by Susan Hayes
* * * *
Alyson was humming to herself as she punched in the security code of her laboratory door. She felt better than she had in months. Contentment had softened the sharp edges of her worries, and she had finally slept a deep and dreamless sleep undisturbed by nightmares or fretful awakenings that left her staring at the ceiling for hours.
She bounced on her toes as the system deactivated and the door finally unlocked. She started to rush in, eager to see if her tests had worked, but Dirk’s hand landed on her shoulder and held her in place.
“Us first,” Dirk chided her.
Blade stepped past her and into the lab. “Red lights are bad, right?” He asked a few seconds later.
Cursing, Alyson ran into the room, not caring about safety protocols. Three steps into the room, it was clear something had gone wrong. Red lights flashed on almost every console, and several pieces of equipment were completely powered down. Her tests, the samples-- Everything was ruined. “What the vething hell happened?”
Lance appeared beside her, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders. “What could have caused something like this?”
“Stay with Alyson. I’m going to check the security footage. I’m locking the door behind me. Stay sharp,” Dirk ordered before leaving, his heavy footfalls echoing down the corridor.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to let go of her emotional response and focus on diagnosing the problem. Like any of her patients, she couldn’t fix anything until she knew what had caused it, and why.
“I think it was a power fluctuation. It might have even been a localized blackout. I’m still guessing, but it looks like everything here lost power sometime last night. The powered-down equipment is all the most delicate stuff, the ones vulnerable to power surges.”
“Are you saying it was sabotage?” Blade asked. He had
“I don’t know. Is that even a possibility? The station’s power supply is heavily protected. It has to be,” she mused.
“Every system has its vulnerabilities,” Lance sounded more solemn than she’d ever heard him.
“The med-center is supposed to have redundancies to stop this sort of thing from happening. Independent power supplies and stuff. This—“ she gestured around her. “Shouldn’t have happened.”
“Can you redo the tests?” Blade was still holding her gently, his thumb moving in calming circles across the top of her shoulder.
“I can. I’ll get started right now. It’ll go faster if you two help. I’ll show you what to do.”
Lance nodded, but Blade shook his head and jerked his head toward the door. “I’ll stand watch. Dirk’s right. We need to be on guard.”
“Can one of you contact Mack or Dash and let them know that the tests failed and I need to re-run them? They can let Cynder know there’s been a delay. “Damn it. I really wanted to give her good news.” She sighed and tried to push past her bitter disappointment. How could she even begin to apologize for failing Cynder and the others?
“And you will have good news for her. Soon.” Blade changed direction and came to stand in front of her. He bent his head down, nuzzling her cheek before stealing a kiss. “Cyn and the others know you’re doing your best. This isn’t on you, Doc.”
The door to the lab opened, and all three of them spun around. Dirk stood there, his hands clenched into fists and his green eyes stormy. “Blade’s right. This isn’t on you. This is on us.” He tossed a data tablet onto the nearest counter and pointed to it.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Your shielded friend was back late last night. While we were distracted upstairs with you, he was roaming the med-center.”
The tablet showed a single, frozen image of the same blurred figure, only this time he was standing outside the laboratory door instead of her office. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. She had managed to push all thoughts of her strange stalker to the back of her mind. It was easier not to think about it, but now he was front and center in her mind again.
“I don’t understand. Why warn me last time, and then sabotage the work he told me to finish?”
“Does it really matter why?” Dirk was almost snarling with frustration as he jabbed a finger at the screen. “He was here again, and we had no idea. He’s a fraxxing phantom.”
Lance came over to stare at the tablet. “Tell me we know how he got in and you’ve already got the tracking software running.”
“It’s running. Cocky bastard waltzed through the front door.”
“How can you track someone that doesn’t show up on sensors?” Alyson asked.
“That tech uses a lot of power. Corp-Sec can detect the power consumption and track it. It’ll only work when the shield is activated, but if we’re lucky, we can follow the route he took.”
Blade joined them. “And if we’re really lucky, the bastard will have made a mistake and let himself get caught on surveillance somewhere before or after he shielded himself.”
She frowned, feeling like she was missing something. “Then why don’t we have those energy tracking things in here? We’d know if he came back.”
“We tried. It’s not common equipment, and what they have is hardwired into the station,” Lance said.
“And even if it was available, there’s too much equipment in here that would interfere with it. Diagnostic computers, lab equipment, and scanners. This place is full of gear that would give false positives.” Dirk shot her a dark look. “I don’t suppose you’re ready to talk about moving somewhere more secure?”
“You know I can’t do that. Not until I’ve synthesized a working cure. You’ve made it clear that coming and going is too risky to do again, so I need to stay here and finish this. When it’s done, maybe all four of us can go away together. I think we’ll have earned a vacation by then.”
“Say the word, and we’ll pack up and meet you at the docking bay of your choice,” Blade said.
“A vacation sounds good,” Lance agreed.
Dirk picked up the data tablet, then looked straight at his brothers. “We’re not on vacation, yet. We need to up our game. Lance, you stay and help the doctor. Blade, watch the fraxxing door. I shouldn’t have made it into this room when I walked in here the last time. Do better. The doctor’s life depends on it.”
He was gone before she was over the shock of what he’d just said and done. He’d talked down to her and barked at his brothers like they were lackeys. “What was that?”
Blade’s upper lip curled in distaste. “Dirk at his grumpiest. Charming, isn’t he?”
“Don’t worry about him, sunshine. His bad mood will pass.”
She nodded and got to work resetting the machines and adding new samples. Lance might have told her not to worry, but she couldn’t help it. It wasn’t Dirk’s anger that bothered her, though. It was that he was pulling away. She hadn’t missed the way he had referred to her as ‘the doctor,' and what happened between the four of them last night was a hell of a lot more than a mere distraction. How had they gone from confessions of love and a passionate night in bed together to this? It was what she’d been afraid of; opening her heart only to have it broken again.
By the time she had all the tests running again, her mood was as dark and cold as the void outside the station’s hull. There were no more jokes with Blade, no flirty moments with Lance, and when she got back to her office, she found the paperwork on her overdose victim sitting on top of the pile. Michael Vons. Yet another person she hadn’t been able to help.
She sank down into her chair and uttered a low sigh. She felt as if she was letting everyone down these days. The temptation to contact Phaedra and make sure she was alright was strong enough to have her reaching for her comm device, but she stopped before picking it up. She couldn’t take the chance. She couldn’t risk talking to Phae in case it gave away her location. Her friend was in enough danger already thanks to the favor she had done for Alyson.
She glanced up at Lance, who was leaning against the wall, arms folded
over his chest and his eyes fixed on the door to her office. He was lost in his own thoughts and about as much company as the cup of yesterday’s coffee, which still sat on the edge of her cluttered desk.
She ignored the pang of loss that tugged at her heart and started on her paperwork. Clearing away the stack of work would at least let her feel like she was accomplishing something.
* * * *
Dirk knew Alyson was unhappy, but he couldn’t allow that fact to distract him from what he and his brothers needed to do. They’d lost focus once, and it had come with a cost. It wouldn’t happen again. Alyson was too important. Too many people were relying on her. He loved her, but it would be selfish to put his feelings ahead of everything else. First and foremost, they needed to protect her. When this was all over, they could take that vacation Alyson had mentioned. All of them together, with no need to be on guard, and no chance of losing the woman who had won their hearts.
The evening passed in relative silence. No one spoke much, and even Huey seemed less chipper than usual as he went about his chores. After dinner, they usually played a game or two of fortress chess, but not tonight. The chess board sat unused on a side table. It required four players, and the new plan he and his brothers had worked out meant they weren’t together anymore. One of them was with Alyson at all times, while the others stood watch at strategic points. Tonight, Blade would guard her bedroom door while he and Lance stood watch at the only entrance to her quarters. They had called in reinforcements from their team at Corp-Sec to patrol the medical center below.
They wouldn’t sleep again for days, but it was a small price to pay for the added security. Nothing was going to happen to Alyson or her precious research.
“Your friend Phaedra should get here tomorrow. Do you want me to talk to my boss about getting her a security detail of her own?” Dirk asked, breaking the silence that had gone on since dinner.
Alyson barely looked up from her data tablet. “No need. She’s going to stay at the Nova Club. They can protect her there. She’ll love the bar, it’s her kind of place. Free booze, good food, and all those hot fighters for her to flirt with.”
“You didn’t tell me you’d taken care of that already. I could have arranged something.”
“You’ve already got your hands full protecting me. Since you seemed to want to focus on that, I dealt with Phaedra. It wasn’t difficult. Cynder was more than happy to set it up.”
Her words were neutral, but her micro-expressions and cool tone made it clear that she was angry and upset.
“Your safety is our primary mission right now, but if there’s anything else we can do for you, you know you can ask, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” She lowered her head and started reading again, letting her hair fall around her face to act like a screen she could hide behind.
“Alyson…” he spoke her name, not sure what he was going to say, but he needed to say something. He would step in front of a pulse rifle blast for her, or take down a host of enemies with his bare hands to keep her safe, but he had no clue how to deal with this situation. Weapons and tactics were his skill set, not feelings.
She didn’t answer him. Fraxx. This day had started out so well, but then they’d been reminded of the danger circling them, waiting for them to make another mistake. Dirk had failed to protect her once. There was no way in hell he would do it again. No matter what it cost him, Alyson would survive.
CHAPTER TEN
Alyson went to bed early. She could use the extra sleep, though thinking about why she hadn’t slept the night before made her heart ache. Last night had been wonderful. Tonight, things were about as far from wonderful as they could get.
All three of her lovers were quiet and withdrawn. They were keeping their distance, and it made her feel even more isolated. She understood the logic behind the changes. It was her life being threatened, so she could appreciate what they were trying to do. That didn’t stop it from hurting, though.
I should never have dropped my guard. This would be easier if we had never been together.
Crawling into bed only made her feel worse. It felt too big and empty with only one person in it, and when she snuggled under the quilt, she could still smell their scent lingering on the fabric. She turned off the light and closed her eyes, but her mind wouldn’t stop whirling. Even the smallest noise caught her attention, and after half an hour she sat up again. “Computer, lights, middle setting.”
There was a gentle rap at her door, then Blade asked, “You okay in there?”
She shot an irritated look at the door as if he could see her expression somehow. She didn’t want the reminder that one of the men missing from her bed was on the other side of the wall, listening to everything that went on in her room. Not that anything was going on tonight apart from insomnia.
“I’m fine. Not having much luck sleeping is all.”
“I can have Huey brew you some tea if you want.”
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it. “Tea isn’t what I need right now. But thanks for the offer.”
Silence for a few seconds, followed by a surprising offer. “Would you like me to come in for a few minutes? I could stay with you until you fell asleep.”
She wanted to say yes, but asking for Blade to join her felt too close to begging.
“I thought you were avoiding any and all distractions?” she asked.
The door slid open, and Blade stormed through, looking decidedly annoyed. “You’re not a distraction. Don’t you ever say that again.”
“Then why are you all treating me like I’m a thing to be guarded from a distance? There wasn’t any distance between us last night, and I felt safe.” She knew she was acting childishly, but she couldn’t help herself.
He sat down on the bed beside her and hauled her into his lap, dragging the quilt and blankets with her. “Because the first time we dropped our guard, that asshole showed up and fraxxed with your research. What if he’d come after you instead?”
She leaned back so she could meet his gaze. “Then he would have come into this room and found me protected by three big, naked, cyborgs who would have cheerfully torn him to pieces.”
“Unless he got the drop on us. Your stalker has a fraxxing shield, and those aren’t supposed to be available to the public. Who knows what else he’s got in his bag of tricks. As much as it pains me to admit it, Dirk’s right. Protecting you has to be our first priority.”
“I hate this. I understand, but it feels like…” she sighed and hid her face in the crook of his neck instead of finishing her sentence.
“I don’t like it either. Fraxx, none of us are happy about this. Do you really think Dirk and Lance want to be standing guard tonight instead of being here with you?”
“Honestly? I wasn’t sure. It would have been nice if one of you had said so,” she said, her words muffled against his skin.
“I’m saying so, now. I know it’s a little late, but in our defense, we’ve never had anyone in our lives besides each other until now.” Blade tapped his temple. “We usually know what each other’s thinking at all times. It saves us from having to talk about feelings and stuff.”
She smiled a little at that. “Feelings and stuff, huh?”
Blade nodded. “This is all new, and really, It’s your fault that the timing is so bad. If you had just said yes the first time we asked you out, then we’d be further along in our learning curve. But no, you had to wait until your life was in danger.”
“I was afraid of what would happen if I let you into my life,” she confessed.
He tangled his fingers into her hair and tugged at it until she lifted her head. “And I was afraid you were never going to let me in.”
“I didn’t think you were afraid of anything.”
He lowered his mouth to hers and whispered, “The only thing I’m afraid of is losing you.” She leaned in to kiss him, needing to show him how much his words meant. She closed her eyes and let go of everything but the happines
s she felt at being back in his arms. This felt right. No, it was better than that. It felt like she was falling in love.
Blade kissed her with bruising passion, his every touch demanding a response as his mouth slanted across hers. He tossed aside the blankets, and before they had finished hitting the floor he was working the oversized shirt she wore to bed over her head while still trying to kiss her. She laughed, and so did he, and then she was naked in his lap.
“That’s better,” Blade whispered against her throat as he dusted a slow, leisurely trail of kisses down the side of her neck.
“Much better.” She slipped her hands under his shirt. She wanted to touch bare skin, to connect with him in every way.
The trail of kisses continued lower until his lips brushed one pert nipple and he sucked it deep into his mouth. One hand was splayed between her shoulder blades, supporting her as she leaned back, giving herself over to him.
“Open for me.”
She didn’t understand what he wanted at first, but then he stroked along the top of her thigh, and she parted her legs.
He gave her nipple a light nip, sending shockwaves straight to her clit. “Ouch.”
“Good ouch or bad?”
Heat flooded her face as she considered her answer. “More good than bad.”
“I love how you blush every time we talk dirty to you. It makes me want to tell you every wicked, depraved thing that comes to mind.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He lifted his head and flashed her a wicked grin that made her pulse race and her pussy grow slick with need. “Say that again.”
“You wouldn’t talk dirty to me just to make me blush, would you?”
“You have no idea the things I’d do to you if you’d let me.” His next kiss was savage, possessive, and hotter than a solar flare. His fingers slid into her pussy as his tongue tangled with hers. Her gasp of pleasure was lost in the heat of his kiss, and his groans rumbled against her lips as his hips jerked upward, grinding their bodies together.