Desire Disguised (4 page)

“Your weakness and dizziness should clear up within the hour, and there won’t be any lasting impairment. The doctor can confirm this with you if you’d like. We’d also like to have you come back in a couple of days for a follow up, but you’re free to go as soon as we get your information and aftercare posted.”

Cara tensed and slid her meal away, making ready to bolt through the door. Damn that man, he’d promised not to report them, and here this deceptively nice woman was going to do just that. Penni noticed her tension and held up a cautionary hand.

“No, no, we’re not going to scan you or register you. Chief Zashi was very clear on that. I just meant for our local system, here on Gamaliel.”

“That’s where we are?”

Penni’s brows furrowed, and she shook her head once. “You didn’t even know where you crashed, you poor things. This is an unfortunate situation all the way round. Don’t worry about anything. I’m going to contact our Barracks and get you a place to stay as soon as I leave here. Plus, I’ll get Chita to round up some supplies for you, considering all your things were probably incinerated on that ship.”

Cara realized she hadn’t even thought of their baggage yet. Yes, everything was probably destroyed, and she’d have to piece together a way to access their remote funds. Soren had always taken care of those practicalities, but it was up to her now.

“Now, on to your friend, Soren, isn’t it? Yes, well, he’s still alive and that’s remarkably good considering his condition, but he’s going to be unconscious for the next few days. We’re going to want to keep him here until his situation improves, but we have great hope he will recover.”

Cara sighed. She was of course relieved to learn her companion was mending, but this meant more time on Gamaliel, wherever that was. She’d never even heard of it. It had to be a minor planet somewhere very isolated. It might be possible to keep their heads down for a while longer, until Soren was fit for travel.

“So, that’s about all I had for you,” the medtech said with another genuine smile. “Finish those meals and drink all the water, and by then I should have things underway to discharge you.”

She gave them a half wave goodbye as she pulled the door shut. Mat had typically remained silent throughout. He tended to not interact with strangers.

“Sis, what’s a barracks?”

“I have no idea. Whatever it is, we aren’t getting comfortable there.”

* * * *

Cara was exhausted but too anxious to seek her borrowed bed. Mat was safe in his new, temporary bedroom and fast asleep, but she paced. The barracks had turned out to be a large building complex with a dining area, recreational facilities, and numerous suites for the congressional staff on this planet. She was now surrounded by the sort of people she had been avoiding for most of her life. Soren would be beside himself with the danger if he knew.

She’d expected to share a common sleeping and bathing area, but when the barracks manager opened the door and gestured for them to enter, both she and Mat had been struck silent by their new living space. A large living and dining area, and the fully-stocked kitchen resembled something from the set of one of the dramatic entertainments about rival families she was secretly addicted to. Big windows, bright and new furnishings; everything gleamed with thoughtful design and luxury.

Chita then showed them the bedrooms, three large ones each with their own private bath. Mat had been awestruck when he’d seen the large display mounted on the wall of his room. When the manager had cheerfully informed him that all the latest age-appropriate entertainments and games had already been loaded for him, and that when there was another datapod delivered on the next ship there would be more, her little brother had quivered with excitement. He could even order some and they’d arrive on the next available ship. Cara shook her head as her brother nearly fainted with excitement. They’d be leaving soon, and she wasn’t going to let him get used the luxury.

Chita had told them a little about Gamaliel and why there were people arriving on every ship. It seemed some strange little creatures produced a substance the human brain craved, so there were marks to be made by extracting it. Cara was intrigued by the other woman’s brief description of the native life forms, and she wondered if she’d have a chance to see any of them first hand before she and Mat disappeared back into space.

After double-checking all the windows for the best escape routes, Cara wandered to the kitchen and glanced in the cabinets and chiller for the fourth time that evening. She wanted to reassure herself there were still supplies. Breads, crackers, cheese, fruits, beverages, even a few desserts were just waiting to be eaten. There were basic cooking utensils, and she anticipated scrambling an egg and making a fruit salad in the morning.

She wore actual clothes from the hamper Chita had delivered before they’d arrived. Everything was clean and loose fitting. There’d been no way for the hospitality manager to get proper sizing since Cara hadn’t input their physical data into the system. Mat merely added another layer to the clothes he’d been issued in the medical center, but Cara had gone through her portion and assembled an outfit that would work if they needed to flee at a moment’s notice. Sturdy construction, lots of pockets, dark colors, it was drab but serviceable. Just like all her clothes still on Falk’s crushed ship. Perhaps she’d be allowed to go back to the site tomorrow to locate her and Mat’s possessions. They didn’t have many, but a few well-loved things would soothe her brother. As for the clothes she and Mat had worn in the crash, it was likely those had been discarded at the medical center.

A gentle
ping
echoed through the room, and Cara spun, blood pressure spiking, as she tried to determine what had happened. There was a repeat of the pleasant sound, and she realized it was the door signal. Why did something that sounded so nice seem so menacing?

Trotting to the door, she checked the monitor to find Chief Zashi staring at her with those serious eyes. He was actually looking at the display outside the door of course, but it felt as if he knew she was there and making note of all her lies and deceptions. Sucking in a deep breath and pushing her shoulders back for the barest semblance of confidence, Cara opened the door. She had to give him credit for courtesy; he could have easily overridden the lock and strode in without pause.

“Good evening.”

Cara nodded her head and watched him, wondering what he was after but not willing to ask and reveal any of her anxieties.

“May I come in?”

Courtesy again. Debating how much danger she might be in if he decided to interrogate her, Cara decided she had enough energy left to hold her own for a few minutes of determined questioning. If he didn’t like her answers, she supposed he’d arrest her and haul her to Security and toss her in a dank cell until she was more cooperative. Not the best outcome.

Gesturing him in, Cara stepped aside. He eased past her and took a short walk around the suite, checking the contents of the chiller with a nod and glancing over the bundle of clothing she and Mat had spread on the dining table.

He turned his searching eyes back on her, and her stomach shriveled. “It seems you have the basics. Whatever else you need we can get in the morning.”

Swallowing hard, Cara nodded again. Not for the first time, she wished Soren was here to help her divert this man with conversation and easy assurances that everything about the Belasco siblings was perfectly normal, and they’d be on their way before anyone even knew they were there. “When can I go to the ship and look for our things?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

She waited for him to say something else, but he just walked closer and watched her as if she might try to run away.

* * * *

What was he doing here? Ben had somehow found himself at this young woman’s door after a long and tiring day, and all he could do was stare at her and wonder who she really was. All his instincts and intuition, honed by many years of dealing with liars, thieves, perverts, and violent offenders, jangled warnings at him, and he persistently ignored them. He’d already stepped on the line of legality by coming up with the chancy bargain to delay reporting her presence to the proper authorities. Now, he was well past the barrier of proper behavior by being alone with her in her apartment this late in the evening. It was questionable decision making from top to bottom. If one of Ben’s subordinates had made these choices, he’d be having a long talk with them.

“How’s your brother?”

“Fed, clean, and asleep in a safe place.” She clasped her hands together and breathed in raggedly. The way she rattled off those basic components to a decent life made him wonder how many nights these two castaways had spent hungry and afraid.

“Why aren’t
you
asleep?”

“Someone needs to answer the door,” Cara Belasco answered too quickly for it to be anything other than her first thought. So that flash of sarcasm he’d glimpsed earlier in medical was still there. He’d liked how she scoffed about his potential punishment if his superiors found out he bent the rules.

“Do you want to borrow a butlebot?” He could lend her his and program it to record all her instructions for him to analyze later. Even as he formulated the thought, he chastised himself for the blatantly illegal notion.

“No.” She pressed her lips together, and it didn’t take much awareness to understand she was desperate not to talk with him or reveal anything other than the bare essentials. Which meant there was a lot going on in her brain, and he wanted to learn about it even more. Time for some questions. She was tired and this might be his only chance to interact with her without her brother or her travel companion in the room. First, a little gift of information, so she might feel obligated to reciprocate.

“I’ve told our informationist about your situation, and he has input the least possible amount of data about the crash and your presence in the official report. It will ping out in about twenty hours. He’s also put merely your names and ages into our local directory. I assume the aliases you’re using are clean for now?” At her jerky nod, he continued. “Good. I ran a datasweep on everything; your names, your companion, the ship, and pilot and found no evidence anyone has initiated searches within the last few weeks.” There had been such a minimal amount of information attached to those names he knew all of it was a cover. No real people could live for a few years in the system and not leave megabits of evidence behind.

She gulped and swallowed again. Her slender neck rose from the oversized clothing she was hiding in and he wondered how such a petite person had escaped serious injury.

“For the time you’re here, you’ll be relatively anonymous, and I’ll do my best to keep you and your brother safe.” From what, he still didn’t know, but he was going to try to find out.

“Thank you.”

“Now, you need to tell me why I did all that for you.”

“I don’t know.” Another quick reply. She pressed her lips to prevent more words from spilling out.

“I’ve just endangered my career and placed undue influence on my fellow staff, all to accommodate your rather worrisome and unsubstantiated demands. You owe me a better answer than ‘I don’t know.’” He let a little bit of the growl he used on misbehaving subordinates leak into his words, but she didn’t even flinch.

“I didn’t ask you to do that.” Her defiant words matched the flush of pink delicately coloring her cheeks.

“Yes, you did. You might not have understood what I’d have to do to accomplish it, but you did ask me to keep official channels in the dark about you.” More of the growl emerged, and for the first time she broke eye contact.

“I have to protect Mat, that’s all.” Cara’s voice shook, and he stifled his illogical urge to ease back and stop causing her distress. She’d tucked one hand to her side and pressed it close. Was she experiencing some painful aftereffects of the crash?

“I can’t help you with that unless I know what’s happening. Who’s after him? Are they after you too? Is it an estranged relative? An abusive living situation?” Who exactly might make their way to his planet and cause trouble for his citizens? Her brother was too young to have caused serious problems for anyone, and Cara was, she was…not someone he could imagine bringing out murderous impulses in someone else. Of course, that was complete malarkey; anyone with murderous impulses would use any spurious excuse to exercise them.

Cara shook her head and reached behind her to locate the sofa before she wilted into it like a faded flower.

“Nothing like that. Nothing Mat or I did. Our father was a hated man, and people have held on to grudges. That’s all.”

Ben narrowed his eyes as he studied her. She sounded weary and ready to confess something. He lowered himself to a seat on a chair near her so he could watch her face for any signs of hesitation. “Where is he, your father?”

“Dead. Long ago. When Mat was a baby. That’s when we began hiding.” She wiped her hands together and lifted her gaze from the rug to look at him, her greenish blue eyes unwavering. Her brother appeared about twelve years old. That’s what his official information had said, but Ben knew everything he’d discovered on their datpads was certainly a lie. She might be lying now, but he didn’t sense deception, only fear and exhaustion. Again, he pushed away the unexpected urge to ease his questioning, to reassure her in some way.

“What’s Soren’s role in this?” Ben moved down his list of questions even as he considered the sort of people who would seek revenge on a dead man’s children. Had their father been a criminal kingpin and made far too many enemies? Did this mean that boy sleeping in the other room never had a stable home?

“He protects us. Guides us to safe places. Keeps us hidden.” Her short answers had the ring of truth. She wasn’t spinning out a well-practiced narrative designed to distract the listener. Now, he began to wonder about Soren and what sort of man he must be to possess that sort of loyalty to a hated man.

“He’s been with you the whole time you’ve been on the run?”

Cara nodded.

“Anyone else helping you?”