Business.
This needed to remain straightforward, clear-cut business between them.
“Home.” She bit out the word, angry with the overt display of weakness that could have driven her back in Roland’s arms. Considering the fact he’d removed her collar the same night he’d left ten years ago, in his arms was the last place she wanted to be.
Chapter Two
“Keep me posted. Data messages only until I give clearance otherwise. I’m going to have a companion for the next few hours.” Roland tapped his palm to end the call. The communication implants were something he’d insisted on years ago. Small transmitters implanted on the vocal cords, eardrum and the optic nerve allowed handheld cell phones to become a thing of the past in the right circles. Most of the technology was still being researched, but his vast resources allowed every member of his team to undergo the complex surgery.
In contrast to the stark technology laced through parts of his body, the sky overhead was blue and unmarked by clouds. Birds chirped while nature sang a lyrical melody in celebration for the beauty of the spring day. The perfection was marred by the unrelieved black of the mourners gathered around a sleek silver coffin.
Closer to the river’s edge, Roland stood and watched. He had no connection to the deceased. In fact, he had no right to attend. But the stricken expression on Korene’s face yesterday when she mentioned the funeral compelled him to at least be nearby.
Funerals had never been something he liked. In fact, he usually did everything he could to avoid the ceremonies. He’d been several sheets to the wind, lying in a pool of his own vomit, during the last funeral he had a connection to. His entire platoon had been given a group service because of the sheer number of casualties. He hadn’t been able to stomach the thought of seeing all those heartbroken faces because he’d failed their loved ones.
Seeing their faces when he’d delivered the news their husbands, fathers, and brothers were never coming home had been more than enough heartbreak to last him a lifetime. Normally handled by the military chaplains and not gunnery sergeants, he’d refused to allow them to deliver the news. They were
his
men,
his
responsibility. Ultimately, it cost him both personally and professionally, but he would rather the payment be on his soul.
He pushed away the pain it still brought as the brief ceremony ended. Korene broke away from the rest of the group to walk toward him. Her head tilted and her hair, pulled into a low and sleek ponytail, shifted in the gentle breeze off the water. “I could have met you at the dock.”
“I thought you could use the company.”
She gestured to the tree he leaned against. “From afar?”
“Since I don’t know anyone, I thought it best to stay here.”
Her hand settled on his forearm. “It’s all right, Roland, I understand. Thank you.”
A brief flash of an emotion he couldn’t identify flared in her eyes. As he wondered what it meant, the crowd neared. “You have company.”
Korene turned to press a quick kiss to the cheek of what appeared to be Joshua’s mother and Roland stepped away, not wanting to intrude in the private moment. Instead, he watched her take the compact woman in her arms, holding her while a fresh onslaught of tears began to fall. They spoke in low tones, their words meant only for each other. When the woman finally broke away, Korene watched and waited for the family to say their goodbyes to their loved one.
He studied her closely from the side, recognizing her pained expression. She was suffering with them. He wished there was something he could do to make this easier for her. There was nothing he could do, he knew that, but it didn’t make his want any different. His protective side had reared its head. The Dom’s need to protect a submissive and soothe away the pain. He shoved his own flare of emotion aside with a silent curse.
When she turned to face him once again, he knew she needed to burn off some of the intense emotion. He stepped closer, skimming his knuckle gently against the underside of her chin. “You feel responsible, don’t you?”
She nodded slowly, closing her eyes as she huffed out a breath. The lines of worry on her forehead made him want to do whatever possible in order to smooth her stress away. The young man’s death would obviously haunt her for years to come. “Employees know what they’re signing up for when they agree to be on one of the teams. But no matter how much you prepare…how much you think you’re ready…”
“It paints a dark mark on your soul,” he finished quietly.
Surprised registered in her eyes. “Exactly.”
Yes, the feeling was something he was all too familiar with. That gut-deep dread that you were powerless to change time. He’d been responsible for an entire group and failed every single one of them. A soft chime sounded from the
mini-chronograph
on his wrist as a reminder they had somewhere to be. Thank goodness for small mercies. “We need to get going.”
“I sent everything ahead so I could go directly there.”
Good to know she was still meticulously proficient, but what she didn’t know was the fact she wasn’t going to the original rendezvous site. He’d have to make sure her bags were transferred and braced for the inevitable fight that would come once she learned of his duplicity. But now, here in the shadow of sorrow, wasn’t the time to broach the subject.
They approached a sleek vehicle sitting alone near the front of the parking lot. “Still have your sport speeder, I see.”
Her light laughter danced on the wind as they neared the jet black two-seater. “Of course. But I only take it out for recreational purposes now. I drove it today since we’ll be gone for a little while. Need a ride?”
He held out his hand, gesturing for her key. Her pretty little frown made him smile. “How about I drive for once? Looks as if you could use a break.”
She hesitated. This car was her baby and she’d let him drive it only once before—the same night he’d tied her up for the very first time. He expected to have to press harder, but she gave up the key with a heavy sigh when he continued to simply glare at her.
They rode in silence for ten minutes before she finally spoke. “I didn’t have a chance to ask at the meeting yesterday—how have you been?”
“Good. You certainly look as if you’re doing well. I remember when you first approached me about setting up a deep-space fabrication company such as this when plans to colonize Mars were made public.”
She turned to face him, adjusting the safety harness around her hips. “It was your idea. We were supposed to set it up together.”
“And I got called to the front lines when the early settlers were attacked.” The atmosphere in the interior of the car snapped with tension, causing him to immediately regret the statement.
“Really? I remember it going quite differently.” The vitriol in her voice was palpable, but there was no way to take back what he’d said.
He still remembered the second he’d done one of the most painful things in his life. Talk about a dark mark on your soul. “It was for the best, Korene.”
“For who, Roland? It sure as hell wasn’t—forget it.” She held up her hand as she turned in her seat to face forward again. “We’re going to have to work together in close quarters for a while. I don’t want to make things worse.”
She had no idea how close they were about to get. He chose to say nothing about his intricate plan, instead mulling over the idea this could be more trouble than it was worth. But he’d given his word. Aside from only one incident in his life, he’d never gone back on that word.
The car made one last turn and she gave a little grumble of displeasure. A huge, multistory cruise liner idled in wait. Hundreds of people milled around the dock, moving luggage and personal items onto transport belts. “Unless I’m mistaken, that isn’t a private vessel to Mars.”
He smiled, perhaps to soften the blow as he looked out at the towering luxury spaceship. “No, it’s not. My usual choice is tied up over at my personal dock in National Harbor. But we’re not using her this time.” Korene’s eyes narrowed, but he continued. Too late to turn back now. Not as if he could keep a thirty-thousand-person transport vessel a secret from her. “My ship is too conspicuous, and much too tiny, to use for a job of this magnitude. Not to mention importance. Lucky for us, the timing of this trip came at a perfect opportunity as far as Earth’s and Mars’ orbits. We’ll board the
Aurelia
, pose as a couple on their honeymoon and take a nice, casual little trip around the sun.”
“If traveling to Mars in two days is casual.” Despite the annoyance in her voice, he knew she wasn’t about to argue with him because he’d learned long ago she picked her battles carefully.
“Yes. You know as well as I do, taking the tourist line means we can make the trip in half the time of a private transport. I don’t have access to the kind of
azipod
power plants they do. So I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity I can to get us there fast. It also means we can blend in and use the element of surprise to our advantage.”
“Something told me you’d change the plan.”
“I never let anyone know my exact—”
“Plans and flight details,” she finished with a roll of her eyes. “I remember. Fine, since I don’t have much of a choice, are you going to tell me the rest of the plan?”
“Eventually.” Roland considered the matter with Korene’s inquisitiveness closed—at least for the moment. “I realize you’re tenacious enough not to quit probing until you know all the details. But right now, we need to put on our game faces.”
She tilted her head, giving him an odd look even as she nodded. His hand spread wide between her shoulder blades while he guided her to the check-in area. As they approached, he shoved his free hand into his pocket. The tip of one finger brushed against the trinket hidden in his pocket. Damn. He’d gotten so wrapped up in pulling off this operation, he’d forgotten. His hand curled into a fist to avoid the metal. He didn’t need the reminder of Korene right now, despite the fact he carried the piece with him every day without fail.
Even through the war.
The well-tanned man behind the counter, wearing a shockingly white suit and orange tie, flashed a brilliant smile in greeting. “Welcome to the
Aurelia
, Mr. and Mrs. Torrington. Your bags have already arrived and I’ve taken the liberty of transferring them to your room. If you’ll follow me, you can bypass the rest of our check-in protocols and I can take you directly to your room through our VIP entrance.” The man stepped to the side, a piece of the desk sliding open to allow them passage.
“Thank you.” Korene slipped her hand through the arm Roland presented to her. They stepped onto the lift with the clerk, waiting while he tapped the top circle on the control panel. When the doors whisked closed, she cleared her throat. “Markus Tabor. You. Sack. Of. Shit.”
The clerk winked at her. “You didn’t think I’d miss you two being together again, did you?”
Roland released Korene, slapping Markus on the shoulder while he shook hands with one of his oldest friends. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine. Obviously not as well as you. The mountain air up in the Cascades seems to be treating you well.”
It had been almost a year since Roland had last seen Markus. As soon as he’d gotten notification of Braddock Industries’ desire for his services and learned of Tom Baxter’s involvement with the hostages, he’d put in the call to contact the one person he knew who possessed impeccable communication skills. He hadn’t been the easiest man to get ahold of, but when he’d starting thinking more like his friend, Roland had found him shacked up with some island native. “And evidently living in the South Pacific has suited you.”
White teeth, enhanced by the deep tan that could only come from days spent surfing twelve-meter waves, flashed bright as he grinned. “Damn right. I’m surrounded by more pussy and ass than I can handle. Spend most days giving surfing lessons to tourists. You should have seen the set of tits on my last client. She had to have spent a small fortune.”
“Sounds like it was money well spent.” Korene snorted.
“Gotta say, living each day basking in tanning oil is just about as perfect as it can get. But not as perfect as you, missy.” Markus scooped Korene up into a big bear hug, her smaller figure nearly disappearing in his massive arms. Her pale skin and hair were a stark contrast to his deep coloring as his muscled arms held her close. “You look good too, Korene. Damn good.”
“Same to you, Markus. How’s Rothgary?”
“Stubborn as ever. Damn dog is never going to croak.”
The dog had been a bundle of energy despite his shortcomings when Roland and Korene first met. His three-legged body had been racked with arthritis, but Roland wasn’t surprised to hear he was still alive. He’d probably die before the dog. “Have you seen Finley?”
Markus peered over Korene’s head as he gently set her down. “Already in place.”
Leave it to the best mechanic he’d ever known to plant herself in the most promising position to be nosy. “You mean she’s scoping out the ship. Weighing all our options to see if we need to worry about anything while on board. Valentine will meet up with us on Mars. Just as planned.”
“Nothing changes.” The muttered statement from Korene triggered a smile from Roland.
“Surely you had to know I’d taken care of every little detail.” She stuck out her tongue, clearly annoyed he hadn’t let her in on the plan. He’d deal with her later, right now he needed to make sure things were still going according to that plan. “Got everything we need?”
“Papers are all in order and you’ll find identification chits in your luggage already.”
“Speaking of identification…Mr. and Mrs. Torrington?” Korene interrupted. “Dare I even ask what room you procured?”