Silver Bound (13 page)

“No, your father’s words to me weren’t nearly so kind.”

“He was upset.”

“Rightly so.” If his daughter’d been bleeding like a stuck pig because some poor-trash boy had been showing off on his air skate, he’d have had a few choice words himself.

Then it hit him, square in the middle of his dizzy, whirling thoughts. He closed his eyes, leaned forward, elbows on knees, head hanging. His fingers tunneled through his hair in agitation. He couldn’t make himself look at her, but studied his slippers and vowed to get his luggage. He needed a respectable pair of boots to deal with this thicket of briars.

“You have your memories back. Do you feel all right?” He spoke to the floor.

“My head feels as if it’ll split wide open, but the doctor said the meds should help after a few hours. Did he say anything after? Did it all go well?”

He pictured her as she’d looked seconds ago, when her mouth had taken him short of paradise, rosy cheeked, breathing hard, eyes glistening. She’d wanted him, but that was his libido. The reminder that she was still his for the taking kept him on edge, a sharp knife. One step off that thin line and he’d fall either on the side of lust, no remorse, no-holds-barred sex. On the other, bottomless guilt, dark as night.

“The monitors didn’t record a single spike. Your biofeedback was in a good range the entire time. No electrical storms or a cascading fault. He said that if you woke, you’d be good as new. Well, except for—”

“I’m fine with that, Guy.”

“Your husband won’t think so.” He made himself face her, to force her to see his sincerity, his badly damaged honor. He’d stolen her from her legal husband—even if the man had given up that right with his ill use of her. He deserved to be lassoed behind a stampeding herd of cattle.

“My ex-husband,” she spat. A frown marred her countenance and her fingers reached to rub her temples. She winced. “I have so much to tell you. Especially about him and my son. We need to rescue Jared, but he’s safe for now. Yes, for now he’s safe. I think I need to be quiet for a while.” She closed her eyes, lines etched deep in her forehead and bracketing her mouth as she threw an arm over her face. “Take me somewhere dark, Guy, and hold me. Please.”

How could he say no to that? “Give me a minute, sweetheart.” Reluctantly, he left her alone while he sought the reception area.

A depressingly cheerful woman smiled at him from her desk where she left a game of solitaire on her U-panel.

“The doctor said to send you to his guest quarters when the darling girl woke up. There’s an assist chair for her to use, and she must use it.” The cherubic smile disappeared, and she pointed at him accusingly. “She’ll use the chair. Got it?”

“Yes, of course, ma’am. Wouldn’t think to do otherwise.”

Her smile returned, all white teeth and dimples. “Good, good. I’ll help you move her and get you on your way.”

When they returned to the exam room, Jewel slept, her features drawn and pale.

The assistant clucked in the back of her throat. “Poor thing. Looks like the Lady Wells did. After.”

“Lady Wells.” He couldn’t keep his shock inside but regretted the outburst immediately. It wasn’t his business. He didn’t need to know these people. He would pay enough creds for the good doctor’s expertise, not his life story.

“All in good time, my boy.”

Silent, moving to Jewel, he didn’t bother explaining they wouldn’t be here any length of time. They wouldn’t get to know the Wells contingent and their messes.

Loath to disturb Jewel, he hesitated. She groaned in her sleep. She needed somewhere comfortable, somewhere he could take care of her. He slid his arms beneath her knees and back to place her on the seat. The assistant helped arrange her in the chair comfortably and adjusted the recline function and tucked the blanket around her legs. Last, she took a pair of dark lenses and fit them over Jewel’s eyes to block the light.

“All right, Sheriff. Take the lift to level four. Follow the green line to the residential section. Doctor and Lady Wells live in one twenty-three Shrewsbury Court.”

Jewel rode the chair the entire way without a word or movement. The air assist floated above the floor in front of him and barely needed guidance, a nudge here or there in direction.

The numbered addresses easy to follow, he found the appropriate ornate entry system. Dr. Wells had a swank security system. Not only did the U-panel and ident-pad line the door, but an intercom and vid-scanners added to the security. Guy’s respect for the doctor ratcheted up a notch. He swiped his thumb and a woman answered.

“You must be the sheriff.”

“That’s me, ma’am.”

“Enter.” The door was opened by a beautiful woman, piles of hair elegantly fixed in some sort of up-do, expensive flowing gown and silver lips. And a silver collar twinkling at her neck. He clutched the back of Jewel’s chair. “I’m Lady Wells.”

He shoved his shock deep inside and reminded himself he didn’t care about Doctor and Lady Wells. Who cared if the man had a very personal reason to understand the entire process of silver-tipping? Guy only needed Jewel to be safe and whole. He eased his grip on the assist chair.

With a short bend of his head, he introduced himself. The lady nodded politely and turned her attention to Jewel.

“She needs a soft bed and a dark room. Follow me.” Lady Wells spun on her bare feet and led him down the hall into a dimmed room. “I’ll leave you to your privacy.”

The door shut behind him, and he realized he hadn’t seen a thing other than Jewel and Lady Wells. An impression in the back of his mind assured him his host lived in expensive quarters, but he could’ve walked through a dirty stable for all the attention he’d paid.

Wherever they were, whatever it looked like, this room was elegant with a strong scent of sandalwood. Wooden posts curved to the ceiling, the large bed looked soft. With a gentle sweep of his trembling fingers, he removed Jewel’s dark eye shades and lifted her soft, welcome weight. She sighed in her sleep and tucked her nose into the crook of his neck. He hugged her closer and climbed onto the bed with care. Stretched beside her, he removed his gun belt and tucked the six-shot under the pillow.

His hand slid beneath the soft pillow. He held the gun in one hand, Jewel in the other.

***

Montgomery stared at his brother until the younger man twisted away with a huff.

“Did you hear me? Pack a day bag.”

“You don’t need me there.” Thomas walked to the always fully stocked bar. The slosh of whiskey made Montgomery’s mouth water. They had so many things in common, so many weaknesses, the lure of drowning in drink being one. Shoulders rigid, Thomas leaned on the bar and didn’t offer his brother a drink. Fair enough.

“I don’t need you there.” His hands fisted. “Lady Wells needs you with her until this is resolved.”

“Don’t you think you’re two years too late?” Thomas sipped his whiskey.

“Are you saying you won’t give her up?”

The silence ate at him, picking away at the civility he’d chained to his side. Sheer will kept him from berating Thomas, accusing him of vile corruption and choking the life from a man who coveted his sister-in-law.

Thomas spoke in a low voice, still facing away. “She’s not mine, is she? I have nothing to give up. If you can get that collar off of her, neither of you will ever have to see me again.”

He wanted to reassure his brother he’d always love him, always want him to be at home, here, as a family. But he couldn’t. He’d be happy for Thomas to go away for good, but he’d not say so.

“I think we’ve been through enough. It’s time to take the chance.” He kept a calm demeanor, as if he could soothe the hurts between them that would never heal. “The tech I hired made significant progress before we lost touch. I have a patient on the station who needs that tech as well. We’ll all go to the surface to the lab. I’ll leave it to Lady Wells, if she’s willing to take the risk, then we’ll try to remove the collar.”

“She could die,” his brother hissed in a coarse whisper.

“It’s a good chance she will, but I think she’ll go through with it. We’ve suffered long enough.”

“She’ll do it. For you.” Thomas gulped the last of his whiskey in one long swallow.

Montgomery couldn’t read his brother’s reactions. Did he care for her? He slammed the door to that thought before he went mad.

“Is your patient ready to go?” his brother asked.

He took a deep breath and mentally shook himself. Decision made, he’d been ready to board a craft immediately. He wanted his wife back, now, or he wanted nothing at all. However, Jewel probably couldn’t handle the bright suns of Taphgan today. She’d be in a more optimal condition tomorrow.

“She’ll be ready in the morning. Meet us at our yacht at eight.”

“I’ll be there.” Thomas turned suddenly, accusation and deep shadows written in the sharp lines of his face. “I’ll be sure your wife is there, too.”

Montgomery felt the words like a blow to his chest.

He left before he sank his fist into his brother’s face.

***

Gun belt adjusted on his hip, Guy quietly let himself out of the room and followed the drone of conversation into a large, richly furnished sitting room.

“You put them in my room?”

He recognized that voice as Dr. Wells. The lady had led them to the room. Had she erred?

“That is not your room. Why do you insist on staying there?” The lady was clearly put out.

“You know why.”

Without a pinch of guilt or nag of social etiquette, he interrupted the brewing argument. He wouldn’t wait like a silly schoolroom girl and eavesdrop. The couple snapped their attention to him and slammed their mouths closed. Both mutinous expressions evened out so quickly, he could almost imagine they’d been discussing the rotation of the ship around the planet.

“Jewel would like some Ulia tea, if you have any.” Between catnaps he’d kept vigil and held her for hours as pain flitted across her face. A deep sense of impending trouble kept him on edge. She’d woken with a slight headache and wanted Ulia, a mild analgesic, sedative herbal tea with an aromatic and rich flavor.

“Of course.” With an enigmatic glance at her husband, Lady Wells swept out of the room and called over her shoulder, “I’ll take a tray to her room directly.”

“I assume the tea is compatible with the meds you’ve given her?” Standing, arms close to his side in a room of fragile furniture on carved spindly legs, he watched the doctor, who didn’t move until Lady Wells left the room.

“Certainly.” Wells sat on a settee and crossed his legs. The setting fit his attire perfectly. Not the slightest hint in the old-fashioned room revealed they were on a ship rotating a desert planet. “I need to assess her condition. Perhaps after the tea? We’ll be going down to the planet tomorrow. I need to ascertain her ability to travel.”

Guy twitched toward his phaser but didn’t draw. “I’ll be the one to make that kind of decision. Not you. I have no intention of taking Jewel to Taphgan.” Of course, he had no right to make decisions for her, but he was sure she’d agree they needed to recover her son immediately. The boy wasn’t on the gypsy planet.

“Do you want the collar removed? I’ve hired a hacker who’s managed to crack the code of the safeguard programming. He’s found the key to removing the collar.”

A nervous energy ran through him, and his hands shook, loose at his sides with nothing to do. Inside, he erupted in chaos, warring between knee-weakening relief Jewel could be restored to her old self and self-damning denial, a possessive urge to take her home, to the Trident Ranch, and never let her go. Never. He wanted to steal her. Hoard her away. Selfish urges that made him no better than the man who turned his wife into a sex slave.

“You’re sure of this?” He couldn’t help hoping the doctor didn’t really have the answer, the key to remove the collar.

“Yes. Quite. Since you don’t have a Broker, you should take this chance to remove the collar. Her life is still null and void if you’re separated. If you die, she dies without your bracelet sending signals to her collar.”

“And it will work? It’s safe?”

The doctor studied his hand, spread his fingers wide and stared at his nails. “Yes.”

He didn’t believe Wells, but he owed Jewel the opportunity. They’d go to the planet, talk to this hacker and decide if they’d take the risk. He ignored the inner voice taunting him.
You don’t want to take the risk. You want to keep her.

“Jewel and I will go to Taphgan, but I’ll have to see this hacker myself before I allow anyone to tamper with her collar.”

Dr. Wells nodded as his wife swept back into the room.

“Jewel has her tea. She appears to be on the mend.” The woman didn’t look at either of them but continued straight through the room. She disappeared beneath a large archway that led to a small receiving area in rich pale tapestries.

Dr. Wells rose from sofa. “Let’s go see your Jewel.”

His Jewel. He couldn’t help the surge of possession that took his breath away. Mute, and battling primal urges to hide his woman from everyone in the galaxy, he strode after the doctor. Eager to see her again—they’d rarely been apart since he’d claimed her days ago—he gripped his gun belt and dismissed the foreboding lifting the hairs on his neck.

He paused in the hallway, palmed his aero-comm and sent a hurried transmit to his old friend Brice. If they were going to Taphgan, one of that planet’s mounties would have their back.

After the doctor examined Jewel’s eyes, scanned her biorhythms and tested her reflexes, he pronounced her fit to travel.

Guy’s stomach twisted. It remained unsaid, but they all understood Jewel could die.

The doctor left them alone. Jewel didn’t need any more disturbing, what with the doctor’s poking and prodding, so Guy sat on the foot of the bed and, to keep himself in check, looked at her feet instead of her dear face. Her toes, under the covers, would be covered in slippers. He wanted to put her soft feet in his lap, to rub against him, entice him. With a jerk of his head, he stared at the wall and cleared his tight throat.

“You don’t have to go through with it. I mean, you probably just felt that little kick of lust I got from looking at your covered feet, of all things, but I’ll never hurt you. We don’t know what might happen when they try to take off the collar. It could hurt you. Or worse.”