Dominated By Desire

by Barbara Donlon Bradley

  A sound to her left stopped her in her tracks. Since she hadn’t taken her helmet off yet she put the uniform in camouflage mode and moved into some low hanging foliage. Not knowing who she could trust in this exercise had her trusting no one.

  One of the other soldiers stepped into the perimeter. Part of her wondered if this was also part of the mission. She not only had to make it to the safe house, but not get caught along the way. It would make perfect sense. So she remained hidden and allowed her stalker to get in front of her.

  Whoever this was wasn’t very good. He wasn’t using any kind of stealth mode. What did he think would happen? She’d blithely go along with him capturing her?

  Ten other cycles flew over her head, heading toward where the explosion happened. Everyone was looking for her. This just got a lot more complicated. Should she go back and let them know she was living proof the suit worked or finish the mission as expected? It took her seconds to make the decision.

  ****

  Storm waited for their initial report. It seemed to take forever.

  “Sir, whatever hit her bike totaled it. There are fragments everywhere.” The images they were recording filled the screen.

  “Any sign of Heather?” Shrapnel covered the ground. There was nothing left. How the hell did she survive that?

  “Nothing. We have found prints that fit her height and mass. Oh, that medical device that she wore? Mangled like the bike. Must have gotten caught in something during the fall. Found it under a large branch that shows new damage. She probably hit it on the way down.” That went along with what the doctor said. She had taken a blow to the mid-section. Now she was out there and wounded and knowing her she was going to finish the mission.

  “Sir? Did you set up a tracker as well?” One of the men asked as they showed another set of footprints in the area.

  “Yes.”

  “He’s been here.”

  “He shouldn’t have been.” The sergeant he assigned never went against orders. “He was told to wait near the site where the bike was to become disabled, this is too far back.”

  “Could he have seen the accident and gone to help her? Because there is definitely another set of footprints here.”

  Storm turned to one of the communication officers. “Did the tracker alert us to the explosion?’

  “No, sir. He’s been silent as you requested.”

  “Contact him.”

  The communications officer did as commanded.

  “Any sign of the lieutenant?”

  “No, sir, but I was told to give her up to an hour to pass by here in case the bike broke down a little early. As per your orders.” The kid was right, that was what he had told him. “Any unusual activity?”

  “Only the cycles going overhead twice. Wasn’t aware they were to double back during the mission.”

  And they weren’t supposed to either, but that meant he didn’t know about the explosion.

  “Wait. I have movement.” Silence filled the room for a moment. The next few words were whispered. “Sir? Did you assign a second tracker?

  There is another guard, in uniform, and the height and mass is all wrong for your mate.”

  “No one else was assigned. Take out that target.” He wanted to climb through the mike to stop the danger he now knew Heather was in. Danger she wasn’t aware of.

  He heard the release of a blaster.

  “Sir.” The voice came from the doctor. “He’s been hit. I’m losing vital signs.”

  Everything was spiraling out of control and he had no clue where she was.

  ****

  She knew the safe house was to her right a little. The same direction the soldier was heading in. As long as he stayed in front she should be okay.

  Something caught her eye and she spotted another soldier. He just seemed to be standing there as the first one took aim and fired. She watched in horror as the man’s face shield shattered before she saw a spurt of blood shoot out from his face.

  Heather inched her way over to the guard, keeping her eye on the shooter who had begun to move on. Everything just got a whole lot more dangerous. This guy was playing for keeps and she had to be careful or a few damaged ribs could be the least of her worries.

  The soldier just turned and continued on the path he had been on. That was strange.

  Keeping a low profile caused the pain in her ribs to intensify but she didn’t want to be detected. She made it to the side of the young man hit and pressed her hand to his neck. There was a slight pulse. He was critical but still alive. First she activated the med seal on the uniform so he would go into a suspended animation until he could be worked on by a doctor.

  The next thing she looked for was a working weapon. Since this guy wasn’t acting normal she wasn’t sure what to think. If she didn’t know better she’d swear he was artificial intelligence.

  She recognized the young man. He hadn’t spoken to her but once or twice, but Storm said he was one of the hardest working men he knew.

  The weapon she found on him worked and would give her a little extra protection. She sure hoped the doctor would be able to help him.

  Keeping the other soldier in her line of sight, she continued to the safe house. After following him for a while she was sure it was an AI. It didn’t move like a human. Kept in a straight line and when it made changes to its direction it was done like a computer. Hopefully, she would be able to overtake him before the safe house was compromised. She bided her time, watching and waiting for just the right moment.

  The small house didn’t look like much and she sure hoped the people who lived there knew about this little wrinkle. The soldier walked to the front door and smashed its way in. She could hear shouts and blasters going off but the soldier hadn’t stopped.

  Heather closed her eyes for a second. She didn’t know what type of weapon she had or if it would do any damage to the AI but she had to do something. Hoping she would do more than just alert the thing to her presence, she got as close as she could before aiming her weapon and shooting. This had better work.

  ****

  “Fridon should be fine.” The doctor stood as the paramedics took the young man into the transport. “I’m not sure who turned on the suit, but they saved his life.”

  Storm nodded. This shouldn’t have happened.

  “Sir?” One of the communication officers stepped out of the ship for a moment. “She has made it to the safe house.”

  Relief washed over him.

  “Let’s go.” Personally, he didn’t care if everyone made it back onto the ship, he needed to make sure she was okay, but he had to give his people time. This was the first time he found his personal life taking over when he needed to keep it under control. The ship seemed to crawl to the house where she was. He knew it was moving fast and they would be there quickly but he hated the waiting.

  He was the first one off the ship. Trying to keep himself together he walked into the farm house. All he wanted to do was to see with his own eyes if she was all right.

  Heather stood near one of the walls. She held her right arm against her body and he could tell her shoulder wasn’t sitting right but everything else looked fine. As much as he wanted to touch her to be sure he wasn’t dreaming he had to remain professional. “Doctor.” The doctor nodded and pulled out his equipment as he crossed in front of Storm to run a diagnostic on Heather. “Three bruised ribs and two broken ones. You have also dislocated your shoulder.” He opened her uniform and placed one piece of equipment on her ribs then the second one on her collar bone. “Give this one about a half an hour.” He tapped a few places on the small piece on her shoulder. “That one will need about five hours.” He programmed the one he set at her ribs.

  “Just snap my shoulder back into place and I’ll be fine.” She tried to move her arm and grimaced at the pain.

  He placed a hand on her arm when she tried to lift it above her head.

  “Give it a moment and you should feel relief.”

  The device mad
e a strange whir before there was a loud snap. Heather found she could use her shoulder without as much pain. “Thank you.”

  “Both devices will heal all the tissue so you won’t have any tenderness once we remove them.” He checked the information his system picked up. “Once the one on your shoulder is done you will be able to have full movement but until then please don’t push it. I’m also giving you a sedative to help with the healing.”

  She nodded. Heather hadn’t really acknowledged Storm standing in the room. She knew if she did a part of her would want to run into his arms and cry her relief. She had a point to prove to all these people and there was no way she was going to ruin it by following her instinct right now.

  Next she spoke to two of the officers that came in with him. “I have a present for you.” She pointed to the beheaded AI. “I don’t know where it came from but I sure would like to know if you people are responsible for him.”“Not ours.” One of the officers responded. “But we will check it out.” She nodded again. Once she was sure she had done her duty she walked right at him. She kept her body ramrod straight, wrapping her professionalism around her like a blanket. “Why did you make the bike explode?”

  “We didn’t.” As unprofessional as it was he couldn’t stop his hand from touching her cheek. He needed to be sure it was really her. “It was sabotaged.”

  “And the creepy AI?” She stepped back from him. Her eyes begged him to treat her like a professional right now, not his mate.

  “Like they said, not ours.” He held himself in check. As much as he wanted to pull her into his embrace. He had to be mindful of her injuries and the injury he could cause to her ego if he followed his instincts. “I did plan on making your bike go down, but I would never put a soldier’s life in danger like that. It was supposed to just stop working and coast to the ground.”

  “And Fridon? The young man I found?” She found the world around her started to spin. Her knees grew weak and she knew they were about to buckle. The sedative started to work.

  “He’s going to be fine, thanks to you.”

  “Glad to hear it.” She said it softly. Everything went fuzzy and her body went limp.

  He moved fast, grabbing her before she fell to the floor. He nodded to the doctor who got two of his staff to help get her to the ship. He still had a few questions to ask. He had noticed the splintered door. “Did the system not stop that thing before it could enter?”

  “No sir. Must have had a jamming device. Your student had it all in hand though. She somehow had gotten a blaster and tried to use it. The stun setting neutralized it long enough for her to kick the head off to stop it from doing any more damage.” He handed him a small stick. “As a precaution she pulled the memory out of it so if it had a failsafe it wouldn’t remember its program.”

  Storm took the stick. Once he was sure everything was secure he headed to the ship and had it head back to base. He checked on Heather and found her resting comfortably. He started barking orders to get everything secured before they landed.

  He watched as each of the team went to check on Fridon and Heather.

  The doctor approached him just before landing. “I’d like to keep her for observation.”

  “No.”

  “Sir.”

  “Doctor, someone is trying to kill her and your medical area isn’t secure enough. I’m going to do my best to keep her safe while she heals. Download all your data to my family doctor and he will care for her.”

  “Yes, sir.” The doctor didn’t seem happy but he didn’t argue with Storm anymore.

  Storm had the men secure the transport while he went to help his mate.

  He knelt down by the bed. “Ready to go?”

  Her eyes opened as she gave him a lopsided smile. “Yes.” He wanted to pick her up in his arms but knew she would stop him. She would want to walk on her own. He’d be the same way. He offered her his hand.“You understand.” She took his hand and got to her feet. She was a bit unsteady but grateful he wasn’t going to humiliate her in front of everyone.

  “I have been in your shoes before and know how hard you worked to gain the respect of these people. Something as simple as my carrying you would destroy all that work in seconds. I know they would never question me, but they would question and wonder if you got special treatment because of who you are. You are a soldier and still in uniform.” He made sure she could move on her own before backing off. “However, one wobble and your feet are off the ground. I don’t take anyone’s health lightly.”

  “Agreed.” She took a few steps away from the bed. “What was in that sedative? I feel a little rubbery.”

  “You want the whole list?” he offered her his hand, which she shook off. “I need to prove I can do this on my own. I don’t want people questioning my ability on another mission.”

  “What makes you think there will be another mission for you?” He helped her down the gangplank when she needed it and onto the tarmac. “I have never been so scared.”

  “You? Imagine how I felt.” She stopped moving when she saw the rest of the team standing there waiting for the transport. The doctor accompanied Fridon out of the ship. The team stood at attention on either side of the walkway, giving him a salute as the doctor moved his bed through. She waited until they had passed through and expected them to break up but they didn’t.

  “Your turn, Lieutenant.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “You saved his life today. That earns you a place of honor.”

  “I did nothing out of the ordinary.”

  “It could have been any one of them and you would have done the same thing.” He urged her forward. “Go.”

  She didn’t want all this attention. She had been fighting back the tears threatening to spill since she knew she was safe. This would just force the waterworks to start. Holding her head high, she walked between them, trying her damndest to not make eye contact with anyone. That would be all it would take.

  There at the end of the lineup was Fridon. She felt the first tear fall.

  Storm called everyone to attention as he dismissed them.

  Once she saluted Storm for being relieved of duty she walked up to the bed Fridon lay in and took his hand. “I am so sorry.”

  “This isn’t your fault.” He squeezed her hand. “If you hadn’t been there I wouldn’t be here.”

  “That damn thing was after me.” She wiped one eye. After a few more tears slipped down her cheek she was able to regain control of her emotions.

  “But saw you as a threat. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t gone on that mission.”

  “You got the intruder, didn’t you?”

  “He wasn’t going to hurt anyone else.” The satisfaction she felt in ripping off the head was something she had never felt before.

  “And more than likely it would have come after you sooner or later.”

  “Probably and I see where you’re going with this, better to have it happen on a mission instead of the middle of the city. Doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  “Imagine how I feel.” Storm’s voice came from behind her. “This shouldn’t have happened at all.”

  “Who is after your mate, sir?”

  “We don’t know.” Storm didn’t say anything else. He looked at her, concern etched on his face.

  “Anyone heard anything?” She knew he didn’t want to get anyone involved until he knew who he could trust but she did trust these people.

  They were her team and had put their life on the line to save hers.

  “Heather.” That was all he said.

  “Eyes and ears, sir. We don’t have that. These people walk amongst the rest of the students and soldiers. They would hear something a lot faster than you or I would.” She hoped he wouldn’t get upset by her cornering him like this. “Let them in. We need their help.”

  She got the glare she had only seen aimed at other people and she waited for the anger to follow.

  “You do realize the more people involved
the more can get hurt.” His voice was flat.

  “Sir, they don’t have to be involved to get hurt. Today’s mission proved that.” She made sure she kept this as professional as possible. If she made it personal and he was made to look weak he might never forgive her.

  “If we involve your team you will follow my rules, not some hair brained scheme someone might come up with.” He looked at every one of them. “We will do this by the book.”

  “Of course.” She might regret that later but she knew he only had her best interests at heart. “All I ask is you don’t pull me from the team to protect me.”

  He watched her, silent. As the silence stretched she wasn’t sure if she could stand the wait. “Agreed.” The single word sent joy through her heart.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “We will meet in the morning. I’ll send coordinates to each of you later.” He grabbed Heather by the hand and started walking.

  He didn’t say a word, but she could feel his anger. She was surprised he didn’t pick her up and throw her over his shoulder when she stood up to him like that. Then again, he was probably trying to be mindful of her ribs, they still had a few hours to go before they would be completely healed.

  “Storm. Please.” She found it hard to breathe as she tried to keep up with his long gate.

  He stopped, and turned his angry glare on her before he scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way. She knew better than to fight him. What she worried about now was what would happen once they were alone.

  The moment they passed through the main doors of the house he deposited her on the ground, wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. She felt his hunger in the gentle sweep of his tongue through her mouth. The way it searched her mouth for hers, begging it to dance with his. Her blood started to move faster. Her heart beat a quicker tempo. Time seemed to stop as they kissed. Storm continued the kiss for a long time, she found herself breathing hard when it ended. She wanted more.