My Cyborg Savior (Crimson Romance) (3 page)

“But, princess, it’s my job to watch your ass.”

She kicked the door with her bare foot and then cursed as pain shot up her leg. She could hear his deep, robust chuckle through the closed barrier. Damn that man. Five seconds into his company and she already wanted him gone. At least the fact that he was being pushy would help her feel less guilty.

She threw off her robe, stepped into the shower, and started her morning routine. Or, rather, her afternoon routine. She was rarely up this early. It was only nine. She yawned and stretched as the warm water rushed over her body.

How dare her father do this to her? Despite the many death threats made, her father had never bothered to assign her a bodyguard. And no one ever acted on threats against her, even though she was out often among noblemen and peasants alike. But many people tried to murder her father. He was trying to trap her, like he had her mother. Panic clawed at her insides.

Was she becoming her mother? Before she’d committed suicide, she’d stayed in bed constantly; she drank and took pills prescribed by the family doctor. Jamila dismissed the idea. She stayed up late, she deserved to sleep in, even if she could barely sleep at all anymore. And her mother drank on the quiet; she didn’t party with her friends. By the end of her life she’d barely had any friends left. She’d stopped going out with them.

The whole door shook under the force of the knock from the other side and she jumped.

“What’s taking so long, princess?”

She rolled her eyes. It hadn’t even been twenty minutes. She had gotten sucked into her thoughts, but it hadn’t been that long. “I’ll be out when I’m out. I’m not done yet.”

“I’m just saying, for someone who probably bathed yesterday, you’re taking an awful long time. You can’t possibly be that dirty.”

Jamila glared at the door but shut off the water and stepped out of the shower stall. He had a point. A normal shower usually took ten minutes. The chemical spray got you clean instantly, and in richer households like this one, a conditioning agent appropriate for hair and body followed. The water ran blue until you were clean. She’d been standing in clear, fresh water for about ten minutes. The de-humidifier kicked on along with the drier, evaporating the water while it dried her hair and body.

She opened the door and poked her head out. “Now can one of the servants hand me clothes?”

He smirked and pulled them out from behind his back.

Jamila snatched them from his hands and shut the door to get dressed. When she stepped out of the bathroom most of the contents of her room were gone. The only thing that remained was the furniture, which was the same in every room, so she didn’t need it.

She put her hands on her hips. “Now what?”

“Do you have any plans for the day?”

“Not until this afternoon. So what am I supposed to do until then?”

He shrugged. “It’s your house. Surely you have something you can do.”

Doubtful. She could go shopping, that was about it. All the servants in the house were busy, so there would be no bomber simulations over some alien planet. If she watched the news, she’d likely be inundated with reports of her father, and herself. In the winter there wasn’t much to do. She was in for a boring day.

• • •

Jamila spent the day reading with her ever present guard examining her. Always sitting there like some black cloud. But now it was five in the afternoon. It was a whole different playing field. As soon as the sun set on Larus, the nightlife in the Forbidden District of the city started. Her father had warned her to stay away from there, but she wasn’t about to listen. She had a special errand to run before a night of partying kicked off. Now if she could get rid of her black cloud. She was sure he would never approve an outing, particularly one not only into the Forbidden District, but Haven as well which she couldn’t allow him to know about.

Galen was currently lounging on his bed in the room next to hers. The door was open so he could keep an eye on her from his reclined position on the bed. She stood and walked over to the door. His eyes were closed, and he appeared completely relaxed. Was the idiot sleeping? It seemed too good to be true. She quietly started to shut the door when he spoke.

“What are you doing, Jamila?”

“So you’re not asleep. Great bodyguard you are, lying around with your eyes closed.”

“I’m probably more aware of everything asleep than you would be on your best day awake. And since I wasn’t sleeping I don’t see why you care. Believe me, if someone had come in here, I would have intercepted them long before they could reach you. So I’ll ask again: what are you doing?”

Annoyance shot through her. And she’d assumed this would be easy. “I need to dress for dinner. I don’t plan on giving you a show.”

He opened one eye and peered at her, seeming to accuse her with his gaze. After all, she’d given everyone else a show. “I’ll keep my eyes closed while you change.”

She snorted. “As if I’d trust you.”

Both eyes sprang open. “Princess, you’re not my type. And I have a job to do. You don’t have to worry about me spying. My concern is that these walls are almost completely soundproof. Even for me, and I have excellent hearing.”

She didn’t doubt it. Cyborgs had excellent everything. She dragged her gaze down his body. She hadn’t quite believed that until now, but staring at him, he was definitely fine everywhere. She shook her head.

“But you can still hear?”

“Yes, but — ”

She cut him off by closing the door. She smirked. Mission accomplished. She made quick work hacking the locking mechanism as she’d done in the past. It wouldn’t keep him out, that was for sure — he had enough strength to tear a hole in the wall — but it might buy her a few extra seconds.

She’d actually changed in the bathroom a few minutes ago, and she’d opened her window to the bitterly cold wind in preparation for this moment. She wouldn’t make a sound as she shrugged out of her robe and slipped out the window and into the fake grass. One good thing about him moving her to this room was that it was on the first floor. She didn’t have to do any climbing to escape.

The doorknob rattled as she straddled the ledge of the window.

He banged on the door with his ham handed fist as she slipped out and dashed for the shuttle bay. His move had also put her closer to it than before. She wished she’d thought of switching rooms earlier. She had her pick of the entire Temple. Especially when her father was gone. She’d moved rooms five times in two years, and had never considered that one. She’d been a fool.

She rushed into the shuttle bay and hit the remote start on the jumper she usually used. It purred to life and the activation sequence started. It took two minutes for the auto pilot to do safety checks and heat the engine. Hopefully Mr. Hot Bodyguard wouldn’t make it out of his room before she’d taken off.

She stepped into the shuttle. But just in case he did … “Computer, close all the doors and go to full lock down.”

“Affirmative.” The deadpan, digital, female voice said.

“How long until you’re able to fly?”

“One minute, thirty-six seconds.”

She nodded. Good, he couldn’t crack the door controls in that amount of time. “Set autopilot for the Haven District. Area five.”

“Affirmative.”

Now all she had to do was sit back and relax, and wait the thirty-eight minutes it took to get to the city.

“Passenger, Galen Marduk is asking for entrance. Should it be granted?”

There was a thump on the outside of the ship and it rocked slightly.

“Minor hull damage.”

“What? Holy hell. What is that mad man doing?” That wasn’t possible. He couldn’t have dinged the ship with his fists.

“This vessel was kicked with an enforced boot. My readings show the culprit cannot be human. Possible hostile.”

Damn right he was hostile. He damaged her jumper.

“Access granted.”

“What? Computer, I didn’t ask for anything.”

The doors at the back of the shuttle started to lower. He must have managed to get them open. How was that possible? “Computer, override and close the doors.”

“Access denied.”

Fuck. What now? She had to go. People were counting on her. She had to get to the Haven District. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to work his way into the piloting systems as quickly. She’d have to take him along for the ride.

“Computer, is the autopilot still set to the Haven District?”

“Affirmative.”

“Good. Shut down all access to the piloting array until I say otherwise.”

“Complete.”

Galen stomped into the ship and the doors automatically closed behind him. “Computer, get those back open.”

“Unable to comply, this shuttle is leaving the bay. The doors must stay closed. It is recommended that all occupants sit down and strap in.”

Jamila grinned at him. “I’d do what the lady says. Liftoff in these old shuttles can be a bit rocky, but I think they’re more reliable than the newer models. That old saying ‘They don’t make ’em like they used to’ definitely applies.”

“Computer, override the launch sequence.”

“Unable to comply. Autopilot is set. The piloting array is offline until Jamila Christianna Clearborne reinitializes it.”

Galen glared at Jamila like he was tempted to walk over and strangle her. “Dammit! Unlock the system, princess.”

“Nope. I have something I have to do, and I intend to do it. I don’t have a problem with you coming along for the ride. So sit down because — ”

“Liftoff.”

The force of the launch sent Galen tumbling to the back of the ship. He hit the doors with a loud clang and she flinched. If his boot could dent the hull, what could his whole body hitting the doors do? Luckily, they didn’t fly open.

He groaned and rubbed the back of his head and she smirked at him. “Aren’t you glad the doors close automatically for launch? You would have hit the floor of the bay awfully hard. Even
your
thick skull would have been damaged.”

He stood, and clenched and released his fists a few times before he stomped toward her. She realized she had one pissed off man on her hands a second too late. He hit the release on her harness, grabbed her upper arms, and hauled her out of the seat.

“Well, at least this gives us a chance to chat. From now on, you’re going to do as I say. I don’t want to die doing this job. I know you’re a little bitch, and you probably don’t care what happens to me, but I’d like to keep breathing.”

“I go out all the — ”

“Don’t interrupt me,” he shouted over her. “I don’t care what you normally do. I’m responsible for you now, and your father said to keep you out of trouble.”

“I’m twenty-four. I don’t need my daddy telling me what to do. I’m a grown woman.”

“Then get a fucking job and leave so he can’t boss you around anymore. Until then you’re my problem.”

He dropped her back into the chair and raked a hand through his hair. His words stung, even though they shouldn’t. She didn’t know him at all. It shouldn’t matter if he thought she was his obligation and a spoiled little bitch. She was always someone’s problem. Her father had just decided to pass his dilemma off to someone else.

She faced the console and checked the readouts for anything strange. He had kicked the shuttle and crashed into the doors, after all.

“Turn us around, Jamila.”

She rolled her eyes but refused to look at him. “Nope.”

• • •

Somehow Galen said something that upset her. He wasn’t sure what part. Probably the bitch part. He was sure no one had ever dared call her a bitch before. He sighed in frustration. Keeping one little slip of a woman out of trouble shouldn’t be this difficult. Didn’t she realize the danger she was in? Apparently not, since the computer silently told him they were headed for the Haven District and probably the Forbidden District next to it, where her father was incredibly disliked. There had been riots on the streets over his possible reelection. To top it off, that was a dangerous area for anyone ever. It was violent on a daily basis, and not just because of recent riots. There were gangs, thieves, rapists, and murderers. And then a normal class of people who were down on their luck, and had to steal to keep food in their families’ mouths.

He knew how dangerous it could be. He’d grown up in a place exactly like it. Everyone was doing something nefarious. There was a fine line between good and bad when your children were starving, and you couldn’t get medical care for them. Life was hard. And when you put the daughter of the people’s greatest enemy at their fingertips? Eventually Jamila’s luck would run out.

But why would she go to the Haven District? Was she even allowed entrance? Some people were, but that was usually workers who had to pass through to get to their jobs.

Unfortunately, he had no choice but to go along. The computer wasn’t recognizing his commands. He’d been silently trying to take the system back with his implants and it wasn’t working. Well, he could keep her alive for one evening out. Her father was crazy if he thought he could keep her indoors all the time. However, Galen would have to try and keep her in the districts she was allowed in. Shopping and upscale clubs, not the rank bars her file said she frequented in Forbidden.

Why did she like going there, anyway? The bars she went to were likely holes in the wall and dirtier than a sewer. Plus, you could only get poor people drugs there. Surely she stuck to the prescription stuff. That had been her mother’s downfall. But then, maybe she wanted to do anything to make her daddy crazy.

She still hadn’t glanced at him. He sighed again and sat down. He didn’t strap in quite yet. He’d been caught off guard when they’d taken off; he’d been too focused on her. This poor little ship wouldn’t knock him on his ass if he were paying attention.

He rolled his shoulders. The silence was uncomfortable. He hadn’t meant to upset her. He should have chosen his words more carefully. She already exhibited all the symptoms of depression. She lay in bed till all hours of the day, but she didn’t sleep — instead she stared blankly at the ceiling. It was how he’d found her this morning, probably how she’d been when her father had called her to him to inspect the slaves. And even though she’d read most of the afternoon, he had caught her staring into space a few times.