Cover Fire (Valiant Knox)

by Anastasi, Jess

  Seb scoffed, as if such a notion was ridiculous.

  “Then how would poor Ace ever afford to buy beer?” Seb slouched against the one pillow he had left. “Seriously, though, I only lose ‘cause I don’t really try to win. And I definitely don’t lose more than I can afford. Besides, my bad streak has become legendary. Why give up a good thing?”

  “Uh-huh,” she returned in a dry tone. She had no idea how to figure this guy out. Sacha was right—he’d be the bane of some poor woman’s life one day, always running her in circles and keeping her on her toes. At least they wouldn’t have a boring life.

  The thought of some faceless woman getting to spend the rest of her life laughing at Seb’s jokes and trying to figure out when he was being serious made an ache spasm through the middle of her chest, and she had to drop her gaze to get a handle on the momentary surge of emotions.

  “Hey, what’s up?” He straightened, of course noticing, and reached out to take her hand.

  She stomped her useless feelings back down. It wasn’t like she wanted Seb forever-and-happily-ever-after—she’d barely known the guy a week. No, it was more the stark realization of how empty of true meaning her life had been for so many years that was pounding like a weight on her sternum.

  She settled her features into a calm mask before she looked back up at him. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just been a long night. I probably need a few hours’ sleep on a bed, not in a chair.”

  “Wanna swap? You could take the bed for an hour or two and I’ll sit in the chair.” He was already sliding to the edge of the gurney, but she stopped him with a hand on his knee.

  “I’ll be fine until we get back to your cabin later. I’m meant to be keeping watch over you, remember? Can’t do that if I’m sleeping.” She sent him a smile, but had a feeling it probably missed the mark. “Besides, even though I met her and she seemed nice, I keep hearing about how formidable Doctor Dalton is. And if she’s with Commander Yang, then I can only imagine she must be one daunting person to get on the wrong side of. Don’t think she’d be very impressed to find me taking up your bed.”

  “You’re right. Don’t get on her bad side and you won’t ever have to find out.” Seb shifted back again, not looking convinced, but letting things stand. “Anyway, once we get back to my cabin later, I’m putting you to bed—no arguments.”

  She couldn’t help grinning at him. “Is it my turn to make inappropriate innuendos about being in bed?”

  He spread his hands open. “Sure, take your best shot.”

  Before she could come up with any suitable Seb-like reply, the door opened again. A shot of annoyance burst through her, because how was he supposed to get any rest if people kept tramping in here? But it quickly turned to icy alarm, as Stanton stepped in, closely followed by another field agent named Carrie.

  She held her breath, trying not to appear on edge as Stanton swept a quick glance over her and then focused on Seb. No one at CI had ever seen her real face, so she didn’t think her ex-handler would recognize her on looks alone. But her voice might be a problem.

  Whatever the man was here about, she couldn’t leave. For all she knew, he was also directly or indirectly responsible for the attempts on Seb. She had to make sure she didn’t say more than a few words. Because if Stanton was behind all this and realized who she was, neither she nor Seb would leave this room alive.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Seb crossed his arms, forcing himself not to look at Jenna as the damned CI bastard, Stanton, walked into his room with another female agent. She had the same killer-babe vibe going on he’d first seen from Jenna when she’d still been wearing all that appearance-altering tech. But this chick had a wealth of curly, dark-red hair, was taller and way curvier. And most telling, her blue eyes were ice-cold and completely devoid of emotion.

  It was a stark reminder of what Jenna had been not quite a week ago. Truthfully, he’d almost forgotten his first impression of her, and in the last day, he’d nearly forgotten exactly what she was capable of.

  “Sub-Lieutenant, if we might have a word?” Stanton asked, his tone indicating the question had clearly been for the charade of being polite and nothing else.

  “Do I have a choice?” he asked, keeping his tone neutral.

  Inside, though, he was trying not to go into panic mode. Jenna had explained the tech she’d used to disguise herself should mean no one would recognize her. And that was all fine and dandy…until they ended up stuck in the same room as the person who’d possibly ordered her execution.

  What if he said something wrong and gave her away? What if Stanton did recognize her? What if the agent somehow got a clue that Jenna was right here under his nose and ready to expose him?

  “This is official business.” Stanton looked at Jenna, sending his heart crashing against the inside of his chest. “Can we have the room?”

  He finally let himself glance at her, and she gave a small, subtle shake of her head. Was she seriously trying to tell him not to let Stanton kick her out? He needed to get her out of this room before the creepy CI droid of an agent worked out the truth.

  It was her damned vow to protect him. Did she really think Stanton would brazenly walk in here in the middle of the day and off him? He cast a considering look over the two CI agents, remembering every warning Jenna had given him, and every shady CI story he’d ever heard. Actually, they probably would.

  “Can’t we do this at another time?”

  Like, maybe a quarter past never?

  But Stanton was shaking his head, expression already past impatient and straight into downright annoyed. Well, the feeling was mutual. This dick was the last person he wanted to be speaking with right now.

  “Fine. I’ve got nothing to hide, so whatever you want to ask me, let’s get it over with.”

  Stanton cast another look at Jenna, and something in his gaze seemed to be calculating, like he was sizing her up or searching for a weakness to exploit. But she kept her cool expression easy and open, like she had nothing to hide.

  “You’ve had an interesting week, Sub-Lieutenant.” Stanton took his attention off Jenna at last, leaving him to breathe a little easier. “Going down behind enemy lines. Stealing an enemy ship. Failing to recover the information I needed. And here you are now on med level, apparently the victim of interrupting a robbery. A petty robbery on a deployed military battleship.”

  “I was there,” he replied in a flat voice. “I don’t need a play-by-play. And is there a point to this?”

  “Lawler.”

  The single word dropped like a bomb, sending shockwaves through his body and leaving him aching. He clenched his jaw, needing a moment to get a handle on the flare of fury and pain that got stronger every time someone mentioned the bastard’s name. Why did people have to keep bringing it up? He didn’t need a reminder how every thing, every moment between them had been a lie. And it hurt like someone had died. Which was stupid, considering there hadn’t really been a Lawler in the first place. That man hadn’t ever really existed. He was mourning no one.

  “What about him?” he demanded through a rigid jaw, not able to say the asshole’s name. Even just referring to him made his stomach churn.

  “You were Lawler’s best friend. You knew him better than anyone. You spent the most time with him. I’m just trying to understand how you could be that close to someone and not know who they truly are. That you didn’t see any hints or find any clues of his true intentions.”

  The churning in his guts increased, along with the fury burning through his veins. “He fooled everyone, not just me. Do you have any actual questions, or are you going to stand there all day telling me things I already know?”

  “And what exactly are the things you know, Rayne? Maybe you weren’t as ignorant about Lawler as you acted. Maybe you did have a clue—”

  Anger pushed him straighter on the gurney. “I didn’t know anything—”

  “Maybe,” Stanton said right over Seb’s words. “You knew exactly what Lawler
was up to. Maybe you not only covered for him, you were also enabling him.”

  He surged up off the bed, but the yanking of IV lines, plus Jenna intercepting him with a hand in the middle of his chest stopped him from leaping at Stanton.

  “I’m not going to play your game. I’m not going to defend myself against these accusations because I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Maybe,” Stanton continued as if Seb hadn’t even spoken. “There are still CSS moles on board the Knox, and they’re aware you know something, and this was their attempt at keeping you quiet.”

  He clenched his fists, rage cresting so hot within him, it actually felt like his skin was burning. Oh, he knew full well who’d been behind this attempt on his life, and it had nothing to do with Lawler. Was Stanton trying to lure him into a fight, maybe just kill him blatantly and claim self-defense later? Hell, it was damn well working. He wanted to punch the smarmy ass right in the face.

  “This conversation is over. You want to speak to me, you can go get Yang and do it on record. Otherwise, next time you start in with this moronic speculation, I’m going to answer with my fists.”

  Stanton stared at him, then his gaze slid to Jenna, still standing beside him with a hand braced against the middle of his chest, obviously prepared to hold him back if she had to.

  The agent’s gaze became coldly calculating again, sending Seb’s heart into a free fall. Damn it, Stanton had to know something was up with her. It was written all over his face. Either that, or he was coming up with a way to use her against him.

  He took a half-step forward. “Get the hell out.”

  The snapped demand worked to regain the agent’s attention, as Stanton returned his gaze—sharp and cutting—to him. “Okay, we’ll do this the hard way. I’ll go and see Yang. I certainly don’t mind exposing whatever dark secrets you’ve got to an audience. I know you’re hiding something, Rayne. I’m going to tear your life apart until I find it. And know that I’ll be watching every move you make.”

  Stanton nodded at the female agent standing with him, and they left the room.

  Once the agents had left, he blew out a ragged breath as Jenna dropped her hand and shifted back.

  He turned away from her, dragging both hands across his face. Had Stanton been serious? Was he going to start digging? It wasn’t like he had any shameful secrets in his past he wanted to keep buried, but that didn’t mean he wanted the asshole stripping down every part of his life.

  The biggest problem was it might not take much digging to find out a young girl named Jenna had never lived next door to him when he was growing up. Damn it.

  Everything was coming down around him. First Lawler, and now Stanton had accused him of knowing about it. Did other people think that as well? That, considering how close he and Lawler had been, he must have had a clue about who the guy really was. Even if they didn’t, it still left him looking like a gullible moron for not seeing anything. Worse, Stanton might only be hours away from exposing Jenna. Once the truth came out, she was as good as dead.

  The fury he’d been fighting when Stanton had been shooting those accusations at him boiled up again, coming harder, hotter, faster. With a curse, he ripped the IV out of his arm, needing to be free of the tether, of the reminder of how close he’d come to losing his damned life. But that wasn’t enough, the rage was still howling through him. He picked up the IV pole and swung, smashing it into the bulkhead.

  “Seb!” Jenna rushed over, grabbing his biceps before he could take a second swing. He let the now-bent IV pole clatter to the floor and dropped into a crouch, trying to catch his sawing breath.

  She came down next to him, a hand sliding over his upper back. An ache rippled through his shoulder and down his injured arm. Hell, he’d probably gone and undone all Sacha’s work repairing his wound. Blood dripped from his elbow, spotting the floor near his bare feet with crimson red.

  Her mouth close to his ear, she leaned into him. “He’s trying to get to you—”

  “I know!” He jerked out from Jenna’s touch. But then he felt like a complete tool, because she was only trying to help him. He shifted from the crouch to sit with his back against the bulkhead. “I know he’s trying to get to me, and I’m letting him. But don’t you get what this means—?”

  She pressed her fingers against his lips, cutting him off and then shifting closer, so their faces were only inches apart.

  “Stanton could be listening.” She kept her voice low, barely more than a murmur. “For all I know, he left a bug here. It’s his go-to move when he decides someone needs watching. I can’t kill the bug, because it’ll raise his suspicions. If we’re going to talk, then we need to disguise it.”

  Seb took a breath, the cleansing air and Jenna’s nearness helping to soothe the last of his fractured temper.

  “If he goes digging far enough, he’ll work out the truth about you. I’m going to get you killed,” he murmured, rubbing the back of her neck and bringing her nearer, making like this moment wasn’t about words. The line between pretend and real blurred, their mouths only a breath apart.

  Jenna pressed her lips together, looking more resigned that worried. “That’s not on you, Seb, it never was. And we were already on the clock. It’ll take him at least a day or two to find anything. I just have to make sure I’m gone by then.”

  His heart skipped a rushed a beat. He’d known all along that she’d be walking out of his life as suddenly as she’d walked into it. But hearing her say it, that they had maybe two days at the most before she left and he’d never see her again, made a different kind of pain spasm through his body.

  He tightened his hold on her nape, bringing his other hand up to grasp her shoulder like maybe she was going to disappear on him right now. “There’s nothing but danger out there. Especially if you’re alone.”

  “There’s nothing but danger for me here.” She cupped his cheek, taking a second to brush her lips too lightly over his. “Look how much trouble I’ve already caused you. I know you want to help me, but you can’t. No one can.”

  “I can’t let you go, knowing you’re probably going to get killed.” The truth rushed out of him raggedly, catching his voice.

  “And I can’t stay, knowing I’m probably going to get you killed. So I guess that puts us at an impasse.”

  “Damn it, Jenna—”

  Her lips landed gently on his. The kiss was brief and tender, and over too quickly.

  “There’s no point fighting things we can’t change. Now I’m going to get Sub-Doctor Moore.”

  She pushed to her feet and went to the call button before he could reply. He let his head drop against the bulkhead behind him, taking a moment to shove down the last of the rage and hurt. But he couldn’t quite get a lid on it, as though the floodgates were opened and couldn’t be closed again. Though he had control, bad things were too close to the surface. And it wouldn’t take much—probably just a glance of damn Stanton’s stupid face—and he’d hit meltdown point all over again.

  He couldn’t go on like this—the anger and hurt festering and rotting everything inside him. But it wasn’t only the thing with Lawler decaying his sanity. This situation with Jenna was twisting him up tighter with each passing hour. He resented Stanton for putting her in this position even more than those idiotic accusations about him and Lawler. Not only that, but he couldn’t handle the idea that she was going to leave the Knox and he would never know what happened to her. Because if she couldn’t outrun CI and she did die, he sure as hell wouldn’t get a bereavement card.

  Somehow, he had to help her solve this properly in the short time they had left. He had to make sure that when she left the Knox, she was safe and could go off somewhere and live safely for the rest of her life.

  The door opened and Ace stepped in, gaze taking in the minor destruction and where he sat on the floor.

  “So am to take this as a hint you don’t want to be discharged this afternoon?”

  Ace walked over and kicked the bent IV pole
out of the way, then offered him a hand. He took it with his non-injured arm and let his buddy pull him to his feet.

  “Stanton came to see me and we had some technical difficulties.” He moved over to the bed as Ace snapped on a pair of gloves and grabbed a piece of gauze.

  “Here. Press this into your elbow. You did a beautiful job removing the IV line.”

  He shot Ace an unimpressed frown as the sub-doctor started some kind of scan protocol from the inset screen.

  “Just hold still for a few seconds.” Ace kept his attention on the data while Seb practically held his breath. The last thing he wanted was to end up back in surgery or stuck on med level for another night.

  “Okay. I don’t think I’ll need to put the IV back in. The cell repair fluids have done their thing. And you got lucky. There’s some bruising developing around the repaired injury, so you’ll probably have some extra swelling, but it doesn’t look like you tore any of the repaired tissue, so you won’t need to go back into surgery. I can still discharge you today.” He lifted the gauze to check the small tear in the crook of Seb’s elbow. “Don’t suppose there’s any point in telling you not to try any repeat performances of whatever happened in here.”

  “As long as Stanton keeps out of my way, you won’t have to worry about that.” Unfortunately, he got the feeling he wouldn’t be so lucky. Stanton had latched onto him like a damned mutt with a bone. And according to Jenna, the guy was going to make good on his threat to watch every move he made.

  “Considering I heard the agent is on your ass about the last mission you flew, that inspires me with so much confidence.” Since the bleeding had stopped, Ace took the gauze away and tossed it into a nearby disposal unit, along with his gloves.

  “You heard about that? Goddamn, this ship has a more effective gossip vine than a celebrity rag.”

  “Well, when one of the top FP squad pilots gets suspended from flying, people are going to talk.” He picked up a datapad that’d been left on a nearby bench and entered some notes on it. “I’ll go get you a shirt and some shoes, then you can take your troubles somewhere that’s not messing up Sacha’s med level.”