Hathor Legacy: Burn (15 page)

"No, Jon!" Pulling wasn't helping. His grip held her fast. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Don't talk. Just let it go. All of it."

A warm, wet kiss against her neck sent pings radiating through her. Trembling, she bit her lip, trying to hold back the emotion churning inside her. "I can't. Not now. Later."

"No. Now." He moved his hand along her arm and intertwined his fingers with hers. "I've got you. Let it go."

Heat from his body enveloped her, wrapping her in safety. But he couldn't protect her from what she'd seen and experienced. That was her burden and she couldn't be free of it. Just like Varyn could never be free of what had happened to her.

Spent, she finally gave up and relaxed against him. "I'll be all right," she said.

He didn't answer her. It felt like he was waiting. His grip didn't loosen, and she wondered why. Then she felt it, moving up out of her stomach, into her chest, and finally up into her throat. A loud sob that frightened her at first because she had never heard anything like that from her own lips. Leaning back against him, she cried out, not in control of her own body or the sounds she was making.

Jon continued to hold her close. "That's it, ashira. I've got you."

Desired one. He'd called her that on a few occasions. Usually after they'd made love and were resting in each other's arms. "Ashira," she repeated. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of Jonathan's arms around her. If only she could let it go. She'd release all the anguish and the pain she carried and get free.

*****

How long had she been asleep? Was it minutes or hours? Lying here between waking and sleeping, she was only aware of his arms around her. The dimmed light above the bed cast a golden glow, leaving most of the room in total darkness.

"Jon?" She craned her neck to try and see to his face.

"I'm here. You fell asleep."

The mattress felt even softer than it had before for some reason. "I want to go home."

"Tomorrow." he said. "I promise, I'll be back in the morning to get you."

She didn't protest. The way she felt right now, she didn't have the strength to sit up, much less walk out of here. "You mentioned something you wanted to tell me. Something Matt said?"

"Yeah. But I'll tell you before I leave."

"Why not tell me now?"

"Shhhh…" He hugged her close. "We'll talk later."

"You're going to fall asleep," she said. "And then you're going to snore and wake me up." For emphasis, she rubbed her foot against his.

"I don't snore." He returned the gesture and ran his foot under her bare one.

"Stop that. It tickles!" Damn him. Why did he always do that? Her body shook with laugher, and he responded with a kiss on her cheek.

"I liked you better when you were sleeping." He chuckled. "I promise, I'll tell you before I go."

"Is it about the fires?" Does he know who's setting them?"

His answer was to fake a loud snore, accompanied by another tickle on the bottom of her foot.

She sighed and closed her eyes, her mind already working as she tried to figure out exactly what Matt knew and what he could've said. As much as she wanted to relax her mind, she couldn't.

This was the first real rest she'd had since the fires started. Holding things inside had been her way of coping. She'd never had an option to do anything else, until now.

20
Person of Interest

Staying the night at the medi-evac with Nadira had been a good idea after all. Luckily, he'd shared Matt's conversation with her before he'd finally drifted off. Now that morning was here, he wished he could push it all out of his mind. Realizing what could've happened to her in the warehouse had driven him to want to punch something. And when he thought about Matt's warning, it only angered him more.

Not wanting to wake her, he slipped out of bed and headed out to get a transport. When she woke, he'd have a fresh change of clothes and some of her favorite tea waiting. Then they'd head over to the apartment in the Palatine that Lani had told him about. With all their modern security in place, it'd be safer there.

He was exhausted and was ready to get into a hot shower. As the transport headed across town, he stretched his legs out. Pent-up energy kept him from relaxing completely. As much as he wanted to unwind, he couldn't let go of the image of Nadira in the medi-evac. What would've happened if she hadn't been found in that warehouse? A throbbing ache in his neck radiated across his shoulders, as he tried to get comfortable.

When the vehicle slowed down, he woke up and glanced out the window. He was already at the apartment. The door slid back and he climbed out, stretching to try to relieve the pain in his back. It wasn't until he got to the door that he noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye.

"Mr. Keel?" A security officer stepped in between him and the door. "One moment." Wearing a baggy uniform and shiny, black helmet, the name on her pocket identified her, "Sgt. B. Ohara." She held up a glass tablet in front of Jon's face.

"What's going on? What do you want?" he asked.

"Mr. Keel, I'm Sgt. Ohara, this is Officer Abram." She m
otioned to an officer standing on Jon's right. "I apologize for the disturbance, but your assistance is required."

"Where? You didn't answer me. What's going on?"

"If you would please come with us. We've been instructed to bring you in for questioning," Ohara replied.

"About what?" Next to him, the other officer moved closer. This one was obviously male, and physically larger and bulkier than Ohara.

The Sergeant lowered her tablet. "It's about the explosion in Matt Bento's apartment at the Diamond Star. You're a person of interest, Mr. Keel. Please come with us."

*****

The last thing Jon expected was to be hauled into the Nova City Detention Center at the crack of dawn. Sitting between two silent security officers for the fifteen-minute ride was bad enough. But being hustled through two checkpoints, and having a tracking tat applied to his wrist meant he was in serious trouble. Ignoring his protests, they took him to a small room off the main entrance and left him there.

A small, rectangular window way up in the ceiling let in a shaft of natural light. Other than that, the room had a metal chair and nothing more. The door was a solid sheet of metal, with no ope
ning. Nor even a handle or fingerpad. There was no way out until it was opened.

What now? And how would he get word to Nadira? Taking a deep breath, he tried to reach her through their connection. It had been so strong between them just the day before when she'd been at the warehouse. But maybe it had been her strong emotions that had done it. Because right now, he wasn't feeling anything.

The door slid open and disappeared into the wall pocket. On the other side stood two women. One in dark grey security coveralls, the other a petite woman wearing a grey corporate suit. Her flame-colored hair, cut short and barely covering her ears, looked garish against her chalky white skin.

"Mr. Keel," the woman in overalls said. "I'm Security Chief Duval. I'm in charge here. This is Guardian Protector Talia." Duval walked into the room and motioned to the chair. "Please have a seat."

Keeping his eyes on Duval, he sat down. "I want to know what's going on."

"After the explosion at the Diamond Star the security cams were checked to see who was in the building that day." Duval shoved her hands into the pockets of her uniform. "Matt Bento only had one visitor since he was released from here. You."

"I was visiting him. He was a friend of my family. Is that a crime?"

"Company property was destroyed and people were injured, Mr. Keel. Committing a crime against the corporation is a serious matter."  Talia entered the room, remaining close to the doorway.

The Security Chief glanced at Talia. "That's why you must be formally questioned, Mr. Keel. Once it's confirmed that you're telling the truth, you can go. I'm sorry if we're inconveniencing you. But we have to go on record."

"Chief Duval," Talia began. "With the fires and now this expl
osion, the company executives are concerned. If lawlessness breaks out in the city, I would hate for you to have to answer for it."

"Are you trying to say I'm not doing my job?" Duval's voice went up a few octaves. "I run the Detention Center, your people are responsible for security."

"Of course," Talia replied in a soft voice. "But you sound reluctant to proceed with the questioning."

The Chief flicked her heavy black hair off her shoulders. "This is a CEO's son. We do not interrogate executive level citizens."

"Would you rather just take his word for it? Fine. I will report back to Elder Dakar and he will report to the City Manager. And she will take it up with the city board of directors. And if another explosion occurs, you will be replaced for obstructing corporate directives." Talia's tone was gentle, with no hint of the threat in her words.

Duval bit down hard on her lip. So hard that Jon thought she'd drawn blood. But what was she the most afraid of? Harming him or disobeying Talia?

It took a few moments before she could get the words out. "I'm sorry, Mr. Keel. But in this situation, Guardian Talia has authority to question you."

"She's not going to find anything out more than what I said. Why won't you take my word for it?"

"I already do, but I'm obviously not in charge of this situation." She rolled her eyes. "She needs to verify that you're telling the truth for the record.

"Why isn't my word enough? How do you know she'll verify I'm telling the truth?" Jon pointed at Talia.

"She has no reason to lie, Mr. Keel," Duval said. "Guardian Talia has nothing to gain by implicating you."

"Sure she does," Jon replied, meeting Talia's gaze. "And she and Elder Dakar know what it is."

Duval's thin eyebrows arched as she looked from Jon to Talia. "Guardian Talia,

I'm still not sure about this. Perhaps we're moving too quickly. The security team is still going over the scene of the blast and--"

"Security Chief, as you know, Guardians do not lie or have agendas. If Mr. Keel has nothing to hide, then this will be easy and relatively painless."

"Yes, you're right." Duval avoided making eye contact with Jonathan. "Let's get this out of the way so Mr. Keel can be returned to his apartment."

Talia stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her. "I have been reading his thoughts while we were talking. But he is resisting me. I will have to use other methods to verify the truth."

She'd been reading him? He hadn't felt anything. But that's why she was a Guardian interrogator.

"I don't think a full interrogation is called for," the Security Chief said. "They saw him go into the apartment but there's no reason to believe he had an explosive device."

"Just because the security cam didn't capture it doesn't mean he didn't have one on him. As long as Mr. Keel cooperates, it will only take a few moments to read deeper into his mind."

Duval didn't look at Jon, she just nodded her head and walked back into the corridor. As soon as she left, two guards came in, both of them wearing the grey overalls.

"Now, Mr. Keel," Talia said. "Shall we begin? Just relax, a
nswer truthfully and do not resist."

"I've already told you that I had nothing to do with that expl
osion." Jon rubbed the tat on his wrist. "Why did you put this on me? Think I'm going to escape?"

"It's procedure. It'll be removed if you're released."

"If I'm released? I haven't done anything. It'll be your word against mine."

"You're under suspicion for a very serious crime, Mr. Keel. According to Novacorp directive 2009-10 in the corporate charter, Guardian authority supersedes all levels of company security. It's my job to verify the truth of your statements and confirm your i
nnocence."

"Do you remember all the directives in the charter, or did you make the numbers up?"

Talia's lips tightened, and for a few seconds a frown passed over her mild expression. But she recovered quickly. "Your displeasure has been noted. Now if you would relax and answer a few questions."

"I already have!"

"I just have a few more. If you have nothing to hide, what is the problem with that?"

"I don't have a problem."

"Good," she said, as she approached. "You visited Matt Bento's apartment yesterday?"

"Yes. So?"

"Why did you meet him?"

"He invited me. Matt was a family friend."

"And he was sent to detention because of his involvement in a robbery of the mine on Demeter. Your father's mine."

"Yes, but what has that got to do with--"

"Then why meet him?"

"He asked me. I just told you that!"

"Why are you so agitated, Mr. Keel?" Talia clasped her hands in front of her. "I only asked a simple question."

Gritting his teeth, he swallowed before he answered. "Matt asked me to meet him. He had to talk to me about business."

"What business?"

"He gave me advice." He wasn't going to say too much about Ron and the trafficking. The way things were going, they'd accuse him of being part of it.

"Mr. Keel, you're still resisting me, aren't you?" She took another step closer. "Or maybe you did take a detonation device to the Diamond Star. You took it into Matt Bento's apartment and planted it because you wanted revenge."

"You're not going to force me to say that."

She came close enough to place her small hands on his shoulders. Leaning down, she whispered in his ear. "You're a disgusting Fragile and the Elder will not allow you to have Nadira."

"No! You bitch!" Jon jumped out of the chair. He'd reacted without thinking. And as soon as he did, he realized he'd done the wrong thing.

Before he could take a step, a sharp pain cut into his chest like a mining pick. All he could do was gasp as his legs turned to rubber and gave out. He grabbed the chair and hung on as he steadied himself.

"Mr. Keel. That was a very foolish thing to do!" Talia shouted as the security guards rushed towards him.

Within seconds the guards yanked him to his feet. He didn't have the energy to struggle.

"Secure him," Talia ordered. "He will not comply. I have no choice but to go deeper into his mind to see if he's telling the truth."

Jon was forced back into the chair and held down. One of the guards pulled out a heavy, mesh binding from her utility belt. Between the two of them, they wrapped it around Jon and connected it to a slot in the chair. When they were done, they stepped back.

"Why are you doing this?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't do anything."

"Open your mind to me, Mr. Keel. I will go as deeply as I can to find the truth. Admit that you brought the device and it will go easier on you."

"I didn't do it!"

Talia shook her head and motioned to the guards. "Please stand aside."

In unison, they both moved away from Jonathan and stood on either side of his chair.

"Close the door," Talia called out.

The metal door slid shut.

"Now Mr. Keel," Talia said. "Please stop resisting me. If you're fighting me, you must have something to hide."

"You don't care about the explosion. You're working for D
akar!" he struggled against the binding, but couldn't get free. The more he pulled, the tighter it held him.

"Or you can admit your guilt now. Then I won't have to go any deeper into your mind. I can't be responsible for what might ha
ppen to you."

"Go to hell!"

"I am sorry, Mr. Keel. If you stop resisting, there will be no pain." Talia closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"Aaaahhhh!" Jon cried out as another stabbing pain hit him in his forehead, and then expanded across his skull. It was the sharp pick again, multiplied and hitting him over and over again.

He wasn't resisting. This was what she'd intended all along. To torture him and try to force him to say he'd planted the device to kill Matt. The Elder wanted him out of the way and didn't care how he did it.

Jon's body shook and shuddered as he fought to free himself. If he could get free, he could try to stop her. Somehow he'd stop her from whatever she was doing to him.

Talia's pale blue eyes were trained on him. The only visible signs of the effort she was expending were the red blotches spreading across her cheeks.