"It"s Sean. Has the shuttle arrived?" The note of urgency in his voice was loud and clear.
"Over an hour ago. What"s wrong?"
"We found Bruce."
Relief washed through him, knowing Fallon was finally safe. "How did you catch him?"
Sean sighed and rubbed his hand down the front of his face. "We didn"t. We found his body shoved into one of the engineering conduits on a seldom used part of the station. f.u.c.k, Taber, someone had torn him to pieces."
"By the G.o.ddess-"
"The murderer knew we"d waste time looking for Bruce and not concentrate on other suspects if he was missing. I think he"s one of the three on the shuttle."
No, no, no! His heart raced at the thought of what this psychopath would do to Fallon now that he was here with her. And with Davin having cleared Zane, that only left Jenny and Tony.
"I have to go," Taber said out loud. The sudden numb feeling in his chest was starting to spread to his stomach and legs. He couldn"t let anything happen to her.
"I"m on my way back now. I should be there in an hour." Sean said, and with a nod, broke off communication.
Despite the urgency, it took him a minute to get control of himself enough that he was able to move. He didn"t know what he"d do, how he"d react if anything happened to her. His mental distraction was the only reason he was startled when he spun around to come face to face with the murderer.
"Oh I don"t think you"re going anywhere, Commander."
A heavy mist blew into his face, causing Taber to gasp. His body betrayed him, going weak, and Taber fell to a heap, unconscious on the floor.
128.
Fallon found herself walking down a long corridor that led to the crew quarters. It had been hours since she"d seen Taber, since he"d left to greet Captain Zane and whomever he"d brought with him. Stopping in front of one of the wide windows, she found herself looking outside at the dry, red surface of the planet. It was a desolate place to live-a poisonous planet where humanity had somehow managed to eek out a life. Beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
"I like to look out this window too."
Fallon turned to find Haylie standing behind her. She had her baby cradled over her shoulder, the little one busily sucking her thumb. "I somehow doubt Taber would be happy to know you were out here wandering around."
"I can"t believe they were able to actually build a colony here. You"d think it would never work."
"The first colonists were a tough bunch. I thought I"d miss Luna before I took up position here, but I can"t imagine living anywhere else now."
Turning, Fallon scanned the surface again. Could she give up moving back to Earth, the dreams she"d been so focused on for years, to stay here with Taber? A part of her didn"t want to, but it was almost tiny compared to the mountain of feelings that were building up.
"I can imagine why you"d feel that way," she said softly. "You"ve gained a family here."
Haylie stepped beside her, shifting Orya to the other shoulder. "Would you like to hold her?"
Fallon"s hands began to itch and she automatically reached out before stopping herself short. "You don"t mind?"
"h.e.l.l, no. She"s already heavy and my arms could use the break. I think she"s going to take after her father for height."
Orya shifted and sighed when Haylie deposited her into Fallon"s arms. Her coal black hair was a stark contrast to her pale skin.
"I can"t believe she"s only a few days old," Fallon whispered.
"Neither can I. It hardly seems real in a way. She was inside me for so long, I sometimes feel like I"m missing something." Haylie reached over and brushed a lock of her daughter"s hair from off her forehead. "Do you want to have children?"
Fallon"s stomach flipped and her chest tightened. She"d never really talked to anyone about her dreams. "I"d love to."
Orya turned her head and began to root against Fallon"s chest. She began to smack her tiny lips, turned her head. She smiled and touched her finger against Orya"s little cheek.
"I think someone is hungry. And I"m afraid I"m not much good to you."
129.
Reluctantly, Fallon handed the baby back to her mother. She instantly missed the loss of her warmth, and for the first time in a long while, Fallon felt the flood of painful memories return.
"I wanted to have a baby once, but it didn"t work out. The guy I was with wasn"t...ready."
It felt odd telling this to a complete stranger, but there was something about Haylie that she just knew she could trust. That she would understand without judging. Haylie reached down and rubbed her daughter"s cheek and smiled.
"I"m sorry it didn"t work out. For what it"s worth, I think you"d make an excellent mother."
Fallon shrugged, not really knowing what else to do. "I was really young, so it was probably for the best. I would love to try though, someday."
"All you need is to find the right guy."
The way Haylie said that gave Fallon the distinct impression the other woman felt she"d already found him in Taber. Feeling a tad uncomfortable, Fallon looked around at the pa.s.sersby before she screwed up her courage to ask the one question she"d been wondering.
"What"s it like? Being with someone so...different?"
"You mean alien?"
Fallon nodded and leaned back against the window. "Things must be so unusual for you. For him."
"It took a lot of adjustments, on both our parts. I wasn"t used to having someone else stuck in my head. And poor Kamran wasn"t used to my mental chaos."
"But you worked it out?"
"We still have our problems from time to time, but yes. Any particular reason you"re curious?"
Fallon didn"t miss the amused expression on Haylie"s face. And while there wasn"t anyone else out there who could give her answers to the questions she wanted to ask, Fallon still wasn"t ready. Not without knowing Taber"s heart. With a sigh, Fallon wrapped her hands around her waist.
"Just curious."
"Well if you ever want to know anything about, oh I don"t know, Briel customs or mating rites, just ask."
Fallon couldn"t help but chuckle. "If someone had told me four years ago I"d be having this conversation, I"d have called the cops on them."
"I think I told Sara something similar two years ago."
"Do you regret it? If you could change how things happened between yourself and Kamran, would you?"
130.
Haylie bent her head and kissed the top of her daughter"s head. "Not in a million years."
"There you are!"
The two women turned to see Davin marching toward them, a lopsided grin stuck on his face. The clothing he had on barely contained the ma.s.sive muscles that made up his powerful body. He wasn"t as tall as Taber or Kamran, but Davin definitely had his appeal.
"I have no problem seeing why Sara likes him," Fallon said under her breath.
"You have no idea. The stories she"s told me...what are you up to, pirate?" Haylie said the last with a chuckle as he got into hearing range.
Davin reached down and ran a finger over Orya"s nose when he reached them, before turning his attention to Fallon. "I"m chasing our lovely bartender halfway across the station."
"Is there a problem?"
"Captain Zane is on the station and is asking to see you. Taber is busy tearing his ship apart and asked me to escort you."
Fallon"s blood began to hum through her body. "How is he?"
"Captain Zane?"
"Taber."
Davin immediately frowned and met Fallon"s gaze straight on. "I"ve known that ravak for over a year now and I"ve never seen him like this before. I hate to say it, but I"m worried."
Oh my G.o.d. "What is it? Is he hurt?"
Davin shook his head and looked to Haylie, who nodded and shifted Orya.
"I better get her home. She"s going to want to eat soon and her father is anxious to hold her again."
Fallon turned and, on impulse, gave Haylie a hug. "Thank you."
"I just hope we get to continue these conversations. Don"t be too quick to hurry away from our station."
She started to leave when Fallon stopped her and leaned in close. "I meant to ask you, what does mi tramsi, shalla mean?"
Haylie"s eyes widened for a moment before she smiled. "It basically translates to I love you, beloved."
Fallon"s stomach did a flip. "Oh."
"Any reason in particular you were wondering about that?"
She shook her head, needing time to think about what it all meant. "No. Just something I overheard. Thanks."
131.
Davin led Fallon in the opposite direction from Haylie. He kept his pace slow, in no apparent hurry to get her to her destination. When she looked over at him, she could see he was struggling with something.
"Is Taber okay?" She hated that her voice shook as she spoke. She knew he didn"t want everyone to know what was between them, but she couldn"t help it-Fallon was worried about him.
"I"m not sure. How much do you know about my people?"
"A bit more than the Briel. Damara spent quite a bit of time in that sector. Your world is made up of a caste system?"
Davin nodded. "I"m a part of both the healer and warrior castes. I have the ability to heal bodies as well as psychological injuries."
Fallon shivered. She couldn"t imagine having that sort of responsibility thrust on her. But when he looked over at her and smiled, she knew he didn"t see it that way.
"Sometimes, when I touch someone, I can feel a wound. The mental ones are the hardest to detect and the hardest to fix. But sometimes things pop out at me when I touch someone."
"There"s something wrong with Taber?"
Davin stopped walking and pulled her to the side to let a couple pa.s.s. "I"ve known him for a while and I"ve never been able to get past his mental control before. Not that I"ve tried or anything. This time, when I touched his shoulder, all I could feel was guilt, anguish and chaos."
"From Taber?" That didn"t sound like the in control man she"d come to know.
"Did something happen to him on the Damara that would have hurt him?"
Fallon"s mind raced. "No, I mean other than the murders. He seemed quite happy."
She looked up when Davin squeezed her arm. "Happy?"
"Is that a problem? I mean he was smiling, teasing me. He was a pain in the a.s.s too.
Kept following me, making sure nothing happened." Fallon stopped when Davin gave his head a shake. "What?"
"Nothing and everything. We need to get you to your meeting and then to Taber. I think the two of you need to talk."
"What the h.e.l.l is going on?"
Davin sighed. "I didn"t push into his mind. I wouldn"t do that to a friend. But when I touched him, I got the distinct impression he was on the edge of...something important. He was dealing with something he"d refused to acknowledge for years. He needs your help."
She almost asked if it was about Taber"s mate, but she stopped herself short. If Davin didn"t know, the last thing she wanted to do was expose something Taber hadn"t shared with anyone. Instead, she gave Davin"s arm a squeeze.
"Thank you."
132.
"If you are able to help him with this, then it"s we who should be thanking you. I doubt anyone, including Kamran, knew he was carrying around this sort of guilt. Now, let"s get you to your meeting."
Fallon"s mind kept turning over the possibilities of Taber"s problem. She couldn"t reconcile the man who she"d come to know on the ship with the all business, unemotional man of Eurus.
When they approached the observation room, Fallon took a deep breath before she went in. "So much has happened this week. My head is spinning."
"Your friends are here to help. Take your time and relax. I"ll be here when you"re ready to find Taber."