“What’s your name?”

  She paused, surprised by the concern she heard in his voice. Maybe this hadn’t been as hollow an encounter for him as she’d assumed. Or maybe he simply wanted to know who to avoid in the future.

  “Josephine Reynolds. Josie.”

  “Thank you, Josie.”

  She stepped out into the corridor, the lights there far brighter than in Kai’s rooms.

  Bion and the others were standing several feet away, and the moment they spotted her, the group burst out into laughter. Eos was nowhere to be seen, a small blessing in that. Josie looked each of them in the eyes and their laughter died off, one by one.

  “There’s no glitch in the oxygen scrubbers in those quarters. I’ll continue my investigation in a different location.”

  She marched past them—the silence and their obvious discomfort palpable as she passed—desperate for her quarters, a change of clothing, and the opportunity to figure out what the hell just happened.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Kai marched through the upper corridor to the rooms where the Order gathered for their debriefings. The lights made his head ache as he dodged the small groups and duos he passed along the way. He was supposed to have devised a plan for them to search for the missing manganese and the computer equipment. He had, in fact, been working on one when the human woman who’d disturbed his meditation space and haunted his thoughts, showed up in his quarters. It was as though she’d been summoned by the gods themselves.

  The less he thought about what they’d done together, the better. Turning down the last corridor that led to his destination, Kai mentally tried to force himself back to the matter at hand. There was a thief in the city who’d managed to steal valuable supplies without anyone noticing.

  Who they were and how they managed to do this was a mystery he needed to solve.

  Gods, her hair was so soft against my face. I smelled her on my hand long after she’d left.

  Shit.

  He hadn’t been able to order his thoughts long after she’d left, and his body had recovered from the unexpected sex they’d shared. There was no way he could puzzle through the bits of information that were being filtered to him from the Orders underground information stream while wondering what it would be like to strip Josie of her clothing and press his full weight on her in his bed. What it would be like to slip his cock into her heated pussy and fuck her until she screamed.

  With a growl, he ignored the guard standing silently outside the Order’s secret meeting room, pretending to work on a control panel, and stepped inside. The others had already arrived and taken their seats around the table.

  Horus, Makarios, Nyx, and Paeon to anyone other than Kai, would appear an unusual lot. Horus’s blue skin was dotted with the cybernetic implants he’d received, far more than the rest of them. Nyx’s stark blond hair never looked natural against his dark blue skin; another genetic abnormality, much like Kai’s pheromones. Paeon was far smaller than the rest of them, but his dorsal fin and the strength of his scales allowed him to dive into the water without the need for protection. Makarios looked the most common of the group, making him the perfect spy to sneak into all the places where the rest of them would be recognized.

  All had been born the same way as he—in a laboratory—each engineered with their own unique abilities. Special skills that Atlas had recognized early on, bringing them all together under Kai’s direction.

  “There’s the man himself.” Makarios’ grin spoke of trouble. “I don’t think I remember the last time you’ve been late to a debriefing.”

  “You’re not the most important item on my agenda.” Kai scowled. “We have a problem that Atlas needs us to fix.”

  At the mention of their superior’s name, they all sat up straight.

  “Several containers of manganese have gone missing, along with several critical computer components. We’re not sure the two thefts are related, but we need to find out.” Kai gave them the rundown on the information he had to that point, including the futility of the interrogation. “We need a plan of action on how to not only uncover where the shipments are and who’s taken them, but what their plans are. For all we know, the Cygni found us and have influenced one of our own to generate an explosion.”

  Nyx wrapped his knuckles on the table. “We’ve remained hidden from the Cygni for almost three thousand years. More likely, it has to do with those humans.”

  Not all Atlanteans were happy with their new arrivals, even if it meant their people might finally have the opportunity to procreate in such a way that wouldn’t involve manipulating their genetics and babies emerging from tubes.

  While his team was utterly devoted to Atlas and Atlantis as a whole, Kai wouldn’t assume there wouldn’t be any lingering prejudices here.

  Kai pressed his hands flat on the table and looked each of them in the eyes. “Let’s get one thing straight here. We are the Order, which means we’re responsible for the safety of every resident of Atlantis, including the refugees we’ve brought here. If any of you have a problem with the humans, if you don’t think you’ll be able to live up to your oath to sacrifice your life for the protection of others, then leave. Now. I’ll have your memories wiped, and you’ll be assigned a task in one of the parks as a groundskeeper.”

  Every time he met their gaze, each of the men looked down, their shame and embarrassment obvious. Good. He didn’t have time for prejudicial bullshit when they might have a crisis on their hands. “Nyx?”

  “We’re good, sir. The timing doesn’t line up for human involvement. I didn’t want to overlook a possibility though.”

  Ah, Nyx, defiant to the end.

  “You wouldn’t be a good soldier if you didn’t ask the difficult questions. No, the humans not only haven’t been here long enough, their understanding of our technology isn’t advanced enough to make them dangerous—yet. We’ll need to ensure highly sensitive locations are updated to account for human physiology.”

  Josie might end up in another man’s quarters, and that wouldn’t end well for anyone.

  Kai pushed away from the table and turned his back to his men, not wanting them to catch a glimpse at the chaos the human had caused him. “Ideas?”

  “I’ll check with my contacts down at the market,” Horus said. “If someone is selling medical supplies then there will be rumors.”

  Paeon added. “If there are missing computer terminals, and if there’s a chance someone is trying to build a machine, the additional power requirements should be noticeable. I’ll slip into command and see what I can find on the systems.”

  Kai nodded. “Good. Makarios and Nyx, ask around the med-bays and in the supply areas. Just because the man in charge of the containers isn’t involved, doesn’t mean one of his colleagues isn’t.”

  “Sir.” They both spoke as one and nodded their assent.

  “Report as soon as you have any information. Dismissed.”

  Kai waited for his team to disappear, knowing if there was information to be found, it wouldn’t take them long to bring it into the light. Until he had something to share with Atlas, Kai would need to do a bit of digging on his own.

  Or you could go in search of a little human maintenance worker.

  He groaned and fell into the nearest seat. His cock still ached from where he’d rutted against her, his balls full again from wanting to thrust inside her until he spilled his seed. Even if he knew they couldn’t have a relationship. He was the right hand of Atlas and responsible for the men of the Order.

  While the arrival of humans on Atlantis opened the possibility for new families, Kai wasn’t one of those who would find a mate.

  Because of his pheromonal attraction to women, Kai could never be certain if they were with him because they truly wanted him, or if they were driven by a force none of them could control. With his lack fortune and status, he couldn’t even offer that to a prospective mate.

  Josie didn’t seem to care about either of those.

  But she’d been under the influence of his pheromones, which wasn’t what he’d wanted from a mate either.

  You don’t have time for this. Kai got back to his feet and marched from the room. He needed to solve this matter and then perhaps he’d ask Atlas for some time off. He could take a shuttle and explore the depths, alone.

  It would be for the best.

  When Josie showed up for duty, the rest of the team were nowhere in sight. She cautiously walked up to where Eos was speaking to an Atlantean she’d never seen before. His dark blue skin and blond hair seemed in stark contrast to one another. Eos shot her a look that froze her on the spot, and she knew that whatever was said between the two men wasn’t intended for her ears.

  Instead, she turned and made her way over to a maintenance computer terminal and began to run her pre-shift diagnostic run. When Josie saw another set of unusual readings similar to yesterday, she reran the code.

  Huh, that’s weird.

  She assumed the code had been placed there by one of the others on her team as a means of getting her to go into Kai’s quarters. It seemed it was an actual problem that needed to be dealt with. Maybe the others hadn’t realized exactly what it was that they had in front of them. If they hadn’t tricked her, she might have been able to figure out yesterday what these readings signified.

  Josie checked and double-checked the readings, uncertain what she was looking at. It appeared there was an influx in power running to an oxygen scrubber, but instead of it being in Kai’s room—God, don’t go there right now—it seemed to be coming from a lower section of Atlantis.

  The further she dug into the code to check what was happening, she more she realized this wasn’t a glitch in the system, nor was it a problem with an oxygen scrubber.

  This was a cover.

  Without looking up, she started to head toward Eos. If there was a problem in the systems, he needed to know. It was possible this was something he’d seen before and would have an easy fix. Or would at least be as fascinated as she was by the mystery.

  “Josie Reynolds.” Eos’ voice reached her, stopping her dead in her tracks. “You have your assignment for the day. Go about your business. I will check with you in several hours to evaluate your progress.”

  The Atlantean standing beside Eos wouldn’t look her way, which only raised her hackles. Best to keep a low profile. If this turned out to be something that required Eos’ expertise, then she’d tell him immediately.

  It would only improve her standing if she were able to solve this problem, and maybe she’d finally be able to work her way up and onto an engineering crew.

  God, that would be a dream come true.

  Josie waited for Eos and the mystery man to leave before she turned back to the terminal. She knew, based on what she’d been reading about the city, that was a part that had long fallen out of use due to the dwindling numbers of residents. It shouldn’t be difficult for her to find the level and see if her theory was correct.

  If this was, in fact, a cover for someone who was draining power from Atlantis’ systems and trying to make it look like a simple systems malfunction, she’d be able to find proof.

  Gathering her tools, she made her way to the closest transportation closet. She laughed. The Atlanteans called them transportation tubes, but Kenzi was right, they were more like closets.

  Stepping inside, she faced the map of Atlantis and selected the screen for the lower levels. When she pinpointed her destination, she tapped the location on the map and waited quietly. The doors closed but she hadn’t gone anywhere when it slid open again to allow another person entry.

  Kai.

  Of course it was him.

  “Shit.” The curse slipped from her before she realized. She felt her face flush. “Sorry.”

  He didn’t immediately get into the transport, even as he gripped the door opening preventing it from closing. “Would you prefer I take another transport?”

  Unlike the first two times they’d come into contact, Josie didn’t notice the overwhelming scent that made her pussy wet and her mind want to strip naked. “I can behave if you can.”

  He cocked his head to the side and frowned for a moment before stepping into the tube. “You’re on duty.”

  She looked down at her charcoal uniform and shrugged. “Yup.” She nodded toward his outfit. “You seem to be as well. I don’t recognize that color combination. Is it security? You don’t look like the others I’ve seen on patrol.”

  He straightened for a moment before his shoulders relaxed. “Yes, it’s security. Some of us have specific roles that require us to blend in a bit more.”

  “Right. That makes sense.” This is the longest transport ride in the history of forever. “Are you off to guard your boss now?”

  “Atlantis, halt transport.” Kai spun around. “Why are you not aroused?”

  She blinked up at him and held her tools a bit higher to her chest. “Pardon?”

  “Every human woman who I pass becomes suddenly aroused to the point of obscenity—including yourself. I had to physically remove the unwanted touch of three women on my way here. You showed the impact of my scent yourself in my quarters. Why not now?”

  Josie didn’t need to imagine how difficult it would be for him, to be touched by others when he didn’t want it—she’d worked with men long enough to have been on the receiving end of that sort of thing more than once.

  But it was kind of hilarious he was upset she wasn’t throwing herself at him. “I don’t know. Maybe because of what happened in your quarters? I mean, I am a bit turned on, but not like yesterday.”

  She’d fallen asleep easier than expected when she’d gone back to her rooms after her encounter with Kai, her body humming from her orgasm long after. Even this morning as she’d washed in the shower and dressed for the day, she would swear she still felt his fingers digging into her hip, and her nipples ached from his touch.

  Kai still glared at her, as though she were yet another puzzle he needed to solve, but didn’t have the time for.

  “If it helps, I can throw myself on you.” She shrugged, hoping her little display of indifference would work. “But I do need to go check out this blip in the system.”

  That caught his attention. “What blip?”

  The last thing she wanted to do was say anything about her theory to anyone until she’d checked on it with her own eyes. “Nothing crazy. I probably just need to reset another scrubber. We’ve been having problems with them recently.”

  Kai continued to look at her a moment longer before turning to face the door. “Atlantis, resume course.”

  The transport smoothly began once again, and the door opened moments later to allow another passenger to join them. Josie took the opportunity to hop out, not wanting Kai to follow her to her ultimate destination.

  As the doors slid shut, she shot him a smile and a wink.

  Might as well antagonize the shark while she had the chance.

  It took her another twenty minutes to make her way down to the lower level. When the doors to the transport slid open, there was no one in sight. The lights had all been dimmed to power conservation mode, giving the quiet corridors an eerie feeling.

  She had to redirect power to the closest maintenance terminal, taking a moment to wipe the thick buildup of dust from the screen. She typed in her code as she had earlier, this time making sure to track the energy signature to its destination—three corridors away, in a large construction bay.

  Okay, time to go exploring.

  Josie pulled out her light, checking into any nooks and crannies she came across and, not for the first time wondering if Atlantis had the equivalent to rats lurking in the city.

  When she turned into the corridor that led to the bay, she paused, surprised when she heard the hum of equipment being powered.

  Shit, there was someone or something down here.

  She took a few steps closer and paused to listen. It’s probably nothing more than an old forgotten system that someone hadn’t fully turned off that had started back up from a power surge. Another few steps and she had to switch the light into her other hand, to wipe the sweat from her palm. Someone will get in trouble for not following proper procedures. Eos, no doubt, won’t even say thank you for discovering this.

  The closer she got to the bay, the more she realized that not only was there machinery powered up, but there were lights as well.

  She turned her own off and slipped it back onto her belt.

  As quietly as possible, she continued, not wanting to alert anyone who might happen to be there of her presence. She wasn’t exactly armed, and it wasn’t like anyone knew where she was. Now that she thought of it, this wasn’t one of her brighter ideas.

  I should get the hell out of here and tell Eos that there’s something down here he needs to see.

  She’d turned and started to retreat when a moan coming from the other room reached her. Someone was in there, and it didn’t sound like they were in good shape. There was no way she’d leave someone in need of medical attention on their own, not if she could provide some help.

  All thoughts of her own safety pushed aside, Josie jogged down the hallway, pausing at the entrance to peek around the corner. “Hello?” Her whisper barely left her mouth, and she was ready to run if anyone tried to attack her. “Hello?” This time, she spoke louder, though she wasn’t any less terrified.

  There didn’t appear to be anyone standing around the bank of computers and terminals taking up a generous portion of the room. Five long glass chambers sat connected to the computers by conduits and cables. Those chambers were the source of the hum of electricity buzzing softly in the background.

  Josie chanced a step into the room, carefully looking around in case someone was lurking off in the corner. There was no one visible, so she took another step. Even from this distance, she saw something resting within the tubes.

  She jogged to the closest of the tubes to peer inside.

  Condensation had gathered on the glass, making it difficult to see what was inside. Not that it mattered. It was impossible not to recognize the features of the human male lying there, sedated.

 

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