HeartStorm (HeartFast Series Book 3) (16 page)

            "Let me clarify something," Deceiver continued first. "You're certain you can find your daughter without any difficulty?"

            "Without a doubt," Hunter informed him. "All I need is a bit more time. I haven't said as much to Star, but Callie and I seem to have formed a unique bond the first time I held her. It's similar to the bond between me and Terrin, but different because there's a blood tie."

            "That's good to hear, because you're going to have to delay your mission to retrieve DiMackerlyn and your daughter for the time being. We need you to bring
One
back to us first."

            Although he had expected bad news, the order almost made him ill.

            "Deceiver, I can't—"

            "You must," Deceiver interrupted, his voice growing cold. Off to the side, Hunter watched as his wife's face reflected her anger. Deceiver must have realized she was about to protest vehemently, and held a hand out toward her to momentarily stay her objections.

            "We're a vehicle short, and with
Three
gone, we're currently grounded and completely powerless to aide anyone off-planet. You know that, which is why it's imperative you to bring the other ship back to Synaria. Then you can resume your hunt for your daughter."

            "Deceiv—"

            "The sooner you return the ship, the sooner you can resume your hunt," Deceiver repeated, and the monitor went black. The man had signed off without a goodbye.

            Hunter gritted his teeth and thumped the comm board with his fist. He didn't like what he had to do, but he understood why Deceiver had ordered
One's
return.

           
The sooner you return the ship, the sooner you can resume your hunt.

            "Damn you, DiMackerlyn," he growled and went to inform the regent.

            The man seemed to be expecting him when Hunter popped into his office. "Well?"

            "I have orders to return our ship to Guardian Command before I go after DiMackerlyn and the baby."

            The man's face fell at the news. "Sorry to hear that, but I'll keep you posted on our search. Hail me when you arrive back here."

            "Will do. Thank you again for your help," Hunter told the man, and vanished.

            Quickly, he readied the small craft. The moment the star base gave him clearance to depart, he jetted out of the landing bay, hitting hyperlight seconds later. Space slid past the cockpit like coiled ropes of light, so close he could almost reach out and touch the slipstream.

            With the ship on autopilot, there was little for him to do for the next thirty or so minutes. He could close his eyes and rest, as he usually did whenever he wasn't piloting. As most of the Guardians did during that brief down time, as getting a full night's sleep was more often a dream rather than a reality. But when he was in the pilot's seat, he couldn't rest, too wound up and too afraid that something could come from out of nowhere and crash headlong into the ship. The universe may be a vast expanse of emptiness, but accidents did happen.

            Dropping his hands from the throttles, he pulled the bootie from his pocket and stared at it. Remembering the impossibly small foot that had filled it. The scent of the infant was firmly embedded in his lungs, in his cells, in his heart, but his time with her had been too short. He couldn't pinpoint a location. Not yet. Given more time, however, he'd be able to find her no matter where she was. No matter how far.

            The bootie fit over his thumb, and he snorted softly. Callie had a lusty cry when she was hungry or wet, and for a little baby, she had a big appetite.

           
A lusty cry. She has a lusty cry.
The memory of his daughter's loud wail as Star lifted her from her bed to feed her gave him an idea. Opening a channel to the star base, he requested to speak to Regent Targian.

            "I'm sorry. I don't have any new information to give you," the regent told him as he answered the call.

            "I had an idea I wanted to share. It might make your search easier," Hunter said.

            The regent almost smiled. "Coming from an expert such as yourself, I'm eager to hear what you suggest."

            "The man has my daughter. That's been proven. But we've been trying to find him using conventional methods."

            "I don't follow."

            "We're trying to find him by using visual means. You need to add auditory tracking."

            "Auditory? How?"

            Hunter grinned. "Unless DiMackerlyn carries a baby bag with him, Callaura is probably yelling at the top of her lungs right now. It's past her feeding time."

            The regent agreed and sent out new orders while he was still on the line with Hunter. "We'll begin questioning people, asking them if they've heard a crying baby."

            "Thank you, Regent Targian. I'll be in touch." Closing the connection, Hunter sat back, twirling the bootie around his thumb with his forefinger. "Hold on, Callie. Daddy's coming for you soon. Soon. And with a little luck, you'll be home before tomorrow."

            The soft promise gave him hope. He couldn't prove it, but he believed DiMackerlyn never intended to kidnap the baby in the first place. His original purpose had been to somehow get Star to go with him. Where he intended to take her, Hunter had no idea, and he made a mental note to find out. But with Star's flat refusal to join him, combined with the Guardians' support, the man had watched his plan unravel.

            Until he discover Star was married and a new mother.

            There was a baby. A new target, and one who couldn't fight back.

            Hunter frowned. He knew how deeply Star despised her father, but he had tried to keep an open mind. To give the man at least of shred of believability, in the hope his wife's anger and resentment was preventing her from giving him a second chance.

            "Terrin, I will never again ignore your feelings, no matter how much I disagree with them. You were right. Forgive me. The man is slug slime."

            In response, the crystal at his throat burbled softly. Touching the gemstone, Hunter promised, "Don't worry, Emma. We'll find your sister. We'll be reunited, and soon."

            The stone sang out its four note motif, Callie's song, but it sounded as sad as Hunter felt. Hearing it only hardened his determination.

           
Soon, DiMackerlyn. Soon. And when I get my hands on you, no one will be able to protect you from what I have planned for you.

Chapter Twenty

Memory

            Propping her elbows on the huge oval table, Star buried her face in her hands and tried to calm herself. Hunter was on his way back. And although she didn't like the idea of him returning the ship instead of searching for their daughter, she understood Deceiver's reasoning.

            "Star."

            Sniffing, she lifted her face to look at the man sitting across from her.

            "We could use your help in the landing bay," the Guardian leader gently reminded her.

            She nodded. "Let me...let me get a handle on myself first. Please."

            The man's face softened. Rising from his seat, he walked past her as he left the meeting room to go to his office. As he went by, he patted her shoulder but didn't reply.

            The room grew quiet. Faintly, her ears could pick up various clicks and beeps as the base continued with its day-to-day activities. A soft hum vibrated in the walls. The air circulating in the room caressed her flushed face and played with her hair. Funny how she'd never noticed that before.

            Dragging her fingers over her scalp, she took a deep breath, and shuddered in the aftermath. By all the stars in the heavens, she was tired. Tired and angry and worried. Her breasts felt heavy, letting her know it would be time to feed Callie again, but at the moment she wasn't in pain. When the pressure got to be too much to bear, that would be her cue to go to the apartment and pump herself dry.

            She held out her arms and stared at them. They ached to hold Callie. She ached to cuddle her child against her and breathe in that special fragrance that she had. To feel her baby warmth. To feel that tiny, miraculous body pressed against her. Unknowingly, she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to bite back the tears.

            "Udo." Her lips mouthed his name as a breath instead of sound.

           
It's only a matter of time before I'll find her.

            He had said that to reassure her. "Yes, but how long is that? Hours? Months? Years."

           
Stop thinking about it. Trust Udo will find her. Trust your father...that man...will be served full and swift justice. If you don't, Terrin, you'll go mad with worry. You'll begin imagining terrible things happening to Callie. You'll start telling yourself that—

           
A barely audible warble whispered at her throat. Star smiled in spite of the dark images floating around in her psyche. Touching the crystal, she murmured, "I'll be all right, Emma."

            The stone sang again. Sadly. Almost heartbroken in its tone.

            "You'll be all right, too, my sweet little one. Your father will find Callie, and he'll make sure that man is punished for his crimes."

            The HeartCrystal didn't reply, but it vibrated gently against her fingertips. Star smiled again, and a memory rose unbidden in her mind. It lifted like a white cloud, enveloping and covering all the black thoughts and fears haunting her, obscuring them from her mental sight like a fog. Forcing the what-ifs and formless terrors plaguing her to vanish.

            Glancing down at the immense onyx table, Star could see her reflection in its shiny surface. Below her chin, resting in the hollow of her throat, the thumbnail-size crystal gleamed like a black sun.

           
And to think, not so long ago, you had been as clear as empty glass.

           
She  remembered that moment when it changed.

* * *

            She pressed her face into the curve of his neck and clutched his tunic with desperate fingers, afraid to let go, afraid to even look up at him in the event this whole thing was one gigantic beautiful nightmare. Terrified he wasn't really here, holding her, carrying her through space after he and the other Guardians had miraculously emerged from that wormhole. After all those months of mourning him and trying to survive mentally and emotionally for the sake of their unborn daughter.

            His arms tightened around her, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. "I'm back, Terrin. I'm here. I'm not a dream, and neither are you, my deepest love." His voice was warm, his breath warmer as it washed across her forehead.

            They were heading for Abernath to let his parents know their son had returned from the depths of purgatory. From there, they would continue to Guardian Command.

            Or maybe not.

            She felt his hand sliding down her back until it reached her buttocks. He gave her a gentle squeeze, and a hot surge of desire pulsed through her. It tingled between her legs, giving rise to a feeling she hadn't desired or experienced in months. A smile played over her lips. Could a pregnant woman still hunger for sex?

            His hand squeezed her again, his fingers provocatively sliding between her butt cheeks. Despite her baby bulge, she was aware of his erection prodding her lower abdomen, and her need for him blossomed into a deeper hunger.

            If she could, she would reach up to draw her husband's head down to press his lips to hers. Except when they kissed he couldn't keep his mind focused on his power. They could veer off course or, worse, lose the protective shield surrounding them. No, she would wait until they landed on his home world. As for the possibility of making love again, she needed to wait until they got back to base so she could ask Doctor Perlakian.

            The sensation of flying through the universe, encased in Hunter's power, was a sensation unique unto itself. It was nothing like what she felt when she was alone, gliding past the stars and planets. Nothing like when she was inside one of the transports. She'd had dreams of roaming the galaxies, held tight in his embrace as they soared around rogue asteroids. But this was real. This wasn't a dream. The feel of his pulse surging against her forehead where it was pressed to his neck was constant proof he had returned to her.

            "We'll be there soon. Just passed the Rul g'Oth system." His voice rumbled in her ears. His deep baritone was the most wonderful sound she'd ever heard.

            Opening her eyes, she caught sight of his half of the HeartCrystal lying in the cleft of his throat. Like hers, it was as clear as solid air. Yet she would swear she caught the faintest gleam of light deep within its core. A light that had shown with such brilliance, it nearly blinded her as the stone urged her to fight against the wormhole, fight to keep it open long enough for its other half to rejoin it. For her and Udo to be reunited, as fate had meant them to.

            Emma was in there, their first child, once lost in vitro during the Ombitra attack, reborn into a rare temporal crystal. She had brought them back together, rejoining them as well as her two halves.

            The pull of the powerful star told her they were nearing Abernath long before Hunter told her. Smiling, she wriggled slightly, earning her a playful slap on the same buttock he'd squeezed earlier.

            "Careful, woman. No temptation allowed while I'm driving."

            "A girl can dream, can't she?"

            He chuckled. "Hussy."

            He looped around the planet, across the wide, populated ring that stood out along the otherwise barren world like a giant green belt. The home of Vall and Cara Vosstien lay on the shadowed side. It was nighttime for them, but early evening time-wise.