Rebel Souls (11 page)

“You don’t get it, do you? Ava Frost is the reason for the revolution. She is a child whose birth caused a revolt. Ava
is
the revolution. I can no longer leave her out of it than stop breathing.”

“That can be arranged.”

Brodie stepped from the alley and into the light. “Tougher bastards than you have tried.”

“Do you know, I’ve never broken the law, and I’ve never let a criminal escape? Don’t make me change my mind about letting you walk away. She wasn’t expecting to see you tonight. I suggest you go back to wherever you came from and forget Captain Frost.”

“I can’t do that. I’m here to protect her. Her life is in danger.”

Seth looked him up and down. “I can take care of that.”

“Not your job, Regulator.”

“Not yours either.”

“Did you fuck her?”

Seth snorted and shook his head. “That’s none of your business.”

“I’m her fiancé. I think it’s plenty of my business. Stay away from her. Next time I won’t be so polite.”

Seth studied him. Brodie’s eyes looked sharp in the dim light. His jaw ticked and his fists were clenched. The man didn’t lie. Seth made it his job to read faces and Brodie’s said there was an engagement, and he’d resisted killing him because of Ava, and only because of Ava. Next time he wouldn’t be as forgiving, as he’d stated. He’d declared Ava off limits, staked his claim and dared Seth to try to take what belonged to him. The message was clear.

Back off
.

Seth did just that, even though it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. She didn’t belong to him, and sleeping with her had been a mistake. It tore his loyalties apart, and in his line of work, torn loyalties and lack of focus would get him killed. Nothing left to say, he simply nodded and walked off, down the dark street and back to his world. What could he say? Ava had never told him there was someone else, and he hadn’t asked. He now had no illusions as to why the Rebel leader thought he owned her. He did.

But if this was the case, why did Ava look so displeased to see him?

Chapter Eight

Ava looked up as Brodie walked back into the club. He strode up to the table, spun the chair around and straddled it, fixing her with an intense stare.

“I don’t want to hear it, Brodie. It’s none of your business what I did with him. You don’t own me, even if you think you do.”

Brodie didn’t say anything.

Ava took a sip of Seth’s rejected beer and stared into the amber liquid. “Why are you back in New Xiera? I hadn’t heard from you. I thought you were dead. Seth said they’re looking for you.”

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Where’s Tagas? I was supposed to meet him here tonight.”

“Captured. The Regulators executed him this morning. I came to warn you to lie low for a while, and I find you’ve taken up with them, gotten all cozy with one of their leaders. How could you do this to us, Duchess?”

“Us?” Ava shot Brodie a sharp look. “Did you stop to think that maybe I did what I had to, to keep him from discovering what I’ve really been doing?”

“You didn’t have to have sex with him.”

“No,” she said, “that was for fun.” She lifted her gaze from the beer. “There’s no longer an engagement. It dissolved when you disappeared, walked out of my life.”

“It never dissolved. Did you stop to think that I did what I had to do to protect you?” He threw her retort back in her face. “They’d have arrested you for associating with me. I had to lead them away.”

“And stay away?” she whispered. “You panicked and ran. You left me behind.”

“I don’t run away.” Brodie leapt to his feet and slammed both his palms down on the table’s surface, leaning in toward her. “Your little fling could have cost us.”

“It didn’t. He’s backed off.”

“How can you be certain? Men like that don’t back off. He wants you. I can see it in his eyes.” Brodie nodded toward the glass. “You question what he will do after he refused to drink that beer? Open your eyes, Duchess. You’re playing with the wrong man, and it could get everyone killed. They’re looking for the shipment. It’s not safe to take it to the refinery. We have to get it off the planet. You need to stay away from him, let things cool down. This shipment is important. It’s all we need to make the final push.”

“He’s backed off. I told him I had my uncle on my ship.”

“I don’t think so, and you’d be a fool to believe it. I don’t want you around him.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” And maybe sleeping with the Regulator had been an unconscious need to punish a dead man, or a man she had thought dead. But after spending time with Seth, the only one feeling punished was her. She still wanted the Regulator, was tired of living the life she lived, and Brodie was back to drag her deeper into it.

He leaned closer, fire in his eyes. “You’re going to be my wife. Nothing’s changed.”

“Everything’s changed, Brodie. I thought you’d moved on, after Vesha.” She bit her lip to muffle a sob that threatened to make its way to the surface, and lowered her gaze, not daring to look into his eyes. He wouldn’t see her cry. Those tears dried up a long time ago. “Ten years. You’ve been gone ten years, and you expected me to wait? The engagement canceled out long ago. You didn’t keep your end of it.”

“We’re engaged.”

She shook her head. “No, we’re not.”

“Lie all you want, Duchess.” He slid his hands into her hair and lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with all the heat and passion he possessed. She could have been kissing a corpse, for all the emotion she felt. There was nothing left of the small flame that had once burned for him. She pressed her palms to his chest, trying to force him away. Brodie tightened his grip and softened the kiss until she went slack and her hands dropped. He released her and pulled back to look in her eyes. “I’ve changed, but one thing hasn’t. I will always love you, and I’m not letting you go.”

“Brodie, don’t do this to me.” Pain stabbed her guts. She couldn’t do this again. She couldn’t wait, staring out into the stars, wondering if the man she loved was alive or dead, finally settling on dead, only to have him return and act as if he’d never been gone.

“Make no mistake, Ava. You belong to me, and I’ll kill any man that touches what’s mine. Don’t go near him again.” He reached out and stroked his fingers down her cheek. “Not if you want him to live.” Brodie strode out the door, leaving her a quivering mess.

***

Seth continued down the street in a dark mood. His anger begged for someone foolish to attack and give him a reason to excise the woman who’d stolen a piece of him. Try as hard as he might, he couldn’t. She occupied his every thought. Something had happened between them, something unexplainable.

He needed to go back to his ship, leave the planet, and get away from her. But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He needed to protect her, hold her, possess her, and nothing else would do.

He glanced back, considering returning to the club and dragging Ava out by force. He wanted to save her, take her away from the dark world she’d become mired in. She had a good heart. Seth had seen it when she’d interacted with the street child, and in the risk she’d taken to save her uncle. No matter how tough a façade she dressed in, Ava was compassionate and cared about humanity.

Not like her fiancé, who stunk of the rot of corruption. Seth pressed his com. “This is Legatus Reynolds. Pick me up at the docks, I’ve just thought of something.” Follow her fiancé, and he’d find the group responsible for supplying the Rebels with explosive materials and funding the Nexian Revolution. Seth was certain of it. He couldn’t touch them on the planet, not unless he found them in possession of the quadradium or some other illegal goods. Until they slipped up, he had nothing he could take to the local authorities to gain their cooperation.

His gut told him Brodie planned to use her to haul illegal goods, and he intended to stop it before it happened.

***

Seth walked onto the flight deck. All heads turned toward him. A few bore smirks that quickly faded as he glared. Three days he’d followed the fucker and nothing. The man had to know he’d been tracked, and Seth’s current plan to catch him doing something illegal wasn’t working. Hence the reason he’d come back to his ship early.

“Legatus on deck,” the first mate yelled out. Everyone snapped to attention. “You’re back early, sir. Didn’t get tied up?”

“Stow it, Captain Wilson.” His tone should tell his first officer he really didn’t want to hear it, even if they were good friends and joked at times. Seth knew he’d never live down one of his crew finding him cuffed to the bed, and it was better to be a good sport about it than to be a prick, but this wasn’t the time for it. He surveyed the area. They could give him crap later.

Right now, he needed someone to follow Brodie, someone who would blend in on the planet, and as he scanned the deck, his gaze landed on First Lieutenant Emery. If any woman could and should wear a uniform, it was the New Xieran-born Navigation officer. Competent, intelligent, a hell of a shot with a laser and unmatched in hand-to-hand combat, Emery was the perfect woman for the job.

And the biggest qualification wasn’t what she could do, but what she was. Sex walking. Many a man suffered sleepless nights and raw palms because of the woman. She wouldn’t appear out of place on the planet, or its streets, because she belonged here.

“Lieutenant Emery, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Yes, sir.” She moved from her station and strode toward him. A brand on the side of her face indicated she’d once worked to help the poor and hungry, a temple woman, a New Xieran missionary. He’d never asked why she would leave peace behind to take up war, and she’d never offered an explanation. Not his business, but what was his business was her expertise, and of all his officers, she’d be the least identifiable.

“Walk with me.” He started out the door with her on his left. “What do you know about the bad neighborhood in this city?”

“Every planet, city has one of them. New Xiera Port is no different.” She shrugged. “As for what I know about this city’s slums, I guess it depends on what part of the ghetto you’re referring to. The Nexians own the south side of the port and are among the most dangerous to deal with. It’s best to stay out of their neighborhood. Then you have the—”

“No, it’s the Nexians I’m interested in, one in particular.” He stopped and turned toward her, frowning. Should he involve her in this, expose her to the dangerous Underground leader? “Have you heard of a Nexian Rebel named Brodie?”

Her eyes widened a fraction. “When you go all out, sir, you really go all out. I assume you’re referring to the Underground leader, Brodie Mark? He’s dead.”

He had to involve her. He needed to know what Brodie Mark was up to, what he wanted to drag Ava into. “He’s very much alive, and I’d like you to follow him.”

She reached up and touched the dip in her throat, swallowing hard. “If he’s alive, sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Even the New Xierans gave him space and respected his territory.”

“I suspect he’s engaged in illegal activities in this port. Not sure what. Could be weapons, drugs, or even slavery. Whatever he’s in the city for, I want to know. Yesterday.”

“Why the interest in the Rebels? That’s not Fleet jurisdiction. That district is protected by ambassadorial rights and the New Xieran government is anal about protecting those rights. Besides, the League doesn’t care what’s going on down here.” She pointed at the ceiling. “Only up there.”

“I think he’s smuggling whatever it is off-world.”

“I see.” From the look on her face, Seth knew he had her cooperation. There was one way to upset a New Xieran, and that was to make their world a criminal enterprise when they were all about peace and love. She nodded. “I’ll need backup close by.
Very
close by.”

“I’ll arrange it. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

***

Emery looked up as the Rebel leader dropped into a seat across from her and set a drink on the table, pushing it with his fingertips toward her. “You might need that.”

“Excuse me? I’m here with someone.”

He shook his head and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms across his chest. “No, sweetheart, you’re not.”

“No, really….”

“Lieutenant Mariah Emery of the Special Tasks Fleet Regulators, what possessed you to follow me?” He cocked his head and pinned her with a dark gaze. “Or should I say who?”

“I….”

He jumped up from his seat, seized the edge of the hovering disc that served as a table, and flung it across the club where it slammed into a group of dancers. They turned around to say something, but immediately shut their mouths. He grabbed the arms of her chair and yanked her toward him, his nose an inch from hers. “Will not lie to me again.” He released her chair and gestured for another table and drink.

Brodie sat down and resumed the same pose, staring at her as two men replaced the table. “So, let’s try this again.”

“Yes, I am Lieutenant Emery.”

He nodded. “I know. I also know you’ve been following me for three weeks. I want full disclosure on everything you’ve reported to Legatus Seth Reynolds.” He rested his elbows on his knees. “Everything.”

“I can’t….”

“You’re New Xieran, your family lives here. Yes?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“Then you understand what I mean when I say I want to know everything.”

“Yes.”

“Good girl.” The Rebel leader sat back and crossed his arms again. “Start talking. If I’m satisfied with your answers, you’ll be free to go.”

“I can’t go back to Fleet after I give you this information. They’ll execute me for treason.”

He grinned. “Not to worry. I can help you get free of the Fleet.” His gaze stopped on the markings on her face. “You’re not really the soldiering type anyway, are you? Now talk—tell me what they know about why I’m here.”

***

Emery’s face filled the screen. Her fleet uniform was gone, her hair down around her shoulders. “Effective today, I resign my commission as a League Regulator.”