Rayven's Keep

by Wolfe, Kylie

  “Hey, boss...” Seth’s words trailed after them but Nick didn’t give him a chance to finish. He slammed the door to his office, cutting off the sound of Callen’s amused chuckle and the bewildered look on Seth’s face. He’d deal with the two of them later.

  Nick dropped her hand as soon as they were alone and went behind the desk, motioning for her to remain where she was. He punched a series of buttons with more force than was necessary and a callscreen rose from its hidden place in the desk.

  “Briella’s,” he barked to the automated inquiry, and then drummed his fingers on the desk while waiting for the connection to be made.

  “Briella’s, how may I help you?” The voice belonged to a striking young woman, elegantly dressed and smiling with just a hint of hauteur.

  “I need clothing for my...er...client,” he said. “I need it delivered immediately.”

  “I see. Is there any particular style you want?” The woman’s smile was arch, implying Briella’s catered to every type of need without unnecessary embarrassment to either of them.

  Nick glared, and her smile slid away to be replaced by cool professionalism.

  “She will need things suited for space travel, nothing frilly–utilitarian,” he snapped, eyeing Tru. “Everything from the skin out. Dark colors.”

  He needed the clothing to be dull and sufficient to cool his growing sexual attraction to her. He gestured for Tru to join him behind the desk, positioning her so she could be seen by the salesperson on the callscreen.

  “I don’t like dark colors,” Tru declared and raised her chin.

  The sales woman looked from Tru to Nick and back again before she focused on Tru. Her smile warmed and she quirked an eyebrow. “Permission to scan?”

  “Granted,” Tru replied and then urged Nick to step out of the way. A small rainbow hued beam fanned out and scanned Tru from head to foot. Measurements, skin tone and other pertinent information was gathered and transmitted to the store.

  “I will see appropriate garments are delivered right away. I’m sure you will be completely satisfied with the collection.” She smiled serenely at Nick who inserted a data slip into a slot by the callscreen and authorized funds to be transferred. “It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Rayven.” Her image blinked out and the screen slid into the desk.

  Satisfied one immediate problem would soon be taken care of, Nick escorted Tru to a nearby seat. Too restless to stay in one spot, he paced the room.

  “There was no need for you to order clothes for me, you know? I could have taken care of it myself.”

  “Really? How? If I’m not mistaken you are on the run right now without any credits to your name.” Nick’s voice sounded harsh, even to his own ears. He exhaled and forced a calmness he was far from feeling. “Speaking of running, it is time to tell me what is going on, Tru.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter 7

  “Why were you on Lodestone? If I’m going to help you, I need to know the truth. Don’t even think about lying to me.”

  Tru glared at him and then looked away.

  “I don’t have all day, Tru,” he snapped.

  “Fine! I worked in the department handling accounting for my grandfather’s many interests. I’m good with numbers, but the job killed me with boredom. I wanted adventure and to travel, not sit in an office all day.”

  Nick crossed his arms over his chest and waited, his patience growing thin. Tru sat a little straighter in her chair and rushed to continue. “I was responsible for Lodestone Mining’s account, and I began to suspect something wasn’t right with the accounting. Money was being funneled into subsidiaries. It all looked good on the surface, but I kept running into walls when I tried to track it further. It was small things I couldn’t explain and it made me take a second, deeper look.” Her voice rose. “I tried to talk to my father about what I noticed, but he patted me on the head and told me not to be ridiculous. Lodestone Mining was a sound investment and I was letting my imagination run away with me.”

  “Go on,” he encouraged, before relaxing enough to sit on the corner of his desk. He plucked a small, decorative glass disc from the desktop and tossed it from one hand to the other.

  “I decided to take matters into my own hands and prove I was right.”

  Nick raised his eyebrows in mock alarm.

  “I informed my family I was going to visit a friend. I didn’t want them to worry, you see. I caught a transport to Lodestone under a false name so no one would know where I was and come after me. I informed the operations manager, Anto Geir, I was an auditor from Creighton Mutual doing a routine check. Everything was going as planned. I had even been able to discover the head of Lodestone Mining was not correctly accounting for the amount of mineral being shipped for sale–”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “I made friends with a shipping clerk. It wasn’t hard to get him to talk about his job and fairly easy to figure out some of the shipments were conveniently going astray.” Tru shrugged.

  “Him? Just how, exactly, did you get him to talk, Tru?” Nick’s voice was dark, dangerous as unwelcome jealousy stirred at the mention of another man. The emotion was so alien and so out of place, given the circumstances, it caught him off guard. He put the glass disc down with a little more force than necessary and curled his fingers under the edge of the desk, waiting for her answer.

  Tru’s shirt hem had ridden up her thigh again and she tugged it down. Nick almost groaned out loud.

  “Oh, you know, we had drinks at his place a couple of times,” she replied.

  “Just drinks?” There it was again, a slight growl in his voice, and he winced. Damn it all, she was driving him crazy.

  “Of course, just drinks. Good grief, Nick, what did you think was going on? He thought he impressed me with his importance. A few cups of the local ale and he prattled on without much encouragement. It was easy to cross-reference the dates he let drop on shipments against delivery. It wasn’t until Anto Geir started questioning me that I got a little nervous.”

  “What kind of questions?”

  “At first I didn’t think much about it. He wanted to know how my audit was going, was everything in order, that kind of thing. He tried to make conversation about the people I spent time with. He started to really make me nervous.”

  She clasped her hands in her lap tight enough to turn the knuckles white then continued in a small, strained voice, “The next work cycle, the shipping clerk wasn’t at his station. His body was found in one of the mines. Anto called it a tragic accident.”

  Expressions chased each other across her face, fear shadowed her eyes, and his long suppressed protective instincts chose that moment to make themselves known. Pushing himself off his desk, he crossed the short distance to her. Squatting, he took her small, clenched fists in his much larger hands, offering comfort as he rubbed his thumbs across their back.

  “Tell me the rest, Tru,” he ordered in a gentle tone.

  “When I got back to my rooms someone had been there. Everything was tossed about. My clothes were in ruins. I knew whoever had been there was looking for information, but I never left my data drive in my rooms. It was always with me.” Her voice trembled, and her pulse raced under his fingertips.

  “I knew I had to get back home, but whenever I tried to contact anyone the channels were blocked. I couldn’t even get a transport off-world. I wasn’t sure what to do, whom I could trust. I was scared to death.”

  She raised fear-dilated eyes to his, the bruising on her temple dark against her pale skin. “I waited until it was full dark and managed to get out of my rooms unseen, and once the shift changed at the space port offices, I was able to sneak in and find an unoccupied room. They don’t fully staff during the off hours and security is a little lax so it wasn’t hard to do. I was able to gain access to an unblocked haloviz. I’d heard rumors you were coming to Lodestone when no one thought I was listening. It seemed to make people very nervous for some reason.”
>
  “It seems like Geotern Mining isn’t as good at keeping secrets as they thought,” he murmured. “What were the rumors you heard?”

  “There weren’t many really–rumors of a new mineral, speculation on why Rayven Security would be involved, but nothing concrete. Your name kept coming up. Even my grandfather had shown some interest in your company. I knew you were going to be my best chance to escape, so I waited and hid, praying the rumors were true and you would help me get home.”

  Nick released her hands and stood. He crossed to the window, his back to the room. “Finding me didn’t prove to be such a bargain though, did it?” He glanced over his shoulder when he heard her leave her chair and cross the room to stand beside him. Her touch was hesitant against the rigid muscles of his back.

  “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, Nick, I would probably be dead,” she said simply. “I owe you for saving me...and for helping me now.”

  “Do you still have the drive?” He turned enough to see her, but not enough to force her hand from touching him. Tru had been rubbing his shoulder in a soothing circular motion and he enjoyed the contact. He suspected she wasn’t even aware she did it, but he would take what he could get.

  With her free hand, she slid her fingers under a thin chain around her neck and pulled the end of it from under the shirt she wore. It looked like an ornamental piece of jewelry until he looked closer and realized it was a cleverly camouflaged data drive.

  “May I?” He indicated the necklace with a lift of his chin.

  She nodded and reached behind her to unfasten the dainty chain. He forestalled her by cupping her shoulders and spinning her around so her back was to him. He skimmed his palms along her tense shoulders until he reached the velvet skin of her neck and took his time tracing the fragile links of the chain with his fingertips, moving with the lightest of touches from her collarbone to the fastening at her nape. He slipped his fingers under the links and lifted the chain away from her warm, fragrant skin.

  She caught her breath.

  Slower than was necessary, he unlatched it, enjoying the softness of the curls clinging to her nape and wrapping themselves around his fingertips. Her breath trembled as she exhaled, and he struggled to keep himself from doing more than removing the necklace.

  He cleared his throat to relieve the unexpected tightness. “I’ll have Callen take a look at the data, if that’s all right with you.”

  He didn’t wait around for her answer. He left the room without a backward glance, needing to put some distance between them.

  * * * *

  Tru raised her hand and rested it against the pulse pounding in her throat as she watched Nick stride from the room in search of Callen.

  She didn’t move.

  She couldn’t even if she wanted to.

  Nick’s touch had been tender. Intimate. It left her yearning for...what? She wasn’t sure, didn’t want to name it, so she concentrated on calming her erratic heartbeat and bringing the fine trembling in her limbs under control.

  He wasn’t gone long, but it gave her enough time to regain her composure.

  “What’s next?” She asked, surprised and pleased her tone only held curiosity.

  “We contact your grandfather and fill him in on what you’ve been up to.”

  “Do we have to? He’s not an easy man to deal with and he’s going to be furious with me.”

  “And so he should be. You put yourself in danger, lied about what you were doing and were lucky to get off Lodestone with your life.” Nick’s tone was implacable.

  She flinched, but she set her jaw.

  “He needs to know you are safe, and he needs to know about Anto Geir. He could very well be the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Your grandfather needs to protect his investments and investors, because I have a feeling Lodestone Mining is going to crash and burn before we’re done here.”

  Her shoulders slumped. Nick was right. She knew it, but would rather walk across broken glass barefoot than deal with her grandfather when he was displeased with her. And he was going to be upset when he found out what she’d done. Very upset.

  The front door opening and the sound of voices drew their attention. Footsteps headed their way. Nick stepped away from her and she tried not to be disappointed as they waited to see what the commotion was all about.

  “Delivery for you Tru,” Seth announced, coming into the room.

  The sturdy pale pink travel locker he held would survive rough handling. Absurdly pleased by the color and graceful lines of the locker, she was willing to bet her last credit this was not what Nick expected if his expression was anything to go by. Stunned disbelief followed by outrage, and then weary acceptance. It was priceless.

  “Don’t tell me. The clothing from Briella’s?”

  Tru rushed to the locker, ignoring his pained look. She wasted no time in unbuckling the straps and opening the lid to reach the clothing inside.

  “Yep.” There was laughter in Seth’s voice.

  Beautiful jeweled tone fabrics spilled over the sides as Tru rummaged through, admiring the texture and cut of the clothing inside. They were made for hard travel all right, but fashionably simple and of the best quality. Everything she saw was as far from the utilitarian and dull items Nick wanted as day was from night.

  “I need to change into something presentable if we’re going to talk to my grandfather. Will one of you carry the trunk upstairs so I can get ready?”

  Seth started to reach for the locker, but Nick nudged him aside. She exchanged a quick amused look with him as Nick hefted the locker and proceeded out the door. She couldn’t suppress the delighted smile on her face and was glad he couldn’t see it. Seth winked at her when she passed him and was whistling a merry tune as he followed them out the door.

  Once in her room, she asked Nick for scissors. He didn’t ask why, but his baffled expression said it all. As soon as he left her alone she set to work trimming her hair. She removed the ragged knife-cut edges and shaped it to lie in loose curls framing her face. She was happy with the results. The shorter hair drew attention to her large blue eyes and flattered her heart-shaped face. She looked less like a ragged urchin and more like the granddaughter of a successful businessman. The curls also camouflaged the bruising on the side of her face better than she’d anticipated. If she was careful how she turned her head, her grandfather might not even notice.

  She rummaged through the clothing to find something she liked. She smoothed the material of the short, military-cut jacket, delighted in the feel of the supple fabric. She couldn’t resist another peek in the mirror and grinned at her reflection.

  Durable, lightweight black material encased her legs and fell in a straight line to her feet. Her new clothing was designed to handle travel well. The cut and fit of the garments was flattering without being confining. She slipped her feet into butter-soft boots and adjusted the narrow belt at her waist before she left the room. Stylish clothing bolstered her sagging ego, and would give her the courage she would need to talk to her grandfather. At least, she hoped so. Ignoring the nerves dampening her palms, she went in search of Nick.

  Conversation stopped when she entered his office. The three men watched her move across the room with varying degrees of appreciation, but the flash of heat in Nick’s eyes put a smile on her face. Feeling more confident, she met his eyes and held his gaze for one long moment before letting hers drop away.

  Chapter 8

  Damn it, was she flirting with him? Nick snapped his mouth shut and struggled to find the threads of the conversation he’d been having before she came into the room and turned his brain to mush. Surely, Tru wasn’t aware of his attraction, not after he’d gone to such pains to keep it hidden. He shot a glance her way and wasn’t sure if he was relieved or pissed when he realized she was laughing at something Seth said, her back to him. His fingers clenched and he forced them to relax until they rested against his thigh.

  “Let’s get this over with.” Nick’s voice was gruff,
and he could have bitten his tongue out when the happy glow left her eyes. Mentally cursing, he kept his face impassive. Moving fast, he went to the callscreen and motioned for Tru to follow.

  “We need to contact your grandfather privately,” he said.

  “I understand. He has a channel solely for family use. He’ll stop whatever he’s doing to answer it.”

  “Good.” Nick drew in a deep breath and her delicate scent instantly assailed him.

  The pulse in his head pounded and his control slipped another notch. He wanted to touch her, tempted beyond bearing by the silky curls waiting for him to run his hands through them. His mouth tightened into a thin line, and he took a small step away as he waited for her to open the channel to her grandfather. His gaze wandered around the room with his determination to keep his focus off her and his ability to think intact.

  “Tru? Where are you? Are you all right?” The voice was deep and demanding, drawing Nick’s reluctant attention back to Tru and the man on the viewscreen.

  He couldn’t help but notice the tears brightening her eyes once she saw her grandfather’s face, and he fought the temptation to go to her. He was relieved when she straightened her shoulders and blinked the moisture away.

  “I’m fine. I just got myself in a little trouble,” she answered. Lifting her chin, she offered a serene smile. Nick glanced at her, wondering where the hell it came from. In their short acquaintance, he’d seen various sides to her, but serenity wasn’t something he would ever associate with her.

  “What kind of trouble? Where the hell are you?”

  “She’s with me for the moment.” Nick moved to Tru’s side so he was visible on the callscreen. “She’s safe, but we have a situation and you need to be made aware of it.”

  “Who are you?” Maddox’s voice was razor-edged, demanding. “And what the hell are you doing with my granddaughter?”

  Maddox’s bushy white eyebrows rose over his shrewd laser blue eyes. His frown was fierce, brooking no opposition, his authority clear in his unbowed posture. He exuded the energy of a much younger man and was not what Nick had expected at all. Revising his misconception, he realized it was what made Maddox Creighton rich and successful. He was a powerful man, used to having his own way, and it showed. Nick’s respect for the man grew.