The Bond That Ties Us (4 page)

“Who the hell is that?” Sara’s muttering was drowned out by the chiming of the com again. She made her way over to the small, flat control panel and tapped the acknowledge button.

20

Haylie looked over to see the image of a woman in her mid thirties appear on the com screen. Haylie mentally flipped through the personnel records and recognized her as one of the nurses who’d been one of the original colonists ten years ago.

“Doctor Fergus? I’m sorry to be disturbing you just after you have arrived.”

“That’s quite all right. Is there a problem?”

It didn’t take Haylie long to lose track of the conversation. Not that the details mattered much once she learned what she needed to know. She would be eating alone tonight.

Haylie straightened when Sara finished her conversation and turned to face her.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said.

“No worries. Guess you won’t get to scope out the scene before you have to put on a performance.”

“Instead, I’ll be the one getting evaluated. I hate starting without having an edge.”

“You never did like to get one-upped.” Haylie smiled.

“Are you going to be okay?”

That was the question of the day. “Sure. I’ll get changed and go find a place to eat.

Maybe there’s a gym or something around here. I gotta stay buff. Don’t want the locals to think their security chief is a wimp.”

All kidding aside, she wanted to make sure she was in shape to handle whatever the colony threw at her. She’d been able to talk briefly to one of the security personnel after the induction. Things had gotten pretty intense on the colony recently with many of the miners acting strangely. The Eurus ore mines were some of the toughest places to work in the sector. While the occasional fight and work stoppage were normal, she’d been told of a major increase in violent crimes both in the mines and on the station. The guard also told her the previous chief lasted only eight months before burning out.

Haylie wasn’t about to let that happen. That was all she’d been able to learn before Sara hustled her out of the assembly.

“Well, use some of my clothing if you want. You may run into our friends from this morning and I know you don’t have the sexiest wardrobe.”

Haylie smacked her foot on the edge of her trunk as she turned quickly to face Sara.

“Ouch!”

“Holy crap, relax! I meant the two guys from the line, not your ambassador.”

“I’m relaxed. Just clumsy.”

“Well, stop it. I don’t want you wandering down an engineering duct and ending up in med bay. Unless, of course, you’re bored.”

“Shut up and go.”

Sara tapped Haylie’s drawing as she passed by. “Nice! Good to see you obsessing already. By the way, Briel have more abs than that. Bye!”

Sara grabbed her jacket and laughed as she bolted from their apartment.

21

Maybe she
should
stay in tonight. With everything that happened this morning with Kamran, it seemed the wisest, most practical course of action. She should strip out of her synthetic jumpsuit, crawl into her flannel pajamas and go to sleep.

The cool recycled air of the room hit her skin as she peeled off her clothing. Clothed in only her damp panties and tight undershirt, she flitted around the room examining her temporary shelter. The walls were amazingly not gray or black. Never before had she considered beige to be a welcome change. There were two of everything, beds, dressers, lamps and even a small desk all made from a combination of plastic and metal. She walked around the room and touched everything once, memorizing its exact location. When she began to do it a second time, she stopped. Her father’s voice scolding her for her restlessness and obsessive behavior pounded in her ears. Her control hadn’t slipped like this in years. She needed to relax.

Haylie looked around her room. The low-pitched hum from the air vent made her ears tickle. She stood and listened for a moment, her brain spinning with indecision.

The faint scent of cinnamon reached her again and drove her body forward. There’s no way in hell she’d sit still tonight.

She’d get dressed, find some food and then do a quick inspection of the station. It’d be interesting to see her new home through the eyes of a civilian for one night.

Tomorrow, she’d be introduced to her team and any chance she had to move around unnoticed would be gone.

Careful not to hit her foot again, Haylie quickly searched through the neatly folded stacks of clothing and strategically placed personal items in her cargo trunk. She paused when she came to her birthday present from Sara. She pulled out the loose-fitting silk dress and smiled. This was Sara’s way of telling her to loosen up. She’d even made Haylie swear she would wear it before her next birthday.

What the hell.
Careful not to hit her foot again, Haylie maneuvered around the boxes and trunks in their room and jumped into the shower for a quick scrub. She felt almost human again when she got out and started to search through the neatly folded stacks of clothing and strategically placed personal items in her cargo trunk.

The three-quarter-length mirror next to the door revealed a sensual surprise.
Wow,
is that me?
The tendrils of her hair had escaped the confines of her elastic band so she tugged it free. Her long chestnut hair fell over her shoulders, stopping shy of her elbows. Her taut nipples poked up from the shimmering surface of the dress, a clear sign of her arousal. This was the first time she hadn’t worn a bra since she was thirteen, but damn if it didn’t feel good.

Without thinking, she reached up and cupped her breasts. The friction between her nipples and the smooth material was heavenly. She imagined what it would feel like to have Kamran’s hands there, teasing her sensitive skin and pinching her swollen buds until she begged him to stop. Haylie opened her eyes and blushed at the shock of seeing her aroused image reflected back at her from the mirror.

“Okay, I need to get out of here.”

22

But not before changing.

She did rebel a little by omitting her bra before pulling on her shirt and pants. It was liberating not to be bound so tightly and it felt more than a little naughty.
It’s not
like she had much in the way of a chest for anyone to notice.

Haylie poked her head out the door into the hall, her hair falling forward across her face.
Empty
. She took an oversized step into the corridor, allowing the door to her room to swoosh shut.
Which way? Decisions, decisions
.

She’d seen the floor plan of the station shortly before leaving Earth. Having a photographic memory had its advantages at times. She knew the exact layout and where all the major areas were located. But that wasn’t the same as seeing the real thing.

And there was no way she’d see it all in one night. A memory popped into her head, something her mother told her as a child. “When you don’t know which way to go, always start on your right. That way, you know you didn’t make a wrong decision.”

The rubber soles of her flat shoes didn’t make a sound on the plastic veneer floor as she drifted down the LED-lit corridor. There were very few people around as she made her way through the smooth twists and turns of the colony’s living sector. The place was as drab as the rest of the station. No decorations of any sort appeared on the gray walls. Everything was very utilitarian in its design, blending seamlessly into the walls.

The occasional window that lined the hall was small, offering only the slightest glimpse of the outside of the planet. She paused to look out, but she couldn’t see much of the surface now that the sun had set. Maybe in the light of day things would look better, brighter.

Haylie continued her walk looking for anything of interest. She couldn’t help but notice the distinct lack of security as she moved about. No patrols, surveillance, or obvious security measures, at least not in the living area. Either it was extremely well hidden or she had her work cut out for her.

Something wasn’t adding up here. She knew the reputation of the previous chief.

He wasn’t incompetent, far from it. He’d been part of the team sent in to help with the aftermath of the Jupiter colony after the riots eight years ago. It didn’t seem likely he would have overlooked the very basics of security, even if he was only here a short time. What the hell was wrong with this place? She’d traveled a full fifteen minutes without seeing another soul before the hiss of a door opening behind her caught her attention.

“Good evening.” Administrator Donaldson’s cheerful voice vibrated in the hall.

Haylie turned and smiled when she saw Donaldson emerge from the doorway.

“Hello, Administrator. I don’t believe we have been introduced yet. My name is—”

“Haylie Bond. My newest security officer, granted the rank of chief. Previous to this, you were in charge of security for Luna’s largest shipping company, LunaCom.

You have a degree in psychology and were recognized for single-handedly reducing the crime rate on Mars outpost Beta by forty-eight percent.”

Interesting
.

23

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage, sir.”

He didn’t. But somehow it seemed wrong to recite his service record to him in response. At least she was able to think clearly enough this time to remember it. Plus, her warning flags were waving frantically. She respected thoroughness in a person, but there was already something about this encounter that seemed odd. It wasn’t what he knew about her so much as how he was saying it.

“I take great pride in knowing everything that is happening on my colony. I made a point of learning about all of our new colonists. I expect you and I will be working quite closely together.”

“I am looking forward to it,” Haylie said. The muscles in her back tightened.

Donaldson gave his head a slight shake before taking a step closer. “What brings you out this evening? Getting acquainted with the area?”

Haylie hesitated. It’s not like she had anything to hide. “Yes. Though it really doesn’t feel like evening yet.”

“Not surprising. The days are shorter here on Eurus than what you are used to on Luna.” Donaldson stood completely still. But his eyes began to slip from hers, taking quick glances at the rest of her body.

Haylie crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes. I thought it might be nice to get familiar with the area from the perspective of a civilian. It’ll give me better insight for when I begin in my position tomorrow.”

Haylie shivered when Donaldson’s gaze dipped quickly to her chest, as if he were trying to catch a glimpse of what she was hiding behind her arms. Sara was right when she said he was attractive. His blond hair was longer than Kamran’s but suited the hard angles of his face. He was in great shape, from what she could tell, but she couldn’t help but compare him to Kamran. When he finally looked back into her eyes, Haylie looked at him a bit too long. She hoped he noticed that she’d caught him staring. He didn’t break eye contact, but a slight flush crept onto his face.

“To be honest, I’ve only seen the landing bay, my room and a few halls. I hope I’ll be able to do a bit of exploring before I pass out from exhaustion.”

Donaldson took another half-step closer. “I could give you a private tour if you’d like. I know all of the interesting spots on Eurus.”

The smile that crossed her face was automatic. It took her brain approximately two seconds to review and dismiss all possible excuses for getting away. Not going to get out of this one.

“A tour would be wonderful. I will apologize in advance if I bow out early. I’m expecting sleep to overtake me soon.”

“Of course. This way.”

They moved slowly in the same direction Haylie had been heading originally. At first they walked in silence moving from the living area to the main hub of the station.

Haylie could feel a change in the air, a type of energy starting to build. Voices drifted to 24

her from down the hall, and people began to drift past them. Some more than a little drunk. When two large Briel men walked by, Haylie watched Donaldson’s demeanor change. He kept his eyes locked on them until they passed by. Finally, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

“The colony is very much its own world as we are so far from Earth. While the majority of us are human, there are enough Briel living here for it to have an impact on how we do things. They tend to be less social than humans, but that hasn’t been too hard to deal with. Here we go. This room on your right is your new security office.”

Haylie stopped in front of the glass doors. The room was dark, with only a few background lights turned on. The large computer desk sat in the middle, a bit out of place in the sparsely decorated room. She pulled the schematics up in her mind and knew she would be close to both the med bay as well as what was listed as a recreation area.

“Don’t worry about the fishbowl feeling. You can ask the computer to turn on the privacy tinting when the need arises. You never know what may happen when you are interrogating someone.”

He seemed a bit too pleased with that particular feature. “Are there many crimes that would need that type of interrogation?”