gaian consortium 06 - zhore deception (26 page)

That wasn’t even a lie. Because the Zhore
had
offered to shelter her from her Consortium handlers, even if she hadn’t precisely requested asylum.

“You know,” Gabriel replied, “I was afraid you were going to say that.” His gaze flicked over toward Magda, the assistant. She still stood a pace or two behind Trinity, tablet clutched in her hands. Incongruously, Trinity noticed that the woman was wearing nail lacquer in a very unflattering shade of dark gray.

“Magda, I think it’s time,” he said, and she nodded, then tapped something on her screen.

It seemed as if the air circulator switched into overdrive, hissing through the vents. Gabriel calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear plastic mask, fitting it over his nose and mouth. Blake did the same, while Magda pulled a mask from her own pocket and slapped it on.

That all happened within the space of a second. Trinity realized exactly what was going on, and began to push herself away from the table. But then it was as if her muscles had rebelled and refused to do anything her brain was telling them to do. Her knees buckled. Next to her, Nalzhir slumped in his seat.

And then she was falling, hitting the carpeted floor as darkness began to swirl around her. The last thing she remembered was Gabriel staring down at her, a smile of triumph on his lips, as her world went black.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Zhandar was feeling — well, not relieved, precisely, but somewhat heartened that he had passed an entire afternoon working with Leizha, and nothing untoward had happened. She had just bade him good evening and gone out when his desk comm buzzed.

He glanced at the code, but it wasn’t one he recognized. No matter. He often received calls from people in other departments, or managers of buildings who wanted to retain his services. In the cities, all the buildings were owned by the government and leased out, since most people did not wish to spend their entire lives trapped in places of stone and steel, despite all the work that was done to make them as green and growing as possible. But those buildings must still be maintained and managed, and it was the people tasked with that responsibility who generally reached out to him.

“Zhandar,” he said.

The female voice that came over the comm was unfamiliar to him. “Zhandar, my name is Rinzha. You have never met me, but I was assigned to watch over Ms. Knox.”

“Is something wrong?” he asked, tone sharpening despite himself. Why was it that the very thought of Trinity could send his pulse racing, even when it arose from something as innocuous as a stranger uttering her name?

A pause. “Unfortunately, yes. I am with Agent Nalzhir at the Irizhan Medical Center. Could you please come over at your earliest convenience?”

That was the same medical center where Trinity had undergone the procedure to turn her back to her human self. “What has happened to Nalzhir? Is Trinity with him?”

“Zhandar, it would be best if you came here immediately. These are matters I don’t care to discuss over the comm. He is in room 480.”

“I’m coming over now.” Zhandar ended the call, his hand shaking slightly. What in the world was going on? It must be something terrible, if Nalzhir was being treated at the medical center. And Trinity? What could have happened to her?

Zhandar didn’t even bother to shut down his computer, but instead settled for closing the door to his office as he hurried out. Luckily, everyone else had gone home, so no one could see his haste or sense the worry that must be radiating from him.

The medical center was on the other side of town. Because he knew he would have broken all manner of laws against excessive speed if he drove, he left the car on auto and allowed it to guide him through the busy streets while he tried very hard not to stare at the chronometer on the dashboard and think of the minutes ticking past.

Eventually he did get there, practically bounding out of the car as soon as it had parked itself. He realized that running through the corridors of the medical center was probably not a very good idea, and so he forced himself to slow down, to walk at a brisk pace that would get him where he needed to go without attracting too much attention.

Room 480 was on the right-hand side at the end of the hallway. The door was closed, and Zhandar hesitated for a moment, then knocked.

“Come in.” Rinzha’s voice.

He pressed a gloved finger against the touch pad next to the door. It opened silently, and he took a step inward before he froze.

A hooded figure he guessed was Rinzha stood on the opposite side of the hospital bed, but that wasn’t what had stopped him. No, it was realizing that the man lying in the bed did not have his hood pulled up, exposing him to anyone who might enter.

“A thousand apologies,” Zhandar said at once, averting his eyes and preparing to exit the room at once.

“No,” returned the man on the bed. Nalzhir, although of course Zhandar had never seen his face before. “You may look on me in my shame. It is nothing more than I deserve.”

Something was very wrong here. Yes, it was an ancient custom to reveal oneself in this manner, if a person had done something truly beyond the pale. It was a way of saying that they did not deserve the honor and protection of the robes.

Unwillingly, Zhandar raised his head. A Zhore could not go pale, not the way a human could, but there was a taut look to Nalzhir’s mouth, and heavy shadows under his pale green eyes.

“What has happened?” Zhandar asked.

Rinzha reached for a tumbler of water on the side table next to the bed and gave it to Nalzhir. He drank, then nodded.

“I will wait outside while you speak,” she said.

She slipped past, dark and silent as a shadow. After she had shut the door behind her, Zhandar redirected his gaze to Nalzhir. It still felt wrong to look on him thus, but the other man had requested it.

“I failed her,” Nalzhir said, and cold began to trickle its way down Zhandar’s spine, moving out toward his limbs. It did not require a great leap of the imagination to deduce who the “her” Nalzhir was speaking of might be.

“What has happened to Trinity?” he demanded.

“She is gone. That man — that Gaian, Gabriel Brant — has taken her.”

At the mention of Brant’s name, the cold trickle became an icy flood, washing over Zhandar. He clenched his hands into fists, willing himself to remain calm. “How could he have taken her? Did he have the brazen nerve to come down here to Zhoraan to steal her?”

Nalzhir shook his head. His heavy black hair had been pulled back with a simple elastic band, rather than the elaborate metal holders the men of their people preferred. “No. We were on Kelzhar, for a meeting he had requested.”

“Wait,” Zhandar cut in, and held up a hand. “What meeting? What are you talking about?”

“Our diplomatic services bureau was contacted by this Mr. Brant. We all know that he is not an ambassador, but that was how he was presenting himself — with the backing of his government, which did not leave us many choices. They were accusing us of holding Ms. Knox against her will, and he demanded to see her in person. So I went with her to the second moon, to have this meeting and let the Consortium government know that she was here on Zhoraan voluntarily.”

“And you allowed yourself to be gulled by such a ruse?” Zhandar asked, not bothering to keep the incredulity out of his tone. “Do you have any idea what Gabriel Brant is capable of?”

“A good deal, thanks to the information Ms. Knox has passed along. We knew it was a risk. But it also offered the opportunity to defuse the tensions, so to speak, and to let Brant and his superiors know that we would not meekly hand her over to them.” Nalzhir let out a weary sigh then, and shook his head. “An outright refusal would have made matters so very much worse. It could have led to an escalation. I had guards with me, and we were technically on Zhore territory.”

“All of which obviously mattered very little, since Brant got the better of you and stole Trinity away despite your precautions.”

Nalzhir closed his eyes. To hide from what, Zhandar couldn’t know. It wasn’t as if the other man could see his expression. But perhaps the agent could feel the anger radiating from him. Zhandar wasn’t trying very hard to block it. Not now, when this man had allowed Trinity to be taken by that beast Gabriel Brant.

“I am well aware of my failings, Zhandar,” Nalzhir said at last. “And believe me, if I could somehow go back and change things, give up my life for hers, I gladly would. But that absolution is not allowed me.”

“So what happened?”

“Some kind of gas in the ventilation system. It caused all of us to fall unconscious. Brant and his cohorts were prepared, of course, and put on masks. But it happened so quickly that there was nothing any of us could have done.” He pushed himself up on the pillows, then coughed, an ugly rasping sound. “Apparently, the compound they used has some unpleasant after-effects, which is why I am here.”

Once again a ripple of fear moved through Zhandar’s veins. “He would use something so dangerous on a pregnant woman? I thought the child was what he truly wanted.”

“No, from what the doctors have been able to ascertain, it affects Zhore more adversely than it does humans. Yes, Trinity must have been rendered unconscious like the rest of us, but she should not be experiencing any long-term effects from the gas.”

That response should have made Zhandar feel a bit more relieved, but he wasn’t. Not really. Because even if what had been done to her wouldn’t send her to the hospital, she was still in Gabriel Brant’s hands. From what Trinity had told him, Brant had no scruples. He would do whatever he wished to achieve his ends.

They had to get Trinity away from him.

“Where did he take her?” Zhandar demanded.

Nalzhir’s gaze shifted to the window, where the sun had just dipped behind the building next to them. “I don’t know, Zhandar. No one knows.”

Her head was splitting open. Trinity put her hand to her forehead, then realized it hadn’t literally broken apart…it just felt that way. With a groan, she opened her eyes, then immediately wished she hadn’t.

Gabriel Brant was standing at the foot of her bed, watching her with greedy eyes. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Jesus Christ, Gabriel.” She pushed herself upright, noting at the same time that she still wore the close-fitting tunic and pants she’d had on at their supposed “meeting.” Well, thank God for that. At least he hadn’t undressed her and put her in a hospital gown while she was passed out. “Where am I?”

“Back at the base. The anesthetic gas only would have knocked you out for a half-hour or thereabouts, so we gave you a dose of a little something extra to keep you asleep until we got you here.”

Almost by instinct, her hand went to her stomach. If he’d given her something that would hurt Zhandar’s baby —

His eyes seemed to follow her movement. “Oh, no worries, Trinity. It wasn’t anything that could do any permanent damage. We wouldn’t take that risk with our precious cargo.”

She wanted to tell him the child wasn’t “his” cargo, but realized she wasn’t in any position to make that kind of argument. Instead, she set her jaw and looked away from him. This room had a window, and so she could see that same glowing nebula from a slightly different perspective. It was beautiful, but it did nothing to calm her soul.

Gabriel came around the side of the bed and stared down at her, gaze traveling from her still-flat stomach to her face. “I suppose congratulations are in order. But then, you did apply yourself to your assignment with a good deal of enthusiasm. Well done.”

It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, to keep looking up at him when all she wanted to do was tear her gaze away. Something in the way he gazed at her made her stomach begin to churn. She was back to her normal self now, and she couldn’t forget the threat he’d made.

After this is all over…once we’ve returned you to your natural appearance…then I think I will want you very much.

Would he take that risk, though, while she was carrying Zhandar’s child? Oh, sure, pregnant women had sex every day. Normally, it was not a big deal. But when the child involved was the half-Zhore hybrid Gabriel and his superiors wanted so badly…well, she couldn’t even begin to guess. She’d thought she had most people figured out, after spending so many years reading their thoughts, but the way Gabriel’s mind worked was something that continued to elude her.

Maybe that was for the best. She didn’t know what she might think of her own mind and soul, if she could insert herself into his thought processes that easily.

Somehow she managed to force a smile onto her lips, even though her head was aching so badly she might have kissed Blake Chu if it meant he would give her a painkiller. “Well, Gabriel,” she said, “you probably got the gist of it from the transmissions my implant sent out. But I have to admit that my Zhore was a spectacular lay.”

His expression darkened. “Don’t toy with me, Trinity.”

“I’m not. I’m just telling you the truth.”

And then she held her breath, because he bent down toward her. Oh, God — what would she do if he tried to kiss her? The mere thought of his lips on hers, after she’d known what it was like to be kissed by someone who truly loved her and wanted her, was enough to make her want to gag. But if she resisted…that could be worse. Much worse.

His fingers closed around her hair where it fell loose over her shoulder, and he yanked her toward him. Combined with the headache, the sensation was excruciating, and she let out a shocked gasp, clamping down on her teeth to prevent a whimper from escaping her lips.

Face inches away from hers, he said, “I’ll take you when I want you. And there’s nothing you can do about that, Trinity. Nothing.”

Zhandar couldn’t decide which would be worse — staying home from work and brooding over what might be happening to Trinity at that very moment, or going in to his office and having to pretend that nothing was wrong. In the end, he’d decided to go to work, mainly because concentrating on his day-to-day tasks had offered him some solace in the past, and he thought if he sat home alone with nothing to do, he might literally go mad. He had some time before the weariness and the heartache literally consumed him…days, perhaps a week, if he was lucky…but if Trinity was not returned to him before then, he would slip into darkness.