No Remedy

by Christine d'Abo

  “You were blinded by Byron. You couldn’t see how amazing she was. How much she could have done for you if you’d only given her a chance. Byron was controlling you.”

  “Byron did nothing to me that I didn’t ask for. I . . . need Byron in my life.”

  “Is that why you ran from him?”

  The question had both men holding their breath. Mace barely held herself back from running to join them. Gods, they’d each been through so much, they deserved some happiness.

  Alec cleared his throat and looked at Byron. “I wanted to make amends. I wanted to be good enough for him.”

  Zran’s mouth twisted, and he spat out his words with renewed venom. “When she heard you’d disappeared, she thought you were coming to find her. She waited for you. And when you never showed up, that’s what drove her to end it. You’re a twisted, self-centered, murdering fuck who doesn’t deserve to live!”

  Zran re-aimed his blaster rifle, and time slowed for Mace. In her head she saw the inevitable fallout of the shot. Byron was ahead of Alec enough that he would take the brunt of the blast. But with a rifle at such close proximity, the laser would go clean through him and into Alec. They would both be dead before they hit the floor.

  She couldn’t let that happen. They loved each other—and she knew they cared for her. Without a further thought, she squeezed the trigger of her blaster. Alec and Byron crouched and rolled away from one another as her shot zipped between them. It sliced through the air and struck the middle of Zran’s chest. He staggered back from the force of the blast, openmouthed surprise on his face as his own shot went wild into the ceiling.

  Rising to her feet, she kept her blaster focused on Zran. “Hi there. I’m Mace.”

  Zran fell to his knees, his gaze locked on her. “What?”

  “I didn’t know your sister, so I can’t pretend to understand what she went through. I do know Alec and Byron. I’ve been lucky enough to become a part of their lives, even if I know it won’t be permanent. If Celia hadn’t been so selfish, she might have seen that they were meant to be together. Or maybe even realized there’s too much love out there to restrict it to two people. I’m sorry she never took the chance to be part of something bigger than herself. But I did, and even if those two fly away tomorrow without me, I’ll never regret the time I spent with them, or getting to share even a fraction of their love for each other.”

  Zran didn’t speak. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed onto the floor.

  Byron moved to his side and pressed his fingers against the pulse point in his neck. “He’s alive, but he won’t be for long if we don’t take care of this.”

  “Pardon me.”

  All three of them spun around to point their blasters at a man standing in the doorway. He cleared his throat and waved at them to lower their weapons. “My name is Strand. The Admiral indicated you might require assistance with Mr. Zran.”

  “He’ll just come after us again,” Alec muttered.

  “Not true, Mr. Roiten. The Admiral wanted me to assure you that you will no longer need to worry about your friend. He also wanted me to give both Mr. Byron and Mr. Roiten these.”

  The breath caught in Mace’s chest when she saw the two data chips Strand held out for her lovers to take. It couldn’t be.

  Byron turned the chip over in his hand before he held it up. “What’s this?”

  Strand smiled politely. “In the old days they were called letters of marque. It tells people you are both under the Admiral’s protection and have safe passage in any port in his sphere of influence. If anyone should be foolish enough to hunt you down, or worse, try to kill you, they would quickly find themselves in the Admiral’s bad graces.”

  Alec pocketed the chip. “Thank him for us. I only wish these also worked with Loyalists.”

  “You’d be surprised at the length of the Admiral’s reach.” Strand nodded toward Mace. “Ma’am, the Admiral also wanted me to inform you that if you ever wish to take up duty on his vessel, there will always be a vacancy.”

  Before she could answer, Alec and Byron each had an arm wrapped around her. She smiled grimly. “Please pass along my thanks to the Admiral, but I have a position already.”

  “I suggest we get back to the ship.” Byron pressed a kiss to her temple. “Alec still has work to do.”

  Strand stepped back to give them room. “Safe travels.”

  As they headed back toward the Belle Kurve, Mace swore she saw the Admiral out of the corner of her eye at the end of the corridor. Gods, she hoped they hadn’t made a mistake giving him the necklace.

  The trade was worth it, though. She had Alec and Byron both safe and protected now, wherever they decided to go.

  When they crossed the threshold back into the docking area, only Ricco stood waiting. The peace Mace had felt evaporated faster than condensation in the desert.

  “Faolan?” she asked.

  He reluctantly nodded. “You better come with me.”

  The leather of the seat was warm to the point of comfort, but it did little to soothe Alec as he waited for the latest round of test results to come through. The time they thought they had was slipping away faster than a ship through a dimension gate.

  Faolan wasn’t going to last much longer. He’d passed out again while Alec, Byron, and Mace were on the Wyvern, and he’d been unconscious more often than not ever since.

  Every day and night of Alec’s past two weeks had been consumed with either running tests or contemplating his relationships with Byron and Mace. Things had changed between them since their run-in with the Admiral and Zran, and he couldn’t quite figure out what had happened to make things go wrong.

  Or not wrong, but certainly not the way he wanted. It was all off.

  Mace’s little speech was now firmly lodged deep in the center of his brain. I’ve been lucky enough to become a part of their lives, even if I know it won’t be permanent. Why would she think they wouldn’t want her with them? Sure, he knew he could be withdrawn and moody. And Byron was an arrogant, controlling ass on the best of days. But when the three of them came together, all the pieces seemed to fit. He hadn’t realized how centered he’d felt lying in bed with them, a tangle of limbs and sweat-slicked skin, until he’d been without that contact again.

  Being without the two of them now? He couldn’t even imagine going back to a solitary life. Stifling a yawn, he rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand.

  Gods, he hadn’t seen his bed in seventy-two hours. And while he wasn’t interested in sex—he was too focused on getting Faolan healthy again—he did want to lie down and find a bit of peace for a while. No, there isn’t any time.

  The computer was only halfway through its analysis of the latest sample. He’d sent Mace to have a nap a few hours earlier, when she’d fallen asleep sitting up. It had taken Byron carrying her away to get her out of the lab, but he hoped the length of her absence meant she was actually sleeping. And a good thing, too; it was the middle of the night, ship’s time. Outside the lab’s open door, he didn’t hear a sound from the med bay other than the steady beep, beep, beep that indicated Faolan’s condition was stable.

  When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped, half falling out of his chair. “Byron?”

  His lover looked down at him, smiled, and gently squeezed his shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Shit.” He blinked, trying to focus. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “You’re in worse shape than Mace. Why don’t you have a rest? You can start again with fresh eyes.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Alec—”

  “Honestly. I need to wait for these results to come through. I hadn’t taken into account the impact of environmental factors from a few planets he’d been on. It may have caused any number of the cell mutations, and if I can figure out exactly what those factors are, then I can—”

  Byron held up his hands and backed away. “Enough, enough. I get it. The lab strat speak will put m
e into a coma.”

  Alec smiled. “Sorry.”

  Falling into the chair Mace normally took, Byron put his feet up and laced his hands behind his neck. “How about I keep you company instead? Then once your results are in, I’ll tuck you in to bed with Mace.”

  Mace. “How did she seem to you? When you put her to bed, I mean?”

  Byron lifted his eyebrows. “Tired.”

  “Beyond that. Does she seem, I don’t know, distant to you?” He could tell Byron wasn’t quite getting it. “Ever since Zran, it’s like she’s sad, pulling away from us. I think she’s under the impression that once I’ve cured Faolan we’re going to leave.”

  Byron didn’t respond right away. He shifted, letting his hands fall restlessly in his lap. The soft hum of the computers lulled Alec into a relaxed state he hadn’t achieved in days. He realized he was finally coming to grips not only with what he’d been a part of at the Loyalist facility, but with his feelings for the people who mattered most to him.

  Alec hadn’t a clue what Byron wanted now. He was still the head of the guild. A man with responsibilities—even if they were slightly unsavory—that he could take up again with little effort. For the first time since Alec had blasted off the research outpost and refused to look back, he knew he couldn’t be away from Byron any longer. What he didn’t know was whether Byron still wanted that.

  “When this is done,” he started slowly, “are you planning to go back to the guild?”

  “You sure you’ll be able to fix Faolan?”

  “No other option but to try.” His hands were damp, and he rubbed them against the tops of his thighs. “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “I hadn’t thought about it. Would it matter if I did?”

  Yes! “It would depend on if you still want to see me. I’m not sure about you, but I don’t think I’d exactly fit in with the bounty-hunter crowd.”

  Byron chuckled. “No. You’re too pretty.”

  “Fuck off.” He tried hard to ignore the pounding in his chest. “Seriously, Bry.”

  “Alec . . .” Byron sighed, closed his eyes, and tipped his head back. “If I had a reason to not go back to the guild, I would take it. It’s not like I wanted to be there originally. I just didn’t have any other means to look for you. You didn’t make it easy, you know.”

  “I know.” Hesitating for only a moment, Alec slid to the floor and pushed Byron’s feet down to crawl between his knees. He slid his hands up along Byron’s thighs until he reached his hips. “I wasn’t running from you as much as from myself. I needed to make sure I was good enough. I couldn’t do that knowing I’d caused so much pain and suffering.”

  “And now?”

  It was the first time Alec could ever remember Byron sounding nervous.

  “Now I know where I belong. And with whom.”

  He wasn’t sure who moved first, but before Alec realized it, they were kissing. It wasn’t the crazy intensity they so often came together with. No, this was a slow burn, a prelude to something bigger. Byron’s fingers were tangled in Alec’s hair, holding him still as the kiss deepened. Gods, how could he have walked away from this?

  Finally pulling back, he opened his eyes to see Byron gazing intently at him.

  “Promise me something,” Byron whispered.

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t run again. I . . . Just don’t.”

  He swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Promise.”

  “Good. I don’t think Mace or I could handle it if you took off. Not again.”

  Of course Byron would come back to my original concern eventually. “Think she’ll stay? With us, I mean.”

  “I’ve been spending time with Faolan, giving Gar a break so he can see to the ship. Faolan is under the impression that Mace is not only good for us, but we can give her something she’s wanted her whole life.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Family. She has it to a point on this ship, but she’s never been settled. Faolan thinks if we were to offer, she would join us.”

  Alec was thankful he was on the floor. He wasn’t sure his legs would support him if he were standing. “Do you want that?”

  Byron grinned. “My dad may have been a terrible parent, but I did learn one thing by watching how he lived. A man is nothing without a family. Having you and Mace, shit, that’s just too good an opportunity to pass up. I . . . care too much about both of you to let either one of you leave me.”

  “Care?”

  Byron’s gaze didn’t waver and his voice was steady. “Love.”

  Ever since Alec had learned what his research was used for, he’d felt a heavy, silent weight pressing down on him day and night. When Byron said that single word, the weight evaporated, leaving only relief and gratitude behind.

  “I love you too. Both of you. We need to tell Mace. She doesn’t realize, and I think she might try to leave if—”

  The computer chose that moment to trill at them. Getting up as quickly as he could, he pressed the key combination to display the results.

  Byron was by his side, leaning over to read the display. “What does it mean?”

  “One second.”

  “Alec—”

  “Shh!”

  The chemical breakdown of the poison was there, along with the cell and genetic breakdown of chemicals in Faolan’s blood. It took him a second to realize exactly what he was seeing.

  “Oh my gods.” He scrolled through the test log, scanning each interaction, verifying the results.

  Byron growled. “Oh my gods good, or oh my gods bad?”

  “Good. Very good. I might be able to . . .”

  If this was accurate, he was pretty sure he had everything he needed here on board the Belle Kurve.

  “Alec!”

  He straightened up, turned to face Byron, and kissed him soundly. “I think I have an antidote.”

  Mace was hugging herself as she leaned against the wall of Faolan and Gar’s bedchamber. It was crowded with everyone jammed in the space, but no one was willing to leave. Doc, Gar, and Alec stood by Faolan, who was lying down in the bed. Byron sat on a chair not far from them, his gaze shifting from Alec to her.

  She still couldn’t believe Alec had done it, and that after all this time Faolan was going to be okay.

  Not yet and not for sure. Patience.

  Looking up, she realized Byron was staring at her again. He looked a bit confused, like she’d changed on him and he wasn’t sure what to make of her any longer. She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on between them either. Maybe he was simply trying to figure out how to tell her they were leaving once Faolan was better. Despite everything that had happened both at the guild safe house and on the Belle Kurve, she knew that if the antidote worked, there would be nothing to keep them here.

  “Okay.” Alec’s voice cut through the low chatter. “Faolan, are you ready for this?”

  “Now or never.” Faolan’s smirk held none of its normal zest.

  “This isn’t going to be pleasant, and it won’t work instantly. The antidote is going to feel like fire in your veins as it breaks up the ryana in your bloodstream. You’re going to feel like your skin is burning and you’ll probably throw up anything you have in your system. Or it’ll come out the other end.”

  “Alec.” Byron’s warning tone had Faolan chuckling.

  “It’s fine. Better I know what I’m in for. I think once you inject me with this, you should all leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Gar said, taking Faolan’s hand firmly between his. “So don’t even start.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Faolan kissed Gar’s knuckles.

  Doc snorted. “And if you think I’m leaving you alone for even a second, you’re dafter than you look.”

  Alec glanced over his shoulder at Mace and smiled softly. “We’ll leave once I inject this. Doc, things will probably get bad in about fifteen minutes. He’ll be pretty miserable for at least an hour or two. After that we should start seeing
results. Faolan, you’ll be weak for days, and a full recovery may take a long time, but we’ll know if this has worked within about three hours.”

  Faolan nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  Mace held her breath as Alec pressed the hyper-needle to Faolan’s neck, injecting the dull-red serum into his body. That was it. Everything they’d been trying to figure out for the past six months, done in two seconds. It felt like there should be more to it, but she was nonetheless thankful they actually had a shot now.

  No one moved or spoke until, ten minutes later, Faolan let out a low groan.

  “Shit,” he mumbled, rolling onto his side to pull his knees to his chest. “Out.”

  Without speaking, Alec and Byron moved at once to Mace’s side, giving Gar and Doc room around the bed. Byron slipped an arm around her waist.

  “Let’s go to the mess hall and get something to eat. They’re going to be a while.”

  Mace let them lead her through the ship, not entirely paying attention as they went. The antidote had to work—Faolan had to get better. The idea of him dying was far more terrifying than she’d wanted to admit to herself. He’d been every bit as much a father to her as her own, giving her a home and looking after her. With him married to Gar, it had felt like her life was finally stable.

  It didn’t matter that she spent most nights alone with her thoughts. She was a pirate and a member of the best space crew in the sector. She had a comfortable bed, and she got to travel all over the place between the known worlds.

  When they arrived at the mess hall and Mace sat down in the chair Byron pulled out for her, she knew the food and drink would be plentiful and good, as it always was. Her life was better than most people living back on her home planet ever dreamed of. Really, she had no reason to want for more.

  But she did.

  A hand cupped her cheek, and Alec forced her to look up into his concerned gaze. “You okay?”

  “Ask me again in a few hours.”

  “I hate to say it, but if he’s feeling the pain, that’s a good thing. It means the cure is working. He’ll pull through.”