His face was stark, a mask of furious, righteous anger, a vengeful angel. Each shot brought the energy rebounding through his upper body, and she watched, fascinated, as it bounced against him over and over, but he never lost his focus.
All around her she heard screams of rage and pain, the percussive thump as bodies hit the ground. The thick, coppery scent of blood mixed with the stench of the spent shells, the acrid wash of fear coating it all.
They’d been ambushed as they neared the portal and had fallen back into a small garden off the main street. Julian, Vincenz and Marame had split off as Carina grabbed her blaster. Andrei had melted off, disappearing like smoke, only to appear for a moment in a splash of red and disappearing again.
Daniel, brooking no argument, had shoved her down and begun shooting at the men trying to close in. She curled into a ball, not wanting to choose that moment to push back. He was the expert. She wasn’t so stupid she didn’t understand that when an expert gave you instructions, you took them.
She wanted to help, but she wanted him to live, wanted to live herself. So she stayed at his feet, looking up at him as the light glinted from his hair, dark like roasted kava, so beautiful, even as an avenging angel, he shone.
The paving stone she rested her elbow on splintered, driving shards of rock into her skin. She barely held in her cry of pain, but it sang through her system nonetheless.
Moments later, he said her name, hauling her up to his side as she struggled to get to her feet. He didn’t drag her, he simply held her with one arm, shooting with the other as they rounded a corner and Julian came out, pulling them both into the building and slamming the door in their wake. If she hadn’t been so terrified, the sheer gallantry and skill he showed would have wowed her.
The silence settled in, deafening after the chaos outside.
Daniel set her down in a far corner, patting over her, holding his bloody hand up as if she’d done it on purpose. “Are you all right? Did you get shot? Tell me now!”
“I—I don’t think so.”
“Blood! Carina, you’re bleeding.” He tried to rip her clothes back to look, but she slapped at his hands. His face was set; he was on a mission.
“The rock splintered. It hit my arm. I’m cut, not shot. Stop! Stop it!” She yanked his hair, hard, and finally he seemed to hear.
He froze, blinking several times until he pushed her sleeve up with a hiss. “Stay right here. Do not move.”
As if she would with him in such a lather! “Bossy,” she managed to say, and his shoulders eased a bit as she’d intended.
Marame looked over and grinned. Andrei was suddenly there, kneeling, looking her over, a question in his eyes. Vincenz stood near the windows, out of sight but watching the street. Every once in a while, he looked over at Carina, and she smiled, reassuring him.
“Move,” Daniel said to Andrei. He settled at her feet and began to clean her arm when Andrei moved to the side.
Andrei tweezed the small shards of rock out of the wounds.
Julian came back in. “We have to move. They’re not too far away, going house to house. Can she travel?” He indicated Carina with a tip of his chin.
“I’m fine. Just some cuts.” She stood, and Daniel stuffed the first aid kit into his pack and shouldered it, not moving more than arm’s reach from her.
“Where the fuck did they come from?” Daniel snarled, looking angrier than she’d ever seen him.
“A bullet hit the—”
He turned to her, the fury gone, gentleness in its wake. He slid a thumb over her bottom lip. “No, sweet, not that.”
“I don’t know where the soldiers came from, but I know we need to get the fuck outta here right now.” Vincenz slid his sidearm back into the holster. “We knew there’d be Skorpios here, and the population is under his thumb enough to want to make a quick credit and do them all the favor of having these raids stop. I can’t blame them, I suppose.”
Marame looked up from where she’d been working on her personal comm. “The portal is not far. Some of our people are working on a diversion. Slip forty-two. Papers cleared, it’s ready to go at any time.”
“Let’s go. Weapons hot.” Andrei poked his head out the door. “We’re clear.”
Daniel hustled her out, keeping his body in front of hers. They could hear the soldiers just a street or so over, breaking down doors, shouting orders.
A block up, and they could see the portal just in the distance. Close enough to get there at a run if they had a clear way.
“You will stick with me.” Daniel put a hand on her cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know.”
He seemed satisfied with that answer as they paused at a corner.
“Soldiers are filling up the streets.” Marame jogged up to them.
“Run. Shoot anything that gets in the way.” With that, Daniel bent, tossed her up and over his shoulder and began to run.
Funny how the world seemed on a man’s back when a girl was upside down. Nicely, his butt was in her view, and a fine butt it was, she realized not for the first time. Other butts were fetching, she knew, but this one she’d had her hands on, urging him deeper as he’d fucked her. This one was hers.
“They’re coming,” she shouted, holding on and trying not to impede any of his movement.
Soldiers flowed out behind them, running, shouting into wrist comms and at them to stop. The streets this near the portal were closed to vehicle traffic, save for trams that ran from the portal to the part of town where visitors could find lodging and travel on ’Verse.
She saw the uniforms and knew they were her people, Skorpios, mixed with elite soldiers from across the Imperium. She knew this even as she raised her arm and shot at them. Knew this even as one of them fell, a bloom of blood on his chest. Knew they never had been her people, knew they were her father’s tools with which to maim and torture others to keep the populace in line.
Up steep steps toward the sleek private transport they’d need to get out of the Imperium and into the Edge, one step closer, one step safer.
At the top, Andrei had the doors open, and Carina didn’t even have time to object when Daniel tossed her to him. Tossed her! Andrei caught her with a laugh and quickly canted her upright, tipping her through the door so she could land on her feet.
“I know how to get the ship started,” she called, moving toward the flight deck. Thank the gods for her father’s paranoia. He’d never trusted his transport captains, so she’d been trained to operate his transports for him. In the end, he’d been convinced that it was unseemly to have his daughter doing his manual labor, and he’d stopped her, but all the time she’d spent in the operator’s seat on his transports came back as she slid into the chair and began to warm the ship for the slip into the portal.
“Let me know when everyone is in. I have green light for departure,” she yelled out over the sounds of battle behind her.
“Go! Now!”
“Strap in.” Suddenly Daniel was next to her, strapping her into her seat as he settled in one seat over.
She heard the door slam, and the panel lit all green, indicating that they’d achieved a seal and it was safe to go. She punched the button to release the clamps holding them to the dock, mumbled a quick prayer for safety and hit the accelerator.
“We’re clear.” Vincenz flopped onto a nearby bench. “You’re both unharmed?”
Daniel stood. “I got a blaster burn on my calf. I need to go clean it up and get some gel on it.”
Carina turned and saw the bloody mess on his leg. “You dumb prick! Why didn’t you say so? How long did you have that?”
He sent a smug smile her way. “Hey, I’m not dumb.” The kiss he pressed on her lips sent relief surging through her. “It’s not the first time I’ve been injured on the job, sweet. It happens. That also means I’m a whiz at battlefield dressing. Since we’re safely away, I can take my time and even put it up until the gel does its work. If we were back there still, I’
d have to walk on it for a while before I could fix it.”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” she asked after setting in the navigational markers.
“Yes.” He kissed her again and disappeared back into the ship.
“It’s going to be hard.” Marame spoke from her place to Carina’s left.
“What is?”
“Each time he goes to work, you’ll worry. People want to harm him. It’s terrifying to imagine losing someone who has become as integral to your life as breathing.”
“Were you . . . are you with one of your squad mates, teammates, whatever you call each other?” Carina liked Marame and hoped she didn’t answer that Daniel had been hers at one time.
“I was.” She looked to Andrei briefly. “For a time.”
“Did it make it easier when you were with him on a job?”
“Sometimes. Or I convinced myself it did. But the fact of the matter is, it doesn’t. I can be there, but I have a job to do as well. Just as you will. I can’t imagine you’ll sit around like a princess when you get back. Though there are many who will insist you do just that.”
The transport safely on track, she turned to face Marame. “Why do people assume I’m useless?”
Marame grinned. “Who would dare?” She laughed, and Carina relaxed a bit. “Oh, honey, I don’t mean I expect you to do that. I expect you to tear shit down and toss your weight around to stay with Daniel. I’m just telling you what to expect. If you’ve ever been strong willed, you’ll need to be now.”
“How so?”
“The Imperium has much the same attitude about Rank that the Federation does. That won’t be a surprise to you, I’m sure. You’re, as far as many will be concerned, one of the highest Ranked people in the Federation. They’ll want to brand you with that. And to a certain extent you’ll be protected by it. But that Ranking will rip you away from Daniel. He can’t have a princess. He can have an unranked woman. Like me.”
Carina spun, baring her teeth for a moment at the very idea. “What fuckery is this? He can’t have you! He’s mine, and I will carve your heart out of your chest if you make one move toward him.”
Marame laughed, waving a hand toward Carina. “I’m done with soldiers, thank you very much. Daniel is a beautiful man, strong, loyal, courageous. He’s one of the sexiest men I’ve ever known. But he’s ass over head in love with you. I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he does you. What I meant was, our world is ruled by Rank. You are, he’s not.”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks. If Roman Lyons wants the information I carry, he’ll have to take it knowing I have no plans to play along with the same sort of system that drove me over to your side to start with.”
“Roman won’t expect that, by the way. Roman nearly gave up his seat at the head of the Governance Council and of House Lyons for Abbie. Abbie is now, in what amuses me greatly, the highest Ranking woman in the Federation.”
“Abbie? Daniel’s sister Abbie? She’s married to Roman Lyons?” She slumped back in her seat. How could she have not picked that up!
“I’m sure he didn’t have a lot of opportunity to share with you, without fear of being overheard. But yes. She’ll love you, by the way. Just trust her, she’ll protect you from those who want to shove you into a pretty little box of Rank.”
Around the corner, Daniel had wrapped his calf, adhering the special healing gel to the blaster burn. The nanites would clear out the dead, burned flesh and replace it with fresh, healed skin and tissue. It was something similar to what all the Phantom Corps carried with them, that the doctors used to heal the wounds on his sister’s back so many years before.
“You okay?” Andrei sailed into the common area outside the communal bathing rooms.
“Yeah. Not too bad, considering. Those are not odds I like. If it had been just us, we’ve have been fucked ten ways. Marame, Julian and Vincenz tipped the scales.” Daniel shifted to put his leg up on a nearby chair. He wanted to see after Carina, but his emotions were very raw just then. She’d seen the darker part of him pretty much daily since they’d met. Had seen him kill and step over bodies that got in the way. He didn’t know how to begin to process that.
“That and your fury that anyone dared to harm Carina. You were five men out there, Daniel. I’m fair convinced you could have done all the damage yourself if you’d had to.”
“I didn’t. Thankfully.” He looked to Andrei.
Andrei shrugged, acknowledging the gratitude, and the subject was closed.
“She did a great job today.”
Daniel couldn’t help the grin at the mention of how she’d been that day. “Our little princess is quite the feral cat in a corner, isn’t she? She was using her blaster as I ran, shooting while upside down.” He shook his head at the memory of it. He was so proud of her, of how courageous and clever she’d been. She didn’t give up, she listened to orders and she saved them all by having the transport ready to go once they’d all gotten inside.
“You’re good together.” Andrei lit a smoke.
“She fills something inside me.” Kept the darkness away, made him remember he was human first. “I know I’m not right for her. I feel guilty. She has so many options now, and if I don’t move aside, she’ll lose that chance. How can I do that to her and say I love her? What do I have to offer her anyway, Andrei?”
“I never knew you were such a girl.” Andrei raised a brow. “A teenage version. Hand-wringing and all. You do love her, Daniel, you thick-headed dunce, or you wouldn’t even be thinking of that stuff. You listen to her, you respect her, you’d give your life for her, and not because she’s your cargo. As for what you have to offer her? A man who adores her. I hear women like that.”
Daniel grunted. “She’s Carina. Who wouldn’t adore her? She’s beautiful, smart, funny, she can shoot and drive the getaway transport. Really, how can any man resist that?”
Andrei snorted. “No man will, you stupid fuck. Daniel, you are consistently the highest performing member of the military corps. You outscore, outshoot, outrun, out everything. Why are you being so dumb over this?”
“Yes, I’d like to know, too.” Carina stepped into the room, immediately poking at his bandages. “What is this?”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s nanite gel for the burn.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “Is this widely available? This could save so many lives.”
“It’s been an extreme trauma treatment for some time now. My sister had it when she was a young woman. They’ve managed to put it in med kit size, so it’s standard issue for all special operations teams and military. I’d guess they’ll work on getting it into home medicine kits after this. It’s expensive, but yes, it saves many lives.”
Despite his innate distrust of authority, which was ironic, given his job, he understood just how much good those Families who ran the Federation did. Abbie would only make them better.
“I’d love to talk with someone about it when we get to Ravena.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Andrei had left, Daniel noted as he looked around the room.
“Now, back to the original question.”
“Which was what?” He licked his lips.
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Are you hungry? Stupid question, of course you are.” She made a move to head into the kitchen, but he grabbed her hand, pulling her back to sit in his lap. When his arms encircled her, she sighed softly and melted against him. The world felt all right again.
She sent him an exasperated look. “No one is going to convince me to be with anyone but you, so you should just get that into your thick head. Yes, I eavesdropped. I heard a lot of what you said. If you love me, you’ll hear me right now. I may have been a virgin when we first met, but I wasn’t a dumb virgin. I plan to claim my right to Rank, and then I plan to make you marry me. You did despoil me, after all.”
He took a breath, started to argue, but the look she sent him told him
she’d never allow it.
“It’s going to be hard for you. They’ll start lining up eligible Ranked males the moment it’s known you’re in Ravena.”
“Daniel, my sweet man, I’ve had that my entire life. If I can hold my father off for as long as I did, I think I can handle Roman Lyons. Who is, I hear, your brother-in-law. If Abbie is good enough for him, you are sure as the heavens good enough for me.”
He knew Abbie would insist on helping. It was her way. He knew, too, that once Abbie appointed herself Carina’s guardian, it didn’t matter how many males wanted to get a crack at Carina.
“You’ll like him. Roman. Knows what it means to lead in all the best ways. Almost good enough for Abbie. Abbie is . . . well, I begin to wonder about the safety of the fabric of space-time with the two of you in the same ’Verse. There’s only so much headstrong, bossy female the world can take.” He winked, and she pinched him.
“Ouch. Vicious.” He rubbed the spot on his side and then grabbed her wrist gently. “How is this?”
“Fine, fine. I’ll clean up in a little while. Vincenz says this trip is quick, just a matter of hours.”
“This part is, yes. There’s a waypoint first. Have you ever been out of the Imperium?”
She shook her head.
“Welcome to the Federation then.” He stood and carefully avoided putting too much weight on his leg. The gel was working already, the pain less severe, but he didn’t want to make things worse. “The waypoint is on a pretty desolate ’Verse. No lodging but for the workers who staff the portal station. We’ll file papers there but keep going toward the Core.”
“In this? We’ll stay on this transport?” She snuggled into him, her fear clear in her voice.
“Yes, in this. It’s fast and light. If we push it, we can be in Ravena in two more days.”
“So we’re finally safe?”