Cade’s glance vacillated between the two furious women. All this fuss because the man had taken another woman for the night?
He understood these people had different customs, that once they married they vowed to forsake all others—but from their TV shows, many people broke their promises. And Jules and Lou hadn’t taken such vows. He didn’t comprehend the reasons for all this female anger, but the consequences of Lou’s actions weren’t lost on Cade. As much as he’d studied these Terrans, he didn’t understand them.
Or was it simply women he didn’t understand?
Lou’s double chin quivered. His eyes never left Jules’s face. “I was wasted.”
“Too bad.” Jules turned her back on the man and followed Shara inside.
Lou let out a sob and turned toward a beat-up hovertruck. “Be careful, dude. Those are two unforgiving wahines.”
Cade couldn’t help but agree—whatever a wahine was—although he had the good sense to keep that thought to himself.
He somehow knew his agreement would not help his cause with Shara. Back on the asteroid he’d felt a genuine attraction to her. He liked her independent spirit, and no one could doubt her fabulous looks. The woman could have been a star on any world.
But now that he’d begun to get to know her, he wanted to know more about her. And he wondered if that constituted a relationship. And if so, what kind of unspoken rules restrained him? At what point did these Terrans consider the relationship exclusive?
In some respects Earth was very complicated compared to the rigid rules on Rama.
He had to proceed with care.
14
Shara took a shaking Jules into her arms. They’d had many long vidlink conversations about Lou, but she hadn’t realized until just then how badly his betrayal had hurt her friend. Jules appeared to have really loved the guy. “Lou’s gone now, and I doubt he’ll come back.”
Jules sobbed harder. “If you hadn’t been here when he said he missed me and looked at me with those puppy dog eyes, I might have given in.”
Heart heavy, Shara glanced over Jules’s shoulder at Cade. He seemed unusually interested in their conversation. Standing in the shadows, he remained still, as if fearing that if he drew notice to himself they’d send him away. But no matter how motionless he remained, no matter how far he blended into the dark, even as she hugged Jules, Shara was too aware of him.
The way he focused on her was a constant distraction. It should have been annoying, but she was far too fascinated by the glint in his eyes to care.
Shara smoothed Jules’s hair and stepped directly to the bar and fixed her a gin and tonic. Just because Shara couldn’t drink, didn’t mean that Jules couldn’t dull some pain. “You said that you were better off with Lou out of your life.”
“I did and I meant it.” Jules blew her nose into a tissue, tossed it into the trash, then accepted the drink. “Thanks.” She jiggled the ice and stared into the alcohol as if she could find an answer there. “The damn man is no good, but that doesn’t mean I can snap my fingers and be over him.”
Hell, Shara certainly understood. She doubted she’d ever be over Bruce, and the thought of joining her friend in a drink became compulsion. Needing something to hold in her hand, something to swallow, she retreated to the bar and poured herself a cola. Recalling Cade’s last reaction to liquor, the way a few sips had made him drunk, she didn’t ask his preference, just poured him a soda, too.
“Thanks.” He tasted the cola, grinned at the sweet taste, and then downed the entire glass in one long swallow.
Shara loved watching the man drink and eat. He did so with such gusto, but now was not the time for distractions. Jules needed her.
Shara spoke softly. “Lou seemed so sorry, maybe you should consider—”
“Forgiving him?” Jules shrugged, sighed, and collapsed back into her chair. Kapuna leaped into her lap, and she petted him, setting aside the drink, untouched. “I made that mistake once already. Twice would mean I’m the idiot.”
“Oh.” Shara wasn’t so surprised. Her friend had a kind and forgiving nature, and no doubt she hadn’t mentioned Lou’s cheating and her going back to him because she’d known Shara would have disapproved—although for Jules’s sake, she would have tried to keep her opinions to herself. Just as she kept her yen for that drink tamped down to a dull roar.
She hadn’t realized coming back into civilization would tempt her so. After all these years of abstinence she felt as though she should have been cured. One sip was all it would take to start sliding down that slick slope of despair. She couldn’t seem to shake the craving for booze any more than she could stop her fascination with Cade.
Despite Jules’s distress, Shara assessed every expression that crossed his too-handsome face. How his eyes glittered with intelligent interest. How his mouth quirked up with just the right combination of sympathy. How his gaze caught and held hers across the room in a glance that spoke volumes, indicated he wanted more from her.
Jules turned her head and glared at Cade. “Why does every man I find attractive turn out to be no damn good?”
“Perhaps you find the wrong traits attractive,” Cade suggested, his tone gentle.
Jules flopped back into her chair and closed her eyes. Her tone turned dreamy. “I want a man that’s happy and loyal. One that has enough self confidence that he’ll let me be me. What’s so wrong with that?”
Cade didn’t answer. His gaze lasered in on Shara. “What about you?”
“Me?” She arched a brow.
“What kind of man attracts you?” His gaze pierced her.
Shara didn’t know how his one look could set her on edge, but it did. Shaking her head, she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m no longer interested in men, so attraction’s irrelevant.”
Jules snorted and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “That’s so not true.”
“I’m happy living alone,” Shara insisted, almost believing herself. “I’ve already loved once—and what Bruce and I had was so rare, I don’t expect to ever have that again.”
Jules shook her head. “Bruce was a fine man.” She turned to Cade. “Bruce was her husband. He died tragically, but he wasn’t a saint.”
Shara wasn’t ready to go there. Not now, maybe not ever. Her memories of Bruce were all she had left. “We were discussing Lou.”
“I’m over him. He’s history. Those are absolutely the last tears I’ll ever shed over the no-good SOB.”
The vidlink Cade had purchased on the space station beeped. He reached for the device and read the message.
After Cade purchased the electronic supplies in New L.A., he’d assembled his locator device in the hovercar while in flight to Jules’s house.
“I’ve tapped into Earth’s satellite system to capture the signals from the portal pieces.”
“You found them?” Shara asked.
“The first of three.” He turned off the beeper and pulled up a holovid map so they could all see. He made a few adjustments, and Shara found herself holding her breath.
If she was lucky, at least one of the parts would have splashed into a volcanic rift on Venus so deep it would be irretrievable. Cade’s mission would be over right here and now, and she wouldn’t have to do one damned thing to stop him.
“I’m punching in coordinates.” Cade peered at the holovid, his gaze focused, the cords in his neck taut. “The first portal piece appears to be in Mare Sirenum on Mars.”
Mars? Shara held back a groan. Supposedly a visit to Siren City, the capital and spaceport, was safe right now, but since there had been fighting on Mars for the last two hundred years, she didn’t trust the recent truce.
“What if one of the natives finds the piece before you do?” Jules asked.
“It’s unlikely,” Cade told her. “The portal pieces are designed to set down in uninhabited areas. Without Raman technology to find them, they should be safe enough from the colonists.”
“Where are the other pieces?” Shara asked, tr
ying to sound normal when her heart was racing.
“They won’t register until after I retrieve the first piece. My people made the locators that way to prevent anyone else from going after one piece while I hunted down the others.”
Shara tried to make her voice sound concerned. “So Jamar could be receiving the same signal as you?”
“It’s very likely. He knows how my equipment works.” Cade slung a backpack with his gear over his shoulder. “We have to go.”
15
“Trevor, I want a story I can sink my teeth into.” Ralph chewed his unlit cigar and glared at his top reporter, Trevor Cantrell. Accustomed to Ralph’s tirades, Trevor didn’t even bother to look away from his vidlink. The newsvid’s chief editor had been on a rampage of late, but Trevor had reported too many front-page stories to worry about keeping his job.
As the New L.A. Sun’s only Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, he had certain privileges—one of them was dressing in a comfortable short-sleeve polo shirt and wearing khakis while at work. Leaning back on the rear legs of his chair, Trevor eyed his boss with amusement. “Nicotine’s a tough habit to kick.”
Ralph plucked the cigar from his mouth, eyed it, then tossed it into the trash. “Get me a story that the Solar AP will pick up.”
“I can’t manufacture news.”
“Dig up something interesting. What’s going on with the inter-planetary hotel labor dispute?”
“They’re at a stalemate.”
“The Martian import tax?”
“Stalled in Congressional committee.”
“I suppose you’ve heard the titillating rumor that King Alexander and Queen Kate have leased the penthouse suite at the Hyatt?”
“That was last week’s rumor. This week, they’re going to Vegas to gamble away the crown jewels.”
Trevor watched his boss’s eyes narrow. Ralph’s mouth tightened to a pinched look, and in another moment he’d start complaining about vidlink numbers and that corporate might can them all if they didn’t come up with real news, leaving Ralph strapped to pay alimony to three ex-wives and an assortment of kids. Trevor was fairly certain Ralph was a workaholic because he hated going home to his latest wife. So he let his boss steam for another few minutes before presenting his idea.
“I heard about an unusual gem sale on the space station today.”
Ralph’s eyes brightened. “How unusual?”
“The guy had the looks of a celebrity, and he arrived in New L.A. with Shara Weston, but he’s an unknown commodity.”
“Shara Weston? She’s kind of old news, but she takes a fabulous holovid. Can you drum up a new angle?”
“The guy sold his gemstones for close to a billion. If he hadn’t been in a hurry, he could have gotten more.”
“So what? The interesting part is Shara Weston—not some gemstones.”
“They were an assortment of rubies. The jeweler tells me he’s never seen anything like them. Each ruby had the exact same weight and color, and they were spectacular quality. It would have been rare to find one stone like that, but the matching set was remarkable.” He saw Ralph’s eyes start to glaze with disinterest. “Okay, here’s where it gets fascinating.”
“I’m listening.”
“The guy, Cade Archer, has a Martian driver’s license. But when I ran the identification numbers with my friends at Space Force Immigration, they couldn’t find anything on the dude. He has a birth certificate from the Moon, but the hospital had no record of his birth.”
“Maybe he was born in Cuba. The islanders there like their independence,” Ralph said.
“Or his papers are forged. His passport was perfect, his number in the system. Who could pull that off except Martian Mossad or the UNCIA? And Cade Archer owns no property, attended no public school, and has held no job that I can find.”
“He could be an eccentric asteroid miner. Or one of the crazies who live on the back side of the Moon. So what?”
Trevor knew how to interest Ralph. “The jeweler says the rubies are real, but their structure is unique.”
“I can’t sell gem structure.”
“They came from no mine he’s ever heard of. Says the color and size and composition don’t match anything he’s ever seen before, and the guy’s an expert.”
“So how does he explain it?”
“He thinks the rubies came from a meteorite.”
Ralph snorted. “You call that news?”
“The dude drops out of nowhere and sells gemstones that come from a meteorite. I’d like to follow up.”
“Have you got anything else?”
“I spoke to a shuttle pilot. He was flying by Shara Weston’s asteroid two days ago and heard a sonic boom.”
“So?”
Trevor had done his homework. “The U.S. Space Force had no record of any spaceship in the area that could make that kind of racket.”
“The Neo Israelis?”
“Not even the scientists on Jupiter’s moons. I checked with my source on the base.”
“So what are you trying to sell me? The return of Superman?”
Trevor shrugged. If he hadn’t piqued Ralph’s interest already, he didn’t know what else he could say.
“Where would you start?” Ralph finally asked.
16
Cade adjusted the straps on his backpack, his tone impatient. “We need to catch the first shuttle to the space station and then transfer to a rocket for Mars.”
Shara hesitated, unwilling to leave Jules when she was so shaken up.
“Go.” Jules waved her away. “I’ll be okay.”
Shara looked from her friend to Cade and back to Jules. “There’s no way I’m leaving you here alone. Come with us.”
Jules threw her hands into the air in surrender. “I’ll go with you as far as the space station, then I’m heading to Io.” She practically leaped from the chair. “The autobot will take care of Kapuna until I get back. Give me ten minutes to pack.”
Cade nodded and accepted the reasonable delay. “Please, hurry.”
At least Shara would have Jules with her for a little longer, but then she and Cade would be off for Mars. Alone. The thought instantly sent an electric charge through her body that had her blood thrumming.
Jules left them to pack, and Kapuna followed her out of the room, leaving Cade and Shara alone. She refilled their colas. “Thank you for waiting.”
“You’re welcome.” He paced, unable to sit still, but stopped to accept the drink. “Once we get to Siren City on Mars, what’s the best way to travel to Mare Sirenum?”
“We’ll have to fly over the desert. There’s a large Jewish settlement there, and we can hire a guide from a kibbutz.”
“How long will it take?”
“That depends on the connections. Mars has frequent dust storms. Public transportation is often . . . erratic.” Shara read the impatience on his face. “Siren City has private jets. They are smaller and faster but more expensive. I made some holovids on Mars. I’ve always wanted to go back.”
He grinned, as if he’d been waiting for this opportunity. “Then I’m glad you’re coming with me.”
His words sent heat straight to her core. If only this could be a romantic trip. Instead she had to go with him—to stop him. Somehow, someway, along the journey she’d find a way. She had to.
“I can’t think of a better traveling companion.” His eyes said he’d like her to be much more. Then he held up the vidlink. “Please, go hurry Jules. I’ll make arrangements.”
Cade might be a newbie to their technology, but he’d sure caught on fast. It didn’t seem fair that one man should have such a gorgeous face, a just cause, and be intelligent and interesting too. And of course, he had to the one she had to pit herself against.
Shara hurried down the hallway toward the master suite, which was decorated in Jules’s funky chic style. There was a canopy bed draped with tie-dyed sheets, which formed a tented pavilion over the bed. Red-shaded lamps warmed the private suite with a cam
py glow.
The scent of soothing cinnamon incense and flickering candles greeted her as she walked. Jules was tossing items onto her bed beside an empty case.
“Need some help?”
“Sure. Start rolling the clothes.” Jules dug into a closet and tossed a pair of heels and a pair of scuffed hiking boots onto the bed.
Kapuna curled up atop the pile of clothes that needed to be packed, and when Shara shooed him away, he glared at her with how-dare-you-disturb-me attitude. “If you want to take Kapuna with you, I’ll pay—”
“Kapuna won’t like space flight.”
Shara frowned and sniffed. It must be the incense she smelled. Or the ridiculously beat up hat in her hand. Shara chucked the hat into the trash.
“Hey. I still wear that hat.”
Shara sighed. “Buy a new one.”
“Some of us aren’t ex-holovid stars with mega millions in the bank.”
Turning her head, Shara sniffed again. “Jules, do you smell smoke?”
“It’s my new candles.”
“I don’t think so.”
“The incense?”
Shara blinked. Smoke had begun pouring into the open window from the direction of the patio. Had a spark from the grill caught? Her heart quickened. “The house is on fire.”
As if her words had summoned the flames, a fiery inferno crackled over the walls, up the ceiling. Kapuna yowled and leapt into Jules’s arms.
Surprised, Jules nevertheless caught him. In the reflected light of the flames, horror widened her eyes and she swore.
Oh, no. Jules’s beautiful, crazy house was going up in flames.
Shock, horror, and adrenaline hit Shara just as Cade sprinted into the room, his pack with his new equipment on his back, and pointed. “We’re going out that window.”
Jules took one step toward the exterior wall. Flames crackled over the opening in a blazing sheet of fire. Heart racing, Shara yanked her back to the center of the room. “Not that way.”
Lunar Heat: 1 (The Heat Series) Page 8
