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

by Arcadia Shield

  “We have to go,” said Kade. “Our chase through the streets will have been picked up by a drone and the militia will have been mobilized.” He walked toward the guard and his toppled bike. “We’ll take his ride. It will attract less attention if we look like a State patrol. I will have someone to drive my bike back if the State don’t take it before we can get it.”

  “What about the bike’s tracking device?” Honor peered at the fallen bike.

  Kade ducked down and knocked a panel from the side of the bike, yanked out a tiny piece of circuitry, and stamped it under his boot. “We’ll be invisible to them.”

  He took the gun from Honor, yanked the helmet off the dead guard and placed it on her head.

  “I don’t need this.”

  “They won’t know who you are if you wear it,” said Kade. “Might protect your identity.”

  “I’m already a criminal,” said Honor.

  Kade tilted his head to one side, a curious look on his face, before swinging his leg over the bike. He tried to start it, but winced and held his right arm to his chest.

  Honor touched Kade’s arm, hating seeing him in pain. “Let me ride.”

  “You know how?”

  “I had a Harley during my wild years.”

  Kade’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re joking?”

  She grinned as Kade shuffled into the pillion position. “I can ride.”

  She slid onto the bike and started it, the hydrogen engine rumbling quietly beneath her. “You tell me where to go, and I’ll get us there.”

  Kade’s arm wrapped around her waist, as she pulled out of the underground parking lot. Honor’s heart thudded in her chest. She expected to see dozens more militia in hot pursuit. But the streets were empty, and she followed Kade’s directions for ten miles, not seeing another vehicle or person.

  Kade tapped her right shoulder and gestured for her to turn into a narrow alleyway.

  She slowed the bike and glanced over her shoulder, giving him a quizzical look. “This is a dead end.”

  Kade smiled and pointed down the alleyway. “It’s bigger than it looks.”

  She drifted the bike along the alleyway, skirting piles of trash as she did so.

  Kade tapped her shoulder again. “We’re here.”

  He slid off the bike and Honor followed, pulling off the helmet and looking around. “And where is here?”

  Kade closed the gap between them and leaned down to her ear. “I’m trusting you by taking you inside. Am I being an idiot for doing so?”

  Honor stared into Kade’s gorgeous green eyes, the edges pinched with pain. “You can trust me. Besides, I owe you one. You saved my life.”

  Kade nodded, his expression stern. “Remember that. What I’m about to show you is only known about by a few. And I’ll have a lot of explaining to do by bringing you into the base.”

  “The base?” Honor looked around the grimy alleyway. “Don’t tell me we’re camping out here?”

  “No. I’ve got somewhere much more interesting to show you.” Kade turned to the brick wall, shoving aside a metal trash container with his foot. He slid to the ground and lifted a grate before pushing his hand inside an opening.

  Honor shot another look around the alleyway. What was he doing?

  The grinding sound of bricks rubbing together made her jump, and she looked up to see a space appear in the wall in front of her. Her mouth fell open, and she stared at Kade.

  He grinned like a schoolboy. “This way.” With his undamaged arm, he pushed the bike through the opening, and led the way down a long slope.

  She followed him in silence as they walked through the opening in the wall and into a narrow corridor. The wall slid back into place, and Honor turned to see the bricks were attached to a metal door. Dim lighting flared to life as they walked along the corridor, and the ground continued to slope downward. Dark tunnels led off in different directions, and Kade paused as he parked the bike in one of them.

  Kade raised his hand, and Honor saw he was gesturing at a camera recessed in the wall.

  “We have guards at most entrances and exits, but use cameras as well,” said Kade. “There’ll be someone in our comms rooms checking us out, making sure we’re expected.”

  Eventually, they came to an incredibly long set of steel stairs, pitching even farther downward. When they reached the bottom, confusion swam even more thickly in Honor’s brain. A dozen questions slid through her mind and she had no clue which one to pick first.

  “Where the hell have you been?” A tall, dark-haired guy with narrowed eyes strode toward Kade. His fists were clenched, and Honor saw the muscles in his jaw tensing. She took a step back and felt Kade’s fingers on her arm.

  Kade held up a hand. “I had an emergency.”

  “You left the bunker without clearance.”

  “No choice.” Kade gestured Honor forward. “This is my friend, Honor Davenport. Honor, this is my brother, Heath Ember.”

  Heath shot a glare at Honor. “Don’t care who she is. You don’t bring people here who haven’t been screened.”

  “You didn’t screen Annie when you brought her here.” Kade’s tone was sharp.

  Heath’s eyes narrowed even farther. “That was different.”

  “Because she’s your girl.”

  “Wait!” Honor stepped in between the two men. “Don’t have a clue what’s going on here, but this is my fault. I asked Kade for help, and he came to get me out. I’m not here to cause any problems. I can leave if you want me to.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” said Kade. “Heath, she’s in trouble. The State arrested her.”

  Heath let out a rather beleaguered-sounding sigh and took a step back. His gaze ran over Honor. “You really need help?”

  Honor glanced at Heath, cataloguing the similarity between the two men; Kade was leaner and had more stubble. “I do.”

  “I wouldn’t bring just anybody down here,” said Kade.

  “Let’s see what trouble you’re in.” Heath raised his wrist comm. “Lincoln, search for an Honor Davenport. See if there’s anything on her we should be worried about.”

  Honor bristled at the suggestion she would cause problems for Kade and his angry-looking brother.

  “On it,” came back a male voice.

  She pressed against the irritation she felt. “I can leave. That will be easier than you wasting your time doing background checks on me.”

  “It’s safer here,” said Kade. “Stay.”

  “For now, you can stay. This way,” said Heath.

  “Don’t mind Heath,” muttered Kade in her ear. “He’s got a protective streak in him. Likes to keep us all safe.”

  “I understand.” She understood the desire to protect loved ones. She was the same with her sick sister.

  “You tired?” asked Kade as he walked beside her, his hand brushing hers.

  “No,” said Honor, even though she hadn’t slept for almost a day. “I would like to know what the hell is going on, though.”

  Heath shot a sharp grin at Kade over his shoulder. “Welcome to our bunker.”

  “Bunker?” Honor followed Heath, as he led the way along a gray corridor and into what looked like a small canteen. It was almost empty, apart from two other dark-haired guys, both similar in appearance to Heath and Kade. Honor suddenly remembered Kade telling her about his brothers. She couldn’t remember how many there were, but she was sure she’d just seen two more.

  The two guys looked up and gestured them over.

  Honor slowed and looked around. “What do you do in this bunker?”

  Kade placed his hand on the small of her back and a tingle of pleasure shot through her. “We save the world.”

  Chapter 6

  Kade had taken a huge risk bringing Honor to the base and had told her as little as possible so she wouldn’t freak out. He should get his laser injury looked at, but it wasn’t a life threatening wound, and he found he didn’t want to leave Honor’s side. She was here, sipping coffee and ch
atting with Heath, Tobias, and Arlo, who all kept sliding him curious glances. He wouldn’t be able to hide the truth from Honor for long, and the thought set his nerves on edge.

  Heath suddenly tapped the comms device on his wrist and scrolled through the incoming message. He jumped up and flicked on the screen in the middle of the canteen before sitting back down. “You’re going to want to see this.”

  A State-approved news report filled the screen, containing an image of Kade and Honor.

  Kade heard Honor gasp and reached out his hand to grasp for hers.

  An APB has been issued for Honor Davenport, a disgraced former employee of Intergen. Her association with the criminal Kade Ember, part of a malicious and unstable faction working to bring down the State, was uncovered during an internal investigation. She is considered armed and dangerous, and should not be approached. If anyone has information about the whereabouts of either criminal, they are advised to contact their local militia.

  Kade gritted his teeth as he saw how pale Honor had gone. He tightened his grip on her hand, but she pulled it away.

  “Is this for real?” Honor’s words came out shaky. “They were trying to frame me for selling company secrets, but now I’m a wanted criminal?”

  “That’s my fault,” said Kade. “It’s because I helped you.”

  “The State hates us,” said Arlo, as he leaned back in his seat.

  “You’re all working against the State?” Honor’s gaze shot around the group.

  Heath shook his head. “We fight to put right everything the State have altered.”

  “But the only changes they’ve made are good ones,” said Honor. “I’ll admit, I was peeved about the curfew at first, it meant I had to get passes to stay on late at the office. But everything else works well.”

  Tobias snorted, his green eyes narrowing. “The State are the criminals.”

  Kade raised a hand, stopping his brother before he launched into one of his tirades about the injustice of the State. “You said something about being set up by your company?”

  Honor’s gaze returned to the TV screen, where her image filled it. “That’s right. I had to stay behind after work because my boss wanted to talk to me. With her, you know that’s never going to be good. She accused me of selling company secrets to a rival. I was waiting to be questioned, when this strange guy arrived and started asking me about my research papers. Kept talking about the comment I wrote about alien and dragon DNA.”

  Heath leaned forward in his seat. “You believe in dragons?”

  Honor laughed. “No! I wish I hadn’t put it in the paper. I’ve been researching quirks in DNA sequences we’ve discovered, and I made a comment that it could be an alien or dragon DNA compound, with the caveat that dragons weren’t real.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I have theories about alien DNA, but few people want to hear them.”

  Kade ran his hand through his hair. “That’s what did it. Mention the word dragon, and you go on the State’s hit list. That’s why they’re interested in you. They won’t care if you sold company secrets, but they need you out of the public eye, in case you talk about dragons to the wrong people.”

  “I didn’t sell company secrets.” Honor glared at Kade. “And I have no interest in mythical creatures. You know the sort of work I do.”

  “What was your research?” asked Heath. “What did the DNA reveal?”

  Kade got to his feet. He didn’t want Honor overwhelmed by everything, and could see Heath was dying to ask more questions. “We can talk about that later. Let me show Honor around and find her somewhere to rest.”

  Honor stared at the image on the news report before standing. “I should leave. I could go to the militia and explain everything.”

  “Worst idea ever,” said Arlo. “You’ve crossed a line now and the State won’t forget that. Even if you prove you have nothing to do with those company secrets getting out, the fact you used the word dragon in a report has red-flagged you. And even if they let you go back to work, you’d be under intense scrutiny. One false move and that would be it for you.” He pointed two fingers to his head and mimed being shot.

  “Arlo is right,” said Kade. “The State will want to silence you now.”

  “Wait... you mean I’m stuck here?” Honor looked around, her chin wobbling.

  “For now,” said Kade.

  “And it’s not so bad,” said Tobias. “Sometimes the water in the showers is even warm.”

  “And, most days, the food is edible,” said Arlo.

  “Knock it off, you two,” said Heath, his expression hardening as his gaze settled on Kade. “We need to talk. But get your laser burn treated before we do.”

  Letting out a sigh, Kade knew Heath would reprimand him for going off base and putting their entire operation at risk. He’d been an idiot, but was glad he’d done it and that Honor was now safe. He’d do it again without hesitation.

  Kade led Honor out of the room and along the corridor to the sleeping quarters. The underground bunker housed three hundred people, with the capacity for almost double that. Everyone who worked in the bunker believed in dragons and was fighting to get them back.

  They passed the communications room and the medical center and then entered the personal quarters without Honor saying a word. Kade glanced at her now and again and saw her staring at everything, wide-eyed, and taking it all in. He hoped she wasn’t in shock. She’d escaped from the guards, killed another, and then fled through the night. He’d just turned her into a wanted woman, and she would be right to resent him.

  Kade unlocked the door to one of the empty rooms and stepped aside to let Honor in. He watched as she looked around the sparse room with its single bed, tiny wardrobe, and basin in one corner. She’d be used to better than this.

  “You sure I can have this?” Honor looked over to where Kade stood by the door.

  “It’s all yours,” said Kade. “For as long as you need.”

  “You think I should stay here?”

  “Until we figure out something better,” said Kade. “With your picture plastered all over every newscast, you’ll be the latest topic of conversation. People don’t hesitate in turning in people they believe are criminals. There’s always a reward and credits are everything.”

  Honor sighed as she sank onto the bed. “It didn’t used to be about pleasure and profit.”

  Kade scrubbed a hand across his chin. “You remember a time before the State?” He walked into the room and the door slid shut behind him.

  Honor patted the space next to her on the bed. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  Kade sat next to Honor, and she leaned against his arm, sending a rush of warmth through his body. “You remember the monarchy?”

  Honor’s dark eyes glazed. Kade had seen that look so many times. The hypnotic suggestion used by the State were strong and dominated any attempt to remember what had gone on before they arrived.

  “I’ve been to a museum with information about the monarchy,” said Honor. “I don’t remember much about it, though. Guess it wasn’t all that interesting.”

  “Why would there be things in a museum if the monarchy only vanished a year ago?” Kade needed to tread carefully when probing Honor’s memories. People had experienced psychotic episodes when pushed too hard.

  “Only a year?” Honor shook her head and gave him a skeptical look. “You must be getting things mixed up.”

  “I’m not.” Kade wanted to argue, but there was no point. He’d help Honor remember if she wanted to. “You mentioned earlier your research papers focused on variants in DNA?”

  Honor’s gaze snapped into focus and her eyes lit up. “That’s right. Do you remember I worked on automatic DNA coding improvements? Similar to the beta test we did on the computational anomalies on DNA matrix markers.”

  Kade had to smile. Here was a woman who spoke his language. “I do. Your research showed something unusual?”

  “Yes. It was so unusual I ran the tests five times,” said Honor. “
And I got someone else to run the same tests. Couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The DNA markers suggested the test subjects weren’t human.”

  “Which is why you thought they were alien?”

  “Or I was making an error,” said Honor. “But the data wasn’t lying. I kept trying to disprove my test results, use different methods, had independent experts come in and verify the results. Every time it proved positive. I’d found individuals who had DNA variants, meaning they couldn’t be human.”

  “Which is when the State got interested,” said Kade. “You were a threat to them, because you could have revealed their lies.”

  “But I wasn’t revealing any lie,” said Honor. “The data doesn’t lie.”

  “It does, if you work for the State.”

  Honor plucked at a blanket on the bed. “That’s why this happened? They’re trying to keep me quiet?”

  “I think so.”

  “Who would I even talk to about this? I was going through the proper channels, publishing my findings, and asking for more input. I wanted someone to show me I was getting things wrong.”

  “The State were idiots for putting someone so smart on this project. They must have known the risk of you finding the abnormal DNA and wanting to discover what it was.”

  “But what’s the point of keeping this a secret?”

  “It would have kept you safe,” said Kade. “You could have carried on working at Intergen.”

  “That’s not such a loss. I wasn’t planning on staying there much longer,” said Honor. “My boss was making life unbearable. She was the one who accused me of selling company secrets. Accused me of accepting credits and a cure for Isla’s illness.”

  “Isla’s doing okay?” Kade had often heard Honor talk about her sister. She adored her, even though she complained about how hard Isla was on her, making her take extra courses and dragging her to self-defense classes when she was well enough.

  “She has a good day now and again.” Honor’s voice lowered. “I keep on top of the latest research, hoping I’ll find something to help her, but nothing new has turned up for years. State funding is directed toward other illnesses that they deem to be more important.”