by Dena Christy
“From all accounts, it sounds like she will be in a public place with him, and won’t be going anywhere private. It seems like there would be very little risk for her, especially if there is a security guard at the desk.”
Ryce sank down on the edge of his bed as his initial rush of anger left him. He dragged his hand through his hair with a sigh. How could he explain to his friend that he didn’t want her tainted by any interaction with Dawson?
“It’s not that I don’t think she’ll be fine standing in the lobby waiting for him. I’ve seen inside his mind, and I saw more than just what’s he’s doing to Cynric. I didn’t like seeing his thoughts about her.”
“She’s a beautiful woman, and you will tie yourself in knots if you torture yourself by thinking about other men coveting her. I went through this with Miranda, and I saw exactly what that bastard Avery wanted to do to her. But I didn’t get pissed off at her about it.”
“Knowing that doesn’t make me want to keep her out of it any less,” Ryce said. “If the situation was reversed, and it was Miranda who had to be alone with Avery, would you be fine with it?”
“Of course I wouldn't, but that’s not the point. You don’t think that I don’t want to keep Miranda out of this because she could be put at risk? You can’t hide Collette away. She’s a grown woman, and she will do what she wants. If I’ve learned anything from being with Miranda is that as much as I want to keep her safe, I can’t crush her spirit to do it. The women on this planet have so few choices, and we have no right to take more away from them. All we can do is try our best to protect them while they maintain their autonomy.”
All his arguments escaped him, and he was left knowing that his friend was right. Collette was her own person, and she had had so few choices in her life. She wanted to do this, and he could tell that she felt like she was contributing when she was assisting them with the plans to rescue Cynric. He admired her courage, he only wished she didn’t have to be exposed to someone like Dawson.
“So is the plan going to go ahead,” Synn asked, and Ryce nodded. He didn’t think that he had much choice but to agree since Collette was determined and she had everyone else’s backing. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
Synn turned away, and he opened the door. Ryce glanced over and saw Collette standing there with her hand poised to knock. She looked at him as if he was an angry bear that she needed to be cautious around. For a moment he felt ashamed that he’d allowed his own issues to cause her to have a look like that on her face. Making her nervous around him was the last thing he wanted. He never wanted to see fear of him in her face.
“He’s all yours,” Synn said as he drew her inside, walked past her and pulled the door shut behind him.
Ryce looked at and she stood there hesitantly, chewing on her bottom lip. He held out his hand to her, and she walked over to him and took it. He drew them both down until they were lying on the bed, and he put his arms around her.
“Is it okay now,” she asked in a small voice as she put her head down on his chest.
“We will proceed as planned,” he said as he ran his hand up and down the silky skin of her arm.
“But you aren’t happy about it,” she said. “I know you think it’s risky, but I promise I’ll be safe. There will be a security guard in the lobby, and Dawson wouldn’t dare drag me off somewhere alone and he’d have to use force to get me to go anywhere with him.”
“I know,” he said and decided to be honest with her and tell her what was really going on his head. Perhaps she’d understand that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to involve her that was the crux of the problem. “I saw the way he looked at you at the ball, and I didn’t like it.”
“I know, but men will look at me, I can’t help that. We can’t let someone like him win, and the best way to beat him is at his own game. You don’t need to be jealous, you know.”
“I don’t?” He tilted her chin so she could look at him.
“No.” She took his hand and pressed her lips to it. “When you are in the room, you have all my attention. Men like Dawson are a dime a dozen on this planet. I’ve met his kind before, and I’m sure I will again. I’ve had years of training on how to handle a man like him.”
Her words removed a particularly irritating thorn from his side. All his life he’d always been confident and sure of himself, but he’d met no one like her. She lived a life that he couldn’t even imagine, and sometimes he couldn't believe that she had given him the time of day, let alone shared her body with him.
“So I have all your attention,” he said as he savored that nugget. It was a relief to hear since he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her from the moment he met her. Despite the mark not appearing, he felt her growing more important to him with each moment.
“You know you do.” She shifted so she could look at him. She remained at his side as her fingers drew idle circles on his chest through the fabric of his shirt. “We should probably get ready to go over to Dawson’s. You know, strike while the iron is hot and all that.”
“I think we have a few minutes,” he said as he shifted and pressed her back on the mattress. He was sure she couldn’t miss how aroused he was just laying beside her.
“What if it takes more than a few minutes?” With a grin as she looped her arms around his neck and her mouth curved into a sultry smile.
“Then we’ll have to take a few minutes more,” he said as he lowered his head toward her.
Chapter Twelve
The car pulled into the parking lot of Colonel Dawson’s sleek apartment building, and Ryce sat for a moment while he rubbed the back of his neck. Dusk had fallen, and he knew they were cutting it close. He’d made love to Collette twice before he could tear himself away from her, and they were later leaving Evie’s compound than they’d intended. Hopefully he would be in and out of Dawson’s apartment before he returned home.
He wasn’t nervous for himself, but he didn’t like Collette involving herself further in this. Even though they’d talked about it, that she’d assured him that he had nothing to be jealous about, he didn’t want her to be under Dawson’s radar. Telling himself that he was worrying over nothing, that Dawson would probably not show up, did nothing to alleviate his uneasy feeling.
“Are we going in?” Collette had her hand poised over the door handle. There was an air of excitement about her that was in direct contrast to what he was feeling.
“Yes.” His was voice grim as he reached for the door handle on his side of the car.
He didn’t come here to sit in the car in his guise as Dawson. He shoved the door open and got out. They had agreed that he would go in the back and take the stairs up to Dawson’s apartment to minimize the chances of him being seen, and Collette would go around the front and wait in the lobby.
He walked around the car and opened the door for Collette. She smiled up at him as he reached in to assist her out of the car. She took a step toward the building when he reached out to halt her.
“If he shows up, send me a message and get out of there. Wait for me in the car. Don’t engage him if you don’t have to. I’ll send you a message as soon as I have the uniform and am out of the building.”
“Stop worrying, everything will be find. He probably won’t be coming home,” she said. “A man as ambitious as him is probably a workaholic. I’m sure we have lots of time.”
“I’ll stop worrying when you are away from here.” He pulled her close and pressed a swift kiss on her mouth.
“Let’s go then. They sooner you are in and out, the soon we can leave.” She stepped away from the car and walked toward the building. Ryce blew out a slow breath. She was right, the sooner he got the uniform, the sooner she would be out of Dawson’s way.
He waited until she was close to the front of the building before he moved toward the back. His brief skim of Dawson’s mind had given him the location of his apartment, and he had a climb up the stairs ahead of him. When he got to the back security door, someone was on
their way out. They inclined their head at him, and he caught the door before it could close.
He ducked into the stairwell before anyone else could see him and climbed up the fifteen floors to Dawson’s apartment. He emerged out of the stairwell and strode to the apartment door. There was no one in the hall, but he pretended like he belonged in the event he was being watch by someone he couldn’t see. He reached up and put his hand to the panel beside the door. The light flashed blue, and the lock disengaged. Ryce stepped inside the apartment.
For a moment he thought he had gotten into the wrong apartment because it didn’t look like anyone lived there. The apartment was furnished, but there was nothing personal in here. There was nothing to show that this was someone’s home. Even the air inside was cold and sterile.
The carpet looked perfectly groom, it looked like no one had walked on it before. Ryce took a moment to take off his boots since he didn’t want to mar the surface of the carpet and give Dawson a clue that he’d been there. Being bootless would impede his get away, but he’d run from the building in his sock feet if he had to if it came to that.
He picked up his boots and carried them with him as he walked down the hall toward the apartment’s only bedroom. Perhaps the place where Dawson slept would show more of his personality. Ryce walked into the room which was dominated by a huge bed, and it was as neutral as the rest of the apartment. He shivered as the cold air in the room brushed over him, and he told himself to get on with it. The sooner he got out of here the better. He was hyper aware that Collette was alone and vulnerable down in the lobby, and he didn’t want to leave her down there any longer than necessary.
He went over to the closet and opened it. It was huge, big enough to walk inside, and he could see all Dawson’s clothes neatly hung, coordinated by color. Unfortunately nothing that looked like a military uniform jumped out at him, and Ryce sighed. He would have to go through everything.
He started at the beginning and sorted through every article of clothing hanging on the racks. He did his best to make it look like he hadn’t been there because he was sure Dawson was the type to see if anything was out of place. He steadily worked his way through the clothes, and when he got to the end, he cursed under his breath. There wasn’t a single uniform hanging in the closet, and Ryce stepped out of the closet. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
A noise came from the other room, the sound of a door closing, and Ryce stood very still for a moment. His heart pounded and tension tightened his muscles. He pulled out his communication tablet to see if Collette had sent him a message. Surely he would have felt the vibration of the thing going off where it rested against his leg in his pocket. There was no message, but perhaps Dawson had come in through the back as Ryce himself had done.
His jaw clenched, and he braced himself. He couldn’t very well hide in the closet for the entire evening until Dawson went to work tomorrow. He eased his shoulders back as he decided that there was nothing for it but to confront him and hopefully incapacitate the other man so he could make his escape.
He walked cautiously to the bedroom door and eased it open. He cocked his head and listened carefully. No sounds came from the apartment except for the whispering hum of the air circulation system. Perhaps he was just being paranoid and jumping at shadows. The sounds of someone in the apartment came again and confirmed that he was correct. He eased out of the bedroom and crept up the hall.
As he got to the mouth of the hall, the breath he was holding whooshed out of his chest. There was someone in the apartment, but it wasn’t Dawson. A middle aged woman was there, and in her hand she held clothing encased in plastic by the hangers.
She turned toward the hall and jumped, a startled noise coming from her as her face turned white.
“Colonel Dawson.” Her voice was barely audible as she put her free hand up to her heart. “I didn’t expect you to be home.”
Ryce stepped forward, making a noncommittal noise. He looked at the clothing in her hand, and realized she was holding several of Dawson’s uniforms, which explained why there weren’t hanging in the closet.
The communication tablet vibrated in his pocket, and with a sinking feeling Ryce realized that the real Dawson was in the lobby. He needed to get rid of this woman since seeing two versions of Dawson coming and going from this apartment would not go without being remarked upon.
“I’ll take the uniforms and you can leave for the day,” he said as he reached out his hand.
“But I haven’t finished my work,” she said as she slowly extended the hand that held the uniforms to him. He resisted the impulse to grab them, taking them gently from her instead.
“That’s fine, enjoy the afternoon off,” he said as he did his best to mask the impatience in his voice.
If Dawson was in the lobby, he had little time to get a uniform and get out of here. She seemed surprised by the offer, but as soon as the bundle was out of her hands she spun quickly as was out the door in a matter of seconds. Perhaps she thought she needed to leave before he changed his mind.
As soon as the door closed behind her, he pulled out his tablet, and he could see that there was a message from Collette, with only one sentence. He’s here!
He pivoted, his heart pounding he rushed back to bedroom. He opened the closet door, walked inside and hung all but one uniform on the rack. He did his best to estimate where they would go based on their dark blue color and turned on his heel. He kicked the closet door shut, and with a uniform in his hand, he strode out of the bedroom and down the hall.
There was no time to waste putting his boots on, so he scooped them up and walked out of the apartment in his stocking feet. He made a beeline for the stairwell and rushed inside. The close door his him from view and only then did he give himself a moment to relax. He dropped the boots, set the uniform aside and pulled out his tablet.
Out, he typed in, and quickly put his boots back on. He grabbed the uniform, raced down the long winding stairwell and out to the car. He’d hoped that Collette would be waiting there for him, but she wasn’t no where to be seen.
Collette, where are you. He got in the car and waited, his eyes glued on the building as he waited for her to appear.
Collette walked around the side of the building on her way to the front lobby. She resisted the urge to look back and check Ryce’s progress. She’d pretended with him that everything was fine, but there were nervous butterflies dancing in her stomach. It had been impossible to let him know that since she had a feeling that he was looking for any excuse to call this off.
She walked into the lobby and smiled at the security guard through the glass security door. He looked at little disconcerted, and even through the door she could see a flush creep up his cheeks. He pressed a button under his desk, and the door buzzed, letting her know she could come in. Taking a deep breath, and resisting the urge to smooth her moist palms down her skirt, she pulled the door open with a bright and sunny smile on her face.
“Hi,” she said as she boldly stepped up the desk. His Adam's apple bobbed as his eyes did a quick sweep of her figure, before returning to her face.
“How can I help you, ma’am.” His posture stiffened as he straightened his tie. This was going to be easier than even she had thought.
“I’d like to see Colonel Dawson please.” Her effect on him was evident, and she knew that he would have no problem letting her wait in the lobby for Dawson should he return.
“I’m sorry, but Colonel Dawson is not home. Can I give him a message for you?”
“Actually,” she said, putting breathy tone in her voice as she braced a hand on the desk and leaned forward. He leaned in a little himself, and she knew she had him. “I was wondering if I could wait in the lobby for a little while. I promise that I’ll be as quiet as a mouse and won’t disturb you at all.”
“I’m sure that would be okay,” he said as he cleared his throat. “Would you like a refreshment while you wait? I think I have water in the fridge here.”
&nb
sp; “I’m fine, I’ll just sit over in one of those chairs and you won’t even know I’m here,” she said as she turned, gave a little sashay of her hips and sat down. She pulled out her tablet and opened a book on it that she could pretend to read. Hopefully Dawson wouldn’t come, because for all her brave talk of keeping him busy if he showed up, she really had no idea what she would say to him. If she was honest, he’d creeped her out a little when he looked at her at the ball.
Silence descended, and she glanced up from her table to see the guard staring at her. She smiled at him, and he looked flustered for having been caught staring. He quickly went back to his business, and she returned to her book. She pretended to be riveted by contents and she fought the urge to bounce her knee up and down. Time passed, she was not sure how much, and she wondered what was taking Ryce so long. Surely grabbing a uniform didn’t take that long.
“It looks like you’re in luck,” the guard said and Collette looked up quickly. “Colonel Dawson is here now.”
She looked over in the direction he was looking, and saw Colonel Dawson standing at his mailbox, sorting through his mail. She switched over to her message program and typed a message to Ryce, alerting him to Dawson’s presence in the building. She tucked her tablet back into her purse, and stood, smoothing her hand down her skirt.
Colonel Dawson walked in and stopped when he saw her standing there. His eyebrows climbed to his forehead, and a slow smile spread across his face as his eyes skimmed her face.
“Citizen Beauleau, this is a surprise,” he said as he walked up to her. His eyes swept over her body, and for a moment she suspected that he was imagining her without her clothing. She suppressed the revulsion at the hungry look in his eyes and smiled at him.
“Please call me Collette. I’m sorry for coming unannounced. I wanted to see you again after meeting you this weekend.” Her smiled stayed pasted on her face as she put her hands behind her back and clenched them together to stop them from shaking.
