“I am. All of my systems are functioning normally.”
“Okay, so what’re Douketis and his people doing here?” Iza asked. She watched as Jovani nodded to Viper.
“I called them in and told them I wanted to come back if they’d help me get you off the Arvonen One. They agreed, so they’re waiting for me.”
Out of nowhere, Viper threw her arms around Iza and squeezed.
“Ow, too tight,” Iza complained, wiggling against Viper’s artificial arm.
“Oh sorry, I just wanted to thank you for everything.”
“Don’t forget when you’re done with him, you can always come back here,” she offered.
Viper nodded as the tears filled her eyes. Iza dabbed at the tears coming to the corners of her own eyes. Then, in a strange twist, Viper went to her sister, and the two embraced each other. Cierra was murmuring something in her hair that the others couldn’t hear. Iza wondered if that was how it was sometimes. Even if you fought, family were the people you forgave. It made her think of Raquel. She’d thought her a potential sister once, but she’d never make the mistake of trusting her again.
“That explains the Iron Dog, but why is Desirae’s ship here? Isn’t she working with Mr. Arvonen?”
There was an uncomfortable shift as the others quieted.
“I’ll make sure we’re prepped and ready,” Braedon said, turning to leave.
“Let’s go get your things,” Cierra said to Viper, who was clutching her at the waist as they walked off together.
Trix didn’t offer an excuse as she followed the others out, leaving Jovani to answer the question. She turned to him and saw something in his eyes. Was it regret?
“She’s here for me,” Jovani said, raising his arms a bit before letting them fall to his sides. “I made a deal with her. She’d help us, and in exchange, she’d bring me in to the TSS.”
“Why would she agree to do that if she was working with Mr. Arvonen in the first place?” Iza asked.
“That was before she found out Arvonen wasn’t working with Karter’s mother but she was working for him. Desirae didn’t like the look of her part in things and made things right.”
“No way. She’s corrupt. What would it matter?”
“She may have done some favors, but she’s rigid when it comes to the law. When she learned about Arvonen kidnapping those scientists and their subsequent disappearances, she wanted to take him down. I’ve collected everything she needs to prove it.”
“Yes, but why is she still here?”
He swallowed hard and looked her in the eyes. “I’m a TSS Agent on active duty. I haven’t obeyed my direct orders for weeks. I’ve taken part in unauthorized criminal activity, and I’ve forsaken my primary mission to continue living here with you. By turning myself in, Desirae gets two wins instead of just the one.”
Iza reached for him, putting her head on his chest. She’d been angry for him keeping that truth from her for so long, but now, hearing it out loud after everything they’d been through together, she couldn’t care less about his deceit. Everything he’d done, he’d done for her.
After a few seconds of quiet embrace, he pulled back and searched her face.
“You already knew,” Jovani said, staring at her with confusion. “How long?”
“I found out before we met up with Viper the second time.”
“Karter told you.” He bared his teeth.
“No.”
“Trix?”
“Why would Trix— Did you tell her?”
Jovani waved a hand. “Who told you?”
“Cierra. She read Karter discreetly and told me, since she thought I might be in danger.”
“You’d never be in danger from me,” he said.
“I know.”
He sighed. “I had every intention of telling you the truth. Things got complicated once Karter came on board.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Karter had complicated everything. “What was your mission?”
Jovani shifted on his feet. “I’m supposed to be looking for general unrest in the outer colonies.”
“Like on Hubyria. That’s why you were so interested in Yeaga,” Iza realized.
“Yes.”
Iza stepped forward, needing to touch him now. She ran her hands down the front of his chest until he grasped her hands. He let his head drop until it rested against hers.
“So, you’re going back.” It wasn’t a question just a statement of fact.
“I have to. If I don’t, it might go worse for me. This way, they’ll revoke my status for real and send me back to Earth,” he whispered.
Iza tilted her head up and kissed him hard on the mouth. There was a long moment where he stared into her eyes before he spoke again.
“It’s going to tear me up to be away from you.”
Iza leaned in to him, pressing her lips to his.
“If there’s a way, I’ll come back to you,” Jovani said. “For now, I need to answer some questions, so don’t go anywhere near the TSS. They’re not looking for you at the moment, but that may change. I have to tell them everything, including what I saw today. You understand.”
Iza smiled. “Tell them. Maybe they can make sense of it. I sure can’t.”
“This is serious. I can’t promise they won’t come after you. It won’t be safe.”
“Tell them the truth. I don’t have any more information than you do. But regardless, we’ll keep a low profile just in case.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out the sphere. “Give them this.”
“Don’t you want to keep it?”
“No, it’s playing havoc with the ship and Trix. Take it with you and maybe they’ll go easy on you.”
“You’re the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met, Iza Sundari,” Jovani said. He ran his hands up and down her arms, staring at her face as if trying to remember every feature.
Braedon announced his return by clearing his throat. “We should go before the Tararian Guard find another bogus reason to arrest us.”
Iza turned back to Jovani. “Tell me something, what’s your real name?” she asked.
“It’s Joseph Anderson. Joe.”
“Joe,” she said, trying the name out on her tongue. She didn’t mind it.
“Everything else I told you was the truth, and I promise I’ll never keep anything from you again.” Joe pulled away.
Viper was back and headed for the shuttle with her bag in hand.
With everyone ready to go, Braedon stepped forward and extended his hand. Joe ignored it, pulling him in for a hug instead.
“Thanks for everything, and take care of them,” Joe said.
“I will. You know how resourceful I can be.”
Iza tried to laugh but her emotions got stuck in her throat. When they parted, Joe brushed his fingers along her jaw. “Viper will drop me off on the Guard ship, so I guess I’ll see you.”
Iza grabbed him by the front of the shirt and kissed him hard again. “That’s a promise.”
As she watched him walk away, a few tears escaped and she let them slide down on her face. Stars! I think I’ve fallen for him.
She watched the sleek shuttle clear the bay before she wiped her eyes and called up to the flight deck.
“Trix, set a course for Beurias. Gather everyone in the galley.”
“Aye, Captain.”
—
Iza sucked in a cleansing breath before she walked to the galley to meet the others. As she approached the doorway, she spotted Karter coming from his cabin.
She called out to him without stopping, “Oh, you’re still here?”
“I could say the same about you,” Karter replied with a raised eyebrow. “What’s with the bare foot? Are you trying out Cierra’s style?”
“I can’t wait to drop you off,” Iza said as she entered the galley.
Cierra and Braedon sat at the far end of the table with her head resting on his shoulder as he stroked her hair. Life without both Viper and Joe would be tough. After what Iza said next
, they might not want to stay on board themselves. She hadn’t realized it until now, but if they wanted to leave, Beurias was as good a place as any to find new accommodations.
Iza took the chair on the end and sat down. “Thanks for coming. I don’t want to repeat the story a million times, so let’s get it all over with,” Iza said. “You probably have a ton of questions, and I’m going to ask you to hold them until I’m done telling my story. It’s a lot to ask, but if I’m going to get through this, I need your patience.”
She told them everything she’d seen and heard from the moment she’d woken up on the Arvonen One. The sounds of screaming followed by being dragged out of a dark cell and into the lab of Mr. Arvonen. Seeing Elyse and Natanael and realizing they were being forced to work for Arvonen.
“We wanted to help you,” Natanael said breaking her rule by interrupting.
“We both did. We thought he was going to kill you,” Elyse added. “But then the Gate—”
“Don’t get ahead of me,” Iza said, raising a hand.
She continued the story, explaining how Mr. Arvonen and Raquel pushed her through the Gate.
“What was on the other side?” Elyse asked.
“It didn’t look extraordinary. It was a dry place, not unlike something you’d see in on a Taran world. I think I was in a large cavern, but it had weird railing things on the wall unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
“It’s amazing you could even breathe out there,” Braedon said.
“How did you feel in the foreign atmosphere?” Natanael asked.
“Yeah, good thing it was breathable or I might not have made it back. On top of that, I felt like I wasn’t alone. So I saw the Gate behind me, and from my side, I could see everything happening on the ship. The lab technicians Mr. Arvonen, and Jovani. I figured, after what happened to the other twelve subjects, they’d think I was dead, too. But I didn’t want to risk losing my way back, so I stepped back through.
Cierra spoke up. “You walked back through? Like it was a door?”
“Yes. The only difference was coming back was not as smooth is leaving. I came through, but it was like trying to pull myself through tar or molasses. These two had to pull me through,” she said, pointing to Elyse and Natanael. “That’s how I lost my shoe.” Iza lifted it in the air and wiggled her dirty toes. “Well, Jovani helped, too. Or maybe I should start calling him Joe.” She looked down, forcing back a wave of emotion at his absence.
“Yeah, when he made his deal with Investigator Hyttinen he told us,” Braedon said. “You had to be mad at first. I don’t know why he’d keep it from me, because I always figured we were friends.”
“Yeah, well, it seems we were the last to know,” she said giving Karter glare.
Braedon turned to Karter. “You knew he was still working for the TSS?”
Karter smiled, but he didn’t deny it. He only lifted one shoulder and let it drop.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Braedon asked.
“Because you can’t exactly blackmail someone with information you shared with someone else. It becomes less powerful that way,” Iza said with a wink. “Isn’t that right?”
“You’ve figured me out,” Karter said. “Are you sure you don’t want to marry me? I promise your life would be interesting.”
“Not a chance. Besides, from what I hear, you already have a devoted woman in your life. I’m going to make it my mission to get you two together.”
Karter raised his eyebrows but Iza wasn’t going to elaborate today; there was too much to discuss.
“Anyway, it did upset me at first,” she continued. “Then I remembered all the good that Joe did for this crew and this ship. He’s a good man, and he put his career with the TSS in jeopardy for us.”
“He did.” Braedon fell silent.
“So, what are we going to do now?” Cierra asked.
It surprised Iza that she’d been the one to ask the question. With her sister gone, she figured Cierra would be tired of living on board.
“Yeah, aren’t we going after Jovan—I mean Joe? We can’t just let him get shipped back to Earth,” Braedon said.
“Actually, that’s exactly what he asked us to do. I’m not inclined to leave him, but we can’t do anything until he leaves the TSS officially. So, for now, we head to Beurias as planned and drop off Karter. He has a location where Natanael and Elyse will be safe. Isn’t that right?” Iza asked with a look to Karter.
“Yes, I can arrange something for them,” he confirmed.
“Then we go and get Joe!” Braedon said with a fist pump in the air.
Iza cracked a smile. “Is this going into the comic?”
“Of course, it is.”
“Fine, then it’s settled. Any questions?” She passed her gaze around the faces at the table.
“Just one,” Braedon said, looking up with a smile, “what’s the dog’s name?”
Iza didn’t hesitate when she answered. “Atano.”
Cierra groaned.
Braedon laughed. “Guess, that means he’s staying. You might regret it.”
“Don’t I always?” Iza said.
When they all stood up and filed out, Iza held up a hand for Trix to wait. “I need to speak with you for a moment.”
“Yes, Captain?”
“You also knew about Joe and his real reasons for being on board.”
“Yes, I was aware of his current designation as a TSS Agent,” she said in her monotone voice.
“You didn’t consider it pertinent enough to tell me?”
“At the time, I approached Agent Anderson about his involvement with the TSS and his role on our ship. He assured me he only had good intentions for us as the crew and the ship. He had proven his allegiance to us, despite his former allegiance to the TSS. I did not see a conflict in that. However, not telling you sooner may have had something to do with my malfunctioning systems while the sphere was on board, though I have no way to confirm my hypothesis. Is it gone?”
“Yes, I gave it to Joe. He may need it more than me. Besides, it will be safer with the TSS than here.”
“You do not trust yourself?”
Iza thought for a moment. How can I trust myself when I barely know who I am anymore? “Do you think my aunt can be trusted?”
Trix tilted her head to one side, thinking before she answered. “I believe you should have listened to what she had to say. Perhaps she can tell you more about who you are than you can learn on your own.”
Iza raised her eyebrows. It was probably one of the most insightful things she’d ever heard from Trix. “Next time, I’ll have to bring you along. You can keep me from making things worse.”
Trix nodded. “I believe you are right. However, you are not out of danger.”
“What makes you say so?”
“It is in your blood.”
This is the end of Verity Chronicles Book 2
THE STORY CONTINUES IN ON THE RUN…
Get Book 3 now!
smarturl.it/veritybook3
Sometimes the past is best left buried.
Breaking the rules got Joe Anderson kicked out of the TSS and shipped back to his primitive home planet, Earth. Captain Iza Sundari is left on the Verity, struggling to keep the crew together.
When the environment of an outer colony planet begins mysteriously transforming, Iza and her crew are faced with a puzzle that only they can solve. Unfortunately, the mission soon puts them on the radar of the TSS—but Iza’s learned a thing or two about how to circumvent the law.
To avoid capture and find Joe, Iza will have to come to terms with her family history to save her future. If she fails, not only will Iza lose any hope of reuniting with Joe, but she’ll ignite a galactic war.
Get the next Verity Chronicles book now!
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***
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ALSO BY A.K. DUBOFF…
The Verity Chronicles are part of the broader Cadicle Universe, which includes epic space opera tales spread across thousands of years of history and lore. These stories center around the Taran Empire—the ancestors of humans—who are waiting for the day when the people of Earth will rejoin their forgotten brethren.
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The Original Cadicle Series
The seven-volume original series sets the stage for a political revolution which will change the Taran Empire forever.
"Exciting space adventure" - Publisher's Weekly
A secret war. An empire in crisis. One final hope for victory.
Wil Sietinen is torn between two worlds. As a High Dynasty heir and the Tararian Selective Service’s most promising telekinetic Agent trainee, Wil is expected to be nothing short of exceptional in every way—even though the weight of responsibility is slowly crushing him.
When Wil finds himself face-to-face with the Bakzen, a mysterious race skilled in advanced telekinesis, he’s forced to confront his destiny. His unique gifts can help end a secret war waging within a hidden dimensional rift, and time is running out.
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 27