Indulgence (108 page)

He spoke as through they were entering a battlefield, not
surrendering. “Vow to me that you won’t shoot first, sir.”

“I won’t shoot first,” Rage agreed too quickly for Joan’s
comfort. He stomped down the ramp. She trailed him, carrying her own gun, and
blinked as they entered the brightness of the docking bay.

Heavily armed cyborgs lined a narrow pathway. Vector was as
cautious as Rage.

They approached the other C Model cyborg. He didn’t affect
her, didn’t invoke the instant arousal Rage did. That proved to Joan that what
she felt for her male would never be duplicated.

“The council sent me to greet you because we’re the same
model.” Vector broke the silence. “Logic said I should understand you.” He
studied Rage. “I don’t. Even now, you risk certain death to protect a human
female.” He moved his perusal to Joan. “I’ve met several of them. What’s
special about this one?”

“She’s mine,” Rage stated as though that explained
everything.

They looked at each other, two dominant males sizing each
other up. Joan placed her left palm on Rage’s back, seeking to calm him.

“Does the fourth cyborg need medical attention?” Vector
glanced toward the ship. “Doc?”

A G model cyborg, similar to Gap, clad in a white jacket,
stepped forward. “I’ll attend to him.”

“We’ll sweep the space first.” Vector gestured to three of
the males and they strode toward the ship.

Rage frowned. “There’s no fourth cyborg. There are only
three of us.”

Vector’s lips twisted. “There’s no point in deception. We
performed a life-form scan. You had four cyborgs and one human on board.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Rage stepped forward.

Oh shit. Joan grasped one of his massive arms. “We performed
quite a few modifications on the ship. Some of them might have created echoes,
interfering with the accuracy of your equipment.”

Vector opened his big mouth.

“I know you’d never question the honor of a cyborg.” She
tried to maintain the fragile peace.

“Fraggin’ right,” Crash muttered.

“One of the heartbeats was very faint.” Doc supported her
wild theory.

The three cyborgs returned. “There are no beings inside,
sir.”

“I’ll verify.” The medical cyborg hurried forward,
withdrawing a handheld device from a coat pocket.

“You called for me, sir.” A female cyborg sauntered toward
them, her barely there hips swaying. She was tall with high firm breasts and a
waist Joan would kill for. Her skin was the lightest shade of gray, her hair
long and black, her eyes brilliant blue.

She was absolutely gorgeous, fit into her flight suit, and
would be welcome in their Homeland. Joan’s heart twisted. The cyborg was
perfect for Rage. He had to have noticed that.

“A female,” Gap breathed.

“Where’s the rest of her?” Crash’s question lightened Joan’s
darkening mood.

“Sky, this is Rage.” Vector’s expression was smug. “Rage led
a fleet of six hundred and fourteen cyborgs to freedom.”

Hmmm…” The female’s eyelashes fluttered. “Brave and a C
model too.” She skimmed one of her fingernails along his armor-covered chest.
“I like that.”

Joan folded her fingers into fists, fighting the urge to
slap her, to reinforce her claim on her big male. This was for the best. He’d
fall in love with one of his own kind, build a life in his Homeland, forget
about his little human female.

“You allow your female to touch other males?” Rage didn’t
sound impressed.

“Oh, warrior.” Sky exchanged an amused glance with Vector.
“He’s not my male.” She stepped closer. “But you could be.” She gave him the
full frontal press, flattening her breasts against his chest.

Rage stepped backward. “Touch me again and I’ll kill you.”

Joan’s heart twisted. He’d threatened to kill her when they
first met, also.

“You don’t mean that.” Sky’s laughter was husky.

“I mean every word.” Rage lowered his gun, aiming it at her
chest.

Sky blinked. “You want me. I can--” Her nostrils flared as
she inhaled. “Fraggin’ hole. I don’t smell any arousal.” All of the softness in
her beautiful face disappeared. “How dare you not be attracted to me.” She
glared at him.

“I dare.” Rage drew himself up to his full height. “I belong
to Joan Tull.”

“Oh.” Joan sucked back a sob, his declaration touching her
heart.

“You want her?” Sky circled him, and Joan, feeling a tremor
of fear, clutched her gun tighter. “She’s a human. I’m a cyborg. I was designed
to stimulate you.”

“You don’t.” Rage pulled Joan behind him. “You won’t
disrespect my female.”

That was one of the actions he vowed to kill over. “You
can’t blame her for desiring you, sir.” Joan tried to ease her cyborg’s anger.
“You’re a powerful C model cyborg, the greatest warrior I’ve ever known. Many
females will envy me.”

“She’s scaring you.” His voice was gruff.

“She’s scaring me,” Gap admitted. “Females should be soft.”

Crash muttered something Joan couldn’t hear.

“Say that to my face, E model.” The female cyborg turned to
confront him. “If you have the mechanics to--”

“Sky, leave us,” Vector barked.

She opened her mouth.

“Now.” His tone didn’t allow for discussion.

Sky cast a threatening look at Crash and complied, flouncing
away from them. Joan watched her exit the docking bay. “You called for her,
thinking she’d seduce Rage.”

Her big cyborg growled.

“It was worth an attempt.” Vector appeared sheepish. “Sky
has swayed the most determined cyborg.”

She didn’t sway hers. Joan leaned into Rage. He angled his
body backward, as though seeking more of her touch.

“They’re right.” Doc wandered out of the ship, his gaze on his
handheld’s small screen. “There are no more beings inside. That’s strange.”

“No stranger than a cyborg forming an attachment to a human
female.” Vector pivoted on his booted heels. “Follow me. We’ll discuss the
stipulations of your surrender in my working chambers.” He walked quickly
through the docking bay.

They trailed him. “You aren’t asking us to disarm?”
Suspicion edged Rage’s voice.

“Would you disarm if I asked you to?”

“No.”

“Then what would be the point?” Doors opened and shut around
them. “I’m not the enemy, Rage. We have the rules for a reason. Many cyborgs
would attack a human on sight. Is that the fate you wish for your female?”

She’d never be welcome in their Homeland. Joan’s shoulders
slumped.

“Then let us go.” Rage, again, offered to walk away from his
new home for her. “Joan wouldn’t betray us. I give you my vow.”

“I don’t have the authority to let you go.” Vector sounded
genuinely regretful. “But I can vow that no being will harm her while she’s
imprisoned. You can petition the council to make an exception for her, to give
her permission to leave.”

She doubted they would ever allow that. She knew too much.
Joan blew out her breath. She’d be imprisoned for her entire lifespan.

“I don’t need your vow. I know no being will harm her
because I’ll be standing by her side at all times, making certain of that.”
Rage glanced over his shoulder at her. “Where you go, I go, little female.”

“You can’t give up your freedom for me.” She wouldn’t allow
that.

Rage grunted. He was an obstinate cyborg.

They entered a being mover. He slid behind her, wrapping his
arms around her smaller form, curving his palms over her stomach. His heat
soothed her. Gap, Crash, Doc, and three of the cyborg guards crowded around
her.

Joan stared at backs and chests, all of the cyborgs taller
than her, all of them male. She folded farther into Rage’s body, trusting him
to protect her.

The door closed. “Life-threatening condition detected,” a
robotic voice chimed, a red light on the wall flashing. “Medical staff has been
notified.”

“What is the state of your injury?” A face appeared on a
viewscreen on the wall.

No one answered. Joan looked around her. She was too short
to see any being other than the cyborgs positioned immediately in front of her.

“Is some being injured?” Doc asked.

Silence stretched.

“What’s the nature of the emergency reported?” he asked the
projected male.

“A weaker than optimal heartbeat has been detected, sir.”

“That’s the same anomaly.” Doc’s forehead wrinkled. “Run a
detailed analysis.” He met Vector’s gaze. “And redirect the being mover to the
isolation level.”

Vector’s lips flattened. “Contagion is a possibility?”

Rage’s grip on her tightened.

“The humans have been known to use viral weapons.” Doc
glanced at Joan and her face heated. They thought she was responsible for this.
“We’ll isolate the source.”

Isolate was code for kill. Sweat trickled down her spine.
“Can’t you use your handheld device to detect it?”

“It’s not that exact.” Doc shook his head. “The device
detects all of the life-forms within a specific radius. It doesn’t narrow the
life-form’s location.”

“Oh.” That wouldn’t help them. Joan turned the problem over
in her mind. Could the Humanoid Alliance have added a kill switch in cyborgs,
should they try to escape? Had she missed something? “Crash, did you run across
anything about kill switches or viral weapons in the database?”

“Nothing.” Rage’s friend pushed closer to her. “Could the
virus have been implanted when we were manufactured?”

“It could have been, but why would it be implanted in only
one of you?” She covered Rage’s hands with hers. “And why would it result in a
secondary heartbeat?”

“Two hearts would require double the energy and double the
nourishment,” Doc pointed out. “If that wasn’t supplied, the cyborg would
operate sub-optimally. Have any of you experienced unusual exhaustion or hunger
recently?”

“
We
haven’t.” Crash looked at Joan.

Her stomach chose that time to growl. “I’m not a cyborg.”
She shook her head. “Does any being here have a nourishment bar?”

Rage handed her one.

“I love you.” She unwrapped the bar and bit into it. “Have I
told you that lately?”

“Twice this planet rotation.” His eyes glimmered.

“How do you know you’re not a cyborg?” Gap leaned forward,
sniffing the air. “You smell like one.”

“She smells like me,” Rage rumbled. “Because I breed with
her three times a planet rotation. And, no, as I’ve told you multiple times,
breeding with a human female can’t change her into a cyborg.”

The cyborg guards sniggered.

Joan popped the last piece of bar into her mouth, swallowing
sweetness and her embarrassment. Complete strangers now knew how often they
were breeding. “Let’s focus on this virus problem.”

“The results of the detailed analysis aren’t logical, sir.”
The projected male returned.

“Relay them,” Doc instructed.

“The heart is currently twenty percent the size of a normal
organ yet beats twice as quickly. It belongs to an undetermined cyborg male.”

Doc’s eyebrows lifted. “It doesn’t match any existing
models?”

“No, sir, but that isn’t the most illogical part. It’s
situated in the middle of the space. There’s a human heart beating a quarter of
a G model torso above it.”

Every cyborg looked at her.

“I knew it,” Gap crowed. “She’s a cyborg.”

“I’m not a cyborg.” She realized then what that meant. Oh
fuck. “I’m the being infected.” She tried to step away from Rage, not wanting
to spread her illness to him. He wouldn’t release her. “I don’t want to hurt
you, sir.”

“The damage is already done.” Rage turned her within the
circle of his arms. “We’ll survive this, female.” He pressed her face against
his body armor. “Because that’s who we are.”

“Survivors,” she mumbled against the hard material. “I’m
sorry, sir.”

He grunted, rubbing her back.

“Every being in this being mover and in the docking bay will
be isolated until we determine if it is viral and how it is transferred.” Doc
tapped his fingers against his handheld. “Did you have any contact with the
other ships?”

Joan groaned. “I had contact with all of them. I put every
cyborg in danger.” How could this have happened? “Could the humans have
implanted me during the attack, Rage?”

“They didn’t expect you to live.” He dismissed that theory.
“They planned on me killing you.”

“We’ll uncover how later.” Vector bent his head over his
handheld device. “Until the threat is over, I won’t grant clearance for the
ships to land. We’re officially on lockdown.”

Because of her. Joan cringed. She might have killed them
all.

Rage wanted to go back in time and kill the humans on the
battle station a second time, inflicting more pain upon them. His female was
ill, infected by the rectal wipes.

He paced their shared chambers, moving back and forth, back
and forth, needing to take action, any action.

Joan sat on a horizontal support, munching on a nourishment
bar as she watched him. Between bites, she chattered about carriers and
incubation periods and other things he didn’t fully understand.

They were together, and, for that, he was grateful. Doc had
suggested separating them. One look at Rage’s face had rerouted his processors.
The cyborg had placed them in these chambers and retreated to prepare, whatever
that meant.

Crash.
Rage transmitted over their private line.
Do
you require assistance?

Every word echoed. He frowned. That had never happened
before now.

Not yet but judging by Vector’s face, we might soon.
The
resonance continued.
They placed all of us in the same chambers and you know
how C models enjoy crowded spaces.
Even Crash’s chuckle repeated.

Do you hear that?
It wasn’t normal. Rage glanced at
Joan, his suspicions knotting his stomach.