by Dena Christy
But she could still feel the memory of his lips on her mouth, of his big body resting lightly against her. She saw in her mind how his eyes had darkened with his pleasure at the sight of her bare breasts. His gentle, teasing caresses had woken a hunger inside her, one she'd never felt before. And it felt more real than anything else that had happened in the past few days.
She'd had lovers but had never had a true connection with anyone. The nature of her work, the need to keep her life as Cheria separate from it, had made indulging in love affairs more trouble than they were worth. And it had been easy to spend most of her time alone, and to only indulge in brief, short lived affairs when the need to feel close to someone grew strong inside her.
Was that what this was with him? Was the loneliness she carried with her all the time the reason for her attraction to him? Was it the danger they were in prompting her to want to feel as close to him as possible? Or was there more to it than that?
She didn't know the answer and her mind shied away from it. She had more pressing concerns and part of those concerns involved the man whose house the vehicle was parking in front of.
She and Rone got out and went through the same procedure they had when they'd arrived here last night. Rone didn't seem bothered by the need to hand over his weapon, and she wondered if he would be as easy going about it if the one holding his hand out for it was not a member of his own species.
They followed the Thonaxian guard in a different direction than the one they'd taken the night before, and were ushered in to what had to be Landis' office. It was a big room with multiple desks, paperwork everywhere, several computers and a giant view screen at the front of the room.
After greeting them, Landis got two chairs and pulled them up to the desk he was working at. He motioned for them to sit and Cheria took the chair beside him. Rone did not take the other chair, and when she turned her head to look at him, he smiled at her.
"I prefer to stand."
He was right behind her, at her shoulder and normally she would have felt crowded by having someone stand so close behind her. With him, it was different. She felt safe, protected, as if there was nothing that could possibly harm her that he would not stop. She smiled back at him before turning her attention to Landis. He was looking at her and Rone with a speculative look on his face. He cleared his throat and turned his attention to his computer.
"I went through the surveillance footage at my father's office. The only reason I managed to get what I did was because it's backed up on two servers. One at my father's office and one here. The server at my father's office must have been destroyed by our friend, because I was unable to connect to it to get any of the data." Landis hit a few keys on his computer, and Cheria watched the screen. There was footage of an empty office, that looked like the one she and Rone had been in yesterday, only it was much tidier and there was no dead body in the chair. "He's going to appear any second now."
Cheria watched the screen, and she saw a shadow fall across the desk and a man moved into the frame. He turned and his face was in view of the camera. Cheria drew in a sharp breath as her pulse beat heavily inside her.
Cold, stark fear went through her when she saw the same man who'd been at the hotel and at the club. Landis hit a key and the image froze with the man's eyes staring straight into the camera, and a shiver rippled down her spine. The video footage was in color and the ice in his eyes was clearly evident on the huge view screen.
It was like he was looking straight at her. She'd gotten the same feeling from it that she'd gotten when he'd looked in the mirror she'd been hiding behind when she'd first encountered him. He had the eyes of a person with no feeling, no remorse. They belonged to someone who'd proven that he could kill swiftly and without mercy. And there was no doubt in her mind that this was the same man who'd been in the hotel room that day.
"It's him." She turned her head to look at Rone, and he must have seen the fear she was feeling on her face, because he stepped closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. His touch was reassuring and she turned to look at Landis. "He's the one who killed my client. And I also saw him at the club owned by an acquaintance, and he and his bodyguard were alive when I left."
"I tracked Cheria to the club after she eluded me and they were dead when I got there." Rone spoke from behind her and squeezed her shoulder.
"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary about him?"
She looked at the screen. His face was nondescript and he could easily blend in with a crowd. That was what made him so frightening, the sheer ordinariness of his face, with the exception of his eyes. If she hadn't witnessed what he'd done, if she hadn't seen first hand the utter coldness in his eyes, she would have said no, there was nothing out of the ordinary about him.
And then she remembered something.
"When I heard him question my client there was something about his voice that was odd. He didn't sound right. Why do you ask? What is it you know about him?"
"I'll show you." Landis put in a few more commands on his computer. He brought up on his screen a picture of his father and a puzzled frown crossed Cheria's face. Landis must have seen it because he held up his hand. "It will all become clear to you very soon. I just need to show you something first."
She nodded and he continued. An application opened on the big view screen. It was one she'd never seen before. He put his finger on the small touch screen mounted on his desk and dragged the photo of his father onto it. The app sprang to life.
Searching...
Searching...
Searching...
A few moments later, a host of information popped up on the screen, including Angis' name, address, occupation and links to various government records.
This must be how Rone had known her true identity and the thought of an app like that scared her. It made the use of aliases utterly redundant because as long as someone had a photograph they could find out anything about anyone with a few key strokes. She knew first hand how little protection an alias provided since Rone had shown up at her real home within an hour of receiving her bounty.
"I have to say that this is the scariest thing I've ever seen. Who has access to this app?" She hoped it wasn't many people.
"Only my father, and me of course. I created it for him to give him an advantage over his competition. And as you can see it is a very effective tool. But I'm not finished with my demo." He clicked a few keys and the search results for his father clear off the screen. "Look what happens when I put in a picture of our friend."
He brought up a still image of the killer from the surveillance footage and dragged it into the app.
Cheria's eyes were glued to the screen. Finally they were going to get some answers into why this guy was hunting them and perhaps get a clue into how to stop him.
Searching...
Searching...
Searching...
No records found...
And with that message, the app stopped running and the killer's face remained frozen on the giant view screen in front of them.
"No records? How can there not be any records?" Cheria turned her gaze away from the screen. Staring into the killer's eyes made her uncomfortable. She looked at Landis instead.
"That's exactly what I'm getting at. There is at least some sort of record of everyone who exists on this planet. Except for our friend." Landis scrubbed his hand over his jaw. "I've run this search four times, with four different images from the surveillance photos and I get the same result. No records found. This is the first time I've ever gotten that result from running the program."
Rone moved and sat down in the chair next to Cheria. He leaned forward slightly and rested an elbow on Landis' desk and looked at him.
"We know he exists. The dead bodies and the surveillance footage are proof of that. Is it possible that he's not from Arrann Prime? Could that be why there aren't any records?"
"I thought perhaps that might be a possibility, but you underestimate how stringent and meti
culous the government on this planet is about records. I'll show you." With a few strokes of his keys he brought up a photo of Rone. "You aren't from here, and look what happens when I put your picture in to the app."
He dragged the photo of Rone into the app.
Searching...
Searching...
Searching...
Up popped Rone's name, planet of origin, occupation and a copy of his bounty hunter's permit.
This didn't make any sense. How could the killer have operated on this planet without a single record of his presence?
"How is it that he's a ghost?"
"I have no idea. It shouldn't be possible. Searching for him on any government databases is obviously a dead end, so I'm going to focus my attention on digging up what I can about the corporation who issued the bounty."
"Do you think that might provide an answer?"
Landis' mouth tightened for a second. "This man killed my father for a reason. The only thing that connects him to all this is the bounty. We have to assume that whoever issued the bounty also sent this guy after you. Perhaps the bounty was a contingency in case the killer was unsuccessful in finding you, or as a way to flush you out into the open so you would be easier to find. Whatever the reason, I think it's safe to assume with my father's death that whoever issued the bounty has no intention of honoring it."
Cheria turned to look at Rone, and it appeared by the look on his face that Landis' revelation was not a surprise. Was this the reason that he'd decided to protect her? Because there was no way he was going to make money off the bounty anyway? She didn't know the answer to that, and at this point there was no use in thinking about it. The truth was that he had decided to protect her and she was grateful to him for that.
She shifted her focus back to Landis.
"Have you been able to think of a solution to my problem of getting the information off my chip?"
"I think I may have something, but I will have to modify it and it will take a little time. You and Rone are welcome to stay here. It's a lot more comfortable than a hotel and you'll be close at hand for me to test a solution."
Cheria stood up and Rone moved to stand beside her.
"Thank you for your offer of hospitality. Cheria and I will return to the hotel to get our things."
They left the office with Rone's hand on the small of her back.
Chapter 14
The trip back to the hotel to check out and retrieve their things had taken no time at all, but it still seemed too long to Rone. He made sure that Cheria was close to him once they were in the lobby, and that she was directly in front of him where he could see what was ahead of her, but she was protected from attack at the rear. He did not think that the man who'd hunted them would be at the hotel as if conjured up by their looking at his surveillance photo, but he did not want to take any unnecessary chances.
His eyes scanned the hallway as they approached their suite at the end of the hall. There was nothing in the hall except for a housekeeping cart off to the side against the wall.
He kept her close as they went back inside their room. She took a step forward, and he put his hand on her arm and she looked at him curiously.
"I thought we were going to get packed quickly so we can go back to Landis'?"
"We are, but I want you to stay here while I make sure that the rest of the room is safe. Do you have your stunner?" She nodded and pulled it out of her pocket. "It would be best if you keep it with you."
Her face drained of blood and paled, and her eyes look big and vulnerable. He wanted to offer her comfort and take that fear away but right now it was more important that he made sure the suite was safe.
To that end he pulled his blade from its sheath so he was prepared for a fight and moved toward the bedroom. He looked at the bedroom door, which was opened very slightly and tried to remember if that was the way they'd left it when they'd departed for Landis' home. He could not, because it had not been important to make note of it at the time of their departure. It was important now.
He pushed the door open and held his blade in a defensive position. The bedroom was empty, but he could hear sounds coming from the bathroom. His body tensed, going on high alert as he approached the bathroom on silent feet.
He loomed in the doorway as the smell of cleaning chemicals came to him and he hastily put his blade back in its sheath as a young maid turned to see him and understandably let out a startled scream.
She put her hand to her throat and shrank back.
He held up his hands to show that he was no threat and backed up a few steps. Running feet sounded beside him and Cheria came into the bedroom.
"What's going on?"
His eyes darted to the stunner and he shook his head. She quickly tucked it into the back of her pants. He turned his attention back to the maid, who seemed to have figured out that he was not going to attack her, and no longer held the cloth in her hand in front of her like a shield.
"I am sorry for startling you. My companion and I are going to be checking out."
"I'll get out of your way and come back to clean the room once you've gone." The maid walked out of the bathroom on hasty feet and as she came abreast of Cheria, Cheria put a hand up to stop her. The maid looked at her curiously and Cheria held out a twenty krill note for the woman.
"By way of apology. Now you can forget this ever happened." Cheria smiled at the woman and the woman took the bill and tucked it away in the pocket of her uniform.
"Thank you." The maid continued on her way and moved out of the bedroom.
Cheria sagged down on the edge of the bed, and exhaled slowly. Some of the tension inside Rone eased, and he relaxed his stance.
"I am glad that you made me wait in the other room, because if I'd gone into the bathroom and bumped in to her I would have had a heart attack and shot her with the stunner. And since it's still set to take you down, I'm sure I would have hurt her."
"Well, no harm was done besides frightening the poor woman. Let us get our things together and get out of here." She didn't move and he could see something was troubling her. "What is wrong?"
"You saw it, didn't you? When you looked at the picture and saw his eyes?"
He did not need clarification from her about what she meant. "I saw no soul in his eyes."
"What have I gotten us in to? He's not going to stop until we're dead, is he?"
Rone came over to sit beside her on the bed and put his arm around her. They were wasting time, but this was as important as getting out of the suite and back to Landis' home.
"He will if we stop him. We do not know all there is to know about him yet, but I have a feeling that he is only a tool. Once we find out more about the company that issued the bounty, I am certain we will learn more about him. And we will find a way to stop him. But for now we need to get out of here."
She took a deep breath and nodded. She stood up and he reached for her hand. She looked at him.
"He may not stop, but neither will I. I will not stop protecting you. You will be safe, Cheria. I give you my solemn vow that I will protect you even if it costs me my life."
She may not realize it as she nodded her head and pulled away to gather her things, but he had now pledged himself to protect her. It meant that he would not stop doing whatever it took to keep her safe, would sacrifice his life if he had to. He'd given her his warrior's pledge and if she'd been a female on his planet, she would know that only death would break it.
They quickly gathered their things and took one last look around the hotel room to ensure that they left nothing behind. They left the room and retraced their steps back to the lobby.
Fortunately, the check out process was quick and without complication and he and Cheria were soon on their way back to Landis' home.
There was no doubt in his mind that he would fight this man ruthlessly if that was what he had to do to protect her. Rone knew nothing about this man's background as a fighter, but Rone had every confidence that he would defeat him bec
ause there was no other recourse for him. He had a need inside him to protect Cheria now that he had pledge himself to do so. Rone would kill hundreds of men like this one if that was what it took. And part of him wanted to avenge what had been done to Angis.
They arrived back at Landis' house and Rone could see some of the tension melt out of Cheria's frame once they were inside the house. Despite his telling her that he would keep her safe, she'd been understandably alert while they'd made their preparations to leave the hotel. He'd only seen the man in a photograph while she'd been in much closer proximity to him. He hated the thought that she'd been so close to the killer not once, but twice. He made a promise to himself that she would not be close to him a third time.
Cale approached them and Rone reached behind his back to pull his blade free of the sheath. Cale put his hand up.
"There is no need for that. Landis has indicated that you should keep it. I am to show you to your room."
He turned and Cheria followed him while Rone walked behind her carrying their bags. He was glad that he would be able to keep his blade. While he did not doubt that the killer would have difficulty getting into the house unnoticed, he did not want to leave anything to chance. If somehow the unthinkable happened, and the killer hunted them here and got in, Rone wanted to be sure that he would not get any further than the edge of his blade.
They arrived at a spacious bedroom and the sight of the enormous bed brought Rone's mind back to the hotel room and what had almost happened this morning. How far would it have gone if Landis had not interrupted them with his call?
Would he and Cheria pick up where they left off when it was time to retire tonight? Or had whatever impetus that had driven them to touch and kiss each other faded away once they'd come to their senses? For his part, he wanted her, had wanted her from the moment she'd first undid the buttons on her blouse in order to trick him.
Cheria turned to look at Cale after she'd looked around the room.