Fallon held her breath for a second and prayed she was doing the right thing.
"Jenny, I"ve been trying to find Taber for hours now. Have you seen him?"
"Careful. We still don"t know if she"s the one," Davin buzzed in her ear.
137.
Jenny shook her head. "The last time I saw him was back on the shuttle. The security crew had just finished a sweep of the ship and was leaving with me when he"d gotten a communication. He stayed behind to answer it."
"That would have been my call," said Sean.
"You didn"t see him after that?" Fallon felt her own frustration building.
"To be honest, I figured he was off f.u.c.king you. G.o.d knows he wasn"t interested in me at all."
Fallon wasn"t sure why she was so surprised. Jenny had made no secret of her attraction toward Taber. But the fact that she had been so blatant about it, and that he"d rejected her, set Fallon at ease.
"I wish he had been," she gave Jenny a small smile. "Well, back to my barstool, I guess, to wait."
She turned to leave when Jenny caught her by the arm. "Hey, I"m sorry too. I know I was being a complete b.i.t.c.h."
"Just don"t be alone tonight, okay. And be careful."
"Hey, I work security. Careful is my middle name."
Jenny straightened, pulling her self confidence around her like a shield, and marched back out to the bar. Rather than follow, Fallon sighed and pressed her back against the wall.
"This isn"t going to work," she muttered.
"You"ve been flirting with men all night. Our killer has to be out there watching you," Sean said, sounding just as frustrated as her. "Maybe someone did manage to sneak on the ship. Took Taber by surprise."
"We"ll find him, you two. Let"s focus on-"
Davin"s voice was drowned out when the door to the bar opened up and Tony walked through. He was wearing a black b.u.t.toned shirt, and pants that clung to his thighs suggestively. For the first time, Fallon saw how attractive he was. She also saw something in his eyes that scared the s.h.i.t out of her.
"Tony?"
"He"s there?" Sean asked, a quiet urgency in his voice. "Our readings still show him in his quarters."
"What are you doing here?" Fallon continued, ignoring Sean as best she could.
"I saw you and Jenny come back here and only Jenny leave. I wanted to make sure you were still standing."
He smiled and took a step forward, reaching her side before she had a chance to react. Fallon couldn"t stop the shiver when he got close. He was somehow different than he"d been back on the Damara-colder. The smile on his face didn"t reach his eyes and she was forced to not react when he let his gaze roam over her body.
138.
"You don"t look any worse for wear," he said and reached out to touch her chin briefly. "I was at least expecting a few cat scratches."
"Yeah, she wasn"t very pleased with me. But we"ve come to an understanding."
Tony reached up and caught a lock of her hair and brought it to his lips. "She"s finally realized she isn"t your equal. That no one can be."
"Fallon, stay right there," Sean practically shouted. "The security team will be there in under a minute. Just stay there."
Fallon"s heart began to pound and she knew if she were to hold her hands up, they"d be shaking. She had to swallow hard to get her voice to work again.
"I had no idea you were interested in me," she managed to whisper.
"I couldn"t let you know. It was against the rules. We always have to follow the rules."
The way he said the last part, like he was far away remembering something someone had told him, scared Fallon more than anything. But when he looked back into her eyes and smiled, she wanted to scream.
"I think we should continue our conversation someplace else. I believe your friends are about to arrive."
"What do you mean?"
Davin burst through the bar door with five security officers behind him. All their weapons were drawn and pointed at Tony. Before she was able to move away, he had his arm around her neck, using her as a protective shield.
"Well, I have to say, the Eurus security force is efficient if nothing else. I really wish I could stay and chat, but I have a date."
Fallon felt her skin tingle everywhere. She suddenly found it difficult to breath and her vision blurred. She was about to scream when Tony pulled her in the direction of the wall-and then pa.s.sed straight through.
Pain sliced through Taber"s head, making it nearly impossible for him to open his eyes. His arms had been secured to a metal pipe, and from the sounds he was hearing, he must be on the lower level of the newer section of the station. Every time he tried to shift his weight, tried to move his body to be able to actually see something if he were able to get his eyes to cooperate, he couldn"t. The substance Tony had used on him had long lasting effects.
Even his anger at knowing he"d let Fallon down wasn"t enough to force his body into action.
There was a low humming noise and something that sounded like a crackling pop, forcing him to lift his head and once more try to open his eyes.
"I brought you a friend, Taber."
139.
"Taber!"
Fallon! He opened his mouth to speak, but the words couldn"t slip past the dry expanse of his throat. Soft hands were caressing his cheeks and neck while her moist lips pressed kisses against his temple. He heard her sniff and could feel her tears on his face.
"My G.o.d, what did he do to you?"
"Well, I couldn"t have him too healthy and strong now," Tony"s amused voice came from somewhere behind Fallon. "It"s not like that would make it a fair fight."
"Sean knows he has me," Fallon quickly whispered in his ear.
Fighting past the pain and the effects of the drugs, Taber finally managed to get his eyes open. He blinked several times to clear the blurry haze that had formed there until he was able to see Fallon.
Her hair was cascading down over her shoulders and she was wearing a tight black dress that did little to conceal the curves of her body. When she saw what he was looking at, she gave him a small smile and shrugged.
"They needed to draw him out so we could find you."
"How did..." He stopped to swallow, trying to get his voice to work once more.
"How?"
"He has some sort of device that lets him walk through walls. What the h.e.l.l is that thing, Tony?"
Taber turned his head as Tony pushed up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a micro thin sensor pad that appeared to be grafted to his skin. It was so small no one would notice the device unless they physically saw it on his arm. He looked, but Taber had no idea which race would have developed such an item.
"Why?" Taber managed to croak.
Tony raced across the small s.p.a.ce that separated them, grabbed Fallon by the shoulder and yanked her away. She let out a startled scream as she struggled against him, punching and kicking him for all she was worth. When he slapped her across the face, Taber"s body surged to life. He roared, twisting and jerking his body against the restraints so hard the metal of the pipe groaned.
"Cha tabie kra gremera, mi shalla! "
"I don"t know what the f.u.c.k you just said, Briel, but I suggest you shut your yap if you want her to live past the next three seconds."
Tony secured Fallon to what looked like a computer console that hadn"t been installed. Taber quickly looked around and realized they were in the unfinished section of the new building. They were currently using the bottom two levels as storage until the next group of colonists from Earth arrived. They were completely isolated with no hope of anyone stumbling on them.
140.
When Tony was done securing Fallon, he reached up and held her face with his hand. Turing his body so Taber could see what he was doing to her, Tony looked back and grinned.
"You asked why? Because those f.u.c.kers on the ship are stupid. Drunks, pirates, f.u.c.king anyone and anything that moved. I use this," he held up his arm, "to steal what I want when I want it. It"s made me f.u.c.king rich."
"Why did you kill Nate?" Fallon whispered, her eyes wide, fixed on Tony.
Taber surged forward against his restraints again when Tony bent forward and kissed Fallon roughly on the lips. All he could do was watch, frustration and anger eating away at him, fueling his strength.
He was touching Fallon.
Hurting Fallon.
His Fallon.
"I will kill you," Taber said each word with slow precision.
There must have been enough menace in his voice because Tony pulled his face away from Fallon"s and turned to look at him. The wicked smile on his face told Taber that while Tony was clearly insane, he wasn"t about to make a careless mistake-like freeing Taber"s arms.
"And how to do intend to do that? Do you think she belongs to you? Huh?" Tony turned and pushed his hand into her hair, yanking her head at an awkward angle to expose her neck. "You don"t belong to him, do you, Fallon?"
Fallon swallowed hard, but she was smart enough to keep her eyes locked on Tony.
She relaxed her body against his and gave him one of her small, shy smiles that Taber had grown to love so much.
"You killed Nate for me, didn"t you?"
She made no other movement, silently waiting, giving Tony all her attention. In that moment Taber couldn"t help but wonder if she really felt anything for him or if she was that talented an actress with his affections as well.
Regardless, Tony seemed sucked in to Fallon"s change of reaction. He shifted his weight slightly, rising up on the b.a.l.l.s of his feet as he leaned in closer to her.
"Yes." Tony swallowed hard, lifting his free hand to caress the side of her neck.
"Nate told me he wanted you. That he didn"t care about the rules and he was going to take you."
Fallon nodded as much as she was able. "I knew he wanted me, but I was never interested."
"He caught me with the device. He saw me watching you from the storage room that night. I didn"t know this and when I ran into him in the hall, he confronted me.
Wanted to know how I"d gotten out there. So I showed him."
141.
Tony laughed a low, mirthless chuckle that sent a shiver through Taber. He"d met many criminals over the years, but the criminally insane were always the most disturbing.
"I yanked him back into the bar storeroom and shot him."
"Why did no one see you?" Taber managed to say, his voice little more than a harsh whisper.
"The device has sensors. It becomes in tune with your body after a while. I can sense who and what might be on the other side of the wall. I simply wait until the coast is clear."
"And of course you"d erase the computer feed afterward and replace it with something else," Fallon said, a note of awe in her voice. "That way no one would know it was you."
Tony turned back and kissed Fallon"s forehead. "I knew you"d understand."
"And Lukas?" She kept her voice light, but Taber could hear the small quiver as she spoke.
"He wanted to f.u.c.k you. He was crude, talking about what he"d do to you to anyone who"d listen. I wasn"t about to let him touch you." He began to shake his head and laugh. "No, no, no. Lukas had to go."
Fallon"s gaze darted to Taber, fear threatening to overtake her. He knew exactly what Tony was thinking. If Tony killed Nate and Lukas for thinking about being with her, what the h.e.l.l was he going to do to the man who actually slept with her?
As if on cue, Tony stood up and made his way close to Taber. He looked down, the crazed smile still on his face. "And then there is you."
Taber relaxed his body, mentally bracing himself for what was about to come next.
He didn"t have to wait long. With his hands restrained, his stomach and chest were open targets. Tony"s kick landed squarely on Taber"s side, knocking the air from his lungs and sending a lancing pain through him.
"I saw you." He kicked again, this time connecting with Taber"s stomach. "I saw you in the tube. Your filthy hands all over her."
"Tony, please stop!"
"Your filthy alien hands." Thunk. "You have no right to touch her. She"s mine."
Thunk.
"Tony! Tony, look at me!" Fallon pleaded. "Please stop."
Taber was able to focus on her face, recognized the tears that streamed down her face. When Tony landed his next kick, the pain didn"t seem quite as strong.