“I didn’t know you two were still together.”
Alaysha’s eyes scanned the room. She seemed a little disappointed by the lack of reaction from Strom’s crew. “We weren’t together exactly but you could say that we had mutual interests. Did you spend much time with him before…?”
“No,” Tanith admitted. “I spoke to him very briefly.
“Then he didn’t give you anything? A little gift perhaps…”
Alaysha’s questions were beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. “No. I told you. We barely spoke.”
“I’ll be frank with you, Tanith. Raoul had something belonging to Atam Sorza and Atam wants it back. Give me the key and I’ll leave you alone. If Atam finds you, he’ll kill you and every single one of your human friends. I’ll give you a little time to reconsider your response.”
Alaysha summoned her crew and said her goodbyes. The party was definitely over. A little time turned out to be two hours. Alaysha didn’t bother to use her charm this time. Strom had one hour to turn Tanith over to them or face the consequences.
For the second time that day, the captain’s ready room was full and all eyes were on her. Jake’s fingers drummed anxiously on the table. Most of the officers were strangers to her. She couldn’t expect them to risk their lives to protect her. Pete would be glad to get rid of her and the doc was already regretting the loss of a prize specimen. Strom’s face was impassive. After last night, there was no way that he would help her.
“Status reports, please.”
“Sir, we more than match them in conventional weapons capabilities, but there is some intelligence that they may have viral com weapons that we’re not familiar with.”
“Sickbay is on alert and is prepared to receive casualties if necessary, Captain.”
“Engineering confirms that all ship’s systems are functioning normally, Sir.”
Strom glanced pointedly at Tanith. “Ms. Jasson, are you sure that you don’t know what Captain Zander wants?”
“I’m certain.” Why was Strom hesitating? Why didn’t he just hand her over to Alaysha? She wasn’t part of his crew. He didn’t owe her anything. “Permission to speak to you in private, Sir.”
Strom raised one blond brow in surprise. “Granted, everyone else is dismissed.”
Tanith waited until the room was empty before she spoke. “You have to hand me over to them.”
Dark eyes regarded her thoughtfully. “Is that what you want?”
“No. Of course I don’t want to go back there, but it’s the only option that makes sense.”
“And what about Jake?”
The question hung unanswered for several moments. Strom waited patiently for her reply. What could she tell him about Jake? That she loved him and hated him all at the same time. That every minute she spent away from Jake was agony but she couldn’t bear to see him hurt, if it was in her power to prevent it.
Alaysha was right. Atam Sorza would have no qualms about killing the humans, including Jake. All she had to do was go to that ship and he would be safe. “Jake will get over me. He’s probably got a dozen females lined up for when I’m gone.”
Strom was silent. She knew that she hadn’t convinced him but there was one last thing she could try. She glimpsed a brief hint of panic in Strom’s eyes when she left her chair and moved toward him. Tanith trailed her fingertips along his shoulders and she felt his muscles tense, as if he was preparing for battle. “You have to consider the possibility that your judgment is impaired. The Dermatrax is extremely potent. It’s natural that you would want to protect me. Don’t let it interfere with your duty to your ship.”
A roar of laughter wasn’t the response she was expecting. Strom had a nice smile. She guessed that he didn’t use it very often. “Jake was right about you, Ms. Jasson. You are like no one I’ve ever met. Now let’s go and deal with Captain Zander.”
The Cyraelian ship opened a com link precisely on time. “I’m afraid I have to decline your offer, Captain. Ms. Jasson will remain with us.”
Alaysha didn’t look surprised. “Very well, but I believe it’s a decision that you will come to regret.”
The com link was severed and the view-screen went dark. “We have incoming, Sir. Two missiles are heading our way.”
“Evasive maneuvers.”
“It’s too late for that, Sir, they’re coming in fast.”
“Engage shields, brace for impact.”
The expected impact never came. “Damage report?”
“Sensors indicate minimal damage, Sir. Whatever it was, it impacted with the waste disposal facility.”
The bridge erupted with laughter and there was some good-natured bantering about women not being able to shoot straight. Tanith’s heart dropped. Alaysha was a better markswoman than Raoul and he rarely missed. It had to be deliberate. “Captain, I need to see a plan of your waste systems.”
“What’s wrong, Ms. Jasson? Captain Zander missed.”
“Show me the damn systems.”
The laughter stopped. The bridge fell silent and everyone stared at her. Tanith took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Cyraelian viral weapons are designed to attack by entering low-security systems like waste and using them to infect the rest of the ship. Show me one area on this vessel that isn’t connected to the waste systems.”
* * * * *
Jake opened the door to his cabin. The lights had been dimmed and Tanith was asleep on the couch. Engineering had been a nightmare and he knew that she had been on her feet for hours. The virus had spread like wildfire, and now the ship’s sensors and shields were offline. Between them, she and Pete had managed to contain it for now. But the virus was aggressive and intelligent and Tanith said that it would keep trying until it found a way to enter the rest of the systems on the ship, or they found a way to destroy it.
He couldn’t believe it when she had taken charge on the bridge like that. Even Pete was impressed and he was usually the techie who knew everything. They would need her again in a few hours and she couldn’t sleep here. Jake massaged her shoulders gently and Tanith opened her eyes. “You had me worried earlier. I thought you might offer to go with Captain Zander.”
“I did,” she admitted sleepily. “Strom turned me down.”
He had almost gone crazy when she stayed behind with Strom in the briefing room. He thought he was going to lose her again. Despite what they shared the night before, he knew that Tanith was still wary of him. Last night he had never felt so out of control. He knew that his deceit still hurt her and he still didn’t know how to make things right between them. “Tanith, about last night…”
“I’m tired, Jake. Pete wants me back in engineering in four hours.”
Jake reached down and lifted her up in his arms. “Okay. Let’s get you to bed, but tomorrow we are going to talk.”
She barely stayed awake long enough for him to undress her. He curled around her sleeping body, holding her close, watching the soft rise and fall of her breast. They would get through this, somehow. Tanith was back in his bed and he never wanted to lose her again.
* * * * *
Jake’s eyes flicked open. He could hear voices outside. Something was wrong. His hand stretched out, touching the empty bed beside him. It was still warm. Pulling his weapon from the drawer beside the bed, he crept to the door. Tanith lay unconscious on the couch and two of Captain Zander’s crew stood over her. That damn gift. With all the excitement, they had forgotten to check the contents of the box.
The blonde was fixing something to Tanith’s clothing. “You go first. I’ll follow with the girl.”
The redhead switched on the portable transport unit, pressed her com badge and disappeared. PTUs only worked over short distances. Zander’s ship must be right on top of them, but with the ship’s sensors offline, they couldn’t see it. The blonde was surprised to see him, but he couldn’t get a shot at her without hitting Tanith. He could see the com badge pinned on her robe. Tanith’s eyes flickered open. There was no way that
they were taking her away from him. Jake lunged forward. His fingers fastened around the badge and he pulled it free. Then the floor disappeared.
Chapter Eight
Raoul’s neck chain sat in the middle of the dining table in Strom’s quarters. “So this is it?” Strom picked it up and examined the tiny half-moon pendant. “They came on board my ship and kidnapped my first officer for a trinket?”
Pete stretched out his hand and took the chain from him. “Not just any trinket. See the symbols on the back. This is a harlequin key.”
“Explain.”
“This is one half of a key. One piece is enough to get information about the account. But you need both halves to make a withdrawal.”
Strom sat bolt upright. “You’re talking about Rana? This is a Ranan account key?”
“Yep, Tanith was wearing it when she came looking for me. It belonged to Raoul. My guess is that he was Atam’s moneyman.”
Strom cleared his throat. “And have you made an account inquiry?”
Pete could hardly contain his smile. “The magic number is forty-two. That’s forty-two million credits and change.”
Tanith tugged the pendant from his hand. Why were they talking about Atam’s filthy blood money? Alaysha had Jake and he was the only thing that mattered now. She couldn’t believe that such a little thing could cause so much trouble. “Give it to her. I don’t care about the money. I just want him back.”
“Are you sure, sweetheart? Forty-two million credits will buy you a lot of boyfriends. Hell, I’d even date you myself.”
Tanith glared at the techie. As if.
“Pete, none of the crew must know about this. I want all traces of your communications with Rana wiped from the ship’s records.”
“Do you want me to contact Captain Zander?”
“No. Let her wait. Open a secure com link to Fleet Command. They need to know what’s going on here. In the meantime, Ms. Jasson is not to be left alone.”
Tanith rolled over and looked at the clock. She would have been more comfortable in the brig. Pete’s couch was lumpy and his cabin was an untidy mess. Despite the wall between them, she could hear him snoring. The noise he made was louder than a hyper-drive. Three hours had passed and there was still no response from Fleet Command. She felt as if someone had carved her heart out. She replayed the moments before Jake vanished over and over again in her mind and his agonized expression when he knew that he was losing her. There was no point in lying here. She wasn’t going to sleep anyway.
“Chief Engineer Olafson and Ms. Jasson, to the captain’s quarters.” The ship’s com repeated the order twice and an unshaven Pete appeared a few minutes later. If he was surprised to find her awake and dressed, he didn’t say, and for once he didn’t get riled up when he found her using his com.
Strom didn’t look as though he’d had much sleep either. His dark eyes sported a matching pair of dark circles underneath. She could almost feel the bad news coming.
“I’ve just received new orders. I’m sorry, Ms Jasson, Fleet Command says that I cannot negotiate with the terrorists and we can’t give them that key.”
Her heart dropped like a stone. Without the key, there was no reason for Alaysha to keep him alive. “What about Jake?”
Pete clapped her lightly on the back. “Look on the bright side. You have no idea how much havoc Jake can create on a ship full of women.”
Trust the techie to make her feel worse. “Thanks, Pete, you really know how to cheer a girl up.”
“Ms. Jasson, Jake has been in dangerous situations before. He can take care of himself. Now I want you both back in engineering as soon as possible. I need that virus contained and all systems back online before they contact us.”
The engineering and tech staff were already on duty and they were all as bleary eyed as her. As she was the only one with experience of Cyraelian com viruses, everyone looked to her for their orders. Pete hovered at her shoulder for a while, terrified that she would damage his precious ship, before leaving her to it.
The laborious process of eliminating the virus began. Hunt, contain and destroy over and over again. Three hours later, they had cracked it. Systems were almost back to normal and the virus was being dissected by two of Pete’s techies in a secure lab. At least it had taken her mind off Jake for a while.
By the time she was summoned to Strom’s quarters, she was sick with nerves. He was maddeningly calm. “Ms. Jasson, have you ever played poker?”
Tanith nodded. Jake had taught her, and much to his annoyance, she had proven to be a better player than him.
“Fleet Command is still adamant that I may not negotiate with the terrorists. We need to buy Jake some time. Can you convince Captain Zander that you want to make a deal with her?”
“No problem.” She would be more than happy to hurt Alaysha.
“Pete, you can patch her through now.”
Alaysha got straight to the point. “Captain Hallstrom, you have something I want and I have one of your officers. I propose a trade.”
Strom sat back in his chair, the picture of nonchalance. “Jake is a fine first officer but he’s not worth anything like forty million credits.”
If Alaysha was surprised by his response she didn’t show it. “Tanith might have a different view. Why don’t we ask her?”
Tanith unclenched her fist. When this was over, she was going to punch that smug expression off Alaysha’s face. Instead, she stepped behind Strom’s chair and slid her arms around his neck.
“You did me a big favor, Alaysha. Losing Jake made me realize just how vulnerable a female on her own could be, especially with all those lovely credits waiting for her. Strom has been kind enough to offer me his protection.” She nipped the edge of his jaw playfully. “Haven’t you, sweetie?”
Tanith could feel Strom’s muscles tense under her touch. She was willing to bet quite a lot of credits that no one had ever called him Sweetie before. “Anyway, I’ve been thinking about numbers. Twenty million sounds about right.”
“Half?” Alaysha stammered, rocking back in her chair.
Tanith’s heart pounded. What if this didn’t work? Strom squeezed her hand encouragingly. “Half,” Tanith repeated. “And you can throw in the human as a gesture of goodwill. I’ll see you at Rana in seven days.”
* * * * *
Jake explored his new quarters. He had been expecting to be put in the brig, instead they had given him a spacious cabin. He soon realized why. All of the systems had been reconfigured to respond to women. That ruled out any possibility of escape, unless he could persuade one of the crew to help him. Before he met Tanith, being trapped on a ship full of hot women would have been his wildest fantasy come true, but so far he had zero physical reaction to any of them. He felt nothing, not a single twinge of interest, which could only mean one thing. He was mated to Tanith.
She hadn’t been sure if it was possible to have that kind of a link with another species. He should have realized it earlier. The frantic searching for her when he found that she wasn’t in the brig. The savage rage he had experienced when he found her in Strom’s cabin and their torrid reunion. The brief flash of joy was short-lived. He had no idea when he would see Tanith again and he missed her like hell.
The cabin door opened and Alaysha appeared with her lieutenant. From her stormy expression, she wasn’t here to welcome him on board.
“First Officer Svenson, you may be our guest for a while. I’m afraid your captain wouldn’t hand over the key.”
“What key?”
“Come now, you don’t expect me to believe that Tanith was holding the key to forty million credits and she didn’t bother to tell you. Perhaps she isn’t as stupid as I thought.”
Woman or not, Jake barely restrained himself from hitting her. Tanith wouldn’t lie to him about something like that. She couldn’t. Alaysha reached inside her uniform and pulled out a pendant. “Recognize this?”
Jake’s eyes fixed on the necklace. Tanith had one just like it. S
he was wearing it when they took her from her apartment.
“I can see that you do, Lieutenant.”
Jake gave her his most beguiling smile. “Call me Jake.”
“Save the charm, Lieutenant Svenson, you’ve already caused me enough trouble.”
Jake kept his smile in place until they were gone and then he sat down on the bed. What the hell was going on?
He kept a low profile over the next few days. Well, as low as a lone male on a ship full of women could. Luckily enough, Alaysha seemed to be busy and he spent his time flirting with the crew, trying to collect as much information as he could. The ship’s engines were running at full speed day and night, which wasn’t a good omen. Alaysha’s crew was on double shifts, but none of them seemed to mind. She had promised them prize money at the end of the voyage and the mess hall was full of gossip about what they would do with it.
It was purely by chance that he overheard them talking over dinner about their final destination. Then everything fell into place. Rana—Atam’s gang must have amassed millions of credits over the years. Alaysha’s crew was determined to collect it and he had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t for Atam Sorza.
Jake rolled out of bed when the first missile struck the ship and he pulled on his flight suit quickly. A container of water slid along the table and crashed onto the floor. The ship was obviously engaging in evasive maneuvers. He raced out of his cabin, heading for the bridge. Outside, two women were carrying an unconscious body in the direction of sickbay.
Alaysha was calm, but some of the younger crew members on the bridge were nervous. The copilot had a nasty gash over one eye and the pilot’s seat was empty. Strom wouldn’t attack unless he was provoked, so their attacker had to be someone else. He was damned if he was going to sit here and watch.
“Lieutenant Svenson on the bridge, Ma’am, could you use another pilot?”
Alaysha only hesitated for an instant. “Take a seat, Lieutenant. We’ve had some unexpected company.”
“Shields are back online, Captain.”
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