C j barry unearthed 04, p.17
C. J. Barry - Unearthed 04, page 17
“What source?” Macke asked.
“The one who told me Torrie would be carrying Phellium,” Qaade said. “He must have got his orders from Chauvet.”
Macke donned a contemptuous expression. It was all Torrie could do to tell him to just deal with the situation.
“I’ve got a better idea,” Macke said, his gaze settling on Qaade. “Chauvet has a problem with Qaade here. Why don’t you let him handle it?”
“Because I don’t want to,” she said with fierce resolve. Macke looked at her in surprise. As much as she loved him, this battle was hers. And she didn’t need her brothers, all of whom would be more than happy to step in and fight her battles for her as always. “We helped to create this mess, and our family name is on the line. Someone let that Phellium and the Ricytin through our doors. We are as responsible as anyone else.”
“Fine. Then we’ll find out who did it, and let law enforcement have them.”
“That’s not going to fix the damage or stop the attacks on our ships. We must find Chauvet.”
Macke pointed a finger at Qaade. “And what if InterGlax catches you helping him? You are aiding a wanted man, Torrie. An outlaw. A killer. You’ll end up in prison for what? Him?”
She glanced at Qaade. He watched her intently. He might be a pirate, but he was also a good man.
Macke leaned in. “You think Carmon is going to ever let you have a run again when you take pity on every pathetic outlaw in the sector?”
“You don’t know Qaade,” she insisted.
Macke ignored her. “And what do you think this will do to the family? If you become a criminal, you won’t ever be able to see us again.”
“No.”
Torrie turned at Qaade’s voice. “What?”
“I won’t separate you from your family,” he clarified. “Macke’s right. You should get out now. Leave Chauvet to me.”
She couldn’t believe he was doing this, and in front of her brother. Her anger was so swift, she didn’t have time to channel it, let alone control it. After all she’d done for him, after all she’d sacrificed to be here … “I’m not going to walk away from these people, Qaade. They need my help, and they’re going to get it.”
“Chauvet won’t stop until he has me. And if you are with me, then he’ll destroy you, too.”
“Stop trying to protect me. I’m damned sick of it.” She swung her gaze to her brother. “Same goes for you. This is my decision, whether or not you or the family approves.”
Macke persisted. “You’ll lose everything you’ve worked for. Years of training and preparing. All those arguments with Father and Carmon. I know how hard you worked to get this run. You’ll never have another chance.”
His words ripped at her heart, but not as much as she thought they would. There was something bigger at stake here than her old dreams: there were lives. For the first time ever, she felt like she was doing something truly important.
“I’m willing to take that risk.”
Macke looked at her for a few long moments in disbelief. “Why?”
“Because I can’t live with myself if I walk away.”
“And what about the rest of us?”
She blinked. “What are you talking about?”
Macke stared at her. “Your family. The people who love you and actually give a damn whether you live or die. The ones you’ll leave behind when Qaade here gets you killed. Don’t we count more than this Slipstream?”
She didn’t answer for a moment, his logic shocking her. How could he say that? Why couldn’t he see how much this meant to her? That she could take care of herself
And then she understood, because with all her heart and her soul, she was doing the same thing for Slipstream: protecting it because it was precious, and because she loved it. She simply couldn’t stop herself. Her family loved her, just like that.
“You do count,” she said carefully. “More than almost anything. But I have to do this, Macke. It’s worth fighting for.”
“Now I know who got Father’s damned stubbornness,” her brother grumbled, but she sensed him relent.
She glanced at Qaade, who was watching her intently but didn’t say a word. He understood, too.
She turned back to Macke. “Unless you want to drag more people into Chauvet’s dirty little game, you need to call Carmon and tell him you found me safe and sound. Then you and Howser follow that shipment while Qaade and I head to Wryth.”
Macke glared at Qaade and said, “If anything happens to my sister, I’m coming after you myself.”
Torrie speared him with a look. “And if anything happens to Qaadelike, you call in InterGlaxI’ll come after you. Got it?”
Macke pursed his lips. “Got it.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Exodus is ours.” Chauvet’s words echoed off the walls of the chamber and broke Fahlow’s heart. The holo gameboard showed her owner’s progress in shades of red. Slipstream’s stations, and now Exodus. Only Freeport remained in blue. And the man, laghato.
Urwin replied, The ship is under our control, and we are hitting as many Masters Shipping targets as possible.”
“And laghato’s crew?”
“A few still won’t cooperate. I doubt we’ll ever convince them to join us.”
Chauvet stared into the holo, red saturating his features. “Execute them at your convenience.”
Urwin stammered, “Why not just scrub them?”
“I didn’t ask for your input, Urwin. You forget your place. Where is our laghato now?”
“Well,” Urwin started slowly. “I don’t know exactly.”
Fahlow watched Chauvet’s face freeze in its callous mask, and took bittersweet pleasure from his annoyance. Few had managed to escape him.
“You don’t know?”
“No, sir. He hasn’t tried to hail us. And our planted sensors aren’t picking up any communications or coordinates from Freeport. It’s like they stopped functioning.”
“Then he’s found them,” Chauvet said. “He knows we want Freeport.”
“What are your orders for Exodus?” Urwin asked.
Chauvet concentrated on his gameboard for a few minutes. “He will run to save his precious slaves, but he won’t go too far. He’ll hold out hope that Slipstream can be salvaged. Continue to hit targets and leave as many bodies behind as possible. The more that die, the more the Masters family will pressure the woman. She is the weak link, and laghato is keeping her around for a reason.”
“Yes, sir. Out.”
The chamber turned silent except for Chauvet’s footsteps as he slowly circled his holo gameboard. “Such an interesting game, don’t you think, Princess?”
Fahlow forced words past her heart and lips. “I do not think, my lord.”
He threw his head back and laughed, mocking her. Mocking her kind. Mocking decency and justice. She closed her eyes to the world she suffered through, clinging to a whisper of hope that might get her through another day. How much longer would she last? If laghato failed, who would save her? Who would reunite her people? It was only for their sake that she had come this far.
Without laghato, how long before she deemed death favorable to this living hell?
* * *
Qaade launched Torrie’s ship into hyperspace on a course for Wryth. He couldn’t shake his restlessness. At least Shooter was his ship. In Torrie’s world, he was an outsider. He didn’t belong here, and he hated having to rely on Howser and Macke, and on their narrow view of right and wrong.
Torrie checked the nav next to him, and bit by bit his anger waned. He couldn’t blame her. She’d fought her brother and her first mate to get this far. She was doing the best she could, more than anyone on the outside of Slipstream had ever done before. It wasn’t her fault his world had gone straight to hell. But what had it cost her?
“Macke was right,” he said. “I should be doing this alone.”
She answered without looking up. “Don’t you start with me again. I will take complete and lethal personal offense to any insinuations that I’m not capable of making my own decisions.”
He grinned. “Believe me, I wouldn’t cross that line fully armed. I’m just not sure I can live with myself if you get hurt.”
She locked down the nav and turned to him. “I am choosing this road with eyes wide open. Just like you did. Just like Brilliard and all the others. And if anything goes wrong, I don’t want you harboring guilt for my choice.”
She pulled her long braid over her shoulder and started unraveling it. “I asked Macke to check in every day. Hopefully, that’ll keep him happy enough not to call in any more of my brothers.”
Thinking back on how protective Macke had been, Qaade wasn’t sure he could deal with more than one of her brother’s. “How many do you have?”
“Six.”
He eyed her. “And you’re the only girl?”
She laughed. “You guessed it. And I’m the youngest to boot. So you can imagine the numerous battles I’ve fought.”
“That explains a lot,” he said.
“Try it sometime.”
His smile faded. A large family pestering each other all the time, squabbles, hugshe’d love to try that sometime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t looking very feasible at the moment. His whole future wasn’t looking too promising. “Do you think those two will be able to track the Phellium?”
Torrie gave a small smile. “Howser may be a pain in the ass, but he’s good. And Macke is even better. You worried?”
“I’m just thinking if Turk doesn’t give up Chauvet, then we won’t have many options left. If the trail doesn’t pan out…”
“Then, what?” she said, deftly untwisting long strands of hair between her fingers.
“Then he wins.”
Torrie’s hands stilled. “Just like that, you’re going to give up?”
The full weight of despair settled over him from every direction. The chances were so slim. For the first time he could remember, he felt hopelessness prevail. “If we can’t locate Chauvet, sooner or later he’ll find us. He’ll find Freeport. And I don’t care about myself, but I don’t want the others to be killed. I’ll decommission Freeport before I let that happen. There will be nothing left of Slipstream.”
For a while, Torrie didn’t respond. Then she leaned closer, her loose hair cascading over her shoulder. “Why did you start Slipstream?”
He closed his eyes wearily. “It won’t work, Torrie.”
“Tell me why.”
When this woman made up her mind … “To save slaves.”
“Why do you save them?”
“Because no one else will.”
“Why, Qaade?” she fairly yelled.
“Because no one should have to live the way I did,” he snapped. His words echoed through the cabin. Memories overwhelmed him; memories of his past. He pushed from his seat and tried to escape, but there was nowhere to go except four more chairs and a drop-down bunk. He stood in the middle of the ship, fists clenched against a demon he’d never be able to escape.
He felt a warm hand caress his shoulder, defusing his aggravation. “Talk to me, pirate.”
He wasn’t in any mood to dredge up the past. On the other hand, he wasn’t in any mood to spar with her. And unfortunately, that’s exactly what Torrie Masters would do to get what she wanted.
She moved around in front of him, green eyes searching his before she softly kissed his lips. Tension poured from his body, seeking an outlet, and Torrie was it.
He seized her, pulling her hard against his chest while his mouth took possession of hers. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. As their mouths joined, all his restlessness channeled into wild passion.
Torrie’s hips pressed into his, drawing a hiss from his lips. He dropped into a nearby seat and took her with him. She straddled his thighs with her strong legs, and he filled his hands with her. Tight nipples pushed through her tank, front and center. He slipped the shoulder straps down, revealing ivory breasts and dusty rose areolas. Torrie threw her head back and moaned when he bent his
head and claimed one hard nipple. He drew the tip into his mouth, rolling it gently with his tongue. He nuzzled the soft skin between her breasts, savored their weight and warmth.
He felt her plucking at his shirt, and helped her pull it off him. Once it was discarded, her fingers spread across his chest, exploring and caressing. She pushed him back against the seat and pressed her breasts to his bare chest. She kissed him hard, grinding her hips into him and whittling away at his limited patience.
And he would have done much better if she hadn’t reached down and stroked him through his pants. His lips froze over hers as she ran her fingers up his length, stealing what little of his self-control remained. He growled in approval when she unfastened his pants and freed his burning erection.
Laying his head back against the chair, he let her caress every centimeter with maddening skill until at last he could take no more. Tossing patience aside, he lifted Torrie up and tugged her pants off. She kicked them aside, discarded her tank top and settled over him, her eyes locked on his. They were heavy, laden slits of passion. Passion for him. She wanted him and only him. He bared his teeth, surrendering to a primal swell of possession, and bound them together in a ritual older than time.
He gripped the thick muscles of her thighs as she lowered herself slowly onto him, until at last she accepted him completely. His hips flexed, driving deeper still and earning a gasp from her. He lifted her up, then pulled her down again as he drove into her. She took over, meeting him with a frantic rhythm that wiped everything else from his mind. Nothing else matterednot time, not space, notany previous failure. Just this woman, whom he needed more than air.
She threw her head back, her long hair swaying behind her, lips parted, eyes closed. Then her pace slowed, her breathing deepened and she tightened around him. His own orgasm threatened, but he held on, knowing that she was close. He could almost taste her climax. Seconds ticked by like eternity. Then her cry of release echoed in his ears, moments before his own.
It took a long time for Qaade to surface. His restless energy had ebbed, and he wanted nothing more than to remain like this forever with Torrie wrapped around him. If he could stop time, he’d do it right now. Her head rested on his shoulder as she settled comfortably in his arms, with only bare skin and steamy heat between them.
She sighed softly, and he smiled at his woman. His woman. If he said that out loud, she’d probably shoot him. But he couldn’t help it, not after she’d given up so much for him and for Slipstream.
All her dreams, all her hard work … no wonder she’d followed him earlier. Her cargo was everything to her. He was humbled by her recent sacrifice. It was more than he could ask, especially considering her family. He knew what it was like to lose one’s family. He couldn’t imagine giving them up voluntarily. Or maybe she didn’t realize what she was doing yet. Even if Chauvet was eliminated, Qaade had every intention of starting Slipstream back up and pirating to fund it. He’d be an outlaw, and if she stayed with him, she would be too. The sweet moment turned bitter, and he knew that there was going to be a very difficult good-bye in his future.
She played with the hair on the nape of his neck. “How did you come to be a slave?”
He caressed her long bare back, surprised that he actually wanted to share his past with her. “I was eight when they attacked our rural village. There were only about a thousand of us, and everyone knew each other. Slavers came in the middle of the night with laser cannons and shackles. They burned people out of their houses, slaughtering anyone who wouldn’t surrender to them. My father died trying to protect us. They took me, my mother and my sister to a slave hauler, along with the other survivors. I was sent to male quarters, my mother and sister sent to the women’s. I never saw them again, but I know they are still alive.”
Torrie hugged him, giving him her strength. “I’m so sorry, Qaade. I can’t even imagine.” Then she pulled back and looked at him with a frown. “You remember them? You weren’t scrubbed?”
“They tried. But it didn’t work on me like it did on all the others. I’m not sure why. Perhaps a natural immunity. But I knew enough to not say anything at the time, or they probably would have tried again. So yes, I remember.”
She searched his face with empathy. “I’m glad.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
“Then I was sold to a real bastard who enjoyed beating me on a daily basis. When InterGlax wouldn’t help me, I figured I’d end up dying a slave. But then a band of pirates raided our ship. They found out I’d been a slave, and they took me in.” He grinned at the memory. “Taught me everything they knew.”
“Mmm, and you learned well,” Torrie noted.
He slipped his fingers through her heavy hair. “I tried. We were successful enough. Once I saved enough credits, I left and bought Exodus, then Freeport. Established Slipstream. Recruited a bunch of ex-slaves and old hands to help me.”
She smiled, soft and sexy. They love you, pirate.”
His hand paused in her hair when she said the word love. Their eyes locked, and Qaade felt the tug of a longing he couldn’t hide. Torrie’s eyes widened marginally, and he knew he’d given away too much.
She cleared her throat. “So, did you start Slipstream to find your family?”
“I did it to find them all.”
She studied him for a moment. “And did you?”
He couldn’t believe it. How had he been tricked into talking so much about his past? “There’s no way I’ll ever save them all, Torrie, no matter how long I keep Slipstream running.”
“There’s always hope. Sometimes, you just have to remind yourself.”
Maybe she was right. He’d spent his life beating the odds, believing in himselfsomething his parents had always taught. Perhaps he’d retained his memories for a reason. But as he gazed into her compassionate eyes, he realized that sometimes memories were a curse.
Chapter Twenty
Torrie smoothed the skin-tight dress against her body and looked at herself in the mirror. She’d left her hair down and loose. A touch of makeup on her lips, eyes and cheeks added to the sultry look she was going for. But it would be the dress, or lack thereof, that won Turk’s attention. Thin shoulder straps nearly disappeared into her skin, the color almost identical, making her look nude at first glance. The plunging neckline revealed deep cleavage, adding to the illusion. Slippery fabric hugged every curve of her torso and hips before flaring at midthigh.
