Deadly Lover (21 page)

Together she, Sean, and Jolaj stepped into the elevator and Sean called for the fifteenth floor. They all backed off against the walls and turned toward the center so they could talk.

Sean pinched the bridge of his nose. “We aren’t getting this figured out fast enough.”

“No,” said Jolaj. “The situation grows worse every day.”

They weren’t going to get anywhere with a conversation the length of an elevator ride. “Brian told me he came down to help you and Uncle Patrick update the old war-room last summer.”

“Yeah. All the latest,” said Sean. “Your brother is gifted with the tech. Would have made a damn good e-cop.”

“If Mom hadn’t dragged us all to DC after Dad was killed.”

“Yeah,” said Sean. “You’re thinking it’s time to call a meet, get the whole team together and see where we are?”

Lily darted a glance at Jolaj then nodded. “Will your dad let us use the room?”

“Dad’s in UT Metro.” The elevator doors slid open and together they walked down the hall. “Got a call that Grampa Will was causing trouble in the retirement community again,” Sean continued. “Dad and Junior went down and now he’s joined Gramps in some damn crusade to break a hov-cart theft ring.”

Lily made a face.

“Don’t laugh. This is downright big time for Gramps these days. Last Christmas he dragged Dad out there for the great mistletoe caper. Anyway, I have all the pass codes and Mom won’t mind.” Sean’s face had softened as he’d spoken of their family. “She’ll insist on feeding you.”

“I could eat.” It was a simple thing. A meal with family, but it wasn’t simple at all.

They left Sean at the lobby where the investigative unit was doing interviews and overseeing the evidence techs. Lily and Jolaj made their way to the corridor where the Ormney victim had been stashed. It was deep in the research and development wing. Silver uniforms everywhere, both races represented in almost equal measure. The technology exchange programs were the biggest areas of employment for Ormney outside The Zone.

Several uniformed Metro officers stood outside the secured room and across the corridor two Ormney techs stood their own watch. When Lily and Jolaj stepped inside all eyes turned to them. The drugged Ormney lay on a bed, restraints secured his limbs and torso to the frame. Two med techs, one human and one Ormney, studied the bio readouts. The silver-suited woman with the cinnamon hair stood nearby, arms wrapped around her middle, she rocked forward and back in a subtle movement. Subtle, but there. Another woman who’d become involved with an Ormney.

A silver-suited Ormney woman stood with her, six inches taller with a straight and proud posture. Her chocolate brown hair had been pulled back into a twist, emphasizing the broad, Ormney features of her face.

Two women, two species, wearing a single uniform. It clearly wasn’t a problem for them, but had it driven someone to an anger hot enough to take lives? Or was this Deepwater meddling for some unknowable reason?

The room wasn’t a private stay room. It was some part of the R&D program and had several beds. The human med tech led Jolaj to one of the empty beds and engaged a privacy screen. Lily turned to the two women standing together. “How’s he doing?”

The Ormney woman answered, “We haven’t been able to sedate him for fear of a drug interaction, but he’s fighting the drugs. The restraints seem to be helping him focus.”

The Ormney man in the bed pressed against the restraints, but more as if he were flexing and testing them, not truly trying to get free.

“Kabel is strong.” The human woman’s eyes stayed on the man that had to be her lover as she spoke.

Lily introduced herself as a Deepwater Agent, investigating on behalf of the Ormney Affairs Office. “It would help if we could talk. I have a few questions.”

“I’ve already answered the Metro officer’s questions. I can’t leave him right now. You understand? You’re also working with Father Jo, right?”

Lily nodded, surprised how much she disliked the nickname for Jolaj. She’d heard the kids in The Mixer use it, but now that she knew him it didn’t fit. “I understand. But we can talk down the hall. We won’t go far or be gone long.”

The woman nodded, reluctantly. She glanced back at the restrained Ormney then at the woman who’d been standing with her.

“I’ll stay here until you come back,” said the Ormney woman.

Lily found an empty office a few doors down, the door in sight of the cops and Ormney standing in the hall.

“What will happen to him?” The woman wanted to know.

“I can’t say. That’s up to Metro. And their Council.”

“I don’t know what you could need to talk to me about. I told the officers, I didn’t see anyone inject him with anything. If someone darted him, he didn’t seem to have noticed. We were sitting together talking when he started acting strangely. Told me to get away from him.” She wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock again. “I knew. I knew what was happening, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I couldn’t leave like he wanted me to.”

“I understand and for what it’s worth I think you did the right thing.” It was the right thing to say. The woman stilled, straightened, and met her eyes. “The person who drugged him—”

“Kabel,” the woman provided.

Lily flashed a quick smile. “If the person who drugged Kabel was there and you ran, he would probably have followed you. Whoever is behind this seems to want to hurt both the Ormney men and the women who associate with them.”

The woman’s eyes drifted away then returned. “Why? Why would anyone do this?”

Lily didn’t have an answer. They had only the roughest of theories built on a foundation of unanswered questions.

“Who knew about your association with Kabel?”

“Everyone in the R&D department knows we work together. Anyone in the med center could have known.”

“I’m talking about your personal association, not your professional one.”

The woman studied her toes. “I’m sure most of our coworkers know we’re close.”

“Anyone seem to have a problem with that?”

The woman met Lily’s eyes. “No. No one.”

Frustration, frayed the limits of Lily’s patience. Once again they had nothing. No suspects, no leads, no way to find the person behind the attacks before someone else ended up dead.

Lily and the woman walked back down the hall together and stepped into the room to find Kabel straining wildly against his bonds. The woman visibly stopped herself from rushing to his side. She stood just inside the door, breathing hard. “I’m here,” she whispered. “Be strong.”

Kabel seemed to ease, instantly. His muscles remained tense but he no longer thrashed against the restraints.

The privacy screen that had been engaged around Jolaj and the med tech wavered and Sara stepped through. “Hi, cuz.” She smiled at Lily then came to stand in front of her. “He told me you had come back into the room.” Her eyes went wide. “He caught your scent. That is so wowser.”

Lily should have been thrilled to see Sara there. Her cousin had a way of putting things in perspective, but the sight of her coming through that screen had only ramped up Lily’s tension. “What are you doing here?”

Sara pulled a sample square from her pocket and waved it in the air. “I wanted to do an analysis on the new victim’s blood.” She put the little square back in her pocket. “And Sean wanted me to give you a ride to Mom and Dad’s place.”

Lily tilted her head toward Kabel. “You do know he’s the one that was drugged?”

Sara’s smile widened. “Sure. But I am an MD. I thought I’d see if there was anything I could do for the Law Keeper while I was here. Problem?”

Lily shook her head. “No. No problem.”

Across the room, the privacy screen wavered again then disappeared. Jolaj had changed into borrowed scrubs. His eyes seemed to see straight into her soul. As if he knew it did indeed bother her that Sara had been behind that privacy screen with him.

He thanked the med tech then stepped closer. “I must see to Kabel’s security. I would ask you to stay close to your family for your own safety.”

Lily nodded. “Sure. Ah. Maybe you can get a ride over to Aunt Jane’s with Sean later?” She hated feeling awkward about a simple invitation. It made sense for them to all work together. The war-room had always been family only, but for this, he should be there.

“I’ll come if I can.” He trusted her to keep her promises. He trusted her judgment about what to share with her family. It was there in his, for once, open face.

The commotion in the hallway startled Lily and had Jolaj
slipping
past her and Sara to stand between them and the door. They all relaxed a little when Sean appeared in the opening with hands out in front of him in a whoa-there gesture.

Sara was first to recover from the tension that had swept the room. “Well that was totally iced.” Sara looked to Lily, grinning like an idiot. “I’ve never actually seen anyone
slip
.”

Lily lifted her eyebrows. Sara had been living in the same city with the Ormney for twenty years. How could she have never seen one
slip
?

“What can I say?” Sara shrugged. “I spend most of my time at the MEs office.” Sara lowered her voice. “Does he do that a lot?”

“Sorry to interrupt your moment, sis,” said Sean, “but we have a situation here.” He focused on Jolaj. “The Council has demanded we turn over Kabel. They say he can be better cared for in The Zone.” Every Ormney in the room seemed to bristle at the statement, but Sean didn’t give them time to respond. “There are several Law Keepers in the hall and a jet hop waiting at the patient exit.” He turned to the med techs. “Can you get your patient ready for transport?” He’d infused his words with enough command that no one mistook the question for one that needed an answer.

The Ormney woman spoke softly to Kabel’s lover. The woman had gone two shades paler, draining her color to a near translucent white.

Jolaj turned to face Lily. “I will be unable to meet you at your uncle’s home, but it would reassure me to know you’ll be safe in their company.”

His concern for her safety reminded her that Kabel’s lover would no longer be safe either. With him being taken to The Zone, the others couldn’t stay and protect her.

“Sara will want to swing by her lab first.” She stepped to the side where she could clearly see Kabel’s lover. “Maybe you could come with me and Sara. I’m sure we have more to talk about and I’m sure Sara would love to have another take on her tests. You work medical technology exchange, right?”

“Yes. That’s right. I’m sure I could help.”

With that settled, they quickly had Kabel ready to go. Secured to the huv-stretcher they took him out into the hall. Jolaj and Sean went first, speaking to the two uniformed Law Keepers, then the techs with the stretcher, followed by Kabel’s lover and the Ormney woman. The police officers and tech personnel lingering in the hallway, watched in silence as they passed.

Lily and Sara followed behind, keeping pace with the procession, eerily like a funeral march. As they moved down the corridor toward the patient lifts the rhythm of the med center seemed to return to a more normal pattern. A mix of blue-and-white uniforms replaced the sea of cops and silver-suited exchange techs.

Lily let the rhythm wash over her, running through the unanswered questions in her own head until something tripped her instincts. Something off.

A blue-suited tech walked calmly down the hall toward them, passing the Law Keepers without a glance. He didn’t glance at Sean or Jolaj. Unconcerned.

No, not unconcerned, she realized. Focused.

His eyes raked across Kabel, strapped to the stretcher. The man wore a white lab coat over his medical scrubs, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Lily pushed forward, shoving the woman walking in front of her out of the way. It startled everyone and created instant panic.

The blue-suited tech whipped his hand out, the laser scalpel gripped tightly in his fist flashed silently as he sliced through Kabel’s restraints then slipped his hand under the stretcher and lifted, tipping it over and dumping the drugged Ormney to the floor.

The man pushed into a sprint, attempting to barrel past Lily, but she snagged him and took him down to the floor. He ended up on top, trying to dig the scalpel into her. She fought and blocked to keep from getting cut up, but she registered the commotion filling the hallway as Kabel got to his feet, wild and confused.

Lily managed to smack the man’s hand against the floor hard enough to render it useless. The scalpel fell free.

Over her head, Kabel swung a wide arc, connecting with the Ormney woman. The thud of the blow knocked her into the wall and her scream kept Kabel focused on her. He wrapped a clawed fist around her neck and threw his head back in a ferocious, shouting, growl.

Blood arced across the hallway.

Not the woman’s blood.

Kabel fell to his knees as blood gushed from the wound in his neck. Soaking his life into his tunic. The Ormney med tech who’d been caring for him moments before, shoved his body aside, claws still dripping blood, and wrapped the Ormney woman in his arms.

Lily managed to shove her knee into the balls of the man still trying to reclaim the laser scalpel. He groaned and tried to pull back. Lily used the momentum to roll him over and land her knee in his groin again. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed into a ball of anguish.

Sean was suddenly there, putting cuffs on the man. Lily got to her feet and took in the situation.

Sara was clear, standing well away. The only injured were the man Lily had subdued and the Ormney woman, being seen to by the male. Kabel was clearly gone—down in one blow—his human lover wailing over his lifeless body. Jolaj stood over them, grim and silent. There had been too many people between him and the commotion for him to do anything. The corridor too small for easy maneuvering, not even with one of his incredible
slips
. Lily knew this loss rocked him. He’d fought so hard. They’d both fought hard and thought they’d saved Kabel only to have the brief success snatched away.

“I had to stop him.” The Ormney male turned to face Jolaj and the tableau of grief. “I had to protect my mate.” His voice shook as he looked down at his blood-coated claws. “I had no choice.”