Beyond Blue Frontiers

by Cecilia Randell

  He put the brush down and turned to her, though he remained silent. Blue took in a deep breath, the scent of animals, hay, and Mo’ata mixing together. Gathering her courage, she looked into his face. She didn’t think she could bear another look of disappointment.

  The whites of his eyes were red, though she didn’t see a sign of tears. The contrast brought out the green tones so that they fairly shone, even in the low light. His face had softened, and as she watched, the corners of his lips curled up. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Then it is a good thing you are not alone.” He placed a light kiss on her lips. “And you were correct earlier. As much as I hate to admit it, Zeynar would be an asset in this. As would your family. They know this city and can get the workers and shop owners to cooperate.”

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she blinked rapidly, willing them away. He was right—she wasn’t alone. “Guess we’d better get back to it then. We have a list to finish and a couple of mobsters to contact.”

  He smiled, the big beautiful one that rarely came out, and Blue’s heart skipped. He leaned down again, and his lips had almost reached hers when a throat cleared.

  Blue glanced over, and there stood Jason, the orange of his robes standing out in the fading light. Light from a lamp above the door cast his features into stark shadows.

  “Jason?” Her voice was quiet. She couldn’t quite believe he was here. “Jason!” She grinned at him and rushed to the barn door, hugging him tight.

  She’d often wondered if they could have left things better before he departed. At the time, though, she’d had no plans to ever come to Karran again and trying to form a real friendship had seemed pointless.

  Now, seeing him here just after she’d been overwhelmed by all that was new, all she would have to tackle, she was doubly glad for another familiar face. “What are you doing here? How are you? How long have you been back? Did you know Forrest is here too? And we had some sort of weird time warp when we came through so that here it was like only a couple months and back on Earth it was a year.” Her words were muffled against his chest, and she pushed back, peering up at him.

  He smiled, but it was small. There were dark rings under his eyes, and now that she was closer, she could make out faint worry lines between his brows. He also hadn’t hugged her back.

  “Jason?” Mo’ata reached her side and placed a hand on her hip. “What are you doing here?”

  Jason’s gaze flicked down to where Mo’ata’s hand rested, and then to Blue’s face, and finally settled on the clansman. “I’m here from the Ministry. They received reports of deaths in the area, suspiciously similar to those that occurred two months ago. I expected to find you and the mercenary and Prizzoli. I know you’ve been working on tracking Phillip. But I did not think I’d find…” He settled his gaze on Blue, and he swallowed. “I did not expect to find you here, Blue.”

  She shrugged, taken aback by his aloofness. Though should I really be surprised? The enthusiasm she’d felt upon first seeing him died away. “We decided to come back.”

  “I’m—” He cleared his throat and looked away. “I’m glad to see you again. Is… is Kevin here as well?”

  “No.” It came out harsh, and Blue reminded herself that this was a shock for him too. She softened her voice. “He stayed behind. With Phe.”

  Jason looked back at her, something between a smile and a grimace twisting his lips. He scanned her face, looking her over. “You said it’s been a year?”

  Did she imagine the note of wistfulness? He’d always been so hard for her to read. “Yeah. Phe’s going to UT in their theatre program. Kevin was also accepted, architecture.”

  “Is he still playing football?”

  “No.” She let the silence stretch out.

  His eyes fell closed, and he took a deep breath. When he opened them again and met her eyes, the warmth she sometimes saw was there. “I missed you, Blue.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, I did. I’ve been back for a few weeks. It’s strange to think that a whole year has gone by back on Earth.”

  “I’m still getting used to it too.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say and looked up at Mo’ata.

  “You may as well come up with us. We will need to consult with Levi, but I suppose the Ministry should be involved in this as well.” Mo’ata’s hand tightened on her hip, and he led her out of the barn, Jason following behind.

  Chapter 14

  TREVON

  Trevon Zeynar slammed his hand on the desk next to the report he’d just received. “Fuck.” After the debacle that had been his life for the last couple of months, he’d needed a bit of good news.

  In a way this was fortunate, he supposed.

  She was back, his little star. His Blue.

  She wasn’t really his, though. She’d been in his care for barely two days. That was it. Two days. Then she’d gone back to her own planet. No, she’d chosen to go back to her own planet.

  He’d kept tabs on her after the clansman picked her up two months ago. He’d even followed her on one of their outings, the ones before she returned to Earth. He should have been consolidating his power base and meeting with his father’s remaining allies to re-contract agreements, but he’d needed to see with his own eyes that she was okay.

  He’d been going to leave it at that. She didn’t need to get involved in his life, his world. They were a bloodthirsty, ruthless bunch. No, we are a bloodthirsty, ruthless bunch.

  Now she was back. And she’d involved herself in his unfinished business.

  That made her fair game.

  He grinned. Now that he’d had a moment to process this new information, he realized this was quite perfect. Phillip and Etu were loose ends he didn’t want left hanging, and he’d had people on the lookout for any signs of them. He’d heard there had been similar deaths in Filiri, and when he’d sent one of his men to check it out, he got much more than he’d expected.

  Also turned out that his Blue was a Faust of Sirisa Shipping Fausts. He’d only made the connection after she’d gone home and it was no longer a connection he could use. Now he had a way to get an in with Brendan Faust, finally. He may even be able to get all his business away from the Finnegans.

  It had taken him a while, but he’d put together all the pieces after Blue and her merry band had gone home. David Faust’s daughter. The offspring of the black sheep of the Faust empire. The son who’d turned his back on the business and joined the Ministry, then turned his back on that and gone his own way, cutting all ties. His kind of man. The business had passed to a cousin who took over the reins and had done fairly well.

  How did she get back? Why was she back? Was it another accident, or had she wanted to come back?

  Did she think of him? His heart sped up, and he swallowed. Stop acting like a schoolboy, Trevon.

  He looked back down at the report, and the grin morphed into a full smile. He didn’t see a downside to this situation. He would use the Fausts to help him find Phillip so he could put that part of his life behind him. He would help them find and kill their daughter’s murderer, they would owe him, and he would be able to gain more time and attention from Blue. Yes, no downside at all.

  He opened his comm. “Get me Brendan Faust on the line,” he told his secretary. Well, his second secretary. He had two now. The one outside he’d inherited from his father. Some of the things he’d had to change about his life when he took over the family still amused him. It was just one more game, playing at the stoic, steady, head of the Family.

  “Sir,” came over the line. “You have another call coming in, a Blue Faust. I was going to take a message, but since you asked for the Fausts, shall I put it through?”

  He froze. She was calling him. “Yes, please do.” He was careful to keep his tone even, almost bored. How did one girl affect him so much? It was really quite ridiculous.

  “Hello?” A quiet voice said hesitantly. That wasn’t how he remembered her. What had happened?

/>   “Hello, little star. Miss me?” He kept his tone light, conscious that his words echoed the ones he’d said to her over two months ago.

  He heard a faint laugh. “How do you always do that?”

  “What?” He leaned back in his seat, relaxing.

  “Make me laugh at the most inappropriate times.”

  He lowered his voice. “I can be very inappropriate.” He paused as she made a choking sound. “Well, when the time is right.”

  “So, you can be inappropriate when it’s appropriate?”

  “Yes.” He was enjoying this too much. Time to get back to work. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

  “I have a feeling you already know.” Her tone was chiding.

  Oh, I like this girl. “Maybe. Why don’t you tell me? We don’t want any miscommunications, now do we?”

  “Ummm… I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to say over the comm.” He detected a slight tremble in her voice. “We—” Another muffled sound and low voices in the background. “We found Phillip, or where we think he is. And Etu. But we haven’t been able to track them down precisely, and there are other… factors.”

  “What do you need from me?” He would, of course, give it, but he wanted to draw out the game a little longer.

  “I—We were wondering if you could exert some influence. The locals aren’t that cooperative. Also, you have some experience with the crystals. Did you ever—”

  She broke off again, interrupted by a man’s deep voice. Its harsh tone stirred anger in him, and he clenched a fist.

  Then she interrupted the speaker, her own voice, though muffled, tougher than he’d yet heard. “You agreed to this. Think of it as him repaying a debt.” More deep rumblings. Whoever this guy was, he was an ass. “Do you have a better idea? No? Then we are sticking with this one.”

  Trevon smiled. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Though why anyone would want to be one of those insects, he didn’t know. English was a strange language, but evocative all the same. Also, why bother wishing?

  “I’ll be there in two days.” His blood rushed in anticipation.

  “Wait! How do you know where we are? Never mind, stupid question. Of course you already know where we are. Okay, yes, please come down, but can you also bring any research or studies or… any information you have on the crystals? Felix—”

  A new voice came on the line speaking in Common. “Zeynar. I know you and your father would not have resisted studying the crystals while they were in your possession. We need whatever you have.”

  “Hello, mercenary. Brought down any empires lately? Killed anyone for profit?” Trevon had no problem with Felix, or the Order, but he couldn’t resist the little dig. They were so much fun to play with. It was an open secret that most mercenaries out of Cularna were also part of the Order. Personally, he thought the whole thing a wonderful scheme. Who wouldn’t want to try to take over the worlds in the guise of maintaining freedom and peace for everyone?

  No, he had no problem with them. As long as they stayed away from what was his.

  A low growl and small grunt, then Blue was back. “Sorry. They agreed to let me do the talking, but the sneaky one managed to get the comm away from me.”

  He laughed out loud at her disgruntlement. “Your mercenary is correct. My father did do studies, seeking to replicate the healing effect. I will bring what I have. Any hints as to why you need it?”

  “I’m not supposed to say till you get here. Just bring it all.”

  Silence fell, and he wondered if she’d cut the line, though his comm indicted it was still open. “Little star?”

  “I’m going to ask someday why you call me that.”

  “And I’ll tell you. Now, is there something else?”

  “Yeah.” The word was a sigh threaded with steel, and he imagined her as she’d looked the last time he’d seen her—weary and wary but with a stubborn determination and humor coming through in everything she did. “So, turns out my family has some dealing in the black market, or whatever it’s called here. Sirisa Shipping. Their daughter was one of the people Phillip… killed. I’m going to bring her father in on this too. He already visited once, but it wasn’t a good time to— Anyway, we’re going to ask him too. Just wanted you to know.”

  This was perfect. “Oh, no, let me call him. It would be my pleasure. I have additional things to discuss with Brendan anyway.”

  “Mob things?” Her tone was suspicious, and he could practically see her pink lips frowning.

  “Mob things?” he echoed. “Yes, I like that. I will discuss ‘mob things’ with your cousin.”

  “Oh. Okay. We’ll see you in two days, then.”

  “Two days. I look forward to it.”

  “And, thank you. Thank you.”

  Was that a slight hitch to her last words? “You are very welcome, little star.”

  He waited until the comm indicated the other line had been cut, then pushed through to his secretary again. “Get me Brendan Faust. Now. And get transport arranged to Firik and a team—use Prin. We leave in three hours. Also, you traced where that last call was from?”

  “As usual.”

  “Get me the address.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He cut the line and snorted. Sir. But it was something he had to put up with now that he was head of the family. He looked down at the suit he wore, then at the wood and leather, the expensive cut-crystal and fogan-silk rugs that dotted the office. His father’s office.

  For a brief moment he regretted his father’s death. Well, the necessity of it. In the same circumstances, he would do it again. Gladly. But it had forced him into a position and a responsibility that he had never wanted, had hoped to put off for many years.

  Now he was back in the game, out of this office, out of the meetings and the tedium. There was way too much paperwork involved in running a… mob family.

  The grin stayed with him as he waited for Brendan Faust to come on the line. No, there was no downside to this situation that he could see.

  BLUE

  Blue disconnected the comm and let out a breath of relief. Trevon was going to help them. She’d hoped, but she hadn’t been sure he would. While charming, he’d seemed so… changeable.

  Blue stared down at the comm she still held in her palm. “He said he’ll be here in two days.”

  “Are you sure this was a good idea? The last time he became involved…” Forrest’s voice was tight. He clutched Vivi, and she squeaked.

  … Derrick died, she finished silently. “I think it’s our only option. Or the only one with a chance. We’ve gone over this.” She dropped her comm on the bed and leaned into his shoulder. The muscles bunched under her. She didn’t know what to say to make this better. Maybe there wasn’t anything.

  The other men were ranged around the room, silent and waiting. The tension rose another notch as Jason shifted and pulled away from the wall. “This is a mistake, involving Zeynar.”

  Mo’ata, seated beside Levi at the only table, pushed his chair back, though he stayed seated. His hands clenched rhythmically, and the silence built. He took a deep breath and let it out through clenched teeth. “We have talked about this, over and over. We are done talking.”

  Blue relaxed. She didn’t want to argue about this again, and Jason’s protests could have set everyone else off as well. But it looked like Mo’ata was supporting her views now after their… talk.

  “He’s also going to contact Brendan Faust for us.”

  Felix, leaning against the far wall, snorted. “He take—” He broke off and switched to Common. Mo’ata finished for him. “He is taking advantage of the situation. The Fausts usually deal with the Finnegan Family.”

  “I honestly don’t care.”

  “Not ready to deal with them?” Forrest asked.

  “Nope.” She didn’t need to tackle everything all at once. And family was a big thing to tackle. Once Phillip and the crystal were dealt with, maybe. Until then, she was more than willing to let so
meone else handle the Fausts of Sirisa Shipping.

  “Well, shouldn’t we get out there and scout? There must be people you haven’t questioned yet. I can call in more agents…” Jason trailed off at Forrest’s glare.

  Blue wanted to glare herself. Jason kept asking about things that were already hashed out. Only, he hadn’t been there for the discussions. “Don’t glare, Forrest. He needs to get caught up.”

  Levi had taken a chance, allowing the Ministry agent to be brought in on the crystals. As suspected, the Ministry already knew some of what they were up against, thanks to Jason’s own reports and what they’d found out from Cravin. They hadn’t known about the Bonding, though, or that it could take on a personality and life of its own.

  Garfield approached the Ministry agent, sniffing at his boots and stretching up to bat at his robes. He looked back at Blue and then up at Jason’s face, then back to Blue. A sense of curiosity and caution came to her. No, she didn’t want to tell Jason about the piquet, not yet. That was not her decision, not really. She’d leave it to Mo’ata. Jason bent to pet the cub, and Garfield scuttled back out of reach, bounding over to the clansman, who scooped him up to his shoulder.

  “He is correct. We do need to continue the patrols. No more people, though.” Mo’ata spoke with Levi, who was already looking much better after a few more meals. “It’s been a long day. Levi needs to rest. I will bring Jason up to date fully and then patrol. Felix, I think it is a good idea to begin lessons.” He inclined his head to Blue and Forrest. “A short one tonight. We’ll continue them for a time each day. They do not need to be… wrapped in candy.”

  “Cotton candy.” Blue couldn’t resist the correction.

  “Cotton candy.”

  Forrest leaned in close. “Damn, we should have brought in Jason sooner. How much of that about-face do you think was from our big redhead wanting to one-up him?”

  She thinned her lips, suppressing a smile. “Or he now fears my wrath.”