Desperate Measures (7 page)

at arm‟s length until she was sure they‟d be pressed for time.

“Now that isn‟t what I expected. He doesn‟t seem the type to follow anyone else‟s lead.”

Gianna grinned. “So you managed to keep him distracted with your body, have your fun and go

or did he get any questions in?”

“No, I think he had plans for after the sex, but after his slow, easy approach to seduction

he didn‟t have time for the interrogation.” Raine smiled.

He‟d been very frustrated when she‟d left. If he hadn‟t wanted to keep her relaxed, she

knew he wouldn‟t have let her leave. She was just glad that he seemed to be afraid of pressing

her too hard. Even if she hadn‟t already suspected that he was too curious about her, tonight

would have enlightened her. The anticipation and suspicion had been in his eyes when she‟d

walked through the door. He‟d been too damn cautious. Even from short acquaintance, she knew

it wasn‟t his usual manner of doing things.

“That‟ll infuriate the alpha every time. Did he look pissed when you left?” Gianna

grinned, bracing herself on an elbow.

“He looked frustrated and a bit angry, but his tense muscles showed that there was more

emotion behind it. He‟s not that easy to read other than sudden flashes of emotion.” Rain

shrugged as she buttoned up her shirt.

“He‟ll be looking for a second opportunity.” Gianna grimaced. “You won‟t be able to

lead him so easily next time.”

“I‟m sure he will. He‟s not going to give up coaxing information out of me simply

because he miscalculated. And I didn‟t lead him. I just took advantage of his plan.” Raine

grinned. It had seemed like a gift from the Goddess when he‟d started feeding her the dessert.

“Miscalculated and was led astray I‟d bet.” Gianna raised an eyebrow. “Don‟t let him

catch on that you‟re playing the game as much as he is. This man is even more alpha than you

are. Only someone who doesn‟t know the word impossible would be able to bring together and

command a group of
Feiral
he gathered as he traveled.”

Raine made a face at her friend. She wasn‟t stupid. She knew that Connal wasn‟t

someone she could openly taunt. He had to believe that he was in charge of the game or he might

just begin to suspect what kind of being she actually was.
Feiral
loved games and tricks as no other people did. Tricking another
Feiral
added a special something to the satisfaction of any game.

“I know. As long as I can keep him thinking that he‟s in control, it should be all right.

Did you get any of the information we needed about the identity we need for Krissa?” Raine

swallowed. She knew she‟d better tell Gianna about what else she‟d discovered tonight, but she

didn‟t want her or Nara to panic. They still had a few days on this vessel and they had to act

normally.

“We have everything now. When we get to Forunes, I‟ll key an identity chip for her and

we‟ll be set to go as soon as we find her, but there‟s trouble. They‟ve had word of some kind of

sighting on Forunes. I‟d bet Krissa was seen in animal form. I heard Rennick and one of the

other men talking. They‟ll be looking for a
Feiral
.” Gianna met her eyes and her voice was

deadly serious.

“Damn, I‟d hoped they wouldn‟t even know there was a
Feiral
on the planet. But we

should be able to disappear anyway without any questions from them once we‟re off this ship.”

Raine shook her head.

It seemed like more and more things kept going wrong, but as long as they managed to

get off this ship without any of the other
Feiral
knowing who they were, she‟d be happy.

“There‟s something you should know, but you can‟t let it affect how you react around these

people.”

“That sounds a lot worse than what I thought was supremely bad news, but all right, I‟ll

take the news and they won‟t know anything‟s any different.” Gianna exhaled heavily and

looked like she was bracing herself.

“At least the captain is
Daclind
Feiral
so just be careful of your expression when you let things happen between you and Rennick. The push I received from him that first day was

stronger than I expected with some auditory and visual hallucinations. I suspect it‟s because of

that. The others could be more than
Feiral
, too.” Raine brushed her hair and secured it.

“If he ever figures out just how much you‟ve played with him, he‟ll come after you

regardless of if he‟s aware that you‟re
Feiral
or not. Damn, Raine, how in hell did you keep from running out of the room? Hell, if he ever finds out we‟ve stolen one of his crew members‟

identities, they‟ll be coming after us. They don‟t like losing and that‟s exactly how they‟ll take

it.” Gianna shook her head.

“Deep breaths, Gianna. We can do this and we‟ll disappear as planned. We‟re not leaving

him any way to track us. Now, we both need to go to our duties.” Raine smoothed a hand down

her black pants. “We do what we have to.”

“We‟ll make it through this, but I‟m going to keep the games to a minimum. I don‟t want

to be too memorable.” Gianna shook her head, but a smile curved her lips.

“We‟re going to be memorable regardless. So you feel free to do what you want. They‟re

not going to forget about us for a long time after we leave.” Raine smiled. “Now let‟s get our

work done for the night.”

“Hey, Raine!” Nara‟s voice greeted Raine as soon as she came into the room.

Raine ran a hand through her hair and tried to ease the tension out of her shoulders. Those

men weren‟t making it easier as they got closer to Forunes. Seriously, questions while she was

on duty and focusing on several tasks at once already. Even she wouldn‟t be that cruel, but those

men hadn‟t hesitated. As a result, her muscles were aching and she wanted to hurt them badly or

at the very least put a serious ding in their pride.

“Hi, Nara,” Raine smiled and stopped a few steps into the room.

Her head tilted and she looked over at her friend. Nara was on her knees between two of

the beds and she‟d managed to get one of the metal cabinets away from the wall. Even from her

position, Raine could see that there was a hole behind it. She‟d known there would probably be

some hidden space within the room. This was a
Feiral
ship and all
Feiral
loved secrets, hidden doors and concealed rooms, but she‟d expected a secret little cubbyhole or something so small

that only a small information chip or something similar would fit in it. These quarters weren‟t

regular crew quarters and she knew that they‟d probably had humans onboard before.

“You have to take a look at this.” Nara rose a little and smiled. “This tempts me.”

Raine chuckled but tossed a look back at the door. She hoped no one escorted any of the

others back to the room. One glance in the door would show them that something was off, but

like Nara, that hole drew her to come closer and explore the darkness inside it.

“Any sign of sensors in there?” Raine walked over to the bed and sprawled across it to

get a closer look without crowding in next to Nara.

It wasn‟t just a small hole to hide a bag. Now that she was closer, she could see that it

was a small passage. It would be easier to go through in
Feiral
form, but she or any of the others here could make their way through it. As soon as she realized that, she began to wonder where it

led. She narrowed her eyes and tried to see into the darkness but couldn‟t make out anything. Did

it lead to a little room somewhere or was it a way to access another area, maybe an escape route?

She‟d had a rough stairway in her first home that led to the attic and a cache of weapons. Was

this something like that?

“No signs of sensors or anything but the narrow passage. You know I‟m itching to get in

there and from the way you‟re looking at it so are you.” Nara shone a small light into the

darkness. It was part of the equipment she used in her duties in engineering so Raine knew she‟d

come by it honestly.

“Oh yes, and the insane part of me that sees this as a great challenge wants to leave

something so that they know that we found their little hidden entrance. Maybe a note or message

on the walls.” Raine sighed. If it was just her, she wouldn‟t hesitate to provoke them, but it

wasn‟t only her. They had to get Krissa off that planet and after they left they wouldn‟t be able to

guarantee when that duct-like passage would be searched. It was too much risk.

“We‟ve got to show the others this even if we don‟t go in there.” Nara looked longingly

at the entrance.

“I never said anything about not going in there. I won‟t be leaving them any clues, but

I‟ve got to explore a bit even if we do go slowly to make sure there are no hidden sensors to

catch us, but since they weren‟t expecting someone of their own kind, I don‟t think we have to

worry about that.” Raine braced her chin on her forearm and glanced at Nara. “I do think we

should wait until we‟re all here and there‟s less chance of someone opening the door and

someone out in the hall seeing something strange in here.”

“You‟ve taken some of the fun out of it.” Nara groaned, but pushed the cabinet back into

place. It slid soundlessly back against the wall.

“Just remember whenever one of the men annoys you, you can think about how you‟ve

been in the secret room and they know nothing about it.” Raine rolled her eyes. Okay, so that

wasn‟t just something for Nara to use. It was going to give her a little satisfaction too.

“That‟s a good idea, but now we have to wait for Gianna and you know time‟s going to

drag until she gets here.” Nara walked over and took a seat on the bed. “What are we going to

do?”

“Talk. You can start with how you‟re doing with the man set to try to trick you into

confessing all.” Raine smiled widely at her friend.

“Oh he‟s trying to coax me into believing that he‟s my friend as well as a lover. You

know the little friendly gestures like bringing me something to eat on my break, although I still

haven‟t figured out how he knows when I‟m on my break because it‟s not scheduled. He‟s also

telling me little things about himself. I feed him expanded bits from the history worked up, but I

can tell that‟s not what he‟s looking for.” Nara rolled her eyes. “Like that‟s going to work.”

“Hey, don‟t whine about it. It could be worse. He could be all out pushing like the

Natahl
, Captain Connal is with me. The man‟s not subtle. Even if I‟d been completely unaware

that he suspected anything before that first meeting, halfway into the conversation I would have

known he was suspicious.” Raine shook her head. She only wished that Connal had tried

something so innocuous with her.

“At least you don‟t have the possibility of relaxing near him that much. Sometimes after

reminding myself to keep it friendly and open, I almost forget that this is all a game.” Nara took

a deep breath. “I‟m just glad we‟re not going to be here that much longer.”

Raine knew that there would be drawbacks to either method, but she‟d prefer something a

little less stressful. They didn‟t have much more time to discuss it because soon Gianna arrived.

She walked in and stopped when she found both Raine‟s and Nara‟s eyes locked on her.

“Is something wrong?” Gianna walked into the room slowly, looking around as if for

something out of the ordinary.

“Nothing‟s wrong. Raine just thought we should wait until you were here to explore.”

Nara bounced up from the bed. “There‟s something you should see.”

“Explore what?” Gianna walked forward and a frown furrowed her brow.

“Nara found something.” Raine stayed on the bed and watched as Nara revealed the

hidden duct.

“Ah, so there is one here. I was thinking that since this was more of a guest or non-crew

space that they hadn‟t put anything like this in here.” Gianna smiled as she knelt next to Nara.

“Are we actually going in there?”

“If you want. We can‟t see any sensors and since they didn‟t know that we weren‟t

human before we arrived, it should be safe.” Raine shrugged. The possibility that it was some

kind of trap to draw them into revealing they were more than human was so remote that the only

reason she even thought of it was because after days of Connal‟s probing questions she was a

little paranoid.

“Should be safe. Is that good enough for you?” Gianna raised a brow and glanced over at

Raine.

“Actually, yes, after the last few days, it is. I need something I can keep in the back of my

mind and simply think about to remind me that we‟re one up on him and we need to keep it that

way.” Raine grinned and looked into the hole again.

“You know the longer this goes on the more I begin to agree with Deanne. We‟re all

insane.” Gianna looked at the entrance and sighed. “I actually understand and agree with what

you just said and that‟s a sure sign that we‟re losing it.”

“We? Why does it have to be all of us? Why not just you? I know I find all of this

perfectly logical and sane.” Nara grinned and winked at Raine. “What about you, Raine?”

“Oh I feel a little harassed, but otherwise I‟m sane and calm.” Raine laughed. “You found

it, you go first.”

* * * * *

Raine smoothed her hands down her pants as she walked down the hallway to Connal‟s

room. They had a dinner date tonight. It was the last night she‟d be aboard the ship so she