Crusader (Battle Born Book 1) (29 page)

Bandar covered Ashley’s hands with one of his, drawing her attention. “Your mother is protected by Akim’s goals. She’s a means to an end; it makes no sense to harm her. Chandar is caught in the middle. Akim will expect her to help him, to use her powers to ensure his plan succeeds. Knowing Chandar, she’ll resist him, perhaps even sabotage his efforts.”

“And each act of defiance will result in—” Keyran’s voice cracked and he couldn’t complete the thought.

“Chandar is Keyran’s niece,” Nazerel told her. “Keyran and his brother Kotto vowed to protect her and Danvier when their father was murdered by—”

“The details aren’t important,” Keyran snapped. “All that matters is my vow.”

Again Nazerel offered her more information. “Blood vows are sacred to Rodytes. They must be honored at all costs.”

“I failed her before. I will
not
fail her now.” Keyran sounded more resolute than ever.

“Danvier is Chandar’s brother, your nephew?” It was a trivial detail, but it momentarily distracted Ashley from her dread, her fear.

Keyran nodded, his gaze shimmering with unshed tears. “He’ll be thrilled to learn she’s alive, but serving Akim is a fate worse than death.” He blinked back the tears and his expression hardened, determination driving back his pain. “You’ve been on that ship. Do I really need to explain why it’s so important that we get her out of there as quickly as possible?”

He was right. Akim was ruthless and his brother was a sadistic pig. Chandar needed rescuing even more than Abagail. Ashley’s soul shuddered with the realization. “Then how do we get them both back?” Her heart fell into a tense yet steady rhythm as she reluctantly accepted the compromise.

Keyran rubbed his chin, apparently sorting through options. Bandar and Nazerel also seemed lost in thought.

“Do you want us to contact Garin?” Morgan asked. “Revealing your position is the last thing we need right now.”

Keyran shook his head. “As long as we stick to audio only, the signal is untraceable.” He heaved a long, ragged sigh and molded his features into an expressionless mask. Ashley watched the transformation with a mixture of compassion and pity. Only years of discipline and loss could instill such a tragic skill. Keyran activated the control panel in front of him and everyone fell silent.

Moments later a deep, male voice filled the room. He spoke in rapid Rodyte, but thanks to Irron, Ashley could now understand what was being said.

Bandar leaned toward her and whispered, “I’ll explain everything when the conversation is finished. We need to keep this fast and focused.”

She nodded, comforted by her secret. It would give her a chance to see if her faith in these people was justified. Bandar had earned her trust, but she wasn’t nearly as sure about Keyran and Nazerel. Her mate trusted them both implicitly, which was to their credit. Still, Ashley was glad for this simple test.

“Your update isn’t due until tomorrow,” Garin stated without any form of greeting. “What’s wrong?”

“Akim snatched Ashley’s mother,” Keyran told him. “Letos has given us a way to track her, but there’s a serious complication.”

“Which is?”

Keyran hesitated. “Is Danvier with you?”

“No. Does he need to be?”

“No. He needs to know what we’ve learned, but I’d rather you break this to him gently.”

“You know I hate this tactful shit. Just spit it out.”

So far they’d proved trustworthy, but Ashley still found it hard to breathe.

“Chandar is alive and Akim has her.”

“
Esintaka! Len ti for
.” Apparently, there was no direct translation for those words. But his tone was easily capable of communicating his displeasure.

“We have to move and move quickly,” Keyran cautioned. “We’ll only get one shot at this. We need to take it now.”

“Absolutely not,” Garin snapped. “The science team is ready to depart. I’ll send reinforcements as well. You
cannot
attempt this alone.”

“Respectfully, sir, I disagree.” The tension in Keyran’s face made it obvious that few dared to disagree with General Nox. “A small, targeted strike is the only viable approach to this situation.”

“I’m aware, but you need a much larger support team at the ready in case things go sideways. I can have three ships to you in less than seventy-two hours. You
will
wait until they arrive.” When Keyran didn’t immediately agree, Garin’s tone changed, becoming more personable. “Keyran, I know what she means to you, but you cannot do this alone.”

“I’m not alone. Bandar and Nazerel are two of the best operatives I’ve ever—”

“You will not risk their lives without proper backup.” The flash of compassion evaporated and he was back in general mode. “Don’t test me on this, Commander Tarr. Unless the situation significantly changes, you will wait until the other ships arrive.”

Static crackled over the speakers. Apparently, Garin had terminated the connection.

“Fuck!”

Ashley cringed. Keyran was still speaking in Rodyte, but her nanites found an English equivalent this time.

“He doesn’t want to wait?” She looked at Bandar as Keyran got up from the table. Bandar narrowed his eyes and she realized her mistake. So much for her surprise.

“You understood that.” It wasn’t a question.

“Irron gave me a translator microchip while Keyran was shouting at you in the hallway.”

“They’re nanites, but close enough. Was there some reason you didn’t tell me?”

She shrugged. “There are advantages to being able to understand what people say when they don’t realize you can. I trust you, but not everyone has earned that privilege.”

He let it go with a stiff nod. “I suppose that’s only fair.”

“You can’t be serious,” Nazerel’s passionate outburst drew their attention back to the others.

Standing near the door but facing the table, Keyran had his hands locked behind his back. “We won’t need backup if we keep this quick and clean.” Without warning, he released his grasp and snatched the shield modulator out of Nazerel’s hand. Then he twisted out of reach as he slipped it into his pocket.

“We’re waiting for backup,” Bandar stressed. “End of discussion.”

Keyran flew around the table and jerked Bandar’s chair back, glaring down at his onetime apprentice. “This is
my
ship, which makes it
my
choice. End of discussion!”

Very slowly, Bandar pushed to his feet, reversing their perspective. He towered over the older man as determination etched his features. “Rushing in, filled with rage is how good soldiers die.”

“I can’t lose her again. I can’t…”

Bandar placed his hands on Keyran’s shoulders as the older man shook with barely suppressed emotions. “You won’t lose her.
We
won’t lose her, but we have to do this the right way.”

Keyran clenched his fists, nostrils flaring as he fought for composure. He took two steps back, obviously needing more space between him and his stubborn colleague. “Can you sense Chandra or just Abigail?” The pain in the old man’s face broke Ashley’s heart.

“Just Abigail, but her signal has been strong and steady. If I sense any change, we’ll immediately contact Garin.”

For a long, tense moment they stared at each other in silence then Keyran shook his head and averted his gaze. “Then we plan every aspect of this rescue. I want you both ready to stream two seconds after those ships arrive.”

“Agreed.”

They returned to their seats and resolute calm gradually replaced the crackling tension.

“Three days,” Keyran muttered, clearly not at peace with his decision. “I’ll go mad if we wait three days.”

“Not if you focus on what’s ahead,” Nazerel suggested. “The ships are identical, which gives us an advantage. We can plan multiple options, be ready for anything they throw at us.”

“Let’s start with the basics,” Keyran said.

Nazerel nodded. “I’ll flash with Bandar into the holding cell and you can use our signal to stream Abigail off the ship. As soon as she’s safe, we’ll go find Chandar. I can make a short jump with two, but I’m not sure I can make it through those shields if I try to teleport all three of us. We need your help or none of this will work.”

“Three?” Ashley objected. “Don’t you mean four? There is no way you’re doing this without me.”

Morgan tapped her thumbs on the tabletop, drawing Ashley’s attention. “I was trained by the FBI and I’d only slow them down on this one. You have to trust them enough to let them do their job.”

“I can’t just sit here and twiddle my thumbs while they…”

Bandar stilled and color drained from his face. Worry rolled across their link a millisecond before Bandar shielded his mind.

“What?” Keyran demanded. “What’s wrong now?”

“I’m not sure.” Bandar looked at Nazerel. “Can you boost the signal? I can barely sense her now.”

Ashley gasped then covered her mouth with her hand, refusing to give in to the panic. Still, she was painfully aware of the stakes. If Bandar lost contact with her mother, they’d have no way of locating the
Relentless
.

Nazerel stood and hurried around the table, his gaze suddenly blazing with blue light. “Is that better?”

“Yes.” Bandar left his chair and moved toward Nazerel. They faced each other, close yet not touching. “It’s still fluctuating like crazy.”

“Are they jamming the transmission?” Morgan pushed back from the table but remained in her chair.

“I felt a surge right after Letos passed me the link, but I thought it was just stabilizing. The signal had been steady until now.”

“They must have detected the transfer.” Frustration crept into Nazerel’s tone, yet his expression remained calm. “If they locate the com-bot Letos planted on her…” He didn’t need to complete the thought. They all understood the consequences.

“That’s it. We go now,” Keyran declared with absolute finality.

Bandar whipped his head around and glared at Keyran. “We contact Garin and let him—”

“Stop hiding behind your brother!” Keyran’s fist slammed down on the tabletop and he pushed to his feet. “By the time we argue this out with Garin that signal could blink out. He said the order was final unless the situation changed. Well, the situation just changed. We act
now
.”

Bandar looked at Ashley, conflict clearly written on his handsome features. His gaze searched hers as the urgency inside her swelled. She fought back tears, not wanting to sway his decision. If he agreed to immediate action, he disobeyed a direct order. She had no doubt Rodytes took insubordination seriously. Yet if he hesitated they might lose the ability to locate their target. It was an impossible situation.

He released a sigh then squared his shoulders. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” Nazerel said.

Before Keyran could react to the victory, Bandar insisted, “But Garin must be told what we’re doing and why.”

“After,” Keyran dismissed impatiently.

Bandar refused to bend. He looked at Morgan and asked, “Will you contact Garin and explain the situation.”

“Of course.” She pushed to her feet as Nazerel returned to her side of the table. “Be careful.”

“Always.” He pulled her into his arms for a quick reassuring kiss.

Bandar retraced his steps then pulled Ashley up out of her chair. “I’ll return shortly with your mother and Chandar.”

“Make that return safely and you have yourself a deal.”

He framed her face with his hands and kissed her, flooding her mind with warmth and tenderness.
We’ll all return safely. I still owe you a hot fudge sundae.

Be careful,
she echoed Morgan’s words.

So Bandar followed suit.
Always.

As Bandar reluctantly stepped back, Keyran insisted, “This will work.”

Ashley couldn’t help wondering who he was trying to convince.

* * * * *

Bandar banished the knot of tension gathering between his shoulder blades with practiced determination. “This is such a bad idea,” he muttered under his breath.

“It’s just irrational enough to work,” Nazerel argued. “We’ll make it work. Now, get your head in the game.”

Bandar nodded, knowing his friend was right. He had to be fully committed or the plan was doomed to fail.

Keyran was monitoring the comlinks from the master console in the command center. He knew the
Crusader
better than anyone, so he was operating the controls himself.

“Commander Tarr,” Bandar called, “turn on Letos’s toy.” If the shield modulator didn’t work the way it had before, the rest of their plans were moot.

They clasped forearms and Bandar lowered his shields, allowing Nazerel to access the fragile connection to Abigail. Nazerel could speak English with the faintest hint of a Rodyte accent, so Bandar encouraged him to make first contact.

It took a moment for Nazerel to find the weakness created by the shield modulator, but he was patient and skilled. Pushing a wave of calm ahead of his words, Nazerel thought,
Remain silent and don’t react to my voice. We’re here to rescue you.