JakesPrisoner (10 page)

“Sweetie” flashed her a menacing glance before lifting her
hand and bringing it to his lips for a brief kiss. This wasn’t part of the plan
and Tanith knew that she was going to pay for that one later. She was afraid to
look at Jake. He hadn’t stopped staring at her since she entered the room and
she could almost feel his anger.

Jake had caught the warning glance when they arrived. He
knew Strom well enough to know that something big was happening, but that
didn’t stop the jealous fury that was racing through his veins. The smear of
Tanith’s lipstick on Strom’s jaw was like a red flag. Strom might be his best
friend but if he touched her again, he was going to have to kill him.

In the skintight leather flight suit, Tanith looked hotter
than hell. Her scent was driving him out of his mind and he felt a raging need
to drag her into a dark place and peel it off her. He had been away from her
for seven torturous nights and his nerves were on edge, but she had barely
glanced at him, as if she had forgotten all about him. Tanith was all over
Strom, smiling at him and touching him as if she cared about him. She had a lot
of explaining to do when he got her alone. No wonder Cyraelian men locked their
women up. He had never known anyone who could drive him so crazy.

Jake watched anxiously as another aide arrived with the
paperwork. What the hell was going on? Two new signatures were requested to
replace the old ones on the digi-file and a scan of their retinas and index
fingers were taken to verify their identities. Tanith and Alaysha signed the
last document, agreeing that the proceeds of the account would pass to the
survivor if one of them died. With a final signature from the Ranan aide, the account
was deemed to be transferred.

The door opened and the dark suited banker re-appeared,
carrying a small attaché case and a pair of titanium force cuffs. Strom raised
an eyebrow, but made no objection when the cuff was fastened to his wrist and
the key was handed to Tanith. She was stealing Sorza’s money and Strom was
helping her. Was Strom out of his mind? What had Tanith been doing to him for
the past week?

The moment Tanith had been dreading finally arrived and she
handed over the harlequin key. The two halves were placed in a sleek handheld
device, and there was a brief delay while the key was scanned. The device
beeped its approval. The virus hadn’t been detected. Tanith could feel her
heart thudding. The countdown had begun. They had to get out of here in the
next few minutes before the virus went live.

“Your withdrawal has been concluded, Ms. Jasson. Would you
care to make another transaction at this time?”

Tanith shook her head.

Alaysha could barely contain her impatience. “I have quite a
number of transactions to make, if you don’t mind.”

The aide inclined his head politely. He was obviously used
to less than mannerly clients. “Good day, Ms. Jasson, your key will be held
here until your return.”

Tanith’s heels clicked noisily on the marble floor as they
walked quickly to the exit. Jake followed close behind them. “Would anyone like
to tell me what’s going on?”

“Not now, Jake. We need to get out of here as soon as
possible. I estimate that we have less than five minutes before all hell breaks
loose.”

Back at the shuttle, Jake strapped himself into the pilot’s
seat and switched on the engine. They didn’t have time for a preflight check.
The shuttlecraft moved smoothly forward and headed toward the open sky.

“Time?” Strom asked anxiously.

“Less than one minute,” Tanith replied.

“Jake, get us out of here.”

The warning light came on when they reached the upper
atmosphere. Jake flipped a switch, trying to reset the control. “We have a red
on life support.”

Seconds later the control panel was lit up like a comet
tail. The engines were failing, they were losing cabin pressure. A complete
systems failure in a shuttlecraft was almost impossible. It had to be sabotage.
Alaysha’s pilot should never have been left alone. “We have to turn back.”

Strom eased into the copilot’s chair. “Negative. Keep going,
Jake. I’ll send a mayday to Pete and get him to pick us up. How long have we
got?”

The cabin lights flickered ominously as they reached the
inky darkness of space. Jake eyed the com display. This was bad. “If you like
breathing, you’ve got two minutes.”

“Activate the escape pods.”

Jake switched on the emergency lights and there was a low
hum as the pods slid open in the rear of the craft. “We’ve lost forward
propulsion.”

As the craft began to spin, Tanith grabbed the bulkhead for
support. The ship was out of control. Strom moved unsteadily toward the rear of
the ship. “Jake, Tanith, get back here, now.”

Alaysha’s pilot had been busy when they were inside the
bank. Dark scorch marks of laser gun fire crisscrossed the life support units
of the pods. Only two were functional.

One of them wasn’t going to make it.

The shuttle lurched again and began a slow spin. They were
slipping back toward Rana. Without the ability to make a controlled reentry,
they would burn up in its atmosphere. Tanith eyed the cramped interior of the
escape pods. There was just enough room for someone like Strom, even the
attaché case was going to be a problem. She would have to find a way of sharing
with Jake. Strom punched the side of the interior of one of the pods, ripping
at the covering with his bare hands. If Strom could take out some of the
insulation, there might be enough room for two.

“Try this.” Tanith reached into her hair and handed over the
stiletto knife. Her chest hurt and her breathing was becoming shallow. It was
getting harder to pull enough oxygen into her lungs. Strom grunted as he gouged
at the insulation with the knife, until a small channel was carved out of one
side. It would have to do.

“Get in, both of you. I’ll take the other one.”

Tanith climbed into the pod and Jake followed, curling up to
her back. Strom pressed the lid down hard and the seal engaged. When the dim
interior lighting came on, Jake reached out and switched it off. “These things
aren’t designed for two. We need to save as much energy as we can.”

She whispered a silent prayer as he watched the automated
display countdown to launch.
Three, two, one
…
there was a sudden
lurch as both pods were jettisoned.

They had made it off the shuttle. It was up to Pete now. She
could feel Jake’s lean body curved around hers. Without the insulation, it was
going to get cold in here, unless they could generate enough body heat to warm
the interior. With all the excitement, she had almost forgotten how much she
had missed him.

His mouth nuzzled the back of her neck, inhaling her scent.
“Hey, baby, you have no idea how good it feels to hold you.”

She wriggled in the tight space, trying to get closer to
him, and her hand reached for his. She brought his fingers to her lips and
kissed them lovingly. “I missed you too, Human. We both did.”

Jake dropped a light kiss onto the
Dermatrax
and
Tanith could feel it ripple with pleasure. “You look so hot in that suit.
Promise me that you’ll never wear it again.”

Tanith giggled. “Never?”

“Well, maybe not never, but not in public for a while. I
wouldn’t have time to admire it. I’d have to spend too much time beating up all
the guys who were staring at you.”

Jake nuzzled her neck again. “Speaking of guys, is there
anything you want to tell me?”

His voice was teasing, but there was an underlying hint of
jealousy that excited her. Tanith was silent for a few moments, pretending to
consider her reply.

“Tanith?” Jake’s hand slid between them, caressing the
shimmering display on her spine and she squirmed.

“I kissed Strom, but I don’t think he liked it much. Oh and
I kissed Pete too, but it was just a quick one.”

Jake gave a low growl, sending a delicious shiver down her
spine. His hand stopped caressing her for a moment. “I am never letting you out
of my sight again.”

“I think I’d like that, I’d like that very much.”

Tanith snuggled into his arms. “Lieutenant Svenson, it just
occurs to me that this is a very one-sided mission debriefing. You haven’t said
a word about your time away.”

“Nothing to tell, really.”

“Really?” Tanith’s tone was extremely doubtful.

“What can I say? Zander’s crew went crazy for me. They
didn’t leave me alone for a minute. I’ll need a week to recuperate.”

Tanith elbowed him sharply in the ribs. If her human was
with one of those women, she would gouge his heart out. “Jake Svenson, if you
touched one of them, I’ll…”

She felt a low rumble of laughter rise in his chest. The
human was teasing her.

Jake cupped her hands under his. Tanith was getting cold. He
glanced at the display in the lid of the pod. The temperature had dropped three
degrees in the last ten minutes. That couldn’t be right, environmental controls
should have kicked in by now. Jake turned on the light and tapped impatiently
at display. As he watched, the temperature dropped another half a degree. The
life support unit must be damaged. His mind raced, calculating the rate of heat
loss. They didn’t have long, less than twenty minutes. If Pete didn’t get here
soon, they weren’t going to make it.

With his tech enhancements, he could put himself into
stasis. He could survive extremely low temperatures, but then Tanith would be
left alone and he couldn’t do that to her. He would stay with her. At least
they would be together when the end came. He couldn’t reach her mouth, so he
contented himself with a slow kiss against the back of her neck. The
Dermatrax
rippled. Even in the dim light of the pod, the shimmering display was
beautiful. He had missed them both. “I love you, Tanith.”

She was the only woman he had ever said those words to. He
hadn’t meant to tell her like this. He had always planned to say it with
flowers and soft music and putting his ring on her finger. Not floating in an
icy tin can in space, waiting to be rescued. Where the hell was Pete? What
could be taking him so long?

“I love you too, Human.”

Her teeth chattered as she said the words, and Jake rubbed
his hands up and down her body, trying to warm her. The temperature gauge had
dropped another two degrees in the last few minutes. “I think I can get out of
this shirt.” Jake started to wriggle out of his clothing, but in the tight
confines of the pod, there wasn’t enough room to move.

“No, I’m fine, honestly. I’ll try to sleep for a little
while. That might take my mind off the cold.”

Jake rubbed her briskly again, up and down her thighs and
along her arms. Tanith turned her head and landed an awkward kiss on the edge
of his jaw. She was ice cold. Her lips were tinged with blue and the tip of her
nose was pink. With her slanted eyes, she looked like a pretty elf from his
grandmother’s old storybook. There was one tale about two kids lost in the
woods and something about breadcrumbs. Jake closed his eyes. He could almost
see the range in her kitchen. They burned real wood in the old farmhouse back
on Earth and the flames danced when Uncle Charlie opened the heavy iron door to
feed the fire. Jake stretched out his hands. He could feel the warmth. Any
minute now, his grandmother would put a big steaming mug of hot chocolate into
his hands and he wouldn’t be cold any longer.

The insistent buzzing of the alarm woke him. Jake switched
it off. He didn’t need an alarm to know that environmental controls had failed
completely. Tanith was sleeping. Jake pressed his lips against her skin. She
was icy cold. Jake touched the artery in her neck, but he couldn’t feel a
pulse. He put his hand in front of her mouth. Nothing, she wasn’t breathing.
Jake slapped her gently on the face. “Tanith, Tanith, wake up, baby. Stay with
me. Stay with me now.”

There was no response. His heart thumped. Tanith couldn’t be
gone. He grabbed her arms and shook her roughly. She was as limp as a rag doll.
He slapped her hard. “Don’t you do this, Tanith. Don’t you die on me.”

He was shouting now, screaming at her. The temperature in
the pod had dropped again and his lungs hurt. He wouldn’t last much longer.
Stay with her. Stay with her. It was no use. Nothing mattered anymore. Tanith
was dead. The tech enhancements in his brain kicked in, shutting down all
systems, sending him into oblivion.

* * * * *

His lungs hurt, everything hurt. Jake tried to open his
eyes, but the light was too bright and he closed them again. Someone tucked a
thermo blanket under his chin. He tried to shrug it away, but he couldn’t move
his arms yet. Something lurked at the edge of his consciousness, something
painful. He sat up suddenly, almost knocking over the medi-bot beside his bed.
“Tanith?”

“They’re working on her now, Jake.”

Pete’s face was ashen. Over his shoulder, Jake could vaguely
make out the head and shoulders of the big guy standing at the end of the next
bed. They were working on her. They wouldn’t be doing that if she was dead. “I
need to see her.”

“Not yet, Jake. They’re—”

“Please, Pete.” Jake swung his legs over the side of the bed
and lurched toward her. Pete caught him as his legs collapsed.
What the
hell?
The link between his brain and his legs wasn’t working and he was as
weak as a kitten. Strom was at his side in seconds. Between them, they half
carried him to the next bed. The doc was frowning, that wasn’t a good sign.

“The resilience of the humanoid species is nothing less than
breathtaking. But I don’t have enough knowledge about Cyraelian physiology to
know whether she has suffered any permanent damage.”

Jake reached out his hand to touch her. Tanith was warm
again. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks. He couldn’t remember
the last time he had cried. “I want to lie beside her.”

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but—”

“Let him,” Strom interrupted.

Pete helped him onto the bed and he curled up behind Tanith.
The nurse came again with the thermo blanket, and this time he didn’t fight
her.

* * * * *

Tanith watched as the medi-bot made its rounds again. If
that thing took her temperature one more time, it was going to end up in the
trash chute. Sickbay was hell. If it wasn’t a medi-bot sticking probes into
her, it was the doc fussing over her. He must be writing another medical paper.
She had to get out of here.

Tanith slid out of bed. Damn legs, they still weren’t back
to normal, but they carried her as far as the locker.
Choices,
choices—should she wear the regulation flight suit or the backless medi-gown?
She wriggled into the suit and logged herself out of sickbay.

The summons came over the ship’s com within ten minutes of
her discharge. Now she was heading to the captain’s ready room to face a big
pile of trouble. Pete had filled her in when he came to visit. He was always
good for the latest gossip. Like the small matter of an enraged Cyraelian
captain who had taken a few potshots at the ship while Pete was in command. The
Ranan bankers had been sending hourly communications for her
attention—apparently Strom was trying to field those. Fleet Command wanted to
discuss allegations of bribery of a starship captain, and that was before the
salacious reports about
Sweetie and the Terrorist
had hit the news coms.
That was probably Alaysha’s doing.

According to Pete, she looked hot in the red suit, but the
suit wasn’t going to help her now. Not one little bit. Yes, it was going to be
a very bad day and she hadn’t seen the human for nine hours and forty-seven
minutes. Pete said that he was moving quarters. She couldn’t figure that one
out.

The doors to the bridge opened. Several members of the crew
smiled openly at her when they saw her in uniform. Strom scowled his
displeasure at them and he gave a curt command that she follow him to his ready
room. “Please be seated, Ms. Jasson, there are a number of matters we need to
discuss.”

Oh dear, Strom had his poker face on and he was probably
furious behind it.

“Firstly, I must inform you that Lieutenant Svenson has
dropped the charges against you.”

“Thank you, Captain.”
Now that was a surprise
.
Tanith smiled at him, but he didn’t respond.

“Over the past few days, I have received one hundred and
forty-three communications from the authorities on Rana. I won’t trouble you
with most of them, but you might be interested in the last one.”

Strom passed a digi-reader along the table and Tanith
skimmed through the message. Refer to previous communications, your lack of
response, blah, blah, blah and then at the very end of the rambling missive was
a job offer. They were interested in acquiring someone with her unique skills,
and would she like to discuss an employment opportunity as a security
specialist? Tanith gave a whoop of delight but her joy was short-lived. Strom
was scowling again.

“Fleet Command has initiated an inquiry into recent events
on Rana. I told them you would be available to make a statement this morning.”

She might as well get this over with. It would be one less
thing hanging over her. “What would you like me to say?” she asked nervously.

“Just tell them the truth.”

Strom requested an AV channel, and within a short while they
were patched through to Fleet Command. “General Augustine Holmes, Ms. Jasson,”
the gray-haired man introduced himself.

The general got straight down to business. “There have been
a number of serious allegations made about Captain Hallstrom.”

Tanith’s heart flipped. This wasn’t about her. Strom was in
trouble. She listened as the allegations were outlined. The top brass at Fleet
Command were furious. The precious son of General Hal Hallstrom was caught up
in a sex and bribery scandal with the sister of a Cyraelian terrorist, and that
was just for starters. Strom was facing an ignominious end to an illustrious
career and it was all her fault. She couldn’t let this happen. “I’d be more
than happy to assist you, General.”

“The Ranan authorities have indicated that you made a
withdrawal of two million credits on your recent trip there, Ms. Jasson. An
intelligence report received by us alleges that this was used to bribe Captain
Hallstrom.”

Tanith sat up straight. “That’s not true, Sir.”

“But you did give Captain Hallstrom the money?”

“Yes, Sir, but I wouldn’t call it a bribe.”

“What would you call it, Ms. Jasson?” the general asked
impatiently.

“A gambling debt, Sir.”

Strom stifled a grin as the general rocked back in his
chair. Tanith ignored him and continued giving her evidence. “I lost the money
in a game of cards with the captain—”

“The money is being held by the ship’s purser, General,”
Strom interrupted. “I thought that I might use it as prize money for my crew,
Sir.”