Devoted Deceptions, A 4th Millennium Adventure, Book 3

by Cherie Singer

  "Not what. Who." Wulfe leaned down, intent on her mouth. "The starlight does incredible things to your already beautiful face, my wife. Too bad it doesn't touch your heart as well."

  This could be her last chance to feel his lips on hers. Something as hot and powerful as anger burned through her. Bellon desire. She didn't have time for his idea of sport. Cat took possession of his mouth, reveled in the heat of his physical reaction, the flambeau of his turbulent emotions. The intensity of her own response threatened to force her remaining rational thought into complete oblivion.

  She broke away while her mind still functioned. "That's some kiss for someone who's so anxious to get rid of me."

  "Whatever gave you that idea?"

  "Have you lost your honor along with your memory? I know you demanded Flemming transfer me, so don't begin lying to me now." Trying to figure out why Wulfe could ignore the facts made her feelings even more confused and hopelessly tangled.

  "That was before I realized--"

  Cat cut him off, unwilling to waste her failing energy on a lost cause. "You got your way, even if only for a little while. I won't be back until we can be reasonably sure the chairman is safe."

  "Since when do you act as a Shield for someone?"

  "I didn't say that. The chairman has a security force of his own. They only need some temporary leadership."

  "Look me in the eye and tell me that if it comes down to saving the chairman's life, you won't act as a Shield and take the hit for him?"

  Cat shook her head. He might not remember every detail of her Covert work, but he intuitively knew many things, including her instinctive and trained reactions toward someone under her protection.

  "I didn't think so. You'd risk your life for a stranger, risk the possibility of depriving the children of their mother?"

  That stung. She had to bite her tongue yet again to keep from blurting out the entire truth of her trip to Nutralis.

  "Back off, Wulfe. I don't have an option here." One more item over which she had no control. If only Flemming had given her the choice to tell Wulfe the truth.

  "Not even if I said I didn't want you to go?"

  "Your words, even if you meant them, wouldn't change the orders I've received." She didn't dare admit to him how very much she wanted to stay with him. Pride and honor wouldn't allow her to ask Wulfe to explain why he wanted her gone. Wulfe had demanded Flemming remove her, so how could he tell her he wanted her to stay? He couldn't and maintain his honor.

  "Is this another one of your Covert operations?"

  "I told you; the orders came from Admiral Flemming."

  "But he's doing Covert's bidding without realizing it, yes?"

  Cat refused to answer, unable to lie to him, unwilling to expose Flemming as Covert. For the sake of his mind, Wulfe needed to remember the details on his own.

  His arm fell away from her. "So you're off at Covert's behest without a second's hesitation, without any consideration of what I want, without even a thought of your own children. Here we go again! What the narg is wrong with me?"

  "But you're the one--you wanted--"

  "I want a lot--evidently too much! I want a mate who will stand by me! I want a mate who will put her children first, no matter what! I want a mate who loves and respects her Lord enough to accept him the way he is, for what he is!"

  He could have run her through with his falchion and injured her less. "Has it ever occurred to you that I want--that I very much need--the same things you do, Wulfe?"

  "Oh, aye! You've really proven that to me! I can't believe I thought, for even a moment that I--that we--do you not have a mere nuance of Bellon honor and responsibility in you?"

  "Honor and responsibility?" Exactly the qualities that had gotten her into this bloody mess. Rage, harsh and hot, bubbled through her. Whatever else Wulfe felt, his own anger and resentment overshadowed everything, made him oblivious to reason and any truths standing before him. In his present state of mind, he'd never believe her even if she revealed how much she loved him.

  "I've had it up to here," Cat jerked her hand level with her eyes, "with honor and responsibility, so if it makes you feel better to believe I have none, fine. Guilty as charged. Not a nuance to be found."

  "Ah. The truth at last. A rarity from you, it seems. Allow me to tell you a truth, ma'ten. If you leave my ship now, without knowing how or where the children are, you needn't bother coming back."

  "Don't hand out ultimatums to me, Wulfe! You may not like the results you get." The pit of her stomach burned with pent-up, frustrated rage. "In fact, I guarantee it."

  "I haven't liked much that's happened so far. I will find the children and I will keep them with me. You will not exist for any of us. Can you live with that reality?"

  Sweet Creator, she'd been so wrong! The hurt in her heart could become infinitely worse! The pain went through to her very soul. She wasn't strong enough to survive this! "If that is what you truly want, Wulfe, that is what you shall have. I don't exist for you and will be gone from your ever-precious ship in ten minutes!"

  She fought an internal war; her feet wanted her to move now, but her mind insisted she say one last thing. "While you're considering truth, husband, contemplate these words: More and more I've come to believe that if the children have been taken by someone, your near and dear friend Erich Wheeler is involved."

  "You're out of your mind!"

  "Quite possibly." Cat turned and left the stardome. The muscles in her face froze, kept her expression calm, serene, while underneath, agony screamed through her. She could have sworn she'd felt love and caring emanate from Wulfe--before her words destroyed the warm emotions and her marriage. That short walk turned out to be the longest of her life and cost her every dram of strength and control she possessed. Only Garrett and Morgan's well-being could have convinced her to leave. If she didn't find word of the children on Nutralis, she'd destroyed their union for naught.

  By the time she reached the flight bay, she'd pushed the pain and confusion into a neat little ball and shoved the mess into a corner of her mind to be isolated, walled off, ignored, exactly the way her heart felt. Helpless, hopeless, so alone. So bloody tired of being one of the walking wounded, she was within a heartbeat of writing off her marriage as a lost cause.

  STANDING STILL and remaining silent while Cat walked out of his life tested every level of control he'd developed over years of training and effort. Bleak loneliness ambushed him, the load burdened by bereavement and emptiness.

  Unable to look any longer at the shut door--closed on dreams, on hopes, on the future--Wulfe spun around to see the cold stars. Instead of welcoming him, the glow mocked him with what he recognized as the truth. No one to blame but himself.

  `And the naked, brutal truth shall set ye free'. Wulfe grimaced. Unless the pain of such veracity kills you in the process. He'd wanted her gone, he'd gotten his wish and should be pleased.

  A bright silver and gold flash streaked overhead. The Peacemaker. Cat leaving--taking his heart--as she'd been ordered by Flemming. At the request of her mate.

  "Computer, open a channel to Admiral Roy Flemming, relay to my comm tag."

  Stand by.

  Aye, the truth could kill, if only your heart and soul, and still leave the body to carry on in blind servitude.

  But to even consider Wheeler to have a hand in the children's disappearance!

  `Wulfe?'

  "Sir, did you issue the order for Cat to go to Nutralis?"

  `Hello to you, too. I did. Took me a while to find a legitimate reason to honor your, ah, firm request, I'm afraid.'

  Wulfe kneaded the muscles at the back of his neck with one hand. "Seems like a lifetime ago when we had that discussion."

  `Wulfe, has the situation altered in some way?'

  "Only for the worse." In truth, he'd forgotten about his demand of the admiral until Cat mentioned it. Admitting he'd been wrong stuck in his throat, lodged there by Bellon pride. "Roy, do you have an estimate how long Cat will be
needed on Nutralis?"

  `Not offhand. The length of her stay will be determined by several factors, not the least of which is how desperate the Mallochons really are to get to the chairman or how unprepared his own security force is at the moment. Why?'

  "I've been thinking--"

  The main doors to the stardome opened. Nora Albright strode into the starlight, her face set in determined lines.

  "Admiral, I'll have to get back to you," Wulfe advised.

  `I'll be waiting to hear.' The link went dead.

  "What is it, Doctor?"

  "I've been trying to find Catherine. The blasted computer keeps telling me she isn't aboard."

  "Because she's not."

  "She didn't go chasing off with Lieutenant Lyon after those missing pilots, did she?"

  "No." Right about now, that's exactly where he wished Cat had gone, and here he'd been the one to order her to stay on the Falchion while Lyon handled the matter. Another bad call.

  "Are you certain? Frank Ellery just told me Catherine's fighter is gone, as well."

  "Cat left to go to Nutralis."

  Albright's mouth opened, closed, then opened again. "She did what?" The doctor looked up through the dome at the stars and shook her head. "She never said a word."

  "She didn't have time. Her orders stressed the importance of her immediate departure. We've managed without her in the past, Doctor. We will manage without her now. The cold little wench can take care of herself."

  Albright looked at him as if she beheld some sort of monster or even Garesh himself. An expression of disbelief distorted her face. "All the brain scans I've been doing on you the last few days have been completely useless. I should have been running scans to try and find your heart and conscience. Next time you need medical attention, make certain it's on Moira's shift."

  "Doctor, do not take that tone."

  Albright made a rude sound of disgust. "Oh, blow it out your Bellon pride." She took a deep breath. "How was Catherine acting? Emotional swings? Depression? Anger?"

  "Probably all that and more. Why?"

  "Remember what I said about Erosians? Her reactions could be symptoms of the problem. If I'm right, I'm living a doctor's worst nightmare."

  "What do you mean?"

  Albright pushed a splayed hand through her short hair. "I don't like it, but I might have to choose who stays sane."

  "Help whomever needs your assistance the most."

  "A doctor can't always..." her voice broke, "...do that. If I spend time on the weaker patient, the stronger may die of neglect, and the weaker one dies anyway."

  "So what do you do?"

  "Looks to me as though you've survived pretty well without the link." Albright's eyes filled with moisture, prompting a ghostly image into Wulfe's mind.

  A memory of some kind?

  Albright turned and stomped away. At the doorway, she stopped and turned to face him. "Heard any good nursery rhymes lately?"

  "Bah!" Wulfe glared at the closed set of doors as if he could see the blond Earther on the other side. Lot she knew. He hated nursery rhymes of any sort. Albright's words left a chill behind, though; a cold sense of unease that scrabbled up his back on nasty little feet.

  Chapter 17

  CAT RAN SENSOR scans of surrounding space as she approached Nutralis. All clear. She disengaged the secret shrouding device on her specialized fighter and dropped back into normal space before she reached the planet's scanner range. Wouldn't do to have anyone else aware of the little ship's uncommon capabilities. She eased the Peacemaker into orbit. Cat welcomed the slight turbulence in the atmosphere around Nutralis, a sign she'd reached the last leg of her journey.

  She normally relished the occasional solitary flight through the grandeur of space, but this time out, her thoughts made miserable company and the trip seemed far longer than it should. Frankly surprised she could think at all--how many days had she gone with only a handful of hours spent in sleep?--Cat made no claim even to herself that her thoughts contained pure logic.

  The driving compulsion to follow each and every clue about the children demanded she come to Nutralis. Duty to the Corps--Space and Covert--forced her to be here. Still, she'd left a good-sized chunk of her heart back on the Falchion, a bruised and battered chunk, at that.

  The enticement Flemming used to get her here had better bear fruit. If the trip didn't provide information about Garrett and Morgan, she'd have to do some in-depth reckoning with the old admiral. Good news would make her return to the Falchion more welcome, too, and return she would.

  She'd hated to leave Wulfe when he believed she didn't care about him or the children. They'd both said so many things in anger, things not truly meant. She hoped. Cat intended to set Wulfe straight, even if she had to encase him in a forcefield to hold him still long enough to hear her.

  Cat focused, ran through a series of quick mental exercises meant to foster logic. Many times in recent days, various sides to her personality warred within her. Earther wanted to destroy Syllogian; Bellon fought to tear apart the Erosian. Madness.

  The chairman's personal aide met her at the spaceport and made arrangements to transport her to the center of Nutralia, the largest city and home of the Peace Council and many of its members. Within seconds, the translocator did its job.

  "The chairman is waiting for you in his private office." Once they reached the council's main building, the aide ushered her through the heavy doors, shut them behind her.

  "Commander Culver, welcome. I can't begin to thank you for coming." The elderly statesman clasped her hands with both of his, gave a firm squeeze to each, charmed her with a smile.

  Cat returned the conventional hand greeting of Nutralis while she searched the diplomat's face. His light gray eyes revealed little of the nervousness and anxiety she sensed--emotions he seemed to feel for those around him, but not so much for himself. An accomplished statesman regardless of the stress put upon him, he'd made an art of putting others at ease with little effort. "I hope I'm able to help, Mister Chairman."

  He led her to a divan so they could sit together. "We wish to help you in return for your generous aid, Lady Cat."

  Her heart raced in anticipation. Flemming hadn't led her astray! "One of our people said you might."

  "We received a message telling us that the Kincade children are unharmed."

  Urgent, excited questions ricocheted through Cat's mind. She had to clamp her jaw tight to keep from interrupting and slowing the chairman's news with queries and doubts.

  "Five little words that sounded very important to us and to your Admiral Flemming when we contacted Space Corps. He assured us you would arrive shortly."

  "And so I have." Relieved Flemming's manipulation might actually pay off, Cat squeezed the chairman's soft, uncalloused hands, surprised her own remained steady. New hope coursed through her, though she tried to contain any exultation until she verified the information. "Can you tell me where the message originated?"

  "Answering that particular question is impossible at the moment."

  "What? Why?" Unease roiled to the surface. Would nothing ever go right again? Panic, confusion and doubt had become constant companions. "Why in the universe would they send the message here, anyway?"

  "Perhaps because we are considered neutral in all things. Whoever sent the transmission routed the message through several levels of relays yet to be sorted. Our most experienced communication specialist is backtracing the sequence now."

  Heat filled her eyes even as impatience whipped through her. Leaving the tracking to someone else didn't sit well. "Blessings upon the Creator and you, Mister Chairman. I-I can't begin to find words to express my appreciation for your assistance."

  "Your words are unnecessary. My security force, however, awaits your very necessary guidance. This business of the threats has thrown everyone into disarray. No one has ever had the audacity to threaten Nutralis or our Council. We've always remained carefully neutral, tried to bring peace to everyone."

>   "By promoting peace, Malloch sees you as the ultimate enemy. I must meet your team leaders. Examine profiles of each member and their training. I need accurate floor plans of the Council buildings. Current schematics of Nutralis's defense systems. Communication systems, too."

  The chairman laughed, smoothed back his thinning white hair. "Such dedication, and look at the light in your marvelous eyes! I haven't been able to do that to a woman for many a cycle, and here talk of defenses manages to do so."

  Cat gave him a smile to soften her reflexive demands. Without conscious thought, she'd fallen into speaking the abbreviated sentences so often used to get to the point on a vessel or in a combat situation. If the chairman thought she'd been short just now, he should hear the clipped, precise Bellonese commands. Offworlders thought the warriors cold and rude until they understood how Bellons adopted a battle mode of speech.

  She proceeded to enforce strict mental shields to keep herself emotionally isolated from those around her, the most efficient way to work. In a matter of a few hours, working with robot-like efficiency, she managed to lay the groundwork for an updated defense plan. A strategy for the Council compound came first, then the city of Nutralia, and finally the small planet itself--all woefully inadequate or completely nonexistent at the time of her arrival.

  With preparations well into the implementation stage, she found her way to the offices of the communication director. Cat introduced herself to the middle-aged woman and asked the director if she had a few spare minutes.

  "Come in, Commander, and take a break from security."

  "How's your investigation progressing on that message?"

  "Slow, Commander. So far, I've traced the transmission back through sixteen relay points, with no end in sight. The coding is basic and presents no real obstacle, so all I need is time."

  "Time." Patience worn thin, Cat exhaled a slow breath meant to promote control. Someone's feelings now leaked in around the edges of the barriers she'd erected, distracting her. Once done here, she'd have to investigate. "At least the transmission contained a positive message."