by Kate Rudolph
He looked like he’d showered. His hair was damp and his clothes clung to him a little. He also looked like a machine that had been powered down. But his chest rose and fell gently, reminding her he was flesh and blood.
He must have sensed that she was awake. His head turned toward her and it was like his body came to life. She couldn’t quite describe the difference. He’d been awake before, technically, but now he seemed to be in the moment.
A glance at the clock told her she’d slept just shy of three hours, and they weren’t long past lunch time. Amy probably should have felt guilty, but she couldn’t do that when Doryan was sitting at the edge of her bed. She liked that very much.
“Did you sleep?” she asked him.
He nodded. “A little. I hope you don’t mind that I used your shower.”
You could have invited me. She barely bit back the words. She couldn’t just say that. She had to get this under control before everything went haywire.
The case!
“Let’s go over where we are with things.”
“Things?” he asked.
“Tessa can’t rule out claws as the murder weapon, but she’s also not convinced it was claws. That means the perpetrator could have been Detyen, but maybe not. Is there anything else you remember about that night? Almost everyone has a weak alibi, as for motive…”
“I have the strongest?” he finished for her.
“At this point, yes.” She still didn’t like it, and if NaPyrsee had been alive, she would have done something to him for what he’d done to Doryan. But now she had to solve his murder.
“I’ve been back on Earth for six months,” said the Detyen at the edge of her bed. “If I wanted to kill him, why would I wait until now?”
“I don’t think you did it,” she reminded him. “For all we know he was abusing his lieutenant or sleeping with someone’s spouse. Maybe he had a gambling problem? I hope I’m never murdered,” she muttered. “All the bad shit always comes out.”
Doryan growled. For a second she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and then his eyes shifted to red.
When had they gotten so close?
Doryan breathed heavily, as if he was trying to get his emotions under control. All thoughts of him being some kind of unfeeling automaton vanished, seeing him like this. He looked ready to snap. She should have been scared.
Instead she leaned closer. She could feel the heat coming off of his body and wanted to lean into it, wanted to absorb it into herself until she didn’t know where he ended and she began. She could close the distance between them and see if he tasted as good as he looked. It would take almost no movement at all.
Her body wanted it. She was tight in all the right places, aching and empty and waiting to be filled. She couldn’t remember the last time lust had come on so strong. She didn’t want to remember anyone that had come before Doryan; as far as she was concerned, he was all that mattered.
And if she didn’t kiss him soon, she was going to go mad.
Amy leaned in.
And jumped back when someone banged at the door.
Her eyes widened and she stared at Doryan for several seconds, trying to get a hold on what had just happened. Then the banging started again and she threw the covers off. Her clothes were rumpled but at least she was fully dressed. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she wasn’t. If she thought about it too much she wasn’t answering the door, and Doryan wouldn’t be in his clothes for long either.
Hair fell out of her ponytail, and she yanked the tie out and redid it as she stomped towards the door, keeping her gaze averted from Doryan. She didn’t know what to say. What was it about him that made her throw away everything she knew she was supposed to do?
Amy yanked open the door and was almost smacked in the face by a young woman who quickly pulled her hand back. She was fifteen or sixteen with wide eyes and a large sweatshirt. Manda, the ward of the NaZade family. She hadn’t had a chance to interview the girl yet, and despite the fact that no one could absolutely confirm she’d been sleeping at the time, Amy didn’t think she’d done it. She had no connection to NaPyrsee and it would have been difficult for her to sneak up and attack the man.
“Doryan didn’t do it!” Manda said by way of greeting.
“Manda—” Doryan had come through behind her and Manda shot him a confused glance. She probably hadn’t expected to see him there, especially not coming out of Amy’s room.
“He wouldn’t,” Manda insisted. Then she narrowed her eyes and studied Doryan. “You look weird.”
“What?” both she and Doryan asked. Amy glanced back, but he looked much the same as he had since she’d met him. Maybe he was a little more relaxed, but not being locked in a cell would do that to a person.
“Are you… smiling? I’ve never seen you smile.” Her face was scrunched up as if she was trying to wrap her mind around his expression.
Amy didn’t know that she’d go so far as to call the look on Doryan’s face a smile, but his lips were tilted up and his eyes had gone soft. It was the prelude to a smile.
“Everything is fine, Manda,” said Doryan.
Amy was about to say something when she heard a car door slam. Had Kyla arrived? That seemed impossible, but she’d take the help. She slipped on shoes. “Wait here a minute, I’ll be right back,” she told the others.
But she didn’t find Kyla. Instead, it was Peter and Linda Marino arguing behind their vehicle while Linda tried to open the hatch. “We can’t just leave,” she insisted. “A man is dead and I want to know who killed him.”
“You would!” Peter scowled. “But I am not going to sit and wait around for the killer to strike again.” He raised his hands, as if he was going to shove his wife toward her door, but then he spotted Amy and his hands magically lowered. Funny that. “Ms. Dalisay, good morning.”
Was it still morning? Amy had lost track of time. “Mr. Marino. What’s going on?”
He smiled his brightest, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “This weekend didn’t turn out as planned and I’d like my wife to have time to rest.”
Linda made a noise of protest. “Like hell! You want to get to your stupid barbecue, as if it’s more important than a man’s life!”
“An alien’s life,” Peter corrected.
Hmm…
“He was a person,” Linda hissed. “And he’s dead. We should be helping the investigation as much as we can.”
“We’re human, Linda, it’s none of our business.” He sounded tired, as if they’d had this fight before.
So the husband had a thing against aliens. And yet he’d come to an alien-run settlement. Interesting.
Amy didn’t want them gone, but she had no authority to make them stay. “Mr. Marino, I understand this is a difficult time, but I’d really appreciate it if you at least stayed through today. I’m making some real headway on the case, and I’m sure knowing the truth would give your wife some closure.”
If anything, that made Peter scowl harder.
“We need to go,” he said.
“No.” Linda put her foot down. Literally stamped her foot. She reached for the hatch and opened it, grabbing a blue suitcase from the trunk and pulling it out. Peter reached for it, but Linda swiped it away before he could take it from her. He stared at the bag as if he could set it on fire with his mind, but apparently he hadn’t developed pyrokinesis. “I’m staying,” she said. “I want to know who hurt W—the captain. I’ll find my own way back home.”
Peter glared at his wife before cursing and pulling a second bag out of the car. “Fine, we’ll stay through today. But I’m leaving tomorrow, whether you’re with me or not.”
Was there trouble in paradise? Or was this the stress of the murder?
And then Amy snagged on something else. Linda had called the captain by his first name during the initial interview. She hadn’t noticed at the time, but now it occurred to her that almost no one else referred to him as anything but NaPyrsee. And yet L
inda Marino knew him well enough to be on a first name basis.
And her husband was pissed off.
Was there a closer relationship there than anyone had said?
Amy would note it down.
“I’d like to talk to you after lunch, Mrs. Marino,” she said. “Will you be available?”
Linda nodded and pulled her bag behind her as she headed back to the cabin she shared with her husband.
Peter followed after her, a sour look on his face.
Amy was going to make talking to those two a priority. There was no telling how much longer they’d stick around and she didn’t want any of her witnesses fleeing.
When she entered the cabin, Doryan was alone.
“I sent Manda away,” he said. “She can be… protective.”
Amy smiled. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
The moment was gone. They’d been interrupted and she had to get back to work. But the second she closed the door behind her it was like things snapped back into place. Tension laced the air and she wanted to get closer, wanted to wrap herself around Doryan and never let go.
She took a step closer.
DORYAN WAS BEING PULLED by an irresistible force. The space between him and Amy dissolved until all it would take was him bending his head for them to seal their mouths together.
His body wanted it so bad he ached, and he could almost imagine the sweet pain that her kiss would bring. He needed to step back, needed to begin building his walls back up before he tumbled into something dangerous that would leave even more bodies on the ground.
But his heart was beating fast and his cock was coming to life. Not fully hard, not yet, but well on its way. And that couldn’t happen. The soulless didn’t experience arousal. And, of course, they couldn’t miss it. But now that he had Amy within reach Doryan didn’t know how he’d ever lived without it.
She leaned in and Doryan forced himself to step back. “I can’t.” It came out a harsh whisper.
Amy flinched and took a step back of her own. A mask came over her face, almost as if she’d become soulless for a moment, and then it was replaced by a polite expression. “Fine. I have work to do.”
He should let her walk away. He should let her defend her heart as best she could. He had nothing to offer to her. But whatever bits and pieces were left of his soul cried out. He couldn’t let her walk away without knowing. “I. Can’t,” he repeated, the words struggling to come out. “It’s impossible.”
Amy shook her head and kept her distance. “It’s fine. I understand.”
“You don’t,” he said. He took a half step towards her before stopping himself. “I’m soulless.” His training was nothing when faced with her pain. He would go against any order if it meant he’d see her open expression of wonder once more. And he didn’t know what that meant. It couldn’t be good. But Doryan didn’t care.
“Soulless?” she asked. “What does that mean?”
The words didn’t come as easily this time. Apparently telling her his designation was one thing, explaining it was more complicated. So he’d start at the beginning. “Do you know about the Denya Price?” he asked.
Amy shook her head. “I know that denya means mate, so I assume it has something to do with that?” Her arms crossed and she leaned against the wall.
“Yes.” Denya. Denya. Denya. The word echoed in his head. Did she belong to him? Was he hers? Everything he’d ever heard said that he’d recognize his mate on sight, but was that still true when he was missing an essential part of himself? “A hundred years ago our planet was destroyed.”
“And this has to do with mating how?” She wasn’t exactly hostile, but Doryan got the feeling he had to tread carefully.
“It does,” he promised. “We went from a population that numbered in the billions to the thousands in a matter of hours. And it began the process of a slow extinction. We rely on our mates. They are integral to our survival. We literally die if we don’t bond before thirty.” She let out a little gasp, but Doryan kept going. “And before the destruction of Detya, we managed. Or so I’ve heard. But afterward it was chaos. My ancestors fled with the Detyen Legion. And as time passed, not nearly enough people found their mates within the Legion. Luckily we are able to procreate without a mating bond, otherwise we’d already be dead. But then information was discovered. Something that would allow a Detyen to live beyond thirty without a mate.”
Amy tensed, as if she knew something bad was coming.
There was more Doryan could tell her, but he’d spare the gory details. “The procedure allows us to live, but strips our emotions. Not every member of the Legion decides to become soulless, and there is no requirement.”
“You have emotions,” Amy said. “You wanted to kiss me.”
Doryan wasn’t sure how to answer. “Sometimes a soulless warrior experiences fixations. They end in blood and death for everyone.”
“You want to hurt me?” She didn’t seem scared.
Doryan shook his head. “I’d lay down my life before I allowed harm to come to you.”
She swallowed hard. “That doesn’t sound emotionless to me.”
But he had to be. If he wanted to keep her safe, he couldn’t allow himself to feel anything. “It’s also the reason that the lieutenant has been so… forceful about me. Some in the legion fear the soulless, and almost none trust us. I assume NaMasee is one of them.”
Amy leaned her head back until it thumped against the wall. “Can you please give me one piece of information that doesn’t add to your motive?”
Did that make his motive worse? Doryan hadn’t realized. “We keep the existence of the soulless a closely guarded secret. There are whispers, but the legion will never confirm. And when the soulless become… unstable we are retired.”
“Retired means killed, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” It was the path Doryan had known he’d been on for a long time, but seeing the pain in Amy’s eyes made him wish there was another way.
“So let me get this straight. You can’t kiss me because you allegedly don’t feel emotions. And if you do feel something, it might actually be you going crazy. All because your species dies when you’ve barely begun to live.” She shook her head. “That is… something. And I can’t really deal right now. I have a murder to solve.”
Doryan let her go. He had nothing else to give.
Chapter Eight
AS FAR AS “IT’S NOT you, it’s me” conversations went, Amy had to admit that Doryan’s had been better than most. She tried to convince herself that there was nothing going on between them as she stole a quick shower. He had nothing to offer her. He couldn’t feel. Not exactly boyfriend material.
And yet.
He had emotions.
She was sure of it.
But she couldn’t let herself get caught up like that. She’d been down the emotionally withholding boyfriend route before and it sucked. She wasn’t interested in doing it again. She had to put Doryan out of her mind and solve the murder. Then she could go home and leave him to his fate.
Where he’d live an emotionless existence until his bosses executed him. That sent a stabbing pain right through her and she didn’t know what to do with it.
Kill him? It was barbaric.
She knew aliens had different cultures than humans, and she tried to learn as much as she could before she judged. But this wasn’t some unknown food or different greeting. This was life and death.
She had to tamp down her urge to rescue Doryan. He’d chosen his path and he hadn’t asked for her help.
Amy still didn’t have a handle on her emotions as she scarfed down a brief lunch, and things only got worse when she realized she’d have to take Doryan with her. She didn’t trust NaMasee not to try something, and now that she had an idea of why, she didn’t think she’d be able to stop him. He hated Doryan for what he was, not what he’d allegedly done. Logical discussion didn’t make a person change their mind from those kind of feelings.
Do
ryan walked silently behind her as they made their way to the main house which the settlement owners were allowing her to use for interviews. But there was her next problem. She believed Doryan was innocent, but she couldn’t exactly allow him to sit in on the conversations.
“Stay in here,” she told him as they entered through the kitchen. “I’ll be doing my interviews in the other room. Keep out of sight.”
Perfect? No. But nothing about this investigation was.
Peter and Linda Marino were waiting for her in the living room. Linda looked on the verge of tears and Peter looked ready to punch something. He was gripping his wife’s hand so tightly that her fingers had gone dangerously white, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“I’d appreciate it if I could speak with you separately,” Amy said, still incredibly conscious of the fact that she had no legal authority. She could sense that if she stepped out of line Peter would end the interview without a second thought. In fact, he had to be eager to do it.
“We’re only here so that alien military doesn’t come and stomp any further into human territory,” said Peter. “You’re one of us. You know how things are done on this planet.”
Years of training allowed Amy to keep her face blank. Bigotry against aliens wasn’t unheard of, and based on what Peter had said earlier she wasn’t surprised. But it always made her wonder what men like Peter said about her when she wasn’t in the room. “I’m trying to solve a crime, Mr. Marino. A victim is a victim, whether human or not.”
“So you’d upend our lives like this for a dog?”
“Peter!”
So his bigotry went deeper than Amy had thought. Enough to kill?
“You aren’t a police officer, Ms. Dalisay, and we are here as a courtesy. Now ask your questions.” He dropped his wife’s hand and Linda absently flexed her fingers as if she’d done it a million times before.
How did she go about asking her questions with Peter in the room? There was no way Linda would answer honestly.
Peter’s comm buzzed, and for a moment Amy wondered if she’d been blessed. He pulled his comm out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “I have to take this.” He glared at his wife. “She has no authority. Wait until I get back.” And then he went out the front door. He answered his call and they could hear the muffled sound of his voice through the door.
