JakesPrisoner (8 page)

A roar of laughter wasn’t the response she was expecting.
Strom had a nice smile. She guessed that he didn’t use it very often. “Jake was
right about you, Ms. Jasson. You are like no one I’ve ever met. Now let’s go
and deal with Captain Zander.”

The Cyraelian ship opened a com link precisely on time. “I’m
afraid I have to decline your offer, Captain. Ms. Jasson will remain with us.”

Alaysha didn’t look surprised. “Very well, but I believe
it’s a decision that you will come to regret.”

The com link was severed and the view-screen went dark. “We
have incoming, Sir. Two missiles are heading our way.”

“Evasive maneuvers.”

“It’s too late for that, Sir, they’re coming in fast.”

“Engage shields, brace for impact.”

The expected impact never came. “Damage report?”

“Sensors indicate minimal damage, Sir. Whatever it was, it
impacted with the waste disposal facility.”

The bridge erupted with laughter and there was some
good-natured bantering about women not being able to shoot straight. Tanith’s
heart dropped. Alaysha was a better markswoman than Raoul and he rarely missed.
It had to be deliberate. “Captain, I need to see a plan of your waste systems.”

“What’s wrong, Ms. Jasson? Captain Zander missed.”

“Show me the damn systems.”

The laughter stopped. The bridge fell silent and everyone
stared at her. Tanith took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Cyraelian
viral weapons are designed to attack by entering low-security systems like
waste and using them to infect the rest of the ship. Show me one area on this
vessel that isn’t connected to the waste systems.”

* * * * *

Jake opened the door to his cabin. The lights had been
dimmed and Tanith was asleep on the couch. Engineering had been a nightmare and
he knew that she had been on her feet for hours. The virus had spread like
wildfire, and now the ship’s sensors and shields were offline. Between them,
she and Pete had managed to contain it for now. But the virus was aggressive
and intelligent and Tanith said that it would keep trying until it found a way
to enter the rest of the systems on the ship, or they found a way to destroy
it.

He couldn’t believe it when she had taken charge on the
bridge like that. Even Pete was impressed and he was usually the techie who
knew everything. They would need her again in a few hours and she couldn’t
sleep here. Jake massaged her shoulders gently and Tanith opened her eyes. “You
had me worried earlier. I thought you might offer to go with Captain Zander.”

“I did,” she admitted sleepily. “Strom turned me down.”

He had almost gone crazy when she stayed behind with Strom
in the briefing room. He thought he was going to lose her again. Despite what
they shared the night before, he knew that Tanith was still wary of him. Last
night he had never felt so out of control. He knew that his deceit still hurt
her and he still didn’t know how to make things right between them. “Tanith,
about last night…”

“I’m tired, Jake. Pete wants me back in engineering in four
hours.”

Jake reached down and lifted her up in his arms. “Okay.
Let’s get you to bed, but tomorrow we are going to talk.”

She barely stayed awake long enough for him to undress her.
He curled around her sleeping body, holding her close, watching the soft rise
and fall of her breast. They would get through this, somehow. Tanith was back
in his bed and he never wanted to lose her again.

* * * * *

Jake’s eyes flicked open. He could hear voices outside.
Something was wrong. His hand stretched out, touching the empty bed beside him.
It was still warm. Pulling his weapon from the drawer beside the bed, he crept
to the door. Tanith lay unconscious on the couch and two of Captain Zander’s
crew stood over her. That damn gift. With all the excitement, they had
forgotten to check the contents of the box.

The blonde was fixing something to Tanith’s clothing. “You
go first. I’ll follow with the girl.”

The redhead switched on the portable transport unit, pressed
her com badge and disappeared. PTUs only worked over short distances. Zander’s
ship must be right on top of them, but with the ship’s sensors offline, they
couldn’t see it. The blonde was surprised to see him, but he couldn’t get a
shot at her without hitting Tanith. He could see the com badge pinned on her
robe. Tanith’s eyes flickered open. There was no way that they were taking her
away from him. Jake lunged forward. His fingers fastened around the badge and
he pulled it free. Then the floor disappeared.

Raoul’s neck chain sat in the middle of the dining table in
Strom’s quarters. “So this is it?” Strom picked it up and examined the tiny
half-moon pendant. “They came on board my ship and kidnapped my first officer
for a trinket?”

Pete stretched out his hand and took the chain from him.
“Not just any trinket. See the symbols on the back. This is a harlequin key.”

“Explain.”

“This is one half of a key. One piece is enough to get
information about the account. But you need both halves to make a withdrawal.”

Strom sat bolt upright. “You’re talking about Rana? This is
a Ranan account key?”

“Yep, Tanith was wearing it when she came looking for me. It
belonged to Raoul. My guess is that he was Atam’s moneyman.”

Strom cleared his throat. “And have you made an account inquiry?”

Pete could hardly contain his smile. “The magic number is
forty-two. That’s forty-two million credits and change.”

Tanith tugged the pendant from his hand. Why were they
talking about Atam’s filthy blood money? Alaysha had Jake and he was the only
thing that mattered now. She couldn’t believe that such a little thing could
cause so much trouble. “Give it to her. I don’t care about the money. I just
want him back.”

“Are you sure, sweetheart? Forty-two million credits will
buy you a lot of boyfriends. Hell, I’d even date you myself.”

Tanith glared at the techie.
As if.

“Pete, none of the crew must know about this. I want all
traces of your communications with Rana wiped from the ship’s records.”

“Do you want me to contact Captain Zander?”

“No. Let her wait. Open a secure com link to Fleet Command.
They need to know what’s going on here. In the meantime, Ms. Jasson is not to
be left alone.”

Tanith rolled over and looked at the clock. She would have
been more comfortable in the brig. Pete’s couch was lumpy and his cabin was an
untidy mess. Despite the wall between them, she could hear him snoring. The
noise he made was louder than a hyper-drive. Three hours had passed and there
was still no response from Fleet Command. She felt as if someone had carved her
heart out. She replayed the moments before Jake vanished over and over again in
her mind and his agonized expression when he knew that he was losing her. There
was no point in lying here. She wasn’t going to sleep anyway.

“Chief Engineer Olafson and Ms. Jasson, to the captain’s
quarters.” The ship’s com repeated the order twice and an unshaven Pete
appeared a few minutes later. If he was surprised to find her awake and
dressed, he didn’t say, and for once he didn’t get riled up when he found her
using his com.

Strom didn’t look as though he’d had much sleep either. His
dark eyes sported a matching pair of dark circles underneath. She could almost
feel the bad news coming.

“I’ve just received new orders. I’m sorry, Ms Jasson, Fleet
Command says that I cannot negotiate with the terrorists and we can’t give them
that key.”

Her heart dropped like a stone. Without the key, there was
no reason for Alaysha to keep him alive. “What about Jake?”

Pete clapped her lightly on the back. “Look on the bright
side. You have no idea how much havoc Jake can create on a ship full of women.”

Trust the techie to make her feel worse. “Thanks, Pete, you
really know how to cheer a girl up.”

“Ms. Jasson, Jake has been in dangerous situations before.
He can take care of himself. Now I want you both back in engineering as soon as
possible. I need that virus contained and all systems back online before they
contact us.”

The engineering and tech staff were already on duty and they
were all as bleary eyed as her. As she was the only one with experience of
Cyraelian com viruses, everyone looked to her for their orders. Pete hovered at
her shoulder for a while, terrified that she would damage his precious ship,
before leaving her to it.

The laborious process of eliminating the virus began. Hunt,
contain and destroy over and over again. Three hours later, they had cracked
it. Systems were almost back to normal and the virus was being dissected by two
of Pete’s techies in a secure lab. At least it had taken her mind off Jake for
a while.

By the time she was summoned to Strom’s quarters, she was
sick with nerves. He was maddeningly calm. “Ms. Jasson, have you ever played
poker?”

Tanith nodded. Jake had taught her, and much to his
annoyance, she had proven to be a better player than him.

“Fleet Command is still adamant that I may not negotiate
with the terrorists. We need to buy Jake some time. Can you convince Captain
Zander that you want to make a deal with her?”

“No problem.” She would be more than happy to hurt Alaysha.

“Pete, you can patch her through now.”

Alaysha got straight to the point. “Captain Hallstrom, you
have something I want and I have one of your officers. I propose a trade.”

Strom sat back in his chair, the picture of nonchalance.
“Jake is a fine first officer but he’s not worth anything like forty million
credits.”

If Alaysha was surprised by his response she didn’t show it.
“Tanith might have a different view. Why don’t we ask her?”

Tanith unclenched her fist. When this was over, she was
going to punch that smug expression off Alaysha’s face. Instead, she stepped
behind Strom’s chair and slid her arms around his neck.

“You did me a big favor, Alaysha. Losing Jake made me
realize just how vulnerable a female on her own could be, especially with all
those lovely credits waiting for her. Strom has been kind enough to offer me
his protection.” She nipped the edge of his jaw playfully. “Haven’t you,
sweetie?”

Tanith could feel Strom’s muscles tense under her touch. She
was willing to bet quite a lot of credits that no one had ever called him
Sweetie before. “Anyway, I’ve been thinking about numbers. Twenty million
sounds about right.”

“Half?” Alaysha stammered, rocking back in her chair.

Tanith’s heart pounded. What if this didn’t work? Strom
squeezed her hand encouragingly. “Half,” Tanith repeated. “And you can throw in
the human as a gesture of goodwill. I’ll see you at Rana in seven days.”

* * * * *

Jake explored his new quarters. He had been expecting to be
put in the brig, instead they had given him a spacious cabin. He soon realized
why. All of the systems had been reconfigured to respond to women. That ruled
out any possibility of escape, unless he could persuade one of the crew to help
him. Before he met Tanith, being trapped on a ship full of hot women would have
been his wildest fantasy come true, but so far he had zero physical reaction to
any of them. He felt nothing, not a single twinge of interest, which could only
mean one thing. He was mated to Tanith.

She hadn’t been sure if it was possible to have that kind of
a link with another species. He should have realized it earlier. The frantic
searching for her when he found that she wasn’t in the brig. The savage rage he
had experienced when he found her in Strom’s cabin and their torrid reunion.
The brief flash of joy was short-lived. He had no idea when he would see Tanith
again and he missed her like hell.

The cabin door opened and Alaysha appeared with her
lieutenant. From her stormy expression, she wasn’t here to welcome him on
board.

“First Officer Svenson, you may be our guest for a while.
I’m afraid your captain wouldn’t hand over the key.”

“What key?”

“Come now, you don’t expect me to believe that Tanith was
holding the key to forty million credits and she didn’t bother to tell you.
Perhaps she isn’t as stupid as I thought.”

Woman or not, Jake barely restrained himself from hitting
her. Tanith wouldn’t lie to him about something like that. She couldn’t.
Alaysha reached inside her uniform and pulled out a pendant. “Recognize this?”

Jake’s eyes fixed on the necklace. Tanith had one just like
it. She was wearing it when they took her from her apartment.

“I can see that you do, Lieutenant.”

Jake gave her his most beguiling smile. “Call me Jake.”

“Save the charm, Lieutenant Svenson, you’ve already caused
me enough trouble.”

Jake kept his smile in place until they were gone and then
he sat down on the bed. What the hell was going on?

He kept a low profile over the next few days. Well, as low
as a lone male on a ship full of women could. Luckily enough, Alaysha seemed to
be busy and he spent his time flirting with the crew, trying to collect as much
information as he could. The ship’s engines were running at full speed day and
night, which wasn’t a good omen. Alaysha’s crew was on double shifts, but none
of them seemed to mind. She had promised them prize money at the end of the
voyage and the mess hall was full of gossip about what they would do with it.

It was purely by chance that he overheard them talking over
dinner about their final destination. Then everything fell into place. Rana—Atam’s
gang must have amassed millions of credits over the years. Alaysha’s crew was
determined to collect it and he had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t for
Atam Sorza.

Jake rolled out of bed when the first missile struck the
ship and he pulled on his flight suit quickly. A container of water slid along
the table and crashed onto the floor. The ship was obviously engaging in
evasive maneuvers. He raced out of his cabin, heading for the bridge. Outside,
two women were carrying an unconscious body in the direction of sickbay.

Alaysha was calm, but some of the younger crew members on
the bridge were nervous. The copilot had a nasty gash over one eye and the
pilot’s seat was empty. Strom wouldn’t attack unless he was provoked, so their
attacker had to be someone else. He was damned if he was going to sit here and
watch.

“Lieutenant Svenson on the bridge, Ma’am, could you use
another pilot?”

Alaysha only hesitated for an instant. “Take a seat,
Lieutenant. We’ve had some unexpected company.”

“Shields are back online, Captain.”

“Keep them that way. I want damage reports.”

“Minor damage to ship’s engines but nothing that won’t keep
‘til later. Reports are coming in of injuries on decks seven and eight. No
casualties.”

“Weapons status?”

“Primed and ready.”

“Captain, we’ve got incoming.”

“Evasive maneuvers, Lieutenant Svenson. Let’s see how good
you are.”

Jake banked hard to port, pulling them from the path of the
missiles. Pete had been right about the ship. She handled like a dream. He
definitely wanted one of these. Alaysha gave orders to fire weapons and the
enemy ship was surprised to find that the hunter had suddenly become prey.
Their pilot managed to avoid one missile, they weren’t so lucky with the
second. An explosion flared on the starboard side of the vessel.

“Their shields are down, Ma’am.”

“Good. Target their engines.”

A second volley of missiles sped toward the ship, impacting
with their port engines. Jake grinned. “Nice shooting.”

“Open an AV channel. Let’s see what they’ve got to say.”

Under the amber glare of emergency lighting, the bridge of
the mercenaries’ ship was in turmoil. Warning lights flashed on the first
officer’s console and the captain was in the middle of a heated discussion with
a familiar figure. “I expected you back on Cyraelia days ago, Alaysha. Where is
the girl?”

Jake had to admire Alaysha’s nerve. She lounged back in her
chair as if she hadn’t a care in the world. “Look around you, Atam. You don’t
get to ask the questions anymore.”

“Do you really think that you can steal from me, Alaysha?
I’ll hunt you down like a dog. There isn’t a planet you can hide on that I
won’t—”

“Ma’am, they’re powering up weapons again.”

Alaysha severed the com link. “Prepare to return fire.”

* * * * *

Tanith rubbed her eyes. She had been on the com for hours,
trying to find out whatever she could about Rana. It was jokingly called the
safest bank in the universe and, up to now, it had lived up to its reputation.
What could be safer than a bank without money? More than ninety-eight percent
of its immense deposits remained off-world. Rana was a giant computer moving
vast sums of credits around the galaxy, haggling for the best rates and moving
on when it got a better deal. It had the highest level of encryption of any
private consortium and the security codes changed faster than the best
code-breakers could crack them.

She had to accept it, Ranan security couldn’t be breached.
If she handed over that key, there was nothing to stop Alaysha transferring the
credits anywhere in the galaxy. Strom couldn’t let that happen. Not even for
Jake. There had to be another way.

“Hey, Tanith, you’ve been at that thing for hours. Want to
eat?”

It was unusual for Pete to worry about her. Strom must have
sent him. He was still doing his best to avoid her, although the
Dermatrax
was calm and she presented no danger to him. But having that particular
conversation with Strom would have to wait until this was over.

The ship’s mess was almost empty. Pete selected something
called a chili and put it in the food warmer. The purple-tinged mush looked
truly revolting. “How can you eat that stuff?”

“What are you calling stuff? Chili is great. My grandma
could cook one who would make your eyes water. It’s better than that green gunk
you drink in the mornings.”

Tanith tried not to smile. Pete’s abhorrence for anything
healthy was legendary.

“How can you even look at green in the mornings? Give me
syntho-coffee and lots of it. Wait ‘til we get back to Earth and you can taste
the real thing.”

The buzzer sounded on the food warmer and Pete went to fetch
it. He growled when he looked at the now-cremated chili. “The timer is broken.
I’ll have to log that for tomorrow’s list.”