The Marine's Queen (18 page)

“
I’ve gotten so used to them, I forget who they are at times,” Riba admitted.

“
I never forget,” Yalo said. “I remember every day and every hour that we wouldn’t be alive without them.”

Callie couldn’t forget who they were either, though she still couldn’t align the image of Joe as a killer with her lover. How could she forget they were marines when her decision weighed on her? And the beacon had brought danger just as Joe had warned her it might.

Some of the women dozed with their heads on the table. Callie remained awake most of the time, fear keeping exhaustion at bay.

The gray light of dawn slipped through the firing slits when Callie heard male voices outside. She jumped to her feet as the door opened.

Joe stepped over the threshold. Blood covered his upper body.

* * * *

Joe wasn’t very good at identifying emotions, but he thought the one on Callie’s face was horror. He looked down at his chest, the direction of her wide-eyed stare, and saw all the blood coloring his shirt. He retreated outside, pulled the garment over his head and tossed it to the ground.

When he went inside, Callie stepped close enough to put her hand on his bare chest. She lifted one of his hands. “Are you hurt?”

“
No.” Joe freed his hand and stepped back so her hand dropped from his chest. He needed a bath and didn’t want the filth on his body to touch her.

“
No?” Callie’s face changed. She glared at him and poked his chest with her finger.

It felt like she’d drawn some blood with her fingernail. He couldn’t look away from her burning eyes.

“
No?” Callie asked again, her voice rising. “Where in Hades have you been? We’ve been sitting here an entire day worrying about you. What took so long?”

Joe sorted through her questions, trying to decide which to answer and how much detail to share with her. He opted for delivering news instead. “We captured their ship.”

Callie frowned, not the reaction Joe had expected.

“
You did?” Webb and Yalo asked at the same time.

“
Their ship?” Callie shook her head.

“
Yes.” Joe felt the familiar confusion sweep over him. Why did Callie not act the way he expected so often? He was tired, sore and now frustrated.

“
You mean we can go home?” Riba asked.

“
Yes.” But Joe looked only at Callie, trying to figure it out. None of the women seemed overjoyed.

“
How … how did you capture their ship?” Callie asked.

“
We killed them.” Joe turned away and walked out. His men waited outside, their spirits as low as the day they’d been sanctioned.

“
When do they want to leave?” Vin asked.

“
I don’t know.” Joe wondered if he looked as lost as the rest of them did. “We had our time with them. It’s best for them to go back. They have lives waiting for them, something better than this.”

They all paused and looked around the little village they’d built. One of the women had transplanted some kind of wild flower in front of the houses. Who would care for them now? Yes, the women deserved something better, better than recon marines.

“
Let’s clean up,” Joe ordered. They obeyed like the good soldiers they were. They walked together to the pool rather than the bath house they’d constructed for the women. Five men matching strides. Five marines alone once more.

Chapter Nine

“
Webb, could you leave us alone. We need to talk.”

Webb agreed and slipped outside into the cold dark.

Riba picked up Sally and gave the baby her breast. “Everyone probably thinks we’re dead.”

“
I’m sure Dania replaced me by now,” Yalo said.

“
I have to go back,” Callie said. “Dania has to wait a year to have me declared dead if there’s no body for proof. But I would guess she’s already working on a deal with Hadrason Mining. She’ll sell Giroux into slavery to Geoff Hadrason and his company.”

“
All the same problems wait us as before we crashed here,” Riba said. “Hadrason will resume his pursuit while Dania plots with him. Things we know or suspect but can’t prove.”

“
It had to be Hadrason’s thugs that attacked us and caused our crash,” Yalo said. “Fortunately, we all survived, but who knows if we’ll be as lucky next time. You can bet Dania and Hadrason have put even more spies in place. I don’t know how I’ll protect you.”

Callie’s heart thumped with excitement as everything clicked into place. “I have the best protector in the known universe.”

“
While we’re here, but how can Joe help you…?” Yalo’s voice trailed off, and she shook her head. “He can’t go back with us. They’ve been sanctioned.”

“
I have a plan.” Callie smiled, hoping they didn’t see her doubts. A queen had to be strong.

* * * *

Joe wanted to lie on the sand and sleep, but his personal desires never interfered with what needed to be done. The sooner the women were off the planet, the quicker things would get back to normal.

“
Sir, we need to eat and sleep.” Vin had worked so closely with Joe for years, he could almost read his mind.

“
The morning is soon enough, sir,” Roz said.

“
I need some time to check the ship and make sure they can fly it, sir,” Mak said. “I intend to be thorough. Could take me a few days.”

Only Kam seemed unable to come with a reason to delay the departure. He shrugged when Joe looked his way.

“
Let’s eat.” All the things they said were true, and Joe didn’t want to point out they were only putting off the dread.

A feast waited for them. Fresh rolls, spicy gamebirds, seasoned tubers and tea cold enough to numb the teeth. Eating well and often was part of their training. Despite Joe’s low spirits, he ate three helpings before he noticed the women only watched.

A subtle tension hung over the room. Webb shrugged when Joe gave him a questioning look. Callie stared at a mug of tea, her thoughts seemingly far away.

“
How soon do you want to leave?”

Callie started at Joe’s question and lifted her gaze to him. The excitement dancing in her eyes crushed the micronic kernel of hope he’d carried. Why had he ever expected she might want to stay?

She leaned close to him, staring at him with the unflinching intensity he thought of as her queenly expression. “As soon as we pack.”

He nodded and looked down at his plate. The sight of the delicious food now sickened him.

“
Joe.” Callie put her hand on his wrist. “When we return to Giroux, my situation will be the same as before we crashed here, perhaps even worse. I have enemies who hope to trap me into marriage, some who want me dead, and other who would enslave my people and strip my planet of its resources.”

“
Then you should stay here where it’s safe.” Joe cursed himself as soon as the words slipped out. Callie’s startled look made him cringe inside.

“
I can’t. I have an obligation, a duty, to serve Giroux. Their economy depends on me. I can’t leave them on their own. I need to go back, and I need to have protection while I do my duty.”

Joe waited, sensing she was telling him something. But the only thing he understood was that she was determined to leave.

“
I want you to go along as my protector, my personal guard. We’ll leave everyone else here until we get everything straightened out.”

“
We’re under a death sentence,” Joe reminded her. Was death worse than living another fifty or sixty years alone on this planet?

“
I’ll work to overturn it. No one can arrest you while you’re under my rule on Giroux.”

“
You don’t know how much they want us out of the way.” But Joe’s thoughts raced. Could it work? Could he be Callie’s captain, serve and protect her forever?

“
I’m afraid Joe is right,” Webb said. “There are a lot of people who would be in trouble if the truth about their trial and conviction was exposed.”

“
It will come out whether you come with me or not because I’m going to insist there’s an investigation. Now are you going to be there to protect me, or will they try to silence me without you between them and me?”

Stunned by the challenge she’d issued, Joe believed she didn’t understand the seriousness of what she proposed. “You can’t do that. It would be a death sentence for you, all of you.”

Callie’s eyes danced. “Not if you’re with me, and they stay here. No one will know where they are. We’ll go after your enemies and mine.”

Joe’s men stared at him with hope in their grim expressions.

Webb still looked doubtful, but the doctor always advised against risks. “The marriage ceremonies of yesterday have no credence if you go back. Callie, you’re putting everyone in danger.”

“
Being queen isn’t a safe occupation.” Callie gave Webb a frosty look. “I didn’t think being a marine was either.”

Joe lifted his hand to forestall the doctor’s retort. “My concern isn’t for my life, Callie. I’m worried my presence increases the risk to you rather than protects you.”

Callie stood up and glared down at him. “I asked you once before about your duty. You left unfinished business behind. How many innocents have died by the hands of those that wrongfully accused you? Isn’t your first obligation the protection of civilians?”

Joe nodded, enthralled by her magnificent outrage. His body responded with an inundation of lust so powerful his breath caught in his chest.

“
Then quit whining, marine, and get your gear packed. You work for me now.”

* * * *

Callie didn’t hurry as Joe expected. The women insisted that the marines fly the pirate cruiser to Camp Haven. Then they cleaned it, claiming it stank of unwashed men. It did.

“
Roz, can we take my swing along?”

Joe looked over at the marine pushing the little girl on the plaything they’d built for her. Her voice was a music Joe didn’t think he’d ever forget. Parents were the richest people in the world.

“
No, little lady,” Roz answered. “I’ll make a better one when we get to your home, but we’re going to stay here for a little while longer.”

“
I don’t have a tree like this one.”

The marines spent the evenings studying the history files the women had of Giroux and asked dozens of questions of the women. Joe didn’t think he could ever be prepared to face Callie’s home world and live among so many civilians.

Mak joined Joe near the boarks’ pen. “Joe, we polished the drive crystals and flushed the flash tubes. It should run like new.”

Joe nodded, wondering how the boarks would fare in the wild after spending nearly a year in domestication. Wondering how he would fare in domestication.

“
Joe, do we have lots of storage room?” Callie called from the original barracks she shared with him.

Joe walked over to join her, automatically checking the positions of his men. Kam climbed up the west slope to relieve Vin on guard duty. They didn’t know if someone might come looking for the dead pirates. The Rector Freemen were a criminal gang of unknown size but many speculated they numbered in the thousands.

“
The cargo hold should be big enough for whatever you want to bring.” Joe inhaled, catching her scent. “Thirty pirates traveled in that ship. There’s lots of room.”

Callie glanced around. “I feel like I’m leaving home.”

Joe took her elbow and led her away from the buildings. The high heat time was more than an hour away. They stopped near the lake. The water gleamed an identical blue to the sky. Far away to the east, a thin line of purple marked the horizon. He let go of her, wishing he had the right to touch her whenever he wanted. They hadn’t exchanged wedding vows like the others and now there was no reason for it. Soon Callie would take her place as queen of Giroux.