03 Solar Flare - Spark Series (12 page)

He bared his teeth. “You would stoop to
murder?”

Vio raised a brow. “How do you count those
who died from your drug?”

Dr. Vhanee made a slicing motion with his
hand. “Most of them chose to take the drug. They’d have similar
risks with other drugs they might take. At least mine offered
something in return.”

“Ah, the powers of the mind. Healing. Tell
me, what was the percentage of your successes? Less than one
percent; I would call that a failure.”

He ground his jaw. “The drug takes time to
show its full effects. Another few months should bring interesting
results. But until then, I want to suspend the trial.”

Vio shrugged. “I’m not interested in
negotiation. If you do not pay, I will begin eliminating all your
best candidates.” He drew in a deep, satisfying breath and glanced
at one of his men. “Show the good doctor out, would you? He has
some thinking to do.”

Dr. Vhanee stood and leaned over Vio’s desk.
“I can’t afford this! I’ve mortgaged my house, sold my
transport…there’s nothing left, Vio. Reconsider,” he pleaded.

Vio smiled. “You’re an intelligent man, Dr.
Vhanee. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

Brandy spent much of the first week on board
Azor’s ship, reading, sleeping or watching videos. There wasn’t
much else to do in her small, very basic room. She was processing
the stress she’d experienced over the past few weeks and felt
better doing it privately. It wasn’t her way to dwell on things too
deeply, but she was moody, blue. It took a while to get all that
out.

Besides, her self-imposed solitary
confinement was an excellent way to avoid Blue and Azor. She was
sorry to disappoint her brother in law, though she suspected he was
handling her adventures with tolerance now that they were away from
Polaris, where the social backlash couldn’t upset his wife. After
all, he was from off world and had more relaxed views on propriety.
Besides all that, she knew he was no saint.

Azor was different. He’d really proven
himself in the last few weeks, and she didn’t want him thinking
badly of her. It had nothing to do with their brief kiss,
either—she’d given up on romance. Certainly he was the last place
she should look for such a thing.

She wondered, briefly, if Azure had escaped
arrest. She didn’t think about it too long, though. Except for one
shining moment, he’d proven himself unreliable. He’d been just a
passing storm. Dazzling, but a few brilliant bolts of lightning
were all he had in him.

She preferred to think of his intersection
with her life as one of those things one isn’t supposed to examine
too closely, like being caught in the rain. A girl was supposed to
just go inside, dry off and toss the towel in the laundry,
forgotten.

Though she'd given up on love in the real
world, it didn't keep her from devouring several of the steamy
e-novels she had stored on her reader. She'd first gotten hooked on
the racy love stories when she'd stumbled across a discarded
electronic reader in one of the rooms she'd been cleaning at The
Spark. She'd been a devoted fan ever since, downloading several
books a month. It was her guilty secret, but one she refused to
give up. If she'd had access to that kind of information before her
wedding, her expectations would have been very different. She would
have realized something was wrong sooner, might have...well, maybe
not. Maybe she was putting too much stock in might have beens, but
at least she knew what lovemaking could be, with the right man. She
just needed to find him.

A picture of Azor flashed in her head, and
she quickly rejected it. She knew better than that. He'd never be
interested in her now. Besides, they were wrong for each other.

After several days of emotional
decompression, she felt good enough to leave her room and examine
the ship. Not that there was much to see, in her opinion. It was
clean, but the bare, dun colored walls left something to be
desired. The rough, rubber-like surface underfoot was medium brown
and provided good traction as well as muffling noise, but that’s
all she could say for it.

At least the hallucinations seemed to have
stopped. Other than some very vivid dreams, she’d been left in
peace.

She frowned, remembering the way her doctor
had quizzed her about that when she’d gone for her pre-flight
physical. Dr. Vhanee had been almost pushy when he’d insisted that
she tell him if she’d experienced any lingering side effects from
the drug. He’d insisted it was concern—he’d worked hard to put her
back together and had no interest in seeing her suffer further.
She’d been annoyed, and not as forthcoming as she could have been.
In spite of his efforts in the past, she had no special fondness
for doctors.

She peeked in the galley/rec room as she
passed, but didn’t go in. It had a spare, masculine feel to it,
though the children rolling around on the floor and watching videos
livened it up a bit. Gem was there, but she was busy consoling a
baby and didn’t notice when Brandy decided to pass by. She’d let
her nephews and nieces terrorize her later; it would provide a
distraction.

The men were on the bridge, doing whatever
people did when they had a ship to guide. They sat at separate
interfaces and occasionally pushed a button. It looked
riveting.

They didn’t hear her come in, so she looked
out at the stars rushing past the view screen. Hyperdrive didn’t
allow for the best views, but they were due to arrive at Ictharus
II in a couple of days. According to the brochures she’d been force
fed, there was supposedly plenty to see and do there.

She thought grumpily that there was plenty to
see and do on Polaris, too, but stowed the thought. She’d burned
her bridges there.

She didn’t like thinking about it. In her
heart, she hoped to return one day. No other planet could ever be
home, and though she was looking forward to seeing Xera, she didn’t
think she’d really fit into an alien culture. She dreaded the
thought of being restlessly bored, unable to mesh with Xera’s
adopted culture. She felt very like a fish that had been forced to
put on a water suit and journey among the air breathers.

Blue popped his neck and stretched, then
turned around in his chair. “Hello. Stirred from your room, did
you?”

She shrugged. “I can only watch so many
videos.” She met Azor’s eyes as he looked up. “Actually, I wanted
to apologize for the other night. I really had my head in a bucket
that night. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She didn’t have to
specify which night; they all knew what she was referring to.

The men exchanged a long look. Azor subtly
nodded, and Blue rose from his chair, making her wonder what was
up. Instinctively, she felt uneasy. She had a feeling that
something was coming that she wouldn’t like. He was obviously
leaving her alone with Azor so they could talk, and she wasn’t sure
she wanted to hear anything that couldn’t be said in a crowd. She’d
just begun to relax, after all. She felt certain Azor wouldn’t have
anything positive to say, not after the way he’d found her that
night. No doubt he was disappointed in her judgment. Maybe he had a
lecture for her.

Blue opened his mouth to say something to
her, but got distracted by someone behind her. She turned, rather
relieved to see the twins run up.

“Dad! Dad! The baby is bleeding! Mama said
come quick.”

Blue didn’t wait to hear more as he took off
at a run. Alarmed, Brandy followed, Azor hot on her heels.

Gem looked up as they rushed into the rec
room. She was holding a towel to the wailing child’s head, trying
to sooth him. The towel was wet with blood.

“What happened?” Blue asked in concern as he
knelt beside her.

“He slipped and hit his head on the corner of
the counter. He keeps trying to climb everything.” She lifted the
towel so he could see the gash in the center of the baby’s
eyebrow.

Blue looked relieved. “It doesn’t look too
bad, though I bet it burns like hornets. It’s okay, little buddy,”
he soothed his son. “Let me find a med kit—oh, thanks,” he said as
Azor passed one to him.

“Can I see?” Baden crowded in, trying to
look, getting in the way.

“Baden! Back off, would you?” Blue said
irritably. “I can’t see with your head in the way.”

Brandy took Baden’s hand and pulled him back
with her, then collected Kaden, too. “Hey, while your dad’s doing
that, why don’t you two come here and tell me all about it. I bet
you saw the whole thing.” She noticed Azor standing to the side,
looking uncomfortable. She avoided his gaze, trained hers on the
boys. Whatever he had wanted to say, the moment was gone. She was
glad. The trip was awkward enough without any little speeches he
might have planned. The last thing she wanted was more tension
between them.

CHAPTER 8

After dinner that night she sat in a
recliner, full and sleepy. There was something about being stuck on
a spacecraft that made her want to sleep all the time. The kids
must have felt it, too, or they were just mesmerized by the show
they were watching with their father. Gem had already gone to bed,
taking the baby with her, and Azor was at the table, watching the
show with lukewarm interest.

Her slightly unfocused gaze landed on Azor’s
boots. They were unremarkable, the kind of brown boots that any
workman would wear, but suddenly her gaze sharpened. There was
something about them.

Wondering what was bothering her, she eyed
his canvas pants. They were ordinary enough, and maybe that’s why
they seemed odd. He was out of uniform, something she’d rarely
seen. Her eyes rose to consider his shirt, she felt short of
breath. Azor, out of uniform…just like he’d been that night the
cops had busted the strip club.

The vision filled mind, blinding her to her
surroundings as that night flashed in her head. Azure, kissing her,
stashing her in a closet. Opening it less than a minute later and
spotting Azor, though most of the cops had been in the main room.
He’d known right where to find her, and why was that? Suddenly she
was sure he knew because he’d been the one to put her there.

She was out of her chair before the thought
finished forming. She stalked up to him and slapped his face,
though she’d had no conscious plan to. Her hand shot out a second
time, and this time he caught her wrist. He might have been caught
unawares, but the man was quick.

“What are you doing? Are you nuts?” he
demanded, the print of her hand glowing on his cheek.

“You bastard,” she whispered, fury nearly
blinding her. Her lip curled as she hissed, “Azure.”

His hand tightened as he stared at her, then
loosened when her wrist jerked, but didn’t let go. He glanced at
the boys, who were staring, wide-eyed.

Blue looked at them solemnly. “Boys, it’s
time for bed.”

“Don’t bother,” Brandy snarled, ripping her
wrist from Azor’s grasp. “I’m not staying.” She stalked out of the
room, barely aware that she was being followed.

She bypassed her room—it wasn’t big enough
for the fit she planned to throw. At the door of the cargo bay, she
stopped and blocked the door. She didn’t want company, especially
his.

Azor looked at her grimly. “We need to
talk.”

“No. We don’t.” She turned and opened the
door, but was unsuccessful at keeping him out.

It was cold in there, and dim, just the thing
for soothing an explosive temper…if she’d been alone. His presence
was enough to make the top of her head explode. Was he stupid?
Didn’t he know she’d like to kill him? Everything was locked down
and there was nothing loose to throw, so she kicked a tool locker,
leaving a satisfying dent in the door. Her shoulders ached from the
tension.

He started to speak and she kicked the locker
again. It was that or aim for his crotch.

There was a beat of silence. “Are you done
now?”

She whirled on him. “You lied to me! Right
from the first, it was you.” She thought about him at the track,
when he had seen her tears. She hated that. Azor was the last
person she wanted to see her weakness.

He’d always been that way, right from the
first time he investigated the inn. He’d discovered she was on
antidepressants and badgered her mercilessly as to why. He’d rooted
out every weakness, exposed every evasion. How could she forget he
was an enemy?

She paced around the bay, and he made no move
to stop her. She knew how he worked. He’d wait until her guard was
down and grill her. It was his way.

It must have been forty degrees in the bay,
and it chilled her pretty quickly. Her temper, unfortunately, was
still burning hot. She finished the circuit and stared at him.
“Were you trying to trap me? Happy in your success?”

His eyes grew colder, but he didn’t say a
word. Not that she let him.

“Were you certain I’d stumble? Is that why
you did it? Did you get any satisfaction out of the charade? You
always were a whore to your badge.”

His jaw tightened. “You always were a
hotheaded fool.”

She stepped closer, stared into his eyes. “I
want you to drop dead, Azor. I’d like to see it happen. You deserve
it for what you did to me.” She headed for the door, but he grabbed
her arm.

“You need to listen. There’s a lot you’re not
hearing.”

She couldn’t stand the smell of him, not now.
She trembled from cold and pure, unadulterated fury. “You want to
kiss a girl in the dark, Azure. Find someone else. I’d rather find
a real man.”

His hand tightened, giving her a fission of
fear, mostly that he would make her finish this now, when all she
wanted to do was hurl spite at him. She couldn’t think straight,
not with anger beating inside her head like some monstrous
drum.

Maybe he realized that. He stared down at her
face, his own a mask of cold resolve. “We’ll finish this when
you’ve calmed down.”