’s going on.”

  Mack cleared his throat. “We want to take you out to dinner. Talk. Like I said, we want to get to know you and let you get to know us.”

  “You two want to date me? Not a hookup, but an actual date with dinner or something?” She sounded so wary it made his heart ache.

  Dash chuckled. “Yeah, we do. Though I should warn you, we’ve never actually done that. We’ll very likely screw up at least once more. Probably more than that.”

  She blinked. “You’ve never dated?”

  “Never,” Mack admitted. Sure, they had both dallied with women from time to time. They weren’t monks. But there had only been one woman they wanted to be with for more than a night.

  “No one else could compete with the memory of you. The others never stood a chance,” Dash said, speaking for both of them.

  For one painfully long moment, she didn’t move or speak. Time stretched out until he was certain she was going to turn and walk away again. When she took a tentative step forward, he had to bite his tongue to avoid cheering aloud.

  “One date, and we’re going to talk. That’s it, just talk. I want to hear about what happened after I left. How did you survive? What effect did the upgrade have on you both? How did you end up out here, working for another corporation? I have so many questions.”

  He and Dash moved together, taking her outstretched hand in theirs and drawing her in closer. “We’ll tell you whatever you want to know. We’ve got questions, too. Where have you been? Why are you out here in the ass end of nowhere? Once Dash is cleared to get out of here, we’re going out…somewhere.”

  She laughed, the sound making his heart feel like it was full of sunlight.

  “Alright. As for Dash, he should be out of here by tomorrow.”

  “Then we’re taking you out tomorrow night. A proper date.” The more Mack thought about it, the more he liked this idea. If they were starting over, then this was the right way to do it.

  “I suppose this means no kissing right now?” Dash grumbled.

  “No kissing. We’re starting over, remember?” she told him. “That’s what we’re doing, right? No more misunderstandings or accusations?”

  “We’re starting over,” Mack agreed.

  “How about one on credit?” Dash pressed.

  “Nope. You still have a lot to make up for Dash Scudo. We all do.” She tugged her hand out of their grasp. “I’ve got a couple more tests to run. The sooner they’re done, the sooner he’s out of here.”

  Mack took the hint. “That’s my cue to go. I’ll see you soon, Lieksa.” He smiled at her then turned to his partner. “If she cuts you loose early, let me know and I’ll meet you at home. I’m headed back to the office.”

  He brushed past her and was pleased when she didn’t pull away from him. They had a long way to go yet, but it was a start.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  True to her word, Lieksa released him first thing in the morning, once the last of the test results were in. Dash alerted Mack to his new status as a free man and headed back to the residence they shared. Space was at a premium out here on the Drift, and every square inch of real estate came with a steep price tag. By combining their savings and their current income, they could afford far nicer living quarters than either of them could manage on their own.

  He made his way to one of the banks of mag-lifts, waiting his turn before stepping into high-speed elevators that would deliver him to the upper levels of the station where he and Mack lived. On a normal day, he would have taken one of the bullet trains that crisscrossed the station, but after all the time he had been cooped up, he opted to walk. He needed to stretch his legs and get some fresh air. Well, as fresh as it got when one lived in a floating tin can on the edge of civilized space. At least it didn’t carry the lingering scents of antiseptic and sterilizers.

  Unlike the main levels, where wide concourses were lined with countless bars, clubs, restaurants, and pharma dispensers, the residential levels were relatively quiet. The lighting in his sector was designed to mimic sunlight, and some well-intentioned but long departed administrator had decided to paint the ceiling sky-blue. The effect might have been pleasant once, but the paint was cracked and peeling away, marring the illusion with ragged holes and streaks of rust.

  Exercise always helped clear his head, and right now, he needed that. Without a digital record, he was relying on his own memories, something he had never done before. His augmented abilities were a combination of behavioral programming and hardware. The human mind was an unreliable recording device at the best of times, so his creators simply conditioned him to ignore his own memories from the time he left his maturation tank.

  Even after he had freed himself from his programming, Dash had never bothered to retrain himself to access his own memories. Why would he when he had a digital record of every important moment in his life? Every moment but the ones that had nearly been his last. It was time to change the way he did things. This gaping hole in his memory was something he never wanted to experience again.

  He remembered gearing up for the raid and going over the plan for the hundredth time, orchestrating every second so that they knew exactly what would happen and where everyone would be from the moment they came through the doors. In the beginning, everything went smoothly. Mack was coordinating the attack from the rear, and Dash had been tasked with getting to high ground so he could see the entire area, then relay what he saw to Mack so he could adjust their plans on the fly.

  Len took point, they had split off from the others, and that’s where his recollection of events ended. There were fragments, but none of them made sense. A flash of a firearm discharging. A sense of confusion and...anger?

  According to Len’s report, they’d been fired on before they reached their planned vantage point. Dash had gone down first, and Len reported firing at the shooters before being hit himself.

  “Damn it, why can’t I remember?” The gaps in Dash’s memory made him feel like a failure. Record and recall were part of his basic programming. More than that, they were the basis of his entire design. He and Mack were both highly specialized, created late in the war effort to fill specific niches. Unlike most cyborgs, he and Mack were created and trained individually. They weren’t even batch siblings. They had bonded not only because of their compatible skills, but because they were treated as outsiders everywhere they went.

  While the walk had him feeling better physically, he was still frustrated and struggling with his failures by the time he arrived home. His mood might have continued to darken, but Mack chose that moment to message him through their internal comm-channel.

  “You home yet?” Mack asked.

  “Walked through the door thirty seconds ago. What’s up?”

  “What the hell are we going to do with Lieksa tonight? It’s fight night at the Nova Club.” There was no mistaking the edge in his partner’s tone. The unflappable Mack Darian was nervous.

  Dash was grinning as he answered, grateful Mack couldn’t see his expression. “I think we can do better than blood sports and cheap beer for our angel. What about taking her to Amped?”

  Mack was quiet for a second. “You think so?”

  “We want her to get to know us, right? Can you think of a better way? The food’s good, the crowd’s downright well-mannered by Drift standards, and we’re guaranteed a table.”

  “I’ll make a call and let them know we’re dropping by.”

  “I’ll figure out something to bring her. According to our married friends, gifts are important.” Zura and Cynder would be able to point him in the right direction there.

  “Good thinking. By the way, I’m only working a half-day. I’ve been ordered to take some down time before I burn out.”

  “Then I’ll see you when you get home.”

  “That sounded alarmingly domesticated. Quit it.”

  Dash laughed as he best friend ended the conversation with his usual grumblin
g. The truth was, they had become domesticated over the past few years. They joined Corp-Sec right after they were released from service to the corporations. Unlike most of their fellow cyborgs, they hadn’t drifted around the galaxy or tried to start lives anywhere else. They’d come to the Drift right away, learned the job, proved themselves to the doubters, and carved out a good life for themselves.

  Tonight, they’d take Lieksa to their home away from home. Amped was one of the best live music bars on the station, and they spent a lot of time there. Sharing that part of their life with Lieksa was an important step in letting her get to know who they were and what they had achieved since the last time they were together.

  He glanced at the time and groaned. He had a lot to do today, and not a lot of hours left to do it. The three of them had overcome enough challenges already. It would be nice if, just once this week, things went according to plan.

  * * * *

  “You’re sure we’re in the right place?” Mack asked Dash as they made their way through one of the rougher parts of Astek station.

  “I’m sure. I’m not happy about it, but we are definitely in the right sector. It makes our part of the station seem downright luxurious, doesn’t it?”

  Mack snickered, but there wasn’t much to laugh at. Their years in Corp-Sec gave them a deeper knowledge of the Drift than most of its residents would ever have. They knew every station and platform that made up the rag-tag community, but none better than the station where they lived and worked. “Why would she choose to live here?”

  “No idea. It’s not what I expected from a corporate lab-tech with her skills. This place is rough enough I’m regretting we’re not armed.” Dash glanced down a shadow-filled side-corridor, his nose wrinkling as an air vent blew a fetid blast of what should have been freshly recycled air at them.