Born of Fire (11 page)

As the gas seeped into the room, Idirian had looked at him and smiled as if to say, “I’ll get you someday.”

Uriah had thought then as he did now that surely evil like that didn’t die.

Maybe his son was his vengeance on him after all . . .

“Sir?”

He jumped at the sound of Warden Traysen’s voice. He hadn’t realized Traysen had remained while Syn was taken to his cell. Had it been any man other than Traysen, he’d now be dead. But Uriah had learned a long time ago that this seax’s loyalty belonged solely to him.

“What is it, Traysen?”

“I think I may know of a solution.”

He exchanged an interested look with his son. “Yes?”

“You remember my colleague, Seax Dagan?”

“The girl who gave him to us?”

“Yes, sir. I think she may be of use to you again.”

Jonas scowled. “How is that?”

“I think she could persuade him to lead her to the chip.”

Uriah scoffed at the ludicrousness of that. “How? Syn would never trust her again after what she did to him.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But if anyone in the universe exists who can accomplish this feat, it is she. I’ve never known anyone more resourceful or cunning. I believe if you give her a chance, she will prove most worthy.”

Still Uriah wasn’t convinced. He didn’t like dealing with unknown people he couldn’t control. “Why would she do this for us?”

“She has a family she helps support, one of whom has a severe gambling problem, and another with congenital medical necessities. Dagan is desperate and poor, and in grave need of money. For, let’s say, a million credits, I’m sure she’d do anything. And ask no questions.”

Jonas sucked his breath in. “I don’t know, Father. She’s a seax, sworn to their oaths. Why would she—”

“Traysen is also a seax,” Uriah said with a smile.
“Their loyalty can be bought. Is that not right, Traysen?”

“Yes, sir. Everyone has a pricetag. It’s just a question of how much.”

Jonas crossed the room to stand directly in front of Traysen so that he could give him a menacing glare. “You better be sure of her greed.”

“I’d bet my life on it.”

“Good, because that’s exactly what you’ll pay with, Traysen, if you’re wrong.” Stroking his chin, Jonas looked back at his father. “Do it then and let’s hope it works.”

Shahara paused in the doorway of her sister’s hospital room that had cost her in ways Tessa had no idea of. Tessa lay on the bed looking so pale and weak. Her blond hair was mussed while the bruises still marred the beauty of her face. Several different types of monitors beeped and whirred. One to monitor her kidneys, which had been damaged during her beating, and Shahara wasn’t sure about the others. All she knew was that they terrified her.

But even more horrifying than their presence was the fear that the doctors would order them removed for lack of payment, and condemn Tessa to the slow, agonizing death their mother had suffered.

At twenty-four, Tessa was almost the exact duplicate of their father. When not in pain, her green eyes sparkled with life and her curly blond hair was often unruly. Shahara had spent countless hours with Tessa as a child experimenting with different hair ointments and gels to try and tame it into a style. They’d finally admitted defeat and just grown it out long.

Shahara swallowed. She loved her siblings more than her life.

Still unaware of her presence, Tessa was lying on her bed while her boyfriend, Thad, sat next to her holding her hand. Only inches separated their faces and he stroked her cheek tenderly with his left hand.

A strange ache pressed against her chest as she watched them. How she longed to have someone look at her like that. To touch her cheek and make her smile even while her life was falling apart.

But those dreams were for fools. Nothing in life ever lasted.

Watching the two of them, she began to feel like an intruder.

What was she doing here?

Tessa didn’t need her prudish sister around. Besides, she made Thad extremely nervous. He always acted like he was afraid she’d throw him to the ground, handcuff him, and arrest him.

Backing away, she turned to leave.

“Shay?” Tessa called. “Is that you?”

With a deep breath, she forced herself to reverse course and enter the room. “Hi.” She moved to kiss Tessa’s forehead. “I wanted to check on you. And,” she held up the plastic bag in her hand, “I brought you some things I thought might help you get better.”

Grabbing the bag, Tessa beamed.

Shahara looked away from her battered face as rage whipped through her. She couldn’t stand the thought of anyone hurting her sister that way. God help those beasts when she got her hands on them.

And she
would
get her hands on them. There was no doubt about it.

Thad laughed as Tessa held up her ragged childhood doll. “You even brought Molly?”

Shahara shrugged. “I know you don’t sleep well without her nearby.”

Her sister smiled warmly. “Thank you. You’re the best sister ever.”

“Don’t let Kasen hear that or she’ll punch you.”

Tessa laughed.

A nurse walked in. “It’s time for her vitals. Will you please wait outside?”

Shahara led the way.

As Thad opened the door for her, his hand brushed against her shoulder. She immediately shied away.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled in a sheepish apology.

Embarrassed herself by the action, Shahara put two arms’ length between them. “It’s all right.”

They stood on opposite sides of the hallway for several awkward minutes before Thad spoke again. “So where did you get the money?”

She watched as a group of doctors and nurses conferred down the hallway and tried to imagine Syn with his lethal air in such a refined group, wearing their scrubs.

It just somehow didn’t work in her mind.

“Caillen paid them off.”

“No, not the loaners. For the hospital. Caillen told me he didn’t have the money for both.”

Frowning, she turned her full attention to him. “They haven’t been paid yet.” She was still waiting for payment from Merjack.

“That’s not what they told me. I tried to pay part of it when I arrived, but the clerk told me the balance was paid in full.”

Now that didn’t make sense. “They must have made a mistake.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Since I wasn’t family, she wouldn’t tell me anything more than that.”

Could Caillen have come up with the money and just not had time to tell her?

Excusing herself from Thad, she went to check.

To her relief, the line inside the spartan business office was short and she only had to wait five minutes before a pinched-faced clerk motioned her forward.

Shahara stepped up to the waist-high counter.

The woman looked bored and irritable as if she’d been here way too long and wanted to go home. “Patient name?”

“Tessa Dagan.”

She typed it in. “And how may I help you?”

“I need to know how much we owe.”

“And you are?”

“Seax Shahara Dagan. I’m the one responsible for the bill.”

The woman huffed as if annoyed with Shahara’s presence. “I’ve already gone through this with a man. Can’t you people understand? The account is paid. You don’t owe any money.”

Shahara stared at the billing clerk in disbelief. It couldn’t be. “That can’t be right. Please. Check again.”

The woman turned her computer screen to face Shahara. “You can see for yourself. Tessa Dagan’s account was paid in full three days ago by Sheridan Belask. He also left an open balance in the event we needed more for her treatments, and gave her and her family credit for the cafeteria and hospital store should you need something.”

Shahara blanched. Sheridan Belask?

Syn?

The man whose location she’d turned in to the Ritadarion officials had paid for her sister’s treatment?

Suddenly the light gray walls around her seemed a little too close, a little too bright. She felt as if someone had just delivered a debilitating blow to her stomach.

How could Syn have done such a thing after she’d gone after him?

Why
would he have done this?

It didn’t make sense. No one would do such a thing. Kindness was not in people’s natures. Ever.

Especially not someone with Syn’s brutal past.

No, he must have wanted something from her. Something more than just her oath. That was it. That made sense.

It was a good thing she’d made her pact with Merjack because C.I. Syn would have eventually come to her for repayment. Without a doubt.

Wouldn’t he?

“Thank you.” She turned and left the office.

But what if she was wrong?

You’re not wrong. He raped and murdered that poor girl in cold blood—you saw what her father said.
Her fellow tracers wouldn’t be terrified of him without just cause.

And her own interaction with him had proven just how cold and dangerous a person he was.

No one would ever do a good deed without expecting payment for it. Gaelin had taught her that. And she’d learned her lesson well.

Her mind whirling, she didn’t bother to stop in and say goodbye to Tessa. At the moment, she couldn’t face anyone. Especially not her gentle sister who would never
understand why she’d gone back on her word and turned Syn in. Even if it meant Tessa’s life.

I didn’t go back on my oath.
Technically. She’d sworn not to stalk him. She hadn’t sworn not to call the authorities and tell them where to find him.

You’re arguing semantics.

Tessa would be the first one to beat her up over that, but then Tessa could afford the luxury of naivete. She couldn’t.

In a daze, she made her way home.

Shahara pushed open her front door and saw Kasen sitting on her sofa, munching her last handful of friggles while she watched a small handheld viewer.

Kasen’s strawberry-blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that curled around the nape of her neck. Out of all her siblings, Kasen was the only who shared her eye color, which had come to them through their maternal grandfather. Big-boned and stocky, Kasen was cute enough on the outside, but her churlish personality was sometimes rather difficult to stomach.

“Hey, Sis,” Kasen said absently as she kept watching her show.

“Hey, Kase.” Though she loved her sister, she wished Kasen would leave. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her right now.

Kasen frowned. “You look like you were chewed up by a wolf and shit down the wrong side of a mountain. What’s wrong?”

I just remanded a man to custody who bailed me out and I feel like crap over it.

That was something she couldn’t share with Kasen and her acerbic personality.

So she shook her head as she dropped her blaster on
her kitchen counter. Kasen was not one to confide in. She left such things to Caillen. But not even he could help her right now because if she dared tell him what she’d done, he’d have her head. He didn’t like the idea of her being a tracer to begin with, but their desperate financial situation had made him accept it. If he ever learned that she’d taken a mission to travel alone to apprehend a man of Syn’s reputation, he would absolutely flip.

Kasen went back to eating. “So how do you know Syn?”

Shahara went cold at the unexpected question. She looked up in shock from her laptop, wondering how Kasen knew of their encounter. “What do you mean?”

Kasen pointed with one crispy-fried friggle to the jacket Syn had loaned her. The one that was still slung over the back of her chair where she’d placed it after he’d stormed out of her condo three days ago. “I know that jacket. It’s one of a kind. Syn bought it three years ago from some big-name auction house. Gave something like four thousand credits for it. It was the jacket High Commander Gillian was wearing when he signed the treaty that ended the Colonial Wars.”

Shahara looked at the jacket, awed at the price. Just how much money did Syn have?

But then, how long did it take to steal a fortune?

Kasen dug around the bag, scrounging for crumbs. “I can’t believe he’d let it out of his sight. He’s real possessive when it comes to his stuff. Worse than Cai is with us.” She gave a dreamy smile that was at odds with her usual caustic personality. “Syn’s a great guy, isn’t he?”

Shahara cocked a brow and stared at her sister, who’d returned to watching her program. Kasen never respected anyone, and the admiration in her voice when
she talked about Syn was not something she needed to hear at the moment.

She cleaned up the juice spills Kasen had left on her counter and tried to appear nonchalant as she pumped her sister for more information. “Have you known him long?”

“I only met him about four years ago. Him and Cai go way back. They met through Caillen’s friend, Darling. And according to what Darling’s said, Syn practically raised him and still watches out for him.” She threw the last bit into her mouth. “Syn’s the friend who’s always paying our fines and boosting Cai from jail after his fights. Hell, he even paid to repair my ship last week after I had that run-in with those Gondarion officials.”

Shahara froze as she realized who Syn was. Caillen had never mentioned his mysterious friend and benefactor by name. He’d always told her that she wouldn’t approve if she knew and so she’d never pressed the issue.

Now she wished she had.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Syn had to have known who she was.

Why hadn’t he mentioned the fact that he was Caillen’s friend? His benefactor?

His boss?

Maybe because you were trying to kill him?

Like that mattered. And why hadn’t she caught his slip and asked him about it?

Because he threatened Caillen and you were scared
. . .

Forcing herself to calm down, she said as conversationally as she could, “Syn didn’t tell me he knew you guys.”

Kasen snorted. “No duh. As possessive as Caillen is
when it comes to you, I’m sure Syn figured Caillen would rip his tongue out just for speaking to you.”

Biting her lip, she considered Syn’s threat to Caillen’s life. Had that been a ploy, or would Syn really hurt Caillen? “Syn indicated to me that he might want to hurt Cai.”