My Cyborg Savior (Crimson Romance) (6 page)

She raked a hand through her hair. “Darion stepped out, and asked where he’d gotten the food. He wouldn’t tell her. And then she spotted me. She all but cowed before me, when I told her what the boy had done. She begged me not to turn him in. That powerful bitch you met today, who braves execution, and she begged me. I could tell she wasn’t used to doing that. I knew they’d all be killed if even one was found sneaking to the other side of the wall, and I couldn’t stand how sickly everyone appeared. So the next day I grabbed the codes my father has for the zone so I could land here. I brought food and water, some of my old clothes, anything I could think of that they might need, and I came back. And I haven’t stopped. It quickly went from bringing them food to stealing medical supplies when the Sodasus struck the first time. What was I supposed to do? What would anyone do?”

He stared at her for a full minute before he spoke. “Most people would have left them. Turned that boy in, and never looked back. They’re genetically engineered. They could be insane.”

“They’re just children whose parents made the mistake of having them altered for God knows what reason. What if they were ill or something? You don’t know. They’re innocent. And I’ve only seen two cases of insanity while I’ve been here, and you know what? I was saved by people like them. So don’t tell me — ”

He grabbed her upper arms and hauled her against him. His lips brushed hers in a gentle kiss. “I think you’re incredible. You could have made them suffer.”

He pressed his mouth against hers again, tangling his hands in her hair. His tongue took advantage of her open mouth, dueling with hers. She leaned into him, sliding her palms around his waist. He tasted like rich, creamy coffee, something he seemed to drink by the pot.

He backed up, clutching the curve of her ass. Her butt bumped the counter and he lifted her, placing her on it. He wedged his hips between her thighs and ran his hands under her blouse to skim her ribs, but he went no higher, teasing her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and tugged him closer. His erection ground against her clit and she moaned as she rubbed against him.

There was loud thump upstairs and she jumped and pulled away reluctantly, dazed. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

He grinned. “Yes, we should. Though here isn’t the best place. I’m sure they can hear us. The thump was probably a deliberate warning. You’ve done something extraordinary. Something I haven’t seen a lot of normal people do. They hate us. Think we’re dangerous. And most of these people aren’t nearly as dangerous as I am. They’re innocent, like you said.”

“So you admit you’re dangerous?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Yes, I can’t possibly deny that. It’s obvious. I have slaves’ barcodes and cybernetic enhancements out the ass. You would know I was lying if I said I wasn’t.”

She stared at him for a minute. He took in her beauty. He regretted what he’d have to do now. He might make an enemy of this woman for these people. It was a sobering thought. No, he would do his damnedest not to let that happen. He would have to explain to her. She would understand. He flinched internally. Then again, she might not.

She surprised him. She was a compassionate woman. It was amazing, since she was the spoiled, rich daughter of a senator who hated his kind.

She cleared her throat and hopped off the counter, avoiding his gaze. “We need to go. My father expects me at dinner and I still have to get something from Forbidden.”

“What?” He narrowed his eyes, immediately suspicious. He was supposed to keep her from partying there. It was also rumored that she did a lot of drugs, which she could easily get in that district.

She shrugged and walked away from him. “Stuff.”

He grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop. “I want you to tell me. You’re too good to be out there. It’s dangerous, and I refuse to go if you’re going to get high and drink.”

She glared at him and tugged her arm out of his grip. He let her go. He could have kept his hold on her. “It’s nothing like that. I haven’t been doing either of those things in a long while.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s food, alright? For these people. I have to get them food bricks. I can’t get them anything that goes bad. But I couldn’t possibly get enough bricks to feed everyone through usual channels. I don’t think we even have them at our house. They taste like shit. They’re strictly everything you need to live, with no regard for flavor. The rich don’t eat them. So I had to get them from someone else. I have to meet my contact in fifteen minutes, and he gets antsy if I’m late. He assumes I’m doing something illegal if I’m getting them from him. Luckily, he’s thought of everything but what I’m actually doing. I trust him enough to get me the food, but definitely not enough to tell him.”

He snorted. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best. If he’s getting it for you, he’s doing it illegally. Can’t trust criminals.”

She eyed him. “So I shouldn’t trust you?”

He shrugged. “I’m not your average criminal. I went to prison more for what I am, not what I did. It’s a little different.”

Except that she definitely shouldn’t trust him. He couldn’t hint at that, though. He had to make sure she felt she had nothing to fear.

He nodded. “Lead the way. I’ll trust your judgment this time.”

She smiled at him like it meant the world to her that he trusted her. Honestly, he didn’t. She didn’t know how dangerous the world was. She had no idea how much trouble she was in. Though he suspected her father kept her too sheltered. She led him around the house to the fence and stood before a small hole. She bit her lip and glanced at him.

“I don’t know if you’ll fit. I barely do, and I’m quite a bit smaller than you. The fence is electrified so you can’t climb it and there are spikes on the top. If you would stay here, I’ll be — ”

“No. End of discussion. Not happening. We’ll find a way.” He glanced around and spotted what he was searching for. The small grid that maintained this part of the fence. He walked over to it and accessed the computer that maintained it with his mind.
Oh, that was too easy
. He could only take it out for five minutes tops but he could almost jump this fence, so he wouldn’t be pressed for time.

“Don’t go under the fence until I’m over it.”

“But how — ”

He shrugged off his jacket and threw it over the spikes at the top of the fence as he shut down the power. The slight humming stopped abruptly. He jumped, landing under the spikes, careful not to land on them.

He crawled over the barbs. If he slipped, he’d kill himself. Luckily, he was barely human anymore. He was unlikely to lose his footing. The sharp tips pricked his hands, and blood spread across his jacket. He shut down the pain receptors in his brain as he crossed. Unfortunately, it was only a temporary reprieve. Eventually he wouldn’t be able to shut out the injury. Luckily, they should be healed by then. He landed on his feet on the other side, pulling his jacket with him.

“Hurry and crawl under there. The electricity is off, but it won’t be for long. I’d rather you get over here before its back on. No matter how many times you’ve made it through without touching the barrier.” He shuddered at the thought. If she touched that fence, it would probably kill her. He reset the strength of the shock while he had control of the system. The reduced level would knock a person out now, but not kill them. It would only last until they updated things. He covered his tracks to make it appear like some sort of power failure had reset it. With the rough weather Larus was having this winter, they wouldn’t double check it.

Jamila pushed her bag through the hole before her arms and head appeared under the barricade. A ringing in his ears told him the fence’s grid was rebooting. He grabbed her arms and tugged her out.

She stumbled into him with a gasp. “You know, if the electricity came back on, I would have had a better shot climbing out myself and not getting shocked then to have you pull me out.”

He rolled his eyes. “No, you wouldn’t have. Did you touch it at all when I pulled you out?”

She glanced at the ground, and her jaw clenched. “No.”

“That’s right. Now let’s get out of here before someone spots us. By the way, how are we going to get back to the ship? I have no desire to climb that again.”

“Why, it seemed to go smoothly?”

“This security system learns. Next time I hack it, we’ll have less time to get over. Besides, scaling that thing isn’t without its price.”

“What do you mean?”

They came to the mouth of the alley and he looked both ways, hoping no patrollers were roaming around. He flashed his palm at her absentmindedly as he observed the area for threats. There was a throng of people waiting outside the club that they could disappear into.

“Oh, Galen. Why didn’t you say something?”

He grunted. “Doesn’t matter. Can’t feel it. I managed to get over the wall anyway.”

He lowered his hand and she snatched it. “Wait. Let me bandage this, give me your other hand.”

She pulled him around and grasped his other wrist to examine him. The worry on her face surprised him.

“Don’t worry about it. If you bandage it, they’ll seem suspicious this close to the border. Besides, it’s not like the barbs went through my hand. I heal fast enough. The bleeding is already slowing.”

“At least let me wipe off the blood.”

He sighed. “In a second. We need to get farther away from this alley.”

He grabbed her arm and hauled her out of it and down the street between the groups of people waiting to get inside the bar. He released her wrist, wiped his hands on his jacket, and tossed it in a garbage incinerator.

“Where to now, Jamila?”

She nodded and grasped his hand, entwining her fingers gently with his.

He leaned down the whisper in her ear. “You never answered me about getting back. Are you going to cross that wall again?”

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a remote, and hit a blue button on it. “Nope. Since I reprogramed my ship, it’s actually gotten much easier to get out of the zone than to get into it on foot. Unmanned vessels sometimes go to and from Haven delivering the scant amount of supplies they’re allowed. The government won’t look twice when mine joins us in the Forbidden district. It’s also not safe to be in the zone after dark.”

“It’s not safe to be
here
after dark. In fact, it’s probably more dangerous.”

“Either way, I’ve started picking up next week’s food supply after I drop off. This is the only time he’ll meet with me and when my father is in town it’s the only day I can get away.”

He laughed. “I didn’t know the old model ship had a remote calling option.”

She grinned. “I had it installed.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Why go through all that work to make an old ship do that when you could borrow a newer model?”

She snorted. “I do hope you’ve been out of contact with civilization for a while. Otherwise there’s no dismissing your ignorance. Newer models are outfitted so they can’t fly into the zone. It seems I’m not the only one helping these people, and when the government found out they created them with certain no fly zones built in. And if you over ride that, the authorities are alerted. I did a little research before I started flying into Haven because I’d heard of people being caught doing it. I’ve taken every precaution I can think of not to be caught.”

She chewed her bottom lip. “But it’s only a matter of time before the government demands all vehicles be updated with the new protocols. I don’t know what they’ll do then.”

“I wasn’t aware that the government was doing that to ships.” His people didn’t exactly have the latest intel on ship building. They were more focused on other things. He’d have to remedy that. These ships were probably made with other features that could be a problem for them if they stole a newer model.

“Oh yes, and it wasn’t easy to find out because of all the censorship and spying. Luckily, I do remember something of my academy days in hacking, and was able to get a five minute private conversation with someone. Yay for government training.”

The only problem with that was no conversation was private over the communications network. They were all stored. She’d have to remember more than a little hacking to get around that problem. Either he’d underestimated her, or she’d left something behind. He would bet on the latter. Most citizens didn’t know exactly how much they were tracked by the government. How little privacy they had left. They’d probably protest if they had any idea. Even a government employee would have a little tidbit of knowledge withheld so their employers could keep tabs on them.

They ducked into another alley and she hesitated. She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I always hate this spot. I’ve been attacked here before. It’s not the best of neighborhoods.”

He smiled, but he was worried. There wasn’t a streetlight back here. The place was steeped in darkness. “I’ve got your back. No mugger can get by me.” He silently adjusted his eyes for night vision.

She jumped. “Your eyes. They’re glowing now.”

“Yep, sure are. Keep moving.”

She shook her head, but kept walking. “Eventually, you’re going to have to tell me the extent of your super powers.”

“I don’t have super powers.” He kept pace with her now instead of letting her walk ahead of him. Guarding her in this place was really a two person job. Thankfully, he wasn’t normal. He had enough censors that he could spot anything coming.

“He waits for me right around this corner.”

Galen nodded, and they stepped around it. A robed man stood perfectly still in the middle of the lane. Galen pulled his pistol from its holster. Something thumped to the ground in front of the robed figure. Galen’s gaze zeroed in on it and magnified enough to identify a grenade.

“Fuck! Run.”

There was flash, and an energy blast struck him in shoulder. Jamila screamed as he shoved her back around the corner. He grabbed her under the arm and hauled her down the street. There was a faint click. He cursed and threw himself on top of her. They hit the ground hard, her gasp loud in his ears.

The explosion shook the ground. He covered his head as shrapnel rained from the sky and heat licked his skin. Jamila cried out, but he couldn’t do anything except try to keep her covered as everything was sent into chaos.