Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series) (35 page)

“You need to hear this before we face Clifford at the Board meeting.” Robert’s compassionate gaze held hers. “There’s no way to put it gently. We’d hoped to keep it from you, at least until you got married, but Jen, your mother and I adopted you when you were a baby.”

“What?” Her blood ran hot and cold. Icy tendrils pierced her skin. She shot to her feet. “You’re joking.”

“No, I am not.” He leveraged himself upward, stepped forward, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “We were desperate to have a child, but Lydia couldn’t conceive. Then one day, her sister Alba said she’d heard of a pregnant teen who wanted a home for her infant. Would we be interested?”

Jen’s mouth dropped open. Aunt Alba had been involved?

“We jumped at the chance and took you as a babe. I didn’t want to tell you like this, but Clifford is challenging your right to inherit his family shares. You need to know what you’ll be up against. Of course, our attorney has been advising us. Alba definitely left her portion to you in her will. But Clifford’s smear campaign can have harmful repercussions.”

She pursed her lips. She’d never liked her cousin and while she could understand his motives, he’d still gained his mother’s other assets, including her two homes.

Never mind Clifford. What about the repercussions of the bomb her father had just dropped?

She’d been adopted—like Nira and Lianne.

Her throat constricted. Was that why her mother had constantly criticized her as a youth, because she blamed Jen’s heritage for their differences? If only Lydia knew how astute she’d been. Jen shared far more with her so-called sisters than with the parents who’d raised her.

She swallowed her shock, planning to revisit it later.

“What happened with Yeager Capital Investments? Did they come around with an offer?” She hoped her Dad, and she still planned to call him that, had acquired the extra financing they needed to dodge Clifford’s bullet. Her cousin’s proposed merger was merely a ploy to push them out the door.

A grin split Robert’s face. “Yeager signed the deal. The company will be okay once the Board votes in our favor.” He paused. “I hope you’ll forgive your mother and me for not telling you the truth sooner. We just didn’t want to hurt you. We’ll always love you as our daughter.”

“I know.” She hugged him, savoring his comforting embrace even as anger swept her. Would he have revealed this news if Clifford hadn’t posed a threat? And if not now, when?

She could understand his motives. He and Lydia had probably been afraid of her reaction. She might turn away from them. But while an adjustment to their relationship would be necessary, they were still the folks who’d raised her.

Behind his back, she squeezed her eyes shut. This revelation had only plunged her deeper into the morass opened by the Trolleks.

****

When Jen returned home after the exhausting Board meeting, Lydia intercepted her in the foyer. Robert had gone to the company office following their appointment.

“How did it go?” Lydia asked, wringing her hands.

“We won. I’m just glad it’s over. Clifford wasn’t happy, but he had no choice with a unanimous vote.”

“Thank heavens.” Lydia’s face sagged with relief. “Um, did your father talk to you about…?”

“Yes, and don’t worry, you’ll always be my mom.” Swallowing her mixed feelings, Jen gave her adoptive mother a quick embrace. Then she stepped back and peered into the hallway. “Is Paz still here?”

“He’s exploring the wine cellar.”

A rush of pleasure pricked her skin. She’d expected him to leave shortly after her departure.

Lydia lowered her voice. “He’s a nice, polite fellow, but how serious are you about him?”

Jen grimaced at the worried frown on Lydia’s face. “We work together, Mom.”

“Come on, I see the way you look at each other. And while he’s presentable enough, you can’t exactly expect us to introduce him to people as your boyfriend. He’s a part-time actor and a repairman, for heaven’s sake.” She said it as though he had a disease. “Imagine what our friends would say.”

“Oh, like they don’t have their own boy toys?”

“That’s different. They don’t marry them.”

Jen’s eyebrows lifted. “Who said anything about marriage?”

“Then why bring him home?”

“He wanted to make sure I got here safely.”

“That’s very sweet of him, darling. I suggest you send him on his way before he gets other ideas.”

Jen clamped her lips tight. “I’ll do what I damn well please.” Brushing past, she descended into the brick-lined chamber where her father kept his collection of vintage wines.

Paz lounged on a couch, a glass of red wine on the cocktail table in front of him. A frown of concentration creased his face as he tapped on his PIP. He glanced up at her arrival.

“I’m surprised you’re still here.” She kept her tone light and casual.

He regarded her with a steady gaze. “Dal hasn’t finished his calculations, so we don’t have to regroup yet. By the way, your mother liked the new garden decorations I put up at the corners of your house.”

“Those wrought iron rods suit the landscaping. Good idea.”

His comm unit buzzed. He studied a text message that popped up. “
Smark
, I should have known.”

“What?”

“Lord Magnor confirms our friend the general is establishing another recruitment center in Florida. We should take Morar out while he’s accessible.”

“Is Algie there?” Excitement laced her tone. If General Morar plus Algie were eliminated as a threat, she’d sleep easier at night.

“We can deal with Algie later. Besides, she’s only part of the equation. We’d have to destroy her research, too.”

“You heard what Nira said. Algie’s ambition is what makes her truly dangerous. She doesn’t care who gets hurt along the way. Plus if we put her out of action, it might discourage her supporters.”

He compressed his mouth. “General Morar is in charge of the Togura Island facility. With him out of the way, we’d have one less worry when we go in there to blow the rift generator. He’s a more important target.”

This debate was useless. “Then why are you still here?”

He stretched to his feet. “I wanted to know how your meeting turned out.”

His idle tone made her ponder his true reasons for remaining. “Oh. We won. The merger was defeated.”

“Congratulations. Now you can relax on that score. Tell me, you’re good with corporate types, aren’t you? I mean, you know how to market your company and attract new clients?”

“Yes. What are you getting at? Do you want me to introduce you to people for a modeling career? I thought you had only pretended to be interested, although you’d make a lot more money as a male model than you do repairing space relays.”

He stiffened. “Money isn’t everything.”

“Maybe not, but don’t you want to advance your career? If you’re really an engineer, why not use your talents to their full potential and start your own company?”

“It doesn’t work that way.” His expression shuttered.

“Why not? Are you afraid to rock the boat? Upset the apple cart?”

His forehead scrunched. “What do you mean?”

She waved a hand. “Are you stuck in a rut because you’re afraid of change?”

“There are certain issues to consider.”

“Such as?”

He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Why do you care? Is what I do not good enough for you?”

She tried to make him understand. “It’s fine, Paz, but you’re so intelligent and skilled, you shouldn’t be working in such an inferior role. You’re capable of more.”

“Where are you going with this?”

Jen tilted her head, taking the plunge. “I’m just wondering where we’re going with
us
.”

“Are you embarrassed because of my job, is that it?”

“I brought you home to meet my parents, didn’t I?”

“That’s not a proper answer.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “All right, I really like you. I want to be with you. But what happens when your mission is over?”

His eyes hardened. “I go back to my job.”

“Exactly. You leave me. You leave Earth.”

“Why, would you come with me?” For a moment, something flickered behind his expression.

“Not if you’re a space jockey hopping from one port to another. I want to settle down and have a family.”

“Well, then I guess you’ll have to look for someone more stable and suitable to your goals.”

Hurt and disappointment slashed through her. “I guess so. Someone like you can never understand drive and ambition. You just know how to kiss women or kill people.”

She regretted the angry words as soon as she flung them at him, but his refusal to consider her feelings wounded her.

He grinned, but his eyes were two cold ice chips. “I’m very good at killing, Jen. It’s my best trait. Too bad you don’t count that among your requirements for a mate.”

“Paz, please, you’re—”

He cut her off. “Thanks for your hospitality.” He stuffed his PIP into a pocket, his movement jerky.

Without another word, he stomped up the stairs, banged open the front door, and left.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Paz pressed his foot to the accelerator and raced down the road. He’d taken the borrowed car, planning to return the vehicle to its rightful owner eventually.

How dare Jen imply he was afraid to take risks? She’d seen him put his life on the line for his job as a Drift Lord. But no, that wasn’t good enough for her.
He
wasn’t good enough to meet her ideals.

That’s why she wanted to remake him into a supermodel. Being a comm tech was beneath her class. Her parents had made that clear, and obviously she shared their opinions. Jen couldn’t accept him for who he was. His character didn’t matter. She thought he should push beyond his boundaries to become someone better.

Good thing he hadn’t told her about his experiments. She’d jump on him to complete his prototype and to maximize his potential. He’d trained as an engineer, so why was he working as a technician?

If he stuck with her, she would hound him until he went insane.

Smark
, he should never have gotten involved with her. As he sped past the mansions with glimpses of the ocean on his left, he gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles.

Someone like you can never understand drive and ambition.
Her words cut worse than a knife. If only she knew. Once he brought his plans to fruition, he’d make billions in credits and would become a name recognized throughout the galaxy. His revolutionary design would bring real time communications to the interstellar networks.

And yet he held back. Why? Because he lacked business acumen and marketing skills. Because the enemies he’d face in the corporate boardroom and from opposing military factions would be worse than the Trolleks.

Dammit, he needed her professional skills. Together, they’d be formidable. But even if she accepted him without reservations, he couldn’t ask her to leave her home and family. She’d hate living on an isolated estate in the desert.

Meanwhile, she regarded him as—what was the slang term—a slacker who liked following the pack and who would never strike out on his own.

His eyes narrowed, and he focused on the road as he drove over a bridge across the Intracoastal. Zohar was busy planning their attack on the dimensional portal at Togura Island. Dal was constructing the explosive device they’d deploy to blow the generator and seal the rifts shut. Yaron monitored communications in Paz’s absence. His team had things under control. Meanwhile, Lord Magnor had pinpointed where General Morar was establishing his new recruitment center.

Paz had unfinished business with the general. He’d prove to Jen he could take risks, but he would do it on his terms, in the way he knew best.

****

“Jen, what’s bothering you?” Lydia sat beside her on their family room sofa where they had a wide view of the rear lawn.

“I miss Paz,” she told her mother, already dressed to the hilt even though it was just nine o’clock the next morning.

Her mother had a charity lunch to attend that day and wore a canary yellow dress with pearl jewelry. She’d pinned her hair in a twist.

Good God, she was more like her adoptive mother than she’d realized. Had she received parental approval only because she constantly imitated her? After all she’d been through, that seemed like such a shallow life. Paz had shown her what really mattered.

His absence caused a hole in her heart. She should be happy to resume her normal routine, but the prospect didn’t thrill her.

The Trolleks invaded her mind and shattered her peace. Possibly more of her friends would be compromised like Sandi. Were they being targeted because of her involvement? If so, what made her think she could walk away?

One truism made itself clear: her role wasn’t over. If she wanted to protect the ones she loved, she needed to accept her destiny. It did no good to deny her part in things to come.

Paz had tried to tell her but she’d closed her ears.

And if Paz’s claims about destiny rang true, that made him Mr. Right.

She’d been wrong to denigrate him. He was the most courageous and selfless man she knew, putting himself in jeopardy to save her countless times. Without his skill and prowess, she and Smitty wouldn’t have made it out of Morar’s prison, off the island, and safely to Hong Kong. They owed their lives to him.

And she’d just cast him away like a defective cut of fabric.

She met her mother’s concerned gaze. “I realize you think Paz isn’t good enough for me, Mom, but he’s the bravest man you could know. He’s intelligent, honest, and devoted to his ideals. Aren’t those qualities more important than money or status?”

“You can’t live on character traits alone, darling. Money makes your life a whole lot easier.”

“Sometimes it makes things more difficult. People expect you to behave a certain way, and if you don’t, they scorn you.”

Her mother smiled and patted her hand. “Maybe it’s best if Paz left. His departure was rather abrupt, don’t you think?”

Jen’s lips pressed together. The woman she called mother would never understand.