The Bond That Ties Us Part 31

Over his shoulder to the right, Kamran tried to catch a glimpse of the oncoming Ecada horde. They had either switched routes after Haylie's last transmission or had engaged a cloaking barrier. Neither of which boded well for the defenders. A second later, a large explosion shook the ground. The miners had created their distraction.

A loud beeping from his hand broke into his thoughts. The EV location ID tracker had a lock on a lone signal-Haylie.

"Haylie, can you hear me?" He repeated his message on several different channels.

Please let her hear.

The locater showed that she was due south of his current position.

He began to run as quickly as he could. "Haylie, I'm almost there. Hold on a few more minutes."

Static answered his plea.

He should be able to see her once he crested the next hill. But reaching the top didn't reveal a body. A glint in the sand caught his eye and he slid quickly down the hill.

No.

He picked up the metal transmitter, bits of Haylie's torn EV suit still clinging to it.

Kamran spun around, but there was no indication of anyone or anything. Someone else had gotten to her first. Kamran's stomach sickened. He was too late.

He stood motionless, not knowing what to do. He needed to find her to be able to put things right between them. He needed to tell her that he loved her. She drove him crazy with her brashness, but he could live with that. She gave him something he never knew was missing from his life. A companion, someone who would love him for himself, not his political accomplishments. Someone who would challenge him in life without judging him. Someone who could love him back.

"Amba.s.sador, did you find her?" Taber's steady voice broke through his thoughts.

151.

Kamran swallowed away the lump in his throat. "No. Someone tore her transmitter out and left it. I'm going to have to come back to base."

"The Ecada were drawn toward the explosion. It must be the heat. That won't distract them for long. They are approaching from the southwest."

Kamran squeezed the transmitter tightly before tucking it into his pocket. "I'll swing around and approach from the east."

"Hurry. They haven't attacked yet, but I don't antic.i.p.ate that lasting much longer."

The journey back to base took twice as long due to the roundabout route. With each step, Kamran tried to figure out who would have taken her. The Ecada didn't take prisoners unless they were short on their food supplies. That left only one person.

"Taber, has anyone been able to track down Ray?"

"I've had to pull all our men to the perimeter."

"But no one has seen him enter from that side?"

Silence for a moment before Taber responded. "No sightings at all. What are you thinking?"

"There's a secondary access tunnel on the north of the colony base. I think he's taken Haylie there."

The main channel automatically cut over the private chat. "Weapons ready. Here they come!"

G.o.ddess protect them.

Kamran switched off his communication unit. The last thing they needed was him as an added distraction. He reached the base and turned right instead of left making his way toward the access tunnel.

The door was large, the metal dented and pitted from the constant beating it took from the sand. At first glance it didn't appear that it would open, but a spark from the door mechanism caught his attention. He picked up the wires and touched them together, once, twice. The doors whooshed open, sending a cloud of sand swirling around his feet.

He had to force the doors shut, using the exposed wires on the inside. Ray had clearly been in a hurry, not bothering to cover his tracks. Sand and dirt from outside were sucked into the room, creating a cloud of haze to fill the small antechamber.

How the h.e.l.l was he going to figure out where they'd gone? All four of the access doors were closed, but something drew Kamran's attention to the far left one. The security panel had a wipe mark, fingers drawn quickly through the dust.

Haylie.

With a flash of his ID badge, the door opened effortlessly and Kamran barreled through. He pushed his EV helmet from his head and took in a lungful of clean air.

"Haylie!"

152.

This was a service tunnel. He ran with great strides up the corridor until it emptied into a control room.

"Preflight sequence engaged."

The computer's sanitary voice sent a chill through him.

"Computer, override. Cancel preflight cycle."

"Please provide override authorization."

"Kamran, five-nine-alpha."

"Access denied."

So much for that. A glance out to the hangar gave him another idea. Releasing the security seal on the door, he slid down the ladder to the hangar bay floor. The whirl of the short-range shuttle's engines increased, blowing the dust that had penetrated the force field's barrier into his eyes.

With a yank, he pulled his helmet back on but couldn't fully secure it to his face. At least he could see a little. Well enough to locate the one thing that could keep the shuttle grounded.

When he pa.s.sed in front of the nose of the shuttle, a booming voice a.s.saulted his ears.

"Well, Amba.s.sador. Nice to see you outside med bay for a change. I hope you haven't had too much of a headache recently."

Kamran stumbled over a toolbox. He landed on the ground next to the docking clamps.

"I'm perfectly healthy. Not a great day for a pleasure flight."

"If you're referring to that little attack from my friends, I think it's a perfect day for one. Their orders are to kill every last human and Briel on the planet. So I thought it best to take a little day trip."

Kamran grabbed a wrench from the tool box and pounded the clamp's casing until it popped open. He knew what men like Ray were like. Keep him talking, taunt his ego long enough to finish what he needed to do to keep the shuttle grounded.

"And you felt the need to take Chief Bond with you?"

Carefully removing his gloves, Kamran tightened his hands into b.a.l.l.s before diving into the panel. A shock from the unshielded wires made him cry out. It had the happy side effect of numbing his fingers to the pain and he was able to force the security panel open, exposing the metal clamps that could prevent the shuttle from taking off.

"I wanted to make sure I had a pleasant distraction while I orbited the planet. I've always wanted to dissect a human."

"We'll see about that," he said through his clenched teeth.

Movement from Kamran's right caught his attention. Donaldson stepped into his line of sight. "What are you doing, Kamran?"

153.

Kamran tensed, ready to defend himself from attack. Donaldson had been working with Ray this whole time. He tightened his grip on the wrench.

"Just a little last-minute maintenance."

It took a second but Kamran realized something was different. There was no malice in Donaldson's voice and he'd used his given name. He was filthy and his eyes were bloodshot with heavy bags underneath. Gone was the coldness that had been so much a part of who he had been in the past year. What remained looked tired, scared and confused.

"Are you well, Administrator? Sean?"

The engines from the shuttle kicked into the next phase. The last one before takeoff.

"No time. I'm going to stop him." Donaldson muttered.

Kamran watched as he pulled out a blaster and stumbled toward the shuttle door.

"No. Sean!"

Kamran stopped and tried to think back to his basic piloting course. In case of emergency, clamps can be manually released by turning the handle clockwise. So to lock them...

"Docking clamps engaged. Preflight sequence paused." The computer's voice echoed in the docking bay.

He released his breath. "Thank the G.o.ddess."

"Not smart. I would hate to see your girlfriend get hurt."

Kamran looked up in time to see a limp, helmetless Haylie being shoved at him. He barely managed to get his arms up in time to catch her when Ray launched at him.

Haylie landed hard against the hangar floor, the pain from the impact jolting her from unconsciousness. The world was spinning, her head throbbed from the impact with the floor and her lungs seized in a fit of coughing.

What was going on? The last thing she remembered she had been circling around the Ecada close to the colony defenses when she'd fallen unconscious. The next thing she knew her suit was ripped and she couldn't breathe. She barely managed to hold the tear together before Ray dragged her back inside the building and she pa.s.sed out again.

She managed to roll onto her back as someone kicked her leg. She looked up to watch Ray swing a wrench at someone's head. The impact sent the helmet flying.

"Kamran?"

"Run. Now!"

"Like h.e.l.l!"

On her feet, she stumbled toward the shuttle. A weapon, she needed one now. Her vision blurred, she misjudged her distance from the shuttle's nose and ran into it. Her hands managed to find a groove and she held on tight. Focusing straight in front of her, 154 Haylie saw a heap lying on the floor. Donaldson. He was moaning, clutching his gut. But he did have one thing she needed. Haylie threw herself at him, landing hard on her knees beside him.

"Give me your blaster."

"I'm so," he gasped. "I'm sorry."

"Just give me the f.u.c.king gun!"

Haylie ripped it from his outstretched hand and tore back around the front of the shuttle. Haylie pointed the blaster at the two Briel as they grappled with each other on the shuttle floor. For a second, she thought Kamran had the upper hand until Ray managed to kick his feet out from under him and Kamran's head banged hard against the floor. G.o.d, let him be okay.

"Freeze!"

Ray spun to face her. He smiled a wide toothy grin. "Chief! Nice to see you up on your feet again. Though I haven't given you permission to return to duty. Have you, Administrator?"

Haylie didn't dare take her eyes off Ray but she knew Donaldson now stood very close behind her.

"No, I haven't."

She didn't panic. There was something in his tone that was different. She knew it.

"Donaldson...Sean, Ray is the one who's been behind everything. The attacks on the colony. Your nightmares. Everything."

She watched Ray but listened for Donaldson. For his part, Ray didn't move. The c.o.c.ky b.a.s.t.a.r.d thought he'd won.

"Sean. I know he's been using you. Controlling what you've thought, even the things you've said. But you're stronger than that. Help me."

Ray made a tsking noise. "Chief, I'm surprised. I would have thought you of all people would have realized that our friend here is weak. I would never have been able to keep control over him for as long as I have otherwise. What's it been now, almost two years? No matter. Now you and your boyfriend here," he gave Kamran's leg a kick, "proved to be quite challenging."

Haylie cringed, but Kamran didn't move. She reached out with her mind and while he wasn't answering her, she knew he was alive.

"Isn't that sweet. Checking to see how he's doing. Too bad he's not conscious to answer you."

She fought to keep the shock from her face. "How can you know that?"

"I know everything both of you were thinking. How do you think it was possible for your bond to form in the first place?"

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d. That's not true. Briel mates are chosen by biology." It couldn't be.

155.

"Of course it's true. And who better to trick biology than a doctor?" Ray began to laugh. "You didn't really think that some mystical force chose you to be the mate of a highly distinguished Briel, did you? Stupid girl."

Tears filled her eyes and Haylie tried to fight them off. "You're under arrest for murder, attempted murder and treason. Hands up."

Instead of complying, Ray knelt down and lifted Kamran's lifeless head by his hair.

He withdrew a knife from his pocket and held it to Kamran's neck.

"Now, now, Haylie. I know the drugs I gave you earlier aren't out of your system yet. Your reflexes are slow and your vision is blurry. What do you think your chances are of actually hitting me? Hmm? And if your Briel boyfriend can't slow me down, someone who's stronger and faster than you, then you're not going to be able to stop me. Sean, if you would please take the Chief's firearm."