by KD Jones
He had spoken to Olivia two hours ago while she was still on the shuttle taking her to the Twin Points region. She was about to take a nap so he let her go. He should have gone with her. He would have been there to hold her close and watch over her while she slept. Nothing felt better than having Olivia in his arms. What if she was in danger? He didn’t think he would be able to handle it if something happened to her and there had been something that he could have done to prevent that.
Phoenix pushed himself harder as he ran a few laps and when his stride started slowing down, he gave up. He headed back to Rage and the others. Rage took one look at him and shook his head.
“You can do some weights but you’re no good to me right now. Why don’t you go to my suite and check in with Rachel to see if she heard from Trig? She really hated that she couldn’t go with them but the healers told her she had to stay off her feet and limit her traveling.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll do that after I take a quick shower.”
“Make sure she eats something for me. She has a tendency to not eat when she should.”
“I will.” Phoenix walked over to the locker rooms. Surely Rachel would know more of what was going on. Maybe she had been in contact with Trig.
*****
Olivia woke up feeling groggy. She had put her seat back so she could sleep, and after adjusting until she could get into a comfortable position, she finally fell asleep. It was not the most restful sleep she’d ever had. That would have been sleeping in Phoenix’s arms. Nothing could ever compare to being with Phoenix. He made her feel safe and that was something she had needed. She tried to occupy her mind with the trip but it was hard when images of her night with Phoenix played over and over in her mind.
The space shuttle they were traveling on had made some tight maneuvers to avoid debris from an asteroid. She woke several times to readjust her position. She looked over to find the seat where Trig should have been sitting next to her empty. Reaching for her cell phone, she wanted to call Phoenix but didn’t want to interrupt him during his practice. Trig returned and sat down.
“How much longer?” she asked, feeling disoriented and hating that she didn’t have a clue where they were.
Trig checked his watch. “We’ve actually made good time. We have another hour before we reach the Twin Points space station. From there the local IDJ will take us to their headquarters where they have a morgue and are holding the victim’s body.”
She frowned. “Victim’s body…that sounds so cold.”
“Sorry. As an ex-IDJ agent I tend to talk in a professional manner instead of a personal one. It can make doing the job hard when you get too emotionally invested.”
“I guess I can understand that. I sometimes get too emotionally tied into my cases. My bosses have to rein me in and there were a couple of cases I was taken off due to my over-involvement. It’s always been hard for me, especially when it comes to battered women and abused children. I want to help them. I may not have always gotten along with my father but he was very caring toward me and my sister. I think all children deserve to be raised in a loving home like I was.”
“I was mostly raised by my grandma and she spoiled me a great deal,” Trig said. “My wife, Zara, didn’t have that opportunity. Zara was raised mostly in one of the science facilities until she was freed by the IDJ. She is amazing, despite her horrible upbringing, and we’re trying to give our daughter a better life than what she started out with.”
“I didn’t realize you and Zara had a daughter.”
“Zara had her when she was much younger while being kept in one of the scientist-run facilities. She was told that her daughter had died but she found out years later that she was still alive. We found her almost a year ago and now we’re raising her. Zara wants to keep her family life private from the public so that her daughter will have as normal a life as possible. I might only be her stepdad but I love that kid just the same.”
As he said that he pulled out his cell phone and showed her pictures.
“She’s beautiful. Looks just like her mother.”
Trig’s smile was infectious. “She sure does. My girls are real beauties.”
She could see his love for his family and couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Maybe her dad and sister had a point, that she had spent too much time following her career and not enough time working on having a relationship or a family of her own. She wasn’t against having a family, she simply thought she had plenty of time to have one later. Fear also played a big part of her not letting anyone get close to her. She didn’t want to let someone in, only to have him hurt and disappoint her like her father did with her mother. She could see now that it kept her from committing to anyone. One night with Phoenix had her thinking about relationships and families.
“So…you’re dating Phoenix, I hear.”
She felt heat rise to her cheeks. “How did you know?”
“The GCFA is kind of an extended family, plus I work in security so we kind of have to know who’s with who.”
How embarrassing that all of security and probably all of the GCFA knew about her and Phoenix. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of being with Phoenix, but she was a very private person. Plus, it was really early in their relationship. They’d had one fabulous date and one beautiful night of loving.
“I didn’t mean to pry,” Trig told her apologetically.
“It’s okay. I’m just a private person and it’s been a little while since I let anyone get close to me. Phoenix kind of took me by surprise.”
He chuckled. “Love can be like that. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me the first time I met Zara.”
Olivia could understand the wind being knocked out. She felt a little like that, too. She couldn’t have asked for a better lover for her first time, second or third time to boot. Phoenix was gentle when she needed it, fierce when she was comfortable with it, and even let her set the pace. It had to be the single most instrumental moment in her life. Something so special she would remember it for the rest of her life.
Of course, he completely ruined her for any other man. Not that she was interested in anyone else. She wasn’t sure where this thing with Phoenix was leading. They hadn’t talked about the future and neither one brought up the fact that she would be leaving to go back to her job. He hadn’t bothered to ask her to stay, though. If he did, she didn’t know what her answer would be. Leaving the GCFA ship would basically be ending what they had only started because there was no way their relationship would survive the long distance apart. Was she willing to let this go now that she’d finally found someone who made her want everything that life had to offer?
The ding of her phone caught her attention. She lifted it up and smiled seeing Phoenix’s number. She stood as she answered to go find a more private location to talk.
“Hi.” She couldn’t help but smile as she answered.
“I miss you.”
She laughed at the gruffness of his voice. “I haven’t been gone a full seven hours yet.”
“It feels like forever.”
She moved to an empty bench and sat down. “How’s practice going?”
“Rage kicked me out. I don’t blame him either. I can’t stop worrying over you and what you might be walking into. I should have gone with you.”
She sighed. “Phoenix, this is my job.”
“I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier for me to deal with. We were just starting something special, at least I thought that.”
“I feel that way, too, but where will it lead to? I have a job to do that isn’t on board the GCFA ship. Eventually—”
“Don’t say it. Let’s see if this is more than just a one-time thing. If it turns into more, then we’ll take it from there, but don’t end it before it’s had a chance to really start.”
“Aren’t we setting ourselves up for possible heartbreak? Wouldn’t it be better to end things on a good note rather than wait and struggle then end things where we both walk away hurt and n
ot completely whole?” Oh God, was she really that scared?
“I know it’s scary to open yourself up to possibly being hurt. Hell, I’m probably the worst person in the galaxy to even try after my last relationship ended so badly. After what I went through—the bomb, the pain of my body repairing itself, the time being tortured and coming back to find the woman I loved married to someone else—I had sworn off any attachments. I was fine with that for years. Then, in a matter of days of meeting you, I started to realize how much I was missing in my life.”
He was saying exactly what she was feeling but she wasn’t sure how to process it. “Phoenix, we don’t know each other that well.”
“I think you know me better than anyone else in my life, and I want you to know more. I want to get to know everything about you. Isn’t that how a relationship is supposed to start, where both people want to spend time getting to know each other better? Nothing in life is guaranteed. You could tire of me and leave a day from now, a month, or after years of being together. One of us could have an accident and die. I have learned the hard way that life is too short and too precious to not live it to the fullest. Sadly, I haven’t been doing that these last few years stewing in pain and anger. I won’t do that anymore.”
What was he saying to her? Did he have deep feelings for her? Was it too soon for that? Or should she take his advice and grab hold of whatever they had for however long she could? This wasn’t the time or place to make those decisions, though.
“We’ll talk more when I get back.”
“The GCFA ship may depart before you’re done. What’s the plan if that happens?”
“Trig said that we would take another shuttle to meet up with the GCFA ship at the next spaceport.”
“Which is two days’ traveling time on a shuttle. So it’s possible I won’t see you for three days.”
Damn, she didn’t think it would be that long. “If this turns out to not be involved with my clients, we will leave immediately. That’s the best I can do.”
“You still won’t tell me what this case involves?”
“I promise to tell you when I return. I just don’t want anyone else to overhear.”
“I guess that will have to do for now. Call me as soon as you are on your way back.”
“I will.”
They were both silent for a moment, neither one ready to hang up.
“Phoenix?”
“Yeah?”
“I want to give us a try.”
“Me, too. See you soon, beautiful.”
Olivia hung up feeling so many emotions, but she had been honest. She wanted to see if they could make things work. Like her mother used to tell her and her sister when they were children, “You don’t know if you can or can’t do something if you never try.” She wanted to try with Phoenix and see where things went. She had to overlook her fear and reach for happiness.
Chapter 11
Intergalactic Department of Justice headquarters on Twin Points
Olivia walked next to Trig down the corridor of the IDJ headquarters. Trig was talking to one of the IDJ officers as they traveled down to the morgue. She couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of having to identify a dead body. Please don’t let this person belong to one of my clients, she prayed silently. They stopped right outside a door marked Morgue. A tall, handsome broad-shouldered man came out to greet them. She recognized him to be a full Beastial. That made sense since Twin Points was under Beastial jurisdiction.
“Agent Trig Roberts, I’ve heard good things about you. I’m Captain Veto.” He reached for Trig’s hand but kept glancing over at Olivia. She fought the urge to fidget.
Trig shook hands. “It’s just Trig Roberts now. I’ve retired from the IDJ. I appreciate you holding off sending out the news about the victim until we arrived. This is Olivia Mann, the legal aide involved in the missing girls’ case on Venetia.”
Olivia reached out to shake the man’s hand. He was as big as Rage, the GCFA Champion, who was only half Beastial. “Thank you for your assistance, Captain.”
“I’m hoping you can help identify her. We easily checked her DNA and uncovered her species—Venetian—however, the Venetians are one of the few nations that do not have to submit their DNA identifiers to the IDJ. They keep their privacy but it makes it harder to identify criminals or, in this case, victims.”
“help convince the Venetian council to change their protocol regarding the DNA identifiers. Can we see her now?” She didn’t really want to but it was best to get it over with. She would be strong and do her job.
Captain Veto didn’t move right away, blocking the entrance to the room. “I must warn you, the victim has been cleaned up but it’s still not a pretty sight. If you would rather not see the body in person, I have pictures available.”
She knew he directed this to her because Trig would have seen dead bodies during his IDJ career. “I understand but I need to see…the body in person to give a proper identification.”
“Very well,” Captain Veto turned and walked into the room. She followed him and Trig came in behind her. The smell of the room was very sterile, like a hospital with lingering chemicals. Three of the walls were in white tile and the wall on the right was lined with small doors that she knew would contain pull-out tables holding bodies. In the middle of the room was a metal table with a sheet covering a body. She couldn’t help but gulp nervously as she slowed her steps, letting Trig move around her and go directly to the table without hesitation. She let him take the lead.
“When and where was the body found?” Trig asked, motioning for the morgue attendant to move the sheet down to reveal the body.
Captain Veto walked around to the other side of the table. “Two days ago in a waste capsule that had been jettisoned out into space. This capsule had multiple system failures. The decomposer failed and the navigator redirected itself toward a starship. The starship picked it up and that’s when the body was discovered.”
That information shocked Olivia out of her hesitation. She approached the table. “So does that mean that she was on a ship when she died?”
Trig answered her. “It might mean that, or that she was on a planet and was sent out to be dumped in space so that the body wasn’t found on the planet’s surface. All waste capsules are designed to slowly deteriorate the waste inside, and once complete, release the remaining particles into space then do a self-cleaning before returning to the launch base. Did the capsule’s computer have the launch information?”
“There is nothing about the launch location and it was not programmed to return. It would have been lost in space if a computer glitch hadn’t occurred making the capsule run a direct course to one of our starships. It was retrieved and turned over to our agents immediately,” Captain Veto said.
Looking down at the small girl no more than thirteen, Olivia saw her slight body was free of color but her dark hair and exotic facial features made it clear that she was Venetian. “What are the marks on her wrists and ankles and neck?”
The morgue assistant answered. “She had been chained down and raped repeatedly.”
Trig and Captain Veto both growled angrily. Trig asked, “Do you have any DNA from her abusers?”
“No, she was sterilized before being placed in the waste cube. That’s why her skin is lacking color pigment.”
Olivia felt nauseous. She turned her face to look at the blank white wall to get herself under control. “She was used, abused, and dumped like she was worthless.” God, her heart ached for this child. It never should have happened.
“Is she one of the girls you are looking for?” Trig asked.
“No. I don’t know whether to be glad about that or sad.”
Captain Veto seemed disappointed that she didn’t immediately recognize her. “It’s vital, then, that we identify her.”
Olivia looked over at the morgue assistant. “Could you help turn her to her side? It is a well-kept secret that full Venetians are born with a genetic marker that shows family heri
tage. I have a faint one barely visible on my left shoulder because I’m only half Venetian, but my sister’s is clearly visible. There should be a symbol of interconnected circles. The different size and colors delineate which ancestry the person is from.”
The assistant perked up. “Yes, there is a symbol with circles that are black and blue. I thought it was a tattoo, or possibly a brand from her captors.”
Once they got the body turned on her right side, the marking became visible. Olivia took out her cell and opened a special Venetian app that scanned the marking. “The Venetian app identifies the markings. We mostly use this app in hospitals to track newborns. It says she’s from the Lakings ancestry.”
Captain Veto looked at the marking. “I’ll contact the Venetian council to see if any children are missing from the Lakings ancestry.”
“Let me, Captain. I had to do an internship one summer as college credit and worked closely with the Venetian council. I know some of the councilmen very well.”
“I need to speak with them as the official IDJ representative.”
“I will tell them to expect your call. Just give me an hour to reach out to them first.”
Captain Veto wasn’t happy but he nodded his agreement. “Tell them that we request permission to send an investigative team to interview the family and friends of the victim.”
“I will.” Olivia pulled her phone out of her purse and turned to walk out of the room. She needed a little more privacy. It was true that she did know people on the council, but they had already denied her concerns when she took on her clients. This might get pretty ugly. She saw a text from Phoenix but couldn’t respond right then. She used her contact list and pulled up the number for Councilman Ross Toller. He was a good friend of her father’s and basically a second father to her and they considered him family. If anyone could help her with the rest of the council, it was Uncle Ross. She dialed his direct line.