The Key (43 page)

Sara grinned. “We could try.”

Carey looked over her shoulder. “They got the doorway covered. I figured the noise would run them off before now.”

Sara sighed. “So did I. But I’m not tapped out yet. I can be loud for as long as necessary. I’m motivated.”

“And most of us will need cold showers before the night is over.” Carey grinned.

“We got incoming.” Briggs pushed back his chair and stood up.

Sara stood, too, and turned to face the fire, hoping some of it would be friendly. It was Gaedon and Kilburn. The leader was still in his chair. Sara felt her gaze narrow. Surely Kilburn wasn’t throwing in with the enemy now, when the battle was almost won?

“Captain.” Gaedon bowed gravely. “We are preparing to depart. Our Leader wishes to—”

He stopped. Maybe he wasn’t sure what the Leader wanted to do. Or didn’t dare tell her. She looked at Kilburn.

He tugged at his shirt collar. “It would be…courteous to tell him good-bye, Captain.”

“Good-bye. I can do that.” She stepped around Fyn, her hand brushing his, and strolled over to the Gadi leader. It was second nature to go into at ease position, her hands clasped behind her back, even though she wasn’t in uniform. She tucked her chin, so she could look at him over the top of her sunglasses.

“The Commander says you have to leave, sir.”

She could feel sweat tricking down the side of her face and took a swipe at it. Something flickered in his eyes for a moment.

Maybe Foster was right. Maybe the prissy boy liked sweaty girls.

“I hope you enjoyed your visit,” she added politely.

“Do you?” His brows arched a bit. “Or do you just hope I got your… message?”

Sara thought for a minute. “Both.”

He gestured toward the chair across from him.

“Will you sit?”

A request? An actual request? Sara felt her brows go up. Without comment, she turned the indicated chair around and straddled it, resting her arms on the back. Her gaze grazed past the guys she’d beat up.

“Sorry about the thrashing, guys.”

The two she’d thrashed didn’t look at her or respond. The six guards did move around them, creating an almost private perimeter for them, by facing out. Sara looked around, then back at the leader. She wasn’t too worried. They still hadn’t learned not to turn their backs on her.

“I’d be happy to give them a few tips.”

He looked amused. “I will take your offer under consideration, Captain.”

Wow, now he called her by her rank. He was almost acting like a human being. What was he up to?

“You seem to…enjoy this?” He waved his hand gracefully toward the wider club area.

“Yes, I do.” She started to tap out a song on her own arm, as music played in her head.

“Did Xever see this?”

She nodded.

“And then he wished to mate with you.”

Sara felt color warm her cheeks. What was it about the word mate that just sounded so, so…
so
.

“Yeah, it was the singing that made him interested in me. Not my likeness to Miri.”

Helfron’s brows arched. “You think it is not possible to want the key…and,” his gaze swept over her, “you?”

“I don’t think either of you would have given me a second look if it weren’t for the key. Though, I’ll give you chops for offering the bond…thing.” Even if the offer included a freaking harem.

“Chops?”

There was something wrong about that word coming out of his mouth.

“It’s a good thing.”

“What did Xever offer?”

Not that it was any of his business…

“An unending gig as a prostitute.”

His brows arched.

“Selling your body for money…only without the money part.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Yet even with…
chops
…you decline my offer.”

He didn’t look upset, just curious.

She lifted her chin, letting the glasses hide her expression. “I’m sure the commander told you that I’m already…involved with someone else.”

“Among our people, some women chose to have more than one mate. You could have all I have offered…and someone else. Naturally I’d have to be first mate.”

Something else Gaedon had failed to mention.

“Too late for that.”

“First in…importance, not first in line.”

“Oh.” Sara blinked. “Our people only have…one mate at a time.”

Helfron’s eyes sparked with amusement. “It is the same with us. It is…physics, is it not?”

Sara had to chuckle. “I suppose it is.” He knew that wasn’t what she meant. “Don’t know how you juggle more than one…relationship, though, even if it is one at a time.”

It was his turn to shrug, the movement elegant. “Some are easier than others.”

“Well, most of the people who know me would tell you I’m not ever easy.” She forgot she was being mean to him and grinned.

He smiled back. It was actually kind of charming without the petulance. He was very good looking, even if he was wearing pink satin and a shit load of lace.

“I had noticed.”

Sara shrugged. “I’m afraid the temper goes with the hair.” Had Miri had a temper, too? She’d certainly had the hair.

His gaze went to her hair and lingered, but what he thought of it, he kept to himself.

“May I ask a question?” Sara arched her brows. He nodded, almost warily it seemed. “If I were to accept your offer, would you…
permit
…me to do this?” She indicated the club.

He stared at her for a moment. “Our ways are…different.”

“Had a feeling you’d say that.” She shrugged. “Deal breaker for me.”

“There are many types of harmonies.”

“But I like this kind.”

He nodded slowly, almost absently, as if he’d already moved on. Kind of cold, but okay.

“So, this war of Miri’s…you, your people, think you can finish it?” He looked and sounded skeptical.

Miri’s war? Excuse me? But she didn’t say it. Be hard to explain how she knew what she knew.

“Shouldn’t it be finished? It’s gone on a long time.”

“Your colonel believes the Dusan will attack here first. Why should we get involved if we are not the target?”

“You’re not the
primary
target. If he beats us, it’s just a hyper-hop, skip and jump to you.”

“This is Gaedon’s assessment, as well.” His lids drooped even lower, as if assessments were too, too boring. “He believes Xever would not need so large a fleet to eliminate these two ships.”

He made them sound like paper ships.

“Maybe. Or we scared the crap out of him.”

His gaze skimmed the room. “You think you are so…frightening?”

“Just because we play hard, doesn’t mean we can’t kick ass when we need to. And we did kick his ass. Twice. Adin under estimated us. Now you think he’s over estimating us. But he still doesn’t get it.” And neither do you.

“Get what?”

“That not being our friend is a
bad
thing.”

A small smile curved the edges of his mouth.

“I see.”

She hoped he did. It was about time someone did.

He hesitated. “Even if we were to defeat this armada Xever is putting together, it will not be the end of the Dusan. They will just build more ships.”

Sara shrugged. “Lop off the head of the monster and it dies.”

“Adin Xever won’t risk his own life. It is too dear to him.”

“My money’s on the colonel. He’ll get him to come out and play.” Sara dropped her chin and let him see a wide-eyed blink.

There was an odd, sharpening of interest. It didn’t show in his eyes. It was an under current that flowed between them. Had she said something she shouldn’t?

“Perhaps he will come…to get you, key keeper.”

Sara chuckled softly, her chin lifting again. “I’m not a key keeper.”

It was the truth. She was the key.

No surprise he didn’t believe her.

“If that is true, as the descendent of Miri, you could still bestow symbolic power to the right side.”

“The only power I’ve ever sought, or could bestow, is self-determination. And I can only bestow that on myself. That would be the self part.” The conversation had taken an odd turn. “We have a saying in my world about absolute power corrupting absolutely.”

His mouth tightened a bit. “We have not misused our power.”

“But you haven’t used it. You’ve let tyranny flourish, almost unchecked.”

He didn’t like that, but he hid it better this time.

“You say what you think.”

It didn’t sound like a compliment.

“So do you.” She wasn’t being complimentary either.

His eyes heated suddenly. “Not everything.”

Sara shrugged. “I’m not a leader, so I can.”

His lids lifted. “You are wrong.” His gaze swept around. “And this is not your proper setting.”

Something wasn’t right. They were fencing, but it was more like he was probing her defenses, finding her boundaries, rather than trying to persuade her to change her mind. She laughed softly.

“You think a pile of rock,
prostitute
clothes, and a
girl
bird,
are
my proper setting?”

Another elegant shrug, but his eyes told her he didn’t like her assessment of his gifts.

Sara rested her chin on her arms and studied him over the top of her glasses before she spoke.

“I hate to tell you,” actually she didn’t, “but this is a
huge
step up from my previous
setting
. You think I’m acting trashy to put you off. I’m just getting in touch with my roots tonight.” She stared at him, but he didn’t say anything. “I worked my ass off to get here. This is where I live and it is
completely
my proper setting because I
chose
it. It is the only setting that would make me happy.”

This flash of anger seemed to please him. Was he even listening to her? She couldn’t tell and it made her uneasy.

“And trust me, you don’t want me to be unhappy. It’s not…pretty. The red hair isn’t just for show.”

His gaze was almost caressing as it swept across her.

“Where one comes from is not nearly as important as where one finishes.”

“That sounds like something Evie would have said.”

“Evie?”

“She was one of the people who raised me—one of the many people.”

“You are fond of her.”

It wasn’t a question, but Sara answered. “I was. She didn’t knock me around.”

His brows shot up. “Knock?”

“Hit. Slap. Kick.” She didn’t like remembering it or telling anyone about it, but he needed to understand just how motivated she was.

She straightened up, but kept her chin down so he could see her eyes. “She taught me to never go some place where, say, some
leader
had to give me
permission
to do…this. Or tried to change me into something I’m not.”

His lids lowered and he looked…thoughtful. One of his long, white fingers tapped the tabletop. The silence got uncomfortably long before he spoke again.

“Gaedon said you would not change your mind.”

“He’s a smart man.”

“I thought you had…unduly influenced him with some song he heard. Perhaps I would understand if you sang it for me?”

Sara shook her head. “You’ll just have to trust your guy is telling the truth.”

She let him see her eyes, let him see she meant it. No way in hell she was singing that song in front of everyone. Be easier to strip naked.

“You are very…determined.”

“That is probably an understatement.”

He looked at her for another long, somewhat uncomfortable minute. He looked down, one white finger tracing a pattern on the table.

“Did Gaedon tell you what he was doing that day you…met?”

Sara felt uneasy go on steroids. Why the sudden change in direction? She lifted her chin, so he couldn’t read her eyes.

“After his guys shot me with the stun gun, we quit exchanging information.”

“According to our sources, Kalian was going to attack some of our supply transports. I sent him there to protect them.”

Kalian
? Sara’s lashes flicked down and then up. Thank goodness he couldn’t see it. Even that small sign would have told him what he wanted.

“And did Gaedon succeed?” She sounded indifferent. Amazing. She was so not indifferent.

“You…distracted him from that goal.”

“Sorry.” She managed a shrug and felt her insides…crack. Her chest felt tight and her heart…hurt.

He smiled. “He did not appear. He seems to have excellent…sources, too, almost as good as ours.”

He looked at Fyn, then back at her.

“But I’m sure you already know that about the Ojemba.”

Again, his gaze flicked in Fyn’s direction.

Sara made her lips curve and her shoulders shrugged again. The moment drew out. What was he waiting for? Or was that hoping for? Finally she arched her brows.

“Was there something else? It’s time for the next set to start.”

He rose and before she could react, got a hold of her hand, his grip surprising strong for a prissy boy. He pressed his mouth to the back, his touch oddly sensual, and then released her.

She tucked the hand behind her and surreptitiously rubbed it against the side of her pants. It took an effort to meet his gaze with continued calm, but she was…motivated. She would not let him see he’d scored a hit if it killed her.

“Until we meet again, Sara.”

Sara jumped up, her heels putting her about three inches taller. He had to look up at her.

She nodded her head once. “
Good-bye
.”

He smiled, but didn’t speak. His guard spun sharply and formed around him and they all left.

Sara didn’t move. She couldn’t. She felt…frozen. That was actually a good thing. This was not a good time to think. Or act. Or go to pieces.

Gaedon stepped into her line of sight. Sara saw herself hold out her hand to him. It felt like it belonged to someone else.

“Good luck to you, sir.” Her voice wasn’t hers either. She sounded calm. She wasn’t calm. Not even close.

He took her hand in both of his and smiled with great charm.

“You see, he is not as bad as you thought.”

Actually, he might have been worse.

“He needs to work on the clothes. In my culture, they give off a message he might not like.” Her voice sounded light and amused. How was that possible?