Bargain With the Enemy Page 9

  ‘Oh, Stephanie, of course he trusts you. The past rones, Ivo has spoken often of your courage and resourcefulness in protecting little Mia.’ Leance beamed from one to the other.

  ‘My lies you mean,’ Steph muttered.

  Ivo snapped, ‘Then you admit you practiced deceit.’

  ‘Yes, I did and I’d do it again to get away from that planet!’

  ‘You deserted your post.’ Mouth thin, he added, ‘And you stole.’

  Stephanie threw her hands in the air. ‘I can’t believe we’re rehashing this crap. Yeah, I did all of those things, so you see what a trustworthy employee I’d make.’

  ‘It is not an employee role I am thinking of,’ growled Ivo, his long strides making short work of pacing the tiled floor. Up to the windows then back down to the end of the room then back to the windows again. ‘But I accept you had little choice at the time.’

  If not the job, then what did he mean? Steph’s heart did a quick pitter-patter.

  ‘What an interesting conversation,’ mused his mother. Holding onto the arm of the chaise, she rose awkwardly to her feet.

  Stephanie hurried to assist, scooping her hand under Leance’s elbow.

  ‘We must not keep our guests waiting any longer.’ Leance sent her a sideline look then added, ‘I believe you have met them, Stephanie. Fai and Gordo arrived one rone ago. They have many arrangements to discuss with Ivo.’

  Feeling as if the floor had disappeared beneath her feet, Steph curled her fingers and forced out, ‘I bet.’ Yeah, like one marriage and Mia’s future.

  As if on cue, Gordo strolled into the room with his daughter Fai on his arm. Both stopped in their tracks, identical expressions of distaste frozen on their faces as they stared at Stephanie.

  Ivo advanced to greet them, still holding Mia in his arms. No sooner had he reached their side, than the baby twisted around to face them, screwed up her tiny face and vomited.

  Fai squealed and danced out of the way. Pointing, she cried, ‘A perfect example of how primitive is this creature.’

  She stared down her nose at Stephanie. ‘I have made arrangements for the youngling to enter the academy. She will leave tomorrow.’

  ‘Mia isn’t going anywhere without me and certainly not off to some boarding school! Ivo,’ demanded Stephanie.

  But Gordo cut in, ‘I will not have my family humiliated in this fashion, El Boeka. Either you rid yourself of these two off-worlders or the full might of the Traditionalist party will destroy you and all who bear your name.’

  Stephanie raced to Ivo’s side and grasped his sleeve. ‘Ivo, please. You can’t send Mia away. I won’t let you.’

  He shook her off. ‘This is a family matter, Stephanie, and would be better addressed without your presence.’

  ‘I was right about you. You’re incapable of being human.’ Tears blinding her, her heart shattering into dust, she plucked Mia from his arms and ran from the room.

  Chapter 9

  These days, I seem to spend way too much time hanging about departure bays. Stephanie’s mouth twisted wryly.

  With Mia snug in a make-shift sling stuffed beneath an outsized flight shirt, Steph peered round the corner of a storage cabin to scan the terminal. There were a total of three shuttles squatting on the tarmac waiting for crew and passengers, one of which she suspected would belong to El Gordo and his lot. Two shuttles were in the process of being checked by techs and there was a small squad of Darkon soldiers loitering near the hangar doors.

  This wasn’t going to be easy. But she was all out of options. The idea of staying anywhere near Ivo was definitely off the table. How could she? Her stupid daydream where she and Mia and Ivo were one happy family had been nothing but a fantasy.

  But with her pipe dreams evaporated like smoke, she needed to face reality.

  Ivo was getting married.

  And that creature he intended to bind himself to forever could never offer Mia the love and security she needed.

  Sending a baby off to some horrible academy!

  A declaration Ivo had refused to comment on.

  He’d made it clear Stephanie meant nothing to him and could never be anything to him. He’d shrugged off her fear for Mia and no doubt as soon as she’d left the room, had ushered his precious guests to the dining area.

  One thing last night’s events had proved, she couldn’t entrust Mia’s welfare to Ivo.

  After long hours spent alternately weeping into her pillow and walking around and around her room fuming, she finally accepted there was only one option left.

  Return to Earth.

  I made a promise to ensure Mia was safe and loved. I should never have allowed myself to be distracted by awesome abs and dark, sexy eyes.

  She shrugged her backpack more securely over her shoulder and prising open her shirt she squinted down at the sleeping baby. All good. Okay let’s do it.

  From the shelf beside her, she snatched up a coil of plasi-wire and with a tech’s distinctive cap covering her head, she walked with purposeful steps towards Gordo’s shuttle. No one hailed her, grabbed her arm. She kept walking. Heart thudding in slow, heavy thumps that pounded against her rib cage.

  Any minute now I’m going to be sick. She gritted her teeth and reached the side of Gordo’s shuttle. The passenger door was wide open. Over to the right, two guards stood with their backs to her chowing down their early morning meal with what she assumed to be the other crew members. A female Ensign stood nearby holding a tray in her hands. One of the guards must have made an unwelcome suggestion for she suddenly whacked him over the head with the tray, much to the surrounding warriors’ amusement.

  Taking advantage of their distraction, Stephanie mounted the three steps and climbed on board. Moving quickly, she ducked inside the passenger section. A quick glance reassured her she was alone on the shuttle.

  But she didn’t have much time.

  Gordo, the female icicle and their buddies were scheduled to lift off in ten minutes.

  Where to hide?

  She wound her way through the chairs bolted to the floor to a hatch at the rear. But it was locked.

  The sound of voices outside had her spinning round, frantically seeking sanctuary. They’d arrived sooner than she’d expected.

  Then the Darkon woman entered, her eyes widening with surprise as she spotted Steph.

  Stephanie’s arms closed protectively over the baby under her shirt as she asked, ‘I need to get to Darkos as soon as possible. Will you help me?’

  ‘What do I get in return?’

  ‘What you get is us out of your life.’

  Slowly, the other woman nodded. ‘Deal.’ She turned and spoke over her shoulder to someone beyond Stephanie’s vision before beckoning her forward.

  ‘Seat yourself in the last row and I will sit beside you. No one will dare question me.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Stephanie dropped the laden backpack to the floor and flopped into the chair. A quick look at the woman who sat down beside her, had her banishing any thoughts of questioning her. Frozen disgust was the only way to describe the expression on her face. You don’t impress me either, lady, so that makes two of us.

  But she had to give Lady Icicle kudos for the way she stared down the blustering of her relative and his officers when they entered and spotted Stephanie and Mia.

  The power source fired into life, effectively eliminating any further arguments.

  This is it. There’s no turning back now.

  Goodbye, Ice Man.

  ***

  ‘What do you mean neither she nor the youngling can be found?’ Teeth bared, Ivo glared at the hapless Ensign standing before him with shoulders squared, gaze dead ahead. The bright morning sun streamed through the window of his office but did little to lighten his increasingly anxious mood.

  After Stephanie had failed to appear for the morning meal, he’d looked for her himself. Then unable to find any trace of either her or the child, he’d sent for his men to widen the search.

  ‘Si
r. We have searched your personal quarters, the lady’s quarters, the entire building and the terminal. We have found no trace,’ Ensign Ronal said, his face bleached of colour.

  ‘Search again. They must be here, possibly hiding. Stephanie appears to relish annoying me.’ The memory of his last encounter with her flashed through his mind. He’d hurt her with his careless words, a hurt he’d soon discovered he’d do anything to soothe.

  I should have explained my actions to her. Asked her to trust me but no, I held back, allowed my arrogance and conceit to come between us.

  He’d spent the night extricating himself from his former pledge and negotiating with Gordo to ensure no repercussions from his withdrawal would fall onto any member of his family.

  It had been near dawn before he’d sought his rest. His last thought before fatigue claimed him had been of Stephanie and praying to his goddess, he would be forgiven.

  Stephanie will forgive me. I am certain of it. I will devise some pleasurable methods of atoning for my crass behaviour. Take her and little Mia to view the golden rings of our moon.

  Ivo swung round at the tramp of booted feet to greet his second-in-command, Priar, who strode towards him.

  ‘Gordo’s cruiser has departed this sector, Commander.’

  About to respond, Ivo suddenly scowled and directed a searching stare at Priar. There was an air of barely suppressed apprehension in the normally stoic, older warrior with whom he’d shared many a battle since being teamed together at the beginning of the war.

  He knew those signs.

  His gut clenched. ‘What is it, Priar?’

  ‘It is my belief, the ones you seek are on board Gordo’s ship,’ said Priar drily.

  ‘What!’

  ‘Vid feeds from the departure terminal confirms an unidentified and oddly shaped figure entered the shuttle, sectons before the visitors.’ Priar took the liberty of crossing to Ivo’s desk and activating a data cube he placed on the shiny surface. He nodded at the streaming intel. ‘I immediately ordered our techs to hack into Gordo’s intelligence system. The cruiser has changed flight paths.’

  His hands curled into fists, Ivo scanned the data. ‘By the stars of Darkos! This cannot be correct. This is a direct course to the planet Zersk.’

  Feeling as if all warmth had drained from his bones, he said hoarsely, ‘Given Gordo’s reaction to Stephanie and Mia, I can think of only one reason for such a manoeuvre.’

  Priar agreed gruffly, ‘A perfect place to get rid of unwanted bodies.’

  Unable to form one word, Ivo stood battling the denial baying inside his essence. I will kill them. If they have harmed either Stephanie or Mia, I will kill all of them. Feeling hollow, as if someone had carved out his heart, he dragged his gaze from the floor and looked at Priar.

  No need for any further words, he saw that the older warrior nodded slowly.

  ‘The “pull”. The Earth female is your one.’ Priar sighed sadly, a far-away look glazing over his eyes. ‘One cannot control the “pull” or manipulate it. My mate was my one and when she passed into the next life, all light in my essence died with her. Do not allow your chance to slip through your fingers, friend.’

  ‘I do not intend to, Priar, but thank you for your words.’ Swallowing hard over the constriction in his throat, Ivo sprang into action. ‘Ensign, ready my shuttle. Priar, I want the cruiser ready to vacate this sector with maximum speed the moment we board. We must reach Zersk in the minimum amount of time. Ensign, obtain up-to-date intel on the conditions on that planet. One small female and a youngling will not survive long should a volcanic eruption occur.’

  His men hurried off to fulfil their tasks.

  Ivo snatched up the data cube and raced to find his mother and after taking her hands in his, apprised her of recent events and his involvement.

  ‘Go and bring them back to us,’ his mother said, her eyes overbright with unshed tears.

  Unable to speak, he kissed her cheek and left the house. Sixty sectons later, he was on board his ship and standing in the Command Centre. Alone near the bank of consols, Ivo brought up the vid feeds until he found the one he wanted. Leaning closer, he paused the playback. His fingers rested lightly on the hologram outline of Stephanie as she prepared to board the shuttle. Her right arm was held protectively across the bulge Ivo suspected was Mia.

  The image rippled at his touch.

  Fragmented.

  And just as easily, so too could the lives of his precious Stephanie and Mia be ripped apart.

  ‘I will get you back, little thief. And when I do…’ He sucked in a deep breath to steady the powerful rage of emotions howling through his mind. ‘And when I do, I will ensure you will never run from me again.’

  ***

  Through the floor beneath her feet, Stephanie felt the vibrations of the shuttle’s power source rattle down to a steady hum. The plitza gun, which the guard still held centimetres from the side of her head, jerked upwards indicating it was time for her to move.

  Her fingers shook as she released the catch and her restraints slid off her shoulders. Leaning over, she snapped off Mia’s and lifted her into her arms. No sooner was Stephanie on her feet, than the guard prodded her forward by stabbing the gun’s muzzle into her back.

  ‘Where are we?’ she forced out through chattering teeth while she stumbled out the hatch and into the compact cargo bay area.

  The guard behind her grunted, ‘Zersk.’

  Which told her absolutely nothing.

  The main door was open. Outside, two other guards, clad in cyno armour and helmeted, stood facing outwards, furlon blasters armed and at the ready.

  ‘Out.’ The guard gestured again.

  The wind shrieked as it swirled with considerable force inside the shuttle pummelling against her, a barrage of angry hands. Scorching hot and gritty it seared over her skin and her courage faltered.

  Shit. What was this place?

  Her mind squirreled back to that last conversation with Lady Icicle. The Darkon woman had stood in the doorway of the miniscule cabin Stephanie had been locked inside the moment she and Mia had touched down on Gordo’s ship. And where they’d stayed for what had felt like days with no other contact apart from an Ensign who appeared regularly with food and drink.

  When Stephanie heard the locks to her room disengage, she’d scrambled off the bunk and stood facing the door, prepared to fight to the death if necessary to protect her baby.

  But a physical confrontation had not been the other woman’s agenda. Instead she’d sounded triumphant when she’d told Stephanie the ship was on its way to the Mirva System. She’d said they’d located a suitable settlement on another planet where she and Mia could wait until the next supply ship departed for Darkos.

  Stephanie hadn’t believed a word of it. Instead she’d been grimly pleased she’d hidden portions of food and drink inside her bags over the past few days. Just in case.

  Unfortunately, it seemed as if her suspicions had proved correct. Because it sure looked as if they were about to be abandoned on what hardly looked like a holiday resort. In fact, Stephanie couldn’t see anything that remotely resembled any form of a settlement.

  Her horrified gaze took in a bleak landscape of sharp, angular jagged rocks that covered the surface. Lava domes of varying heights dotted the landscape. Gas rose hissing from vents in the ground. Not far from where the shuttle had landed, was a circular hole from where a bright red glow emanated; an underground river of lava.

  To top it off, there was a wide billowing plume of ash-laden cloud extending thousands of metres into the atmosphere from a steep-sloped volcano near the horizon.

  Steph suspected that at any moment a volcanic eruption could occur. To avoid the scorching wind, she pressed Mia’s face against her shirt and glared. ‘You’re not seriously making us get off the ship here?’

  His jaw working furiously, he broke eye contact and this time, pushed her shoulder roughly. ‘Out or I shoot you now.’

  I’ve got no choi
ce. Steph pulled the hood of Mia’s jumpsuit over her head and awkwardly clambered down off the shuttle. The force of the wind made her stagger, so she widened her stance, bending low over the baby to shelter her as much as possible. The guards standing beside the shuttle jerked their guns sideways.

  One.

  Two.

  Three steps, positive that at any moment a furlon blast would sear into her back, the molten plasma eating into her flesh and her bones. An agonisingly slow death. Mia would be left alone and unprotected.

  She cowered, bent over the baby, whispering useless words of, ‘I’m sorry’ into Mia’s soft hair. The roar of the shuttle’s engine sent her stumbling round to stare as the shuttle prepared to lift off. Her anguished eyes met the impassive face of the crew member about to close the hatch.

  ‘Wait! My backpack and holdall. Give us a chance,’ she screamed.

  After a furtive glance over his shoulder, he hoisted two bags through the doorway. Then the hatch slammed shut.

  Coughing against the dust stirred up by the ship’s thrusters and the frenzied dance of the manic wind, Stephanie lurched forward. She grabbed the backpack and slipped the straps over her shoulders and grasped the handle of her holdall. Crouching low, she ran, thankful for her heavy-soled boots as she scrambled over the rough rocks.

  Knowing they had to be clear of the area before the shuttle lifted off, she pushed herself to her limit against the fury of the wind. If they were too close, the thrusters would flash them into cinders in seconds.

  The shuttle’s engine changed tune. Unwilling to risk exposing her face by looking over her shoulder, Stephanie flattened herself to the ground, huddling over the baby and praying they’d cleared the danger zone.

  Heat fizzled over her back.

  Then the roar of engine’s died away, swallowed by the scream of the wind.

  Stephanie laid Mia carefully onto the ground and ripped off her own jacket to wallop it against the rocks in an attempt to smother any sparks from the thrusters. A quick examination revealed a long scorch mark but no burning material. Satisfied, she crouched on her knees with her back to the wind and pulled out the tiny cyno suit from her bag. Ignoring the baby’s indignant protests, she wrestled Mia into the suit.