Her mom was hosting some kind of dinner party at their house, and as Ardra peered through the crowd, she saw her dad was at the party too. He was holding her mother’s hand. Although she could see her father’s pale blue eyes, she couldn’t make out the rest of his face. It seemed that even here she was deprived of the chance to really know him.
“Are you having fun?” Jack asked.
She turned to face him. He looked so vivid and handsome that she almost reached out to touch him. She edged closer to get out of the way of someone carrying a tray of hors d’ouvres.
“I don’t know about fun,” she said, “but this is relaxing. What are you doing here?”
“I came to be with you, Ardra. I didn’t want you to feel alone.”
“That was nice of you.” Somehow she thought she had invited him. “Are you having a good time?”
“I am now,” he told her. “I’m very happy I found you.”
She gave him a crooked smile. “Was I hard to find?”
“You’re not hard to find, but you are difficult to reach.”
“There are a lot of people here.” She sort of wished they would all go home so she could be alone with Jack.
He leaned closer until they were almost cheek-to-cheek. “If you’re feeling overwhelmed, then maybe you need someone to rescue you.”
“Are you that someone?” she asked.
She couldn’t see his smile, but she felt it with her entire body.
He laughed. “How about abandoning your guests for the company of one man? Would you like to go outside with me?”
His lips lingered near her neck before he took her hand. Her heart beat faster as she felt his warm palm, but his touch made her feel strangely safe. He led her through the crowd, which magically parted for him, and then they were outside beneath the night sky. The stars appeared closer and brighter tonight, but they also seemed unfamiliar. When had she ever seen stars like this?
“Jack?”
“It’s all right, Ardra.” He kept his fingers wrapped around her hand and pressed his body close. “I want to share this with you.”
Lifting her hand with his, he pointed at several stars and traced the constellations. They all had names—names he made sound beautiful. Then he lowered his gaze to study her face.
“Who are you really?” he asked.
“That’s what I’ve been wondering about you,” she admitted.
They were interrupted when the guests poured out of the house and surrounded them with noisy cocktail chatter. She looked at Jack, but he was already fading.
The clamor of voices echoed and grew more distant until it became the sound of a search party that was far more present and real. Ardra awoke in the grass and sprang into a crouching position. It was past daybreak, and her pursuers were south of her along the main road.
“Ardra, please don’t hide. Come to me.” Jack’s voice filled her head.
Although she didn’t answer him, the connection between them was strong. She could tell he was close.
If Ardra had harbored any doubts about the planet being after her, she certainly didn’t have any now. The search party was closing in on her fast. She stayed low in the ditch until she came to a dead end, and her spirits fell when she cautiously peeked at the road. It was clear she would have to make a run for it. Straight ahead and to the left, the road took a turn. Beyond it was a clearing about eighty feet across and then a wooded area. If she could reach those trees, she might be able to use them as cover.
The problem was there were people no more than fifty feet away. She recognized two of them as guards, but it looked like the whole compound had turned out to search for her. No need to ask how they’d known where to look. She couldn’t see Jack, but she knew he was there.
It didn’t matter. They would spot her in another minute if she didn’t make for the trees. She scrambled up the roadside and took off running.
“There she is!” someone yelled.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two guards sprinting after her. In what seemed like slow motion, she bolted across the road and ran so hard she thought her heart would burst. The pair behind her matched her speed. Once she reached the soft grass of the clearing, she pushed herself even harder. She had to make it.
Ardra didn’t even see Arrius until it was too late. The third guard tackled her, and suddenly the world flipped upside down. It was like getting squashed by a space freighter. As her feet flew halfway over her head, something inside her left leg caught fire. She landed in an awkward twist that almost left him hugging her knees. Despite the jolt, she kicked and squirmed.
The guard grabbed her hips and dragged her beneath him to get at her arms. She clawed and scratched and was rewarded by crushing pain in her forearms as he clamped down on her bones. When she bit his right arm, he bellowed and drew back his fist to punch her.
She waited for the impact, but it didn’t come. Jack lunged for Arrius and hauled the guard back before he could strike. He then went at the man as if he were going to put his fist through Arrius’s skull. She was pleased by his defense, but she wasn’t going to stick around to watch.
Ardra made it into the woods. Since she had pulled something in the back of her thigh, all she could do was hobble. The ground was littered with dry, cracking branches, and every step gave away her position. She limped farther until she was practically dragging her left leg. Then she swore when her progress came to a sudden halt.
In front of her, a high fence ran between the trees. She was only about fifty feet from the roadside, and this obstacle ran parallel for some unseen distance. The fence was too high to climb, and she couldn’t see where it ended.
She tried to put more distance between her and her pursuers, but she hadn’t gone even a quarter mile before they closed in on her. Sweaty, bloody and hurting, she did the only thing she could think of. She backed against a tree to take the weight off her injured leg and picked up a branch to fend off the people circling her. She could feel their collective thought. “Don’t let the Tetch spy get away.”
“Easy now,” one man said.
He held his palms up in peace, but she saw him signal the others. They couldn’t grab her from behind, but she was still outnumbered and overpowered. She made a threatening swipe with the stick.
“Wait!” Jack yelled. “Everyone, back up.”
He jogged through the trees and stopped behind the small crowd. The female guard, Gabriella, was with him.
“Stop,” Jack told them more calmly. “I’ve got it. You can go now.”
Nobody moved.
He touched the nearest man’s arm. “I said I’ll take care of this.”
There was a tense moment. Some of the people started to step away, but others held their position. As soon as the nearest guy backed out of reach, Ardra stumbled along the fence, which made everyone move toward her again. She leaned back against another tree and held her pathetic weapon in front of her.
Jack interposed himself between her and the mob. “I won’t say it again. Pull back. I’ll handle this myself.” He pitched his voice low, and she knew he was exerting some mental force.
“Fine,” one of the women said. “Handle it.”
They slowly retreated, though Ardra was sure they didn’t go far. She was left alone with Gabriella and Jack. He lowered himself into a crouching position and held his hands out at his sides. She thought for a moment he was getting ready to pounce, but then she realized he was trying to make himself appear less threatening.
He looked her over. “You’re hurt.”
She bit her quivering lip and threatened him with her stick. “I could hurt you too.”
“You don’t want to hurt me,” he said matter-of-factly. “You just don’t want anybody to hurt you.”
He had her there. A tear spilled down her cheek, but she smacked it away with the back of her hand.
“Come on, Ardra,” he said. “We’ll work it out.”
“No.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt
you. I know you’re frightened and upset, but we can deal with this. Why don’t you come with me? We’ll talk this out and make it better.”
“You’re trying to trick me again,” she said.
“Look at me, Ardra. I’ve never lied to you. We will work it out.” He slowly straightened, and he dropped his voice. “You’re injured, Ardra, and I know you’re tired. Very tired.”
She glared at him when she caught the mental echo of those last two words.
He cocked his head. “You’re so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You were brave enough to escape and try to fight your way out, and you’ve certainly bested me several times. Use that strength now. Direct it inward, and I promise you’ll win your freedom. Not only from this place, but from everything bad that has happened.”
Another tear escaped, and she lowered her gaze. She looked up again when he stepped closer.
“Where are you going to go?” He pointed to the fence. “This runs for miles. There’s no way around it, and you would have climbed over it already if you could.”
She was trapped.
Jack took another step, never taking his eyes off her. “It’ll get better. I promise.”
He reached forward and grabbed the stick she still held in front of her. Instead of wrenching it from her grasp, he pulled it carefully from her fingers.
“Let go,” he told her.
She hesitated.
“Let go, Ardra.”
And then she was in his arms. She didn’t know how she had gotten there, whether she had thrown herself against him or he’d pulled her to him. She only knew she was there, bawling against his chest like a hurt child. It felt like giving up, but maybe it really was letting go.
He held on to her until her tears began to dry. Then he picked her up. Still sniffling, she leaned her head on his shoulder as he carried her out of the woods and back to the road, where there was a vehicle waiting. Once they were seated, Jack held her hand the whole ride back. Ardra wasn’t sure if he was preventing her from jumping out or if he was still trying to comfort her. She was too worn out to care.
When they reached the infirmary, she sat motionless as a tech swabbed the blood from her temple. Everything hurt, and the bruises had already begun to pop up all over her limbs.
Jack watched Ardra from the doorway as the med tech worked on her.
“Is she all right?” Gabriella asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
She studied him. “Are you all right?”
He touched her mind and realized she was still worried about the incident with Arrius. Going after that man was probably the least cerebral thing he had ever done, but he couldn’t regret it.
“Don’t worry, Gabriella. I won’t be getting into another brawl anytime soon.”
“Walter wants to see you,” she told him.
He had assumed as much. “Now?”
She nodded.
He glanced back at Ardra. “Will you stay with her until I get back?”
“Of course. And, Jack, for what it’s worth…” She didn’t finish the statement, but she didn’t have to.
Jack took his time walking over to Walter’s place. When he got there, his superintendent waited until they were both seated before he said anything. He actually looked worried.
“Are you okay?” Walter asked.
“Yes,” Jack assured him.
The other man continued to stare at him. “Are you sure? Because I’ve never known you to go off like that. Arrius was just in here, and he says you attacked him.”
“He was going to punch Ardra,” Jack told him.
“She bit him,” Walter said. “He was doing what he had to do to subdue the prisoner.”
“What? Do you know how many injuries she has? He just about pummeled her. She wasn’t trying to attack anyone. She was only trying to escape.”
“Which it was Arrius’s job to prevent.” Walter held up his hands. “Look, Arrius is a big guy. Maybe his use of force was a tad excessive—”
“He was going to hit her.”
Walter continued in the same calm voice. “I’ve already talked to Arrius about it. I’m not worried about this happening again. My concern is for you.”
Jack dropped his head into his hands.
“You’re taking this too personally, Jack. It’s only going to lead to trouble.”
“Dammit, Walter, this isn’t some routine interrogation. It’s all walled up in her head, and the only way I can get to it is through a lot of bad memories. I can’t help her if she doesn’t trust me.”
“Us,” Walter said.
“What?”
“Us, Jack. I’m hearing too many I’s and me’s from you lately. I’m beginning to worry that you’ve forgotten your loyalties.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? Come on. You’re infatuated with this girl.”
“It’s not like that,” Jack lied.
“No?”
He shifted his weight. “Look, maybe I do have some feelings for her, but that’s the only thing helping me. If I lose my connection with her, then I’ve lost her and everything you want to know. Stop fighting me and let me do what I need to do.”
Walter sat back and crossed his arms. “Let me tell you something. I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot these days, but I don’t want any misunderstandings. I will say this one more time. I don’t care what you do with her as long as you get me what I need. Get me those coordinates.”
Chapter Ten
Six weeks until deadline
The next day, Jack went to see Terrah. His visit with her was long overdue, and he needed someone to talk to. Growing up, she had always been one of the first friends he turned to when he needed advice, and she frequently knew what was wrong with him even before he did. In this case, maybe that was why he had put off seeing her for so long. He was afraid of what she might sense.
Although it was a hot summer day, he made the journey to her house on foot. Terrah liked a more rural lifestyle, so she lived back in the woods to the northwest. Out here, she wasn’t technically part of any compound, which suited her. She was fiercely independent and resisted any attempts to impose boundaries on her.
Jack picked some wildflowers and grouped them into a neat bouquet. When he reached her door, he received a mental welcome and strode inside.
“Jack!” Terrah met him in the entryway and threw her arms around him.
She was much shorter than he was and always managed to tickle him when he bent to kiss her.
“You devil. I thought you would never come see me. Come in.” She waved him forward.
“I’m sorry, Terrah.” He handed her the flowers. “I meant to come sooner, but I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“You and everybody else.” He glanced around curiously. “Is Damek around?”
She shook her head. “You can’t expect the boy to be cooped up training with me every day. We all need a life outside of work.”
Terrah was rarely subtle, and he knew that last part was directed at him.
“It’s hot out there,” he said, hoping to distract her.
“I’ll get you something to drink.”
She scurried off and returned with a cold pitcher of lemonade a minute later. After she had poured them each a drink, she sat and examined him over the rim of her glass.
“Thanks,” he told her after he’d taken a sip. “That hits the spot. So how was your trip to Edalus? Did you and Mom have fun?”
She returned a smile. “Everything was fine, Jack. The flight there went smoothly, and your mother and I had a wonderful visit. Most of the time, we talked about you. She misses having you on-planet where she can reach you, but she’s very proud. I think she’s hoping that you’ve found a nice girl and are busy with her.”
“Really?” He tried to laugh, although he was a little embarrassed. “I think you two need to find better things to talk about.”
Terrah looked at him
suspiciously. “You don’t really want to discuss my trip, do you?”
“Of course I do,” he lied.
“Jack.” Remarkably, she spoke his name in the same tone his mother would have used. “I know you. I appreciate that you’re trying to be polite, but you really came here to talk about what’s bothering you.”
The guilt must have shown on his face.
“It’s all right,” she said. “I know how much pressure you’ve been under. So what is it?”
He didn’t know quite how to start. “It’s kind of a long story. We managed to capture a transport vessel, as I’m sure the whole planet knows by now. There were three carriers on board. I’ve already finished interrogating the two men. The older one, Slade, wasn’t carrying anything important. Private Thales had valuable information but not the next strike coordinates. That means Ardra must be the one programmed with the coordinates. I know her real identity now, and I know her husband used her in his black-market intel business before he was killed. She was programmed with a false life and then relocated to Nintu V until the buyer on Algoron was ready for her.”
“And Ardra is an untrained precept?” Terrah asked.
“Damek told you?”
“Of course. Since you didn’t visit me, I had to rely on him for information.”
Jack frowned. “You really are trying to make me feel guilty.”
“Only a little bit,” she said. “Does Ardra recognize the inconsistencies in her memories? Is she able to separate the truth from the programming?”
“She’s beginning to.” Jack opened his mind and shared images of Ardra and the tangled memories in her head. It was a faster way to communicate, but he couldn’t help revealing some of his own feelings in the process. “Walter is pushing me to get the intel, and ever since she tried to escape, the locals are even more on edge.”
Terrah stared at him. “You really have been busy.”
He nodded.
“And what exactly do you want from me?”
He was shocked. “What do you mean, what do I want? What do you think I want? You’re my friend. I was counting on you to give me some kind of sage advice. I need help.”
A Stellar Affair Page 11
