“Happy now? I gave it to her.” Roberto’s lips quirked into a small smile. He had a teasing glint in his eyes but he didn’t say anything more.
Diego gave him a nonchalant shrug.
Roberto shook his head. “You’re torturing her. Hell, you’re torturing yourself.”
“Let’s focus on what we’re seeing here.” Diego brushed off Roberto’s comments. The collar had two purposes: It was a gift and it had a tracker in it. Also, one of the spikes detached to become a floating camera. If he couldn’t watch over her in person, he’d do it from afar. His attention turned to the officers getting the shots. So far, the secondary testing that Drogan had ordered had come up clean.
He leaned over to Roberto. “Can the cyborgs manipulate their blood to make it pass for normal?”
Roberto was silent for so long that Diego feared the answer. “Honestly, no. It’s not totally implausible, but that would take a lot of planning on their part. They’d have to know ahead of time if blood testing was going to happen. This is impromptu. Not enough time, I’d guess.”
That answer wasn’t good enough for Diego. “Find out for sure. Too many lives are on the line for this.”
“Like Anarrae’s?” Roberto shot out.
“Like yours, if you don’t find out.” Diego’s stomach contracted in worry for Ana’s safety.
Roberto chuckled. “To hear is to obey.”
“Not funny.”
“I thought it was.”
“Ambassador, this could take a while. Perhaps we could continue our tour elsewhere? Perhaps the cafeteria? It’s dinner time.” Roberto gestured toward the door.
Diego’s stomach rumbled. “I would love to.”
* * *
Anarrae entered the security code for her suite of rooms and waited for the computer light to turn green. Instead it beeped, the red light blinking at her, mocking her. “I didn’t change my code while I was out,” she said.
She tried again. Again the soft buzz floated up to her. Ana hit her wrist com. The ship’s AI didn’t respond, so she put in a message to tech support.
“What seems to be the problem?” Lieutenant Anders asked.
“My security pad is malfunctioning. I tried the AI and got no response.” Ana glared at the pad.
“We’re doing some maintenance on the AI mainframe right now. We should be done in a few seconds. Sorry for the delay. I could send someone to you who’s in the area.”
Ana blew out a breath and let her head drop forward. “So thankful that the captain didn’t do a full AI integration.”
“What?” Confusion filled the speaker.
Ana rolled her eyes. “Sorry, yeah. Please send someone over.”
“It will be a few seconds. I’ll stay on the line just in case.” The speaker started to play what was termed on Earth as elevator music.
Ana leaned against the wall next to her door and relaxed. Her arm no longer throbbed and her headache was almost gone. All she wanted to do now was crawl into bed for some much-needed shuteye. She wasn’t scheduled for duty until tomorrow.
“Lieutenant Lavender?” a deep male voice asked.
Ana looked up and up and up until her gaze caught moss-green skin, a lipless mouth, a flat nose, and large black eyes. She blinked. She was pretty sure she had never seen this person before, and she knew almost everyone. Ana pushed off of the wall and straightened up.
“Yes?” Worry filled her. Had she done something wrong? Still new to the Hades’ Helmet, she was getting used to the ins and outs of the ship.
The man smiled; at least that’s what she thought as she watched the sides of his mouth curl upward. The mystery man wore a standard-issue uniform for the Hades’ Helmet, complete with epaulets to show his rank as a corporal. He held out his hand.
“Corporal Froggie. And yes, that’s my real name. I just transferred into the tech department from the Goliath. What seems to be the trouble?” He gave her a small smile that did nothing to ease her nervousness.
Ana reached out and shook his hand. As soon as their palms touched and he had a firm grasp, she felt a sharp prick breach the skin of her hand. The world grew fuzzy and she felt light-headed.
“Don’t struggle. It will be worse if you struggle.” Corporal Froggie’s voice had become hoarse.
Ana’s body felt heavy as she sank to the floor. She tried to fight it. She brought up her free arm to hit him. The spikes of the collar hit his leg; he howled in pain and jumped away. “Stupid bitch.” He shouted.
Ana had a second before his hand came into view and her head hit the floor. Stars bounced in front of her eyes.
“Hey! What the fuck are you doing?” Someone yelled. She heard a scuffle and then felt herself being rolled onto her back.
“Med deck, I need a doctor on level four ASAP. We’ve got an assault. Victim doesn’t look so good. Damn, Lavender, what the hell just happened?” Ana recognized Corporal Dorian’s voice. She groaned. She tried to speak but couldn’t feel her lips. Her tongue felt huge in her mouth.
“Don’t talk, just close your eyes. They’re sending a medic here ASAP,” Dorian murmured.
Ana closed eyes, feeling very tired. Again.
* * *
“Damn it to hell! What the fuck are we doing? Why wasn’t security put on Ana?” Diego paced back and forth and tried to ignore the urge to punch a wall—or a certain captain.
“The security I’d assigned never got the message. Apparently our AI was being upgraded.” Tigress flipped her wavy chestnut locks over her shoulder and continued to shift from one foot to the other.
“Not an excuse,” said Drogan. “Find out what the hell was going on in tech support. I was told the upgrade wouldn’t be until next month.”
“Shit.” Tigress left the room.
“What about the real Corporal Froggie?” asked Roberto. “He was found tied up and gagged in a supply closet not far from Lieutenant Lavender’s quarters.”
“He can’t remember a thing.” Drogan answered. “Said he was poked in the neck with something and passed out.”
“This freak knows where her quarters are. She needs to be told.” Diego watched Drogan open and shut his mouth.
The captain let out a sigh. “Yeah, she does. I’ll tell her as soon as she’s awake. For now she needs to rest. I’ve taken her off the roster until I can guarantee her safety. How the hell did they find out? Also, how did they infiltrate tech support? That was one of the first places we upgraded the security.”
Diego shook his head. “They have to have an intricate web of informants, it would seem. A background check on the crew, anything that could make a person a good target for blackmail, that’s what’s needed here.”
“You’re a con artist. How would you proceed?” Drogan collapsed in his chair and ran a hand over his face. He looked tired and Diego didn’t blame him. It had been a long two hours.
Diego took a seat in the visitor’s chair. “I’d look for the people with gambling debts first. Next would be the people who have questionable family members. Then it’s the people who have hit rock bottom. After that, I’d work my way up the food chain, using weaknesses and a few other tricks.”
“I can see this is going to take time, which we don’t have. There has to be a faster way. The cyborg could look like anyone by now. Besides that, they’ve probably healed and burned the uniform they stole.”
Diego racked his brain. “What about the AI?”
“I don’t trust the computer system at the moment. If tech support was compromised, the AI could be too. No, there needs to be another way.”
The doors opened to reveal a petite woman with long waves of dark brown hair, wearing a standard uniform. Drogan’s eyes lit up. He leaned forward. “Rena, this is the ambassador.” Drogan gestured toward Diego but kept his eyes on Rena.
“Captain, sir. Ambassador.” Rena nodded her head first toward her captain and then to Diego.
“Sir, this just came through to communications. There seems to be a ship in distress on our ro
ute to Veritas 10. High priority.” She slid a thin work tablet toward him across the desk.
Diego watched their body language. Rena kept herself distant, all eyes on Drogan. Meanwhile, the captain scooted closer to the table, one hand under the desk, while using his free hand to scroll through the message on the small panel.
Drogan shook his head. “We can’t. There’s a situation going on here. No stops.”
Diego came out of his people watching to protest. “No, no. Stop. Help. That should throw the situation for a loop.”
“But—”
Diego smiled. “We have a security breach going on. Tell me.” He moved closer to Rena, keeping an eye on Drogan’s reaction. His instincts were on full alert. His reasoning told him that a Chameleon Cyborg couldn’t replicate a sense of loyalty, duty, or deep attraction. Right now, all those emotions were in play. His gut told him that this was a woman he could trust. As he expected, Drogan frowned. The displeasure lasted for a second before it was replaced by an unemotional mask. “How well you do you know the crew?”
“Ambassador—”
“Very well. I know everything about everyone.” She glared at Drogan, which made Diego smile. “Excellent. You can help us.”
“Ambassador—”
Diego ignored him. “We need to figure out who among the crew could be a Chameleon Cyborg. Ideas?”
He gestured to a visitor’s chair. “Well,” Rena started. “That’s a hard question. What would their mission be?”
“That’s a need to know—”
“To kill me.” Diego glanced at Drogan, whose face had turned an interesting shade of red.
“The person should pose as a lower-level officer, someone nondescript, maybe even new to the crew.” Rena relaxed and looked between him and Drogan.
“They’ve done that. Failed.”
“All right, so now they’ll pose as a known member of the crew, someone who everyone knows. Jason Mercy, for example. He has a weakness—women.”
“So, we put security on him. Who else?”
Rena’s nose crinkled as she thought. A glance at Drogan showed he was enthralled with the woman sitting across from him. In that moment, Diego wanted to be with Anarrae, hold her, make sure she was all right. Bile rose up, almost choking him at the thought of Ana injured and vulnerable. It took a great deal of effort to regain control. Rena began to rattle off a list of crewmembers. Drogan got to work putting together a list.
Once she was done, Diego asked, “And after that, who would you impersonate? We need a list of all possible.”
“I’d go with someone close to the ambassador. It’s the last thing I’d do. If that fails, I’d impersonate the captain.”
Diego thought it all over. She made several good points. He nodded. “OK, we’re going to have to approach this differently. For one thing, that’s too long a list and too many possibilities.”
Diego slumped in his seat. “There has to be a way to keep eyes on all of them without causing suspicion. The blood screening will take time. For all the technological advancements, we haven’t made a lot on the medical front.”
Drogan sighed and tilted his head up to the ceiling. “What would you do when you get stuck?”
“I don’t get stuck. There’s just too much going on. Anarrae, my role, all these people…you have so many mines. One wrong move and it all goes to hell.”
“Why are you so interested in Ana?” This from Rena.
“I think I love her.” He snapped his mouth shut and swore. Diego sat up and leaned forward. He ran his hands through his hair and then dragged his palm over his face. Exhaustion tugged at his shoulder and he shook his head. A glance up at Drogan showed no surprise.
“I figured that’s why you stayed with her for all that time,” the captain said. “Not to mention how pissed you were when you found out she had been attacked, but you still have to keep your distance.”
Diego’s hands clenched in restrained anger. He didn’t want to keep his distance. Every fiber of his being demanded that he see her, make sure she was physically fine before he found the person who hurt her.
Drogan continued. “It’s been a long night. Tigress should have the extra security dispersed around the ship. I’ll have one of my most trusted tech guys looking over the AI mainframe as well as the ship’s system. I can assure it can’t be infiltrated. Other than that, go back to your quarters, deal with your entourage, and let me figure things out.” Drogan slid a glance over to Rena.
“Fine. Have fun.” Diego rose and left Drogan’s office, not even taking in the bridge of the ship. He was determined to check on Ana.
Chapter Nine
Ana tossed and turned. Her head throbbed and her arm tingled. She opened her eyes and groaned. When she tried to move her arm it just continued to lie there on the mattress. A glance around reassured her she was in her quarters, which was a relief. With great care, she sat up and slid off the bed. It was a chore making her way to the bathroom. She kept wavering to and fro, crashing into a wall twice.
Once she was in the bathroom, she stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower stall. Warm water trailed over her skin. She groaned in pleasure. It felt as if a hundred pounds of grime was just melting off of her. After a few minutes she reached out and found the faucets for the warming body wash.
The heated jell slipped into her palm, and she started to rub her hands over her body and moaned aloud. Azure eyes flashed in her mind. They darkened. Twin blue fires burned into her. “Dodger,” she whispered.
Ana wanted him to be there with her. She wanted his hands on her body helping her wash off the imagined dirt of travel and sickness. The ghost of his hands traveled over her stomach. Her skin tingled with yearning.
In her mind, she felt his fingers slipping between her thighs. She could feel the calluses brushing against her sensitive skin with teasing touches. A ripple of pleasure moved up her spine. Fire slid into her veins as the arousal grew. She lifted her chin and allowed the water to pelt her face.
“Dodger.” His name slipped out in a husky whisper. Her sex filled with wet heat as she yearned for his cock moving inside of her. She could feel his thick shaft rubbing against her sensitive vaginal walls. Her stomach clenched as the pressure increased. Her fingers slipped into her tight, wet heat. She pumped them slowly. Her vaginal muscles rippled as the orgasm built.
Ana pressed her palm against her clit, rocking back and forth. “Dodger.” She reached up and tweaked a nipple. Sparks of heat shot straight to her core. In her mind, he pushed her against the wall, fucking her harder. His hand squeezed her hips as he took her higher. She cursed the mask that obscured his features. He dipped his head and took her lips in a hard, biting kiss while he rocked into her, fucking her faster. Small cries fell from her lips as she was pushed closer to the edge.
“Please,” she begged. Ana didn’t just want to come. She needed to come. But she also needed Dodger there with her. Just the thought of him being with her, taking her, his body pressed against hers, made the desire spiral higher. His voice rolled around her head: “You’re safe now, Tesoro, always. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
Just hearing those words, the first tremors of climax shuddered through her body. Her vaginal walls rippled around her fingers before clamping down. With each wave, it grew bigger and bigger until she couldn’t hold it off. Ana cried out. “Dodger!”
Her juices slipped over her hand and joined the warm water. Breathing hard, she sagged against the wall and sighed. “I need you, Dodger.”
* * *
Diego’s mind tossed and turned the problem over and over again. It all came down to Anarrae. Something about the situation wasn’t right.
He entered his quarters to find Roberto pacing.
“Where have you been? I’ve been worried.” Roberto rushed up to him but Diego moved out of his reach.
“Whoa, geez, are you Mama now? I was talking with Drogan and Tigress about things. Something isn’t right, bro, and I don’t know what it is. Som
ething feels off.” Diego sidestepped his brother and sat in a nearby chair.
“What?” Roberto sat across from him.
“I’m not sure. But it all leads to Ana.”
“Do you think she’s not who she says she is? Maybe the attack was planned?”
Diego rose and shook his head. He stroked his chin. “No, no, she’s too…ingenuo. That’s not it. It’s something else.” He let out a growl of frustration and raked his fingers through his hair. “This is driving me crazy. I need to go for a walk.”
Diego grabbed his AI wrist com and pushed a few buttons before hooking it into his cerebral interface on the back of his neck. A gentle buzzing sound hummed in his brain. “Good evening, Ambassador,” whispered a voice in his mind.
Diego’s lips curled into a smile. His AI was getting in on the act. “Cut the crap. It’s just us. You’re hooked into my interface.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to be polite with you. What’s up?”
“I need hologlamour. And for you to hack into the system to add an Ensign Castilleja into the records. Just transferred in from the Battle Hawk.” Diego waited for the protest.
“Done.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What, no admonishments or whining?”
“Nope, none. Soon I’ll get my own body, right? After this job is over, a new top-of-the-line body.” The buzzing increased and Diego winced.
“Yes, yes, body. Top of the line. Jesus.” Diego turned to his brother. “I’m going for a walk. How does the hologlamour look?”
“Is your hair supposed to be bright blue? Jesus, your eyes are huge!” Roberto recoiled, horror on his face.
Diego chuckled. “I’m from the planet Helantis Five, so of course my hair is this color and as for the eyes—creative license.”
Roberto frowned. “Couldn’t change your features?”
Diego shook his head. “Too painful. My body is still recovering from the last time. Besides, it puts too much of a strain on me.” His muscles and tendons continued to pop as heat flared and then died down to a gentle pulse.
Carnevale and Subterfuge Page 9
