Crusader (Battle Born Book 1) (7 page)

“They’re released unharmed, of course.”

“Without their child? How is that ‘unharmed’?” His entire body tensed again and his hands clenched into fists. “I’m sorry, but that’s despicable.”

“Again, I do not condone the practice. I likely find it even more despicable than you do.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She should just let the subject drop, but now that it had turned to specific details about Bandar, she was curious. “You said your younger brother is also battle born. Do you have the same mother?”

“No. And I’ve grown tired of the subject.” He pushed to his feet and walked around the coffee table, stopping directly in front of her. “I’ve been more than indulgent, Ashley. No more stalling. Where can I find your father’s backups?”

Bandar stared down at Ashley his heart thudding wildly in his chest. He wanted to pull her to her feet and kiss her into submission, or better yet pick her up and carry her to the bed where they could fully explore the attraction pulsing between them. He’d never had so much trouble keeping his mind on his mission and it was obvious she was feeling it too.

“Where did your father hide the backups?” The question was as much a self-reminder to stay on task as it was a demand for information. Damn the woman was distracting.

“He has a hunting lodge way up in the Catskills, but I have to take you there. It’s not on any map.” Mischief glinted in her eyes, making them luminous and vibrantly green.

No longer able to resist his need to touch her, he grasped her upper arms and slowly pulled her to her feet. Her soft warm body rubbed against his the entire way up, stoking the need already smoldering inside him. “You don’t have an address or GPS coordinates? That’s a little hard to believe.” Speaking of hard. Just holding her this close had him hard and aching all over again.

She leaned back slightly and tilted her head so she could look into his eyes. “It’s really secluded and no one has been up there since my father died. The access road is probably overgrown.” Her breasts pressed against his chest with each anxious breath and yet she didn’t seem frightened or even uncertain. She allowed his hold, neither pressing closer, nor pulling away.

“Give me directions to the closest intersection. I can find it from there.”

She shook her head, her tongue peeking out to brush across her lower lip. “If the backups are there, he’ll have them secured. You need me to gain access.”

He narrowed his gaze on her flushed face, wishing he could sense her emotions. Had she intentionally drawn his attention to her mouth or was she just nervous? “You’ll be safer if I leave you here.” As long as he wasn’t here with her, yearning to possess her with every breath he took.

Her lips parted as if she’d object then she twisted out of his hold and hurried out of reach. “I need to be part of this. You’re trying to recapture your legacy. Well, this is mine.” She sounded sincere, but she wouldn’t look at him now. Likely, she was simply struggling with her desire. Still, there was a chance she was hiding something important, something potentially harmful to him or his mission.

Hearing his own thoughts, he gave himself a mental shake. When had he become so paranoid? Ashley was an innocent in need of protection. She’d been drawn into this conflict because of his interest in her father’s work. Of course she was nervous. “You can be involved without being directly in danger.”

“I don’t believe you.” She glanced at him then looked away. “As soon as you have his research, I’m no longer useful.”

He still had all sorts of uses for her, but it was doubtful she’d find the fact comforting. He wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping his mind on the task at hand. “If the information is as valuable as I believe, you’ll deserve some sort of reward.”

Another telling blush spread across her creamy cheeks. Her gaze shifted back to his and lingered. “Do I get to choose my reward? You never really answered me before.” The sensual heat in her eyes made it obvious she wasn’t thinking about money.

He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around her waist. His other hand pushed into her unbound hair, cradling the back of her head. “Name it and it’s yours.” He leaned down and whispered the words against her lips, needing to be sure this was what she wanted. No matter how much he wanted her, he would not exploit her vulnerability.

She shivered then her eyes drifted shut. “As tempting as I find you—” she eased her hands between them and pushed him back, “—what I really want is information about my father’s death.” Only after she’d delivered the rebuff did she open her eyes again.

“I’m going to look into your father’s death regardless of what I find in the morning.” He lowered his arms and closed his hands into fists, unsure if he was capable of keeping his distance. He’d felt drawn to Ashley from the first moment he saw her, huddled on her living room floor covered in blood. She’d ignited a possessive sort of protectiveness that hadn’t subsided since.

Never before had the mere sight of a female shattered his composure. It had to be because she was human. But Morgan was human. Why hadn’t he felt this way with her?

“Thank you.” Ashley’s soft voice pulled him back from his convoluted thoughts. She stood just out of reach and a hint of sadness crept into her expression. She’d pushed him away, so why did she look so miserable?

She’d said this research was her legacy. Perhaps she just wanted to remain in the loop. “I can update you on our progress, if you like. It will all become public knowledge at some point anyway.”

Her brow arched and her head tilted as she processed the implications of his careless statement. “You’ve been hiding your presence for decades. Why go public now?”

If and when Garin’s scientists found a way to unlock the latent powers of the battle born, hundreds of thousands of battle born sons would swarm to Earth ready to pay whatever price demanded of them to access the treatment. Still, that day could be years away or it might never happen at all. Many had tried to solve this mystery and many had failed. He had no idea why he’d brought up the possibility now.

“It’s almost impossible to hide our activities when every human has a camera built into their phone.” Bandar shrugged with forced indifference. “It’s almost inevitable that we’ll be discovered. That’s all I meant.” It was obvious she didn’t believe him and another lame excuse would only reinforce her suspicions. So he didn’t waste his time or insult her intelligence by trying to smooth over the blunder.

“You still need to take me with you.” She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. He was rapidly becoming familiar with that stubborn expression.

“And why is that?” He glanced at the loveseat, wondering if he should sit back down. What he really wanted to do was take off as many of their clothes as she’d allow and get into bed. He knew she wasn’t ready for sex, but he desperately wanted to hold her, touch her, see how far she’d let things progress.

“Even if you managed to find the cabin, which is doubtful, Dad had a thing for biometric security. Unless you have his retina scan on file, you’ll need me to get into his safe.”

He sighed, a bit of his desire receding. Circumventing biometric security was time-consuming. A fast, stealthy operation made more sense. Finding the information was just the beginning. Then Garin’s research team would need to complete the work. “You’re certain your scans will trigger the locks? I thought you and your father were estranged.”

“Our relationship was rocky, but he needed to set up a beneficiary and the only alternative was my mother. I think he knew he was in trouble. He made sure I knew where everything was and he sent me updated passwords and encryption keys every time he changed something.”

Bandar milled that over for a moment. Nazerel could scan her mind for the location of the cabin then teleport her to the spot. Then the
Crusader
could use Nazerel’s signal to stream Bandar to their location. It would be much easier than tromping around in the woods for hours, hoping to stumble across the secluded cabin. “We’d have to be fast and focused. In and out. No distractions.”

A triumphant smile flashed across her face before she managed to reel it in. “I can do that.” She sat back down, perching on the edge of her chair.

He wasn’t nearly as confident as she was, but there didn’t seem to be a better option. “It’s been less than a year since your father died. Are you sure you’re all right with this?” The last thing he needed was an emotional female compromising the mission.

“I miss him, but as you said, we weren’t close.”

He wasn’t sure he believed her, yet he had no way to prove or disprove her claim. He needed to think things over, make sure he wasn’t missing a potential danger. “We both need to get some sleep.” He motioned toward the bed at the other end of the room. “Morgan is expecting us for breakfast and I want to leave immediately after the meal.”

“Who is Morgan and don’t forget that you promised to show me your eyes.”

The concealment film was annoying anyway. He’d be happy to keep his promise. “I haven’t forgotten and Morgan is Nazerel’s human mate. She’s the highest authority at the Bunker. I believe her title is director.”

“How long have they been together? How did they meet?”

He smiled though weariness crept through his system. Rodytes didn’t require as much sleep as humans and soldiers were conditioned to survive on even less. Still, he’d already been up for thirty hours when he streamed into Ashley’s loft. “Both are good questions to ask at breakfast. We really should get some sleep.”

She pushed back to her feet and approached him cautiously. “I’d like to see your knife first. How is it able to change shape?”

He’d already revealed more than he’d intended to tell her. What difference would one more detail make? He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the folded blade. “It’s called a flexblade, for obvious reasons. It takes rigorous training and years of practice to master its use, so many choose less demanding weapons. Because of its challenges, flexblades have also become a sort of status symbol, like a black belt in karate.”

Her gaze narrowed, forming adorable little crinkles above her nose. “Your understanding of Earth seems patchy at best. Why do you know about black belts and karate?”

“I’m a soldier.” He shrugged. “I’ve studied the fighting techniques of countless worlds, including yours.” When she merely nodded in response, he went on. “This is the flexblade’s most compact form. The alloy contains millions of nanites that are able to expand and contract, forming a variety of shapes and sizes.” He unfolded the knife then slid his thumb along the upper edge of the handle, triggering the first transformation. The pocket knife swelled and reshaped, becoming an ornate dagger. He squeezed the grip three times in quick succession and the dagger transformed into a long, lethal sword.

Her gaze grew wider with each new form. “That’s seriously cool. But why bother with blades when guns are so much more effective?”

Her curiosity was endearing, yet it could also be dangerous. She would be infinitely safer if she were a little more reserved. “We frequently fight in space. Blasting holes in the hull of our ship is counterproductive to winning a battle, but this isn’t just a sword. It can also launch energy pulses and incapacitate with sonic bursts.”

She looked at the sword with renewed interest, tilting her head this way and that. The golden hilt was decoratively sculpted and an intricate pattern had been etched into both sides of the long silvery blade. Each Rodyte who earned the right to carry a flexblade took time to personalize their weapon. The nanites could produce anything the warrior imagined, but the process was time-consuming and tedious. It had taken Bandar several years to perfect this pattern. He was proud of the result.

“If this thing is also a gun, why didn’t you shoot your shadow?” There was no accusation in her tone, just mild curiosity.

“He flashed out before I had the chance, besides I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to the situation. We’re not ready to step into the spotlight.” Questions lingered in her gaze, but she only nodded. Purple smudges shadowed her eyes and she looked unusually pale. “Are you feeling woozy again? You didn’t eat much of that candy.”

She waved away his concern as he reversed the transformations and put the knife back in his pocket. “Show me your eyes and then I’ll go lie down. I must admit I’m fading fast.”

He’d need to reinsert the coverings in the morning, so he found a glass in the kitchen area and filled it half full of water. Then he dragged the curved pieces of film off the surface of his eyes and blinked repeatedly, thrilled to be free of the irritant.

After depositing the coverings in the glass of water, he turned to face her again. “My mother was from the San Adrin region of Bilarri, which is why my
phitons
are gold rather than blue. You can usually spot a full-blooded—they like to call themselves organic—Rodyte because their
phitons
are blue and they also have blue streaks in their hair. As soon as Bilarrian blood is allowed into the mix…” What little color remained in her face drained away as she stared unblinkingly at his eyes. “Ashley?”

Her lips began to tremble and then her entire body started shaking. Tears filled her eyes and a low, mournful sound escaped her throat. He rushed across the room and grasped her elbows as her knees buckled. Unsure what else to do, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed, sitting on the side with her cradled against his chest.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He rocked her, somewhat relieved when she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into the side of his neck.

“It’s real,” she whispered the words against his throat, her tears dampening his skin. “It’s all real.”

For a long time he just rocked her, stroking her hair and whispering nonspecific encouragements. He wasn’t sure how to help her beyond just letting her cry. Why had seeing his eyes set her off? The revelation hadn’t been unexpected, so this couldn’t be shock.

“Talk to me, angel. Why are you so upset?”

She eased away so she could see his face, one of her hands drifting from his back to his chest. “They made me think I was crazy, that I’d made it all up.” She took a deep breath and then another, her gaze locked with his. Then she lightly touched his face, her thumb sweeping back and forth just below his eye. “You have no idea what it’s been like. Every time I’ve seen one of you something stressful was happening. Even tonight. I stumbled upon an intruder, so I was hopped-up on adrenaline. I’d started to believe it was all a trick of my imagination, some sort of coping mechanism. I’ve been at this so long, part of me expected you to turn around and say, ‘See. There is no such thing as aliens.’”