03 Solar Flare - Spark Series (9 page)

Disturbed, Brandy went to her sister and
knelt. She squeezed her arm. It wasn’t often she was called upon to
soothe Gem. “You don’t carry this weight for me, sis. That’s for me
to do.”

“It’s what love is for me,” Gem whispered.
“It’s who I am.”

It was true. Brandy knew her sister couldn’t
change. She was a strong woman, but she had a soft heart. It made
what had to happen easier to do. “I’ll buy a ticket, then. I’ll
go.”

Gem gave a little laugh, but it wasn’t happy.
“To Xera, please. I know you’ll take care of each other, and I’ll
worry less with both of you in the same place.”

“You think?” Brandy asked sardonically, but
she didn’t mean it. In the face of Gem’s distress, all her worries
seemed meaningless. She’d travel across the star system if that’s
what it took to make things right. “I’ll go see her. I’ll make sure
she’s all right.”

Gem made a face. “I know; she’s an
ambassador, married to a wealthy lord, a guy she claims invented
romance, and I worry. That’s how it is.”

“We all need hobbies,” Brandy assured her,
though thinking of Ryven sent a surge of acid to her gut. Even
without the vision, she now felt hostile toward him. The
hallucinations were training her to see him as the enemy.

Feeling lost, for the enormity of her promise
had set in, she stood. “I think I’d better go make some
arrangements.”

“It’s done,” Gem said with a hint of her old
assurance. She managed a half smile at the face Brandy made. “I was
determined I’d find a way to talk you into it.”

Brandy blew out a breath. She knew when she
was defeated. “Well, I know you didn’t pack my travel case for me.
My socks were still in my drawer as of this morning.”

Gem raised a shoulder. The smile was more
definite now. “I had to leave something for you to do.”

Brandy rolled her eyes as she made for her
bedroom.

As soon as she’d closed the door, Gem looked
at Azor. “You’re going with her, right?”

“I have some leave coming up,” he said in
assurance. “And I said I would.”

“All the way?” she pushed. “I know it’s a
long way, Azor, and I’ll owe you one.”

“You’re not concerned about me kissing your
sister?” he asked, just to be clear. There was no sense letting it
fester.

“At this point, it’s the lesser evil,” she
said frankly. “If she stays here, her life is over. She’ll die an
unhappy woman. She has too much potential, too much life to live
for me to allow that. If it comes to it, I think you’d make a
decent brother in law.”

“I’m not ready to make that deep of a
commitment,” he said with a trace of humor. He didn’t want to
offend her. “I will promise not to dishonor her, though. I don’t
know about going as far as the Scorpio home world, however. We’ll
have to see.” It would depend on a lot of things.

Gem and Blue exchanged a look. Blue took her
hand, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles. “You look tired, hon.
Why don’t you go rest while I walk Azor out?” She looked ready to
refuse, but he said firmly, “Trust me.”

After a moment of silent conflict, she
finally sighed. She even seemed a little relieved.

Blue kissed her hair as they left the room
and watched her as she went her way. He waited until she entered a
lift before he walked Azor out to the garage.

“There’s more to this than just the pending
trial,” he said quietly once they were alone. At Azor’s inquiring
look, he added, “Brandy doesn’t know it yet, but we’ve already
heard whispers. Someone recognized her in the ER, most likely, and
couldn't wait to spread rumors. We've already had one blackmail
attempt over it.” He laughed shortly. “We told them to shove off.
Even if I were inclined to pay to keep the word from spreading,
it's just a matter of time. I'd love to have a chat with the
scumbag who put her in this position.” His eyes glittered.

Azor looked at him sharply. “Did you report
it? That blackmail, that is.”

“Of course. I talked to the Chief just an
hour ago. He promised to do what he could.” They exchanged a look.
Blue didn't consider the matter a police concern. Taking care of
his family was his duty. “The important thing is getting Brandy out
of here. Once Brandy’s off world, it won’t matter what people say.
You needed to know why Gem’s so desperate to get her sister to
leave. We can weather another scandal—she can’t. At least, that’s
what Gem’s convinced of. She doesn’t want her sister to get
hurt.”

“Why haven’t you told Brandy?”

“You know how stubborn she is. Telling her
would encourage her to stay and fight. If we could convince her to
leave at all, it would take twice the effort. She wouldn’t back
down from this if she knew.”

He stopped and looked Azor in the eye. “The
odds are we won’t be able to keep this out of the media for more
than a day or two; it’s one reason I’ve convinced Gem to get away
for a little while. It’ll go easier if they’re not here to fuel the
storm.

“Besides, if Brandy does get wind of this, I
want her to be far enough away that coming back will be
impractical. Regardless of what she thinks, her life here is
over.”

Azor regarded him. “She’ll see the news feeds
at some point, even if you manage to distract her for a few
days.”

Blue sighed. “It's not a perfect solution,
but it's the best I can think of. I think we can tell her the news
feeds aren’t working on your ship. After that….” He shrugged.

Azor nodded and resumed walking. He wasn't
surprised to hear of the rumors. Polaris had an active grapevine,
and the Harrisdaughters were definitely persons of interest. In
light of the gossip that would fly after the trial, the threat of
some sleazy opportunist was hardly noteworthy. Everyone with a
grudge would be out to smear their names. Not everyone was happy
with their success. He could think of some jealous competitors
who’d love to see The Spark go down in flames. It wouldn’t even
matter if the rumors were true. This was just going to speed things
up.

They didn’t say much as they walked. Both of
them had things on their mind.

Blue’s mood was still grave when they reached
the garage. He stopped beside Azor’s transport and gave him a
steady look. “Concerning that little scene on the carpet
earlier…she’s not to be toyed with.”

He didn’t have to ask whom Blue meant. “No,
she’s not.” He had no intention of hurting her. Whatever became of
the spark between them, he was determined on that much.

So much depended on her, on how they were
together. It was too soon to say what might develop. She would not
be an easy woman to live with, not even for the duration of an
eight-month voyage, should he chose to travel that far. The close
confines of space could make them lovers…or bitter enemies. He’d
seen both happen.

He let his serious intent show. “If I have
her, Blue, I’ll marry her, but I haven’t reached that stage of
desperation yet.”

“Careful.”

“I intend to be.” He wasn’t privy to the
private details, of course, but he knew Blue. He’d always assumed
that Blue’s marriage was the result of a seduction that had gone
deeper than he’d intended. He’d been sucked in, albeit pleasantly,
which is what happened when one messed with nice ladies. He wasn’t
sure if Brandy qualified as ‘nice’, but she was definitely a lady.
He knew to be wary of that.

He fished his keys out of his pocket. “Can I
go now, or do you have any other brotherly warnings for me?”

Blue snorted. “Go.”

Azor smiled as he slid into his transport.
“She’d be touched to know you care.”

She was touched. She had to be. Brandy
brushed the hair off her face as she tried to forget what Azor had
made her feel. Even with the chaos of her choice to leave marching
around in her head, that was what she kept coming back to. It had
kept her up for half the night, it seemed. Maybe it was her way of
forgetting that she was about to travel far, far from home.

What would it have felt like if they’d had
time to complete that kiss? If they’d been alone five more minutes,
what might have happened?

She grimaced. They would have stopped, that’s
what. That’s what responsible adults did. They came to their senses
and quit fooling around. It’s not like it would happen again.

She let her gaze wander aimlessly around the
room, seeking distraction, but the room had been professionally
decorated and designed to be low key, soothing. They’d had
breakfast in Gem’s suite that morning while they discussed
arrangements, and it was the best room to be had. The walls were
painted a soft, soothing butter-yellow and the décor was elegant,
but homey. Rugs woven from natural grasses warmed the hardwood
floors and white shelving had been built into the walls to hold
blue glass accents. The white shutters were open to the balcony and
allowed the sweet scent of garden flowers in to stir the
sheers.

She felt a wave of melancholy. How could she
leave this place? There was no place closer to paradise.

Gem was still talking, discussing her plans.
It took an effort to focus on her words. When they registered in
Brandy’s sleep fogged mind, she frowned. “No, you can’t go with me.
You have a zillion kids and a house.”

“You need a chaperone. Besides, it will be
the last time I see you in a long while. I want to travel with you
at least a little way. It will give us time to talk.”

“How far is a little way?” Brandy asked
suspiciously. Now that she was going, she wasn’t sure she wanted to
be trapped with her family in a tiny little ship for weeks on end.
She’d murder someone for sure—probably her nephews. As for talking,
they were doing that now. Surely Gem could say whatever she needed
to without trapping her on a ship first. She couldn’t imagine
anything stressful enough to warrant that.

Gem ignored Brandy’s irritation. “Just to
that planet, Ictharus II. Blue says there’s enough room on Azor’s
ship. He’s ridden on it several times.”

That was news to Brandy. “Wait—he has a ship?
I thought we were taking a pleasure cruiser or something.”

“You might, later. This is the arrangement
for now. Azor has already agreed.”

Brandy raised a brow as she sipped her tea.
She wondered what persuasion Blue had used to arrange that. It must
have been powerful. She couldn’t imagine Azor being thrilled about
the company, either. He wasn’t a social kind of guy.

Azor, razor. She smiled. It rhymed. Azor,
laser. She blinked as she realized what she was doing, and uneasily
examined her thoughts. She really was loopy from lack of sleep.
Maybe Gem had a point; a few weeks of semi-suspension might be good
for her after all. Maybe she’d get away with doing it while Gem and
Co. were on board. She smiled.

“Besides, it’s obvious you need me along.
Until you two wrap up whatever it is you’re calling this thing with
Azor, you need to be watched.”

Brandy gave her a warning look. “There is no
‘thing’, between us. You know I’ve always detested him. For that
matter, I don’t require watching. I’m not a child.”

“That’s what worries me,” Gem said grimly.
She hesitated. “I know how men can be. Blue…let’s just say he could
be intense, too. Before we were married, I mean.”

Interesting, though hardly relevant to her
case. Brandy assessed her sister’s expression, absorbed what she
didn’t say. She’d often wondered. “He seduced you.”

She hesitated. “Some.”

Brandy raised a brow.

Gem scowled. “Anyway, you can bet we’ll be
watching you closely. I know, you see. The temptation is
there.”

“Little hypocritical, don’t you think?” Not
that she thought there was anything to Gem’s fears. It might have
been a unique way of doing it, but Azor really had been intent on
distracting her. Worked, too.

“Protective,” Gem said firmly. “I want you to
be sure before you get so tangled up you have no choice left. I
want you to be happy. Really, there’s plenty of time for friskiness
once you’re married.”

“Apparently.” Brandy looked at Gem’s stomach.
She felt a grain of mischief shift inside her. It had been a while
since she had bugged her sister. She made sure her eyes wore a
teasing glimmer. In her condition, Gem didn’t need to know she
spoke the truth.

She might admit it to Blue later, though.
She’d been serious when she told Azure she would tell her family
about him. “You may be right about my not getting mixed up with
Azor. I do have another admirer. A girl should be sure.” She smiled
slyly.

“Who?” Gem asked, a little furrow between her
brows.

“He’s a stripper.”

Gem relaxed. It was apparent she thought
Brandy was pulling her leg. “Sure he is.”

Blue walked in as she made her announcement.
“Who’s a stripper?”

Brandy regarded him calmly. “I’ve been
talking to guy who works at a strip club. He goes to school during
the day. He’s getting his degree.”

“What’s his name?” Blue asked calmly, but
there was a protective gleam in his eyes.

Gem gave him a droll look. “Ignore her. She’s
mad because we’re going on Azor’s ship. She’s teasing you.”

Brandy gave her a bland look, the one she
used when telling her nephews about adventures that never happened.
“He’s twenty-three. He’s using his paycheck to pay for his sister’s
doctor bills. She’s been sick and they don’t have insurance.”

“Uh huh. He should write a novel. With a
story like that, he could sell some books. His money problems would
soon be over,” Gem said, clearly bored. She never had played along
when her sisters told her yarns. She’d been a tough one to
fool.

Brandy had to smile. She’d told her sister
what she needed to know in a way that wouldn’t upset her. She was
ready to let the subject drop.

She thought Blue was, too, until he stayed
behind when his wife headed out to go visit the gardens. “I’ll be
right there,” he assured her, then waited until she was out of
earshot. “What’s his name?” Blue asked again. “This stripper you
know.”