Chapter 6
Nicole sighed in exhausted contentment as she gave a final wave to the thunderous throngs and led the men off stage. Three encores. The crowd was insatiable!
The door to the suite closed behind them, and it took a moment for her ears to adjust from the intense wall of noise to the hushed quiet. A low ebony table at the center of the room held a pair of silver ice buckets, each presenting a bottle of Champagne. Alongside them sat a ring of pink, chilled shrimp.
She was starving.
She sat in relief in one of the chairs, reaching forward for one shrimp, then two, her stomach rumbling. At her side Richard eased open one of the bottles so it made the softest of sighs. He poured out flutes for each person present.
The men settled down in a circle, and Richard held up his glass to the group.
“A toast. To fine teamwork.”
“To fine teamwork,” came the echo, and each glass clinked around to all others before they were lifted to grateful lips.
Oh, that was good.
She liked to stay sharp when performing, and this was her first drink of the night. It made the first sip that much more wonderful. She glanced at the bottle and smiled in appreciation. Martin had certainly gone beyond the call of duty with this vintage. She would have to offer him special praise. It was delicious.
At her right, Jon took another sip, and she leaned her head against him in fondness. He had been amazing, as she knew he would be. He turned his head so his lips were against her forehead for a moment, and she smiled up at him. Then she was leaning forward for a few more shrimp. The men waited patiently, in no rush, sipping and eating as they came down from the energy of the performance.
Finally she sat back, and all eyes came expectantly to hers.
She took another drink of her Champagne, then began. “Tonight was an absolute pleasure. Each of you deserves praise for helping that to happen. I am sure this performance will be talked about for years to come.”
The men nodded to each other, acknowledging what they had created together.
“Which brings us,” added Nicole, her tone edging with sturdiness, “to the rest of this evening’s plans. As we had expected, kidnappers have been put in play. To use Mercodians is not overly subtle, but then again neither of these groups are exactly the subtle type. The hiring party probably knew of the Mercodians by reputation only and decided that they should go with the best.”
She chuckled. “And the Mercodians, being the cocky bastards that they are, probably didn’t think twice about making their presence so obviously known. So we move forward with our plan.”
Nicole took another sip of her bubbly, putting the glass down on the table. “As agreed. I’ll head out alone to the bar district. This will give the kidnappers their chance to grab me. When I sense them closing in, I’ll broadcast the code word. You come in, we capture them and interrogate them. Then, finally, we can find out just who is behind these growing interruptions to the negotiations.”
Jon stared around the group as if they had lost their minds. He voice burst from him as if tearing through well-wrapped bindings. “You must be kidding! You’re going to use Nicole as human bait against three Mercodians?”
Nicole’s temper flared with heat. “We have been over this a thousand times! If you had a better idea, you should have brought it up -”
Suddenly she realized that the other men were looking at her with looks indicating two things. One, they agreed fully with what Jon was saying. And, two –
It hit her in a flash that Jon had not been at any of those meetings. He had fallen in with them so easily, had seemed such a natural part of the team, and she had completely forgotten ….
She flushed crimson, looking down at her hands.
When she spoke again, her tone was tempered. “I apologize. We have been so comfortable with you, these past few days, that I completely lost track that -”
Jon’s tenseness eased, and he nodded in understanding. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he responded in a gruff voice. His tone became edged “However, if acting as a helpless lure is really is your master plan, then I insist on an alternative. I will stay by your side.”
Stephen leapt on the idea. “Nicole, you wouldn’t take any of us because our reputations as fighters are well known. But the kidnappers wouldn’t fear Jon. If anything, it would make them less wary. If it was just you, alone, they would sense a trap. Why would you be out on your own, after having guards around you all day long? If you were out walking with a new lover, it would explain why the rest of us would be sent away.”
Warring emotions battled within Nicole. Each minute away from Jon was sheer torture. She could feel the sliding of grains in the sand-clock as a physical sensation. The negotiations would be over in a few days. Every moment was precious.
And yet, this was no casual evening out.
“Mercodians are not known for their gentle nature,” she warned. “While we have reason to believe they only mean to kidnap me until after the truce’s deadline has passed, they might have little qualms about killing you, Jon.” Her voice roughened. “I could not take on that responsibility.”
Jon was shaking his head even before she finished. “I swore an oath to uphold the Collective’s protection. That includes those planets who wish to join us,” he pointed out in resolute determination. “This clearly is an important treaty to get signed. If my life needs to go on the line to help ensure its success, I will do that without hesitation.”
Nicole hesitated, but the weight of her trusted friends’ gazes was heavy on her. They all knew this was the best course of action. She reluctantly admitted that in her own heart she agreed with them. She just wished that fate had not created this dilemma for her.
If Jon was hurt …
She took in a deep breath. He would not be. They were all trained soldiers, and these were only three kidnappers.
She looked up into Jon’s eyes. His gaze was firm and resolute.
“Thank you,” she said simply. “I whole-heartedly accept your offer.”
Richard glanced at the clock on the wall. “You two should head out shortly then,” he suggested. “That way it seems like a natural progression from the band’s conclusion to your walk.” He stood up and turned to Jon, who stood as well. Richard pinned a diamond pin beneath the lapel of Jon’s uniform, where it was not visible. “The code word is orange,” he said as he straightened the lapel over the pin. “The pin will pick that up and send it to the rest of us. Do you have a glasblade?”
Jon reached down and tapped the side of his boot. “On an inside sheath,” he responded. “I’m well trained with it. I may not have the reputation of your group, but I can hold my own in a fight.”
Richard eyed him for a moment, then nodded. His voice dropped to a low murmur. “We are trusting you with the most precious object in our world.”
Jon held his gaze evenly. His voice was a vow. “I will be worthy of that trust.”
An easing came to Richard’s shoulders. “I know you are,” he agreed, then took a step back.
Nicole held a hand out to Jon, and he turned, gazing at her for a long moment. Then he took her hand in his own, bringing his head down for a courtly kiss. Her heart melted at the touch, at the warm, steady texture of his fingers against hers.
She shook away her feelings with effort. Three Mercodians were no laughing matter. She had to be on her most alert behavior tonight, if they were all to get through this in one piece.
She looked around at the other four men in the room, meeting the gaze of each man for a moment.
The closeness of the group, the steady focus in their eyes, filled her with a warmth which went into the depths of her soul. Her mind of its own volition switched to the Hun language.
“For honor.”
The men responded in one voice.
“For honor.”
Then she turned, leading Jon out into the quieting hall.
Aquarian Awakenings - A Collective Saga Sci-Fi Romance Page 11