Leaving Earth (13 page)

I didn't realize, baby. I'm under control now.
Shit. This was so not going to work. How could she stay here, live with him, if she was going to be subject to crazy hormonal meltdowns that weren't even all hers? She sensed him withdrawing somewhat, retreating to his own thoughts, heard the mental sigh that was meant only for her.
We'll discuss that later.

Again with the orders. She almost growled, gathered her thoughts, but when she tried to respond to his imperious demand he was gone from her mind. Fine.
She'd
deal with
him
later.

While she'd been distracted they'd made the last turn that led to the Earth contingent's offices. Daggar hung back as she 117

Leaving Earth

by Loribelle Hunt

entered the reception room. All thoughts of her irritation fled from her mind.

The place was bustling with activity. The low hum of conversation paused a moment as people noticed their entrance, but quickly resumed as if never disturbed. She walked the few feet to the aide's desk, peering curiously at the mayhem on the piece of furniture. It was covered in papers and files. A box contained a quickly growing stack of errata as she watched. Two closed boxes behind him were presumably waiting to be filled or already had been. Before she could ask him what was going on, the Ambassador stepped out of his office. He'd removed his jacket and tie, had his shirtsleeves rolled up, and carried several file folders. He smiled, that unctuous politician's smile that turned her stomach, and dropped the files into the open box. She got a glimpse before they disappeared. Name. Comma. Initial. What the hell was going on? Why were they packing up personnel files?

She looked around, tried to keep her voice casual. "Why all the hustle and bustle?"

For a moment she thought he would refuse to answer her.

"Non-essential staff has been ordered to return to Earth." That got Daggar's attention. He straightened from where he'd been leaning against a wall and approached with quick stealth. "By whom?"

The Ambassador narrowed his eyes and Kendall was surprised that he answered. "The Prime Minister." 118

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Did that mean Prime Minister Arnold was still in charge?

Did the Ambassador know there had been a change of power on Earth? Or not?

"Why weren't we informed?" Daggar asked. The Ambassador's eyes shifted so slightly, she almost missed it. "The Sergeant Major has been notified."
He's lying. Why would he lie about that?

I don't know
. He checked his timepiece.
And I'm afraid
we'll have to find out later. I'm late to a meeting
. She nodded her head once in understanding and turned to follow him out, completely forgetting her purpose in visiting the only other group of people from Earth on Delroi. She didn't feel any sense of allegiance or comradeship with them. Not surprising since they were diplomats and politicians, and she was a military doctor. She did pause before she exited though, turned back to face the room.

"Has Britt Anderson been by here today?" The Ambassador blinked and her sixth sense kicked in again. He would lie. "No, Colonel. I haven't seen her." She held his gaze for several seconds but didn't call him out on the deceit or ask why he'd used her former rank. She followed Daggar into the corridor, surprised when they turned right instead of left to go back the way they had come. He smiled.

"Most people think I'm the most powerful person on Delroi. They are mistaken."

"I thought you were the Overchief?" He nodded. "Of the Warrior caste. The Healers and Artists have their own Overchiefs."

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She cocked an eyebrow. There was no way she'd believe one of them was more powerful than he was, but it made her curious about the hierarchy on Delroi. It wasn't like anything she was used to on Earth. He gave her a teasing smile.

"Finally ready to indulge that inquisitive nature?"

"Maybe. How are the castes organized?" She'd seen many men around him, but never with any kind of visible rank.

"Clans. There are hundreds of clans around the planet. Some small and weak. Some large and powerful. Generally the smaller groups are sworn to the larger ones and every region has a single clan that rules them all. They all answer to me."

"And are all these Clan leaders sworn to your service?"

"Yes. Anytime a new leader takes control he swears allegiance to me personally for his entire clan." She nodded. It was a pretty basic chain of command. "The other Castes operate the same way?"

"They do."

She huffed her exasperation when he didn't continue. She didn't get how another Overchief could be more powerful than the man every single Warrior clan on the planet was sworn to.

"How do you expect the others to challenge you?" she asked.

"You met my aunt Cilia in the infirmary. She is the Healer Overchief. She controls all the Healers, all the infirmaries and clinics on the planet. She could make life miserable for everyone else if she wanted to."

"She's a doctor. I'm sure she wouldn't use the services of her people to blackmail everyone else." 120

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Daggar shrugged. "She's a Healer. She'll do whatever she feels is necessary for the well-being of all Delroi." What was he leading up to? "Why would she make such a desperate move?"

The corridor finally ended on another of those large common areas. Daggar pulled her to one side and leaned close to her, whispering in her ear. "If she feels a war is likely in my caste, between my people and the rebels, she might try to interfere. But the rebels won't care. A lack of qualified healers won't deter them from whatever path they decide on. Add the problems on Earth to that ... I just don't know how she'll react."

Kendall leaned back, looked up to meet his eyes. They were filled with so many emotions. Worry. Anger. Determination. He stroked his palms up her arms and his eyes changed. Tenderness now. And lust. She caught her breath, nodded.

"I'll keep what I know to myself."

"Good." His lips brushed hers. "We'll figure this all out before the others even need to be notified." She pressed her mouth to his, flicked her tongue over his teeth before withdrawing. "We?" He heaved a put upon sigh. "You aren't going to leave it alone, are you? At least if I keep you close I'll know what you're up to."

She bit her lip to keep from laughing. Talk about chauvinistic. But he was trying, right? It was something of a compromise, right? And she definitely wouldn't be complaining about spending more time with him. He reached 121

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for the door handle, but paused. "Are you ready to meet the other Overchiefs?"

Was she ready? The question seemed to be about so much more than simply meeting two new strangers. But nothing about them was simple any more than there was anything simple about him. If she stayed here, and she could no longer bear the thought of leaving, her life would be complicated. The politics murky. The social mores unfamiliar. Even what was between she and Daggar would never be easy or uncomplicated.

He stroked her cheek with his knuckles.
What is between
us, der'lan, will always be straightforward.
Again, she almost laughed. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was making things more complicated than they needed to be.

"Of course, I'm right," he smirked. She rolled her eyes and reached around him for the handle. "Let's go before your ego gets too big for the doorway."

He laughed and let her enter first, slapping her ass as she edged past him. "You'll pay for that later." She shivered. She looked forward to it.

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Daggar followed Kendall into Cilia's garden, watching her ass sway enticingly as she tilted her head to look up at the wide clear dome overhead.

"Amazing," she muttered and he groaned. He saw construction in the garden on the horizon. She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. "We can do this in our garden?"

He hadn't realized how besotted he was till that moment.

"We can. There's something you might like better, though." And his engineers might go on strike when he asked them for it. Taking her hand, he led her down the path where he knew Cilia and Einarr would be waiting for him. It was a short walk and the jungle path opened into a small clearing. One end was flanked by a huge waterfall, the opposite by more of the garden's foliage. But straight ahead, was a wide expanse of glass that had been opened, the panels slid into secret compartments in the walls, to expose a huge colonnade. It was covered to shade its visitors from Delroi's brutal sun and was outfitted with table and chairs.

She whistled, pulled her hand free of his, and approached the railing. Gripping it, she leaned over, seemingly mesmerized by the view, and he realized she hadn't yet seen the similar deck off their room. Ignoring Cilia and Einarr, he joined her and looked out over the sprawling expanse of his desert city, looked beyond that to the empty sands that seemed to stretch forever.

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"It has its own kind of beauty, doesn't it?" she asked softly.

"It does." He held his hand out to her. "Come. Let's not be rude."

She set her palm on his, reluctantly turning away from the view and he led her to the table. Cilia and Einarr both stood waiting, both smiled at her indulgently.

"It's a bit of a shock, eh?" Einarr asked with a wink. Daggar's hand closed convulsively around Kendall's. Einarr's womanizing ways were well known.

"It is," she answered with a grin. Surely, she wasn't charmed by this rogue? Her elbow poked him sharply in the side. No. Of course she wasn't. Daggar turned first to his aunt, bowed deeply at the waist before leaning forward so she could kiss his cheek.

"Cilia. I believe you've already met Kendall. My
der'lan
." Cilia smiled and stretched her hand out. "I have. How are you dear?"

"Fine." She smiled. "Maybe a bit overwhelmed."

"Our men can be a bit much." She studied Kendall with a practiced air. "But, I'm sure you'll adjust quickly."

"And Einarr." Daggar indicated the other man. "The Artist Overchief."

He bowed deeply. "My Lady. The Torfa house is always blessed with the most beautiful and charming women." Daggar glared while Kendall laughed.
Don't worry, babe.
He's as charming as a snake.

Cilia quickly took charge. "While we're happy you saw fit to finally formally introduce us to your
der'lan
, nephew," he 124

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barely restrained a wince, "this is a meeting of the Overchiefs."

He shrugged. "I am only adhering to the wishes of my healer, Cilia. She takes her profession seriously. Did you really think she, not to mention Alrik, would let me loose on my own yet? They're both mother hens."
Excuse me?

Shh. You may be a mother hen, but she's a dragon when
riled.

Cilia narrowed her eyes at him and he was careful to keep his expression neutral. Beside him Kendall's anger simmered but she kept her thoughts to herself.

"And yet you refused the tank." He shrugged. "There is prudence and then there is folly." She knew it was an excuse but couldn't determine why and finally nodded. "Fine. This time." She indicated the chairs.

"Have a seat."

He pulled one out for Kendall and frowned when she hesitated, a panicked look on her face. Then he remembered, couldn't believe he'd forgotten, the plug he'd insisted stay in her ass. She would probably find sitting down interesting, especially when she realized the small box that controlled it was still in his pocket. He grinned and cocked an eyebrow, knew his expression was a silent
what are you waiting for?

Scowling at him, she sat down and he pulled out the chair next to her. He'd let her relax a moment, let her adjust to that deeply penetrated feeling in her ass before he made his next move.

"So why did you call this meeting?" he asked his aunt. 125

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Her expression smoothed into an indifferent mask and he knew this wasn't going to be some easy family meeting.

"You don't have control of your caste." His suspicions had been correct and he felt Kendall's outrage at the verbal attack. He squeezed her hand, a private signal for silence. He had his own cards to play. His own accusations to counter with.

"I suggest you let me worry about my caste. You have your own issues."

Cilia's eyes narrowed. "My people are fine."

"Really?" He arched both eyebrows. "Then how is it one of your techs was able to plant a bomb in
my
Council chambers?" A not-so-subtle jab at Cilia's lack of control of Hakon, one of her own. As Hakon's Overchief, she was responsible for his actions.

"Don't blame me for your security issues, Daggar."

"Oh, I don't think it's come to that," Kendall said sweetly.

"And of course, you won't object to our new security measures."

Care to fill me in?
He should chastise her. She shouldn't even be in this meeting. But she was his mate, and she'd been weaned on a whole different political animal. Maybe she had some helpful ideas. He shared the thought with her and felt her shock. Realized he was really starting to see her as an equal, as a partner.

"What measures?" Cilia asked suspiciously.

"Oh, you know. The usual." Kendall waved her hand in the air, a completely innocent look on her face. "Check points. Searches. Totally new background checks." 126

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"You can't do that."

Kendall leaned forward, serious now. Face and eyes hard, determined. "On
everyone
. We will not allow our people to be attacked."

"You're a healer. Technically, I could lay claim to your allegiance." Cilia had decided to fight back, but she didn't realize who she was dealing with. Hell, Daggar hadn't realized.