Kade (sci-fi romance - The Ember Quest Book 2)

by Arcadia Shield

  Honor still couldn’t believe that accusation, but the State had solid evidence against him. And she’d seen how Kade had disappeared overnight, and then, mere hours later, his image then splashed all over the feeds, with a bounty on his head. He’d messed up somehow, but she couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. It was a shame; few people could match her in genetics and coding, and Kade had been one of them.

  She’d discreetly kept track of what Kade and his brothers had done over the last year, as best she could. And she still liked him, still thought this had to be some big misunderstanding. The State declared they would kill him on sight if they found him, but Honor couldn’t believe he was all bad. He was nothing short of a genius.

  The news report described Kade and his brothers as dangerous mavericks who were wanted for questioning on multiple law infractions, including murder. All were described as lethal and unpredictable.

  Honor snorted out a laugh. She would never have described Kade that way, although she knew he’d served time in the armed forces. Bizarrely, she found his bad-boy persona added to his allure. The broadcast finished with the usual shadowy image of their leader, Emperor Endrir.

  Kade Ember, a wanted man. Honor grinned and shook her head.

  The click of heels on the marble floor made Honor look up. Her smile faded. It was Clarice’s assistant, Beth, come to take her to the meeting. “Miss Nolan will see you now.”

  Honor nodded. “I’ll just be a minute.” She closed the old-style, encrypted comms system she’d used to send Kade the message. It was a moment of rashness that made her send it, but Clarice was vicious, and Honor needed to know she had backup, if she needed it. She just hoped the comms address she had for Kade was still active.

  “Miss Nolan will not be kept waiting,” said Beth, her nervous gaze shooting around the room. As Clarice’s assistant, she was often on the receiving end of her venom, so the woman had a right to be skittish.

  Honor nodded and stood, smoothing down her skirt as she did so. “Let’s go.” As she walked behind Beth, she fought with her nerves. Maybe it would be nothing; a slap on the wrist for some smart-mouthed comment Clarice had overheard her making.

  The wait for the elevator felt like an hour, and Honor’s palms sweated. “What does Clarice want with me?”

  Beth’s large blue eyes widened a fraction. “She will let you know why you’re having this meeting.”

  “I could have prepared, if I knew the subject.”

  Beth stepped away from Honor as the elevator arrived, as if being too close would infect her with whatever trouble she’d gotten herself into. “Best you find out for yourself.”

  Honor rolled her shoulders as she stepped inside, her nerves hitching up a gear, and her mouth going dry. Whatever this was, it wouldn’t end well.

  Chapter 2

  Kade’s jaw hung open as he stared at the message in front of him. Honor Davenport had gotten in touch after all this time. And her message was disturbing: Trouble’s on its way. Got any job openings?

  His brows lowered. The last time he’d seen Honor, she’d been receiving some award for her services to genetics. He’d not been impressed she was still working for Intergen, a notorious company who ripped off competitors’ genetics designs and sold them as their own. Kade had broken into their system, once. After he left the Army, he’d worked for a private firm that wanted a bit of intel, so he knew firsthand how underhand Intergen’s tactics were.

  Why was Honor getting in touch with him now? And what kind of trouble was she in? Kade scrubbed a hand over his face. She was headstrong and usually bulldozed her way through things. But most times, she had a right to—she was usually the smartest person in the room.

  This had to be a joke. Honor had obviously stumbled across Kade’s old comms account and gotten curious, sent the message as a test to see how he’d react. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. He should forget this and go get a beer. He’d been working for fifteen hours straight and wasn’t thinking clearly.

  Instead of doing that, Kade brought up images of Honor and speed-read through her work history over the last year. She’d been promoted twice and headed up a team of specialists who worked on ancient DNA fragments, piecing them together to create strands to replicate. That meant only one thing to Kade. Intergen must be after the same thing they were: dragon DNA.

  As he kept scrolling, he discovered she’d won several more awards for her breakthroughs in genetics research, including winning a grant to study the genetic causes of certain cancers. This was more like the work he remembered Honor talking about. She’d been passionate about discovering a cure for the cancer that had killed her mother. And he remembered her talking about a sick sister with a genetic abnormality that couldn’t be cured. At least, not yet. But give Honor enough time, and she’d find a fix for it. Kade had admired her determination, and could well imagine she’d eradicate this disease.

  They’d worked for the same security company, way back when. And Honor had been brought in as a freelancer. At first, he’d found her confidence annoying, as she’d abruptly dismissed some of his suggestions about coding. Very quickly, though, he’d learned she’d been right to, and he’d warmed to her and seen past her abruptness. She just hated to waste time. And he was the same.

  A large image of Honor appeared on the screen, her dark eyes sparkling as she smiled for the camera, and her chocolate-brown hair falling to her shoulders.

  He looked back at the message and saw that Honor had not only used an out-of-date communication route, but the message was also strongly encrypted. Maybe this wasn’t a joke. What did the trouble even refer to? Maybe Intergen had gotten in a mess for stealing too much intellectual property, and Honor hoped Kade could hide their guilt. If that was the case, there was no way he would help. Intergen deserved to be outed for the frauds they were. Although their public face was DNA research to cure common diseases, he knew they worked for the State and did their bidding.

  Something unusual caught Kade’s eye as he continued to stare at the words on his screen; there was no way to reply. Honor had sent this message, knowing she would never receive a response. Why do such a thing? To make sure Kade couldn’t get in touch and get her in trouble for knowing a State criminal? But then why ask for help? He was surprised by the frustration he felt at not being able to respond. He needed more information.

  “Hey! Wondered what happened to you.” Lincoln strolled back into the room, a bottle of beer in one hand. “Got a cold one waiting for you. It’s only Arlo’s homebrewed stuff, so I can’t promise you’ll get drunk. Actually, it could either kill you, or get you drunk. You take your chances with this stuff.”

  Kade looked up from his study of the message. “I got distracted.”

  “Who’s been messaging you?”

  “An old colleague,” said Kade, turning his screen so Lincoln couldn’t get a good look at Honor’s image.

  “A female colleague?” Lincoln grinned at him.

  Kade nodded. “Honor Davenport. She’s a hotshot when it comes to genetics and coding.”

  “What does she want with you?”

  “Could be nothing,” said Kade. “She could be joking with me.”

  Lincoln leaned a hip against his desk. “Is it usual for her to do that? You two got a secret thing going on, flirting via comms?”

  “She liked a laugh. But was always serious about work.”

  “Is this work related?”

  Kade shrugged and tipped his head back. “I don’t know. And I can’t reply to the message.”

  Lincoln turned the screen before Kade could stop him. His eyes widened. “Is this Honor?” He stared at the picture for a very long moment. Kade couldn’t help but also take another good look at the striking brunette, with those deep, dark-brown eyes, and that gorgeous, heart-shaped face. “Man, you have to get in touch with her. Even if it’s to find out if she’s single and looking for fun.”

  “She won’t be interested in you.” Kade glared at his brother.

&nb
sp; “Only because she hasn’t met me yet.”

  “Hands off.” Kade frowned when the words came out more sharply than he intended.

  Lincoln raised his hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t know you were interested. You get first dibs, if that’s the case.”

  “Nobody is having first dibs on her.” Kade closed the image of Honor. “But I’m worried she’s in trouble.” He showed Lincoln the short message.

  “You want to save her?” Lincoln’s grin widened. “I imagine she’d be grateful. But, you know, there are easier ways to get laid.”

  “That’s not it.” Kade shook his head and rolled his eyes at his brother. Lincoln was obsessed with finding the next woman to sweep off her feet for a night and then forget about. It was his trademark. But that never interested Kade.

  “If you need a woman, you only have to ask me,” said Lincoln. “I have too many on my hands.”

  “Unlikely. It’s more likely they’re running away in horror, because you’re such a man-whore.”

  “I like to give women a lot of pleasure,” said Lincoln. “And I don’t like to be picky and stick to one. How is that being unfair?”

  “I’m sure womankind is eternally grateful for your thankless sacrifice.”

  “They always seem to be.”

  Kade hurled a pen at his brother. “Get out of here. I’ve got work to do.”

  “No beer?” Lincoln ducked the projectile as he backed toward the door.

  “Maybe later.” Kade closed the message from Honor. He was being stupid; she could look after herself. She must have sent the message for fun, just to see how he’d respond. It had to be a test, to see if he could break the message, and get a reply to her.

  Intergen needed to give her more challenging work. A bored Honor was a dangerous one. And he had dozens of codes of his own to check and a ton of data to sort.

  Honor Davenport was in his past, and she needed to stay that way.

  HONOR TAMPED DOWN THE butterflies in her stomach. Clarice would pick up on any hint of weakness, and Honor refused to let her see how shaken she was by being summoned to her office.

  She pushed open the director’s door and walked into a chrome-and-white room, all sleek lines, with not a thing out of place. It looked more like a high-end showroom, than a working office.

  Clarice stood with her back to Honor, her arms folded, as she looked out the window onto the artificially lit city below. She wore a crisp, black suit, her blonde hair sliced into an impeccable, razor-sharp bob that sat on her shoulders.

  Honor stood there for a few seconds, knowing Clarice was doing this to intimidate her. She hated to admit it was working.

  The silence became too much to bear. “You wanted to see me?”

  Clarice’s head tilted to the right, as if she’d detected a sound she wasn’t sure about. She turned and her narrow face tightened as she saw Honor. “I hope I haven’t kept you from anything important tonight. This was the only time free in my diary.”

  “Nothing that can’t wait.” Honor lived alone, and Clarice knew this. The company knew everything about each staff member; from the janitor to the company directors, there were no secrets to be had when working for such a secure organization.

  Clarice moved to her desk and stood behind it, her pale-blue gaze not leaving Honor’s.

  “Is there a problem?” Honor twisted her hands behind her back, realized her palms were distressingly damp, and discreetly wiped them on her skirt.

  Clarice smoothed her already perfect hair down. “I have received news that is... concerning.”

  Honor raised her eyebrows. “What news?”

  “A report that information has been falsified and sold to other companies.”

  Honor suddenly found it hard to swallow. “That is concerning.”

  Clarice’s eyes narrowed. “How long have you worked here?”

  “Eighteen months,” said Honor.

  “And you like your job?”

  “Very much.”

  “And you like the pay?”

  “The pay is great.”

  “And what about our competitors?”

  Honor frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Have any of them approached you recently?”

  “I don’t communicate with our competitors,” said Honor. “It’s not part of the job I do.”

  Clarice tapped the keyboard on her desk and her screen flashed awake. “What if one of them contacted you and offered you credits to provide them with information about us?”

  Dread clutched at Honor’s stomach. “If they did, I wouldn’t be interested. I get a lot of reward out of my work here. And the credits I get are more than enough. Someone offering me more credit wouldn’t be an incentive to divulge company secrets.”

  “What if they weren’t offering credit?” Clarice raised an eyebrow. “What if they were offering you a cure?”

  “A cure for what?”

  “Your sister’s illness.”

  The ground suddenly felt unstable under Honor’s feet. “Isla’s illness is terminal. There’s no cure. I’d know if there was.”

  “If someone offered you a guaranteed cure for your sister’s disease, you’d take it and pay any price.”

  Honor tilted her chin and stared at Clarice. “I would. But I haven’t sold any secrets about this company. And I haven’t been offered a cure for any illness.”

  “This report suggests otherwise.” Clarice gestured to her screen. “Several large amounts of credits have been paid into your personal account.”

  Honor blinked several times. “Which is meaningless. If I’d been bribed to sell company secrets in return for my sister’s cure, there wouldn’t be any credits involved. The cure would be the payment.”

  “Perhaps they were bonuses,” said Clarice.

  Panic surged up Honor’s throat. “This is crazy. You can check for yourself. Isla’s still in the hospice. She’s been there for months. If there is a cure, she hasn’t taken it. And I haven’t sold anything to make sure she gets it.”

  “But you have just admitted you would.”

  “I was being hypothetical!” Honor’s eyes widened as she stared at Clarice. Was she being set up?

  Clarice raised a hand. “Your time at this company is over. I have evidence proving you’ve been disloyal. You have taken credits and removed private information from the company’s database.”

  “I’ve done none of that,” said Honor. “And haven’t had any deposits of credits.”

  “This proves otherwise.” Clarice swivelled her screen to face Honor. It showed her full bank details, including three huge deposits of credits.

  “I know nothing about those.” Honor scowled at the screen. “And how have you been able to get access to my personal bank account?”

  “That’s not relevant. What is important, is why has a competitor just released a report on a breakthrough to cure the common cold?”

  “Because we’re all researching that,” said Honor, still stunned by what Clarice had just shown her. “It will make trillions of credits for anyone who cracks it.”

  “You’ve been working on that for us.”

  “I’m not the only one in the company working on it.” Honor found the research into curing colds dull and always handed it off to others. Had someone sold out and was trying to frame her?

  “You are the one with the most to gain from selling our secrets,” said Clarice. “And your history shows you cannot be relied upon.”

  “I’ve been nothing but honest and loyal since joining this company.”

  “What about your younger days?” Clarice smirked. “You were an activist. Protesting over nuclear power stations and participating in marches when a fracking site was proposed in your hometown.”

  “I was a teenager,” said Honor. “We all do stupid, crazy things when we’re kids. Are you going to tell me you didn’t get a nose piercing and dye your hair purple during your rebellious youth phase?”

  “I most certainly did not.” Clarice�
�s face remained impassive. “Your rebellious streak has continued into adulthood. You don’t respect the authority in this company, which has led to this unfortunate event. I will not tolerate the selling of company secrets. Not when it will lose us a significant amount of credits.”

  “I didn’t sell any secrets,” said Honor. “Try to blame me as much as you like, but I didn’t do it.”

  Clarice glared at Honor. “The damage is done. The information has been leaked, and I must make sure it never happens again.” She pressed a button on her desk.

  “What are you doing?” Honor took a step backward toward the door.

  “Ensuring you go to prison.” Clarice tapped a nail on her desktop. “I know a circuit judge who might be interested in pushing for the death penalty in this instance.”

  “The death penalty! But I’m innocent.”

  “I will make an example of you. No one else will sell company secrets again.”

  Honor licked her lips, her gaze shooting to the door. “You’re making a mistake.”

  “The only mistake I made, was trusting you with important company information.” Clarice’s gaze shifted over Honor’s shoulder. “And now you will pay for that.”

  Honor turned as the office door opened, and two tall, well-built security guards entered, guns at their hips, and their sharp gazes on Honor.

  The urge to run was almost overwhelming, but she shouldn’t have to; she was innocent. And she’d prove it. Honor pulled back her shoulders and glared at Clarice.

  “Take Miss Davenport to the holding room,” said Clarice. “I will involve the State council in this and brief them on the situation before they take her.”

  “Tell them your lies, you mean,” spat Honor.

  Clarice spread her hands and shook her head. “You deserve this.”

  A guard placed a hand on Honor’s arm and she shook him off. “I know the way.”

  “Make sure she gets there,” said Clarice. “This woman is a criminal.”