The Covenant (10 page)

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Annabel Wolfe

“Was it lust when you hovered outside the door earlier while she was

ill? Yeah, there’s nothing more attractive than a woman throwing up first

thing in the morning.”

“I was worried.” The edge of defensiveness in his friend’s voice was a

little amusing.

“I know. So was I,” Larik admitted, remembering the chill that touched

him when he realized she was sick again.

Trey exhaled raggedly. “I get your point, Armada. But, our feelings for

Aspen aside, what are we going to do about what might be happening on

Rapt One? If Ravenot is doing this, and I think we established we both think

so, there’s a reason. What is it?”

“I’m hoping Kartel will help us out with that.”

* * * *

It was astonishing how much better she felt. In fact, she was famished

and Aspen ate probably more than her share of the rations provided.

However, relief could be a powerful force in stimulating an appetite, she

thought as she got up to clear away the remnants of their meal. A warm

shower, coupled with the food and she felt perfectly fine.

Wonderful, really.

“I’m glad you’re better.” Trey took the serving dish from her hands, his

handsome face almost carefully expressionless. “But go sit down and rest.

I’ll get this.”

“I’m fine.” She was glad beyond belief it was true. Not just for herself

either, because as sick as she’d been the past two mornings, the first thing

that occurred to her was if she was infected, she could have passed it to Trey

and Larik.

No. Her mind starkly rejected that thought. The idea of either of them,

so vital and healthy, being ill, made everything so much worse. It was a bit

of a challenge to acknowledge she felt so strongly, but it was clear she did.

Yes, she knew they both were attracted to her in a sexual way, but then

again, she was the only available female to either of them. She’d be a fool to

confuse their physical needs with something deeper.

Wouldn’t she?

Yes, she would.

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59

They were both basically decent, intelligent males, so their solicitude

wasn’t unexpected under the circumstances, but making their forced

cohabitation into something more was some kind of idiotic female fantasy.

She should count her blessings they took care to make sure she enjoyed

every second of sexual play, and leave it at that. Regulation 051 did not

translate to romance.

Larik lounged at the table, his face uncharacteristically somber. Usually

he had a hint of that mischievous sense of humor that was so much a part of

him in evidence in either the brilliance of his eyes or the set of his mouth.

Instead he seemed to
watch
her.

She carried a glass of wine back to the table with her and to her surprise

he leaned forward and took it gently from her hand. “Water might be a

better choice.”

Aspen could not help but be a little irritated at the presumption of the

act, even if he did have that peculiar look of concern on his face. “I’m not

sick, Armada, don’t worry. I feel fine now. It must have been just a passing

thing.”

“Lieutenant, can you explain to me how you could catch a ‘passing

thing’ when you’re in quarantine?”

No, she couldn’t, and it bothered her, but in her relief to feel normal

again she didn’t care to analyze the situation too much. “No, but obviously

that must be it. Besides a little nausea, I don’t have other symptoms. My

scan is clean.”

“What about the fatigue?” Trey sat back down.

For whatever reason, he too looked at her very intently.

Something was going on. If it had been anyone but the two of them,

she’d guess they were worried about their personal health. But it couldn’t be

that. Just before dinner, both of them had kissed her; long, lingering kisses

of sensual promise.

Surely she couldn’t be sick if those devastatingly hot, wicked kisses had

aroused her. If they thought she really was sick also, it seemed a strange

thing to do.

She looked from one to the other. “I’ve been a bit tired, I admit that.

Can I point out though that I’ve never been cooped up in a space this small

for this long? Even on board ship there’s an exercise arena and we do

training drills.”

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Annabel Wolfe

Larik cocked a brow in a familiar impudent mannerism. “You bored,

Aspen? If so, shame on us.”

Trey chuckled softly. “Yeah, shame on us. Here I thought we kept you

pretty busy.”

“Are your breasts tender?”

She couldn’t help it, she stared at Larik. “What?”

“I’m curious. Are they?”

“That’s a pretty personal question.”

“Well hell, I think about your breasts quite a bit, so humor me. For that

matter, I touch them on a daily basis, so I’ve become a little possessive over

their welfare. Just answer the question. I promise it has a purpose.”

The teasing words were belied by the edge she could hear in his voice

and the first real flicker of consternation stirred in her stomach. He was right

there. Larik Armada might be a bit irreverent, a dash on the arrogant side,

and his intelligence undisputed, but he rarely did anything without a

purpose, his flippant comment aside.

And he was right. She’d noticed a little soreness but it had been the least

of her worries. “Maybe.”

Her non-answer seemed answer enough. “Thought so. What else have

you noticed?”

The bewildering turn of the conversation had her off balance. “What

else have I noticed about what? Mind telling me where this is heading?”

Trey leaned back in his chair, all lounging, careless male. He drawled,

“I love her commander voice. She must have inherited that from her father.”

Larik gazed at her with those gorgeous blue eyes. “I love everything

about her and the fact she might be pregnant is sexy as hell.”

Aspen felt momentarily frozen, trying to process what he’d just said.

“Think about it,” he encouraged and took a drink from
her
glass of

wine.

How he plucked it out of her hand took on a new significance.

“I can’t be,” she protested weakly, her mind reeling with this new

possibility. “My chip is programmed against it.”

Trey said succinctly, “The scans.”

Oh shit, it was true. Medical scans often required the chip be updated

afterwards because they deactivated the imbedded code.

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61

If that had happened…well, it would be no surprise if she was pregnant.

It would be a miracle, she realized as she absorbed the life-changing

implications, if she wasn’t. She’d had sexual intercourse frequently and with

two virile males. Her hand went to her stomach in an involuntary

movement. Her fingers splayed against the still flat plane of her abdomen

and she swallowed convulsively.

“Aspen?”

Both of them looked at her and she shook her head. “I don’t believe

this.”

“Don’t believe it in a good way or a bad one?” Trey as always looked

like the confident pilot with a hint of swagger in the very way he sat in his

char, but there was an uncertainty in his eyes.

The answer eluded her.

Her tongue felt clumsy in her mouth. “I don’t know.”

“We’re happy,’ Larik offered. “Once paternity is established whichever

of us holds the responsibility will consider themselves lucky. We both want

you to know that. However it falls there’s no issue there.”

“I’m hoping it’s mine.” Trey smiled at her.

“So am I, so see?” Larik gave her a wicked wink.

A baby?

This trip to Rapt One was certainly an adventure.

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Annabel Wolfe

Chapter 6

Governor Halden looked harried and unhappy. There were telltale dark

circles under his eyes, visible even on a screen call. “Do you have any idea

what time it is?”

“Yes, I do. Luckily my wife is understanding about the demands of my

job.” One brief call to Jerra had been their only contact all day and he

missed her, but the Rapt One situation weighed heavily on Ran’s mind.

“Why don’t you tell me what this emergency discussion is about and

maybe you can get home to see her.”

Ran tapped a finger on his desk and frowned. “I’ve spoken to the

Universal Council about the possibility of mantonium theft being behind the

power grid failures. Though no official decision has been reached, it seems

only fair to keep you informed on our deliberations. We’re using every

avenue possible to monitor known terrorist activity and assess the threat

potential.”

“Mantonium theft?” Halden stared into the monitor. “It’s not possible.

The mine is secured.”

“Not when the power goes down, Governor.” Ran hesitated because he

wasn’t interested in implicating Larik in how he’d drawn his conclusions.

However, the Council already knew, so maybe it was prudent to just tell the

truth and hopefully Halden would feel gratitude rather than be outraged at

Armada’s audacity. “I’m told there’s a circuit in the design of the station to

allow for failures at the touch of a switch. If you think about it, the whole

thing makes sense. The station loses function for short time periods and then

suddenly the system goes back up.”

“You don’t have to tell me that, Governor Kartel.” The other man shook

his head, a grim look on his face. “The problem is a nuisance, but a big one.

It’s why I asked for Larik Armada to be hired and sent to look at the station.

The expense seemed worth it as none of the colony’s staff engineers can

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63

give me an answer. However, I am at loss as to how you—from Minoa, no

less—can explain this circuit theory and even offer a reason why it’s

happening.”

“Well,” Ran said in a mild tone, “it isn’t my theory. It’s Armada’s.”

“I’m sorry. It’s late and I had meetings all day, so I may not be as sharp

as usual. Did you say this is Armada’s theory? I don’t understand. He’s

locked in isolation along with York and Lieutenant Thorne.”

“Isolation to Armada is a relative thing, sir. There’s a communication

monitor in their quarters.”

“It’s on an emergency and news frequency only. They can’t

communicate out.”

“Can’t they?” Ran gave a small cough of laughter. “Don’t underestimate

him.”

“He breached security?” Irritation colored the crisp question.

“All in a good cause. Let’s discuss mantonium. You do realize your

chief engineer has been communicating with a stolen identity address,

sending messages from his office. I’ve been waiting for something a little

more concrete before I communicated with you just what’s going on, but I

feel as if a bomb is ticking somewhere. Which it might be, in a very literal

sense. Armada says the address is off-planet. That means you might have a

threat from within and without.”

“Ravenot is involved?” The governor of Rapt One shook his head.

“He’s a good man.”

“Good men have been bought before. Look, sir, one of the things you

need to ask yourself right now is what good could come of anyone using

subversive means to obtain an outlawed unstable element. To me it’s clear

the answer is none. Whether you want my advice or not, I’m about to give

it. First of all, let Armada out. He’s been there for a month, shows no sign of

infection, and he can help in an invaluable way. Second, secure the mine

perimeter with physical guards. Third, I’d monitor all communications

between Ravenot and his cohorts. It’s likely he’s been in on this since the

beginning since the actual design of the power station is deliberately flawed.

Terrorists can do frightening damage. I don’t have to tell you that. If they

infected their own members to make sure you locked up Armada, who

knows what they could be capable of. Mantonium is volatile and deadly. If

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Annabel Wolfe

there is an organization out there that has developed the necessary technique

to make use of it, we’re all in trouble.”

Silence. Governor Halden appeared to be thinking and Ran didn’t want

to press too hard. The last message from Larik had been a little more urgent

than the others. He really didn’t blame him because being trapped for that

amount of time—especially with a potentially disastrous situation

brewing—would chafe.

Finally, Halden said, “I can’t arrest Ravenot without some sort of

proof.”

Ran felt a wash of relief. “Let Armada get it for you.”

“
He’s
the one who I could arrest without impunity. The only way he

could contact you, Kartel, is by violating about a dozen security laws.”

“I admit Armada has a somewhat casual approach to protocol. But take

my word, he’s brilliant and trustworthy.”

Grimly, the other man responded, “I hope to hell you’re right.”

* * * *

Aspen straddled his hips, a playful look on her face, her eyes halfclosed. “Don’t move, Pilot.”

Insatiable was the word that came to mind as he relaxed back against the

pillows propped behind him. Maybe it was the elevated hormone levels

from her pregnancy but she seemed more interested in sex than ever.