Deadly Lover (28 page)

“Did anyone contact him?” asked Sara.

“Damn it.” Sean tapped his com-unit. “I was too worried about Lily and Brian and Aunt Karen. But he should have gotten a call about the attack from HQ.”

Sean shook his head indicating he wasn’t able to get through.

Lily used her com-lens to tag Bradley’s com, but got no response. “Nothing for me either.”

Sean tapped his com again and paced back to the windows Turning his back on the room he requested a link to the Metro response net.

Lily turned her focus to Sara. “What about the physical evidence? Bradley can’t really be a suspect, can he?”

Sara reached over and put her palm over the fist Lily had unknowingly melded around the chair arm. Lily forced herself to release her grip and Sara slid their hands together.

“Hun, I can’t rule him out. What are your instincts telling you?”

Lily licked her suddenly dry lips. “It isn’t Bradley. He isn’t a good person sometimes, but he doesn’t have enough hate in him to sustain such an elaborate plot.” Lily glanced to Sean to reassure herself he was still talking on his link. “And murders this brutal have to be based in hate, right? No amount of wanting or dissatisfaction could lead a man to something like this.” She said it as a statement but heard the question in her voice. When she’d been working hostage recovery, she’d seen greedy men do terrible things to get their way. But not this. She couldn’t bear to be the motivation for all of this.

Sara squeezed her hand. “I agree. This isn’t Bradley. He’s an ass, not a monster. The shadows ringing her eyes seemed even darker than when she’d first arrived home from the autopsy. Lily wanted to wrap her arms around her, but she couldn’t move. Couldn’t risk breaking down.

“We have a trace on his com unit.” Sean’s voice so close made Lily start, but he didn’t seem to notice. He dropped back into the chair he’d vacated earlier. “Bradley’s at a midtown residential address. I sent a team to pick him up.”

“Good,” said Lily. “That’s good.” But her cousins didn’t seem to agree or maybe they were all too tired to react—good or bad.

They would all have to find their reserves, because she had a bad feeling that Bri had been right. Before things got better, they were going to get worse.

Jolaj stood silent and on edge in the small Council Room. It wasn’t the prospect of facing the Council’s censure that bothered him. It was the familiarity of the darkened room. The Symbol of Perpetuation glowed pale against one wall. Five round fixtures directed luminous beams down to the unadorned seats where the Council members would sit behind a narrow curved table. The rest of the room was hidden away in a darkness that had always suffocated him with memories of the great black emptiness of
out-of-sync
. So much was different on Earth but this room had been remade in the image of those final years on the home-world when they’d been forced to live underground, out of reach of the increasingly toxic atmosphere.

On Earth they’d chosen to make their homes as open to the sky as possible. They’d reengineered clean biotechnologies, relying on native Earth plant species to green and power their community. The things they’d worked to preserve from the old world were the social order, their customs, and their devotion to The Way.

The Council Room here looked much like the one where he’d given hundreds of Search Reports. Week after week of
slipping
into the black, searching for a phase to stabilize in, desperate to
sync
, to breathe, to rest. Only to return and report failure. To stare into the grim faces of the Council again and again.

The tall, thin Councilor Chak and his diminutive mate Councilor Tayp were the first to enter. Jolaj’s muscles tensed and twitched instinctively as he met Chak’s dark, intense eyes. Tayp did not bother to meet his eyes at all.

Jolaj was prepared for the wave of guilt that further tightened his body when his longtime friend Tasst and his graceful mate Zee found their places and sat. Tasst had been his mate’s brother.

Councilors Vaj and Relerin stepped into the room last, moving close to one another. The two seemed always to be touching and offering comfort. This eldest couple of the Council remained a mystery to Jolaj. Their motives so often steeped in complex reasoning that went beyond the interests of a warrior like him.

Vaj spoke first, calling the session to order. “We’re here today to address the actions of Law Keeper Jolaj, beloved hero of the people, honored warrior of the Council’s Defenders, brave Searcher with hundreds of high risk search
slips
to attest to his dedication to Continuation and our beloved descendants.”

The introduction, blatantly intended to remind the Council of his past service and sway them toward leniency, surprised Jolaj. He might have expected such a tactic from Tasst, but Vaj seemed an unlikely ally.

Chak with his close-trimmed hair and distinct peach-and-ivory coloring, lifted his hand in the air and patted the air as if to tamp down Vaj’s praise. “Yes, we all recognize the valuable contribution of the Law Keeper, but we must deal with the matter at hand. This breach of the treaty comes at an inopportune time, now, when the humans’ fear of us grows stronger each day.

Tasst clicked his claws aimlessly against the tabletop. “Perhaps if we allow the Law Keeper to explain what has happened in his own words?”

The Council members all nodded their agreement.

How would they react if he simply told them that Lily Rowan had become vital to him? In his way of thinking, there was nothing more important. He shelved his defiance for later and removed all trace of anger from his tone. “Honorable Councilors, the one responsible for the recent murders has not only targeted our people but also those who have accepted us, made us welcome, and befriended us. While our people are safe here in The Zone during curfew, our human friends are alone and vulnerable. I remained out of The Zone to offer my protection to these humans.”

Tayp cleared her throat and met his gaze for the first time. “It was my understanding that these attacks have been occurring when curfew is not in effect.”

Her colors were a rainbow of warm ginger hues, but her eyes were black as the emptiness of
out-of-sync
. Jolaj had faced the black many times in the
Search
years, but never did he welcome the cold.

He met her stare with no hint of the chill she visited upon him. “Until tonight that was true, but I feared that might change. Despite my efforts, a woman was murdered last night and others remain in danger.” Jolaj paused a moment to ensure he had the full attention of each councilor. “I believe the Council must allow those of us with human companions to bring them into The Zone for safety.”

There were several long moments of silence before Councilor Relerin spoke in a voice softened by age, but clear with purpose. “I agree, Jolaj. It would be irresponsible to leave these humans unprotected.”

Several low grumbles followed her statement.

Tayp’s fist struck the table in front of her with a thump. “You say companion, but don’t you mean lovers? Isn’t this all a result of our males giving in to the corrupting influence of the human culture?”

Her mate, Chak, sat taller in his seat. “It hasn’t escaped our notice that only human females and our males are being targeted.”

Vaj, hand tight around the medallion against his chest, frowned. “The desire to unite with a mate is not a human corruption.”

 Chak leaned forward to look across her mate and pin Vaj with those cold eyes. “Indulging lust with humans has little to do with the sacred union of mating.”

Jolaj would once have agreed with the arrogant Chak. But he could not think of what he felt for Lily as mere lust. It had not been lust that had made it impossible to leave her alone with her sister’s corpse. Nor had it been duty.

 “With respect, Councilors, your opinion means little to those of us who feel it is our duty to protect those we have put at risk.”

His friend pinned him with questioning eyes set in a too familiar arrangement of golden stripes. “There are others?”

Jolaj nodded, refusing to give in to the guilt that came with the anticipation of Tasst’s disapproval.

Tasst shook his head, disappointment rippling in every movement. “You count yourself among them? You have a human female—” Tasst hesitated then ground out the final word “Companion?”

Jolaj spoke carefully, not in defense of his friend’s feelings, but out of respect for Lily. “I’ve been working closely with agent Rowan. I believe she is known to the Council.”

“Yes,” said Chak. “We’re familiar with the Deepwater Agent’s role in Kiq’s death.”

Jolaj wanted to roar at Chak’s accusing tone. It could be argued that it had been the Council’s hesitance to share information with Deepwater that had created the tragedy. But those thoughts wouldn’t serve the situation before them. “What you might not know is that Agent Rowan has ties to Metro law enforcement and the Ormney Affairs Office, as well as Deepwater. I believe her to be the most likely person to be able to quickly uncover the truth behind the murders. I also believe her tie to Kiq makes her someone we can trust to be fair to our people.”

“You trust the woman who killed Kiq?” Tasst scowled his disapproval.

Jolaj’s restraint slipped and he snapped out his reply. “I trust the woman who allowed him to nearly
kill
her before she would defend herself.”

“Let him finish,” said Vaj.

Jolaj was grateful for Vaj’s interjection. It gave him a moment to calm. He could not let it appear that his affection for Lily clouded his judgment. “I have enlisted Agent Rowan’s assistance to solve these murders and with her aid I believe the murderer will soon be uncovered.”

Chak huffed. “Under whose authority did you involve yourself in this matter?”

“I’ve acted without your consent,” he conceded. “But I have done what I believed best served the descendants.”

“And how does breaking curfew, breaking the treaty, serve our future on this world?” asked the long-quiet Zee.

Jolaj did his best to look humble and full of remorse. “I sincerely regret the difficulty caused by my actions.”

Chak huffed again. “But you’ll continue to do what you think best?”

Jolaj remained silent, as his answer would only anger the Council further. Despite his caution they broke out in an incensed and discordant jumble of voices.

“What gives you the right…?”

“Who do you think you are to make such a decision…?”

The councilors talked over one another, until Vaj boomed above the din. “Jolaj is a hero of the eta-War, the Searcher responsible for the
continuation
of our race. He is the citizen who has dedicated his life to our people—”

Relerin interrupted. “And sacrificed the perpetuation of his line that others might survive. How dare we question his service with this ridiculous proceeding?”

Silence filled the darkened chamber.

“No one is above the advice of the Council,” said Chak.

“You’re quite correct, Councilor, but I believe this fine hero of the people would not have acted without our consent if he’d held faith in our fairness and wisdom.” Relerin got to her feet. “Perhaps it is time we direct our attention to our own actions and consider how we’ve failed in our duties that Jolaj should be forced to act alone.” She stepped clear of her chair and paced slowly around the table. She stopped in front of him, looking up to him with wide, clear eyes, her tiny hands clasped together in front of her body. “You’ve so often faced danger alone on our behalf. Do you once again affirm your actions serve the descendants of the people?”

Jolaj considered her question and his own heart. Had he let his personal feelings color his judgment?

Relerin lifted one slender hand and held it palm up, waiting until he placed his larger one in hers. She covered it with her free hand and spoke low for his ears alone. “Sometimes, the needs of the champion are the needs of his people. A warrior has no time for doubts. Your instincts have been true ever before. Why do you question them now?”

Jolaj saw only confidence and belief in her face.

He spoke clear and loud to be heard by every member of the Council. “I affirm I serve our descendants now as ever I have.”

She smiled, released him and turned enough to address the others. Her voice rang through the darkness. “I take upon my own head, responsibility for all the actions of this man, past and present, and will bear any consequence required. I grant to him my full support in all matters before the Council this day.”

Jolaj registered the shock on the faces of the Council at Relerin’s words, but they each acknowledged her pledge and authority.

Tayp stood to speak to Relerin. “Your support—past and present—a strong statement. One we must acknowledge. However, law is law. Any infraction of the law disqualifies this man from service as Law Keeper.”

“Agreed,” announced her mate, the peach-toned Chak.

Tasst slowly got to his feet, moving as if his years had doubled during the brief session. He pressed two palms against the table and leaned forward. “Chak speaks true. Law is law. Despite Relerin’s statement, you cannot be allowed to continue as Law Keeper.”

“Agreed,” echoed Zee.

Tasst’s words had creaked across his lips with such regret that Jolaj almost believed his old friend suffered more over this inevitability than he did. His duties as Law Keeper had been all that had given purpose to his life since
The Crossing
, but he could not regret his decision to stay by Lily’s side.

Relerin’s support had lightened his biggest concern. He would be able to bring the human women into The Zone. He would have Lily safe in his home.

Tasst cleared his throat and Jolaj realized he hadn’t responded to Tasst’s statement.

“As the law requires.” Jolaj had become a Law Keeper to serve the descendants, not to serve the law. With brisk efficient movements, he pulled his tunic over his head, removing the symbol of Law Keeper from his body. For one brief moment he felt lighter, freer than he had in years. Then he noticed the looks that lit the faces of Tayp and Chak. For them it was a victory and their expressions might be mistaken for satisfaction, but there was something more. Something larger and more devious.