3013: Targeted (15 page)

***

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

T’karra stood outside the interrogation room door, taking a moment to clear her mind and stow away her feelings before she went in and faced her uncle. They had met several times over the last two days, but today was different. Today, she wasn’t here to talk about what had been done to him. This time, she was the one with information, and it wasn’t going to be easy for him to hear.

Brandt, Hawke, and Danor had all insisted on being present when she informed Mek of her decision. They were all in the viewing room already, watching the monitor and waiting for her to go inside. As much as she wasn’t going to enjoy the next few minutes, she’d rather be with Mek than sharing a small room with the three of them. Danor wasn’t happy about her relationship with the commanders, and while she’d made it more than clear to her brother she didn’t care about his opinion, Brandt and Hawke weren’t the type to put up with the snarky comments and glowering for very long. If Danor thought her men were going to be put off by growls and male posturing, that was his problem. She knew better.

Still, there wasn’t any point to keeping any of them waiting. It was time to deliver the news to Mek.

The interview room was a step up from the cell Mek had been staying in, but not by much. The walls were painted a dismal gray that was flaking off in several spots, and several of the former occupants had passed the time carving initials and lewd cartoons into the aging layers of paint. The only furnishings were a heavy metal table that was welded to the floor and a pair of chairs that looked like they predated the Alliance by several decades at least. She walked in and found her uncle already seated with his elbows braced on the bare table, his head cradled in his hands.

“Uncle?”

He lifted his head and smiled at her, but there was no warmth in his expression. “Since we are not having this conversation in the sanctuary, I can guess what your decision was. Not that there was ever any chance it could be otherwise.”

Betrayal was not something her people could easily forgive. Even though they all knew what had been done to Mek, there were too many questions and too many doubts in the minds of the pack. “You are to be banished. I want you to know, I don’t hold you responsible for what happened, Uncle. This isn’t about revenge. This is about what is best for the pack and for your family. The others…they won’t accept your return. Even if I ordered it, you would not be welcomed.”

“I know. I’m grateful you waived any graver punishment. For what I’ve done…”

“You were not yourself. I am not going to sentence you to death for something you were made to do. That’s not justice.”

“Spoken like a true pack leader,” he said, and this time his smile held a hint of its old warmth.

“As of now, I am no longer your pack leader. I will always be your niece, though. I’m going to miss you, Mek.”

“And I will miss you and your brothers.”  There was a glint of what might have been a tear in Mek’s dark eyes as he reached out to cover her hand with his for one brief moment. “I’m so fucking sorry for what I did. I have to live with the shame of it for the rest of my life, and I don’t know how to begin to make it up to you.”

“You can start by considering a job offer I’ve got for you,” she replied. As pack leader, she had to do what was best for the sanctuary and everyone who lived there. That didn’t mean she had to see her uncle and his family cast out with nowhere to go. She’d made some calls, and gotten an offer from a surprising source, her friend, Sonja. “How would you like to be the private chef on board the
Mex Riga
?”

Despite the gravity of their conversation, T’karra couldn’t help grinning a little when Mek’s mouth fell open and he blinked at her in bewilderment. “But that’s…and I…”

“Yes. That’s Sonja Wilde-Storm’s star cruiser. The one who’s bonding ceremony got interrupted by a group of mercenaries that we believe you let into the Black Hole. She understands what was done to you, and doesn’t hold you responsible for what happened. Turns out, she’s looking to replace a few of her onboard staff. The
Mex Riga
’s new assignment keeps her out in space for months at a time, and some of the current hires would rather stick closer to home. She’s willing to hire you and your family, too. If you think they’d be interested.”

“Interested in traveling the galaxy in a premiere-class star cruiser? I’d be surprised if they weren’t. What did it cost you to make this arrangement, T’karra? I don’t want take this job and then discover I’m even more indebted to you than I already am.”

“I called her looking to see if she had any suggestions. G-Mex is a huge company, with employees all over the galaxy. I didn’t do anything more than that. Hiring you was her idea. I should probably warn you, though. Her bonded were not entirely keen on the idea. You’ll have to prove yourself to them.”

“I have a lot to prove to
everyone
.” Mek sat straighter, and T’karra saw the first true signs of the male she remembered. He was facing the loss of nearly everything he cherished. His home and his honor had been taken from him by whoever had stolen his memories and set him against the sanctuary. She couldn’t give him back everything that had been taken, but she could give him this, a chance to start over.

“Once the investigation is over, you’ll be cleared to leave the station. Until then, your family can stay in the sanctuary, and since the Alliance is the one keeping you here, they’ve agreed to arrange a place for you to stay.”

Mek turned his head and looked up at the vid recorder set in the corner of the room. “Thank you, commanders.”

“What makes you think they heard that?” she asked.

“I lost my mind, niece. Not my sense of smell. Their scent is all over you. Any male with half a brain wouldn’t let his mate into a closed room with someone who already tried to kill her once, unless he was nearby, watching. Your mates are watching right now.”

T’karra shook her head. “They’re not my mates. I don’t have time for mates.”

Mek’s expression softened. “That’s what your mother said, too. She made your fathers’ lives a living hell until she finally agreed to mate with them. Near the end, I overheard her telling my mate that was one of her greatest regrets. If she hadn’t been so stubborn, she’d have had that time with your fathers. Consider this the last bit of family meddling from your old uncle. Don’t make the same mistake.”

Something slammed against the wall behind her, and T’karra winced. “Somehow, I don’t think my brother agrees with you. Excuse me while I go beat some sense into his thick skull. If he kills them, I’ll tear him to pieces and use him to fertilize the hydroponics!”

* * * *

Logically, Brandt knew that Mek was no threat to T’karra. She’d spoken to him several times since he’d recovered his memories, and there was no sign of the angry, violent male who had ordered hits on his nephews and tried to poison his niece. That didn’t mean he liked the fact she was in there with him alone while she broke the news to him that he had been banished from the sanctuary. It was another thing the bastards who had orchestrated all of this were going to have to answer for when they finally tracked them down. At least Mek had been able to shed some light on why this had happened.

Greed and revenge.

As motives go, they weren’t even originals. Some kind of crime syndicate had taken over most of the criminal activity in the Shaula colonies, and they were looking to expand. The plan was relatively simple. And it had been working, too. The Black Hole was being used for transporting black market goods, weapons, and drugs. The sanctuary’s stock rooms were used to temporarily hold the shipments, all signed for by Mek. Later, the “empty” cartons were carted away. The kitchen was constantly being supplied with everything from foodstuffs to dishware, and since Mek had access to the inventory logs, he simply modified the records so that nothing appeared to be missing.

Not until the day of the attack.

In the aftermath of the mercenary attack, Mek had forgotten to alter the inventory report, which was why the Shaulian ale had showed up as missing. Shortly after that, he received another visit from his contact. The contact had used a voice modulator and worn a cloak with a deep hood to mask their face and build, and even managed to neutralize most of their scent, but it was still Mek’s belief that he’d been dealing with a female. She had dosed him again, and that’s when he’d become convinced that T’karra and her siblings had robbed him of his birthright, that the sanctuary should have been given to him when his brother left. The
xili
had warped his mind to the point he was willing to kill his own family and take over as leader, acting on the suggestions that had been planted in his head.

“He’s taking it well,” Hawke commented from his vantage point nearest the door.

Danor shrugged. “He should. T’karra would be within her rights to have him put to death for what he did. I don’t agree with her decision to let him go without any other punishment. But it seems she’s been making quite a few choices I don’t approve of while I was recovering.”

“Then it’s fortunate for your uncle that your sister leads, and not you. What would she say if she heard you second guessing her decisions?” Brandt asked, doing his best to keep his temper in check. Danor hadn’t come right out and said he wasn’t happy his sister was involved with him and Hawke, but he’d danced on the edge of insult several times since the grumpy bastard had been released from medical and discovered things had changed while he was away.

“That would be a conversation between us, a family matter that doesn’t involve either of
you
,” Danor snapped.

Hawke snarled under his breath before turning to glower at Danor. “Did you miss the memo, Danor? When it comes to T’karra, we’re very involved.”

“And plan on staying that way,” Brandt added.

Danor eyed them both with disdain. “She needs males who can protect her and give her strong children. She should already be mated at her age. If she had been, then none of this would have happened.”

“She had you and Verak to protect her, and it happened anyway. What makes you think it would have been any different if there had been more of you looking out for her?” Brandt demanded.

“T’karra doesn’t need protecting. Hell, that female doesn’t
need
much of anything.” Hawke said, taking a step toward Danor. “She’s gorgeous, smart, and tougher than titanium hull plating. What she deserves is the best of everything, and for her snarky little brother to grow up and respect her fucking decisions.”

Normally, Brandt would be wincing at Hawke’s special brand of diplomacy. Today, he was inwardly cheering his best friend on…even if it meant someone was going to end up back in med-bay before the three of them were finished with this little conversation.

“I’d be careful who you’re calling little, ’leet,” Danor growled, fangs flashing and a trace of red appearing in his dark eyes.

“Size isn’t everything, beast boy,” Hawke snarled back.

Before either of them could take a swing, T’karra’s angry words erupted from the monitor and all three of them looked at the screen to see what was going on.
“They’re not my mates. I don’t have time for mates.”

“Now, that’s the first sensible thing she’s said since—”

“Shut it. I want to hear this,” Brandt snapped, and was gratified to note that Danor did just that. Silence reigned until Mek spoke his piece, then Danor went nova.

“Mates? No fucking way you two are her mates!” he bellowed, turning on Hawke and throwing him against the wall.

“That’s not your call, asshole.” Brandt launched himself at the big Krytos, using his momentum to knock Danor off balance.

“I’m making it my call,” Danor said, his eyes glowing crimson now.

The door flew open, and T’karra’s familiar voice filled the room. “Enough! Danor, back off before I feed you your fangs. You’ve been out of medical for less than a fucking day, do you really want to go back there already? No? How about the brig? We’re not in the Black Hole, and that means you’re about to go fangs and fur on the station’s highest ranking officers.”

“T’karra,” Danor growled in protest, and she threw a hand up to stop him.

“I don’t want to hear it. Go back to the Black Hole and growl at someone there instead.”

“But—”

“No.” She stepped out of the doorway and pointed down the hall. “Go.”

T’karra stayed in the hall until Danor had stomped off and vanished around the corner of the hallway. He was taking the overprotective brother role too far. It wasn’t his decision who she spent time with, and if she ended up mated to Brandt and Hawke, he’d just have to deal with it.

Hawke’s laughter drew her attention back to the moment, and she tucked her thoughts on mating and men to the back of her mind. She had other things to deal with at the moment. “What the hell happened in here? One minute I’m having a civilized conversation, and the next it sounded like someone was coming through the wall.”

“Your brother didn’t like what your uncle had to say,” Brandt said.

“I guessed as much.” She looked at them both and couldn’t help but notice they were both grinning at her. “And what the hell are you two looking so happy about? You like fighting with my family?”