Dark Solstice (30 page)

He changed the angle and tempo of his thrusts abruptly, pushing her over the edge into blinding, breath stealing euphoria. She sucked in a sharp cry as the first convulsions of her climax hit her, clutching at him tightly as she rode the tidal wave upward to a state of nearly unbearable pleasure. He joined her as she hit the ultimate peak, shuddering, groaning hoarsely as he drove into her feverishly to pump his essence into her.

The expenditure left them both weak and shaken, stole the tone from their muscles until they could do nothing more than lay limply together in the aftermath, trying to catch their breath. Rhea dragged in a deep, shuddering breath when he finally rolled off of her, allowing her to fully expand her lungs. A shiver escaped her at the loss of his heat, however, and she rolled to drape herself over him, snuggling tightly against him.

He dropped a hand heavily to her back once he’d straightened the cover over the two of them, managed three strokes and dropped into oblivion even before she did.

Chapter Twenty Five

Raathe jolted awake and upright so abruptly, dumping her off of him onto the hard ground, that it jerked Rhea awake, as well. Stunned, drunk from being so swiftly aroused, she looked around dazedly and discovered that Raathe was standing where he’d been lying only a split second before.

Kyle had just stepped into the clearing from the path to the pool. He strode toward them, his expression grim, purposeful.

It wasn’t the phosphorescent glow of the night creatures that illuminated their surroundings but the weak light filtering through the ice flow.

Raathe was scowling ferociously at Kyle.

“What the fuck, Justice? Why didn’t you …?”

Rhea sucked in a sharp breath as a half a dozen hard faced, armor clad men stepped from the brush around them, their guns at the ready.

“Federation Rangers!” the man in the center barked. “Put down your weapon!”

Raathe stiffened. Before Rhea could beg him to drop the pistol, could even fully assimilate what was happening, Kyle stepped up behind him and placed the barrel of his own gun against the base of Raathe’s skull. “Drop it, Raathe. Don’t make me shoot you,” he growled.

Raathe dropped the weapon.

One of the rangers stepped forward and kicked the weapon out of Raathe’s reach. He gave a Raathe a once over and his expression lightened slightly. “Don’t guess we’ll have to search you.”

“Hands behind your back,” Kyle ordered.

Raathe assumed a wide legged stance and put his arms behind him, turning his head slightly to look back at Kyle as he produced a set of cuffs and clamped them on Raathe’s wrists. “I’d ask you how you managed this
Ranger
Justice, but I’m pretty sure I know.”

“Ranger?” Rhea echoed, her thought processes still too chaotic to take it in. “But … he was in Phobos.”

“Undercover—right Justice? When I finally figured out you weren’t a snitch for the warden, that didn’t actually leave but one other possibility.”

“Do you have any weapons, ma’am?” one of the other rangers demanded, leveling his weapon on Rhea.

Kyle knocked the barrel aside angrily. “She’s victim not an escaped convict, Morton!” he snapped. The man’s jaw tightened, but he stepped back. When two of the men had grabbed Raathe by either arm, he crouched down to Rhea’s level. “Time to go, Rhea.”

Rhea stared at him uncomprehendingly, but the heavy weight of betrayal bearing down her was making her chest tight, making it hard to breathe. “Where are we going?” she managed to ask finally.

Kyle glanced questioningly at the other rangers.

“The Federation Orca is in place,” one man answered his unasked question.

He turned back to Rhea. “For now—the Orca. Once you’ve given your statement, you’ll be transported back to Earth.”

Rhea dragged her gaze from Kyle and looked up at Raathe hopelessly. “What about John?”

Kyle’s lips tightened. “For now, he’ll be transported to the Orca, too.”

“You going to transport us both naked?” Raathe growled when Kyle grasped Rhea’s arm to help her to her feet.

Kyle sent him a sharp look, but jerked his head at the others. “I’ll bring her in a minute.”

The two men holding Raathe between them jerked him around and dragged him toward the path, the other four falling into formation in front and behind him.

Kyle watched them until they’d left, then transferred gaze to Rhea. “
Do
you have any weapons?”

Rhea swallowed with an effort, shaking her head. Straightening, he glanced around, spied the suit she’d discarded the night before and tossed it to her. “Get dressed.”

Rhea felt tears threaten when he turned his back and stood stiffly at attention, waiting for her. It was like a cold, deadly stranger had stepped into Kyle’s skin, someone she didn’t know at all. Dragging in a shuddering breath, she fought the tears into abeyance and struggled into the suit as quickly as she could.

He turned to face her when he heard her sealing the closure. “Ready, Dr. Landon?”

As hard as she’d worked for the title, as much pride as she’d always had in her accomplishments, the formality was like a slap in the face and Rhea reeled from it as if it had been physical contact. Swallowing with an effort, discovering she couldn’t find her voice, she merely nodded. He caught her arm, leading her down the path. He hadn’t handcuffed her, but she felt like a prisoner.

Maybe it was an idea she should get used to?

She discovered the others had assembled near the pool, felt a modicum relief that the men had allowed Raathe to dress in one of the suits they’d left to dry the day before.

She sent him a hopeful glance, but he was staring rigidly at the ground before him, a muscle in his square jaw ticking as if he was gritting his teeth. When she and Kyle—Ranger Justice joined the other men, the one Kyle had identified as Morton spoke into a wrist comm. “Company assembled and ready for transport.”

Rhea stiffened as she felt the first burning tingle of the particle transport beam lock on to her.

It certainly explained how the rangers had managed to surround them without alerting Raathe, Rhea thought a little sickly, realizing Kyle had to have communicated with them when he’d gone off by himself, supposedly to reconnoiter.

It dawned on her that Raathe hadn’t seemed particularly surprised.

If he’d been expecting it, though, why had he allowed himself to be taken?

It was the last thought she had before blackout. When she became aware of her surroundings again, she found that she was looking at the sterile, stainless steal walls of a transport room. A wave of dizziness washed over her. Kyle, who’d released her before transport, gripped her arm again and led her off the platform behind the others escorting John. The doors to the room disappeared almost silently into the walls surrounding them and their party stepped into a corridor. Raathe and his escort turned to the right. Kyle guided her to the left.

She cast an anxious glance back at Raathe, but he didn’t turn and she looked away again, too upset to really take in her surroundings. They didn’t pass anyone in the short time they followed the corridor, but two more rangers were inside the lift cubicle that arrived to carry them up three levels.

“Justice,” one of the men greeted Kyle with a nod. “Good job!”

The other grinned. “You look like shit, Justice! Prison didn’t agree with you, huh?”

Kyle acknowledged the other two men a little stiffly. “Not a hell of a lot,” he responded to the second man.

They got off at the next level. “Meet us in the Rec Room after debriefing?” the second man asked, holding the door briefly. “I’ll buy you a stout one. You look like you could use some R and R.”

“I guess it depends on how long the debriefing takes,” Kyle responded neutrally.

Nodding, the man released the door and stepped back.

He hadn’t introduced her to either man. Was that significant, she wondered, sliding a glance at Kyle’s hard profile?

Some of the shock began to wear off as the lift stopped again and the doors opened upon another corridor. Anger flickered to life, chasing some of the coldness from her bones. She could understand that he’d been undercover and couldn’t tell anyone he was a ranger, but had it been absolutely necessary to his ‘cover’ to worm his way into her confidence? To make her fall in love with him?

She’d trusted him and he’d used her!

Raathe, despite what Kyle had said, had trusted him—at least in so far as that he’d trusted Kyle with her when he didn’t trust anyone else!

She supposed he must have had a reason—orders—to try to gain Raathe’s confidence, but why would he do that to her?

He guided her to a wide door a little way down the corridor and into a comfortable stateroom before he released his grip on her arm. She rubbed the place absently, looking around the room in confusion. She discovered when she faced Kyle that he was studying the movement of her hand.

He met her gaze after a moment. “Say something, damn it!” he growled abruptly, making her jump all over.

The little bit of anger she’d managed to muster deserted her. Emotion tightened in her throat, feeling as if it would strangle her. “Why?” she croaked.

His expression grew taut. “I can’t discuss the case.”

Rhea stared at him helplessly, wondering why he’d even demanded a response from her when he had no intention, obviously, of answering the question she most needed the answer to. He shook his head. Turning away, he moved to the door.

“What was I? Collateral damage? Or was I supposed to bring you information you needed? Is that it? You thought to get to Raathe through me? Why? Why was it necessary to make me believe you cared about me?”

He pivoted to stare at her. “I do care about you! My only intention as far as you were concerned was to see to it that you weren’t hurt and to get you out as quickly as I could. Whatever you think of me now, damn it, I only had your best interests at heart.” He returned to her in two strides, gripping her upper arms almost painfully. “I didn’t lie about that … about any of that. I love you, damn it! I meant everything I said to you!”

The pain that crashed down on her felt as if it was suffocating her. She wanted to believe him so badly she felt sick, but she didn’t. After everything she’d just discovered, she didn’t think she could ever believe anything he said anymore. “Everything was a lie. Everything! I don’t even know who you are!”

He reeled as if she’d slapped, turning pale before anger brought the color surging back into his cheeks. He shook her slightly and released her. “Damn it, Rhea! I’m the same man you’ve always known. The only difference is I’m not a criminal. I’m a Federation Ranger. Is that why you can’t look at me anymore? Because I’m not a damned convict—like Raathe?”

Rhea balled her hands into fists, struggling against the urge to slap him. “At least he isn’t a damned liar,” she said through gritted teeth, “
Ranger
Justice. He didn’t fuck me just so that he could fuck you over!”

He paled noticeably. After a moment, he turned and headed to the door again. “You’ll need a complete physical. I’ll send someone to escort you to the med-lab,” he said without turning, stepping through the door and closing it behind him.

Rhea wilted to the floor when he’d left, curling into herself. The urge to weep assailed her again but she didn’t dare give in to it. She was afraid if she started she’d never be able to stop. Dry eyed, she sat clasping her knees to her chest, rocking slightly to calm herself, uncertain whether she even wanted to face the conflicting thoughts and emotions warring inside of her.

* * * *

Raathe scanned the interrogation room, noting the strategically placed vids without any surprise. He knew the drill. They’d settled him in a hard, straight backed chair, secured his wrists and ankles in restraints, locked them together, and secured the restraints to the floor. He’d be left here for a few hours, long enough to begin to feel the discomfort of not being able to straighten up. They’d wait until his bladder was full and aching like an abscessed tooth, and his stomach so empty it was sticking to his backbone and then, when he’d reached the peak of misery, they would come in and begin the questions, asking the same ones over and over with just slight variations, trying to trip him up.

Fortunately, he’d had the presence of mind to take a piss before he put the suit on. Grim amusement lit his eyes at the memory.

They hadn’t been too happy about that but fuck ‘em.

Testing the limits of his restraints, he settled his elbows on his knees, laced his fingers together and propped his chin on them, wondering where they’d taken Rhea.

She was the only thing he was really worried about.

He wished to fuck he’d managed to catch up to her before she’d been forced to defend her life. If he had, he wouldn’t have to worry about the mess she might have gotten herself in to.

It all depended on Justice. If he’d been a betting man, he would’ve been willing to bet every credit he had that Kyle was mad about her and he’d lie through his teeth if necessary to keep her from having to face charges regarding Grimes and Cook—any kind of charges.

He wasn’t worried about her getting off the hook. She would. No jury in the world would convict her for protecting herself, especially once her lawyer brought out what kind of men she’d been dealing with. The thing was, he didn’t want her in jail at all. She’d been through hell already. Months more of being dragged through court and having the fucking media all over her wasn’t going to help her get through the crap she’d already had to deal with.

He wasn’t displeased with his own situation.

Hell, if he’d figured out sooner that Justice was the damned cavalry, he would’ve kissed the son-of-a-bitch!

He had a pretty good idea that at least part of Justice’s agenda when he’d been sent in undercover was to secure his testimony against the company. He could be wrong, of course, but it fit. Justice had begun making overtures almost as soon as he’d settled in, and he’d not only been determined to take part in the ‘escape’, he’d orchestrated it, and made damned sure to keep him alive. That said ‘witness’ like nothing else.