by JC Cassels
THE OSTRA CHILD
by JC Cassels
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidence.
Cover Art Designed by Jayne C. Hicks
Copyright © 2015 Jayne C. Hicks
BISAC: Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted by the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, stored in any database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
http://JCCassels.com
THE OSTRA CHILD
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear the hotel room was some kind of spatial anomaly that dilated time. In the fading daylight, Bo Barron checked her chrono again. It felt like years had passed since she broke in. The truth was, she’d barely been there an hour.
Outside on the street below a wailing siren grew louder. Abandoning her anxious pacing, Bo sidled up to the window and brushed the musty curtain aside. She peered down at the traffic several stories below. Her hand hovered over the grip of the antique blaster strapped to her thigh in its custom, low-slung, quick draw rig. A local law enforcement cruiser sped past the building without slowing. Letting out a relieved sigh, Bo let the curtain fall back into place and she stepped back away from the window.
The last thing she wanted was a gunfight. She felt too exposed here as it was. She’d spent the better part of the last year hiding out in the far reaches of the Outland Fringe, outside the Commonwealth and as far from civilization as possible. The isolation had taken its toll on her. Where once she’d relished city life, now every sound, every person, every movement around her felt like a threat.
Her pacing brought her back to the bed. When she’d let herself into the room, the bed had been neatly made. She’d made short work of that. She’d taken the bedding apart and rolled and folded blankets, making a corral for the helpless little cherub blissfully sleeping there.
She couldn’t be that close to him and not touch him. Leaning over, she lightly ran her fingertips along the dark, downy hair on top of his head. Her son. She never realized it was possible to love another living soul so much. Closing her eyes against the maelstrom of emotions, Bo bent down and kissed him. If anything happened to him, it would end her.
“Please let him get here before I lose my nerve,” she whispered in prayer.
The dull ping of the lift echoed down the hallway outside.
Careful not to disturb the sleeping baby, Bo eased off the bed and slipped quickly and silently through the shadows to the door. Drawing her blaster, she flattened herself against the wall to the side of the door. Focusing on keeping her breathing deep and even, Bo strained to identify the sounds outside. She could just make out voices in conversation. Punctuated by the occasional laugh, she couldn’t make out what they were saying or identify anyone in particular.
The call sheet for the production crew had indicated that the day’s shooting would be over for the day. She’d taken it as a sign when she’d learned he’d be working on a holofeature on location so far out in the Seventh Sector.
Her heart pounded and she swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. Would he help her or would he throw her out? A thousand doubts assailed her. Footsteps stopped outside the door. No turning back now. His familiar baritone rumbled through the door as it slid open.
“Just let me get a shower and change and I’ll meet you downstairs in the bar in an hour,” he said.
He stepped through the door and it shut behind him as he turned and reached for the light.
Taking no chances, Bo leveled her blaster at him and pressed it hard into the middle of his back.
“Don’t move,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion and disuse. “Show me your hands.”
His spine stiffened and he slowly held his hands out to his sides. “I’ve got maybe a couple hundred in currency,” he said. “You’re welcome to it.”
Bo shoved him against the wall with her blaster. “Spread ‘em.”
He hesitated a millisecond before he complied. With her free hand, Bo patted him down. Once satisfied that he was unarmed, she stepped back, but didn’t lower her weapon.
“Switch on the lights and turn around slowly.” She sidestepped around him, putting herself between him and the sleeping baby.
He touched the light controls and the dim lamps around the cramped room flickered on. A warm yellow glow filled the room. Bo squinted against the light, but she didn’t take her eyes off him. Tall, burly, broad-shouldered, narrow waisted, he hadn’t changed in the year or so since she’d last seen him. His blue eyes flicked over her and widened in recognition. His wariness faded a little.
“Marissa?”
Forgetting the blaster, his lips curved in a welcoming smile. He started towards her, but when she stiffened and raised the blaster, he stopped. His smile faded.
“Hello, Chase.”
He looked her over again, this time more carefully. His eyes narrowed as he took in her gunbelt and her attire.
He cleared his throat. “Where’s Dev?”
Bo shook her head. “Don’t know. Don’t care. You’re the one I’ve been looking for.”
He nodded towards the weapon in her hand. “In that case, either shoot me or put that thing away,” he said. “You’re making me nervous.”
Bo coughed and her lips twitched in a smile of apology. That was the Chase Fossey she knew and loved. She didn’t know many civilians who would react so calmly to walking into their hotel room to find an unstable woman with a blaster. But, then, he was no ordinary civilian. He was Blade Devon’s brother. That had to count for something.
She slowly holstered her weapon.
His lips twisted in a wry smile as he lowered his hands. “My brother has that affect on people,” he said. He looked her over again and shook his head. “What the hell has he done to you?”
“Chase, I’m in trouble and I need your help.”
“Anything,” he said. The tense line of his shoulders eased. A look of compassion softened his face. “You don’t need a gun to ask for my help, Marissa. I told you a long time ago that you can always count on me for whatever you need.”
Bo stared at him. The past few years rolled away. From the first moment she’d met Chase, he’d been offering his help and his protection. Even when she’d chosen his brother over him, Chase had remained steadfast in his loyalty and affection for her. After everything that had happened, he was still offering to help. He didn’t even have to know what she needed.
The stress and strain of her self-imposed exile crashed in over her. Undone by his kindness, tears stung her eyes and her lip quivered. He moved quickly for a man of his size, sliding close to her and pulling her to him.
It had been so long since anyone had touched her. Starved for human contact, she fell against him, clutching him tightly to her, tighter than she probably should have. Bo rubbed her cheek against his jacket, burrowing deeper into him. He smelled earthy, of heat and sweat and explosions. He smelled of an honest day’s work with a sickly sweet undertone of cologne that reacted badly with his perspiration.
He held her close against his chest, murmuring words of comfort as he stroked her hair. Heedless of the silent sobs that wracked her body, he held her until she’d cried herself out, and he continued to hold her. Bo sagged against him, reluctant to move away.
She was a tactile person. Casual, affectionate physical contact with anyone would no longer be possible once she left his room. That part of her
would die here. It had to.
“Marissa?”
“Hmm?”
“Is that a baby on my bed?”
Bo didn’t look up. “Yes.”
“Yours?”
“Yes.”
He slid his hands to her shoulders and gently pried her away from him. He didn’t speak until she looked up at him.
His blue eyes studied her intently. “Dev’s?”
Bo squirmed under his scrutiny. Even the mention of the bastard’s name ripped through her like salt in an open wound. Her lips tightened and her jaw clenched against the pain.
She nodded.
His lips tightened and he lifted his face to the ceiling. When he finally looked back to her, he smiled and nodded. Cupping his hand around her elbow, he nudged her towards a small table and two uncomfortable chairs.
“Sit down and tell me what’s going on,” he said.
Had she really thought she could come here, break into his brother’s hotel room with his baby and somehow get out of discussing the state of their relationship, or lack thereof?
No. Not really. She just hadn’t expected simply hearing his name to hurt so damn much.
Bo didn’t protest as he settled her into the chair. She waited patiently for him to take the seat across from her.
“Does he know?”
“About the baby?” Bo shook her head. “No. I don’t want him to know.”
“A man deserves to know he’s a father.”
Bo sighed and gave him a world-weary smile. “Not every man.”
Unable to meet his level stare she lowered her gaze and toyed with the ring on her finger. It was a meaningless symbol of a marriage predicated on a lie, but she couldn’t bring herself to remove it. Not yet. She’d planned so meticulously what she’d wanted to say to Chase, but now that he was sitting across from her, the carefully crafted story withered on her lips.
“You were right about him, you know.” Taking a deep fortifying breath, she looked up at him. “When you warned me about him, that he was a sociopath…he is. I was disposable.” She couldn’t contain the bitterness in her tone. “By the time I found out I was pregnant, he’d already moved on to the next one.”
“Marissa, I’m so sorry. I really thought…” Chase shook his head. “Are you sure?”
Bo nodded. “His girlfriend stopped by the apartment on Altair to drop off his data reader. I was looking through it to make sure it was his and hadn’t been tampered with and I came across his orders from Lord Marin to cultivate me as an… asset.” She choked on the last word.
A whole year since it happened and she hadn’t spoken of it to anyone. It had been much easier pretending it hadn’t happened at all. Now, sitting here across from Chase – Chase with the earnest blue eyes – she couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. Blade Devon had never loved her. He’d only used her as he’d been ordered to do.
“When I confronted him about it, he admitted it. He couldn’t even see that what he’d done had been wrong.”
Chase looked away then looked back to her. “Comes with that sociopath thing,” he said. Clearing his throat he reached across and covered her hands with his. “I swear to you, Marissa, I didn’t know. I really believed he’d learned to love.”
Bo’s lips twitched. She couldn’t deal with any more lies. Chase deserved to know the truth for what she was about to ask of him.
“My name isn’t Marissa,” she said.
He lifted his eyebrows in silent question.
“Well, it is, but it isn’t.” She shrugged. “Dev didn’t want me to tell you. I’m one of the Commonwealth’s Most Wanted. Everything I’ve told you about myself is only half true. My name is Bodhile Laidan Caitre Marissa Barron. My mother was Marissa Kiara.” She gauged his reaction before going on. “My Aunt Misou insisted I go through the D’or Choh and get legally certified as Marissa Kiara. She wanted to keep me safe at the D’or Choh. Lord Marin had other ideas. After the Tennova job, he contacted my aunt and requested she approve a contract between myself and your brother. He gave me some story about being in love with me and wanting to be able to keep seeing me…and I believed him.”
Chase’s hands tightened over hers. “Hey, I believed him, too,” he said. His eyes narrowed. “Bodhile Barron…as in Bo Barron?”
She nodded.
“So that regent guy…you weren’t his Companion?”
“He’s my cousin. He may have killed my father.”
“Your father?”
“Bhruic Barron,” she said. “It’s a long story, but he was murdered and my uncle Royce framed for it. That just leaves me and him.” She nodded towards the baby sleeping on the bed. “I’m the rightful and legal Barron. Jaden and his father have been regent in my father’s absence and in mine. If I’m killed, that leaves my son as the only thing standing in their way. They got to my father. They’ve discredited me and tried to kill me more than once.”
“They say you’re a terrorist,” Chase said. “You killed six hundred people at Frostfire…”
Bo shook her head. “You’ve been lied to, Chase, by me, by your brother...I’m not going to waste my time telling you I didn’t do it. I doubt you’d believe me anyway. Frankly, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. Whether I set the explosives or not, I’m responsible. Those people were killed for no other reason than to discredit me. But that baby hasn’t done anything. He shouldn’t have to grow up being hunted like an animal. Nobody knows he exists except for you and me. I have done my damnedest to make sure of that. I’ve spent the last year running and hiding, avoiding civilization and what little family I know won’t try to kill me. If anyone finds out that I have a son they’ll kill him.”
“All the more reason to tell Dev he’s the father, don’t you think? He can protect you both…”
“No!” Bo snatched her hands from his. “He can’t know. Lord Marin ordered him to cultivate me as an asset. Do you honestly believe he wouldn’t turn my child over to the man if he asked? I never meant anything to him aside from a job. What do you think this child will mean to him?”
“I don’t know!”
The baby on the bed whimpered in protest at his tone. Both adults looked over at him, waiting to see whether he would settle back down to sleep or begin to cry. When no more sounds were forthcoming, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“I honestly don’t know,” Chase said in a more moderate tone. “But I know how he feels about family.”
“You’re his family,” she said. “You’re the only family he recognizes. How many times have you seen men walk away from their own children because they didn’t love the mother?”
“You don’t know that he’d do that.”
“I can’t take that risk.” Bo leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the table. “You are the only person he cares about, Chase. I don’t doubt that he’d walk through hell itself to keep you safe. That’s partly why I want you to take my son and raise him as your own. If he knows that child is mine, he’s just an asset. If he thinks he’s yours…”
“He’s family,” Chase finished. He rubbed his forehead. “You know, I’d like to argue that, but it does sound like Dev’s reasoning. Why me? You have other options, don’t you?”
“I really don’t. My family is out to kill me. Anyone remotely connected to me who inexplicably shows up with a child is going to be suspect. With things as they are between me and Dev, there’s really no obvious connection between you and me. You grew up in an orphan’s home. Tell me, do you really want that for him? Could you do it? I can’t.”
Tears blurred her eyes. “I love that child more than life itself. If he can’t be raised by his parents he can at least be raised by someone who will love him. I know you’re fond of me, Chase. I know you love your brother, despite himself. You are the only person I trust to raise my son and keep him safe. You’re the only person I know who will love him like your own.”
“What if you…I mean…the kid’s a noble, a ruling noble….”
“If anything happens to
me, let my cousins have the title. Let them have it all. Keep your mouth shut. Keep your head down. He’s Chase Fossey’s son. That doesn’t mean anything to him.”
“Are you sure it’s that simple?”
“Keep it that simple,” she said flatly. “No one knows he exists other than you and me. I’ve put a set of legal birth documents naming you as his father in the bag with his things.”
Chase’s lips quirked in a lopsided smile. “You were pretty sure I’ll agree.”
“You love your brother,” she said. “You’ll raise his son.” She smiled. “The first thing Dev ever told me about you was that you were a good man. You are, Chase. You’re the best man I know. You’ve got more honor and integrity than any noble or Sovran I’ve ever met.”
His grin widened. “You don’t have to shine me to get me to agree, you know.”
Bo’s face heated and she averted her gaze. Why couldn’t she have fallen for Chase?
“I know,” she said. “And I appreciate that.” She slowly lifted her gaze to his. “I can do what I have to do as long as I know my son is safe and loved.”
Chase shifted in his seat. With only a slight hesitation, he reached across the table. His large, callused hands wrapped tenderly around hers.
“He’ll be that,” he promised.
The overwhelming burden she’d carried for the past year slipped imperceptibly from her shoulders, leaving her weary. He gently squeezed her hands. His eyes crinkled in a warm smile.
“Lucky for you I grew in the orphans’ home. The older kids like me helped out in the nursery. I’ve actually done this kind of thing before.”
Bo tried to smile, but failed miserably.
“Just promise me you won’t tell your brother.”
“I owe him for all those secrets he kept from me over the years.”
Bo tried to smile. “I’d better leave while I still can.” She rose and picked up a long, hooded cloak from the bed. She swung it around her shoulders and fastened the clasp.
