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.“No.I told you.We barely spoke.”“I’ll be frank with you, Tanith.Raoul had something belonging to Atam Sorza and Atam wants it back.Give me the key and I’ll leave you alone.If Atam finds you, he’ll kill you and every single one of your human friends.I’ll give you a little time to reconsider your response.”Alaysha summoned her crew and said her goodbyes.The party was definitely over.A little time turned out to be two hours.Alaysha didn’t bother to use her charm this time.Strom had one hour to turn Tanith over to them or face the consequences.For the second time that day, the captain’s ready room was full and all eyes were on her.Jake’s fingers drummed anxiously on the table.Most of the officers were strangers to her.She couldn’t expect them to risk their lives to protect her.Pete would be glad to get rid of her and the doc was already regretting the loss of a prize specimen.Strom’s face was impassive.After last night, there was no way that he would help her.“Status reports, please.”“Sir, we more than match them in conventional weapons capabilities, but there is some intelligence that they may have viral com weapons that we’re not familiar with.”“Sickbay is on alert and is prepared to receive casualties if necessary, Captain.”“Engineering confirms that all ship’s systems are functioning normally, Sir.”Strom glanced pointedly at Tanith.“Ms.Jasson, are you sure that you don’t know what Captain Zander wants?”“I’m certain.” Why was Strom hesitating? Why didn’t he just hand her over to Alaysha? She wasn’t part of his crew.He didn’t owe her anything.“Permission to speak to you in private, Sir.”Strom raised one blond brow in surprise.“Granted, everyone else is dismissed.”Tanith waited until the room was empty before she spoke.“You have to hand me over to them.”Dark eyes regarded her thoughtfully.“Is that what you want?”“No.Of course I don’t want to go back there, but it’s the only option that makes sense.”“And what about Jake?”The question hung unanswered for several moments.Strom waited patiently for her reply.What could she tell him about Jake? That she loved him and hated him all at the same time.That every minute she spent away from Jake was agony but she couldn’t bear to see him hurt, if it was in her power to prevent it.Alaysha was right.Atam Sorza would have no qualms about killing the humans, including Jake.All she had to do was go to that ship and he would be safe.“Jake will get over me.He’s probably got a dozen females lined up for when I’m gone.”Strom was silent.She knew that she hadn’t convinced him but there was one last thing she could try.She glimpsed a brief hint of panic in Strom’s eyes when she left her chair and moved toward him.Tanith trailed her fingertips along his shoulders and she felt his muscles tense, as if he was preparing for battle.“You have to consider the possibility that your judgment is impaired.The Dermatrax is extremely potent.It’s natural that you would want to protect me.Don’t let it interfere with your duty to your ship.”A roar of laughter wasn’t the response she was expecting.Strom had a nice smile.She guessed that he didn’t use it very often.“Jake was right about you, Ms.Jasson.You are like no one I’ve ever met.Now let’s go and deal with Captain Zander.”The Cyraelian ship opened a com link precisely on time.“I’m afraid I have to decline your offer, Captain.Ms.Jasson will remain with us.”Alaysha didn’t look surprised.“Very well, but I believe it’s a decision that you will come to regret.”The com link was severed and the view-screen went dark.“We have incoming, Sir.Two missiles are heading our way.”“Evasive maneuvers.”“It’s too late for that, Sir, they’re coming in fast.”“Engage shields, brace for impact.”The expected impact never came.“Damage report?”“Sensors indicate minimal damage, Sir.Whatever it was, it impacted with the waste disposal facility.”The bridge erupted with laughter and there was some good-natured bantering about women not being able to shoot straight.Tanith’s heart dropped.Alaysha was a better markswoman than Raoul and he rarely missed.It had to be deliberate.“Captain, I need to see a plan of your waste systems.”“What’s wrong, Ms.Jasson? Captain Zander missed.”“Show me the damn systems.”The laughter stopped.The bridge fell silent and everyone stared at her.Tanith took a deep breath and tried to calm down.“Cyraelian viral weapons are designed to attack by entering low-security systems like waste and using them to infect the rest of the ship.Show me one area on this vessel that isn’t connected to the waste systems.”* * * * *Jake opened the door to his cabin.The lights had been dimmed and Tanith was asleep on the couch.Engineering had been a nightmare and he knew that she had been on her feet for hours.The virus had spread like wildfire, and now the ship’s sensors and shields were offline.Between them, she and Pete had managed to contain it for now.But the virus was aggressive and intelligent and Tanith said that it would keep trying until it found a way to enter the rest of the systems on the ship, or they found a way to destroy it.He couldn’t believe it when she had taken charge on the bridge like that.Even Pete was impressed and he was usually the techie who knew everything.They would need her again in a few hours and she couldn’t sleep here.Jake massaged her shoulders gently and Tanith opened her eyes.“You had me worried earlier.I thought you might offer to go with Captain Zander.”“I did,” she admitted sleepily.“Strom turned me down.”He had almost gone crazy when she stayed behind with Strom in the briefing room.He thought he was going to lose her again.Despite what they shared the night before, he knew that Tanith was still wary of him.Last night he had never felt so out of control.He knew that his deceit still hurt her and he still didn’t know how to make things right between them.“Tanith, about last night…”“I’m tired, Jake.Pete wants me back in engineering in four hours.”Jake reached down and lifted her up in his arms.“Okay.Let’s get you to bed, but tomorrow we are going to talk.”She barely stayed awake long enough for him to undress her.He curled around her sleeping body, holding her close, watching the soft rise and fall of her breast.They would get through this, somehow.Tanith was back in his bed and he never wanted to lose her again.* * * * *Jake’s eyes flicked open.He could hear voices outside.Something was wrong.His hand stretched out, touching the empty bed beside him.It was still warm.Pulling his weapon from the drawer beside the bed, he crept to the door.Tanith lay unconscious on the couch and two of Captain Zander’s crew stood over her.That damn gift.With all the excitement, they had forgotten to check the contents of the box.The blonde was fixing something to Tanith’s clothing.“You go first.I’ll follow with the girl.”The redhead switched on the portable transport unit, pressed her com badge and disappeared.PTUs only worked over short distances [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]