“Duchess,” Brodie said, not breaking the stare-down. “You’ve brought a friend.”
“Brodie, you’re alive.”
“Yes.”
Both men glared at each other. Energy seethed around them. Several patrons collected themselves and exited as quickly as possible, somehow sensing the trouble coming on.
“It’s not what you think,” she said.
“What is it I think, Duchess?” He turned toward her, his face unreadable.
“Seth is on leave. He escorted me here for my safety.”
“Is this true?” Brodie turned back to Seth. “I somehow doubt the Duchess needs your protection. She’s managed all these years without it.”
“I escorted her here to get her arm bandaged. She said someone at this place could take care of it.” Seth stared back, holding Brodie’s challenge, refusing to look away or back down. “Are you that someone?”
Ava swallowed hard. “Brodie….”
Brodie raised his hand to silence her and broke the showdown, dropping his gaze to Ava’s arm. He didn’t need to posture to prove he was bad. If Brodie wanted to kill Seth—he simply would. He reached out and grabbed her hand gently, raising her wound to the light. “You call this keeping her safe? She’s sliced to the bone.”
“Children.”
“I know,” Brodie said, confirming Ava’s suspicions that he’d had advance knowledge of the encounter with the children and her traveling companion. Knowing Brodie, he already had scouts on the street, digging for information on the Regulator. He’d know everything about Seth, including the color of his undergarments, before the star rose in the sky. Question was, would he play nice?
“If you know so much, would you care to elaborate why the Duchess blasted backward through that wormhole?”
“Don’t call her Duchess.” Brodie’s face grew hard. No one called her that but Brodie. The ice in the words, the sharpness of his stare, made it clear he wanted it to stay that way. “I’d say she wanted to avoid getting blown to pieces by trigger-happy Regulators with nothing better to do than harass innocent freighter captains.” Brodie pulled Ava to him and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her backside against his hips. “Just so you know, if anything happens to Ava, I will kill you—Regulator or not.”
“You could try.”
Brodie tipped his chin down and pressed his lips to Ava’s ear, dropping his voice. “Keep him leashed, Duchess. If he brings the law to my doorstep, I’ll have no choice but to kill him.” Brodie released her and turned around, walking away. “Come. Let’s bandage that arm.”
Seth watched as Brodie wrapped Ava’s arm, the way he stroked his fingers along her bare flesh, the way his knees touched the outside of hers when he leaned in. He’d finished moments before, yet he lingered over her arm as if it were a steak and he were a starving man.
He noticed as the rise and fall of her chest grew more pronounced. Her nostrils had flared, her lips were parted ever so slightly and a blush had colored her cheeks. Seth balled his fist and his knuckles cracked. Why should it bother him? It shouldn’t, but it did.
“You done?” Seth snatched her free wrist and tugged her off the stool and away from the other man.
Brodie lifted his chin and fixed him with a piercing glare. “Not yet.” He grabbed Ava’s belt loops and tugged her back to her perch. “Sit.”
Seth pulled on her wrist, bringing her back to her feet. “She can stand.”
Ava twisted out of Seth’s grip and took a couple of steps away, remaining out of reach of both men. “I’m going into the other room to grab a drink and something to eat. When you two are done pounding on your chests, why don’t you come have a seat with me?” She strode off, not looking back at either of them.
“She’s not from your world,” Brodie said.
“She’s doesn’t belong in yours. What are you dragging her into?”
“What makes you think I’m forcing her into anything?” Ava’s friend turned toward Seth. “What makes you so sure she doesn’t belong in my world, Regulator?”
“That’s right, I’m a Regulator, and I know a criminal—a killer, when I see one. I don’t know who you are, or what you’ve done, but I know whatever it is, it wasn’t legal and someone died because of it. Ava isn’t a killer. It’s not in her genetics.”
“Maybe not, but she is Nexian.” The corner of the other man’s mouth curled. “So, are you going to arrest me?”
“If I find proof.”
“Leave her alone.”
“I can’t do that. I have a job to do, and until I get my answers, I’m sticking to her like an extra limb.”
“That could be hazardous to your health.” The man Ava had called Brodie rose and went nose to nose with Seth. “I’ve known Ava since she was a child. You hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
***
Moments later, they joined Ava. Chairs screeched across the floor on each side of her. Both men sat directly across from one another, posturing again. Ava ignored the stare down and shoved a full shot glass toward Brodie, knowing his favorite by heart, and a Terran beer toward Seth, trusting her instincts.
Seth lifted the beer and took a sip. A slight smile curled the corner of his mouth, letting her know he knew exactly what he’d just tasted. Bootlegged beer was almost impossible for someone outside Earth to get their hands on. The planet had died, along with the unique plants that gave the beer its flavor. The beer could only be obtained by looters, who’d sifted through the ruins in nothing short of grave robbery.
“You know this is illegal?” He turned the beer in the light and studied it. “Terran?”
Ava nodded.
“I’d be breaching multiple regulations if I drank that, including ethical standards.” Seth set it down and laced his fingers together. Even bootlegged beer was outside his standards. “But you already knew that.” The man simply wouldn’t break a law, anywhere, and that would be useful information to keep in the back of her mind.
She shrugged. “I thought you’d be thirsty.” She had, but it wasn’t the reason she’d ordered the beer. She wanted to see if he’d drop his standards, break a small law. Most Regulators would have shrugged it off and drank it. Bootlegged, yes, but not dangerous and the fine was minimal, smaller than if one jaywalked. Besides, it wasn’t enforced by local authorities. New Xiera could give a shit less about where the beer had come from.
She caught Brodie out of the corner of her eye. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat, watching the exchange.
“Not for illegal brew,” the Regulator said.
Brodie shoved his shot across the table. “Do you mind? I have a date with Captain Frost.”
“Funny, so do I.” Seth picked the shot up and downed it without flinching. He slammed the glass down on the table. “What game are you two playing?”
“Do I look like I play games, Legatus Reynolds?” Brodie said in a voice so low, Ava had to strain her ears to listen.
“So you know who I am.” Seth twisted the glass of beer around in the dim light. “Care to return the favor?”
“Not especially.”
This was going nowhere good and fast. Ava waved the waitress over. She’d need a lot more liquor to pacify these beasts. Seth raised his hand to stop the server in her tracks. “You’re not here for a date. She looked more than surprised to see you, mentioned she thought you were dead.”
“It’s been a long time.”
Seth smiled. “I’ll bet it has.” He lifted the glass of pilsner. “So is this what you smuggle, Captain Frost? Illegal beer?”
“I’m not a bootlegger or grave robber, Legatus Reynolds.”
“Seth, please. Legatus Reynolds seems so formal now.”
Brodie’s expression grew murderous. “Are you insinuating you’ve fucked her?”
Shit. Ava clamped down on her seat. Heat flooded her face. “Brodie.”
Brodie shook his head, warning her to stay quiet, and leaned toward Seth. Ava swallowed. This wasn’t go
ing to be good.
“So, you two are well acquainted?”
“Brodie, enough.”
Seth stared. “Funny thing about names. I knew your name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it until now.”
Brodie pulled his laser and pointed it at Seth. “I think you should leave.”
“I think you should put that away before my backup arrives.” Seth set a blinking tracer down on the table. “I wouldn’t fire with all the witnesses.” Brodie glanced over at the door and stood. He holstered his sidearm and nodded to Ava. “I’ll see you later, Duchess.” He spun on his heel and headed for the back of the club, past employees and patrons that simply moved out the way to let him by. He continued through a set of doors, disappearing into the dark alley behind the building. Ava wasn’t worried. He’d keep his promise and see her later. The Regulators wouldn’t find him if he didn’t want to be found.
Seth turned to her. “Care to tell me why you’re meeting with the leader of the Nexian Underground? I knew his name seemed familiar, but it wasn’t until I downed that liquor that I knew who was sitting across from me. Only a Nexian would drink that piss.”
“Brodie is like my brother. We grew up together.”
“You did more than grow up together. I know possession in a man’s face when I see it. He thinks he owns you, and the only reason a Nexian male would think he owns a Nexian female is if he’s been with her intimately.”
“I don’t have to explain anything to you.”
“No, you don’t,” he said and twisted the glass around, letting the light play across the surface, as though he contemplated something deep. “Do you have any idea how many Regulators are looking for him? I just did you a favor. I let him walk out of here.” He shut the tracer off. “And the tracer wasn’t activated. I bluffed. So I think you owe me an explanation. Start talking.”
Ava swallowed. “I had my uncle on my ship. That’s why I blew through that wormhole backward.”
“You know I can arrest you for harboring a fugitive.”
“Yes.”
“And Brodie?”
“I didn’t expect to see him here. I just wanted to relax.” She sighed and gave him her most serious expression. “Do you really think I’d bring you to him if I knew he’d be here?” Which was true. If she’d known it was Brodie who would be here for the meeting, she wouldn’t have shown. Not only because she wanted to protect him, but after ten years, Brodie was the last man she wanted to face. He was in her past and that’s where he should remain. Her heart couldn’t take his resurrection.
Seth nodded. “I don’t give second chances.” He dropped credit on the table and rose to his feet. “If you’re smart, you’ll stay away from him. If I find out you’re involved in any of his endeavors, I’ll arrest you along with him.” He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Do you understand the consequences of conspiring to overthrow the Nexian government?”
“Death,” she said.
He held her gaze for a moment, twisting her insides into knots. She knew better than most the penalty she faced. Her father and mother had died for the same cause. He gave a slight nod, turned around and walked from the bar, leaving her sitting at the table alone. The last thing she’d expected. She blew out a breath and collapsed against the back of her chair. Was he setting her up, or was he really giving her a second chance?
***
Seth leaned against the outside of the club. Perhaps he’d been a little harsh? He didn’t need to push so hard. Maybe she hadn’t known the Rebel leader would be there, and she’d told the truth, that she’d come to the club to relax. She’d also admitted the reason she’d escaped through the wormhole. His gut told him she hadn’t lied.
Still, he felt there was more to it. When Ava had seen Brodie, she’d panicked. She hadn’t wanted Seth near him, and something told him it was because she wanted to protect him. Brodie may be the friend she claimed, but he’d also been something more in her past. To Ava, whatever had gone on between her and the Nexian revolutionary was over. He could see it all over her face.
Seth wanted her, but he wasn’t alone. From the heat in Brodie’s eyes, the way he touched her, he believed he owned her, and made it clear encroachers wouldn’t be tolerated. For Ava, it may be over, for Brodie it wasn’t.
The Rebel leader would be back for her shortly, but not until he said what he had to. Brodie wouldn’t leave Ava alone for long. He had a few things he wanted to say, and Seth knew whatever it was, he didn’t want to say it in front of her. Something more was at stake, or he wouldn’t have left. If it were simple jealousies, he’d have pulled the trigger and put a hole in him big enough to walk through. Things like threats and tracers didn’t scare a man like the Underground’s leader. He’d intentionally backed off.
“She doesn’t belong in your world.”
Seth turned to look into the dark, where a shadow shifted in the dim crystalline light from a hovering lamp. He’d known he wouldn’t go far, had felt him watching. “Don’t drag her into yours.”
There was a snort. “She was born into my world. Do you know who she is?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t make her a criminal. Her actions will determine that.”
“What do you want with her?”
“Nothing now. She told me why she blew through the wormhole backward.” Some of what he said was a lie. He wanted her. Every cell in his body screamed for her.
“You’re not very convincing. Why didn’t you call in your backup?”
Seth didn’t know. He knew if he had, Ava would never forgive him. He could see in her eyes that she loved Brodie. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“So talk.”
“Let her go. If you drag her into your revolution, it will be the same as putting your laser to her head and pulling the trigger. The Nexian authorities have a sizeable head price on you, but not on her. Not yet.”
“You don’t get it, do you? Ava Frost is the reason for the revolution. She is a child whose birth caused a revolt. Ava is the revolution. I can no longer leave her out of it than stop breathing.”
“That can be arranged.”
Brodie stepped from the alley and into the light. “Tougher bastards than you have tried.”
“Do you know, I’ve never broken the law, and I’ve never let a criminal escape? Don’t make me change my mind about letting you walk away. She wasn’t expecting to see you tonight. I suggest you go back to wherever you came from and forget Captain Frost.”
“I can’t do that. I’m here to protect her. Her life is in danger.”
Seth looked him up and down. “I can take care of that.”
“Not your job, Regulator.”
“Not yours either.”
“Did you fuck her?”
Seth snorted and shook his head. “That’s none of your business.”
“I’m her fiancé. I think it’s plenty of my business. Stay away from her. Next time I won’t be so polite.”
Seth studied him. Brodie’s eyes looked sharp in the dim light. His jaw ticked and his fists were clenched. The man didn’t lie. Seth made it his job to read faces and Brodie’s said there was an engagement, and he’d resisted killing him because of Ava, and only because of Ava. Next time he wouldn’t be as forgiving, as he’d stated. He’d declared Ava off limits, staked his claim and dared Seth to try to take what belonged to him. The message was clear.
Back off.
Seth did just that, even though it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. She didn’t belong to him, and sleeping with her had been a mistake. It tore his loyalties apart, and in his line of work, torn loyalties and lack of focus would get him killed. Nothing left to say, he simply nodded and walked off, down the dark street and back to his world. What could he say? Ava had never told him there was someone else, and he hadn’t asked. He now had no illusions as to why the Rebel leader thought he owned her. He did.
But if this was the case, why did Ava look so displeased to see him?
Chapter Eight
Ava looked up as Brodie walked back into the club. He strode up to the table, spun the chair around and straddled it, fixing her with an intense stare.
“I don’t want to hear it, Brodie. It’s none of your business what I did with him. You don’t own me, even if you think you do.”
Brodie didn’t say anything.
Ava took a sip of Seth’s rejected beer and stared into the amber liquid. “Why are you back in New Xiera? I hadn’t heard from you. I thought you were dead. Seth said they’re looking for you.”
“I needed to talk to you.”
“Where’s Tagas? I was supposed to meet him here tonight.”
“Captured. The Regulators executed him this morning. I came to warn you to lie low for a while, and I find you’ve taken up with them, gotten all cozy with one of their leaders. How could you do this to us, Duchess?”
“Us?” Ava shot Brodie a sharp look. “Did you stop to think that maybe I did what I had to, to keep him from discovering what I’ve really been doing?”
“You didn’t have to have sex with him.”
“No,” she said, “that was for fun.” She lifted her gaze from the beer. “There’s no longer an engagement. It dissolved when you disappeared, walked out of my life.”
“It never dissolved. Did you stop to think that I did what I had to do to protect you?” He threw her retort back in her face. “They’d have arrested you for associating with me. I had to lead them away.”
“And stay away?” she whispered. “You panicked and ran. You left me behind.”
“I don’t run away.” Brodie leapt to his feet and slammed both his palms down on the table’s surface, leaning in toward her. “Your little fling could have cost us.”
“It didn’t. He’s backed off.”
“How can you be certain? Men like that don’t back off. He wants you. I can see it in his eyes.” Brodie nodded toward the glass. “You question what he will do after he refused to drink that beer? Open your eyes, Duchess. You’re playing with the wrong man, and it could get everyone killed. They’re looking for the shipment. It’s not safe to take it to the refinery. We have to get it off the planet. You need to stay away from him, let things cool down. This shipment is important. It’s all we need to make the final push.”
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