3013: Targeted (4 page)

“Thank you, Officer…Carrs, isn’t it? You may report back to your station.”

“Yes, sir.” Carrs thumped his fist over his chest in salute before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving T’karra standing in the doorway. The blond commander smiled and gestured for her to come inside, his aqua-blue eyes gleaming with intelligence and…interest?

“Please come in and have a seat. We had intended on asking you to meet with us later today, but since you’re already here, now is as good a time as later. I’m Commander Brandt Carver, by the way.”

She stepped into the room and offered the handsome commander a cautious smile as he closed the door behind her, ensuring their privacy. “I am T’karra of the Ryvern pack. It is good to have you here at last. Things have been…uncertain of late.”

Carver smiled, a true smile that softened the sharp lines of his face. “That’s one way of putting it. I know you have questions. My partner and I don’t have all the answers yet, but we can tell you what we do know, and how we intend to proceed.”

“I’d appreciate an update, thank you. I heard a rumor you’ve actually been here several days already. I hope that means you’ve made some progress in figuring out how armed men got to my sanctuary without being detected by your men.”

Brandt cleared his throat to buy himself a few seconds to recover from his surprise. How the hell did she know that already? The information they’d been onboard the station for a few days had only come out to operations personnel a short time ago. His assessment of T’karra went up several notches. Some Krytos insulated themselves from the communities they coexisted with, but clearly this one didn’t, or she would never have heard about their early arrival already. With any luck, the beauty that just walked into his office would turn out to be a damned useful source of information for them…if she didn’t kill Hawke in the next few minutes.

He glanced over to where Hawke was standing, carefully keeping his back to T’karra and his face in shadow until she was seated. “We’ll share what we know, but I should tell you the purpose of coming here early wasn’t only about investigating what happened to your sanctuary. We needed to see this place operate without anyone knowing they were being watched.”

“You were gathering intel. I can understand that. I am not sure I approve of your methods, but I can understand your intent,” she said, taking a seat at last.

Brandt couldn’t help but admire the graceful way she moved, and as he watched he had to admit that Hawke had been right, she was something special. Poised, confident, and achingly beautiful, he finally understood why his partner had risked so much to spend time with her. Stars, right now, he was sorry he’d stayed away from the Black Hole and its owner, despite the fact it would have only make the coming storm ten times worse.

Hawke braced himself and turned around to face T’karra, letting her see his face for the first time. “I really hope you meant that, T’karra. I hated not being able to tell you who I was, but it was necessary.”

“You!” T’karra snarled, the outer rim of her pupils turning a dull, angry red. She rose from her chair and took a single step forward before stopping again, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

Yeah, this was going well.

“Computer, full privacy mode,” Brandt ordered, and all the walls went instantly opaque.

Hawke walked to within a few feet of T’karra and then offered her his hand. “Yes, it’s me. I know it’s a bit late, but I’d like to properly introduce myself. My name is Commander Hawke Summers, and I’m incredibly sorry I had to deceive you for the last few days.”

She stared down at his hand like it was a venomous snake, then raised her gaze to meet his, revealing there was more red than black in her eyes now, a clear warning she was on the edge of a full transformation. “You lying, scheming, bastard! You’re Alliance? I thought—no, forget what I thought. I was wrong. You weren’t in my sanctuary for any reason other than to spy on us. Did you think we had something to do with your commander being killed? He was my
friend
!”

The word friend came out as a guttural growl, and Hawke actually saw her fangs lengthen. The primal part of his own nature rose to the challenge, and he moved directly into her space, never breaking eye contact. “I was not spying on you! You said it yourself, we were gathering intel. It’s what we do, T’karra. I’d seen enough to know you had nothing to do with the attack before you and I ever met. Stars, we were fairly certain you and your sanctuary weren’t to blame before we ever set foot on the station. No one would jeopardize their home or family like that, not intentionally, but we had to be sure. Once I overheard your conversation with Danny Fields, I was convinced. I planned to finish my drink and leave, but then you walked over…and I didn’t want to leave anymore.”

“Liar,” she snarled, her clawed hands coming up to shove him squarely in the chest. It took all his concentration to keep his balance, and when he looked at her again, the transformation to battle form was complete. She was the same, yet different, a feral version of the beauty he’d gotten to know over the past two days.

She was even sexier like this.

Her eyes glowed blood red, and her fangs had lengthened so much she could no longer hide them. Every part of her radiated ferocity and power, and her presence filled the entire room.

“I’m not lying. I stayed because I wanted to talk to you. I know you were going to be pissed about it, and I didn’t care. I’m not afraid of you, T’karra Ryvern.”

T’karra could barely form words she was so angry. He’d lied to her! She snarled at the bastard who had deceived her and bared her fangs. “You should be, Commander. If I ever see you in my bar again, I will tear your head from your shoulders and keep it to decorate my office. You are officially banned from the Black Hole. This may be your station, but the sanctuary is
mine
, and I will not tolerate your presence there.”

He didn’t even blink at her display. “And if I have to investigate further?”

“Then send your partner. I’ve no reason to spill
his
blood.” T’karra wanted to break things. Her blood felt like it was boiling in her veins, her claws itched, and she wanted to scream in fury at Hawke’s betrayal. Somewhere in the distant part of her mind where logic still held sway, she heard a voice whispering that she wouldn’t react like this if it had been anyone else, but she wasn’t interested in logic. He’d lied to her, and right now, that betrayal superseded everything else.

“If you want my blood, you can have it.” Hawke was still standing his ground, and despite her fury, it was hard not to admire his courage…even if he had no idea what his offer meant to one of her race.

“That’s the second time you’ve invoked the courtship rituals of my people,
human
. You have a lot to learn about the Krytos. If you’re not careful, you might find yourself mated to the next female of my species you share a meal with…and I doubt you’d survive long if that happened. As my brother reminded me this morning, you’re species is a delicate one.”

His lips curled back in a feral snarl, and his eyes narrowed. “And you have a lot to learn about me, starting with these two facts. I’m not completely human, and I would never offer to spill my blood if I didn’t understand what it meant.”

Her mind was reeling with the implication of what he was telling her, and she knew it was time to leave. “Stay out of my bar, Commander, and stay the hell away from me!”

She turned on her heel to face Carver, who was watching with intent interest from a few feet away. “Commander Carver, I am rescheduling this meeting for later today, in my office. Come alone, and be prepared to answer my questions. I’ve waited long enough for the answers.”

Carver simply nodded and stepped back so there was nothing between her and the door. “I will see you in two hours.”

“Good.” She stormed past an unmoving Hawke toward the exit, still fighting the need to lash out. When the door failed to open fast enough, she slammed her hand into the doorframe, making the entire wall shudder with the force of the blow. When the door finally opened she stalked out, grimly amused to watch as every Alliance officer in Ops went silent and scrambled to get out of her way. They knew better than to risk provoking a Krytos in a battle rage, which was more than could be said for their new leaders.

Brandt waited until she had left Ops before he exhaled. “That was…”

“Hot,” Hawke interjected. “Holy fuck, that female is hot.”

“I was going to say intense, but that’s because I’m not insane. You, on the other hand…” He trailed off and gestured to Hawke, then the newly dented doorframe.

“Tell me you didn’t feel it, too. She’s the one, Brandt.”

“The one? If you mean she’s the one most likely to tear your head off and use it for a paperweight, then yes, I’m in full agreement.”

“T’karra isn’t going to hurt me. I think she likes me, and I know I like her. I’m telling you, she’s perfect for us.”

“You’re fucking delusional. While she may not have hurt you, she managed to put a nice dent in a plas-steel wall on her way out. I wouldn’t call that a romantic overture.”

Hawke turned and looked at the wall. “Huh. I thought that stuff was damned near indestructible.”

“Apparently it was never tested against a pissed-off Krytos.”

Hawke crossed the room to run a hand over the dented surface. “She’s amazing.”

“And you’re not going anywhere near her. She’s beautiful, yes. I’d be an idiot to deny it, but we’re here to do a job, not find a chosen.”

“You’re not denying you felt something for her, too.”

Brandt sighed inwardly. There was no point in denying his interest, Hawke knew him too well. “I felt…something. But since I’ve been in her presence less than ten minutes, I’m withholding judgment for the time being. I know you’re not a fan of restraint or tact, Hawke, but now would be a really good time to learn.”

“It doesn’t look like I have much choice. For now, the only one of us she’s willing to talk to is you.”

“Can you blame her? You knew there was going to be fallout when she learned who you really were. I’ll admit, now I can see why you risked it, but damn it, did you have to go offering her your blood? What if she’d taken you up on that?”

Hawke’s head snapped up, and he flashed Brandt a triumphant grin. “I knew you liked her. As for offering her my blood, it might have been a bit hasty, but I knew what I was doing. I wanted her to know what my intentions were, and now she knows.”

Brandt groaned and threw up his hands in surrender. “Yeah, I like her. She’s stunning, smart, and well-spoken, not to mention she’s as volatile as a Tarin thunderstorm. You, on the other hand, are reckless, insane, and do not have the body of a goddess to distract me from your shortcomings.”

“I don’t have shortcomings. I have character enhancing quirks, thank you. I will agree with you about T’karra, though, she is a goddess.”

“She is also pissed at you, and not very impressed with me, either. So, if we are actually going to consider making a play for her, we better find a way to get into her good graces. I suggest we start by producing some hard facts about how those mercenaries got into her sanctuary. Since I’m meeting with her in less than two hours, we better get started.”

“Mission accepted.” Hawke dropped into his chair and started calling up security footage.

Brandt walked over to the outer wall and stared down at the ships docked there.

How the fuck had a group of armed men walked down a fully monitored corridor without being seen?

***

CHAPTER FOUR

T’karra had returned to the sanctuary still seething with anger, though she’d managed to dial it down enough that her claws and fangs had retracted, and she could sense her eyes had returned to their normal shade of black. It wasn’t only that Hawke had lied to her about who he was that had her so angry, though stars, that was a good reason all on its own. It was the fact she actually liked him. She’d even shared her dessert with the bastard! The revelation that he'd been stringing her along stung all the more because she had let her interest cloud her judgement.

She walked into the Black Hole, went straight to the bar, and claimed a seat directly across from her youngest brother, Verak. He took one look at her and shook his head as he poured her a shot of Tarin fire brew. She took the offered drink and threw it back in one swallow.

“You have no idea how badly I needed that. Thank you.”

Her brother shrugged his massive shoulders and smirked down at her, something he’d taken great pleasure in doing the day he grew taller than she was. “Oh, I think I’ve got a fair idea. You look like you’re ready to chew through the hull plating. Plus, one of our regulars works in Ops. He sent me a heads up once you blew out of there. It was a brief message, but he mentioned your eyes were a stunning shade of crimson, and you punched a hole in the new commanders’ office. I take it things didn’t go smoothly, sister mine?”

“You could say that. Remember the mercenary type that’s been hanging around here lately? Eyes two different colors and always seemed to be ready to talk about damned near anything?”

Verak nodded, his brow furrowing into a scowl. “I remember. Name was Hawke. One blue eye, one brown, and both of them were usually trained on you. He wasn’t good enough to be breathing the same atmosphere as you. Danor and I were going to have a…chat with him if he showed up again today.”

She snorted with laughter and gestured for him to refill her glass. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore. I banned the bastard from the bar.”

Verak’s eyes flickered red around the edges, and his next words came out in a growl. “What did he do?”

“Stand down, little brother. He didn’t do anything, except fail to mention who he was. Our best customer is one Alliance Commander Hawke Summers, half of the new command team sent to take over X2.”

Verak refilled her glass, but didn’t hand it over. “He’s an elite? No fucking way. He’s too big and scruffy to be Alliance. Wait. Did you say he’s a commander? As in
the
commander of this station?”

“The ones I’ve been waiting for days to talk to. Yes. I may have expressed my opinion about his lack of honesty rather…firmly.” She reached for the glass, but Verak downed the contents himself before she could get to it.

“Is that why you punched a hole in their wall?” he asked as he belatedly realized what he’d done and poured her another drink, this time actually handing it to her.

“I didn’t punch a hole in anything. It’s possible I dented it, though.” Normally, she’d regret lashing out, but not today. Not after what he’d done. She drained the second glass as fast as the first, embracing the searing burn that accompanied the liquor.

“If Hawke comes here looking for you, Danor and I will deal with him.”

“No, you won’t. If he steps foot inside this sanctuary, I’ll handle it. I don’t think he’ll show up here, though.”

“After seeing you all fangs and fury? I bet not.”

T’karra thought about it for a second, then shook her head. “No, not because of that. He didn’t bat an eye when I got snarly. Stars, the idiot actually stood his ground and growled back at me. I have a feeling the two of them are actually good at their job. I’m just not impressed with their methods, or how easily he lied to me.”

“How are we going to work with a commander we can’t trust?” Verak asked, echoing her own thoughts.

“For now, we’ll work with the other one, Carver. He hasn’t done anything to piss me off. Yet.”

“I’m starting to think our parents had the right idea when they decided to retire and live in D’Aire territory. The Alliance way of doing things gives me a headache.”

“You get a headache every time you try to think, little brother. It’s best you leave that to T’karra and I. We’re older and wiser than you.” Danor appeared at T’karra’s side and propped himself up against the bar in a deceivingly casual pose. Danor was in charge of security in the sanctuary, and since the attack, he had been on constant alert. Even now, he was scanning the crowd, looking for anything out of place, and T’karra knew his vigilance was taking a toll on him.

Verak rolled his eyes and poured his brother a shot of the fire brew. “Older maybe. Wiser? Hardly.”

Danor glanced down at the drink set in front of him and cocked a dark brow. “Is there a reason we’re drinking the hard stuff this early in the day?”

“Our sister met with the new commanders. It went so well she shifted and then put a hole in their new office wall.”

“Shit.”

“Damn it, ’Rak, that’s not what happened. It was only a dent. A small one.”

“I like my version better. More colorful.”

“Your ass is going to be sporting a colorful set of bruises if I hear you telling your version of events to anyone else,” she said and then turned to Danor.

“In about two hours, a big, blond, elite is going to come through those doors and ask for me. His name is Commander Brandt Carver. Bring him straight to my office. If by some insane chance he’s accompanied by a lying bastard of a commander with dark hair and eyes two different colors, let me know so I can kill him the second he crosses the threshold.”

Danor’s brows lifted. “Eyes two different colors? Isn’t that—”

She interrupted before he could even finish his sentence. “Yes, him. His full name and rank happens to be Alliance Commander Hawke Summers, and he’s the other half of the new command team.”

He whistled low and downed the drink in front of him before speaking “Well, now I understand why you dented their wall. You shared meals with him, and he was lying to you the whole time. None of this would have happened if you would just—”

T’karra cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t even start, Danor. I’m in no mood to hear your thoughts on my love life. I do not need mates. I do not
want
mates. I have enough to do taking care of the two of you and every other Krytos who lives here. Maybe once the two of you finally find a female, I’ll consider it.”

“If you took mates, then you’d be better protected from men like the commander.”

She rose off her stool and turned to face Danor. “I can protect myself perfectly well, little brother. If I couldn’t, our parents would never have named me leader of this family and placed the sanctuary in my care. You would do well to remember that.” She paused then curled her lip to bare her fangs. “And both of you should keep in mind it’s none of your business whom I share a meal with…or a bed.”

Both males growled, and she snarled right back at them. “Enough. I don’t interfere in your lives. You can do me the same courtesy. Now, we’re up to date on news from the Alliance, it’s time we all got back to work. Verak, if you hear anything else about the new commanders, please let me know. Danor, walk with me. By the time we reach my office, I’m hoping you can explain to me why we’re short three crates of Shaulian ale.”

* * * *

Brandt walked into the Black Hole and was immediately struck by how appropriate the name was. Everything was black, from the bar to the furnishings, to the floor that lit up with swirls of red light beneath his feet. The towering mountain of muscle guarding the door had greeted him by name and directed him to go straight to the bar, which meant he would have to put off taking a look around until after his meeting. Too bad, because he could already see why Hawke had spent so much time in the place.

It was a bit dark for his tastes, but like every sanctuary he’d been in, there was an underlying sense of calm that appealed to him. This was the one place anyone could come and relax, confident the Krytos would enforce the peace and keep everyone safe. Despite the attack, the sense of peace remained, due in part to the upgrades T’karra and her people had made to their security protocols since the incident a few weeks ago.

He was intercepted a few feet from the bar by a massive Krytos dressed in what appeared to be the Black Hole’s standard uniform, black pants and black tank top trimmed in crimson. “You would be Commander Carver?”

“I would. I have an appointment with T’karra Ryvern.”

“So my sister informed me. I’m Danor Ryvern, and the one behind the bar is my brother, Verak. If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to T’karra’s office.” Danor paused and looked around. “I see Commander Summers didn’t accompany you. That’s the smartest thing he’s done since he got here.”

Brandt sensed he was being tested. He straightened to his full six-foot-seven inches of height and faced the Krytos squarely, ignoring the fact the male still had more than six inches of height on him. “Commander Summers was doing his job. What kind of investigation would it be if we didn’t examine all the potential evidence and review every possibility? The security of this station and everyone on it is our top priority. Everything else comes secondary to that.”

Danor’s expression remained impassive. “Noted. To be clear, the security and well-being of my family and our home is my top priority. If you do anything to threaten that, I will toss you out of here so fast you’ll break the sound barrier on your way through the doors.”

“Noted,” Brandt replied.

He led Brandt to the far end of the bar, stopping outside a pair of doors. He swiped a keycard over the panel furthest from the bar, and the door slid open, revealing a softly lit hallway beyond. They walked past several doors, all of them marked as stockrooms for the bar and kitchen. A Krytos female came rushing out of one of the doors and nearly smacked into Brandt. He sidestepped at the last minute, avoiding a collision. “Watch where you’re going ’leet,” the female snarled and glowered at him.

“Nina, mind your mouth or you’ll be back in the dish pit,” Danor barked.

“Fine. Sorry you nearly knocked me on my ass, sir,” the female drawled before taking off down the corridor.

Danor pinched the bridge of his nose and growled under his breath. “And it’s back to washing dishes for her.”

“She doesn’t like the Alliance much?”

“She doesn’t like anyone much.”

As they moved deeper into the sanctuary, the dark walls and dim atmosphere gave way to neutral colors and normal lighting.

Brandt had seen the station blueprints, so he knew the bar and kitchen took up most of the main floor of the sanctuary, while the floor below was divided into private meeting rooms, entertainment suites, and several suites set aside for any who requested formal sanctuary. The level above the bar was the permanent home to the sanctuary’s Krytos population. At the end of the hallway were several more doors, all closed.

“She’s expecting you,” Danor said and waved his hand over another panel. There was a soft chime, then the door slid open. Brandt stepped inside, and found himself in an office that looked like a smaller copy of the one he and Hawke now shared in Ops. T’karra’s view was of a different part of the docking area, and her desk was a sleek curve of polished wood instead of their standard-issue Alliance furniture, but the overall effect was the same. This was a place of elegant efficiency, and Brandt’s opinion of the sanctuary’s leader rose several more notches. T’karra was already rising from her chair as he entered the room, dismissing several holographic data displays from her desk with an absent flick of her fingers as she did so.

“Welcome to the Black Hole, Commander Carver.”

“I’d like to start by apologizing for how things went at our earlier meeting. Commander Summers and I had intended handling matters with more tact. Your early arrival threw that plan out the airlock, and for that, I am sorry.”

She nodded and gestured for him to take a seat, though she remained standing. “You’re not apologizing for sending Hawke…I mean Commander Summers into my sanctuary to spy on us?”

“He had a job to do, as did I. While he was observing the sanctuary and several other locations, I was observing the Alliance officers assigned to this station. We needed to know how things were done when no one knew they were being watched.”

“And may I ask what your observations taught you?”

Brandt didn’t bother to hide his smile as he caught the tone of command behind her words. This was a woman used to being obeyed. His first thought was she’d have made a good officer, but then he realized she was more than that already. She was the sanctuary’s leader, and like as all of X2 was under his protection, she was responsible for the well-being of every being who set foot inside the Black Hole. She was, in many ways, his equal.

He took a seat then set a data chip down on her desk. “I can do better than that. I brought you a copy of the report we’ve just filed. I know the Alliance will send you a copy eventually, but there’s no reason you should have to wait any longer for answers.”

T’karra felt some of her anger fade away as she eyed the chip. A proper report was what she’d been waiting for. She was tired of being treated as an outsider in this investigation. If they were finally going to share information with her, then she might be willing to respond in kind. She dropped into her chair, then picked up the data chip. “Would you prefer I read it, or can you summarize?”