by Vicky Savage
“I hadn’t really looked at it like that before.”
His fingertips gently skim across my bruised cheek sending goose bumps down my arms. “Just please don’t go.”
“Believe me, I don’t want to.” I wonder how he’d feel if he knew that it was his face I saw when I thought I was about to die. “Anyway, one good thing has come out of this. I’m not leaving on exploration after all.”
He grins. “Does that mean I can see you tomorrow? Will you go to dinner with me?”
“I’d rather not go out looking like this, but we could fix something here.”
“Sounds great. Let’s not cook, though. I’ll pick something up. Do you like Andalusian food?”
“I’ve never had it.”
“Up for something new?”
“Sure.”
“It’s a date then.” He gets to his feet and hoists me up by my good hand. “Is seven okay?”
“Yes, and bring your guitar.”
He winces. “Okay, but don’t expect too much.”
We walk to my door, and I turn to him. “It was sweet of you to check on me, Ry. It means a lot.” His nickname tastes strange on my tongue, but it suits him—easy and light.
“I feel responsible in a small way. You had been with me. I should have seen you safely to your door.”
“The guy was a paid assassin. He would have found me sooner or later.”
He tenderly takes my face in his hands. “Would it hurt badly if I kissed you?”
“It would hurt worse if you didn’t.”
His lips brush mine, soft as a feather—once, then twice. I tremble at their whisper touch. Then he circles my waist with one arm, gently bringing me in closer. His luscious mouth covers mine and he moves so sweetly, so carefully. My whole body groans for more. After the day I’ve had, restraint be damned. My good hand grips the back of his neck and I curve into him, kissing him for all I’m worth. He gets the message, and his mouth responds to mine with a fierce need. A low moan issues from his throat and vibrates all the way to my bones.
When we finally break for air, I feel dizzy, and thoroughly kissed. “Thanks,” I say breathlessly. “That should last me until tomorrow.”
FIFTY-NINE
The euphoria of Ryder’s core-jolting kiss quickly fades as I approach Narowyn’s office door. The room feels stuffy and over-crowded with Watterson, Urick, Nila, Asher, Luci, Ralston, and my two lawyers already waiting inside. A palpable tension permeates the air.
Luci stops me at the door and holds out my bracelet. “Hey, SG. Sorry about what happened to you this afternoon. You holdin’ up okay?”
“Yeah. It looks worse than it is.” She helps me fasten the bracelet around my right wrist.
“Narowyn asked me to return this to you also.” She places the dead Garugian’s ID tag in my palm.
“Uh, thanks.” I shove it in my pocket.
Narowyn motions me inside. “Come in, Jaden. You’re the last to arrive. Would you mind closing the door?”
I do as she asks and take the remaining empty seat.
Standing in front of her desk, Narowyn addresses the group. “Thank you all for coming. Our goal here tonight is to devise a united and forceful strategy for dealing with the Garugian attack on Jaden earlier today. To state our quandary succinctly, we know that Director Canto was responsible for the attack, but we are hindered in filing a criminal complaint against him by the fact that we have no direct evidence of his involvement.
“Director Canto’s motivation may have been revenge for the IGC Court’s order or a desire to prevent Jaden from harming IUGA in the future. Regardless, his actions indicate a man on the edge, willing to go to extremes to achieve his ends.”
Narowyn scans the faces in the room, her expression stony. “At this point I am open to any suggestions as to how we may put an end to this insanity once and for all.”
“If I may, Chief,” Watterson speaks up. “This guy’s got to be put away for a long time. Jaden won’t be safe until he is. You’re right when you say we don’t have enough for the locals to arrest him, but what if the Transcender Police arrest him?”
“On what grounds?” Narowyn asks. “We don’t have jurisdiction unless the crime involves another dimension. That’s not the case here.”
“I believe we can make a strong argument that since Canto traveled to another dimension to hire the Garugian, that makes it a Transcender matter,” Watterson says. “We’ve always had jurisdiction when the Garugians are involved.”
“Yes, but we don’t know if he did that,” Ted says. “The Garugian may have been hired right here. The jurisdictional lines in Arumel are tightly drawn. We’d have a huge fight with local law enforcement if we tried to cross that line. In addition, with no direct evidence of Canto’s involvement, the case will eventually get tossed out anyway.”
“Maybe so,” Watterson says. “But we can put him away until his lawyers get him out. We have all kinds of ways to delay his release for a good long while.”
“It would have to be handled delicately,” Ted says, grasping the arms of his chair. “We don’t want the Transcenders to come off looking worse to the public than IUGA does.”
“Is there any way the Garugians would provide us with the evidence we need?” Corinne asks.
A few muffled chuckles rise from the group.
“Not a chance,” Narowyn says. “Transcenders are the Garugians’ sworn enemies. Not to mention that it would kill their business—no pun intended. Who would hire them again if they helped us?”
“Well, at a minimum, Jade needs to have a guard around her whenever she leaves the Chateau,” Asher says.
Narowyn’s gaze settles on me. “Yes, I’m afraid that’s true, and we can’t chance sending you on exploration until this is resolved.”
“No!” I say springing to my feet. “You can’t make me a prisoner in the Chateau. I’ll leave if I have to, rather than be guarded around the clock.”
“Well, it’s not safe back in Connecticut,” Asher says. “They know where your dad lives.”
“This is crazy.” Frustration burns a hole in my chest. “Don’t we have any recourse to the IGC Court?”
“We can try going to them, but I doubt we’ll get anywhere,” Ted says. “They’ve already ordered IUGA to wind up their business here and get out. We just don’t have the required proof. It’s only Urick and Roper recounting what a Garugian told them. The court won’t lock up someone on that basis alone—especially the Director of IUGA.
“I don’t accept that,” I say. “You’re telling me Canto can hire someone to kill me, and I can’t do a thing about it? If that’s true, I have no choice but to disappear. You told me I’d be safe in Arumel. You told me it was the only safe place for me.”
Narowyn holds up her hands to quiet the discussion. “Jaden, I know this is upsetting for you. You’ve already had enough trauma for one day. Perhaps we should table this conversation for tonight and take it up again tomorrow.”
She turns to Watterson. “Captain, please do some further research on the jurisdictional issues. Perhaps your suggestion that the Transcender Police step in will buy us some time until we can come up with a longer-term solution. In the meantime, I’ll reach out to my contacts at IGLE, maybe they’ll have some suggestions. It wouldn’t hurt to get them involved since the Garugians are now part of the equation.”
Luci pipes up for the first time. “I think I can rig up some kind of early warning system to let us know if any Garugian ever enters this dimension again. We have all of their imprints. I can program the system to send out an alarm if one of them gets within six thousand miles of Arumel City.”
“That would be helpful Dr. McDonald. Thank you,” Narowyn says. “Please all of you, put some thought into this, and let me know if you come up with any other ideas. It doesn’t matter how outlandish they may be, any thoughts will be appreciated. Thank you for coming.”
My spirits plummet as I trudge for the door. I can’t believe this is happening. Just when
I thought I’d found my permanent home, just when I thought I had another shot at happiness, my world comes crashing down again. I stand to lose everything once again. A dark despair worms its way into my heart, threatening to overwhelm me.
Ted and Corinne stop me to say how sorry they are about the attack. I thank them for their concern and slip out the door.
Ralston stops me in the hall before I reach the stairs. “Jaden, are you all right?” he asks, his forehead lined with concern.
“No, I’m not all right. I thought things were better here. But it seems I’ll never be safe anywhere ever again.”
“It’s not as black as all that, old girl. Shall we have some tea and talk about it?”
“Not tonight, Rals. I need time to figure this out. I’m not good company right now.”
“As you wish, my dear, but know this without a doubt—whatever you decide to do, I will be with you through it all.”
“Thanks, Rals,” I say, hugging him. “That means so much to me.”
My empty apartment reminds me that Callie and I both nearly died today. It’s a small consolation to know that if I’m forced to relocate to some deserted outpost on a no-name earth, at least she and Rals will be with me.
I collapse onto my couch in the darkened living room. My broken wrist throbs, my head hurts, and I’m heartsick with the knowledge that my blossoming relationship with Ryder will likely die on the vine. My only option seems to be the life of a galactic nomad, in search of a place where nobody wants me dead. Where is the justice in that?
Unhappiness oozes from my every pore, and I’m on the verge of a serious crying jag when my apartment door swings open, and Urick strides inside. He spots me on the couch. “Jaden, may I have a word with you?”
“Oh man, Urick, I’m not in the mood for visitors tonight. I feel like hell.”
“I believe I may be able to help.” Something in his tone convinces me to hear him out.
“Vasa, lights on,” I say. “Come in and sit down.”
He sits in the armchair across from me. “Please turn off your Vasa.”
He’s acting strange, even for Urick. “Okay. Vasa off.”
“Signing off,” she replies.
“What’s up Urick? What’s on your mind?”
“Director Canto is a desperate man. He took a great risk in hiring a Garugian to kill you.”
“I know. But that whole meeting downstairs was a complete joke. This guy’s obviously willing to stop at nothing. Arresting him and chucking him in jail for a few days will only make him more pissed off. If I stay here, he’ll find a way to get me eventually.”
“I believe you are right. Conventional methods will not work against this man. He is willing to operate outside of the law, and he is clever enough to cover his own tracks. I have come to offer you an alternative solution.”
“What kind of alternative?”
His golden eyes glint in the lamplight. “I will take him out for you. You need never know the details, and I will never be found out. But he will not trouble you again.”
I compose my facial muscles to conceal my utter shock, reminding myself of Urick’s background and why he’s making the offer.
“Urick, I’m very touched by your willingness to do that for me. I know the offer comes from your heart. But I have to refuse. I can’t even consider it.”
“He is a bad man, Jade.” His voice is an angry rumble. “He is responsible for the deaths of many.”
“I know that. And a time or two I’ve considered circumventing the law to do what I believed was right, but my own code won’t allow the taking of his life. We can’t resort to his tactics. That makes us no better than he is.”
“Surely you see that your very existence threatens the thing he loves most in the world? He will stop at nothing to save it … including murder. As long as he lives, he will be a threat to you, and even if you run, he may someday succeed.”
I study Urick for a moment. “Maybe not. Something you said just gave me an idea. Maybe Canto loves something more than IUGA.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hang on a second.” I hurry to my desk and rummage through my drawers until I find what I’m looking for. It’s an old magazine article about Canto I tucked away months ago.
I open up the magazine to the piece on Canto and give it to him. “I don’t know why I saved this, but look at it. That’s Canto’s wife and two daughters. The article gushes about what a tremendous family man he is.”
Urick’s brow creases. “What are you saying? You want me to harm his family?”
“No. Of course not. But maybe the threat is enough. If you give me permission to use your name, maybe I can scare him into making a deal. Fear is a powerful weapon.” I borrow Ryder’s line from earlier today.
He stares at the glossy photo for a moment. “You believe if I threaten to harm his family, it will be enough?”
“Well, yeah, I mean look at those beautiful girls. But the threat shouldn’t come directly from you. I’ll drop in on Canto and have a little chat with him.”
“I’m going with you.”
“No. You can’t be there. He’ll panic if we both show up. He’s not afraid of me … yet. Can I use your name, though? I think that’ll be enough to put the fear of God into him.”
“You may use it in any way you choose. But I wish you would allow me to do this for you, or at least go with you.”
“I have to do this myself, Urick. It’s time I took control of my own life. I need to be the one to deliver the message. I need to look him in the eye and know he’s no longer a threat to me. Otherwise, I can’t remain in Arumel.”
He fingers the hilt of the Throkken at his side and nods slowly. “I understand, little sister. You should be the one, but take your firearm.”
“Right. Just give me a minute to put on my uniform.”
I slip into the bedroom to change. After getting into my uniform and boots, I strap my holster and pistol around my hips, and stuff my polycom and the Garugian’s ID tags into my pockets. In the bathroom I pull my hair back into a high, tight pony tail, adopting Nila’s badass ninja look. Then I cake on several layers of eyeliner and a slash of red lipstick, and I’m ready to go.
I find Urick pacing in my dining room. “Security cameras cover the Director’s entire office,” he says, “and a panic button is installed under his desk drawer. If he pushes it, you must shift back at once. I will wait here to make certain you return safely. Do you have your polycom?”
I pull it out of my pocket.
“Push the red button if you need me. No need to speak. I will come right away. Now, let me see your bracelet.”
I hold up my wrist. Urick opens the TPD and zeros in on the Director’s office. “You’re all set. Give the bastard hell.”
Zzzt.
SIXTY
I land on the Persian rug in front of Canto’s Titanic-sized desk. He startles and glances up at me. Shock and disbelief distort his features.
He jumps to his feet. “What in the name of heaven are you doing here?”
My insides churn with nerves and loathing, but I maintain a cool façade. “What’s wrong Director, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I must say, I’ve seen you looking better, Miss Beckett.” He scrutinizes my battered face. “What happened to you?”
“I think you know exactly what happened, Director. You took an enormous gamble, and you lost.”
His eyes travel to my gun, and I notice his hand slowly inching toward the panic button beneath his desk.
“I wouldn’t call security just yet,” I say. “I didn’t come here to kill you, if that’s what you think. I came here to deliver a very important message.”
“Is that right?” He moves his hands to the top of the desk and leans toward me. “And what message is that?”
“It’s two-fold, actually. First, your Garugian is dead.” I remove the ID tag from my pocket and drop it on his desk.
“I don’t know what you’re talki
ng about.”
“Sure you do.” I pick up the tag and read the name out loud. “Langor Burdige. Did you even know his name? The Garugian you hired to kill me?” I dangle the tag in front of the security camera, then turn back to Canto.
“He died right after he ratted you out, Director. Urick ran him through with a Throkken. “Do you know what that is? It’s a long and deadly blade.”
