The Admiral and the Wildcat: Scifi Alien Romance (4 page)

“
S
ince the defendant
has already admitted to breaking several critical regulations by bypassing security systems to maximise his department’s KPIs, and given his standing as Chief Engineer of many years’ experience, you cannot seriously be telling me that he was unaware of the safety aspects of his decisions?”

Kelis stood to the side of the courtroom, her hands clasped loosely in front of her as she watched Buchanan at work. She’d thought before that he would make a formidable warrior, and now, watching him, she realised that she was right. In more ways than one.

Physically, he was a powerful man. If she had to guess, she’d say that he’d definitely seen combat action somewhere before he’d put on the fancy suit he wore now. Then there was that suit. Most fleet officers she’d had dealings with wore their uniforms like armour and as a method to intimidate those around them. Not this man. At Buchanan’s rank, the amount of braid and bling on the collar should have had most people in the courtroom running for cover, but instead, he wore a smart suit. Obviously a very expensive suit, but it wasn’t a uniform.

She’d wondered at that when they’d walked in. Born during a war, she’d been brought up on a battlefield, so fighting ran in her blood. A smart warrior used every weapon he had at his disposal…usually. Now though, she understood.

Admiral Gabriel Buchanan didn’t need to intimidate anyone with his clothing. He could do that all by himself. With one look. And when he opened his mouth… She didn’t understand all these rules and regulations he quoted, but the fact that
he
did, and knew how they worked off each other, was evident. As was his disdain for the man on trial, a chief engineer who had taken shortcuts with fatal results. A young woman in his department had been killed, leaving behind a young son.

“With respect, ma’am,” he nodded to the judge. Kelis had asked him about that, since her file said he too was a judge. Apparently he also operated as a lawyer, taking on unusual cases across the systems. “That is total bullshit. I put it to you that not only was Commander Chambers aware of the risks, but he actively put Ensign Rogett in harm’s way because she had rejected his advances. Advances that were inappropriate given his position as her superior officer.
All
members of Alliance Fleet have the right to a safe working environment free from personal hazards and harassment, not just those of higher rank.”

He turned to the jury. “Ladies and gentlemen, Ensign Sara Rogett did not have that safe environment. Not anywhere near. Because she was afraid of retaliation from Commander Chambers, she entered the maintenance tubes on the morning of the accident without checking the system logs as she normally would have. Maintenance tubes in that area, which had had the personnel warning systems deliberately deactivated.”

He moved to the centre of the room and waved his hand. At his signal, the holographic display on the wall to the left of where Kelis stood lit up. She couldn’t properly see what it was from this angle, just enough to know he was showing them schematics. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t here to discover the inner workings of Alliance Fleet ships. She was here for one reason and one reason only, protecting Buchanan.

At Buchanan’s insistence, she wore a suit not unlike his, although hers was tailored to her figure. Her pulse pistol was concealed in a shoulder holster beneath the weighted jacket, a fact she wasn’t happy about. She didn’t like concealed weaponry, nor not having her tattoos on display.

If people see you, a Saragosian warrior, by my side, they will assume that I am worried about something
, he’d explained
. I prefer to keep my cards close to my chest to keep people guessing.
If
your abilities become necessary, I would prefer them to be a complete surprise to our opponents. Wouldn’t you?

Put like that, it made sense, a tactical awareness that she hadn’t expected from a man who spent most of his time in rooms like this. The fact that he’d said “our opponents” sent a little thrill through her. The fact that he’d grouped them together automatically making her foolish heart beat a little faster.

“Ladies and gentlemen, these are the systems that detect the presence of personnel and
shut down
the automatic cleaning systems in the event of anyone in the tubes. Cleaning systems that use lasers and automatic venting to clear the tubes of any vermin, most notably, spacial arachnids that might have nested in them.”

He paced, the entire room watching him. “Lasers. Sara Rogett met her death in a net of lasers that cut her body into small enough cubes for the venting system to clear from the ship.” The display flashed a bright red flare across the image. To the last person, the jury flinched.

“She was sliced to pieces, her body unrecoverable.” Buchanan slashed his hand through the air, pointing at the defendant. “All because of
this
man.”

All eyes in the room turned to Chambers. Even hers for a moment before she returned to her perusal of the room. The tension was palpable and the looks Chambers got were not friendly. He apparently knew it as well. A bead of sweat broke away from his hairline and rolled down his face.

“Mr. Buchanan,” the voice of the judge drew everyone’s attention. “Do you have questions for the defendant?”

He drew himself up to his full height, treated Chambers to the full weight of his stare for long enough that Kelis swore the guy was about to crack and confess to anything just to get out of the room, then shook his head.

“No, Your Honour. I’m aware that the hour is late and these good people have sat in the same place all day listening to the opening arguments. With the greatest of respect, may I suggest a recess until the morning?”

The judge may have been the woman in charge in the courtroom, but even Kelis was under no illusions about who held the real power here. So it came as no surprise when the judge nodded. “An excellent idea, Mr. Buchanan. We will return to this tomorrow morning. The session is closed.”

Kelis waited to the side as Buchanan gathered what he needed and then followed him from the room. His long-limbed stride was fast and she was forced to hurry hers to keep up.

“Why did you do that?” she queried when they reached the lift. “He was already sweating; you could have cracked him easily if you’d carried on.”

Personally, she’d have preferred to find the guy down a back alley somewhere to mete out justice for that poor woman with her fists. No woman should fear for her safety in that manner, ever, much less end up dead over it.

“He would have. It was easy to see he was dreading me questioning him, and rightly so. I don’t intend to go easy on him.” Buchanan leaned against the lift wall opposite. It was a casual lounge that did nothing to hide the power of his physique. The smart suit jacket was undone now, and the shirt beneath pulled across his heavily muscled chest in ways she tried very hard to ignore. She was his bodyguard. It wasn’t professional. Not at all.

“But why limit his misery?” A wicked little gleam lit Buchanan’s eyes. “Now he has a whole evening and night to worry about what I’m going to ask him. An entire evening and night to anticipate and dread walking into that courtroom tomorrow. Sure, some would consider that cruel, but I’m sorry, I’m not here to make things easy for him.”

Wow. Just wow.

Kelis blinked as she realised he was as ruthless as any warrior, any warlord, she’d ever met. And in his culture, at his rank, she realised he
was
the equal of a warlord. No man got to the rank he had without a lot of hard work and dedication as well as being shit hot at what he did.

The lift pinged, announcing their arrival, and they stepped out. Buchanan indicated she should precede him. Not that she’d have let him exit first anyway, but the gesture was so gentlemanly that she understood why so many of her fellow warriors went gaga over human men. They were deliciously polite. And sexy. She couldn’t get the way Buchanan moved out of her head, and the little curve of his lips when he smiled sent shivers right down her spine.

That small division in her focus didn’t mean she was unaware of the people in the corridor ahead of them though. There were a few more than she’d have expected on this level. VIP sections were usually secured to keep out the general population and the staff made sure not to be intrusive. Her warrior’s instincts picked up on two men approaching the lift from opposite directions. While both wore hospitality uniforms, neither walked like waiters. The towel one carried, and the dish cover in the hands of the other could easily conceal weapons. Crap, she hoped they were packing pulse pistols because gunshots hurt.

That was her last thought as she flicked the button on her jacket open before the shit hit the fan.

A
s focused
as he was on Vann, Gabe immediately noticed the change in her behaviour. Since they’d left the courtroom, she’d been softer somehow… As though there was the tiniest chink in the warrior persona she pulled around herself like armour. He’d liked the glimpse of the woman beneath it. Really liked it. Then her back straightened and a hard look entered her eyes. Most people wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference, but with how attuned he was to her every movement…he knew in an instant.

The attack came from both sides, a couple of waiters pulling nasty-looking pulse pistols they shouldn’t have been able to get in here. Vann hissed, grabbing him by the back of his neck and shoving him down as she pulled the pistol from within her jacket. It stung his male pride a little to be manhandled and protected by a woman, but he’d seen Saragosians in action before. They were literally born and bred for war.

Laser fire filled the corridor for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality could only have been a few seconds before Vann’s hold was gone from the back of his neck. The waiter lay on the deck in front of him with a hole in the centre of his forehead. Sightless eyes stared at Gabe maliciously.

Heart in his throat, he turned to see her blocking a flurry of blows from the second waiter. The fight was too close for pistols but the guy tried. Vann moved like lightening, slapping the weapon out of his hand and delivering a combination of punches with dizzying speed. Screams around him brought his attention back to the staff in the corridor.

“Someone call security,” Gabe barked. “Now!”

He rose to his feet, concern for Vann filling him as he tried to work a way into the fight. As though she could read his mind, she snarled. “Take one more step, Buchanan, and I’ll stun you where you stand. I got this.”

And indeed she had. Twisting, she slammed a hard uppercut into her opponent’s jaw that knocked him back. Moving in, two body shots doubled him over. And just as he toppled, she ended the fight by slamming a hard knee up into his face just as security flooded the corridor.

“Sir? Are you okay?” the first one, a commander by the insignia on his collar, asked, his gaze sliding past Gabe to survey the scene.

“I am.” Gabe nodded curtly toward the man groaning on the floor. “Arrest this man and double the guard on him. I’ll want to speak to him in the morning. I also want to know how both these assholes got into a secured section with weaponry.”

The security officer nodded and then looked at Vann. “We’ll also need to take your companion into custody, sir. For questioning.”

He almost laughed at the idea of them trying to arrest Vann. It would be a bloodbath. Two men had already started to move to apprehend the Saragosian woman when Gabe’s voice sliced through the air. “I wouldn’t if I were you. She’s not only my personally selected bodyguard, but she’s also one of Rhade’s. Now,
that’s
a lady I wouldn’t want to piss off. Would you?”

At the mention of the infamous commander of Section Three, both security officers went pale and took a step back.

“We’ll remand her to your custody then, sir,” the commander said quickly. “If that works for you?”

Gabe nodded, letting none of his thoughts show on his face. “Perfectly. Now, if you’ll excuse us, it’s been a long day and I have case notes to review.”

“Of course, sir.” The security team moved aside to let them pass, and he strode off, looking over his shoulder to make sure Vann was following him.

She was, a sway to her hips and a hard look at the security team as she tucked her pulse pistol away in the shoulder holster. Looking up, she saw him watching her and for a moment his breath caught. She moved like the warrior she was… Danger and lethality wrapped up in one sexy as hell package he wanted nothing more than to unwrap.

“Come along, Vann,” he barked, clicking his fingers and striding off.

The little growl behind him said that had pissed her off. Good. A pissed off Vann was better than a Vann who was all soft and feminine and gave him ideas. Tension stretched out between them as he led the way to his suite. As his bodyguard, she didn’t have her own. She bunked where ever he was. At least, until Rhade’s team could get here.

The door slid open in front of them and he’d barely taken three steps through before Vann’s hand on his arm swung him around.

“What the
fuck
was all that about?” she growled, her beautiful eyes flashing with fire. “I save your life and you treat me like a fucking servant?”

Gabe clucked his tongue chidingly. “Language, young lady. It’s not becoming.”

He knew that wouldn’t get a good reaction, but he couldn’t help pushing her buttons. There was just something about her. He liked…needed…to see her off balance. And he managed it. Her eyes darkened dangerously, her fists clenching at her sides as though she’d like nothing more than to deck him. But she remembered she was technically on his payroll.

“Young?” She gave him a haughty look. “Screw you, I’m probably older than you are.”

“Yeah, right.” He lifted his head in challenge. “You look barely in your twenties. Perhaps I should talk to Rhade about someone with a little more life experience—”

She snarled. “I’ll give you life experience—”

He didn’t let her get any further, yanking her hard against him and crashing his mouth down over hers. He claimed her lips, brooking no opposition, as he’d wanted to from the moment he’d first seen her. Before he’d known she was Saragosian, before he’d known she was one of Rhade’s…no, he didn’t care. He just wanted a taste of her before she kneed him in the balls.