A Kiss For a Cure (13 page)

On the other side of the door, she could hear voices, more than two men snapping back and forth at one another.

Sweat trickled down her forehead and into her eyes. Blinking only made the irritation worse. It seemed as if the only person she’d hurt with her little chemical spill was herself.

A loud pounding silenced the voices. She took a deep breath and pressed her ear against the door. There was a murmured exchange and the scrape of a chair across the floor.

This was her chance. Maybe her only one.

Using her knee, she nudged the closet door open a hair, and pushed again. Fumes billowed up in her face, causing her eyes to water. Gasping for breath she rested her forehead against the wall. She’d managed to slide the door open a few inches. She could see out, but most importantly, someone could see in.

“What do you want?” The voice was familiar. Squinting through her tears, she recognized the dockhand blocking the entrance.

“I’m looking for my pilot. You wouldn’t have happened to have seen him, would you?”

That voice. She knew that voice. Her heart stuttered in her chest and she bit down on the gag.

“No, check the public areas, this is employee only.”

The dockhand tried to push the manual door shut, but Cai shoved him, sending the man stumbling back. The other man behind the desk jumped to his feet. They were both big, hulking men, of a similar build to Cai. Jordan drove her nails into her palms as the deckhand recovered and swung a fist at him.

Cai sidestepped the blow and landed a punch to the man’s neck. The deckhand stumbled back, clutching his throat as his eyes bulged and he gulped down breath.

The second kidnapper swung a metal stool at Cai. It hit him across the shoulders and sent him staggering into the desk. The deckhand recovered and threw his body on top of Cai’s. The other man grabbed a handful of his hair and slammed Cai’s face into the desk.

Jordan pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t budge anymore. She sobbed into the gag choking on her own tears and the gas.

The men pulled Cai up. A trickle of blood ran down his forehead.

“Who the fuck are you?” one of her kidnappers spat.

Cai wavered on his feet, his arms coming up shakily to push both men back. It appeared as if his bell were rung.

“Doesn’t matter,” Cai growled out and fisted both men’s clothing, one in each hand. “
Repule voihle
.” His eyes snapped wide open and he shoved both men. He drove them backward across the office, his hands sliding up to their necks.

The kidnappers’ bodies shook as if they’d been electrocuted, their eyes rolling up into their heads and their mouths lax. Cai gritted out more words in a low, guttural voice she didn’t understand.

Whatever was happening to the two men, Cai was causing it. Her peaceful, fun-loving man was immobilizing two guys as big as he was, with a touch.

He released them and stepped back. The two would-be kidnappers sank to the floor and didn’t move.

Hitting the door with her shoulder rattled it in the casing. Cai wheeled around, hands up. His gaze landed on hers.

“Jordan.”

He crossed the office and pushed the closet door open. It screeched on rusted hinges.

“Shit, Jor.” Cai knelt and steadied her. He coughed and waved his hand in front of his face. “What is that? Let me get you out of here.” He tugged the gag out of her mouth and helped her out of the closet. Her legs wobbled from cramps. Cai picked her up halfway through her efforts and sat her on the desk. “Let me see the cuffs.”

“Chloramine gas. Not my best plan ever.” Her head swam, and she was grateful she hadn’t eaten because she would have already vomited. Her gaze landed on the two prone men. “What did you do?”

Cai didn’t look at them. His lips were compressed into a tight line. The blood on his forehead was matted with his hair and smeared down one side of his face. “I fed into them. They’ll be out for a while.”

“What?” She squinted at him. The feedback jumped from person to person. Could he feed, or force into someone else? “How does that work?” The cuffs released her and she sagged in relief.

Cai cupped her face. “You were just kidnapped, and you want to figure out how I tick?”

“Um, yes?”

He shook his head. “Jor.” He kissed her, treating her tenderly. “Let’s get you out of here, and somewhere safe. Then you can ask me all the questions you want, okay?”

Chapter 11

Cai wanted to pace, he wanted to hit something, or someone.

Instead, he sat on the bench that ran the length of the cell, his hands on his knees and stared through the clear panel across from him. Uniformed security moved to and fro, occasionally casting him a glance. There was nothing friendly about the way people stared at him now.

He’d been prepared for this part of leaving his home world, but experiencing it was another matter. He had yet to see any sign of Jordan, but he didn’t expect to. She’d been in bad shape from whatever drug she’d been given to keep her quiet, and the  gas further irritated her condition. He’d left her with the medical team and turned himself in. It was better this way.

“Detainee Cai,” a voice said through the intercom. His gaze darted around what he could see, searching for the source of it. “This is Captain Miller. Please lie down on the ground and extend your arms above your head. We are entering your cell.”

Gritting his teeth, he pushed to his feet and obeyed the request. The metal panels were cold, even through his clothing. The raised pattern pressed into his cheek, and the gash across his temple throbbed.

The cell door chimed before opening. He refused to crane his neck to see how many men they thought it would take to handle him. Ridiculous since he surrendered willingly.

“Cai, why are you on the ground?” Jordan’s voice was unexpected. Lifting his face, he watched as she pushed past a guard, who grabbed her arm before she could get by.

“Ma’am, that’s not a good idea.” He had the same voice as Captain Miller.

Slowly she turned to face the man. The expression on her face was so cold and haughty. “If you are going to address me, you will do so as either Doctor or Lady, and you will not touch me again.”

He mumbled his apologies and snatched his hand away. She turned her back on the guards and kneeled at Cai’s side. She’d changed into different clothes. The suit she wore now molded to her body in a shimmering fabric that screamed expensive. With her back to the guards, her expression softened. Her fingers touched his temple, and she winced.

The lid he’d put on their bond shattered. Nerves and anxiety lapped at him, more encompassing when she touched him. But beneath that was an underlying emotion, one he wanted to wrap them both in like a blanket and steal away from this mess.

“Come on, get up.” Her hand wrapped around his arm and urged him to stand.

The guards shifted their weight uneasily. He was more than likely the only Galairian they’d ever seen, so all they could go on were rumors.

Getting to his feet slowly, Cai made sure to keep his hands where they could be seen and his expression blank.

“You’re going to release my husband.” Jordan twined their fingers together.

She’d just called him her husband?

“Ma’am–lady,” the Captain stammered. “We can’t. He’s admitted to using his ability to harm two men.”

Jordan arched a brow. She’d never reminded him of her mother until this moment. “So let me see if I understand your reasoning for imprisoning my husband. While our shuttle was rerouted from a secure to a public area, two of
your
deckhands attempted to kidnap my person. My husband, fearing for
my safety
and with good reason, attempts and succeeds in rescuing me. When
he
notifies the proper authorities,
he
is the one placed into custody? Do I understand this correctly?”

The guards were finding other places to stare.

“Lady, it’s not that he protected you that is the issue. It’s–”

“Would you like to explain to my mother, Duchess Amelia Richardson, why her daughter and son-in-law will be spending Christmas in a holding cell?” She sneered, her gaze raking over the guards. “Or perhaps you’d prefer to explain it to my father? The Marquess Yondel?”

The guard’s faces paled even more. If one name didn’t inspire a decent sense of respect, the other inspired fear.

“We’re just following protocol,” another guard said, jumping in to salvage the situation.

“He’s Galairian,” the Captain darted a glare at his fellow officer. “The law says clearly that they get a onetime shot. If they use their abilities to hurt anyone, they’re sent back to their people to deal with.”

“And this is what you think is fair, given the circumstances?”

Cai squeezed her hands. “It’s the law.” He didn’t like it, but he’d known the score when he walked into that office.

“Fine.” Jordan released his hand and lowered herself to sit on the bench. “Leave us, and don’t forget to notify my parents that their daughter has been incarcerated for her own abduction.”

“Lady, we can’t leave you in here.” The Captain glanced from Cai to her.

“You think leaving me alone with my husband puts me at risk?” Jordan laughed and folded her arms across her chest. “That’s rich.”

“He’s Galairian. What if he’s twisted your mind?”

“If he has, it’s already been done and there’s nothing you can say or do to change it. Leave now.” She flicked her fingers at them. “You’re giving me a headache.”

The guards filed out, appearing none too happy about it as the door sealed behind them.

Jordan held out her hand to him. He examined her elegant fingers, studying the way each curved, and remembering the way they felt against his skin. He could practically taste her emotions on his tongue without touching her. It was strange and wonderful. He put his hand in hers and hid how his knees wanted to buckle at the contact by sinking down onto the bench next to her.

“Jor, that–”

“Shh.” She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her. “This was not the way I’d pictured out first Christmas together.” She chuckled and snuggled closer. Hope burned him everywhere he touched her.

He kissed her forehead. As much as he wanted to share her hope, he knew very well what he’d done. Despite who her parents were, he didn’t see a way out of returning home as a prisoner. There would be no trial for him, even though within his culture his actions would be excused. “It’s not over yet,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine. A little sore, but that’s it. You?”

“No lasting damage.”

They lapsed into silence. With the room no doubt on an open channel, he didn’t want to talk, and if they were quiet, she couldn’t ask him questions he didn’t want to answer.

* * * *

Jordan pulled at the sleeves of her jacket and leaned back to watch Cai polish off the rest of their lunch. She’d thought throwing around her weight as a Richardson-Yondel would do the trick, but she’d lost that gamble. She didn’t know the laws that Cai and the guards referenced, but the lack of conversation about it told her that the outcome wasn’t going to be good.

She’d gotten Cai back, and now she was going to lose him again.

“Jor.” His hands wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. “Don’t cry.”

Her breath shuddered in her lungs. “I’m not,” she replied in a reed-thin voice that cracked. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she refused to shed them. Cai rubbed soothing circles on her back.

She didn’t know what to do. Losing Cai, for even the little time she did, had been hard enough. She didn’t want to a second time. But if he was going to be shipped back home, could she give up her sharks to go with him? If it meant being happy, she was swayed. But she’d worked so hard to earn her new job as lead researcher. The truth was that no one could take that accomplishment away from her. If it came down to it, she could find work some other place, but there was only one Cai.

The door to the cell depressurized without a warning and swung open. Jordan sat up and wiped her face before turning to gaze at the younger officer that spoke with them earlier.

“Doctor Richardson? You and your husband are free to go. Sorry about the inconvenience.” He gestured to the door. “And thank you for your patience while we sorted this out. We hope there are no hard feelings.”

Cai squeezed her hand and got to his feet first. “Thank you for being so reasonable. We’ll remember that.”

“Thank you,” she said, and rose at his gentle tug on her arm. He steered her through the door ahead of the officer.

All around them, the security staff glanced their way, for once not looking at her first. She looped her arm through Cai’s and decided to follow his lead.

“Your shuttle’s been moved to this level. I hope you don’t mind.” The officer gestured for them to follow him back through the quarters she remembered, and through an alternate entrance that let out in a small shuttle bay where the Fuller Center ship sat ready.

“Again.” Cai paused and offered the officer his hand. “We appreciate your assistance.”

The officer glanced at the outstretched hand and then to Cai’s face. He waited a moment before surprising Jordan by taking it. “Any time, sir. Please feel free to visit us again.”

Cai propelled her into the shuttle and sealed the door behind her. She glanced at the pad and then at him.

“I didn’t know you knew the codes.”

Cai put his hands on her shoulders. The zap of awareness that shot through her body jolted through her with more vivid sensation than before. She shivered as he brushed a quick kiss across her forehead.

“I memorized them while you were playing with your sharks.”

He moved past her into the cockpit. She either had to follow him or stand around twiddling her thumbs. While he took over the captain’s chair, she strapped into the co-pilot seat.

“Are they really going to let us leave?” She didn’t completely believe it herself.

“I think so. That guy was nervous, but he didn’t seem like he was trying to hide anything.” Cai flipped the switches and primed the engines. “Put us through to communications, would you?”