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would have been surprised, but Della took it all in stride. The idea

unnerved him…and made him suspicious. "Why were you in my bar,

Del?"

She turned her gorgeous, spooky eyes on him and he had to fight

not to look away first. She saw too deeply with those almost mystical

orbs.

"It was where I needed to be." She pulled that ancient, pictorial deck out of her pocket and fingered the card he'd seen before—the King of

Cups. "I followed destiny to you, Alexander."

"I don't believe in fate. You'll have to do better than that."

"Oh, but it was fate. And I'll admit there was some practicality in there as well." She leaned close, and for a moment he thought she was going to kiss him, but she placed her soft lips on his ear instead, shocking him. "General Tierney sent me."

Alex felt a moment of shock, but recovered quickly. She'd spoken

so softly even the Enhanced soldiers around them couldn't have heard.

Still, Alex cast his eye over the group. A few were smiling and shaking

their heads, probably believing Alex had made another conquest—as

Della had probably intended. Oh, she was good. He turned his lips into

her neck.

"Code?"

"Whiskey Delta Bravo."

She'd given him the right code and the right name. Damn him. Della

was in the game, too, only she had an edge. There was no way she was

faking those visions unless her niece was part of some much more

elaborate scheme than Alex could credit. No, Della had true powers of

prophecy. He'd seen it over the past weeks. That she was also a high-

level spy made her actions of the past hours much more understandable.

Della patted his chest as she sat back, staring into his eyes. "I could see the questions in your eyes." Her fingers pressed a subtle message into his chest. "But I don't see anything of the immediate future right now.

When I do, you'll be the first to know."

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D'ARC, GALE, KENT, MARCH

She moved away and Alex knew her last words were for benefit of

the watching men. The rest was a subtle message to him alone. She

wanted him to know she was on the right side of this conflict and the

code she'd supplied had gone a long way toward answering his most

immediate questions about her. The rest could wait until after they took back the station.

He tugged on her hand as she moved away. "Thank you, Della."

* * * *

man, she had no cause to complain. Except maybe for the fact the station was probably still under control of the enemy. The thought made her

frown as she sat up, clutching the shirt David had covered her with.

"Do you think the corridors are clear yet? Have you heard any news

on the comm?"

Dave started, clearly distracted. "Yeah, the tubes should be clear in another standard or so. I wouldn't want to chance it just yet, which means the jits probably won't be down this way looking for stragglers, either.

But even if they were able to maneuver in the access tubes with full

breathing gear, I'd be shocked if they could find their way into this

compartment. It's fully shielded and hidden so well, even I had a hard

time spotting it—and I knew what to look for."

Reassured, Adele began to shrug into her clothes. "So what do we

have planned?"

"We?" Dave laughed once, and Adele knew immediately they were

in for their first argument. "We don't have anything planned.
I,
" he emphasized the word, "intend to go out as soon as the gas clears,

rendezvous with Alex and company, then take back the station."

"And what have
you,
" she sounded annoyed even to her own ears,

"planned to do with me during all this?"

"Look, honey, I don't want to have to worry about you getting

caught or killed by the jits." Apparently he realized he'd stepped in it, but he

wasn't

backing

down,

though

he

moderated

his

tone.

"I…uh…care…about you." He seemed afraid to admit to any affection—

perhaps afraid of her rejection. His hesitant words softened her anger. "I care too much to put you in danger. I'm trained for this kind of thing and have been dealing with situations like this most of my life. You're a

civilian. I don't want you to get hurt."

She tugged on her boot and stood to face him. "I may be a civilian,"

she strode forward, standing toe to toe with the big man, not giving an

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inch, though her tone was gentle, "but up until a month ago, I was the Executive Officer of Lothlorien Station. I know my way around this

station—hell, any civ station—probably better than you, Colonel. I've

also had training. I'll admit, not as much as you, and I've never used it in a combat situation, but judging by the odds we're up against here, I'd say every body that can tote a rifle counts. I won't be left behind."

"Adele—" His tone held anguish, but she wouldn't be swayed.

"Let me help, David. I don't like seeing you in danger, either, but it can't be avoided. I can get us into the command center of this station

faster than anybody. Let me help you."

"Damn." David's breath came out in a rush as he pulled her into his arms and just hugged her close. "I don't like this one bit. And why didn't you tell me you outranked me?"

She chuckled and sank into his muscular embrace. "Technically, my

Civilian Station Service rank is colonel, just like you."

"Yeah, but you're command staff, not a field operative."

Adele shrugged. "I was command rank, but I got passed over for

promotion, so I'm taking some time to figure out where my career—and

my life—are going. I'm officially on extended leave, but all my codes are still active." She pulled back to look into his eyes. "I can get you anywhere you want to go on this station, David.

"Hell." He sighed hard, then bent to kiss her. She felt both regret and fear in the slight tremble of his warm lips against hers. He pulled

back when she would have taken the kiss deeper. "I don't want you in any danger, but I could use CSS help on this. Military stations use

different protocols and the intel I have on CSS codes is probably a bit out of date."

"I swore an oath, not unlike yours I suspect, to serve and protect the people who trust CSS to keep their stations safe and functioning. I can't abandon that. And I know I can help you."

* * * *

access tube and toward another. They'd eventually connect with the

network of corridors leading to the command areas of the station. He

didn't like having her in harm's way, but he couldn't deny her skill at

navigating the crowded conduits and she'd already gotten them into two

override-protected areas faster than he could have. She had current codes and since they were part of the CSS framework, they wouldn't alert any

of the unfriendlies on the station.

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D'ARC, GALE, KENT, MARCH

What he'd been able to monitor on the public comms gave him

pause. There were way more jit'suku than he expected crawling all over

the station. They must've emptied the ship they'd docked at the biosphere hatch. Either that, or they had another ship attached somewhere else,

though he couldn't find any mention of a second ship.

An audacious Plan B was forming in his mind, but he'd hold it in

reserve until he was sure Plan A wasn't going to work. As it was, Plan A involved getting into the command section and regaining control of the

station from there. If there really were as many jits as he feared, they'd learn soon enough if that plan was actually viable.

The compartment they'd holed up in hadn't had any comm gear.

Dave hated that he didn't know what Alex and the men were up to, but if

he had to guess, he'd lay odds they were in the thick of things. As soon as he could find a secure headset or some other means to contact them, he

would. A coordinated attack would work better than a couple of groups

acting on their own.

Rounding a curve in the access tube, Dave saw the flare of light

ahead, and it didn't look friendly. He shot backward, looking for the

access panel they'd just passed. There might just be enough room for

both of them behind it, if they squeezed in really close.

Wordlessly, Adele followed his lead, not objecting when he stuffed

her behind the thin panel first. It didn't shut completely, but he held it with one finger, hoping the jits—if that's who was coming down the

tube—wouldn't notice. With one eye, he could just see through the sliver of space left by the open panel.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a group of jits sauntered past,

talking loud enough they couldn't hear Adele's ragged breathing or smell her fear, even with their superior senses. This particular group of pirates was rather disorderly, but they were only foot soldiers. Dave bet their

commanders had a bit more on the ball if they'd been able to pull off a

complete takeover of a well-protected civ station so quickly. After the

patrol passed, they continued up the access tube, but Dave's recon of the control section showed way too many jits for them to get past.

Time for Plan B.

He headed into the main transport tube. It was back up and running,

which meant coasting through the zero G barrel would be downright

dangerous. If a pod came careening down the tube at them, they could be

crushed against the walls. But Dave was counting on the jits limiting

access to the transport system to their own people. After all, there weren't 42

FORTUNE'S FOOL

that many of them and the transport tube system was as vast as the

station itself. The odds were good they could coast in the tube for the

short distance they needed to go without getting hit by anything.

"Are you with me?" Dave saw Adele's raised eyebrows as he

prepared to enter.

She nodded.

He loved the confidence he saw shining out of her eyes, even as she

worried. In short, he loved her.

The thought startled him, but it felt warm and comfortable at the

same time. His spirit soared and his heart expanded as he looked down at her. He bent and placed a quick kiss on her lips, wishing he had time to tell her how he felt, time to show her how much her faith in him meant.

Instead, he pushed off into zero G with her cocooned against him,

just like before. They went the short distance to a biosphere side-portal and entered cautiously. Just as he suspected, the guards were minimal

and they were able to use the cover of the shrubs, plants and trees in the biosphere to make their way to the chute that would take them to the jit ship.

He wasn't surprised to see the outline of the ship through the

biosphere dome was of human design. The jits would never have made it

this close to a civ station in one of their own ships. That would work in his favor.

"We're going to take the ship," Dave said quietly, pausing some distance from the jit guards.

"You've got brass ones, Colonel."

He heard the approval in her tone. "And when we're done, you can

show me how much you like them again."

She surprised him by trailing one small hand down to this groin and

cupping him through the thin material of his flight suit. "Anytime, Colonel."

He dipped to kiss her head. "Hold that thought, sweetheart. We've

got some jits to down before I can show my…appreciation for your

enthusiasm."

She gave him a final squeeze and stepped back. "Let's do it, then, so I can get you back in bed."

"In bed," he mused quietly as he began to move toward the ship's dock, "against a bulkhead, on the bridge, anywhere, any time, sweetheart.

You make me so hard, I hurt."

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D'ARC, GALE, KENT, MARCH

"Glad to know it's not just me." Her sexy little chuckle almost did him in. He had to do something before he dragged her to the floor and

fucked her right here, right now, in front of the jits.

"Stay back here behind the tree. I'm going to take out the guards.

When I give you the signal, join me on the ramp and we'll go in

together."

"Yessir," she gave him a jaunty little salute and a grin. "And sir,"

she reached up and cupped his cheek, "be careful."

He turned his head and kissed her palm. "Always."

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Adele watched through the foliage—or tried to. David was nearly

invisible to the human eye and when he downed the guards, he moved

faster than she could follow. His motion was smooth and soundless,

poetry in motion, and she truly appreciated for the first time how skilled this man—this soldier—was.

As beautiful as his soul was inside, that's how deadly he was on the

outside. It was a paradox she would enjoy studying. For the rest of her

days, if he'd let her, but that was thinking too far ahead. For right now, she had to focus on the job at hand. Thousands of innocent lives were

depending on them.

David disappeared up the ramp. Just when she was beginning to

worry, he reappeared, armed now with several rifles and other weapons,

wearing a grin. He signaled her over and covered her path while she

moved as swiftly and silently as she could. Of course, it was nothing like the swift silence David had managed.

Still, she made it to the ramp and they entered the ship together,

heading for the bridge. David seemed at ease and she took her cues from

him as he sealed them in and moved off at a fast pace.