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Chapter Fourteen

Securing the liaison more permanently was a simple matter once Adam made a few adjustments to the suspension disk they commandeered. Figuring out what to do with him after was more troublesome.

Adam was just glad Todd couldn’t talk while in stasis. Evelyn would probably hit him with her branch again. She’d kept it close by and was even talking about turning it into some sort of memento.

Thanks to her, the biggest problem Adam faced at the moment was dealing with her proximity and not being able to do anything about it. Once she had learned that his crew was on the way to take Todd into custody, she insisted that they not take their eyes off their prisoner, referencing half a dozen movies where the villain managed to slip away when the protagonists let down their guard.

Making out with Evelyn in front of Todd would just be awkward for everyone. Not that Adam really gave a damn what Todd thought.

Adam was saved when his second-in-command walked up the ramp. A fellow glitch, Khel was as tall as Adam and even more muscular. Khel’s features were heavy compared to most men’s. Well, most non-Earth men’s.

His skin would probably turn bronze after only a few days in the sun, but at the moment, Khel sported the pallor that many space-faring people wore. It matched his pale blond hair and light blue eyes.

“You got here fast,” Adam said.

They aligned their forearms and clasped each other’s elbows in the customary greeting among the military ranks.

“We were already en route, after the skeelbat’s nest you roused with your communication yesterday.”

Two other crewmates, a man and woman, entered the ship and saluted Adam. He acknowledged the gesture with a nod, and handed over the suspension disk to the woman. She put the disk in a portable artificial gravity control unit and adjusted the settings till Todd’s stasis field became an anti-gravity field. He floated into the air, enabling them to easily transport him to their ship.

“When you put him in the brig, make sure to turn off the intercom,” Adam said.

He trusted his crew, but he didn’t want Todd to even try to turn any of them. Besides, Todd was a jackass. Adam wanted to spare the guards from having to listen to him.

When the pair had left with the prisoner, Evelyn finally spoke up.

“That was way too gentle for my tastes. Couldn’t they have knocked him down the ramp or something?”

“I’m just glad to be rid of him,” Adam said.

Khel cleared his throat, then said, “You might not be rid of him, yet.”

“Explain.”

“That skeelbat’s nest I mentioned? It turns out you were right about this liaison. Not only was he smuggling contraband off of this planet, he was selling to some pretty important people. People with resources. We haven’t run everything down yet, but already we’ve made a dozen arrests.”

“Credits can’t protect them from the law. Contraband is illegal for a reason. Take this, for example.” Adam handed Khel the gun they had taken from Todd.

“A projectile weapon?”

“That fires balls of metal using an explosive powder.”

“That’s barbaric. The damage this would do to someone’s flesh…”

“Exactly,” Adam said.

“I suppose you guys use ray guns and just instantly disintegrate people in a civilized fashion.” Evelyn flashed a brief, small smile.

Her shoulders were hunched and she was standing against one of the walls, as if she was trying to disappear into the paneling. The idea of her disappearing from his life terrified Adam more than the thought of the entire Council gunning for him after this.

He had watched enough of her sci-fi movies to understand what she was referencing with
ray guns
.

“As a matter fact, we do.” Adam turned to Khel and said, “Forgive me, I haven’t introduced you to the woman who saved me.”

One eyebrow hitched up Khel’s forehead. “That is a story I would like to hear.”

Evelyn held up her branch. “Not much to tell. I just snuck up behind Todd and cracked this over the back of his head.”

“A stick?” Khel said.

“A heavy stick.” She wielded the branch with both hands as if it was a sword, swinging it through the air a few times. “I’m pretty good with wood.”

She looked at Adam, a huge grin on her face. She didn’t have to explain the joke for him to get it. He let out a loud laugh.

Adam didn’t miss how Khel jumped at the sound. He had never heard Adam laugh before. Adam wasn’t sure anyone had.

Evelyn grinned back at Adam. “So is it over? Can we finally get on with our lives?”

“I’ll still need to put in the official request, but maybe Khel can help with that now.”

“What request is that?” Khel asked.

“I’m staying. I want to relinquish my Coalition citizenship.”

Khel looked as if Adam had struck him. Rather than explain with words, Adam walked over to Evelyn’s side and put his arm around her shoulders. Khel had the decency and good sense not to say anything, even though he gaped at them for a while.

“With all due respect, I don’t think you understand how serious the situation is,” Khel said. “Those people filling our prisons have resources. They have peers. And they all blame you for their current circumstances.”

Adam’s heart sank. Checking into Earth’s liaison should’ve been a simple inquiry. Before Evelyn, it would’ve been.

Adam had never given much thought to making enemies. He’d never had anything to lose—nothing that really mattered to him, anyway. Now, the thought of Evelyn in danger turned his blood to ice in his veins.

“If I leave, it won’t fix anything.” Adam was desperate for any reason, any excuse to justify staying. “Eventually, word will get out and they’ll know that they can use her against me.”

“Not if both your memories are wiped. She’s not Coalition. She shouldn’t know about any of this anyway.”

Evelyn held up her hands, including the one holding the stick. Khel needed to watch what he said.

“Hold on a minute. First of all, stop talking about me as if I’m not here and don’t understand what you’re talking about. Second of all, please explain exactly what you’re talking about. I mean, I get the whole,
I’m in danger, he’s in danger
, thing. But how much danger?”

Reality came crashing down on Adam. If he stayed on Earth as they had planned, he wouldn’t have access to any technology. He wouldn’t be able to protect either of them. At least if he returned to his command, he would be able to keep a ship in orbit, to assign people he trusted to watch over her.

Quietly, he said, “Evelyn, if I stay here with you, we’ll be dead inside of a month.”

Her eyebrows lifted, but to her credit she didn’t look afraid. “Okay, that’s a lot of danger. How are we going to deal with it? And don’t you dare talk about memory wipes. I don’t like the sound of that at all.”

Adam didn’t either. Bad enough that Evelyn should forget him, but to forget her? The man he had become since he arrived on Earth would vanish. He didn’t want to go back to who he was before. Still, he couldn’t think of any other way.

“Khel, head back to the ship. One way or another, I’ll send word soon.”

Khel nodded before retreating down the gangway. Adam waited to speak until he was sure he and Evelyn were alone.

“I can’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to you,” he said.

“Can you stand the thought of anything bad happening to you? Because I’m about to hit you on the head with this stick. And I’m pretty good at it. Just ask Todd.”

She wasn’t laughing. A bad sign.

“There’s no way that I can protect you,” Adam said. “When they come for us—and they will—they’ll kill us both. Or worse. You saw what Todd was able to do with a simple suspension disk. That’s our equivalent of a zip tie. These people are corrupt. They will not respect the law. They’ll come armed.”

“So, have your buddies leave us some weapons. At least we’ll have a fighting chance.”

“I won’t break the laws I’ve spent my life defending. Evelyn, I can’t protect you. Not if I stay with you.”

“Then take me with you.”

Adam’s blood started rushing through his ears. His mind filled with visions of a possible future with her.

Evelyn by his side on his ship. Evelyn safe behind the protection his rank and resources could afford them. Evelyn warming his bed every night and his heart every day. Evelyn far from her family, torn from her homeworld…

“You don’t know what you’d be getting yourself into.”

“I imagine it would involve whisking me away to a far off planet and traveling through space as a regular pastime.” When Adam didn’t deny it, she went on. “Do you even remember what my bedroom looks like?”

“My people are not what you’re used to. You’d be giving up so much to be with me.”

“You were willing to give up even more to be with me. Besides, that’s one of the benefits of not being genetically programmed for a specific role. I’m adaptable.”

She had certainly proven that. Still, it seemed too good to be true.

“What about your family?”

“We mostly talk through the Internet. I’m sure you can rig up a video call from Sadr-4. I’ll make sure there isn’t a view of space behind me. And if we do get a chance to visit around the holidays, you can get your fix of the great outdoors.”

Could this actually work? “They’ll especially want us to visit when we start having children.”

Evelyn tilted her head back and laughed. “Oh, your doctors are going to love that. We might have the first one on Earth so someone from your crew can observe and learn.”

“They’ll probably faint.”

“I would think your crew is made of sterner stuff.”

“I promise, we will make this work.”

“Well, there’s one other promise you need to keep first. An implied promise, anyway.”

He sifted through his memory, but couldn’t figure out what she meant. Then she kissed him, and memories, thoughts, plans, all vaporized in the heat of just feeling her. When she pulled back, her smile was wicked. One eyebrow was raised expectantly.

Swallowing hard, Adam asked, “What promise is that?”

“Sex on a spaceship.”

With a broad grin, he lifted her into the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist and laughed again.

“I am a man of my word.”

About the Author

Cassandra Chandler has studied folklore and mythology for her entire life and been accused of taking fairy tales a bit too seriously. In her youth, when not reading or watching science-fiction movies, she could be found running through the wilds of Ohio and Florida. Raised in a household where tarot readings and viewing auras were considered mundane, she spends her time writing and trying to appear normal. At least the writing is working out.

Her romances range from sweet to scorching, set in extraordinary worlds and driven by characters searching for a deep and lasting love. Her sincere hope is to make her readers look twice at that knobby old tree and perhaps decide to keep salt packets within easy reach, just in case…

She has always seen the starry sky as a destination rather than a matte painting. Her primary residence is on earth, where she lives with her amazing family and a wide variety of stuffed animals, many of whom have multiple PhDs. You can follow her thoughts on writing, life and mostly writing at
www.cassandra-chandler.com
or see her real-time ramblings on Twitter (
@casschandler
). She loves to hear from readers through email at
[email protected]
!

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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Copyright © 2015 by Cassandra Chandler

ISBN: 978-1-61922-882-5

Edited by Holly Atkinson

Cover by Syneca

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: August 2015

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