“She’s busy on a security job next week, so we won’t be seeing each other.”
Kaiden rolled his eyes and stepped into the hall.
“You’re still going to get me that coffee, right?” were the last words to escape their room before the door slid shut.
I’m not enabling his habits, Kaiden thought as he took to the empty corridors. Most people preferred sleeping in their actual beds at night instead of grinding hours away at videogames. Not his brother.
He’s lonely. I don’t spend enough time with him, and he’s reaching out for what he can get, Kaiden realized a moment later. I just hope Flidais doesn’t plan to hustle money out of him, or worse.
His brother had been dating Flidais online for three years without a single physical meeting or even a photograph exchanged. It was depressing, and it set off Kaiden’s every alarm.
So why was Gareth falling for it? Either Flidais harbored an unnatural aversion to photographs, or she had secrets of her own. Kaiden’s hunch was that she was a married woman seeking an escape from the real world and an unhappy marriage.
Your brother is capable of making his own choices, Kaiden, Jem reminded him.
I acknowledge that. I haven’t told him my suspicions. That counts for something, aye?
Very little.
Kaiden chuckled and turned a corner, with the cafe in sight. He picked up a pair of strong coffees and swung by the mess for a quick late-night snack, but his appetite wasn’t into the midnight menu. Sensing his displeasure, Jem piped in with a suggestion for his restless mood.
Captain Vargas has not activated his sleep lock. Perhaps you should share what’s on your mind, Jem said.
Chapter Three
With a mug of chamomile tea in his hand, Xander dropped into the seat at his virtual terminal and accepted the incoming message from Thandie. Her smiling face appeared in the rectangular screen, revealing half of the stateroom she shared with another officer.
“Hey, good looking,” she greeted. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Getting ready for bed. I thought you’d be asleep by now yourself after that hell of a day you had in the armory.”
As Thandie leaned back in her seat, the camera zoomed out, revealing her evening wardrobe choice of insignificant pink shorts and a lace camisole. One of the thin straps slipped down her tawny shoulder, barely visible beneath her gloriously thick mane of dark hair.
“I thought I would be, too, but the funny thing is that I couldn’t go to bed without talking to you first. You’ve been quiet since we returned from Tallulah last week,” she ventured hesitantly. Her gold eyes studied him through the image, watchful, concerned, and filled with warmth. “Did my family upset you?”
He shook his head and flashed her a reassuring grin. “It takes more than an incredibly overprotective father with somewhat strange traditions to frighten me.”
Thandie’s tense features relaxed. “See? I told you they did the whole separate bedrooms thing.”
The inhabitants of Tallulah were a stubborn folk with rich cultures leading back to the start of their planet’s founding. The women wore dresses and kerchiefs, carried lace parasols, and danced the night away on chaperoned dates with young men who courted them with parental permission only. Betrothals from birth were still commonplace among the older, established families, and debutante balls were a huge thing.
Xander hadn’t asked her father’s permission to court her, nor had he asked her mother. Thandie was a grown woman, and while he respected the rest of their beliefs, he had no intention of treating her like a possession to be passed from her family into his ownership. He wanted their approval, but he didn’t desire it as much as he needed her love, and Thandie had made it very clear she didn’t follow their planet’s customs. Except for sleeping in a separate bedroom at night.
“All the more reason for you to throw on your coveralls and come here. I think I’ve suffered enough time without you in bed beside me at night.”
“I could probably rustle up enough energy to make my way down the passageway. Want me to bring anything?”
“Only yourself.” The door chimed. “Just a second. I’ve got someone at the door. Who’s there, Jem?”
“Kaiden Lockhart has come to speak to you regarding a personal matter,” the A.I. reported. “I told him you were available.”
Xander’s brows raised. Although he’d vowed to make himself available to Kaiden whenever he needed an ear, the cyborg had never taken advantage of the offer. “I’ll be right with him. Thandie, can I—”
Thandie’s sweet smile dimpled her cheek and made her eyes shine with merriment. “Go ahead and see what he wants. You can call me back when you’re done. I’m not going anywhere. Promise.”
”Thanks, love. Talk soon.” He ended the voice chat and crossed the room to the door. His high-priced gaming rig occupied a corner of the open living area, across from a small weight rack, his cello, and an L-shaped sectional where he entertained guests and met with visitors.
And sometimes patients when he was off-duty and someone needed an ear. Smile on his face, Xander opened the door. “Hello, Kaiden. What can I do for you?”
“I know you said if I ever needed someone to talk to, I could come to you.” He held two cups of coffee in his hands, both in insulated, disposable cups from the cafe.
“I did, and I meant it.” Xander gestured to the sectional. “Come on inside and have a seat. Is one of those for me?”
“Uh. Actually, one is for Gareth, but they’re yours if you want ’em. I don’t really drink coffee and he should take his arse to sleep.” After an uncertain glance, he proceeded into Xander’s stateroom and sat gingerly on the couch. He placed both cups on the coffee table and settled with his hands on his lap, looking vulnerable and alone. The anxiety rolled off him in waves thick enough to cut with a knife.
“Tea instead, then?” Xander offered.
“Yes. I mean, no. I don’t want to put you out.”
“It’s no imposition, Kaiden. Chamomile or green tea maybe?”
“Green tea, sir.”
“Xander is fine. We’re off duty, after all.” He moved over to prepare the tea and let his guest get settled. One thing he’d learned over the years was to never rush a person to talk. “Oshiro has this tea blend he brings back from Xiao whenever he makes a visit home to see his nieces and nephews. How’s your mum? Still living there, right?”
“Aye. Now that I’m safe and sound, she’s taking one of those yearlong galactic cruises. Writes us every day with photographs of the places she’s traveled and expects us to write her in return.”
“Yeah? How’s she liking it?”
“She loves it, despite all the fuss she made when we first presented her with the tickets.”
Xander joined him on the sofa and offered a cup of unsweetened green tea, served in the traditional way Oshiro had taught him to prepare the fragrant brew.
“Thanks,” Kaiden murmured, accepting the cup. Silence fell between them, softened by a few satisfying sips before he offered up, “I’m concerned about my brother.”
Through sheer force of willpower, Xander kept the grin off his face. Softening them up with conversation always worked, and Kaiden Lockhart was no exception, no matter how much his cybernetics had changed him. “Anything in particular?”
“What do you know about Flidais? What do you think of her, I mean? Gareth says you guys have all been raiding together for a long time in Spellbound.”
Xander turned his thoughts to the in-game faerie knight character Gareth was always hanging out with. He had no idea when or how they had met, only that, ever since he’d started playing with Ethan and others from the Jemison, Flidais had been there.
“Your brother seems to care a great deal about her,” Xander said, cautiously skirting the line.
“But they’ve never met. Never exchanged pictures. Doesn’t that seem strange after so many years?”
Xander blinked. “Really?”
Kaiden nodded. “He says sh
e’s a very private person but… c’mon. It’s been years.”
“I always thought there was more between them than what Gareth told the rest of us,” Xander admitted. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “She’s been there since I came to the ship, to be honest with you. When I first met them on a Hell-level raid a couple years back, I figured they were a real-life couple. Maybe dating offline.”
“If they were, I’d feel better about it all, but he knows almost nothing about her. Basic, vague stuff. She works in security, claims to be thirty-nine, owns a ship she won’t name, and—”
“You’re worried she’s going to hurt him.”
“I’m worried she’s a married woman toying with his heart,” Kaiden confessed. “Or worse.”
“He’s an adult, Kaiden. Gareth knows what he’s doing, but I wouldn’t say your concerns are misplaced, either. I don’t know much about Flidais personally, aside from a few things I’ve gleaned here and there while in conversation and in groups with her. She’s definitely in security. She knows her shit, and she has a knowledge of military protocol. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a higher-up in the Royal Navy, trying to fly low-key.”
“He loves her, Xander. I may not share my brother’s feelings with him anymore since they did this to me,” Kaiden said while tapping his skull, “but I know Gareth when he’s in love. I’ve seen it before, and if this isn’t love, it’s something close enough to it for him to be devastated if it’s only a game to her.”
“It’s hard to tell who’s behind the avatar and it’s easy to make assumptions. Talk to him about it. Tell him about your concerns and open a line of dialogue for his sake and yours. Gareth’s a logical man. He’ll listen to you.”
“You think so?”
“Of course.”
Although they were twins, it was easy to sort Kaiden and Gareth into older and younger brother roles. The former wore his anxiety for his brother’s welfare like a badge of honor, shamelessly looking out for him. Xander grinned and gave him a pat on the back.
“You guys make me wish I’d had a sibling or two.”
“You’re welcome to be our honorary brother, if you’d like.”
The simple, heartfelt words touched him. “Then as your older, wiser brother, I suggest you sit down and tell Gareth about your worries. He’d want to know and he won’t resent you for it.”
Once Kaiden was gone and Jem had sealed the door behind him, Xander slid into the chair at his desk and pinged Thandie again. Her smiling features popped into the viewer window for the conversation app.
“All finished?”
“All finished,” he confirmed. “So, how soon can you be here?”
Chapter Four
Evangeline awakened from the semi-sleep induced by virtual reality and tested her heavy limbs. Once her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of her personal cabin, she slipped the equipment off and tossed it aside.
Leaving behind VR was always akin to waking up from a dream. She flexed her arms and wiggled her toes, determining she’d regained all motor function again. It always took a few seconds—her rig was an older model with glitches and a bevy of bugs. Once, she’d been in the middle of roleplaying out a really smoking hot VR sex scene with Gareth, and her connection had fizzled out. Picking those up where they left off was never the same.
“You have received three messages. Would you like to hear them now?” her ship’s artificial intelligence asked in a placid tone.
“Yes, please. Thank you, Gryph.”
“I am happy to assist you,” the program replied.
The news wasn’t much—a job offer to review before she accepted, a thank you from a former client, and the latest bounty reports.
Evangeline shook her hair out from her loose and messy bun, then left the captain’s quarters behind. A winding, semi-circular stairway led down to the bridge where she oversaw the day-to-day operations of her vessel.
She ran a tight ship and an efficient business, commanding no less than a dozen battle-ready mercenaries at any time. And while it may have occupied most of her waking hours, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Two heads turned from their terminals and shot her polite smiles in passing.
“Hey, Captain,” one young woman addressed her. Most merc ships couldn’t afford to keep a full-time technical expert on board, but Evangeline needed the edge up on her competition. Morna’s job was to hack into the systems of their fellow mercs, see what they were up to, and catch their leads.
“Evening to you, too,” she murmured. “You pick up anything on the grid?”
“Nothin’ yet. It’s all quiet with United Command, too. We passed one of their ships about an hour ago and patched in, but hell if they were discussing anything important.”
Evangeline’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Be careful, Morna. Some of them have upgraded to that new A.I. I don’t know if the Gryphon has it in him to outrun a Lexar patrol ship.”
“He can. Trust me. Besides, I have a list from a special friend.” She winked. “I know who’s updated and who hasn’t. You won’t catch me hacking into the Jemison, but I hear the Bridewell is safe for now.”
“All right. Watch it, though. It costs an arm and a leg to create new registration tags and we only have two alternates.”
Their ship was a common model favored by a lot of mercenary outfits and private eyes. They could scrub the registration, put up a phony identification tag, and carry on after a scrape with the intergalactic law.
Evie would prefer to save that ace in the hole until absolutely necessary, however. Grinning, she made her way to her workstation and slipped into the high-backed chair. The private terminal at her control center gave her round-the-clock updates on the current bounties in the system. Despite the handful of intelligent humanoid species branched under the Nova Force, they couldn’t police the entire galaxy, leaving it up to bounty hunters to fill in the holes.
Hell, Evie had even met a few top-notch Lexar mercenaries over the past few years and had been surprised to find they were as hungry for jobs as their human counterparts. The big guys could take a serious ass kicking, and even the women had muscles for days. Only a fool would go up against one without a weapon.
A noisy thump distracted Evie from the screen. Her gaze darted to the steaming mug of espresso on the desk, then up to the man who’d placed it there.
“Morning, Captain. Everything’s been quiet.”
“Thanks, Ranulf.”
Her right-hand man was an old, grizzled vet who had served fifteen years in the Royal Navy before being discharged for punching an officer. The way he told the story, the officer had been a brute and lecher who treated the local populace where they were stationed like dirt. And kicking his ass had been worth the discharge.
Evangeline sipped her espresso, needing the jolt of caffeine laced with stimulants after the long night she’d pulled. A day of fighting, an evening with Gareth, and absolutely no sleep. Her body ached, the muscles sore and unrested despite the hours spent in cyberspace.
“I may be taking a vacation at the end of the year, Ranulf.”
“About damned time,” the man grunted. “You never do shit for yourself these days.”
Evangeline chuckled. “I do plenty for myself.”
“Playing that damned game isn’t the same as getting some fresh air in the real world.”
“I get plenty of fresh air when we’re on a job.”
“Excuse me then, allow me to correct myself, Captain.” Ranulf cleared his throat. “That game is no substitute for a real cock.”
“I’m not having this discussion with you.”
“You’re a young woman and there’s life outside this ship.”
“You’re not my father, either. I had one of those once. He’s dead now, and you’re shit as a replacement,” she muttered before jabbing her finger at the floating hologram. She tapped open the hunters’ directory, pulling up a listing of available jobs. With a whole galaxy of criminals flying through space, work was never thin and the
y always had someone to chase.
“So tell me about this vacation. How long am I going to be in charge?”
“Who said you’ll be the one in charge?”
Ranulf snorted. “Sure, put Jinx in charge. You won’t have a ship when you get back because he’ll have gambled it off.”
Evangeline choked on her coffee.
“Or trust command to Morna and come back to a ship upgraded with so much tech you won’t be needed anymore and our savings will be emptied.”
Of course, she’d always intended to put him in charge. He was her second-in-command, after all, the only guy who knew all the Gryphon’s little navigational secrets. If an injury had her down and out, she could always trust him to run the ship, giving orders as if they’d come from her own mouth.
“Whatever. It’s not a done deal yet, so forget I mentioned anything.”
“Who’s the guy?”
“There isn’t a guy.”
“Uh huh. You’re a piss-poor liar, Cap, but go ahead and keep your secrets.”
Probably doesn’t mean shit to him anyway. For all I know, his name isn’t even Gareth. Or he’ll cancel again and claim it’s another family matter. She rubbed her face and thought back to the last time they’d made tentative plans to meet in the real world, when he’d told her his first name. Back then, she was shy about even going in public, always afraid someone would know her face, and she hadn’t dared give him her name in return. Of course, she’d also blown an additional 250,000 in credits since their canceled date and had enough facial reconstruction that her own mother wouldn’t recognize her.
It was safe to meet Gareth now. She could vacation without looking over her shoulder and fearing the next patrol from United Command would swoop in to claim her for the brig.
A fresh message came into the trash account she’d made for her virtual contacts and online acquaintances, completely separate from her professional mail server.
Hey, where’d you go? I told you I’d be right back in game. Brother wanted something.
Kaiden Page 3
