DarkRevenge

by Jennifer Leeland

  “Hmmm.”

  She wanted to ignore it too, but… “Tory, honey, I think it’s the com.”

  “Slave driver,” he muttered and brushed her lips. And brushed them again. And plundered them thoroughly. She giggled. He sighed.

  They both moaned in protest as he slid away from her. He slapped the button of the com. “Ingle.”

  “Commander, we have an incoming message,” Dink said. Alex sat up. She didn’t like the tone of the Dink’s voice.

  “On my way.”

  “Commander Zeerah should see it too.”

  “Got it.” He signed off and stared at her. “Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.”

  “I feel like I could face anything,” she said and found some fresh clothes. “Let’s go.”

  Tory dressed and ran a hand over his face. Together, they strode toward the elevator, silent, comfortable.

  The bridge members all stood when they came on deck. Not one of them cracked a smile even though she was sure they all knew what she and Tory had been up to. Jezar seemed almost murderous. What the hell was going on?

  Tory’s lips tightened. “Play it, Dink.”

  “Yes sir.” Dink twisted some knobs and the picture came in.

  All the warmth Alex had been feeling, all the safety and comfort, disappeared.

  On the screen, her sister, naked and bloody, was trussed up, her red hair damp and limp in front of her face. Her wrists had thin lines of blood dripping down her arms and her body was marked and bruised.

  Pontoon appeared. His black beard was trim and neat in a horrific contrast to the woman behind him. His dark skin, smooth and oily, shone beneath the harsh florescent light in the dungeon. “Darius Stender has stepped down from the throne of Teran One. I do not negotiate with criminals. Since Commander Alexandra Zeerah has provided secret Teran One weaponry to our enemies and mated with a traitor, her family is forfeit if we do not have the level-four containment box and its contents within forty-eight hours.” Pontoon’s black eyes gazed out and seemed to look right through her. “All Teran One fighters have been ordered to shoot down The Pinnacle on sight.” He walked over to Celeste and yanked her head back by the hair. “Celeste will die in two days if our property is not returned.”

  The transmission ended.

  Alex realized she hadn’t been breathing. She gulped for air. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen brutality like this. It was just the first time she’d seen her own government practice it.

  Tory’s hand twined around hers, holding it tight, reassuring her. “How was the transmission sent?”

  “Narrow band. Private.”

  Tory nodded. “Release it. Send it to the Teran System satellite. Let the whole system see what Teran One justice looks like.”

  “No!” She blurted the word.

  “We can’t give him the box back,” he explained.

  “He’ll kill her,” Alex shouted, panic bubbling underneath her skin. She began to shake. “Please, Tory,” she said in a pathetic whisper. “She’s only seventeen.”

  Her mate met her gaze as a twinge of hurt shot through his eyes. “Celeste isn’t going to die, Alex. You’ll have to trust me.” He took a deep breath. “Do it, Dink.”

  Without another word, she strode back into the elevator. He didn’t stop her. She couldn’t look at him. As the doors closed, she stared at console inside the elevator and the red button that said STOP!

  * * * * *

  The silence on the bridge spoke volumes to Tory. Dink kept his gaze on the console. Pulzer was suddenly busy with one of the screens. Only Jezar met his glance and his face had an expression of pity that made Tory feel worse. Damn it. Why didn’t she trust him? Didn’t she know him well enough to see he’d never let them kill her sister? What kind of a monster did she think he was? And after everything… He stopped those thoughts.

  She thinks you’ll sacrifice her sister to get revenge. Jezar‘s statement only confirmed what Tory already believed.

  Tory fumed, his teeth grinding together. His revenge. She was more obsessed with it than he had ever been. All he wanted was to prove his innocence and win his mate. Done and done. What happened on Teran One didn’t matter to him at all except for one thing. Alex loved Teran One. She always had. He accepted that part of her and planned accordingly. Why else would he try to stop a fucking civil war? He had immediately taken steps to protect her and her family after he had discovered her covert mission.

  If she won’t trust me, there isn’t a fucking thing I can do. A bleak and desolate emptiness swept through him. Without trust, their love wouldn’t survive. Great sex. Maybe that was all they’d ever had. He rolled his shoulders. Well, it was more than many men could hope for.

  Would you like to know—?

  No! He took a deep breath and let it out. “Pulzer, you’re in charge.”

  “Do you want me to send the message?” Dink still didn’t look at him. Tory stared at him and then at his second. Even Bud was staring at the blips on the radar rather than meeting his gaze. Didn’t anybody trust him?

  Explain to them why you are doing it.

  You know why I can’t.

  They’ll know you had inside information.

  They’ll know I never had any intention of negotiating and they’ll figure out the box isn’t here.

  “Hold it for now. I’ll let you know when to send it.” He turned his back. After five years, he’d thought his men would trust him, stand by him. They knew how he operated. Instead, even they doubted him.

  “Commander,” Dink called after him just as he entered the elevator. “It’s just we don’t hold to letting a kid get killed.”

  Tory’s lips tightened. “I know that. What pisses me off is that you believe I would.” He snapped the doors shut.

  The trip down was unpleasant as he replayed every bitter minute since he’d forced Alex into the Saria contract and concluded that she had said only that she loved him. She hadn’t said she trusted him. It galled him that the only way to convince her was to assure her that Celeste was never in danger of losing her life.

  Did everyone think he was stupid? The first thing he had done when he obtained the information about Alex’s shuttle was make sure Celeste would be safe.

  That woman on the vid screen wasn’t Alex’s sister. But even his own mate believed he’d send out a video of Celeste naked and risk the woman’s life to do it. It was clear Pontoon was desperate enough to kill anyone in an attempt to regain his power. And if Alex’s family was targeted by a powerful bloodline, then Pontoon would go along in hopes of obtaining political favor.

  Tory had been well aware that Celeste would be targeted as a bargaining chip and he’d hidden her with his underground contacts the minute he’d gotten word about Alex’s mission. In the time it took to stroll down the corridor, each thought pissed him off more. Bad enough his men who fought with him, faced danger after danger with him, doubted him.

  But Alex?

  Well, why not?

  He slapped the door open and stepped in the room preparing to fight it out with Alex.

  And found an empty room.

  His guts dropped into his boots, his blood frozen under his suddenly clammy skin. He pressed a button on his console. “Locate Commander Alex Zeerah.” He knew the answer. But he hoped he was wrong.

  “Commander Zeerah is on Shuttle One, five klicks off the port side.”

  “God damn it!” He slammed another button. “Dink, get her on the line.”

  “Who do you—”

  “Don’t give me that shit. She couldn’t have left without your approval. She’s not that stupid. Get her on the fucking line.”

  “Yes, Commander.” Then, “She’s on the line.”

  “Alex? Get your ass back on this ship.” Okay, not the smartest way to deal with this. He was going to lose her. He couldn’t lose her.

  The speaker crackled and Alex’s voice sounded on the line. “I’m sorry, Tory. I have to leave.”

  After ever
ything, after they’d bridged, after all they’d been through and she still didn’t trust him, or even talk to him, before she went on a suicidal rescue mission. For a moment, he contemplated just letting her go. If he told her the truth, she wouldn’t believe it.

  You’re wrong. She’s confused and frightened. Let me bring her in. Jezar could do it. But time was running short.

  Fine. When she’s back on the ship, put her in one of the extra rooms. He didn’t want her in his quarters. If all she wanted to give him was her body, he wasn’t interested.

  That would be a mistake.

  Tory sighed. Jezar was right. Her actions already screamed that she didn’t view her mate as trustworthy. If he put her in a different room, it would confirm to the others that the mating was in jeopardy and that he rejected her, wouldn’t protect her. For him? No big deal. For a Teran One commander who had chased down several of his crew? Possibly deadly. You’re right. I’ll just take the night shift. Pulzer could use a break.

  In two minutes, Jezar had manipulated the shuttle back into the bay. Tory sent two of his men to lock her in his quarters.

  Then, he addressed his crew. Except for Jezar. The Ardasian could placate Alex.

  He strode onto his bridge. His eye twitched slightly. “Bridge recording off.”

  This was a signal. The whole ship was wired and they knew it. Tory didn’t tolerate any bullshit from his crew. The surveillance was necessary. But now, he indicated they could speak freely, no consequences. “If you’re going to take over this ship, now is the time,” he spat the words. They’d betrayed him, gone behind his back to disobey him. On a military bucket, they’d be jettisoned out in space. On Teran Four they’d be sent to the grack mines.

  Dink wouldn’t meet his gaze. Bud shuffled his boots. Pulzer cleared his throat. His second spoke up. “We’ve all lost friends and family to the Teran One dungeons.”

  “Really?” Tory’s glare included them all. “Do you think I haven’t? Don’t you think I’d know when I’m being played by a politician?”

  Dink shot him an angry stare. “What do you think? Teran One doesn’t even admit they have dungeons.”

  “So if I told you that those weren’t Teran One dungeons, that it was a pleasure room in the palace, you wouldn’t be able to say I was lying, would you?”

  Silence.

  “How about if I told you there is no way that woman on the screen could be Celeste Zeerah?”

  “Alex thought it was,” Bud said sullenly.

  “Alex saw a woman with red hair over her face, naked and bruised. She didn’t wait to see if it was her sister.” He gritted his teeth. “I can understand her part in this. But you?” He glanced at each of them in turn. “You know me. You know how I operate.”

  “She’s underground,” Pulzer breathed out.

  “Yes, she is, you fucking idiot. And now, if she is captured, I’ll know one of you is in the pay of the new Teran One regime.”

  Dink jumped to his feet, his wiry body trembling, his fists clenched. “How could you believe that?”

  “You didn’t trust me. I see no reason to trust you.” He laid his hand on his laser pistol. “Like I said, if you want to take over, now is the time.”

  “Dink,” Pulzer said quietly.

  Dink’s eyes opened and closed a few times. Then, he seemed to wake up and he ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, Tory. I’m sorry.”

  Pulzer stepped in front of him. “We were wrong, Commander.”

  Tory kept his hand resting on his pistol. “And you, Bud?”

  The big man unfolded from his chair and stood. His blue eyes were hooded and his features flat. “I lost my father, my mother and my sister to Teran Four torture chambers,” he said.

  Tory was careful to keep any expression from his face. It was the most personal comment the man had ever made. “So, you justify letting Alex go to her death because of the torture of your family.”

  His chin shot out. “It’s what I would have done. I would have gone after them, whatever the sacrifice. I would have—” Bud snapped his mouth shut and his gaze swerved to the console, his shoulders rigid. Whatever had happened in the man’s past, it still haunted him.

  Tory relaxed. He believed it. None of these men wanted Alex dead. They all wanted her to save Celeste. “Bridge recording resume.”

  He gazed at these men. Jezar knew which of them wasn’t loyal. But Tory couldn’t spend his life asking an Ardasian to read his men. That was his job. Of course, he wasn’t willing to bet the fate of planets on his gut. After all, he’d been wrong before. He had to trust Jezar to step in before it got dangerous. “Unless you bring it up, I won’t discuss this again.”

  “Yes, Commander,” they all said in unison. Dink opened his mouth to say more, but shut it.

  “Pulzer, I’m taking the night shift. Go get some R&R.”

  The other men went back to work and Tory sprawled in his command chair. It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “So, now I’m his prisoner.” Alex paced Tory’s quarters.

  Jezar’s green eyes followed her and he rested his fingers on the table. He’d brought out a deck of Fist cards and began to deal them out for a two-handed game. Was he insane? Play Fist? Now? Her sister was about to be killed, her mate was pissed at her and this Ardasian wanted her to play Fist?

  “He thinks you don’t trust him.” Jezar picked up his cards and began to arrange them.

  She threw her hands up. “Celeste is going to die!” As her sister, Alex should be there. It was her fault Celeste was being tortured and beaten. How could Alex sit here, safe and sound with her mate, while her sister was being hung on a rack?

  “Are you sure of that?” Jezar kept his gaze on his cards.

  She froze and stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you should consider what your mind has been trying to tell you but you’ve been ignoring.” The color of his eyes deepened to a forest green, a rare signal of the Ardansian’s strange power. “Why do you want to get away from Tory?”

  Her heart clenched. Was that why she’d run to save her sister? It wasn’t like she hadn’t realized it was a pointless exercise in futility. She did. “I don’t know.”

  “Shall I tell you?” Jezar kept his gaze locked with hers.

  “I’m afraid you will.” And an icy finger of fear shot through her. Did she want to know?

  “Sit down, Alex.”

  She took a deep breath and sat down. Her nervous fingers picked through the cards and automatically arranged them highest to lowest.

  “Ardasians have a difficult time sifting through human lies. You see, all of you lie to yourselves as much as you lie to others.” He laid down a card to begin play. She tried to focus on the game and his words. She drew a card and laid down her play. He went on. “For example, Tory tells himself that if you loved him, you would trust him. Deep down, he knows this isn’t true. He realizes that you are mired in guilt and fear. Your love for him is almost drowning in those feelings.”

  She thought about Tory’s description of the solid rock surrounded by a turbulent sea of water. Not unlike the tangles surrounding the straight strand she found. She nodded.

  Jezar played another card and waited until Alex played to continue. “Deep down, you don’t believe you should be happy.”

  Her hand froze, hovering over the deck of cards. “What?”

  “Your family is dead. Your planet is on the verge of war. Yet you have a profound sense of joy in your mating with Tory. That adds to your guilt. This is why I think you chose a suicidal rescue instead of trusting your mate.”

  She drew a card and played, but her mind spun. Should she have trusted Tory rather than running away? She’d always handled everything alone. Tory offered her a chance to work with someone else, someone as good at handling shit as she was.

  “He hates me,” she said and her chest hurt to say it out loud. She’d known when Tory hadn’t been there to rip her a new asshole as she reboarded th
e ship. She’d known he despised her when he wasn’t here in his quarters but sent Jezar to play Fist with her. Tears clogged her throat.

  “He cannot hate you.” Jezar spoke softly and laid his cards down. “Fist.”

  “You win,” she said and tossed in her hand. It occurred to her that she meant more than just the game. “What am I going to do, Jezar?” Her sister was still in the hands of Pontoon Gregor.

  “Think, Alex,” Jezar leaned forward and touched her hand. “Do you really believe Tory would allow Celeste to go unprotected? Especially when he believed someone tried to kill you?”

  She blinked. She replayed the vid. What had she seen? A woman, naked, beaten with long reddish hair hanging over her face. Had it been Celeste? She’d been so sure it was. “I don’t understand.”

  “Tory has hidden Celeste in his underground network on Teran One.” Jezar glanced at her and back to his cards. “He knew if you were threatened, so was she. There was no intention to allow the Zeerah line to continue.”

  A cold hand gripped Alex’s heart. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean Tory was barely in time. His contact barely got Celeste out alive. Pontoon Gregor believes your sister is dead.” He shuffled the cards. “The purpose of the vid was to do just what it did. You were supposed to come after her and die. That’s Gregor’s goal.” He dealt the cards and arranged his hand.

  “And if you hadn’t stopped me—”

  “Tory would have gone after you and died as well. Two bloodlines with the plague-resistant gene eliminated.” Jezar laid down his first card. “You and Tory are too important to the future.”

  “We are?” She stared at him. The memory of the Judge of Light’s words came back to her. She had to trust her mate.

  He nodded. “Your sister is as well. She is safe. Though I suspect Tory has informed three of the crew she is underground on Teran One. Now it will be a race to see who gets to her first.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Jezar gazed at her for a moment as if he was deciding whether to tell her something. Then he said, “Because you tried to go after your sister and the crew allowed it, Tory was forced to tell them the truth about Celeste. One of them is a traitor.” His voice was calm and he played another card, as if they were discussing the weather.