by Susan Hayes
“Veth, they’re fast,” Cyn muttered. “I know Archer’s going to launch himself into orbit when he hears about this, but if there’s any way you can get them to agree to a sanctioned match… we’d make a fraxxing fortune.”
“I can’t watch this.” River retreated from the railing, and Zura went with her, offering her support.
After all the brutality and abuse River had been subjected to, it was no surprise she couldn’t understand fighting for sport or profit. She’d survived the war, then been forced to train more cyborgs to become killers. Part of that training included having them fight each other, just like this.
“Any word from your men as to how this came about?” She asked Cynder, who shook her head in response.
“They’re ignoring me. I’m going to go down there and discuss their poor life choices in person. You coming?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Proximity makes this fever thing worse, and neither of them need to get ramped up any more than they already are. I’ve never seen them like this. I don’t understand.”
“No? Think about it. You’re human and this pheromone thing is affecting you. Imagine what it must be like for them. My bet is, they’re fighting because it’s the only outlet they’ve got to take the edge off. Cyborgs have the same problem.” Cyn left, but her words lingered in Phaedra’s mind.
As Tyr and Braxon exchanged blows, Phaedra felt a sickening pang of guilt. She’d been so busy trying to avoid dealing with everything, she hadn’t considered what would happen to them.
The crowd was cheering them on, and every kick or punch that landed sent the onlookers into a frenzy. The combat continued for what felt like forever. Others joined her at the railing, jostling her from side to side, but she kept hold of the rail and refused to be moved.
Her heart was in her throat by the time Braxon ended the fight. He clipped Tyr across the face with the tip of one wing, splitting his lip. As the crowd cheered, someone slammed into her, crushing her against the rail. A second later she was upended, and she uttered a panicked scream as every nightmare she’d ever had about falling became a reality.
Tyran spat out a mouthful of blood and was about to congratulate Braxon when a terrified scream filled the air. It was loud enough to be heard over the cheers of the audience. He shouldn’t have been able to recognize her voice, but he knew it was Phaedra.
He launched himself into the air, making straight for the spot where she’d been standing while he and Braxon fought. She wasn’t standing any longer. She was desperately trying to hold onto the railing - the only thing stopping her from plummeting to the floor far below.
He cleared the cage wall and swooped down, sending the crowd scattering in all directions. She was falling by the time he reached her, and he caught her just a few feet off the ground. She latched onto him with a frightened cry that tore at his heart.
“I’ve got you, mahaya. You’re safe.”
He flew straight to the doors leading to the training room. Braxon was already there, holding open the door. He touched down and kept going, carrying Phaedra into the relative peace inside.
She was shaking, her eyes still closed and her skin so pale it was as if all the blood had fled her face. “Do you wish me to set you down now?”
She nodded and finally opened her eyes. “Re’veth, that was…”
Despite what he’d said, Tyr didn’t put her down. He wasn’t ready to let go of her, yet. “You nearly died. What happened?”
“Someone pushed me. Hard. I think maybe they did it on purpose.”
“Someone meant to harm you?” Braxon demanded, appearing in front of Tyr, his gaze locked on Phaedra.
“I think so. It was so quick. I can’t be sure.”
“I’ll tell the others. You have her?” Braxon asked.
“I will protect what is ours.”
“I’d argue with the whole ‘ours’ thing, but given that you just saved my life, that might be kind of ungrateful of me.” Phaedra touched his chin with trembling fingers. “You’re still bleeding. I thought your nanites would have healed that by now.”
“It will heal soon. I am more concerned about you. Are you injured?”
“My heart is beating about a billion times a minute and I’m pretty sure I’m going to crash so hard I’ll leave an impact crater once the adrenaline wears off, but I think I’m okay.”
“Thank the ancestors.” He gave in to the need coursing through him at last, raising her in his arms to slant a hard kiss across her mouth.
They’d nearly lost her.
He half-expected her to resist, but instead of pushing him away, she kissed him back. The clarity he’d managed to find back in the ring vanished, replaced by a whirlwind of desire and carnal needs.
Her lips parted as she uttered a soft moan, and he took the kiss deeper, ignoring the pain of his split lip as he got his first taste of the female who had consumed his thoughts since the moment they met. Their tongues tangled as they kissed, though the moment she brushed against one of his fangs she stiffened in his arms and pulled away.
“You bit me!”
“My fangs descended.” He’d been so distracted by the pleasure of having her in his arms he hadn’t noticed his body’s response to having his mate so near.
“Yeah, right into my tongue. What’s that about?”
There was so much he needed to tell her, but it was hard to think past the adrenalin and need. “I’ll explain about the fangs later. I promise.” He brushed a gentle kiss to her cheek and forced himself to put her down. “For now, I need you to tell me again that you are unhurt.”
“I’m fine. Thanks to you. If you hadn’t been there…” Her expression hardened slightly. “Which reminds me. What in the name of sanity were you doing fighting with Braxon? You were supposed to be having a quiet night to relax!”
He stroked her cheek, and she leaned into his touch just enough to give him hope. “I will also explain about that, later. Now, we are talking about you. Why would someone try to hurt you?”
Cynder threw open the door to the club and charged in, nearly taking the door off its hinges in the process. “Phae! Holy fraxx woman. I leave you alone for two minutes and you nearly get yourself killed. Oh, and nice catch, flyboy. Also, nice moves in the ring. You and your anrik made some fans tonight, and that was before you swooped in and saved the pink pipsqueak.”
“How many times have I asked you not to call me that?” Phaedra stepped out of his reach and turned to glower at Cynder.
Cyn just laughed and hugged Phae hard. “Now I know you’re okay. I heard the scream and when I saw you falling...” She hugged Phaedra again. “What happened?”
“Someone pushed her.” Tyran wanted to find whoever it was and make them understand the depth of their mistake, slowly and painfully.
“Son of a starbeast. Who? Phae, what happened?” Cyn let go of her, and Phaedra immediately stepped back to lean against the nearest wall.
“I don’t know. You left. I watched the fight. A few seconds after Braxon smacked Tyr in the face hard enough to draw blood, I got bumped in the back, and the next thing I know I’m living my worst nightmare.” She swayed slightly and her hands flattened against the wall to steady herself.
Tyr had her back in his arms in a second, cradling her against his chest. “You need to sit down.”
“That might be good, yeah. That crash I mentioned? I think it’s started.”
“Then I will take you to the ship.”
Cyn held out a hand. “Whoa. Corp-Sec is going to want to talk to her before she goes anywhere.”
“She comes with me. She is not safe here.”
“And now I see why she’s not so keen on this whole mate thing. Cool your boosters, flyboy. Corp-Sec is what passes for law enforcement on the Drift. If someone tried to kill Phaedra, they need to know about it.”
“They can do that on our ship.”
“It will be easier for everyone if we do it here.” Phaedra looked up at him with amusement. “A
nd remember when we talked about how I like making my own choices? You have to stop making decisions for me, Tyr.”
The cyborg males had spent much of their recent discussion telling him the same thing. It went against his every instinct. “I know you do not understand this, yet, but you are mine to protect. This is not easy for me, mahaya, but for you, I will try.”
“I’m starting to understand how hard this is for you.” She tapped a finger against her chest. “In here, I’m feeling the same things you are. At least, I think I am. It’s messy and confusing.”
He tightened his arms around her. “Then let me take you to the ship and I will try to explain.”
“We’ll do that later. For now, I want to stay here.” She placed a hand on his chest and pushed, putting space between them again. This time, he let her go, though he had to grit his teeth when Cynder stepped in to support her.
“I’ve let the others know we’re taking Phae to the main meeting room. It’s secure and comfortable. They’ll bring Braxon and meet us there.”
He nodded and fell in behind them. The way the cyborgs communicated with each other intrigued him. He and Braxon relied on implanted throat mics and receivers to speak to each other the rare times they were separated, but the cyborgs’ method was more direct, and much harder to detect.
Braxon’s voice sounded in his ear. “I’m on my way. We scoured the club, but there was no sign of anyone suspicious. The cyborgs have already downloaded the surveillance footage and are reviewing it. How is Phaedra? Should we take her to the Santar and have her checked for injuries?”
“She insists she is unhurt and wishes to stay here and discuss what happened with her friends and those who enforce the law here.”
“Our mate has the spirit of a warrior.”
“She is also as stubborn as a mogat.”
Braxon was silent for a moment. “What happened?”
“I failed to heed the advice we were given earlier tonight.”
“You really need to remember that the only person in this part of the galaxy who has to obey you is me. Do I need to bring chocolate?”
“No, but perhaps you could have some delivered to the ship for when we return.”
I’ll see what I can do.”
Tyran ended the transmission and caught up to Cynder and Phaedra. They would stay with their mate and help with the investigation any way they could. Then, they would take Phaedra back to their ship and have a long talk. He touched his now healed lip. And hopefully she’d allow him a few more kisses. Having had a single taste of her, he wanted more.
“What do you mean, there’s nothing on the vids? Someone came up behind me and pushed me over the railing.” Phaedra was so frustrated she couldn’t sit still. Her medi-bots had cleared the last vestiges of adrenaline from her system and helped stabilize her once she started to crash, but there was nothing the nanotech could do about her current mental state. She was a mess. Anger, fear, and horror were all swirling inside her gut like some kind of toxic cocktail, and beneath all that, there was this constant state of arousal that had started when Tyr kissed her. It had been a hell of a kiss, sure, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it, or him, or Braxon. It was making her crazy.
“There was a crowd of people around you, and we only have a few cameras pointed in that general area. We’ll address that issue tomorrow, but it doesn’t help us now. None of the footage showed anything useful.” Kit didn’t look happy about the lack of evidence, either.
“Maybe Corp-Sec can pull some trace evidence off my clothes.” She had already given her statement and handed over her clothing to the officers assigned to the investigation. Echo had offered to get her a fresh change of clothes from her room upstairs and Zura had gone with her to unlock the door.
Braxon and Tyran hadn’t left her side since the incident. They would’ve followed into the side room she used to change clothes if she had let them. Having them close was comforting, but it also meant her libido was in overdrive.
“Do we know anything at all?” Cyn asked, her frustration evident.
“Whoever it was, they were careful, which means it wasn’t likely an accident.” Luke pointed out.
“That doesn’t make any sense. I wasn’t planning on being at the club tonight. It was a last-minute decision, and so was Braxon and Tyr’s match. No one could have known any of it was going to happen,” Phaedra pointed out.
Everyone muttered in agreement. “Then it was a matter of opportunity. Someone wants to hurt Phaedra and simply took advantage of the situation.” Braxon looked at her with a look of such concern it made her shiver.
Luke interjected. “I’ve seen the footage of her fall. She was sent over head first. Sorry to be blunt, Phae, but if you’d hit the floor, your skull would have cracked like a walnut. Not even your medi-bots could repair that kind of damage.”
“Great. So, someone’s not trying to hurt me. They’re trying to kill me.”
Braxon uttered a sharp hiss of displeasure. “That is not going to happen.”
“Damn right it’s not,” Zura exclaimed before turning to point a finger at Phaedra. “You need to figure out who might have it in for you, and yeah, we all know it’s a long list. I’m starting to understand why you stay on the move if this is what happens when you settle down somewhere for too long.”
“If you wish to leave the station, we’ll take you,” Tyr offered.
“I’m not going anywhere.” She looked at the two males who had stood at her side all night, guarding and supporting her and comprehension struck like a comet.
It wasn’t them she’d been running from, it was what it would mean if she said yes. She’d been moving around her entire adult life, free to do whatever she wanted, however she could manage it. Agreeing to mate with Braxon and Tyr meant trading that freedom for something new, and very different.
There was a sharp knock at the door, and all conversation stopped.
“Someone let Archer in,” Phae said.
“How do you know it’s him?” Cynder asked, already heading toward the door.
“Because he’s the only one I know who pounds on the door instead of using the door chime.” Phae said.
“Good point.” Cynder opened the door and stepped back to let the colonel enter. He was out of uniform, but somehow, he still managed to project an air of authority.
Phaedra got to her feet as he walked into the room. “Sir, if you’re here about the fight—”
He shook his head. “I wish I were. That would be a minor matter. I was just briefed on what happened here tonight. The attack on you would be cause for concern in any circumstance, but given what else has happened, it suggests a pattern.”
“What pattern?”
“What else happened?”
“Has there been another attack?”
The questions came from several directions at once.
“Not on the station. We’ve located the Vice-President of Axion Corporation. Or, more accurately, we’ve located what’s left of his cruiser. Based on preliminary reports, it appears that the ship suffered a catastrophic explosion while being powered by its FTL drive.”
Jaeger frowned. “At those speeds, there can’t be much left of the ship or anyone onboard. It’s going to be a bitch to come to any conclusions on what happened.”
“And his ship had every safeguard imaginable. The odds of it being a malfunction are less than one percent. Someone killed him.” Archer said, looking straight at Phaedra. “And now someone’s made an attempt on you, too. I don’t like it.” He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, and for the first time, she almost felt sorry for him.
“We’ve been targeted before. We know what to do,” Cyn said
Zura groaned. “I’m going to be cooped up in the club again, aren’t I?”
“You know it. No one goes anywhere without an escort, and that goes double for you, little one,” Kit said.
“I’ll let Royan know what’s going on. Speaking of which, where’s Owen? He’ll want to be
part of any security changes,” Zura said.
“Good thinking. I’ll let him know,” Toro said.
Archer looked around and then shook his head. “You people are surprisingly calm about this.”
Cyn shrugged. “This is not our first assassination attempt. Hell, it’s not even our second.”
“Then I hope I can rely on all of you to be smart, watch your asses, and if it’s not too much trouble, try to keep my two VIP guests from tearing each other apart in the ring again until this mess is cleared up?”
“We won’t cause any further disruption,” Tyr said.
“Good. We’re going to start negotiations the day after tomorrow. Axion will have to assign someone already here to represent them. With all that’s going on, we can’t have any more delays. The longer we’ve got VIPs on the station, the more likely there’s going to be another attack.”
Braxon set his hand on her shoulder and she leaned into his touch without thinking about it. Apparently, my hormones are calling the shots now. Wonderful.
“I think Phaedra should stay on the Santar with us. We can protect her there, and the ship is already well guarded,” Braxon said.
“Agreed,” Archer answered before she could say anything.
Kit coughed sharply, and she was almost certain the words ‘ask her’ were embedded in the sound.
A second later, Braxon squeezed her shoulder. “If you will agree, Phae?”
“The Nova Club is perfectly safe. I don’t need to stay with you.” If she stayed with them, then the temptation to give in without thinking things through would win. She wasn’t strong enough to resist, and before she said yes, she needed to be sure this was the right choice for all of them.
“You were attacked here, in the club,” Archer pointed out.
Tyr crouched in front of her so they were eye-to-eye. “Stay with us, mahaya. Please?”
“No pressure, right?” she asked as all her good intentions crumbled to dust.
“None,” he answered, his eyes never leaving hers.
She gave in to the inevitable. “I’ll need to get some things from my room before we go.”
