Dawn Autumn (19 page)

She made a face at him.

“We do have some business to take care of ... if Kutlazx can pry his lips from his woman long enough to focus,” Tayl said dryly. “I’d say the commissioner is still high on our list of suspects, and I wouldn’t overlook Azor.”

“I thought he and Kutlazx used to be best friends,” Nightbird protested. “What happened?”

“Life happened,” Fred said dismissively. “Put him on the list if you like, but I don’t think it’s his style.”

“He used to be an assassin in Fred’s organization,” Tayl explained, his eyes on Jay. “They both went into the police force, but they had some disagreements over the commissioner. Azor thought he was a good guy—he’d shown a lot of mercy to him once. Azor shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near a patrol cruiser, but he’d done the commissioner a favor. Kutlazx wrote him off as a traitor ….”

“He is,” Fred insisted.

“—and he does have a bloody history,” Tayl continued. “Whether he was the one who actually tried to take Fred out is in doubt, though. He denies it.”

“He was in the right place at the right time, and it was his style,” Fred said grimly. “He’d bent over and let the ….” Fred shot a look at Jay and modified his language. “He’d do anything for the commish.”

“He could have been set up,” Tayl insisted.

Fred sneered.

“Are we getting sidetracked?” Jay asked politely, tired of the rather juvenile side Fred was showing. Okay, he’d been shot at or whatever, but he was acting about six. “Can we do something about the insectoids, or do we just have to avoid them forever?”

Fred frowned thoughtfully. “All we have to do is deal with Tark and his son. At best Tark’s only got a few years until old age kicks him off. At worst he’ll hire professionals and set up an account to whoever collects the bounty, even if he dies. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“You didn’t want to kill him in prison,” she said, looking at him with wide, thoughtful eyes. She liked that, especially since she sensed there was a time when he would have hesitated. “What are the other options for stopping him?”

“You didn’t order him knocked off in jail?” Kok asked in surprise. “Would’ve solved all your problems, man.”

Bronze crept into Fred’s cheeks. “No. As for our other options ....”

Red glanced at Jay and sent a meaningful look at Nightbird. “Gonna get himself killed pleasing her,” she muttered, but it carried.

Jay grinned. If loving her made Fred want to be honorable, then it was all the same to her. She wondered if she ought to be calling him Kutlazx, though. Obviously it was an undercover name and not his own. His friends never called him that, though they hadn’t commented on ‘Fred’, either. How many names did the man have?

“I think we should investigate the commissioner,” Fred said, cutting off the embarrassing comments. “I don’t think he’s going to be satisfied with sending his lapdog to harass me. I’d love to find that he’s more deeply involved in this than it seems.”

“Is this instinct talking, or do you just want revenge?” Tayl asked skeptically.

“What are the odds of all the sudden trouble in my life being isolated? I don’t think so. Who do we know who can dig into the commissioner’s finances? I’d like a peek at his bankbook.”

Jay tuned out after a while as they talked shop, throwing around names she had no idea of. They were headed to a world called Lambin, this galaxy’s equivalent of the Swiss bank account. She looked it up and saw a picture of a green planet with white clouds. It was a resort world, catering to the same sort of people who needed a Swiss bank account.

Jay switched the computer over to an article on pendragon care. She’d never had the money to indulge in resorts or the interest if she’d had the bucks.

Kutlazx looked up some time later to see Jay’s lips moving. She had the cordless earphones on and was practicing her language program, her brows drawn together in concentration. He’d been so absorbed in making plans and sending communications that he’d paid little attention to her, but she didn’t look sulky.

She looked up quickly when he touched her shoulder, and smiled. “Making progress?”

“Some,” he agreed. “Hungry?” He chuckled at her look of dismay, quickly disguised. “You’ll be happy to know that we’ll reach Lambin just before breakfast. We’ll see if we can stock something more agreeable to eat.”

She shrugged. “It won’t kill me to wait. How long will we be there? What’s the next stop after that?”

“In a rush, are you?” He played idly with her hair, enjoying the silky texture.

She smiled a little sheepishly. “It’s a little unsettling, all this traveling around. I was wondering when we might go back to your apartment.”

He drew her to her feet. “It might be a few weeks. I’ll try to make you comfortable while you wait.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s an adventure, right? I’m lucky to be here.”

“No, I’m lucky to have you,” Fred said, nuzzling her ear.

“They’re doing it again,” Red complained.

Tayl looked their way, amused. “Don’t let it bother you, woman. They have a license.”

Reentry was breathtaking for Jay—she was so scared for a moment she forgot to breathe. Once they got past the moment when she expected them to burst into flame, she relaxed and began to enjoy the view. She’d never flown in an airplane, never realized how small a world could seem from miles above the ground. This one, with its tranquil green sky and white clouds made her smile. They had snowcapped mountains and vast stretches of green forest broken by the occasional clearing full of white towers with silver onion domes. Some of the smaller buildings had more colorful domes painted pink and white or in shades of blue, green, or mauve.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, rapt. “Like a Russian church explosion or fairy city.”

Fred looked at her and smiled with amusement. “Leave it to you to admire one of the most expensive cities in the galaxy. Even I would have a hard time buying a home here, sweetheart.”

She shot him a look. “Why do you always assume I want you to buy everything I admire? I like castles, too, but I don’t expect you to come home with one.” She turned back the window and let her eyes drink it in. “I just want to look.”

Fred exchanged a sideways look at Tayl, an I-can’t-believe-how-lucky-I-am kind of glance, and took joy in Tayl’s congratulatory grin.

It feels good to be me, he thought.

* * * *

Jay looked around the spaceport with wide eyes. The space itself reminded her of any airport, but it was filled with a crowd of colorful aliens. Some were nine feet and covered with hair, others so short they walked on a separate causeway elevated by two feet. Fur, feathers, and scales, she adored them all. What variety!

They passed a pot bellied alien off to the side, holding a signboard. Creamy white all over with no trace of hair, the critter had two tentacles for arms, a head shaped like a light bulb and big black eyes like a squid. He reminded her powerfully of something out of a cartoon.

She made out a couple of the symbols on his sign, but asked Fred to translate for her.

He glanced at the creature. “He’s trying to hitch a ride to Centaru Six. Probably gambled away all his money and doesn’t have the price for a ticket.”

“Oh. That’s sad.”

He shrugged. “Maybe he’ll learn something. Come on. We’ll get you checked into a hotel and order room service. You can relax while I take care of business. Maybe we’ll have time for some shopping later.”

They settled into the backseat of a transport, letting the others take the forward seats. They gave the autopilot directions and settled back.

Fred didn’t allude to the nature of his business and she didn’t ask. There were some things he wanted to keep hidden from her as much as she wanted to avoid them.

She hadn’t really thought about him being an assassin. The term had always been used past tense, and she didn’t want to speculate about the people he’d killed. Had he just killed bad guys, or did he work for anyone who offered him money? Things were so new between them. She didn’t want to think that the man who took such sweet care of her could be capable of darkness. It was distressing, but maybe she had a solution. Maybe she could take one day at a time and bill him for what she saw in the present, not what he’d been in the past. Surely no man with such a yearning to be loved could be evil?

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He did crave her love. It was there every time he looked at her, a need so bright it shown from his eyes. The man craved redemption. She couldn’t be everything he hoped for, but maybe she could steer him in the right direction.

Fred looked her way, studied her face. “What is it?”

Jay decided to be honest. “I was just thinking about your past ... our future. There’s so much I don’t know about you.”

He looked forward. “You sure you want to know?”

“Do you think I would run away if you told me?”

A muscle jumped in his jaw, but he didn’t answer.

She slid her arm around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I couldn’t walk away from the father of my baby,” she whispered.

He froze. He didn’t look at her, just croaked, “Are you ...?”

“Red showed me how to use the pregnancy tester. They work right away, she said. I didn’t tell her what the result was.”

He looked at her. “But you are ... are you?”

She smiled at him. “Yes.”

He sucked in a breath. Maybe that wasn’t enough, because he needed another. He looked like he might hyperventilate.

She frowned at him. “Are you okay? Breathe, Fred!” She hadn’t thought he’d greet impending fatherhood by fainting.

“W-when?” he croaked out.

She wrinkled her nose, trying not to laugh at him. “You toss the sheets around like a twister in a class five storm and wonder when it happened? Probably the first time. I didn’t think about taking precautions.” She flushed and muttered, “Not that I had a chance.”

His breathing was still fast and his color high, but he looked at her like a man receiving religious revival. With a growl, he pounced on her and dragged her down to the seat. Her startled shriek was muffled by his voracious kiss.

He was so wild, made her so hungry, that she almost forgot they were in the back of a public bus with all his friends on the other side of the seatback.