by Patti O'Shea
“Yes. We’ll return tomorrow at first light, but it’s too dangerous to spend the night here.” He put his hands on his hips and looked at the sun riding low in the sky. Stacey watched his mouth tighten and knew he didn’t want to leave without his sister. His desires, though, took a backseat to the safety of the rescue team.
Alex moved off, quietly issuing orders in his headset to the men combing the area, and she began her transmission. Somehow she managed to sound cool and concise, but as she disengaged after sending the sign-off code, she noted her hands trembled. Stacey leaned her head back and took a deep breath. She couldn’t wait to return to the ship. It wouldn’t be much longer till dusk, maybe another hour or so. She just wasn’t looking forward to being confined in the transport with the remains of the dead.
*** *** ***
The day already felt hot and oppressive and the sun had barely risen. Alex tried not to let this sense of time running out interfere with what he knew needed to be done. Dr. Mitchell and Stacey stood together, talking quietly. Both looked tired, but then their duties had kept them from getting all the sleep they needed.
It had been late last night when the doctor had completed the identification of the bodies. Stacey had sent the information back to Earth using the most complex encryption program the military had devised. They didn’t want news of the dead getting out in the media before the families had been notified. The encryption program bought CAT and Alliance Command time to send out representatives while the news media worked furiously to break the code.
They had remains for everyone except Ravyn and Brody. Of course, there was no guarantee something hadn’t happened to them farther from the facility. Alex pushed a hand through his hair. He’d bet money Ravyn was still alive. Or at least she had been three days ago. He couldn’t write off what he’d felt, and he didn’t want to. It gave him hope.
He had mixed emotions about Brody being the other survivor. On one hand, he’d become a top officer in Spec Ops. On the other, Alex couldn’t forget how he’d screwed up eight years ago. Sam still didn’t have the use of his legs despite all the operations and advances in medicine.
Alex frowned, but he was glad Ravyn wasn’t alone. He thought he’d given her all the training she could need, but he’d been wrong. He should have tried harder to discourage her from joining the Colonization Assessment Teams. His lips turned up slightly at the corners as he imagined how that discussion would have gone. Ravyn could give lessons in stubbornness, and she’d been able to talk him into things with alarming ease.
Three weeks had passed since the emergency beacon had been activated. The odds that tracks remained to tell them which direction Brody and Ravyn had gone were slim. They’d spend a few hours making sure the pair wasn’t hiding in the vicinity, but Alex doubted they’d find anything here. His internal clock continued to tick, winding him tighter.
He heard the beep that signaled it was time for Stacey to transmit an update to the ship. He strode over to her and waited. When she finished, he asked, “What’s the latest on the hurricane?”
“It looks like it will make landfall this afternoon,” she told him. “The best guess is in the vicinity of the Old City.”
Alex muttered an expletive. The storm bearing down on the coast made his blood run cold. Something he couldn’t name told him they had to find Ravyn and Brody before it hit, that if they had to search afterward, it would be too late. If he were in Brody’s position, he’d head for the Old City. The wall made it easier to defend and there would be places to hide and take shelter. Alex wanted to forget his training, put the team in the transport and head right for the city.
“Do you remember the time,” Dr. Mitchell said gently, breaking into his thoughts, “when Ravyn was about seven? You’d gone sailing with your friends and wouldn’t take her with you.”
“I remember,” Alex said. It wasn’t a good memory. His father had been out on a mission. Marie had been busy with the wounded from one of the last battles in the Second War. For once Alex had stood firm against Ravyn’s pleas to be included and had dropped her off at the childcare center on his way to meet his friends. Only he hadn’t made sure she’d gone inside.
“What happened?” Stacey asked.
Alex remained quiet, letting the doctor tell the story. He didn’t know why she’d brought it up. He still got the shakes if he thought about the incident too long. He turned away, trying to close out the doctor’s voice, but not wanting to miss the point she undoubtedly had.
“Ravyn followed Alex. She didn’t get to the marina in time to talk herself onboard. He and his friends had already set sail so she decided to go after him. She managed to find a little boat with a motor and get it started.”
“Ravyn stole a boat?” Stacey’s voice rose in shock.
“She was just a baby,” Alex tossed over his shoulder, the instinct to defend his sister too ingrained to put aside.
“This seven-year-old,” Dr. Mitchell said, “was so determined and resourceful, that though she knew nothing about boats, she was able to start it and drive out of the marina.”
Point taken, Alex thought, but the doctor had left out a big part of what had happened. He turned back to the women. “That seven-year-old didn’t know how to swim and wasn’t wearing a life vest. She saw a sailboat and thought I was on it. As soon as she got close, which took some doing with her lack of skill, she stood and jumped up and down, calling my name.”
Stacey gasped. It had been the first time he’d felt the connection with Ravyn and known she was in trouble. Alex closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. He couldn’t let an old memory rattle him when the current situation required all his attention. “She capsized the boat. Luckily, the people onboard the sailboat saw her go under and someone jumped in to save her. She wasn’t breathing when they pulled her on deck.”
“She survived, Alex,” Dr. Mitchell said.
“She easily could have died,” he replied, voice tight. He pivoted and stalked off until he couldn’t hear anything else the doctor might say. He wanted to be out searching with the team, but knew he needed to organize the effort and keep an eye on the women. Dr. Mitchell carried a sidearm and knew how to use it, but Stacey had no weapon or any skill with one.
Time dragged. Every hour he returned to get a report on the storm, but he didn’t hang around long enough for any more trips down memory lane. His body became more and more tense, but Alex couldn’t prevent it. It was as if some voice in his head kept whispering, “Hurry, hurry, hurry.”
It was midmorning when Alex heard Stacey transmit on the rescue team frequency. “Colonel Sullivan, you’re needed here.”
The tone of her voice made him hurry to where she stood. “What is it?”
She held up her hand, silencing him. He watched her frown in concentration for a moment and then he turned to Dr. Mitchell. “What is it?” he asked quietly so he wouldn’t disturb Stacey.
“A short-range beacon is sending a signal,” she answered, her voice every bit as quiet as his.
“Frequency?” Alex asked, but the doctor shrugged. He leaned over and read the numbers on Stacey’s equipment. Not only was it a military frequency, it was one Spec Ops used. He tuned his own comm unit so he could hear it. He frowned as he listened. Short-range beacons were supposed to give out steady, regular beeps. This one emitted short and long tones in some pattern he couldn’t identify. Without warning, it ceased.
“How long was it broadcasting?” he demanded.
“About three minutes,” Stacey answered.
She started to say something more, but Alex cut her off. “That means Brody is still alive.”
“So is Ravyn. The message was in code. It’s a rudimentary one we learned early in our studies at comm school, but it’s not used anymore and hasn’t been for decades. Out of everyone who was on this planet, Ravyn is the only one who could know it. She’s also the only person I’m aware of who could tamper with a short-range beacon and get it to broadcast in code.”
Alex
barely registered Stacey’s excitement with his own running riot. “What was the message?”
“The Old City. It was repeated for the three minutes.”
Alex allowed himself a quick grin, then flipped his comm unit back to the frequency of his team. He relayed the info, then added, “Come on, let’s move.” He looked in the direction of the Old City, noted the dark clouds in the sky. “Stace, transmit this info to the ship. Tell them we’re heading to the Old City, and get a weather update.“
He wasn’t surprised to hear the hurricane still appeared headed for the settlement. At least now, if the storm hit before they found Ravyn and Brody, they didn’t have to leave J Nine. They could hole up in one of the buildings and wait it out.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” hummed through his head again and his gut tightened. He herded the two women to the transport. The flight crew already had it fired up and ready to go. Alex stood outside the hatch until the final man boarded. He took one last, lingering look at the horizon and then got on himself.
Time was definitely running short.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ravyn stood inside the doorway of a little shop off the square and watched Damon. He had barricaded a part of himself off from her and she didn’t like it. Knowing what she did about warriors, she suspected he was up to something, but if she asked what, he’d work harder to keep her in the dark. She had a good idea about his plans anyway.
Pushing herself away from the doorjamb, Ravyn joined him at the fountain and put her hand over his. He linked their fingers, but didn’t turn from his study of the sky. She looked up. The sun was eclipsed by a thick cover of roiling black clouds. Lightning flashed, stabbing viciously across the horizon. Rain sheeted down. Yet the Old City remained dry and the wind calm. Bright light glowed from some unseen source as if the late afternoon sun continued to shine. She understood now what had captured Damon’s interest. She found it mesmerizing herself.
“The Old City is encapsulated,” he said.
Ravyn nodded absently. “By a pyramid of energy. Isn’t that why we go to the edge of the city every morning to deploy the beacon instead of doing it from home?”
“I had a feeling the beacon wouldn’t be able to transmit out of here if we weren’t by the wall, but I didn’t know why.” Damon turned his attention to her. “The atmosphere has always felt artificial. Why didn’t you mention the pyramid?”
With a shrug, Ravyn said, “I saw it the morning after I took the barb. If I’d said anything then, you would have thought I was hallucinating. You were already worried about me.”
He opened his mouth, but shut it again without saying anything. Instead he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, as if looking to heaven for strength. Ravyn bit her lip to keep from smiling. She knew he had a problem with her keeping something like that to herself. If she really had been hallucinating, he would have wanted to know.
“You and Alex are a lot alike,” Ravyn said, stretching the truth. She knew exactly what effect her words would have. Sure enough, Damon’s eyes snapped open and his head whipped around. His look of outraged disbelief made it impossible not to smirk. She rubbed her thumb over his hand and added, “Except when he looks heavenward, he usually mutters a request for help.”
“I believe it. Next time tell me all the information you have. I’ll decide whether or not to worry.” Damon sounded irritated.
Ravyn arranged her expression so it was appropriately sober and said, “Okay, honey, next time I will.” She added just the right note to her voice to make it sound as if she humored him, but not so much he could call her on it. He clenched his jaw hard enough to make a muscle start jumping. Bulls-eye, she thought, veiling her eyes with her lashes to hide her satisfaction. Served him right for keeping secrets.
He should have been able to feel her playing games with him. Yesterday he would have. But then yesterday, the man hadn’t distanced part of himself from her.
“Do you think the rescue team will be here soon? I hate going to the wall and feeling the killer trying to get into our heads.” Ravyn’s skin crawled at the thought.
Damon shifted, his free hand coming up to cup her face. “You could stay here tomorrow. We can hold the wall even with physical space between us.”
She turned her head, pressing a kiss into his hand. “No. I won’t let you go alone!” She hadn’t meant to sound so savage. “I love you, Damon,” Ravyn added more gently. The words still didn’t flow easily from her lips, but she could say them now without having a panic attack.
He softened in some indefinable way. “I know. I love you too.” He brushed his lips across hers. “Always, Ravyn.”
Damon stared, as if memorizing her face, and Ravyn felt her level of anxiety rise. Her heart started to pound. She had a sense of time running short, of Damon’s presence slipping away. No! Nothing was going to happen to him. She wouldn’t let it.
She freed her hand and threw herself against him with enough force to drive him back a step. Damon’s arms went around her to steady both of them, but he looked confused. She pulled his head down and took his mouth. Breaking off the kiss, she looked at him. Satisfied with the stunned heat in his eyes, she pushed him until his legs hit the end of the bench behind him.
“Sweet pea?”
A second shove forced him to sit and then she climbed on him, straddling his hips and grinding against his burgeoning erection. She fisted her hands in his hair, tugging his head back so he met her eyes. “You’re mine, Damon Brody, and I’m not losing you now,” she said fiercely. “You let anything happen to you and I’ll hunt your soul down to the ends of heaven and kick your ass. Are we clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, lips twitching.
Ravyn stopped his laughter by devouring his mouth again. She wasn’t quitting until he realized she meant business.
*** *** ***
Stacey doggedly continued to trail after Alex. They’d split up into teams of two to cover more ground inside the Old City, but hours had gone by with no one finding a trace of Ravyn or Brody. The last sign of their presence had been the booby-trapped gate they’d carefully disarmed to gain entrance.
As the gate had been rearmed, Stacey had watched the transport leave Jarved Nine to return to the ship. Sullivan had made the only choice he could, she knew that. The wind had tossed the vehicle as they’d landed and the storm would only intensify. To protect the ship from damage it had to leave the planet, but it made her uneasy to think of being stuck here.
The original plan had been to land within the Old City, but there had been some kind of force field surrounding the settlement and they hadn’t been able to set down inside the walls. She continued to glance up from time to time, unable to stop herself. There was a storm raging furiously over her head, but not a drop of rain or gust of wind touched her.
Alex stopped and Stacey pulled even with him. The city remained eerily empty. Then he started taking check-ins from the other teams and she realized another hour had passed. Again, no one had found anything. She sighed. “We could search for days and not find any sign of them.”
Alex tucked the stylus into the side of the electronic map and looked at her. “We’ll find them.”
“How? If they’re moving and we’re moving, we could keep missing each other.” Stacey tried not to be discouraged, but the sheer number of buildings and streets made the search daunting.
“Brody knows this is the time frame within which a rescue team would arrive. He won’t move unless he has no other choice. Stace, we’ve been leaving markers.” He opened his hand revealing little yellow blobs. “Brody knows how to read them. He sees them, he’ll find us if we don’t find them first. Trust me.”
“I do.” She knew nothing took precedence over finding his sister. Stacey watched Alex take a last look at the map and then put it away. She waited until he had the pocket fastened before she pointed up and asked, “Don’t you find that odd?”
He glanced up. “You mean that a force field we can’t see is keeping the storm
out? Yeah, it’s odd, but I’m glad it’s there. We would have had to stop searching hours ago if it weren’t.”
Stacey’s thoughts left the storm and returned to the search. “I think we should try to raise them again on the radio.”
“We’ve run through all the military frequencies a dozen times. Either his comm unit is broken or Brody managed to leave that somewhere the same way he left his assault rifle.”
Finished with the discussion, he walked away. Stacey had to hurry to keep up with him. He was still ticked off about finding Brody’s rifle propped up in the corner of Ravyn’s room at the facility. She didn’t understand how they could tell it was his. It looked no different to her than the one Alex carried, but Carmichael had identified it as the captain’s gun. She’d been told each man made personal adjustments to his weapon.
It didn’t take Sullivan too long to slow down. Stacey was relieved. She huffed from the pace he’d set and couldn’t have kept up with him much longer. The only sound in the Old City was her breathing and the crunch of her feet on the stones. Even with the clunky, heavy-looking boots Alex wore, he moved silently.
They had another ten minutes till check-in time when Alex stopped short. She’d been looking at the sky again, but he didn’t even sway as she plowed into his back. Puzzled, Stacey moved beside him and followed his gaze.
They’d found Ravyn. And Brody.
Brody sat on a bench beside a fountain and Ravyn sat astride him. Even from this distance, Stacey could see Ravyn had her hands buried in his hair and he had hold of her hips. The kiss they shared was so carnal, it was hard to believe they still had on all their clothes.
Stacey looked at Alex. She knew how he felt about Brody and how overprotective he’d always been with Ravyn. Especially when it came to men. He bared his teeth, his face feral, and snarled faintly. As involved as Ravyn and Brody were, she didn’t think they’d hear it. But the instant Alex’s rumble started, Brody stood, put Ravyn behind him and drew his gun. He scanned the area, his body tensed for battle. When he saw them, he began to lower the weapon. He hesitated before he put it away and she guessed Brody had noticed the look on Alex’s face.