Fallon didn"t remember Taber moving her body so her head was beside his. In fact, she barely remembered him wrapping his body around hers as they spooned on the bed. The last thing she heard as she drifted off to sleep was Taber whispering in her ear.
"Mi tramsi, shalla. "
Taber drifted in and out of sleep for quite a while. Fallon was exhausted from their lovemaking and snored softly in his arms. Once he came back to his senses, he twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, enjoying yet again the softness of the strands.
The weight of the chain and stone around his neck still felt odd. Briel men didn"t wear such adornments and only the females on the elder council ever wore these types 122 of items. But looking down at the stone, he knew he would never take it off again- customs be d.a.m.ned. Fallon had this for years. It was a part of who she was and she had given it to him.
Mi tramsi, shalla. The words had come from him as if on reflex. He"d never spoken them to another living being before. His mother had died when he was a boy, not old enough to even form the words to say. And he would never have said them to his father-it would have been considered a sign of weakness. No, not even Calantha had earned that sentiment.
The communicator on his belt began to chirp. If it wasn"t for the fact no one on the station would ever use that channel unless it was an emergency, he would have ignored it. Instead, he was forced to untangle Fallon"s arms and legs from his and make his way to the communicator.
"Yes," he said, keeping his voice low enough to prevent waking Fallon.
Sean"s face filled the tiny screen and Taber could see there was a problem. "Are you with Fallon?"
Taber looked behind him to make sure she was still sleeping. A crushing panic began to rise in his chest. "Yes. What"s wrong?"
"Captain Zane, Officer Jenny Green and Deputy Officer Tony Scott left for Eurus over an hour ago."
Taber wasn"t surprised that the captain would come to the station. But the fact he"d brought the other two was. "Have they been cleared? Any other deaths?"
"Yes and no. The problem is Commander Bruce is missing. I think he may be onboard the shuttle, coming for Fallon."
123.
Chapter Twelve.
Taber paced outside the shuttle bay doors, waiting for them to open. He had a security force waiting down the hall, ready to come at a moment"s notice in case Bruce was indeed on board. Kamran was standing to the side, his eyes fixed forward, while Davin stood leaning against the wall a few feet behind.
"Computer, time to arrival?"
"Five standard minutes."
"Asking it again won"t make it get here any faster," Davin drawled.
Taber turned his icy glare on the Raqulian. "Why are you here?"
"Because I asked him," Kamran said simply. "Why are you so on edge?"
Turning around, he faced forward and linked his hands behind his back. "I"m not on edge, Administrator. And if I was, it would be due to the fact we potentially have a serial killer about to arrive at our home. He will be going after a woman who is in my protection and could put you and your family at risk. I"m merely concerned we get this contained as quickly as possible."
Davin gave his head a shake. "I swear that"s the most you"ve ever said at one time."
Taber turned, ignoring the quip. The thing that upset him the most was the fact he was on edge-and it was killing him. Bruce was coming after Fallon, could even have killed the captain and the two security guards already. There was no way he would let that brakav anywhere near her. He"d die before he"d let her get hurt.
Kamran turned his head and Taber could feel his friend staring at him. He did his best to ignore the silent concern, struggling to gain control over his emotions.
Calm. I need to be calm.
The groan of the external metal doors vibrated through the floor, causing Taber to stiffen. Every one of his soldier"s senses went on alert, his muscles tightening and relaxing. Davin moved beside him, resting his hand on Taber"s shoulder.
Before he could say anything, Taber felt Davin reach out with his ability, attempting to calm Taber"s mind. The turmoil and blackness lifted for a moment, sucked away to some other place, allowing him to relax. When his vision cleared, Taber was looking into Davin"s golden gaze, a look of concern on his face.
"Not your fault," Davin whispered before stepping back.
Taber"s heart was pounding, but he didn"t move to say anything else. Davin knew-maybe not everything, but he knew.
Kamran stared between the two men, frowning, but instead only nodded. "The ship is here."
124.
With no time to ponder what had happened, Taber reached down and activated his communicator. "Security force, stand ready."
"Yes, Commander."
Kamran pressed the door release b.u.t.ton and walked ahead of them. Taber watched as his friend quickly slipped into his administrator role, not for the first time earning his admiration. How he was able to do that, use his easy way to win others over and get what he wanted had always been an amazing thing to watch.
Taber took up a left flank position behind Kamran, with Davin on the right. In a situation like this, he knew the Raqulian was more than capable of being able to keep Kamran safe. He"d watched him battle an Ecada single handed over a year ago. But knowing that Davin now knew something of his inner turmoil made him uneasy. What if Davin didn"t trust him any longer? Didn"t think him capable of completing his duties?
"Here we go," Kamran muttered before smiling and extending his hand as he walked forward. "Welcome to Eurus, Captain Zane."
The captain was the first to disembark from the small shuttle and Taber was relieved to see the older man was unharmed. It appeared that Bruce"s intent was to sneak onto the colony and avoid detection as long as possible while he got to Fallon.
Taber wasn"t willing to give him that chance.
"Thank you, Administrator. I have to say being stuck on a shuttle isn"t my idea of a vacation. May I present to you Officers Green and Scott? They both insisted on being my protection while I"m here, even though I ensured them it wasn"t necessary."
"We are thankful to have them, nonetheless. I believe you already know Commander Taber. This is Davin Jagt, my head of trade relations for the colony."
Davin held out his hand for the captain to shake, which struck Taber as odd. Then he watched as Davin held the older man"s hand a fraction longer than he should have, before nodding once and shooting off his lopsided grin. Kamran had asked Davin to make sure the captain wasn"t the one with the mental instability. He wouldn"t be easily able to detect it, but he"d sense any major mental faults, especially if Taber was the target of the killer"s rage.
"A pleasure," Davin drawled.
"Thank you for having us here on your station. It will be a pleasant change to have my feet on solid ground," Captain Zane said, letting go of Davin"s hand.
Kamran led the captain toward the main area of the station, then he stopped and turned around. "I hope you don"t think this ill mannered of me, but we do need to inspect your ship."
Zane frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. "Why?"
"It"s nothing personal. We are extra cautious since we had an Ecada operative get on board the station six months ago. Now everyone, including overtly friendly ships, are searched."
125.
Taber knew Zane couldn"t say no when Kamran worded his request that way. And so did everyone else.
"Of course. Jenny, stay and help the commander with his inspection."
Jenny nodded, letting her gaze slip over his body. "Of course, Captain."
Taber wouldn"t have noticed Jenny"s reaction to him even six months ago, refusing to acknowledge the fact that any woman would seriously want him. But seeing how she was looking at him now, he knew she would gladly step over Fallon"s lifeless body to have even a chance at being with him. He"d have to be extra cautious around her.
Instead of closing up, he did his best to be like Kamran. He nodded and gave her a slight smile. "Thank you for your a.s.sistance."
"Any time." She winked at him, resting her hands along the small of her back.
"If it"s not too much trouble, I"d like to check in with Fallon. Make sure she hasn"t been too much trouble for you," Zane said to Kamran as Davin walked to join them.
Taber"s gaze flew to the captain and his body tensed. He had no reason to protest the visit, by the G.o.ddess he should be thankful that her friends were still flocking to her side in a time like this. But he didn"t want any man to be with her unattended.
Fallon was his.
"Of course. I will have security let her know that you are here and wish to see her,"
Kamran said and smiled, his gaze steady on the captain.
"I can do that," Davin spoke up. "I have a meeting in that section of the station shortly and can escort her to you."
"We"ll set up a meeting in the observation room. Once I give the captain and Officer Scott a quick tour."
Kamran and Captain Zane took their leave with Tony trailing behind. Davin was about to leave when Taber stopped him. Standing in front of the Raqulian, staring him in the eye, Taber didn"t know quite what to say.
"I"ll make sure she"s okay," Davin said softly.
Taber opened his mouth to say something, but the words wouldn"t come. All he could do was nod and make his way back over to the ship. Fallon would be perfectly safe with Davin-and for once Taber knew what it was about the man Sara liked so much.
Jenny was leaning against the outer hull of the shuttle, her short black hair tucked behind her ears.
"So, you getting ready to send Fallon back to us or has she taken over your bar here yet? I a.s.sume you have a bar."
"We do. Several, in fact."
"G.o.d, we"ll never get her off this station."
"And no, she is not being an inconvenience to us."
126.
Jenny frowned for a moment before turning her head to the side, exposing the side of her neck to him. His eyes were drawn to the skin, but there was no temptation for him there. She simply wasn"t Fallon.
And the longer he was away from her, the more he wanted to see her.
"Shall we inspect the ship?"
He motioned for Jenny to go inside as he pulled his communicator from his belt.
"Security team, we"re ready."
Jenny"s gaze snapped to his. "You mean we won"t be doing this alone?"
Ah, now he understood. If she thought there was an opportunity to press her advances, Jenny was more than willing to take it. "It would be against protocol for me to allow that."
She pouted before taking a step forward and running her fingertip down the middle of his chest.
"But I was looking forward to finally having some time with you. I figured you wouldn"t be so busy protecting everyone"s favorite bartender."
"Until we find who"s responsible, Fallon will still be under my protection. A duty I take very seriously."
Jenny didn"t back down, instead taking another step forward to press her body hard against his. He could feel her hard nipples even through all their clothing. She gently rocked her hips against his groin, closing her eyes momentarily before stepping back with a sigh.
He didn"t have time to respond to her blatant proposition, as the security team arrived.
"Where do you want us to start, Commander?"
"Inside the ship, front to back."
"Aye, sir."
He couldn"t stay in here with Jenny any longer and walked outside to the hangar bay. She didn"t follow him at first, choosing to stay by the shuttle door, shifting her gaze from him to the security crew.
Taber pushed away the feelings of guilt that were growing inside. He hadn"t done anything to betray Fallon. Even his body hadn"t reacted to Jenny, which may not have been the case years ago. No, in a short period of time, Fallon had wormed her way into his heart and he wasn"t going to let her go anywhere.
It felt like he had been standing there for hours when his security team finally emerged from the shuttle, a concerned look on the ensign"s face.
"Sir, we tore that ship apart. There"s no one on board," the ensign said quietly.
So either Bruce had slipped off while Kamran was speaking with Zane, or else he had another ship and was on his way to the planet.
127.
"Increase station security but be subtle about it. I don"t want our guests to think it has anything to do with them."
He stepped aside and spoke loud enough that Jenny would be able to hear from the shuttle. "Ensign, could you escort Officer Green to her captain? She will want to join him on the tour."
With a sigh, she stepped down to the shuttle bay floor and walked past the group of men, eyeing Taber as she went. "Come on, boys. I"d hate to miss the good part. Maybe you can show me where I can have a good time."
Taber was about to follow them when his communicator sounded-a call on a secure, private channel. Flicking it open, he walked to a corner, far away from the shuttle.
"Yes?"