Rebellion (5 page)

He shifted his weight to one side and brushed a strand of hair from her face. The touch was gentle, and his look questioning. Slowly, he moved in and out of her. She could get lost in those gray depths. A string of pleasure stirred between her legs, forcing a moan from her lips.

He shifted back on top of her and increased his tempo.

Mother Goddess, what was he doing to her?

Ty woke the next morning to the sound of clothes rustling. He propped himself up and watched Ria pull on her pants.

“Sorry,” she said, “I was trying not to wake you.”

“It’s all right.” He watched in silence as she left the room and returned a moment later with a handful of clothes.

She stepped into the wisp of a thong. “I think next time, I’ll try to keep my clothes in the bedroom.” She froze as soon as the words were out and cast a flustered look at him. “I mean, if there is a next time. Not that I’m assuming there will be.”

“I think I’d like a next time.” He sat up and leaned against the headboard.

She continued dressing. She really was perfect. A small, tight package with handful-sized breasts. They’d gone till the small hours of the morning before falling asleep, exhausted and well sated.

She sat on the side of the bed to pull on her sandals.

He resisted the urge to reach out to her. Something had shifted last night. He was pretty sure she felt it, too. Hooking up for mutual benefit was one thing. What they did last night? That was different. Was it possible they could have more? The thought scared the shit out of him, and he swung his legs off the bed and pulled his jeans on.

“Can I get you some caff before you go?” Part of him wanted her to stay, but only a part. His life didn’t lend itself to a long-term relationship. Or maybe it could. Hell, he didn’t know. His focus had always been on their cause. On freedom. How would she feel if she knew the truth? No. He couldn’t take that chance.

“Thanks, but I need to get back. More shopping to do today before we leave.”

They stood looking at each other, suddenly awkward.

Ty’s com signaled from the other room. He pinged it with his psi to see who it was.
Olivia.
“I need to, um—”

“Go ahead. Take it. I’ll see myself out.” She pulled her hair into a tie and hurried out the door.

“Shit.” Ty picked up the com and connected. “Hey, Olivia. What’s up?” He watched the door close and felt a pull on his psi.
Shit.

Her voice came through loud and clear, but she may as well have spoken a foreign language. He hadn’t heard a word she said. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“Wake up, will you? I said I’ll be in town for a few hours today. You want to have lunch?”

No, he didn’t. “Yeah, sure. How about the cafe on Rue Street?”

“Perfect.” She sounded way too happy. “See you around one?”

“Yeah. See you then.” He disconnected and stared at the door. He wanted to go after Ria. “Frack.” He spun around and put a caff module in the maker. He was kidding himself if he thought they had a chance. She’d find out he was Curzan, and it would be over. Hell, she might even turn him in. No. She wasn’t an option.

* * * *

Ty’s mood hadn’t improved by the time lunch rolled around. It didn’t help that Olivia was uncharacteristically chipper. They sat at an outdoor table a few blocks from the square. Ty found himself watching all the people passing by. Looking, waiting for a redhead.

“Are you okay?” Olivia said around a mouth full of salad.

He was starting to wonder that himself. “I didn’t sleep much last night.” That much was true.

“Hum. So I take it you don’t want to, you know…” Her almond shaped eyes took on a smoky look.

He nearly coughed up his bread. The thought of sleeping with her now was freakishly repulsive. Which didn’t make sense. They had a long history of hooking up. What was wrong with him? “Sorry. Not today.”

She finished her bite. “Is that why you didn’t get much sleep last night?”

His long pause was answer enough.

She pursed her lips. “It’s not like I have any exclusive hold on you. Anyone I know?” She stabbed her food with more force than necessary.

“No. Just a tourist visiting from a planet called Earth.”

Olivia stopped chewing and swallowed hard. “Did you say Earth?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That can’t be right. You must have misheard.”

“I’m pretty sure she said Earth.” Ty didn’t like the look on Olivia’s face. “What’s wrong with Earth? And how do you know about it, anyway?”

“Because, unlike some people, I pay attention to what’s going on in the galaxy, not just our world.” As the daughter of the leader of the Starfall Underground, she was well connected. Their underground was the largest and most comprehensive on the planet.

Ty’s anger flared, but she was right. He didn’t pay too much attention to things going on beyond Mitah. He knew the big stuff. The emperor was dethroned, and there was a new Galactic Trade Organization in its place. So what? It hadn’t made any difference here.

“She can’t be from Earth, because it’s a dark planet. That, and they don’t have psi.”

Dark planets had yet to explore the stars and didn’t know about the network of planets that comprised the former empire. As for not having psi… “Oh, she had psi all right.” His heart pounded at the memory of the pleasure she gave him. “And you know about Earth how?”

“It’s only one of the major suppliers of carnium. Gods, Ty. You really need to pay more attention.”

Ty knew interstellar ships used carnium, but that had nothing to do with him.

Olivia pulled up her com and started searching. “Here it is. Earth is the third largest source for carnium.” She mumbled a few things, scanning the data stream. “Earthlings have no psi. I told you.”

It didn’t make sense. “I’m telling you, she had psi.”

Olivia continued reading. “This is interesting. One of the major clans on Sandaria moved to Earth after the fall of the Emperor. Lord Rucon Cavacent. Was she a Cavacent?”

“I don’t remember her last name, but it wasn’t Cavacent.”

“Maybe she’s married.”

“She’s not married.” It came out harsher than he’d intended.

She gave him a quizzical look. “Well, she’s not human either. Here.” She projected the source she was reading. “Any of these look familiar?”

It started with Lord Rucon and his wife Mara. Their son, Ian. An uncle…” Ty scrolled down to a list of Earth Protectors. His heart beat double time when he saw her face. “It’s her.”

Olivia zoomed in and pulled up the bio. “Frack, Ty. She’s ex-military.”

Ty felt sucker punched. It was a Sandarian military officer that had killed his parents. His anger nearly blinded him. He put a handful of credits on the table and left without a word. Rage coursed through his veins as he walked. Ria was not only a Sandarian, but ex-military. It explained her physique.
But it doesn’t explain what she did to me.
It made him insane to think he’d just slept with his worst enemy, and it had been the best sex of his life. The thought that it might have been more than sex had his stomach turning.

* * * *

Ty finished the repairs on the tall wooden stool and used his psi to flip it upright. Wiping his hands on his gray T-shirt, he sent a narrow stream of the energy into the old man next to him. He hadn’t known it was possible until a few months back. He’d shown up to do some repairs and found Jafferies hunched over and looking like hell. It was instinct. He fed psi into the man while he made him tea and talked non-stop so he wouldn’t notice.

You wouldn’t approve would you, old man?

Jafferies was stubborn, proud, and dying.

“That will hold her.” Ty slid the stool aside with his foot. He’d take it out front as soon as he’d pumped a little more psi into the man’s frail body. “Anything else while I’m here?”

Jafferies’s head trembled a little less than it had earlier. “Nothing today,” he said in a raspy voice. “But don’t worry. I’m sure something else will break before too long.” He ticked off items on his inventory sheet. “You’ll be wanting store credit as usual?”

“Yeah. I told Trin she could have it. I still eat over there half the time, anyway.”

Jafferies chuckled. “I would, too, if I was you. Your mom can cook.”

A brief look passed between the two men.

Trin and Merek Sordina took him in when he was just ten. He’d been coming here ever since. He used to do odd jobs around the shop after school for extra credits.

“Sorry, boy.” Jafferies gave him a sad look. “You know what I mean.”

“It’s all right. She’s like a mother to me.” Ty pushed his black bangs off his face.

Jafferies had owned the small neighborhood supplies store since before Ty was born. The disease that racked the storeowner’s body was in the end stages, and he didn’t have long to live. Ever practical, he already had a buyer lined up for when he passed. Ty’s jaw clenched when he thought of the Sandarian medicine that could have cured him. As part of the Sandarian Empire, Mitah had full access to its medicines and technology.

The door out front chimed, and a moment later a male voice rang out, “Jafferies Orlander. By order of Chancellor Mortog, you will submit for DNA testing at once.”

Ty grabbed Jafferies’s arm. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”

With surprising strength, Jafferies pulled back. “No, son.” The old man put down his inventory sheet. “You have to get out. I’ve been expecting this. They’re finding us, you know, one by one.” He placed his hand over Ty’s. “You need to figure out how they’re doing it.”

Over the last six months, two families, consisting of four Curzans and one Mitan, had been executed. That event had shattered over ten years of relative quiet and safety.

“No.” Ty ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not letting you do this.”

Jafferies’s voice was steady and proud. “My time is up, son. You’re young, and our people need you. We’re counting on you to lead the long fight, the important fight, the one that sees Curzans on equal ground as Mitans.” Jafferies squared his shoulders and stood tall. He gave Ty a quizzical look. “Huh. You been doing something to me? Haven’t felt this good in some time.”

Ty shrugged.

“Well that’s good, then.” Jafferies straightened his shirt. “I could use a little help with what I’m about to do.”

“Jafferies—”

“No.” He held up a hand. “You tell Trin and Merek I went out with my head held high. As a Curzan.”

Ty shook with anger. The man was in constant pain and had a right to die as he chose.

As Jafferies turned toward the front of the store, Merek burst into the back room from the alley. He covered the space between them and grabbed ahold of Ty’s arm.

Jafferies smiled and saluted the two men before pushing through the swinging door.

“What’s he doing?” Merek hissed. “Do you know who’s out there?”

“He said—” Ty froze at the sight on the other side. Standing near the cash machine was a ghost from his past. It wore the uniform of the chancellor’s private security team. Fifteen years ago, the uniform had been that of the Sandarian military, but the man was the same.

For an instant, Ty was a child again, sitting in a small schoolroom with the other kids. The last moments of his parents’ lives before the man who stood out front had killed them. His childhood ended that day as he watched, helpless. For a moment, Ty locked eyes with the devil himself.

The door swung shut, leaving only the small window view.

“Come on, we have to leave.” Merek pulled at his arm.

“Wait.” Ty shrugged free and ran to the window.

Merek mumbled something under his breath, but came to stand behind Ty, peering through the old window over his shoulder.

On the shop floor, Jafferies raised his hands, gathered the remains of his psi, and pushed outward.

The chancellor’s deputy flew backward and slammed into the shelves. It was an awkward impact. His head smacked against boxes of
shrack
poison, and his feet dangled a few feet off the ground. As though in response, two of the furry shracks scurried out from underneath the shelves and darted across the floor.

Ty knew how this would end, but he couldn’t pull away.

The look of shock on the deputy’s face quickly turned to rage.

Jafferies staggered with the strain of keeping the man pinned. “I’m not afraid of you, monster,” his voice rang out. “You’re taking the life of an already dying and forever proud Curzan.” Jafferies’s body gave a final great heave, and his hands dropped to his sides.

The official slid to the floor, landing on his feet.

With the last of his strength, Jafferies proclaimed, “In the light of our Mother Goddess, I forgive you for what you are about to do.”

Ty caught his breath, and Merek grabbed his arms, preventing him from moving. Neither man could tear away from the scene playing out in front of them.

The deputy pushed himself off the teetering rack. Sneering, he withdrew a weapon holstered on his outer thigh. “Save it for someone who cares.” Stepping forward, he activated a short laser blade and sliced off Jafferies’s head with a smooth flick of his wrist. Blood spurted out, and the man stepped aside to avoid the mess as the elderly man crumpled to the floor.

Merek yanked Ty backward, covering his mouth with a massive palm.

Ty tried to free himself and go after the killer, but Merek had a good forty-five pounds and at least a foot on him. Merek heaved him out the back door and into a waiting cruiser.

Ty flailed and roared as the two crashed to the floor. The cruiser sped off on auto. Merek pinned him down, a grimace on his reddened face.

Ty bellowed out his rage until Merek finally let him go. He flipped over and crouched, ready to attack his adoptive father. “He didn’t have to die.” His throat hurt from screaming.

Merek climbed to a seat, breathing heavy. “He was already dying. He died his way, with pride.” He paused a beat, raising an eyebrow. “You gonna calm down, boy? Or you gonna take a swing at me?”

Ty slammed his fists to the floor on either side of him before maneuvering into a seat that faced Merek. He leaned forward, elbows on knees. A quick look around told him they were headed to one of the underground’s safe spots. He took a few breaths, trying to quell his anger. He’d searched for years for that killer to no avail.
I don’t know where you’ve been, but I will find you.
He looked to Merek. “How did you know he was there?”