Tangled Shadows (5 page)

* * * * *

Brooke stormed to the guest cabin. Her steps echoed off the synth-metal and rang around her. Of course, it had to be right across from the master cabin. If those bastards thought physical closeness would make any difference, they could think again.

She wished for doors she could slam, but the gliding e-panels gave her no such opportunity. Brooke kicked the wall instead.

It wasn’t enough.

How dare they kidnap her and drag her back to where she’d lost not only her ship, her crew, and a bunch of settlers, but also part of herself? She crossed her arms over her chest and wanted to pace, but the cabin was too damn short to give any sort of satisfaction. And the bloody bed stood in the way.

She kicked the wall again.

What were they hoping to achieve? Why would a Vampire and a Naema even be interested?

She stopped her pacing and dropped onto the much smaller bed. The cabin was sparse, no personal items here. But the sheets were made from the same luxurious material. When she realized she caressed the bedding Brooke pulled her hands back as if she touched fire instead of fabric. The window opposite her with the flickering colors of hyperspace racing past drew her gaze.

And why did they make love—no, that wasn’t the right word—why did they fuck her? They could have put her in the brig as soon as they arrived on board. There’d been no need to continue this farce.

Brooke slumped. All these questions and no answers. Because, for the first time in her life, she’d run away. She’d turned tail, uncertain if she could stand up to those two.

She rubbed her arms, trying to feel warm again. Compared to them, she was only human. They could break her in half without even trying.
They’ve only been gentle with
you
, a voice whispered at the back of her mind. Yeah, Brooke agreed, it had been she who’d told them to fuck her, who’d been the initiator once they’d reached the ship.

Brooke straightened and unclenched her arms. First things first.

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They were the enemy now. It broke something inside her, but she needed to wash their touch off her skin, take off their clothes filled with their scent. The closet had a number of fresh suits to choose from.

Then she’d have a closer look at the data ports and check StarNet. She needed more intel. Her personal comp was in the other room, but wouldn’t work in hyperspace anyway.

While pulling off the clothes, Brooke instructed the data port hovering at eye level to run a background check on Galen and Nikolai. Jade, she didn’t even know their surnames.

“More data required,” the comp replied in a husky male voice.

Brooke froze. Nikolai’s voice. Her nipples hardened and a shiver ran down her spine. She pulled herself back to the task and instructed the comp to change its voice as well as list the few bits of information she had on the two men. There couldn’t be very many Vampire-Naema couples out there.

“Acknowledged,” Galen’s voice replied.

Brooke’s clit throbbed and she couldn’t suppress a growl. Damn these bastards.

She stormed into the bathroom and planned the men’s downfall while washing away the traces of the most amazing night of her life. In an attempt to make them have to stop sooner than planned, she used water and lots of it instead of the sonic shower option.

If she felt as if part of her soul was connected to the two men at the other end of the ship, she pushed it aside as fanciful imagination.

They had no idea what they’d gotten themselves into by kidnapping her.

* * * * *

It wasn’t easy, but Galen gave Brooke the day. He got up the next morning, rubbing his dry eyes. Neither Nikolai nor he had gotten much sleep. Both of them had been hard, but neither had felt like fucking without Brooke there. Galen was not in what could be described as a particularly good mood.

He was determined to get her attention today. The information she carried was vital. They’d been certain she was part of this heinous enterprise. He’d lost this certainty, but he didn’t know if it was because she was innocent or because he wanted her to be.

Galen yawned. He studied Nikolai, who still lay in bed, his eyes half closed, stroking his hard dick.

Galen shook his head. “You’ll only make it worse.” Nikolai growled. “Jade, I’d forgotten how bad this was. You wanna suck my cock?” Galen’s only answer was a rude gesture as he stumbled into the bathroom.

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“Yeah, I hadn’t thought so. I hope your super plan works,” Nikolai shouted after Galen. “If this one day hasn’t been enough for her to vent her frustration, I’m holding you responsible.”

Minutes later Galen came out of the bathroom fully dressed, and watched Nikolai squeeze the base of his cock, growling in pleasure-pain. He threw a towel he’d drenched in cold water. “Stop fucking around and get up.” Nikolai caught the towel before it hit him, but squeezed too hard and water dripped all over his face. “Hey, what was that for?”

“To prepare you for your cold shower.” Galen walked out, going over ways to tempt Brooke out of her room.

His head shot up when he heard noise coming from the galley, an open concept area a few steps from the sleeping chambers. Due to Nikolai’s limited need, the galley was small for a ship the size of the
Mercy
. He saw Brooke immediately.

She stood with her back to him, stirring a bowl of what smelled like oatmeal. Galen couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen anybody eat oatmeal. He hadn’t thought the food processor would have it in its programming.

Her presence raised goose bumps all over his body. He felt their connection like a living entity.

Galen hesitated, not sure how she’d respond if he stepped closer. Brooke had stiffened, so he knew she’d heard him approach.

“You going to stand there for the rest of the day?” she asked without turning to him.

“If that’s what you want me to do.”

Brooke scoffed. “I don’t really give a fuck what you do, as long as you stay away from me.”

He stepped forward. “There is only so much space on the ship,” he said. “Will you let me explain?”

Brooke continued to keep her back to him. “It’s not as if I have much choice.

Between the two of you, you have every avenue covered.” She slammed her bowl on the clear surface of the counter, the spoon clanging against the edge. She picked up a cup. Galen smelled the distinct fragrance of strong Beral tea.

Brooke took a drink and finally turned around. She leaned her luscious ass against the counter, crossed her arms and looked at him, her eyebrows raised and sipping more tea. “What’s your great explanation?”

Ouch
, he thought,
the Amazon is back
. He cleared his throat. “Maybe we could sit down.”

“Maybe we should do it standing up.”

“If I remember correctly, we did it every way
but
standing up,” Nikolai said, putting an arm around Galen’s shoulder.

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Galen had felt his lover walking up, but he’d stood in the doorway, making it impossible for Brooke to see behind him. She flinched when the other man came into her view.

Her tense body went rigid. The arms, which had been loosely crossed, tightened across her chest.

“Hey, gorgeous, how are you doing?” Nikolai leaned against him, resting his chin on Galen’s shoulder.

“Let’s move on to the bridge, it’ll be more comfortable there.” In his mind he snapped at Nikolai, S
top pushing. She needs to feel safe around us. Give her some space.

Nikolai kissed Galen’s cheek.
Don’t get your knickers in a twist
, he said, showing his age. He turned and walked to the bridge.

Some of the tension left Brooke, but she still held on to her mug as if it were a lifeline. She gestured to Galen. “After you.”

He nodded, turned, and walked to the bridge, giving Brooke the space she so obviously wanted.

Nikolai slouched in the pilot chair, backrest pulled back and legs stretched out in front of him. Behind him the flight consoles and scanners beeped and flashed as the autopilot carried them closer to their destination.

He looked divine. Galen wanted to lie on top of him and make love, while Brooke watched. Naked.

Nikolai’s lips quirked and he stroked one hand across his chest. Slowly.

Galen snorted and dropped in the copilot chair, turning it so he faced the doorway.

Brooke walked in, still holding her tea. Knowing his partner, Galen kicked Nikolai’s ankle before he could make a comment about her clinging to the mug.

She stood before the empty wall and instructed it to form a chair close to the exit.

“Explain,” she demanded.

Brooke studied the two men. Being in the same room calmed something inside her, but also made her feel as if lightning ran beneath her skin. She was horny as hell, but felt certain she had it under control. A nagging ache in her chest kept her headache company.

She’d spent most of yesterday going through the ship’s systems and hitting her head against an iridium wall. The locks she’d noticed earlier were paranormal aura locks and they were all across the ship. As “only human”, there was no way she could decode those. It was impossible for her to get off the ship or change course, even if she managed to somehow trick or overwhelm them.

The StarNet hadn’t been much more help. She found a couple of short articles about ArchNaema Galen Kinvin and Vampire Nikolai Ranweth starting a union, but the paper had been human-owned and didn’t carry many details. Neither Vampire nor 35

Naema press had picked up on their liaison or given her any ideas why they would be after her.

She perched at the edge of her seat, clutching her fingers around the heat of the mug. “Explain.”

Galen leaned forward, hands dangling between his legs. “A Vampire friend of ours, Darius, a pack of Ferals kidnapped his mate—”

“Since when do they kidnap people? They usually drain them dry.” She wanted to ask about Vampire mates, but bit her lip and stopped herself in time.

“The pack leader had a plan.” Galen waved her off. “I won’t bore you with the details, but the aim was to take over Darius’ trade routes and smuggle humans as blood slaves for Ferals who can pay the price.”

Brooke nearly dropped the mug. “But that would mean another Vampire war.” Dread froze her heart.

Nikolai came out of his slouch and sat up straighter. “They don’t care. They live and work deep in the shadows. The chances of figuring out who runs this operation are slim. As far as we can put together, the victims have been from small communities on the outer planets with a limited Watch and the strand of society that doesn’t talk to Security.”

For the first time this morning, Brooke met his eyes. His silver gaze warmed an empty space deep inside her. She tightened her hold on the mug. Anything less than Un-ob would have crumbled under the pressure.

“Street courtesans, homeless, addicts, runaways, that strand of society,” he answered her unvoiced question.

Galen picked up the tale again. “Darius and Stasia managed to kill one ring leader, but the operation is like a hydra. You chop off one head, three more grow, meaning they still kidnap and sell humans.”

“How did you get involved?” Brooke asked.

“We are part of a small strike force under direct authority of the Head of the Vampire Council. As soon as he received the information he organized the team. Also,” Nikolai leaned forward, resting one elbow on the arm of his seat, “I’ve lived through one war and I have absolutely no intention of wading through a second. When Darius told us what happened, there was no question we would help.” Galen leaned over and gripped his lover’s shoulder.

Brooke turned away. It both hurt her and turned her on to observe the tender exchanges. A small part of her desperately wanted to be included in their love, to be part of their connection. But how could she after they lied to her? And she would always be only human compared to their Paranormal powers. They might fill a hole she hadn’t known was there, but she had too much pride to be the weak link, the fool who fell for them.

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She stuffed those thoughts into a dark corner of her mind. Instead she cleared her throat and looked back at them. “How is this human trafficking ring connected to me?” She had a horrible idea, but wanted confirmation.

Galen gazed at her for a moment, his eyes filled with darkness and something that appeared close to pity. Brooke felt her horror turning toward anger.

Nobody pitied her.

“You had one hundred and forty-nine settlers on the
Nebokka
, the majority young and fit, prepared to leave everything behind for a better life. You also had twenty-three crew members.” He continued to look at her as if he expected her to draw her own conclusions.

Brooke leaned down and gently put the tea mug on the floor. She clasped her hands to stop her fingers from shaking. “You think I was involved.” She swallowed. “You think I sold out my fellow humans and handed them over to Ferals.” Her stomach churned and she had to swallow the bile racing up her throat.

How the Jade am I going to prove my innocence if I can’t remember what happened?

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