Sharp pain sliced through my heart. Betrayal hurt more than salt to a wound. “Tell me the truth, was it all lies, all this time we’ve been together?”
“No hard feelings, cupcake. It was only business.”
“You seduced me, asked me to marry you just so you could get access to the vault? That’s fucking low, Mac.”
“No, it’s a standard practice in espionage.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I felt cold all of a sudden. Chilled to the bone. “Are you a Froste agent?”
“I’m a freelancer, selling to the highest bidder.” Mac motioned me to get up from the floor.
I scrambled up half-heartedly.
“You’re going to get me out of here. No one is allowed to leave Orient Fevre during the lockdown, except you and Captain Hawk.”
“Forget it, Mac. I don’t care if you blow me up. I’ll make sure you die with me. Then I’ll haunt you to eternity.”
Mac snarled. “You don’t understand the gravity of our situation, do you? I must get to the Froste system in forty-eight standard hours. I’ve rigged one gigaton of explosives from the last transit in Ernye for an occasion like this. I’ll blow up the ship if you don’t do what I tell you. More than a thousand people will die with us. Your choice, darling.”
“You’re a two-timing, sick bastard.”
“It’s leverage.” Mac threw a small towel at me.
I caught it.
“Wipe your face and let’s go.”
I dabbed my gash with the towel. My headache was getting worse. I weighed my options, but didn’t see a way out of it. Yet. Mac had total control of our situation, and I had no other choice, but to follow his orders.
We walked through the maintenance passageway and rode the elevator down to the engine room. In the event of a lockdown, the only accessible part of Orient Fevre that allowed us to get out was in the ventilator shafts, where the hatch of the shafts could be opened without Captain Hawk and I entering the codes at the same time. Mac wanted me to override the lockdown commands from there. The loophole, from what was otherwise a solid security preventive programme, was designed for emergency use…in case of fire. Because Orient Fevre was one of those thruster-V hyperdrive model ships, she didn’t have internal ventilator shafts in her cooling system. A flaw in her design, I had to say, but not many knew about it. Mac certainly had a knack to using it for his own benefits.
I leant my back against the wall as the elevator slowly dragged us into the belly of the ship. The ballistic vest felt heavy on my chest. I made a quick assessment on how much damage Orient Fevre would endure if I kicked Mac’s ass and we departed from this mortal world in a form of fine chucks of meat tidbits. Judging from the explosives Mac had packed into the vest, I didn’t think Orient Fevre would suffer much. Mac knew it, and that was why he had a backup plan—one gigaton of explosives rigged to the ship. The impact wouldn’t only pulverise Orient Fevre into pieces, it would also blow up one-third of the Chereshaz-X space station, along with a dozen other ships. Mac had covered all the bases. He was one crafty son of a bitch.
“How did you smuggle that many explosives onto Orient Fevre?” I ventured. “Did you bribe one of the logistics people, too?”
Mac gave me a thin smile. The smile that used to make me swoon to my knees and my heart throb. Mackenzie was one of the most coveted men on Orient Fevre. He was a Herculean tall human with a sympathetic smile and a straightforward demeanour. A picture-perfect hero from the V-net comic books. Only he was no hero at all, now that I knew what lay behind his deception. He was a villainous asshole.
“What’s the matter, Violet? Is the cat curious? Do you really think I’d blab my secrets so you can find a way to spoil my plans? C’mon, you aren’t that thick.”
“Fine, if you don’t want to talk about your “imaginary” explosives, what about that blonde bitch you fucked in a storage room? Is she your lover? Was it your first time or have you been fucking her the whole time we’ve been together?”
“Curiosity killed the cat. You shouldn’t be asking too many questions.”
“Damn it. I almost married you! I’m entitled to have a lot of questions.”
“Oh yeah? I have a lot of questions, too. What motivated you to throw yourself on your prince boy-toy’s feet? If you really loved me, you wouldn’t have married that pompous prick.”
I gritted my teeth. “The marriage was an accident and I fucked him to get even with you. You’re the prick!”
Mac smirked. The elevator screen flashed a message that we were now in sector five of the engine room. The door slid open.
He narrowed his eyes and motioned me to move on. “If you’re so curious, Violet, let’s just say, I’m not content fucking a hybrid. Does that quench your curiosity, kitty-cat?”
I froze. His words blew my mind. I’d never thought Mac was a racist. I wanted to let my cat nails go and scratch some nice gashes on his smug face just to show him what kind of damage a cat could do.
“Come on!” Mac barked. “We haven’t got too much time.”
I trudged to the end of sector five to where the ventilator shafts were located. We climbed down one story into the shaft landing. Mac nudged my back with the muzzle of his plasma rifle, pushing me towards the ID reader pad.
I didn’t follow his orders. “How do I know you really have a gigaton of explosives rigged in this ship? As far as I know, you could be bluffing.”
Mac made a theatrical sigh. “I lied about the reactor core not running as it’s supposed too. We didn’t need fuel buster. Do you remember when you signed an approval for an additional cryofuel shipment? Well, guess what, it wasn’t cryofuel, darling. It was a hydrogen bomb. And do you know what happens when that puppy is released into the core reactor?” He mouthed ka-boom.
“I don’t believe you,” I persisted.
“Do you really want to take that risk?”
“I have to see it to believe it.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not going to fall into your stalling game. Now, open the hatch.”
“Then what? If you I let you go, you could still blow us up.”
Mac chuckled. “I knew you’d drive a hard bargain, Violet. I’ll hand you over the detonator as soon as you open the hatch.”
“How do I know you won’t trick me?”
“You don’t. You have to do it my way. You have no choice.”
I was sick of not having choices. For the last several days, I’d been bullied by Levy and Hayworth, and I was seriously sick of always surrendering to other people’s wishes. And now Mac wanted to pull the same game, too? I didn’t think so. Na-ah. No freaking way.
I pretended I was going along with Mac’s threat. I entered my personal ID code and gained access into Orient Fevre’s computer mainframe. The Artificial Intelligence roused from its semi-stasis condition because of the lockdown mode and asked me what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to open the ventilator hatch. It asked me the override code. I punched the seventeen-digit emergency override code and paused just before the last one.
I looked at Mac.“ Where’s the detonator?”
He growled with impatience. “The deal is you open this fucking hatch and I’ll give you the fucking detonator.”
“I need to see that fucking detonator first, you fucking asshole!”
Mac retaliated by swinging the butt of his plasma rifle at my head. Only, I’d anticipated his move this time. I ducked and the rifle swung past me and smashed into the reader pad. It cracked with a small electric explosion. Totally fried.
Mac flipped out.“ Look what you did, you cunt! Now I’m going to kill you.”
I shifted into my animal form before he could assault me some more. I didn’t care if he blew me up. Orient Fevre wouldn’t suffer much if he ignited the explosive-rigged vest I wore. But Mac was so worked up with his rifle, he didn’t have the chance to blow the vest up. It fell into the steel-grid flooring system with a loud thud. So did my clothes. Hybrids didn’t magically convert clothes i
nto their animal form when they shifted.
I leapt onto the railing as Mac blasted his rifle at me. I cat-walked on the pipe before I jumped in his direction, and partially shifted back. I clawed his face. Nice and sweet.
He howled in rage. His rifle fired wildly before he stopped to inspect the damage I’d caused him. I seized the golden opportunity to sink my fist into his face. That one was for breaking my heart, cheating on me with some skank, and for all the lies he’d shoved down my throat. A sick crunching sound echoed in the cluttered space. Blood splattered my face and arm. I growled and lunged at him, knocking both of us onto the hatch’s landing. His plasma rifle fell from his hand as I put my knee on his stomach. He heaved for air. One of his hands grabbed my hair and smashed my head against the railings.
I shouted. Red and white sparks blinded my peripheral vision. Sometimes, I forgot how strong Mac was. He might not have been a hybrid, but he was a man. Naturally, men were stronger than women.
He grabbed my throat and choked me until the air around me started thinning. I gurgled, unable to breathe. A flash of panic flared across my mind before my old combat instinct kicked in.
“How d’you like this, bitch? You like playing rough? Is this the kink you’ve always wanted?”
He tightened his grip and I started to get light-headed. The world gathered to darkness. I made a split-second decision on a counter-assault and blindly plunged two fingers in the direction of his face. I hit a soft target—his eye—and I drove my fingers onward until I heard something sickening—a popping sound. I kept digging until he let go of his chokehold on me.
He staggered backward, his shrieks storming the engine room. I gasped for air, coughing my guts out. Luckily, he hadn’t crushed my larynx because I could still breathe and make sounds. I crawled to get his rifle. Before I could reach it, he lunged at me with a knife in his hand. I grabbedthe blade before it speared into my heart.
“Die, bitch, die!”
I struggled to keep the knife away from my chest. The sharp edge cut through my palms and fingers. Blood trailed to my arms and chest like rivulets of red rain. The knife inched closer to my chest. I was losing the battle. Even if I shifted, I still couldn’t get out of the knife range before Mac speared me with all seven inches.
I persevered, though deep in my mind I knew I was going to die, but I wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Just when the tip of the knife pierced my skin, something dark flashed behind Mac.
Maybe I was delirious, but I thought I saw Levy.
Mac’s body left the ground, flying away. I heard his scream echo as he fell onto the bottom landing. I mumbled in disbelief as I let go of the knife. Pain seared my nerve endings, but I ignored it, my attention riveted to the unbelievable sight two stories below.
I saw a dragon. The black majestic beast unfurled its forty-foot wingspan and advanced in Mac’s direction. Mac cursed and tried to get to his feet, but his attempt was futile when the dragon swished its tail. I looked away. I didn’t want to watch. Shrieks of agony filled the room for what seemed like the longest minutes in my life. My accidental husband Levy was finishing the job for me.
I cried, laying on the cold surface of the steel flooring. My body felt cold, numb. The part of me that still loved Mac, even though he’d tricked me, lied to me, and almost killed me, died away as he met his own comeuppance. Female stupidity? Maybe. I’d almost married that son of a bitch. My body shook as the screams died away, replaced by the sounds of hurried footsteps reverberating through the engine room’s ceilings.
My body trembled as I felt a gush of wind blow in my direction. The dragon perched on the railings before morphing into the man I’d come to know too damn well in the past few days. Levy stared at me, anguished.
“Violet, you’re hurt.”
I jumped into his arms, burying my face against the hollow of his throat. His body was warm, as naked as mine, and slicked with blood and sweat, but I’d never felt so calm in my life. I heard shouting from people, and I might have heard Captain Hawk’s voice, too. I ignored my surroundings and tightened my arms around Levy’s neck. He patted me, giving me comfort as I cried my head off for no reason—for every reason. But I knew when I stopped crying, I’d be okay.
The storm was over.
Chapter Five
The doc took me hostage in the sickbay for several days after the lockdown to patch me up. I had regeneration therapy and all my wounds were healed. I didn’t know why he made such a fuss about my minor injuries, but then I guessed he did it under the direct orders from Captain Hawk. My captain didn’t want me around while he did a cleanup job and tied up loose ends. Since I was the reason the V-data had gotten hacked, Hawk wanted me contained while the spooks from corporate headquarters came and did their investigation. Oh, and did they investigate! By the time they finished, they knew what brand of underwear I wore and what my favourite sexual position was. By the end of the scrutiny, Hawk came to me with bad news. I’d been fired for the security leak.
“No hard feelings, Cross. I fought for you, but the company has zero-degree tolerance against espionage, whether you are directly involved or unfortunately being used by your fiancé.”
“I understand, Captain.”
Captain Hawk looked discomfited. “I hate to see you go. You’re the best first mate I’ve ever had.” He took something from his pocket and gave it to me. It was a small black velvet box containing a silver medal. “The company is compelled to give you an award for your heroism. You saved us from disaster. You stopped Mac from blowing us to pieces.”
I would have laughed if it hadn’t been such an irony. They awarded me for doing such a great job, and by the way, I was fired, too. You were great. You sucked.
I didn’t know what to say to my captain, so I settled for something simple. “Thanks.”
“Listen, I’ve talked to people and some are interested in having you on board. Give them a call.” Captain Hawk handed me a data chip. “Again, I’m really sorry, Cross.”
“No worries, Captain. I’ll be fine. I’ll miss you, though.”
“Me too, kiddo.” He slapped his meaty hand on my shoulder. “Me too.”
Seventy-hours after my official termination, I found myself standing on landing pad number forty-one with my suitcases and my pet hamster. I watched Orient Fevre slowly debark from the dock and soar into the vast black sky. I wanted to cry and punch anybody who dared to come within five feet of me. I felt lonely and discarded. Life was certainly unpredictable. Two weeks earlier, I’d had a fiancé, a wedding planned in Delphina and a future I’d always dreamt off. Now, I was stranded in Chereshaz-X and jobless. I had money though. Luckily, the company had given me a nice severance. But I’d miss Orient Fevre. She was the closest thing to a home I’d ever had. Funny thing was, I missed Levy, too.
My pet hamster squeaked in his cage, seeking my attention. I fished some sunflower seeds from my pocket and fed them to him. Fluffy ate them with delight, his whiskers twitching.
“I guess, it’s just me and you, buddy.”
Fluffy gave me a look, and when he thought I wouldn’t give him any more sunflower seeds, he returned to his wheel and ran. I sighed. My heart was heavy. I needed to check in to a motel. Maybe I’d lay low for a while until I sorted my life out.
A hover limo swooped down behind me as I bent down to grab Fluffy’s cage. The luxury vehicle landed elegantly. The door opened and a black-dressed man came out. He took my hamster cage from my hand, then grabbed my suitcases and hauled them to the trunk. Levy, also dressed in black, motioned me to join him in the backseat.
For a moment, I didn’t know what to do. It didn’t seem right seeing him at a time like this. Levy was trouble, and I didn’t need more trouble. I was already neck-deep in it.
“Please, kitten, don’t make me beg. Let’s talk.”
After a few seconds, I decided to take him up on his offer. What the hell. I climbed into the car. Levy’s bodyguard slammed the door, got into the front seat and we took off.
“Missed you,” he told me, his eyes as luminous as a full moon. “They wouldn’t let me see you after you were admitted to the sickbay.”
“Really?” I grinned. “How much did you miss me?”
“More than you’ll ever know, kitten.”
He kissed me long and hard this time. I was drunk again when he stopped. I felt hot, and the familiar wanton aches stirred in my pussy.
“Wow.” I giggled. Suddenly, I was feeling much better. I didn’t feel bummed anymore. “Thanks for saving me. He would have killed me if you hadn’t come.”
His eyes glittered. “I regret I didn’t come sooner.”
“How did you know?”
“Our bond. I can feel when you’re hurting. I had to come looking for you. But the Goddamn ship was so big.”
“Really? Wow.” I’d never have guessed that the bond could act as a distress call. I wondered if Levy knew when I was horny, too? Honestly, I’d thought about him a lot while I was in the sickbay. I hadn’t thanked him properly. “And I thought you were on the Orient Fevre? You were scheduled to go to D’Keghan.”
“Not without my wife.”
“Not this again. Look—”
“I won’t stop hounding you until you accept the fact that we belong together, Violet. Our…”
“Yeah, yeah, the bond and all that.” I took his hand and squeezed it. “I’ve been through a lot for the past two weeks. I’m not ready for this. I need some time alone to think, to find myself.”
“I must disagree. In a time like this, you need me more than ever. You don’t need to be alone, you have me.” He looped his arm around me and drew me closer. “Besides, I have a surprise for you.”
“Good surprise or bad surprise?”
Levy flashed me a grin. “Good, of course.” He took out a syn-disk from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.
Orient Fevre Page 6
