True As Steel (Cyborg Redemption)

by Regine Abel

  The Mainframe had never been this quiet before. It almost felt eerie. But I didn’t dally, disconnecting swiftly, like every other Cyborg had done, to avoid the Emperor’s minions tracking my location.

  To my pleasant surprise, Tamryn woke up a little before five. She gave me a timid smile while getting off me.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “Crushed,” I deadpanned.

  Her jaw dropped as she stared at me. I smiled.

  “Did you just make a joke?” Tamryn asked, disbelieving.

  I grunted and shrugged, not knowing how to respond. It had been years since I’d attempted humor. I didn’t even know what had prompted me to do it just now.

  “Let’s eat and then hit the road. We have a long way to go,” I said while rising to my feet.

  Tamryn chuckled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Sure, if you can handle it after getting squished all night by little ole me.”

  I glared at her, which only earned me a beaming smile on her part. It struck me then that she was truly a beautiful female. Even now, with her hair disheveled, and her face a little puffy from sleep, Tamryn was stunning. Before my transformation, it wouldn’t have taken me this long for it to fully register. I’d have pursued her in a heartbeat. She ticked all the boxes of attraction for me. From her strong, no-nonsense, no-drama personality to her physical abilities, and to that angelic face, with mesmerizing blue eyes, high cheekbones, a lovely bud nose, and plump lips that demanded to be devoured, Tamryn was stirring long dormant feelings inside me. I could still feel the silky caress of that long black mane of hers over my chest.

  She made the old Jarog, from before the change, want to come back to the surface. I didn’t know how to handle that.

  We had a quick breakfast with me finishing off the animal I’d caught and Tamryn eating one of the energy bars from the escape pod. When I asked her why not eat some of the mercenaries’ food, she wisely suggested we keep it instead for our lunch break today so we wouldn’t waste time hunting for food. We could try to catch something once we made camp later tonight.

  We set off a little before 0600 hours with the rising sun still very low on the horizon. We didn’t stop before noon, Tamryn spending most of the lunch break eating standing up to stretch her legs. The second night turned out to be more comfortable than the first. I’d sent out the snitch to check out an old trading post. According to my database, it had been abandoned a few years back after the Ferein Cartel had all but been wiped out their rivals, the mercenary cartel who had run it. This sector had been annexed to their territory, although they performed all of their activities around their HQ in Tarkis—a three-hour ride from here.

  Although the large building and annexed warehouse no longer contained anything of value, it provided a proper shelter, away from prying eyes, including a large couch in the staff room for us to sleep on. As a major added bonus, a still functional old replicator spared us the trouble of hunting and cooking. And the icing on top? A hygiene room complete with a particle shower provided us with much welcomed creature comfort. However, the temperature control was no longer working, and we didn’t trust the water to be drinkable.

  During our respective particle showers, Tamryn and I seized the opportunity to wash our clothes. In my case, on top of my uniform, I also washed the stinky clothes I’d taken off the burly man from the trio that had sought to capture me in the desert. While I much preferred wearing my uniform, it would draw too much attention once we reached Satos. Dressed as a civilian, fewer people would notice us. In mercenary cities, people tended to mind their own business to avoid inviting too much scrutiny to themselves and their own shady dealings. Despite that, I wanted to delay our arrival until nightfall so that the darkness would further hide the branding on our faces.

  With the defective AC, I remained shirtless as we settled down to eat in the breakroom. The way Tamryn discreetly stole glances at my chest pleased me far too much. Judging by the small beads of sweat pearling on her forehead, she would have loved to be able to remove her shirt as well. I almost invited her to do so but bit my tongue instead. I didn’t want her thinking I was hitting on her. And truth be told, she needed to make those calls for herself where her comfort was concerned.

  I seized the opportunity of our little face-to-face during our meal to get a better sense of what we would run into tomorrow.

  “So, what can you tell me about that contact of yours in Satos,” I asked casually.

  Tamryn stiffened, her gaze flicking up from her plate to look at me. The glimmer of suspicion that crossed it stung. Obviously, it would take more than last night’s talk for her to fully regain her trust in me—or whatever trust she previously had.

  “What do you want to know?” she asked, carefully.

  “For instance, how close are you?” I said, pretending not to see her wariness. “What are the odds he or she will be tempted to turn us in for the bounty instead? And assuming not, will that person be able to prevent the locals from trying to snag us?”

  Tamryn’s shoulders relaxed. “Fair questions,” she said. “My friend’s name is Haelin.”

  “Haelin Zorani?” I exclaimed, surprised.

  “You know her?” Tamryn replied, stunned.

  I shook my head. “I know of her,” I corrected. “She built quite the empire here. I didn’t know you were so well connected.”

  The female was registered in my database as the leader of the Narengi Cartel. Her species exclusively controlled the production of Dalirium, a recreational drug extremely popular for its lack of negative side effects and especially the absence of addiction. It was the safest drug on the market. Very few dared to fuck with her.

  Tamryn shrugged. “Well, she and I personally aren’t very close,” Tamryn explained. “She’s originally from Bionus, like me. Our families are friends there. Her close bond is with my uncle, but she knows me. If she decides to help us—and I have no reason to think otherwise—she’ll obliterate anyone who tries to raise a finger against us.”

  “Despite us being branded?” I insisted when she appeared to be done talking.

  Tamryn shifted on her seat, clearly uncomfortable with that line of questioning. “Like I said, Haelin is from Bionus. She’s not exactly going to help the bastard trying to take over her homeworld. Plus, she doesn’t need the credits from any bounty she might collect, assuming Shui even pays up.”

  “All right, but what will she want in exchange for her assistance?” I asked.

  This time, Tamryn pursed her lips, an uncertain look in her eyes. “Honestly, I have no clue. If it had just been me, I believe she would help for free. But with you…” she gave me an apologetic look. “She may or may not ask for something. Also, just so you know, I will have to tell her about your previous allegiance to the Emperor. You can’t lie to a Narengi.”

  I nodded. The humanoid species had a unique ability to read people. They didn’t read minds or auras and possessed no empathic abilities either. However, they could hear a lie or deception in someone’s voice or body language, no matter how expert a liar that person was. Therefore, they were often hired to accompany people in the process of negotiating big contracts or deals.

  “I wouldn’t expect you to either,” I said reassuringly. “Furthermore, if my presence impedes your chances of receiving assistance from her, I expect you to ditch me and save yourself.”

  “You want me to abandon you?” Tamryn exclaimed, her brows shooting up.

  I snorted. “It’s not abandoning me. It’s making the logical choice,” I replied with a shrug.

  “Is that what you would do?” she asked, her tone hardening. “Once we get to Satos, if Haelin decides a Cyborg would be more useful to her than some ex-military chick, will you ditch me to benefit from her aid?”

  “No,” I said matter-of-factly. “First, the likelihood of that is slim to none. Like you said, you’re from the same planet, and your families are friends. There is no reason for her not to want to assist you. If she abandons you n
ow, then she isn’t the type of person I want to do business with either. So, I will stand with you. On the other end, I was a loyalist. She may want to seek revenge on behalf of the victims of Emperor Shui. You must not put yourself in harm’s way to try and protect me. But also be warned that if they attempt to capture me, I will do everything in my power to escape, which might mean casualties.”

  Tamryn shuddered, and a troubled expression flitted over her features.

  “Do you truly regret the things you did under the Emperor’s command?” she suddenly asked, nervously tucking a lock of her obsidian hair behind her ear. “I mean, were you honest with me last night when you said you hated obeying his orders and that, had he not turned on you first, you would have broken your oath to him to do right by the people instead?”

  “Yes, I was honest,” I answered without hesitation.

  “Then you should be fine,” Tamryn said, although I could still hear the slight uncertainty in her voice. “Nobody on Xyva is a saint. They all have a shady history and things they wish they had handled differently in the past. Unless you directly wronged them, all that will matter is who you are now.”

  “Very well,” I said.

  We resumed eating, switching to lighter topics. As we headed to bed, I tried not to worry about what tomorrow had in store for us.

  “Look,” Tamryn suddenly said as we stood in front of the couch, “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, but it’s way too hot to sleep in all of these clothes. I’m going to strip down to my undies.”

  I repressed a smile, pleased that she had finally bit the bullet to stop torturing herself.

  “It is a wise idea. I am personally planning on removing my pants as well to only sleep in my underpants,” I said.

  Her brows shot up. “Seriously? And what if I have a problem with you sleeping almost naked under me?”

  “I will tell you to suck it up or find a different spot to sleep,” I deadpanned while stripping out of my pants. “Why should I suffer all night because you might have some prudish reservations?”

  Tamryn scrunched her face, looking totally unimpressed.

  “You aren’t much of a gentleman, are you?” she asked, although it was more of a statement.

  I chuckled. “That, I’m definitely not,” I replied matter-of-factly while hanging my pants on the backrest of one of the chairs around the table. “I’m practical and rational. Frankly, I’m surprised you took this long to finally seek some comfort for yourself. There was absolutely no reason for you to suffer from the heat this whole time when you could have simply removed a few layers. You may be a beautiful woman, but I am a Cyborg. I can keep my hands to myself.”

  She stared at me for a moment, looking dumbfounded. Then muttering something under her breath, she proceeded to peel off her clothes while I moved a free chair next to the couch and set the snitch’s display device on top. I then lay down on the couch.

  Yes, I could keep my hands to myself, but my eyes had different ideas. Tamryn truly was a beautiful woman. Being a little too muscular, she would not qualify as a model, but she certainly had the height, the incredible legs, the slender body with narrow waist that flared in the most sensual way at the hips, and the firm, round breasts, just the perfect size to fit in the palm of a man. The white sports bra and boy shorts she wore as underwear contrasted nicely with her sun-kissed skin.

  I barely repressed a smile at the slight blush reddening her cheeks while she hung her own clothes on the backrest of the chair next to mine. She climbed on top of me and, this time, I couldn’t help the shudder of pleasure that coursed through me. Tamryn stilled and cast a worried look at my face. Despite the inferno that had awakened inside of me, I stared back at her stoically, my face devoid of any expression. That appeared to reassure her as she finished settling on top of me. Forcing myself to control my breathing, I closed my eyes and savored the burning feel of her naked skin against mine.

  Chapter 6

  Tamryn

  This had been a terrible idea. And yet, the room was too hot to remain dressed. I had wondered about what Jarog looked like under his clothes, but fuck me, he exceeded even my wildest fantasies. The man had the body of a god. It was taking every bit of my willpower to keep myself from running my hands over him and rubbing my face against his chest. It wasn’t like me to be this horny over some dude with a hot body that I didn’t really know. Considering his past, I should be even more wary of him. And yet, all I could think was how much I wanted to ride him.

  Feeling his half-erect shaft beneath me did nothing to douse my arousal. For a split second, I actually wondered ‘why the heck not?’ Despite his best effort, I hadn’t missed him checking me out when I was undressing. We were both unattached, on the run, in the middle of a hostile territory, and clearly attracted to each other. Why not enjoy what little pleasures life still had to offer us?

  But I silenced the voice of temptation and rested my head on his muscular chest. Damn, only our second night like this, and I was already addicted. I hadn’t gotten laid in too long. Once things got sorted out with Haelin—hopefully in a positive fashion—I’d see about scratching that itch. However, thinking about my Narengi contact acted as the most effective method to flip off my lust switch. Jarog’s questions had been beyond valid. I still had some reservations about his trustworthiness, but I couldn’t bear the thought that Haelin would want to screw him over. Worse still, I couldn’t bear the thought that she might reveal he had fooled me this whole time.

  Sleep eluded me for a while. I couldn’t say which distracted me the most: my troubling thoughts, the divine feel of his hard body beneath me, or his fresh scent in my nose. Eventually, I escaped into Lalaland.

  Although it felt like only minutes had gone by since I’d fallen asleep, I woke up feeling refreshed, daylight flooding in through the breakroom’s windows. Jarog’s arm around me felt wonderful. I’d awakened to a similar situation yesterday morning. I enjoyed far too much the possessiveness of it, even though I didn’t doubt he’d done it unconsciously. I lifted my head to look at him. To my surprise, he was awake but staring at the ceiling with an air of deep concentration. His eyes moved as if he was looking at something. Then, I noticed his right hand resting on top of the snitch’s display, which Jarog had placed on a chair near us last night.

  It struck me then that he was interfacing with the device. The Cyborgs could wirelessly connect with pretty much any electronic device as long as they made physical contact with it, usually through their palm. I imagined Jarog was scouting the road ahead for potential trouble. That only reinforced the sense of safety I felt around him. That man was always on top of things.

  His thumb gently caressing my back startled me.

  “Good morning, Tamryn,” Jarog said, almost in a whisper, his voice deep.

  Despite acknowledging me, his gaze was still locked on the ceiling as he continued whatever task he was performing.

  “I will be with you shortly,” he said, his speech a little slower than usual, no doubt due to him multitasking.

  “Take your time,” I said in a gentle voice. “I’ll start preparing breakfast.”

  He smiled but didn’t otherwise respond. With much reluctance, I got off him. His arm around me slipped off in a caress that made me shiver. Damn, you’d think after a good night’s sleep, I wouldn’t still be such a horn ball. I focused on getting breakfast ready to rein in my wandering thoughts. The replicator didn’t have morning meals, but I didn’t mind. In truth, a solid meal this morning would benefit us more in the end.

  As I was laying the plates down on the table, it struck me that I was still in my undies. I reached for my pants at the same time Jarog started rising from the couch. The amused—not to say teasing—expression on his face as he watched me put my pants on should have irritated me. But it softened his usually stern expression in a way that was quite seductive. To my relief, although he didn’t put his shirt on, he donned his pants before taking a seat at the table.

  “I was planning on u
s leaving a little later today so that we could reach Satos at nightfall, but there’s a lot of activity along the straightest path I’d intended for us to take,” Jarog explained. “Therefore, we’re going to make a detour, which means we have to leave earlier.”

  “Any clue who they are?” I asked.

  “I didn’t want to get too close to them for fear they might detect the snitch,” he replied. “But they appear to be members of the Ferein Cartel, and they are carrying an escape pod.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and I stared at Jarog, eyes wide, while waiting for him to elaborate.

  “It definitely came from our transport ship, and it isn’t the one we landed in,” he said, his brows creasing. “The pod was closed, and despite zooming as much as I could with the snitch, it was impossible to see who—if anyone—was inside it.”

  The crazy thought that it could be my brother or my uncle kept spinning in my mind. It was beyond unlikely, and yet…

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Jarog said, his gaze boring into mine. “They have too big an escort surrounding it. We would never be able to recover it without getting captured ourselves. Based on their current trajectory, I believe they are taking it to the Ferein Cartel’s HQ before they will claim the bounty on whoever they caught.”

  I pursed my lips but gave him a sharp nod.

  “I will try to track where they’re headed with it,” Jarog continued. “But truth be told, judging by the number of people they have surrounding that pod, I think they captured a Cyborg.”

  I slightly recoiled, although it made sense. A Cyborg would be worth a fortune, way more than what they would get for a regular rebel like me.

  “Could it be your pod brother?” I asked, hope blossoming in my heart for him.

  Jarog shook his head with a resigned expression. “No. Caylan was telling me he’d gotten onboard a vessel when our communication cut off. So, if this is indeed a Cyborg, he’s unknown to me.”