“I don’t think a simple abduction would be so simple with the Armadan in the picture. He’s an ex-fleet captain and he didn’t get to that position without a few fights along the way.”
“You don’t think you can handle him?” Dale smirked.
Carlos’ fair skin flushed a light pink. “I can deal with him, but storming their ship and prying the blonde out of the pilot’s arms would be a huge mistake.”
“We have the best law team money can buy. I’ve never had a conviction because I pay our Sovereign a hefty insurance fee, plus he’s family. He’d never let a cousin, no matter how distant, be caught up in any trouble.”
“It’s not just the legal issues I’m concerned about. This would be personal to the Armadan.”
“Who cares? Once we have her, he can’t do anything about it.”
Carlos shook his head in frustration. His tone was clipped when he spoke, as though he were holding back. “With respect, chairman, you have never served in the fleet. It is its own world, with its own rules and codes of conduct. Its own justice. You snatch that woman from him outright, you better kill him because he won’t stop until he finds you. And, if you kill him, he has brothers and cousins, and men he served with who will come kicking your door down just to see you bleed.”
Dale snickered, shattering the heaviness of Carlos’ words so the man couldn’t see how much they impacted him. “Every Armadan I’ve ever met enjoys making idle threats and grandiose promises of retribution. Let’s face it, the military is for show. I haven’t heard of one combat-related engagement from the mighty fleet in decades. Nobody has.” He stabbed a finger in the larger man’s face. “Because you all bulk up, flex your inflated muscles, and stand around playing with each other until your tour is finished. The Sovereign keeps you around because the appearance of a strong military makes him look stronger.”
Carlos stepped forward. “You never hear about any fleet involvement because your Sovereign wants it that way. I may have gotten tired of being a trooper, but I still know what goes on in the Armada.”
Though Dale held his ground for as long as he could, he finally stepped back, making for his seat once again as though he were dismissing Carlos. A small shiver ran up his back even in the humidity as he avoided looking into the Armadan’s dark eyes. He may have pushed too far, but Carlos wouldn’t be foolish enough to cut the throat of his money man.
“I’m open to ideas, then. How do we make this business with the woman easier? Something that won’t implicate either of us?” Dale asked.
TEN
“Don’t let him strong-arm you into taking this job. You don’t need him.” The argument which had started shortly after lunch came to a head as Mari and David disembarked from the ferry.
All the pushy passengers, most of them taller than her and not all of them fresh-smelling, made her feel claustrophobic, adding to her agitation.
“I do need him,” she said between clenched teeth when they broke free of the largest part of the crowd.
“He just wants you to think that.”
“Why would he want that?” Could David not understand the direness of her predicament?
“Because what he’s really after has nothing to do with botany. I can’t believe you don’t see this yourself.” David’s exasperated tone and raised voice made her feel like a child.
“How would you know, David? Did he tell you he wanted to dock me or did you just assume that’s the only reason he’d hire me?”
It didn’t matter that she had been thinking the same thing since the meeting. Hearing David reveal his thoughts out loud hurt her because she thought he had been the only one to believe she was capable.
“Mari—”
“Like I would dock him anyway. Did you ever consider that? I already have a father, David. I don’t need another one.” She hadn’t meant for the comment to sting, but Dale’s words about obedience crowded her thoughts.
“Is that how you think of me?” David’s tone changed, the anger slipping away. “I didn’t realize the age difference bothered you.”
“It’s not your age. I just thought you understood how important this was to me.” The pedestrians sharing the boardwalk with them stared as Mari’s voice rose with emotion.
David put a hand on her arm. “Mari, let’s talk about this back on the ship.”
She wouldn’t look at him and didn’t stop walking, forcing him to keep moving with her. As they made their way back along the boardwalk to the Bard she dismissed thoughts of their first kiss. The light of late afternoon helped—it didn’t have the same ambience as the glittery evening.
“If I don’t take this job,” she said. “I’ll have to go home. Back to Deleine.”
“That seems a little drastic.”
She snapped her head around. “I’m out of money, David. My family was right. They said I’d return within a year. I barely made it eight months. I can hear the I-told-you-so speeches already.”
The thought of her parents and siblings, everyone in her huge family circle, being right about her failure made her resolute—she’d do whatever it took to stay off Deleine. If it meant six weeks away from the Bard and David, she’d have to suck it up and go. If he didn’t want her when she got back, she’d deal with that possibility when it came. Thinking that he actually might not want her made her feel a little betrayed.
Wanting to put some emotional distance between them, she pulled ahead of him inside the foyer.
“Mari, I think we should talk about this,” David called to her.
“Not right now, okay?” She wanted to be alone because she didn’t want to cry in front of him and could feel the pressure of angry, frustrated tears building behind her eyes.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to walk away from me instead of discussing this–”
She spun around on the bottom step of the grand foyer. “You want me to talk? Then listen. Dale was my last chance. Sean has already been paying the lease on my suite for the past two months, and I’m still a month in arrears. It’s not fair to keep asking him for money, even though he tells me I don’t have to pay him back. Designing Dale’s system for the next six weeks is the only way I don’t have to pack everything and go home next month. If Dale still wants me in the morning, I’m taking his offer. Though he might get tired of waiting for me by then, especially after today.”
It stung her pride to admit her short comings and how much she had been relying on others. So when David didn’t respond right away, her anger rose and she started up the stairs.
David zipped up to join her. “Mari.”
“I’m really tired, David, and I need to talk to my family about this.” She spoke as she continued climbing the staircase.
“That’s a good idea.” He rushed to get in front of her and block her progress. “But can you and I talk first? I’m just now hearing about some of this and haven’t had time to process it all. I know you said your finances were running low, but I didn’t realize Sean was lending you money. We can work something out to make sure you don’t have to leave. I don’t want to see that happen any more than you do.”
Her heart bumped a little harder with his words.
“Talk with me, for just for a minute.” He rubbed her shoulder.
She was about to agree when she heard footsteps on the stairs behind her. David pulled his hand away like she was toxic. It was the final blow to her already bruised ego. She looked over her shoulder to confirm that the approaching trudge of boots was indeed Sean. He staggered a little and had to grasp the handrail opposite them.
When David stepped away from her, she felt a pang of humiliation, then scorn. After the amazing night they’d spent together, she expected…what did she expect from David? Some kind of acknowledgment of their relationship. Even if he had no emotional attachment to her after they docked, that didn’t mean he should act like they were barely friends anymore when someone came by.
Mari’s frustration got the best of her. She met Sean halfway up the stairs, sl
iding under his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. He stopped in his tracks.
“You look like you need help getting to bed,” she said.
He looked at her like she had three heads. David would think it was just the alcohol, but Mari knew Sean was baffled by her behavior.
David’s jaw tightened and he gave Mari one last look before shaking his head in what she assumed was disgust and walked down the stairs. Sadness washed over her. She hated to admit that a small part of her hoped David would get jealous enough to rip her out of Sean’s less-than-enthusiastic embrace. It would have at least been a public acknowledgment that David cared for her.
“That was a bad move,” Sean said. “You’re playing a risky game with a guy like David.”
“What do you mean?” Mari asked, pretending she wasn’t just thinking the same thing.
“You know exactly what I mean. Helping me to bed? This kind of behavior will backfire, especially using me to try and make him jealous. He can’t stand me.”
“I thought you couldn’t stand him,” Mari said.
“We have a mutual antipathy for one another.”
“You’re quite eloquent when you’re drunk.”
As if in direct opposition to her compliment, he grunted and guided her up the stairs with light hands on her shoulders.
ELEVEN
It’s not all her fault.
David had been pacing the black floor of the bridge since that ugliness on the stairs a couple of hours ago. He was as much to blame for it as Mari was. Maybe more so. He finally convinced her to open up, then pulled away, leaving her feeling vulnerable and unwanted. It had given her the wrong impression.
No, it didn’t.
She knew he hadn’t wanted to be seen touching her so intimately. He as much as showed her that he couldn’t be counted on when anyone else was around. His boots clomped off the bridge and down the subtly lit commonway. His reaction practically drove her right into Sean’s drunken arms. David’s jealousy rose in a fast wave. He planned to straighten a few things out, starting right now.
Mari’s suite came up on his left, but he passed right by it. His target waited a little ways down on the right.
He pressed the sensor to Sean’s door several times, barely allowing the faint echo of the chime to fade before triggering it again in his impatience. For a moment, his mind wandered to thoughts he wouldn’t fully let manifest about Sean being somewhere else right now. He looked down toward Mari’s suite and his whole body tensed. David contacted Sean’s reporter directly. “Open up, Sean.”
Sean’s look was not welcoming when the metal door slid open. In fact, David sensed more than their usual tension, as if the mech tech was prepared for a fight like David had been just a few seconds ago. Sean Cryer definitely had Armadan aggressor genes inside him.
“What do you want?” Sean asked.
“What I don’t want is to discuss this in the commonway.”
Sean moved aside, his rigid posture slightly threatening. He was only a few centimeters shorter than David, and though his frame was medium-sized, his shoulders were broad and his muscles taut and ropy. David could tell when a man was spoiling for a fight, and Sean was ready to throw down the minute David gave him a reason.
“Would you relax?” David said. “I came to make sure you got the money I transferred into your account.”
Sean checked the blue glow of data scrolling across his palm. “Why did you do this?”
“That’s the money Mari owes you.”
“I told her she didn’t have to pay me back.”
“She’s not paying you back. I am,” David said. “And her rent is paid up for a year now, so you don’t have to worry about spotting her again. I would appreciate it if you kept this between us. I don’t know what kind of relationship the two of—”
“She’s a colleague and a friend,” Sean said, agitation creeping into his voice. “Nothing more. Never was. Never will be.”
David studied Sean’s face, but all he saw were bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath them and a weariness that was unexpected for his young years. David relaxed a little. Sean obviously had his own problems, and though he might be secretive about most of his life, he had no reason to lie to David about Mari.
Sean regarded him for a moment. “By the way, I asked around about Mari’s client. Couldn’t find much.”
David nodded his head. So it had simply been David’s jealousy convincing him there was something wrong with Dale, aside from a poor taste in scentbots and a penchant for roving hands.
“Then I owe Mari an apology. At least there’s nothing to worry about, I guess.”
“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying,” Sean said. “His file is a little too clean. Much of it isn’t even public, which means he’s got an Embassy protector keeping things tidy. Maybe you could use your military connections to find out more.”
“Thanks,” David’s protective instincts engaged again as Sean practically confirmed the bittersweet truth that Dale was hiding something. “I appreciate it.”
“Is Mari in trouble?” Sean asked.
“I hope not,” David muttered as he left.
Good thing Ben stayed in the fleet.
David had four brothers, Ben being the middle one, therefore also being the loudest, most talkative, and probably the most personable of them all. Though Colin was in between them, David and Ben were always closer because Colin had no interest in the Armada, choosing to become a civilian engineer instead. Ben, on the other hand, may have been even more gung ho about the military than David, or maybe because of David, wanting to be just like his big brother. But instead of following in David’s footsteps, Ben joined a special operations unit which moved around within the fleet, never sticking to a steady rise in rank aboard a particular ship, like David had with the Protector.
That gave Ben, as a simple lieutenant, access to more classified channels than David ever had as a captain.
When Ben’s familiar grin and dark brows appeared on the airscreen, David was struck by how much he and Ben were starting to look more alike the older they got, even though many people didn’t think so. With only seven years separating them, David thought Ben still seemed much younger.
“I need some information on a guy named Dale Zapona,” David said.
“Oh, I see how it is. Use me and abuse me, but don’t call just to say hello.”
“Hello, Ben,” David said. “Can you do a background check on Dale Zapona?”
“Of course. And while I’m doing the search, maybe you can tell me how your run-in with that asshole Killian Doje went, or better yet, who you’ve been docking. Because word has it you were seen last night kissing a little blonde Socialite along the boardwalk on Carrey Bay.”
To prove his point, Ben replaced his image with a vid. It was of David and Mari’s kiss.
“Or was she just someone you met that night? How old is she? Her Embassy file said nineteen, but I can’t imagine you with a teenager, even one who looked like that.”
“She’s none of your business, Ben.” David’s tone was light, but held a subtle warning. “How do you even know about her? Or Killian?”
Ben’s image flicked back on screen.
“Your romantic interlude got picked up by a voyeur just like your reunion with Killian. I have an alert on all the family in case anyone’s in trouble.”
“Or because you’re a bigger gossip than half the Socialites in this system,” David said.
“Come on, I can see not wanting to talk about the asshole, but give me some info on the blonde. What’s her name?”
“Like you don’t already know,” David muttered.
“Boston. Sweet name. But you called her Mari when you said she was beautiful.” Ben could barely contain his glee. “Why is that?”
“Why do you bother to ask questions you know the answers to?”
“Just making conversation. You know, I haven’t seen you kiss anyone like that since Lyra, though you do seem to h
ave a thing for blondes with tight asses. And in that little blue dress that Bos—that Mari was wearing, it was pretty easy to see her—”
“At least I have a personal life. Do you even remember the name of the last woman you docked?” David asked.
That actually silenced Ben, and David wished he could have taken the comment back, sensing Ben must have been sensitive about the topic. They hadn’t talked in months, but he knew Ben better than any person in the system. When he got quiet, something was wrong. Kind of like Mari.
“What’s up?” David asked.
“Besides your dick?”
Ben joked because he didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering him, so David let his inquiry drop.
“Anyway, what are you willing to pay for this classified information?” Ben leaned on his forearms, bringing his face closer to the camera conspiratorially.
“What do you want?” David knew it would be something absurd because Ben was all about helping out family. He’d do anything David asked, including fly a gunship straight into a star.
“I want the operating codes to your boat next time I have leave.”
“You have a boat.”
“I had a boat…that was in a little accident last month.”
“I’ll send you the codes as long as you promise there won’t be any accidents, little or otherwise.”
“I only make promises I can keep, David. I thought Mum taught you that, too.”
“Your emotional blackmail will only get you so far,” David said.
“In this guilt-ridden family? It gets me everything and anything.”
That was certainly a true statement, though an ironic one considering Ben was the most susceptible to guilt out of them all.
“I’ll get back to you as soon as the background check comes in on your guy.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
Ben flipped him off with a laugh before his image blinked off.
David was probably over-reacting. If there turned out to be a problem with Dale’s background, David would explain it to Mari. She’d drop out of the project and he’d help her find another client. Simple.
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