The Quintan Edge (Roran Curse Book 2)

by Heidi J. Leavitt

  “How much do we know about him?” Lilah had wanted to know. “What exactly did they ship him off Terra for? Maybe he’s made some powerful enemies.” Jenna had wondered about it more and more over the past few weeks. She had seen Jimmy several more times (Zane often invited him along when they spent time together), and he just laughed it off and accused Grier, Lilah, and Jenna of paranoia. However, Jenna had noticed that when she brought it up, Zane grew uneasy and quiet. She suspected that Zane was worried about it even if Jimmy wasn’t.

  Her first tactic was to find out as much as she could about Jimmy. Searching the feeds for him on Zenith only confirmed what she already knew—he had arrived from Terra the very morning of the day they met. He was already making an appearance in the society gossip feeds, and his presence on Zenith wasn’t a closely held secret. Searching Terran feeds yielded far more hits, and as far as Jenna could tell, he had an even larger society presence on that planet. Had Jimmy attended every swanky party thrown the last three years? Exasperated, Jenna filtered out every society, celebrity, and gossip feed and was left with only a couple of matches. First, in a listing of obituaries, Jenna found that Jimmy had been a member of the honor guard at the funeral for Giovanna Angeles Forrest. Was that his mother? She couldn’t find enough details to be sure, but Giovanna had died four years ago at the age of forty-eight. Oddly, she was heartened to know that Jimmy had lost at least one family member. Maybe that would explain why he seemed to understand her so well.

  The final bit of information Jenna stumbled across was the name James August Trimble Forrest III on a list of graduates from a special entrepreneurship college at Jefferson University, the most prestigious university in the entire Union. That took her by surprise. Even if his family connections had made sure he was admitted, Jimmy would have had to seriously pursue his education to actually graduate. If he was that interested in entrepreneurship, why was he so apathetic about working for the family business? Was his unconcerned attitude an act?

  Even armed with her expanded knowledge about Jimmy’s background, she couldn’t see a reason that he would be the target of an assassination attempt unless jilted, unhappy heiresses were hunting him.

  Though she knew that Zane would make sure Jimmy was safe (and that the Quintans had far more resources to track down shady hit men than she did), she decided next to research from a different angle. The police had never contacted her about the transport accident again, so the only lead she had to go on was the name of the business that owned the transport.

  Logistitec turned out to be a massive multiplanet corporation. They didn’t have a presence on Terra that Jenna could find, but they had branches on several of the charter planets and were the main shippers of local goods on three of the five frontier planets. She wondered if they were a competitor of Quintan-Forrest Enterprises, but she couldn’t find anywhere that they overlapped. They did not run out of the Red Zone, though they did have a special armored courier service that made deliveries there. Yet Quintan-Forrest Enterprises had no reach into the shipping industry, at least not publicly. Maybe there was some shady Red Zone dealing going on? But in that case, why target Jimmy? He was hardly a force in the business at all. She sighed in frustration. Maybe it didn’t have anything specific to do with Logistitec. Maybe it was just because they were likely the owners of the biggest fleet of transport drones in Omphalos. Somebody had probably hijacked it. But for what? Who would be after Jimmy, and why?

  Nothing frustrated Jenna more than a puzzle she couldn’t solve. She would just have to get to know Jimmy better. Once she knew more about him, she would better be able to guess at a motive for these attacks on him. She refused to look too closely at the part of her that was secretly elated for any excuse to spend more time with him.

  6. Memorial

  Living two floors below Jenna was no different than living across the city from her. Some part of Jimmy had hoped that if they shared the same building, he might run into her regularly. But so far he had not been lucky enough to see her in the lobby, on the pool deck, or even by chance encounter in the lift, even though they both had to use the same set of lifts to reach their floors. Not that he hadn’t seen her at all. He’d seen her several times when Zane had invited him along, usually to have dinner or hang out in the QE. He’d even started attending Zane’s weekly races because Jenna was guaranteed to be there, and it meant Jimmy would at least get to sit in the stands with her and kind of have her to himself for a few minutes.

  The reality was that Jenna worked long days, and when she did have some free time it was usually spent with Zane. It was difficult for Jimmy to casually run into her under those circumstances. So he finally decided that he would throw caution to the wind and drop by her apartment on a night when he knew that Zane had made some plans with his racing buddies and hadn’t included Jenna. He knew he shouldn’t. Zane had staked his claim, and he really didn’t want to tread onto a friend’s turf. Not to mention that a rivalry between him and Zane would rock the family business, and Jimmy had no desire to make waves of any kind. So the best way to handle this would be to stay away from Jenna as much as possible.

  Because trying not to be attracted to her was not working at all.

  It was more than physical attraction (though the stars knew he was physically attracted to her). He loved being in her company. When he was around her, he wanted to be so much more than he was. Suddenly, being the playboy that spent his daddy’s money and had no ambition didn’t appeal to him.

  She deserved more than that.

  Anyway, this had no future at all, not if she was seriously dating Zane. And it did seem serious. Only yesterday, when Zane and Jimmy had been alone with Zane’s father, Lev had asked if Zane had considered marrying Jenna. Jimmy had wanted to retch right there. How could he stand seeing Zane forever bound to the woman he wanted? The conversation only got worse, though. Quintan went on to advise his son that Jenna would make a “highly suitable” choice, what with her Armada connections and sensible nature.

  Sensible nature? Jimmy had thought to himself. She’s a volcano waiting to explode, and he doesn’t even see it.

  “She’s intelligent, refined, and would make a great asset to our family,” Quintan had stated as if he was considering buying a new transport. Jimmy wanted to gag, but he had managed to keep his cool, even if his face was probably giving him away. Luckily neither Zane nor Mr. Quintan had noticed. Zane had listened seriously to all his father’s reasoning before adding with a smile, “It doesn’t hurt that she’s the most beautiful woman on Zenith, either.”

  The jealousy was almost overtaking Jimmy completely at this point. Jenna was the most beautiful woman on Zenith, but he truly wished Zane didn’t think so too. Fortunately, at this point they had been interrupted and the topic had ended before Jimmy had made a complete fool of himself.

  Anyway, he told himself as he headed up to Jenna’s apartment, they’re not married yet. There was always a chance that Jenna wouldn’t want to marry Zane. And if she didn’t, well, Jimmy wanted to be first in line to try and catch her eye.

  Jenna was just leaving her apartment as he reached it. She was wrapped up in a warm coat, a scarf draped across her neck, and his heart dropped. She was on her way out for the evening. But as he walked up to her, he noticed that her eyes were red, and she looked the most forlorn he had ever seen her.

  “Jenna! What’s wrong?”

  “Hey, Jimmy,” she greeted, her voice hoarse. “I’m just on my way out.” He looked down at the bundle of flowers that she was carrying. They were fresh flowers, not exactly easy to come by at this time of year. Omphalos didn’t get snow—not like Jenna’s hometown, apparently (or homebase? He wasn’t up to date on Armada terminology)—but it was cold and drab this time of year.

  He suddenly wondered who had died.

  “Do you want some company?” he asked solicitously. “I’d like to come with you. My evening is free.” She hesitated for a minute
and then swallowed. “Maybe company would be a good thing. Thanks, Jimmy.”

  “Just let me grab my coat, and I’ll be down in a flash. Meet you in the lobby?”

  “OK,” Jenna agreed. He took off, tearing down the stairs in a hurry. He didn’t want her to get impatient and leave without him. She really looked like she shouldn’t be alone right now. Something was definitely wrong.

  When he reached the lobby, he was relieved to find that she was still there. She was staring out the windows absently, still clinging to her flowers as if they were some kind of lifesaver.

  “I commed a taxi,” she told him as he walked up. “It should be here any minute.” She didn’t seem to want to talk after that, so he let her be. Sometimes it was better to be silent company. His sister had taught him that years ago, and he figured that his sister had at least had some good advice to give him.

  When the taxi arrived and they climbed in, Jenna gave Zaragosa Park as her destination. Jimmy was surprised. He’d never been there, but he’d heard of it. It was a strip of parkland with trails that followed the path of the river on the other side of Omphalos. He’d thought they would be heading to a funeral chapel. Yet Zenith was different than Terra in many ways, and maybe when someone died they had memorials at the park.

  Maybe they even buried the people who died here, the way that the ancients of Terra had done. But in a park?

  Maybe he was wrong altogether. But he didn’t think so. His instincts told him that Jenna was mourning someone—or maybe something.

  When they reached the park, Jenna paid the taxi, and they walked down the trail into a thick grove of trees. It was cold but calm and peaceful. Very few other people were out, and the trees were bare, but Jimmy found it beautiful in a way. Maybe it was because he didn’t get outside into nature often enough. Maybe it was because he was walking with Jenna.

  They walked until the river came into view.

  Jenna stopped and looked around a bit, finding an evergreen tree. She walked to the trunk and set down her flowers before pulling a length of blue ribbon out of her coat. She tied it to a low branch and then stood silently for a moment, staring at the ribbon. Then she turned to Jimmy at last.

  “My sister was an Armada pilot,” she explained. “Her skiff crashed one year ago today—at least that’s what we think happened. We don’t know for sure, since they never found any wreckage.”

  Jimmy was aghast. How had he never heard this before? Why had Zane never said anything? Surely he knew this about Jenna.

  “I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t know.” He wanted to comfort her somehow, but he wasn’t sure what to say. Everything that sprang to mind seemed trivial or condescending.

  Jenna sighed and turned to face the river. “I don’t like to talk about it. It hurts so much.” He could imagine. He still didn’t talk about losing his mother. As for Jenna, she had mentioned off-hand once that she had lost her younger brother when she was young. How did she cope with two losses? She put on such a normal face for everybody. He walked to her side and put an arm around her shoulder. She stiffened at first, surprised by the touch, but when he lightly squeezed her, she relaxed.

  “My mother won’t let her go. She insists she’s still alive and that we just need to keep looking for her. But, Jimmy,” Jenna turned to him, her eyes pleading, “I can’t keep living like this. No closure. Pretending that my sister will just show up one day. It’s been a whole year. My parents won’t even hold a memorial service. It’s like Andie disappeared into a hole, and I’m not even allowed to say goodbye.” The tears had started to pool in her eyes, and she turned back to the tree where she had tied her ribbon and placed the flowers.

  “So I’m saying goodbye today. I just wish that I didn’t feel guilty about wanting this closure.”

  “I can’t even imagine what it must be like,” Jimmy spoke softly, when the silence had stretched through several long moments. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting closure.”

  Jenna stepped back toward the tree, and Jimmy dropped his arm, following her a short distance behind. She dropped to her knees at the foot of the tree and fingered the bouquet of rare winter blooms.

  “I love you, Andie,” she whispered to the flowers. “I wish I had been a better sister to you. I hope you are enjoying a new adventure now.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Say hi to Erik for me. I miss you guys so much.” She dropped her head into her hands, and Jimmy stood silently behind her, not wanting to intrude on her private moment of grief.

  They stayed that way until the early winter dusk settled under the trees and cloaked them in shadows.

  Outside the riverwalk Jimmy commed another taxi. While they waited the wind started to pick up, piercing through his coat. Jenna was shivering beside him.

  “Do you have any plans for tonight?” he asked, rubbing his bare hands together for warmth.

  “No,” she said, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck. “This was it.”

  Their taxi arrived, and Jimmy waited for Jenna to slide into the seat before climbing in beside her. “Well, I have an idea. It’s a tradition to celebrate your loved one’s life with a meal and memories where I come from. Join me?”

  “OK,” Jenna agreed, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. Jimmy gave the address of a restaurant that Zane had introduced him to—one that was smaller and cozy but had fantastic food. When they arrived and were seated, Jimmy took a look at the menu screen on their table.

  “So the first rule is that you have to order something Andie would have liked—or that she would have hated. Either one, but this is all about remembering her. You’ll have to order for both of us, though,” he added, “so please, pick something that my Terran digestive system can handle!”

  Jenna smiled more broadly this time and scrolled through the menu. She made her selections and then announced, “Well, I took pity on you. I chose something she would have liked. There’s a good chance it’s something you will like too.”

  While they waited for their food, Jimmy asked Jenna to tell him about her sister. She told him that she had been an energetic, active, adventurous kind of person. “She wasn’t any good at school—it really wasn’t her thing—and she was always getting into trouble of some kind or another. But everyone seemed to love her anyway, no matter what she did. I resented that when I was younger—why was it that I always listened to my parents and did what they asked, and yet Andie got all the attention?”

  Jimmy laughed. “Sounds like something my sister would say about me. I promise you, all the attention for getting into trouble is not something desirable!”

  Jenna conceded that he had a point. “Andie did spend most of her childhood grounded, it seemed,” she admitted.

  “What did she look like?” Jimmy asked as their server delivered drinks to their table.

  Jenna picked up her glass and sipped at it thoughtfully. “She had long chestnut hair and dark eyes, and she was shorter than me. I think sometimes people were surprised to find out we were sisters.”

  “So you never had people mistaking you for her,” Jimmy said, running his fingers along the edge of the table.

  “Definitely not!” Jenna agreed. “I look like my mom, but Andie took more after my father. So did Erik. People only figured out we were related when we were all together as a family.” She dropped her eyes to the table. “She always complained that I was so bossy,” Jenna said, more glumly. “I guess I was. She was my younger sister, you know.”

  “Bossy is good practice for a girl who wants to grow up to run her own design firm,” Jimmy said lightly. “Besides, my older sister is a bossy know-it-all too, and I love her anyway.”

  “Thanks a lot, Jimmy,” Jenna grumbled. “You sure know how to make a woman feel better about herself.” Jimmy merely smiled wickedly at her. His purpose was accomplished. The brooding look had disappeared from her eyes.

 
The food arrived. There were large platters heaped with dumplings of some kind. A side dish of purple sauce sat next to them.

  “Mushroom peleni with berry sauce. Andie loved these,” Jenna explained, forking one and deftly dipping it in the bowl of sauce. She gracefully slid it into her mouth. Jimmy was impressed.

  “That’s a talent,” he said, pointing his fork at Jenna’s head. “You didn’t get as much as a drip of that sauce on the table—or your clothes—or even your chin.” He tried to spear one of the peleni and dipped it, leaving a trail of purple drops across the table. “It’s a gift that apparently I don’t possess.” He tried to swipe up the drops with a finger, only to find that they stained his fingertip purple. He waggled his finger in horror. “Your sister’s favorite dish is a first-date nightmare! How can I eat this without making a complete mess of myself?”

  “Good thing this isn’t a date then,” Jenna said, popping another one in her mouth with nary a spill. How did she do that?

  Jimmy tried once more, but after he ended up with a coin-sized purple blot on his shirt, he gave up on the sauce and just ate the dumplings. They were still good without the tangy sauce anyway.

  “So tell me one memory about your sister—the first thing that comes to mind,” Jimmy suggested. Jenna thought for a moment and then snorted.

  “When I was fifteen there was this guy I liked . . . I guess you could call him my first boyfriend. We’d comm each other during class and go to the movies together at the theater on base, hold hands, you know, kid stuff,” she began.

  “Whoa,” Jimmy interrupted teasingly, raising his hands, “I asked for a memory about your sister, not about your love life! Too much information, Jenna.” Jenna smacked him in the arm with a fork from the table.

  “Easy there, tigress,” he smirked. “Does Zane know that you still harbor special memories about your first love?”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “You are hopeless, Jimmy. You make it sound like dating Alexei was something special—at fifteen years old!”