The Bond That Heals Us (3 page)

“Dr. Fergus, step back please.”

The edge in Taber’s voice was enough to shake her out of her momentary haze.

Thankfully, the alien let her move to the side and turned his attention to Taber.

13

“Name’s Davin. I’m the captain of this bucket. Some of my crew were wounded in the crash. I just managed to get the cabin door unjammed to get out. My copilot was knocked unconscious when we took damage entering the atmosphere.”

“Your ship isn’t registered for this sector.” Taber took a step closer. “My crew will have to inspect it for contraband.”

“
After
your doctor looks at my men. When she’s done, go ahead. You won’t find anything.” Davin crossed his arms and leveled a stare at Taber.

Taber stiffened slightly. “Because there is nothing to find or because it’s well hidden?”

Sara had to clear her throat twice before either of them would look at her. “Hi. I’m going to help the dying people. Once you are done with your pissing match, I could use a hand.”

Shaking her head, she moved toward the front of the ship to where she hoped the wounded crew member was. Her exit wouldn’t be half as dramatic if she had to turn around and come back. She’d just shoved the cabin door release when she felt Davin come up behind her.

“My copilot, Rafe, took a nasty crack to the head when we entered the planet’s atmosphere. I tried to stop the bleeding, but had my hands full trying to keep the ship together as she came down.”

When the door opened, Sara could smell the blood in the air. Ignoring Davin behind her, she crossed the small space to where a man sat slumped forward in his seat across a control console. Sara pulled him back to reveal half the man’s face covered in burns and blood.

“Med kit,” she said to Davin over her shoulder.

“Hang on—”

“Now!”

In the next second, she felt the weight of the strap in her hand. She pulled it around and tore into it until she found her scanner. Grimacing at what it told her, she looked up at Davin.

“I need to get him to med bay now or he’s dead. He has massive cerebral hemorrhaging and I need to get him into surgery right away to relieve the pressure. Are there any others? Anyone else hurt?”

Davin frowned and clenched his fists. “Three with the engines. They were keeping us going, but I’m not sure if they’re hurt or not.”

“Rachael should be back by now. I’ll send her and the other medics to the engine room.”

She draped the wounded man’s arm around hers and tried to pull him to his feet.

Davin stepped beside her and helped get his copilot up. He started muttering something under his breath, like he was arguing with himself. When she tried to pull 14

the injured man away, Davin resisted with a sigh. She didn’t have time to fight with him and was about to call for her med team.

Before she could yell for help and a stretcher, Davin said something that sounded like a curse, placed his hand in the middle of the injured man’s chest and closed his eyes. Sara watched as he seemed to focus his attention on the other man. For a moment she wanted to hit him, wake him up from his trance. But then she felt a tingle of energy coming from the wounded man, as if Davin was sending a jolt through his body. She was about to ask what was going on when the injured man sucked in a deep breath and began to moan. Davin opened his eyes and looked at her quickly, as if he’d been caught doing something wrong.

“What did you do?” she asked, completely awestruck.

“Nothing. Bought us a little time. Let’s get him to your med bay, Doctor.”

“Sara!” Rachael popped her head in from the shuttle bay floor. “I have a stretcher here if you need it.”

“Call med bay. Have them prep the operating room.”

“You got it.”

Davin helped hand his co-pilot down to the security guards and medics waiting below. “Take care of Rafe. I need him back in one piece.”

Sara turned to look at him, trying to size up the captain. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m lucky that way.” And he winked at her.

“You fucking bastard!” a voice behind them barked.

Both Sara and Davin spun around to face an extremely pissed-off, burly man barreling down on them. Before she had time to react, Sara was shoved aside as the man took a swing at Davin.

“You’re trying to fucking kill us!” The man was blindly swinging at Davin, connecting several times with his jaw.

“Calm down, Silas.” Davin managed to say, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He took a swing of his own and landed a punch on the side of Silas’ head. “We made it in one piece.”

“Fuck you!”

When Silas swung this time, Davin blocked him and managed to land a kick that knocked the large man back into Sara. The last thing she remembered was being thrown back against the bulkhead and hearing a loud crack as darkness overtook her.

15

When Sara finally regained consciousness, she felt as if her brain was on fire. She tried to push her body into a sitting position, but her head pounded harder at the change of elevation. She fell back against the pillow and tried to brace herself against the pain.

“Shit,” she muttered.

“Nice to see you up and running again.” Haylie’s concerned voice floated over to her.

Sara turned her head so she could see her friend sitting in the visitor’s chair. The look on Haylie’s face told her she’d given everyone a scare.

“How long?” She rubbed her temples, looking for relief.

“Long enough for Taber to throw your assaulter in the brig and tear his ship apart looking for anything illegal so he could keep him there. Just over four hours.”

“Shit!” Sara sat up again, ignoring the wave of nausea that slammed into her.

“What about the copilot? He needed surgery.”

“I know this might come as a shock to you, but there
are
other doctors on this colony.” Haylie was on her feet and moving to Sara’s side. “He was in and out in under an hour. He’ll be fine.”

Sara’s mind began to whiz through the events leading up to her crack on the head.

“Wait a minute, Taber threw Davin in the brig?”

“Well, he went a bit ape-shit crazy when you got knocked out. Apparently, he just about took his engineer’s head off.”

“Davin or Taber?”

“The captain.”

A shiver of desire rolled down Sara’s back. Davin had been upset that she’d been hurt. She didn’t know why, but the idea was very appealing.

“Now I know that look, Doctor Fergus,” Haylie said and chuckled. “Your mysterious captain must be cute.”

“Oh please. He gave me a concussion. And he was a bit of a pompous ass.”

“Definitely cute. I’d go down and check him out myself, but I’m not currently on active duty.” Haylie paused, bit her lip and looked over her shoulder briefly. “Look, think you’re up to giving me the go ahead to return to work? I’m going a bit crazy.”

“It’s only been a day. Not even.”

“Sara, please.”

16

It was Sara’s turn to chuckle. “You’re asking your doctor, who has a concussion and is unfit to dispense a bandage at the moment, to give you medical clearance. I haven’t even run a full exam on you yet to satisfy myself that you
are
fit for duty.”

“I’m sure the baby is fine.” Haylie rolled her eyes and sighed. “You’re going to be as bad as Kamran, aren’t you?”

“Probably worse. It’s not like we have any previous cases of human-Briel mating to draw on. For now, I want you as far away from the action as I can get you.”

“That’s what I told her,” a familiar voice said.

Both women turned to look at Kamran as he entered the room. Taber was trailing close behind him, wearing a scowl. Sara knew he was annoyed with her.

“How are you feeling?” Kamran asked as he gave Sara’s hand a squeeze.

Sara shrugged, the motion sending a dull ache down her neck and along her left arm. “Nothing a little shot of pain meds won’t cure.” She looked up at Taber and offered him a small smile. “Sorry to have caused trouble.”

“For once, you were not the cause, simply caught in the crossfire,” Taber said in his normally even voice.

She really wanted to be offended at his comment, but she caught the slight smirk on his face in time. When had Taber developed a sense of humor?

“How is Davin? I hope you didn’t rough him up too much.”

Kamran straightened. “We were on our way to talk to him. I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay first. He’s been asking about you.”

Sara’s heart began to pound. Before anyone could protest, she slid off the gurney and walked over to the med dispenser.

“Should you be up?” Haylie was beside her instantly. “I doubt even you would let your patients up this fast.”

“No, I’d probably tie them down. But I’m a lousy patient. All I need is a little shot of this.” She pressed an injection into her arm. The drug instantly took the edge off her pounding head, making it easier to breathe. “Now I’m going to check my patient in the brig and make sure that my charming, but overly protective, security escort didn’t cause him any harm.”

Not waiting for anyone to answer, Sara turned and marched out of the room. She’d made it half way down the hall before Taber fell into step beside her.

“You…are a stubborn woman,” he said simply.

“You’ve known me for over a year and you’re just coming to that conclusion now?”

She swore she heard Taber sigh.

“Kamran will be joining us shortly. It seems his mate is under the impression that she can save the planet in her current condition.”

17

“The only way we’re going to keep Haylie off a case is to give her something else to do. She needs a mystery to unravel. Preferably one that will keep her in front of the computer.”

“I’ll mention that to Kamran.”

They walked the rest of the way to the brig in silence. Since the Ecada attack last year, the colony had rarely needed use of the lower-level cells. Haylie and Taber had converted one of the side storage rooms close to her office as an intermediate brig. Sara couldn’t remember the last time it had been used.

The doors to the brig whooshed open and she immediately saw Davin standing, arms crossed over his chest, in the middle of the cell. She swore when his reptilian gaze landed on her, relief washed across his face. She felt a blush heat her cheeks when he licked his lips and offered her a lopsided smirk.

“There’s the little blaster. Nice to see you back in the land of the conscious, Doctor.”

Sara straightened her back and walked purposefully over to stand in front of his cell. Neither one of them said anything at first. Sara really looked at him this time.

Davin’s brown hair was long, kissing the top of his shoulders and falling over his golden eyes. His broad shoulders were tucked into a black leather vest that held an assortment of survival gear. He wore no shirt underneath and she saw an intricate pattern of tattoos covering both his biceps and forearms. Interestingly, he wore a pair of black leather gloves that covered his hands and wrists.

When Davin chuckled, Sara’s gaze snapped back to his. He cocked an eyebrow, issuing either a silent challenge or seeking her approval.

“I see you survived your brawl,” Sara asked, clearing her throat. “Where is your friend?”

“Silas? You’ll have to ask your Briel attack
ravak
. I haven’t seen him since they hauled my ass in here.”

The door behind her whooshed open and Sara looked over her shoulder to see Kamran walk in. Taber was by his side, whispering to him, most likely filling Kamran in on the pertinent details of their unexpected guest. When she looked back at Davin, she quickly noted the change in his demeanor. His arms were now clasped behind his back and his face had lost some of its humor.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Kamran is one of the fairest people I know.”

Davin didn’t respond, his jaw tensing instead. Sara stepped to the side, allowing Kamran room to stand in front of the cell.

“Hello, Captain…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your last name,” Kamran said with a smile.

“Davin Jagt.” The two words came out clipped.

If Kamran noticed the hostility, he completely ignored it. “If you could be so kind as to tell us what damaged your ship. Both the head of human and Briel security are 18

wondering if they should be planning a defense against an alien invasion force bound on getting you back. Or getting back at you.”

The two men locked gazes and Sara fought the urge to squirm with the sudden intensity in the room. Kamran had a way of getting information from others that didn’t require he do any more than raise an eyebrow. Davin wasn’t immune to Kamran’s gaze, which gave her a strange sense of comfort.

“Your colony is fine. We’d dropped off a shipment of supplies to Radon Three and got caught in the gravitational eddies of the asteroid belt.”

Taber made some sort of noise Sara could only assume was a sigh as he left the room.

Davin chuckled, softening the harsh lines of his face. “I take it that because your
ravak
left, you believe me?”

“Of course. We simply needed to confirm what our own engineers suspected. You do realize Radon Three is under martial law and is off limits to outsiders?” Kamran asked, his eyebrow raised.

“Of course. It’s the reason we were smuggling supplies to the rebels. Even the bad guys need to eat.”

Kamran smiled. “If one would consider them
bad
instead of merely fighting for what they believe.”

That seemed to catch Davin off guard. “You know of the conflict then?”

“Of course. Computer, release the security locks for cell two.”

The door popped open and Kamran took a step back. Davin hesitated for only a moment before stepping out, right beside Sara. Again, she couldn’t help but let her gaze travel over his body, drinking in every luscious inch. A distinctly male scent washed over her and she enjoyed the spicy musk.

“Please forgive our rude treatment when you first arrived.” Kamran held out his hand. “Welcome to Eurus colony.”

Davin eyed Kamran’s outstretched arm. “Your reputation precedes you, Ambassador. They say you always get what you want and do it with a smile.”

Kamran didn’t move, though the very smile Davin mentioned played on his lips.

Finally, Davin reached out and gripped his hand. From her position, Sara was better able to see the tattoos on his arm. Blues and blacks twined together like a snake crawling down his arm. Kamran noticed too.

“You’re a Raqulian.”

Sara gave her head a shake. “I can’t keep up with all of the planets in this sector.

Where is that one?”

“Farthest away from Briel, if I’m not mistaken. You certainly have a tremendous understanding of your distant neighbors.” Davin said and dropped Kamran’s hand.

“It’s my job to know. While you and your crew are here, please enjoy the recreation facilities of the colony. I’m sure Sara won’t mind showing you around.”

19

“I should really get back to med bay. I’m sure there are—”

“I believe you told my wife you weren’t fit to issue her a medical clearance. I assume that means you need your rest.” Kamran winked at her. “I’m sure the colony will survive without you for a day. Besides, you should enjoy the festivities tonight.”

Sara couldn’t believe it. She opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out.

Not that Davin had any such problem.

“Festivities?” Davin grinned. “It seems we chose an opportune day to crash.”

“We would be happy to have you attend. And Sara wouldn’t mind giving you a tour. That is, if she is feeling up to it?”

“Of course, I’m fine.” Like she would admit to feeling like shit in front of them.

“I would love a guided tour. Thank you for your hospitality, Ambassador.”

“It’s administrator now. In any case, you are most welcome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my wife is about to do something foolish.”

With a small bow, Kamran turned and walked out of the room.

Davin looked at Sara and frowned. “Bonded?”

“Oh yeah.”

“I pity his wife,” Davin muttered.

“Don’t. She gives as good as she gets.” Sara snorted. “Haylie would kick his ass if he gave her a reason.”

Davin turned and faced her. Relief seemed to settle over him. Whether it was relief from being free of his cell or from being released from Kamran’s presence, she wasn’t sure.

Sara felt the air rush from her lungs when he took half a step closer to her, closing the already small distance between them.

“So, Doctor. I see you are feeling better.” His voice was smooth and seductive, with a hint of mischief in it.

“I’m conscious, if that’s what you mean,” she said and began to walk away.

Unfortunately, she turned too quickly and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Before she knew what was happening, Davin had his arm around her waist, holding her up. Sara suddenly found it difficult to breathe and it had nothing to do with her injury. Being this close to him, having his body pressed against hers, made her insides quiver. When she looked up into his golden, reptilian eyes, she couldn’t help but suck in a deep breath. They seemed to see straight through her, see what she was thinking.

“Easy now, Doc. I much prefer to have you awake. I don’t think your security boyfriend would much appreciate you ending up unconscious.”

Sara couldn’t help but chuckle. “Me and Taber? He just hates it when someone steps on his toes. There’s nothing between us.”

“Really?”

20

The way Davin said the word made Sara shiver. He ran his thumb over the arm he held in his hand, letting his gaze travel over her face to stop on her breasts. She felt the blush return with a vengeance and withdrew her arm from his grip.