Chapter 28

KAMEER

I lie awake, watching my beautiful golden-haired mate as she sleeps peacefully. One of her arms rests outside the covers, and I study the ancestral markings that decorate her skin, a signal to all the universe that she now belongs to me.

Not only will she be safe from the attention of unmated Darrvason males, but I shouldn’t have too much difficulty tracking her if she’s ever in danger. However, I still plan to have Doctor Zahhn implant a tracking device as soon as it can be arranged.

As I think about my would-be assassin, I swallow the growl that builds in my throat. I pray the trap that Officer Brute is arranging will help flush out the true culprit behind the attempts on my life. I also pray Officer Brute is wrong about his number one suspect. My friend, Officer Gorrsum.

I rage at the prospect of my oldest comrade wanting me dead, yet I cannot deny the proof that Officer Brute showed me. The encrypted messages between Gorrsum and his brothers, who are his purported accomplices, are highly suspicious, but the recovered surveillance videos from the Rorrsa are even worse.

On the night I was nearly stabbed in the eye socket, Gorrsum’s youngest brother could be found in my home corridor shortly before the attack. On the morning my food replicator exploded, nearly maiming me, Gorrsum himself was spotted working on a control panel on my home deck.

Fluxx . Why would the male want me dead?

I brush away a lock of hair that’s fallen across Mandy’s forehead, then lean down to kiss her cheek. I take a deep inhale of her familiar floral scent, an aroma that reminds me of the wildflower fields on my destroyed homeworld. Being close to her helps ease some of the turmoil churning through me, though I know I can’t remain in bed all day. I must get up. I must face the troubles I wish to conquer.

After giving my mate one last kiss, I climb out of bed and head for the shower. Too tired to clean up after our exertions last night, we’d both collapsed in bed and fallen fast asleep, covered in one another’s essence. I bite back a grin as I consider how Mandy will probably have to peel the sheets from her legs when she awakes.

I get dressed and send her a wave of affection before I depart the bedroom, hoping it’ll help her sleep remain peaceful. Then I hasten to the entryway where I retrieve my wrist comm from the floor.

To my surprise, nothing urgent awaits me, though I’m pleased when I find a message from Officer Brute announcing the release of Mandy’s father from the brig and a confirmation that all charges against him were dropped.

Excellent.

Though I’m eager to share the news with my mate, I decide to wait until she wakes up. Her father presents another problem I am uncertain how to handle. She seems to care for him—I’ve felt her affection for him—but she also fears him and they share a rather complicated relationship.

From what I’ve gathered as I glimpsed some of her memories, he’s a cold, calculating male who cares more about his reputation than the welfare of his wife and daughters. It’s my understanding that he was trying to use his daughters to advance his own social standing. Yes, by betrothing Mandy and Tasha to Founders, he’d hoped to keep them from becoming Darrvason brides, but his reasons were also clearly selfish. It’s obvious that he wishes he were a Founder, but the closest he’ll ever get is forcing his daughters to marry one.

I don’t want Mandy to spend time in his presence. Yet I’ve promised to let her visit her family in the human settlement, and I don’t want to go back on that promise.

I resolve that when I next encounter the human male, I will demand a private audience so I might lay out my expectations for his behavior around my mate. There will be no more name calling or insults of any kind. Not unless he fancies a broken nose or perhaps a dislocated shoulder.

As I approach the viewscreen in the living room, the nearby video comm dings. I take a seat and answer the incoming call without pausing to look at the number. When Officer Gorrsum’s face appears on the screen, I’m careful not to reveal any emotions. If the trap is to work, it must remain a surprise. My guts twists under the cold knife of betrayal.

“Officer Gorrsum.” I lean forward. “Any updates from the Jansonna ?”

He nods, his eyes wide. “Ensign Harrek was very slow to install the new control panel on Deck Five, and he kept making mistakes that I was forced to go back and correct. The other ensigns and officers who helped him weren’t much better. I think they are becoming lazy in your absence. They were keen to impress you while you were stationed on the Jansonna , though I fear their work ethic has vanished in the wake of your departure.” He clears his throat, and I can’t help but notice how much he’s sweating. Nervous. He looks nervous.

Good. The trap is working.

“Officer Gorrsum, I find it difficult to believe that members of the crew I personally selected for this mission are incapable of installing a simple environmental control panel. Are you certain they made mistakes during the installation?”

His face darkens, and he scratches his neck with a trembling hand. “They’ve become unruly as well, Chief Kameer. I have never seen engineers behave so poorly in my entire life. I smelled alcohol on Ensign Harrek’s breath this morning and I was forced to send him back to his temporary quarters.” He shakes his head. “I do not understand why they do not respect me. When I threatened to demote Ensign Harrek to work in the Rorrsa’s mess hall, he laughed and walked off. Laughed! He laughed in my face!”

Indeed, it would appear Officer’s Brute trap is working faster than I expected. I’d thought I would have several more days until I must play my part, but it would seem events are transpiring more quickly than I imagined. I stare at my old friend as the cold knife twists deeper in my stomach.

“Perhaps I should return to the Jansonna ,” I say in a thoughtful tone. “Just for half a day or so, just long enough to instill fear in Ensign Harrek and the others. I will admit I departed the human worldship in haste without giving proper instructions to the other crew members. Perhaps if I directly order their obedience to you, their work habits will improve.”

Officer Gorrsum appears scandalized by my suggestion, but I know him well enough to know he’s pretending. My suspicions about him increase, and I start to mourn the loss of my friend. Perhaps he was never who I thought he was. “I couldn’t ask you to return to the Jansonna , Chief Kameer. Not when the individual who wants you dead is likely among our crew. I highly suspect Ensign Harrek, and I hope to have proof for you soon. He probably feels that you should’ve elevated him to officer by now and thinks if you’re dead he’ll have a better chance of moving up the ranks.”

I release a long breath and pretend to appear deep in thought. “I bet you’re right. I bet it is Ensign Harrek who wants me dead. Nevertheless, I cannot have the engineering crew I handpicked for the final work on the Jansonna make such blunders. The worldship needs to be ready for landing on 58-Z. Therefore, I will return to the Jansonna in secret to work on the ship. But you mustn’t tell any of our crew members. I will work during the curfew hours so I’m not seen, then once the work is complete, I will return to the Rorrsa .”

Officer Gorrsum gives me a wary look. “Are you certain? I would hate to impose on you, Chief Kameer, but you are right. The Jansonna must be ready for landing on 58-Z as soon as possible. If something goes amiss, I fear Captain Warren won’t want to hand over the two thousand human females we are still owed. It would be tragic if the alliance crumbled in the final hour.”

“It’s not an imposition at all. I will depart the Haxxal on a shuttlecraft tomorrow morning. I believe there’s a supply run already scheduled, so I can hop aboard without anyone even knowing.” I chuckle. “It’ll be like old times when we used to jump from ship to ship, avoiding the formal logs, just for the fun of annoying our superiors.” I’m talking about our antics long before the war, of course, when we were both stationed on the Haxxal for our first apprenticeships.

He joins in my laughter, and I almost regret what I’m doing. Regret how easy it is to bait him. But it must be done, and if he’s truly the mastermind behind the attempts on my life, then he must face the consequences of his crimes.

“Thank you, Chief Kameer. I anticipate your arrival. Would you like me to meet you in the docking bay?”

“No need. But if you could make sure the Founders’ quarters I recently occupied on Deck Twenty-One are ready for my return, I would be much obliged.”

“Consider it done.”