Unchained (22 page)

“
Uh, Grey?”

“
Yeah,” he mumbled
distractedly, his breathing becoming rough. He lifted her slightly
and tugged her pants down her legs.

“
I don’t think the K12 was
designed for this.”

He nipped her jaw. “It was designed by a
man.”

She blinked several times, struggling with
his logic and laughed. “Are you telling me that all men think about
is one thing?” Her voice broke as he lifted and spread her legs to
straddle him. She almost didn’t hear his reply when he plunged his
fingers deep into her heat.

“
No, but it’s a close
second to everything else,” he murmured against her
throat.

Her breathing increased to match his as she
slid her hands down his taut abdomen to where his pants strained.
She loved this honest reaction from him, reveled in her own power.
She traced the bulging outline with her fingertips, enticing a low,
feral growl from him.

His fingers flicked and taunted her
relentlessly. She almost purred. “I see it’s a close second for
you, too.”

He raised his head, meeting her eyes
straight on with trapped fire. “When you’re around it’s the first
thing on my mind.”

He punctuated the statement with a
possessive, lingering kiss as he single-handedly freed himself.
Recklessly, he impaled her on him while she threw her head back and
moaned.

He gripped her hips and set
them in rhythm, losing himself in the wonder of her body. Deep
space formed the backdrop behind her with
Calíbre
glinting in the distance. He
realized his world was perfect.

“
How did you get Bohr to
give up the buyer’s name?” Barrios squeezed himself into a chair at
the table in Grey’s office.

“
Cidra used her people
skills.” Grey winked at Cidra, who smiled back, flushing
slightly.

Barrios frowned. “I thought Saurel was a
patriarchal society. Women are barely permitted to speak.”

“
Believe me, it wasn’t her
words that spoke for her.” Grey laughed and shook his
head.

Barrios gave Grey a confused look and
shrugged. He leaned back in the chair, pushing it to its limits.
“Plass. That name sounds familiar, but I just can’t place it.”

“
I can.” Decker stood in
the doorway. “And you’re not going to believe it.”

All eyes turned to him as he sauntered over
and settled himself into one of the chairs with a graveness that
filled the room. Grey knew Decker to be well above theatrics. From
the look on his face, his sources had come up with something
big.

“
Plass is the Commander for
the d’Hont. He reports directly to Tausek. Always has.” Decker shot
Cidra a glance. “He keeps a very low, very discreet profile. He is
Tausek’s eyes and ears.”

The room took on a suffocating silence while
each occupant digested the discovery.

The first wave of emotion through Cidra was
disbelief. “That can’t be right,” she gasped and turned to Grey.
“Bohr must have lied to us.”

Grey ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t
think Bohr lied. He was too scared.”

The second wave of emotion was shock. “That
could only mean that Tausek arranged the ambush himself.” She
nearly choked on the horror of her own words. “Why? What could he
possibly gain?”

“
Power,” Barrios spoke
stoically. “He engineered a plan certain to make himself a hero and
Dakru’s next ruler. I don’t know why I didn’t see it
before.”

Decker wondered aloud. “How did he get his
men to destroy the vaccine in the first place? It was their only
chance to stop the plague from killing millions of their own
people.”

Barrios shook his head. “I can’t imagine
they would. Unless they didn’t realize the cortege was carrying the
vaccine. Who knows what Tausek told them? He was the Commander
then, he gave the orders. They would have followed him
anywhere.”

Grey nodded and rubbed his chin
thoughtfully. “It makes sense. He would have known precisely where
the Galena would be dropping out of hyperspace. All he had to do
was sit and wait. They never knew what hit them.”

The third wave of emotion
was indescribable. A foul wrenching in her gut. The truth was more
horrible than she could have imagined. When she finally spoke, her
words were deadly, laced with fury. “It all comes back to Tausek.
He ambushed the shipment. He persecuted my father. He killed my
family. He condemned the Kin-sha. He blackened Avion. He
destroyed
everything
.”

Grey addressed her warily. “Don’t get any
crazy ideas, Cidra. We’re all in this together, remember?”

“
I’m getting a few crazy
ideas myself,” Barrios spat.

“
Look, we’ll deal with him,
but we need to work together to do it,” Grey ordered. “Is that
clear?”

Cidra closed her eyes, fighting for
self-control. Grey had a point. They needed to do this right. There
was no other way to get to Tausek. He was too well-protected. She
would have to be content to let the truth convict him.

Still, there was always a chance. Hope
welled up inside her. There was always a chance he would make a
mistake, leave an opening. She glanced over at Barrios. If the
opportunity ever arose, she knew they’d be standing side by side to
destroy Tausek.

“
Perfectly clear, Captain,”
Cidra replied for both of them.

Grey’s eyebrows raised at the use of his
title. The formality of her answer surprised and worried him. How
one woman could be so full of passion one minute and so deadly the
next was beyond him. He wasn’t about to let her run loose.

Decker cleared his throat conspicuously.
“What next, boss?”

“
Next, we find that
shipment. If we can recover even part of it, we’ll have all the
evidence we need to go after Tausek.”

Cidra eyes widened. “You know where it
is?”

“
I think so. It’s the only
place that feels right,” Grey said with an easy smile. “Ever heard
of a planet called Courf?”

Commander Plass sat behind his desk in the
center of his private quarters and awaited Major Berman’s
arrival.

The Major had been with the d’Hont when
Tausek had turned the average military unit into a formidable,
deadly force. Berman had lost most of his family to the plague,
surviving that living nightmare and dedicating himself to the
d’Hont. It was a history that tied and knitted the d’Hont force
tightly together. A bond joined in blood.

Berman’s conviction and excellent flying
record had earned him the command of the d’Hont airborne fleet. It
was one of the reasons Plass had chosen him for this mission. The
other reason was even more compelling.

Major Berman just happened to be part of the
mission that destroyed the plague-laden refugee ships ten years
ago.

Plass glanced at the time.
The Major was apparently in no hurry to obey Plass’ summon and he
knew why. The entire
Expunger
crew knew a Faulkner was within reach. Each felt
the overwhelming pull of revenge. He knew he had his hands full
keeping that vengeance at bay.

As if that wasn’t enough, Plass had a direct
order from Tausek to find and kill Cidra Faulkner no matter the
cost. He raised a corner of his mouth. It was an order he had every
intention of carrying out, but Cidra Faulkner would die only after
Plass had his answers.

The door sensor chimed and admitted a
cavalier Major Berman. Plass held back a smirk. Despite the gray
hair and growing paunch, the Major hadn’t lost any of his brashness
to age. He walked with the arrogance and confidence of a seasoned
military man.

“
Have a seat, Major
Berman.” Commander Plass motioned to the chair on the other side of
the desk.

The Major scowled but said nothing as he
seated himself.

Plass raised his eyebrows at the blatantly
disrespectful display and steepled his fingers before him.

“
Is there something you
wish to say, Major?”

Major Berman shifted in his chair. “No, sir.
Just wondering when we are going to see some action. I understand
the Faulkner woman has been located. I eagerly await your orders to
move in.”

Plass leveled his gaze at his subordinate.
“My order will come when the time is right.”

The Major jumped to the edge of his chair.
“My fighters are ready, sir. My men and I can take out Stone’s ship
in minutes.”

Plass placed both his hands on his desk and
leaned far forward. “If that is the decision I make, you will be
the first to know.” He could see the frustration simmering just
below the surface and continued, “That’s not the reason I’ve called
you here. There’s been some discrepancy in our information files. I
need you to clarify a few details for me.”

The quick diversion seemed to take Major
Berman by surprise. He loosened his death grip on the arms of his
chair.

Plass leaned back in his chair. “Ten years
ago, you were a pilot on an attack of a plague-infested refugee
ship that attempted entry into Dakru. Do you recall that
mission?”

Major Berman frowned slightly. “Yes, sir.
The mission was led by then Commander Tausek. There were twenty of
us altogether. We took out the enemy without incident.”

Plass asked, “Was there anything unusual
about that mission?”

The Major rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Not
really. The orders came directly from Tausek. We never had any
communications with the refugees. I believe Tausek ordered all
transmissions blocked.”

“
How was the attack
initiated?” Plass asked calmly, hiding his increasing
curiosity.

The Major dropped his hands back to the
armrests. “We waited for them to drop out of hyperspace.”

Plass’ heart thumped in his chest. “You knew
they were coming?”

The other man shook his head. “We didn’t.
Tausek did. He gave us the exact coordinates. We set up an ambush
and attacked them the second they dropped out of hyperspace.” He
smiled. “They never knew what hit them.”

“
How many ships in the
convoy?” Plass inquired quietly.

“
One large freighter and
four small fighters.” The Major paused, drawing on his memory. “I
was somewhat surprised that a bunch of dirty refugees could secure
such advanced equipment. They did manage to give us quite a fight.
I wasn’t anticipating that. Tausek must have known. Otherwise, he
wouldn’t have used so many of our men.”

“
Yes.” Plass kept his voice
steady under a crush of emotion. “That is surprising.”

Oblivious to his superior’s state, Berman
boasted, “The only other item I can add is that there wasn’t a
trace of those refugees or the plague they carried when we
finished.”

Plass sat stiffly. “Very efficient indeed,
Major. I know your pilots are the best, the pride of the d’Hont.
Your loyalty is unquestioned, as is your execution of orders. I
fully expect that performance to continue throughout this
mission.”

Silence hung heavily between the two
men.

“
You have my word,
Commander.”

Plass smiled a humorless smile. “We won’t
lose her again, Major.”

“
Will that be all,
Commander?”

“
Yes.
Dismissed.”

The Major stood, turned on his heel and
walked out the door.

Plass sat and stared after him, his mind
racing. The pieces were clicking into place. He was now positive
the convoy destroyed was not a bunch of ragtag, plague-infested
refugees.

There was only one convoy destined for Dakru
that could have matched the description given to him by Major
Berman. Only one way that Tausek could have known precisely where
they would have dropped out of hyperspace. There was only one
reason why Stone would have accessed the Avion to Dakru shipment
files; only one purpose for Cidra Faulkner to come out of ten years
of hiding and expose herself to certain death.

All the clues pointed to a single
inevitable, terrible conclusion. Tausek had destroyed the Avion
vaccine shipment bound for Dakru. It finally made sense.

Realization hit him in a wave. Tausek had
arranged the destruction of the shipment, orchestrated the slander
of Avion and the Kin-sha, ordered the cold-blooded deaths of
Faulkner and his family, and stood by as millions of Dakruians
died.

Anger and rage built in Plass as he gripped
the arms of the chair. It had all been a lie. Tausek alone had
handed down the death sentences of countless innocents.

Plass clenched his teeth and brought himself
under control. As much as he wanted to head back to Dakru and face
his illustrious ruler, it would be a foolhardy effort. Tausek had
sent him away for a reason. The truth was at hand and Tausek had
felt it. But it would take more than accusations to bring him to
justice.

First, Plass had to verify his hypothesis.
Then he would need evidence. Irrefutable evidence and enough of it
to convince even Tausek’s most loyal supporters of his atrocious
deed.

He spun his chair around to face the
floor-to-ceiling viewport in his quarters and stared into deep
space, pulling his thoughts together. The Faulkner woman was the
key. She had launched the events into motion. Plass nodded
absently, he would have to capture her. Alive. That would be quite
a feat considering how much this crew wanted her dead. But he
needed to find out what she knew. Obviously, she was aware of the
Saurelian fighters. She must know more.

All Plass had to do was keep her alive long
enough to find out what.

Grey studied the information on a micropad
in his private quarters, grateful for Cidra’s offer to collect
dinner. He found it increasingly difficult to concentrate when she
was around. He caught himself smiling.