3013: MENDED (10 page)

Xili
had grown on Helix for as long as anyone could remember, but the trade and shipment of the plant had been highly regulated for years. Used as a drug, the plant had the ability to alter the mind, leaving gaping holes in a person’s memory that could then be filled with suggestions. In the Helios, the drug went a step farther, sending them into a wild rage and forcing their shift. In some cases, it even induced full blown hallucinations.

Cami squeezed his hand. “It sounds like you know from experience,” she whispered. “Will you tell me about it sometime?”

Tariq didn’t attempt to feign ignorance. He’d grown accustomed to her rooting around in his head, so much so, that he didn’t even chastise her for it. Sion’s arrival had brought back dark memories and old resentments he’d spent years trying to bury. Secrets had a way of coming out, and Cami would eventually learn the truth, whether he told her or someone else did.

“Sometime,” he agreed. “Right now, let’s just enjoy dinner.” Gesturing to the front of the restaurant, he winked at her. “Naira looks happy to see you.”

“Naira!” Releasing his hand, she jogged the remaining distance to greet her friend.

The two females spoke in quick, hushed voices, both laughing while Cami waved her hands in big, animated gestures. He’d missed this, missed watching her light up with enthusiasm. Tariq had never been particularly fond of crowds or excessive conversations, but Cami thrived in social settings. In a short time, she’d made herself a central figure in the atrium. Most of the vendors knew her by name, and they all greeted her with warm smiles and kind words.

“It’s impossible not to love her,” Tariq said to no one in particular. He’d been hooked from the moment he’d seen her. He’d just been too stubborn to admit it.

“She’s beautiful,” Sion agreed. “I like my females a little less fragile, though.”

Tariq snorted, tucked his hands into his pockets, and started walking again. Only someone who didn’t know Cami would ever call her fragile. She might be small physically, but she had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever met.

“Tariq.” Cami met him when he entered the restaurant and grabbed both of his hands. “He’s here. Tariq, I heard him. He’s somewhere close.”

“Slow down, angel. Who are you talking about? Who’s here?”

“He’s moving away.” Dropping his hands, she hurried back into the atrium to study the people milling around the area. “I think…that way.” Pointing to the left, she wound her way through the scattered vendor stands while she continued to sweep the crowd.

Following closely behind her, Tariq waited for her to stop walking before he spoke. “Cami, what’s going on? Who did you hear?”

“Crap,” she fumed, “I lost him.”

When he’d told her not to be afraid, he hadn’t actually meant for her to go looking for confrontation. However, he’d learned not to underestimate a woman on a mission. “Angel, talk to me. Maybe I can help.”

“The man who killed Dennison. I lost him, but he was here. I know it.” Cami angled to the left and marched toward Scarlett’s stall.

“What the hell is going on?” Sion demanded when he caught up to them. “Where is she going now?”

Tariq sighed and jerked his head for Sion to follow him. “To catch a killer, apparently.”

“Cami?” Standing from her squashy purple chair, Scarlett rounded the small table she used to conduct business, and poked Cami in the sternum. “Where the hell have you been?”

“I was worried sick about you. I didn’t mean to piss you off, but I don’t trust those elites. They’re trouble, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Well?” she demanded out loud.

Cami pursed her lips as she studied Scarlett through narrowed eyes. The blonde vixen could be crude, demanding, and even somewhat abrasive. She used anger and brute force to mask her insecurities, but deep down, she yearned for acceptance. Though she did an excellent job of hiding it, Cami could see it all laid out clearly in her mind.

Rolling her eyes, Cami pulled the woman into a brief hug. “I missed you, too, Scarlett.” They’d have time for small talk later. “Did a guard walk past here just now?”

“Uh, Cami…” Trailing off, Scarlett waved a hand to indicate the entirety of the atrium. “There are guards everywhere.”

Focused on finding the owner of the voice she’d heard in her head, Cami hadn’t been paying attention to much else. Now that it had been pointed out to her, she groaned at the site of all the elites stalking about the court in pairs. A small group of four headed into Guts and Glory, while a few solo officers stood guard like giant sentinels near the lifts.

“He would have been in a hurry. He might have looked distracted, or maybe upset about something.” Unfortunately, Cami couldn’t offer a physical description. “He speaks Tarin, but I don’t think he’s from Tartarus.”

“Well, that narrows it down. Good thing, too. There for a minute, I thought I was going to have to be helpful.”

Cami glared. “Your sarcasm is noted, but I’m serious, Scarlett. This is important.”

“To be honest, they all kind of blend together.” Scarlett looked over Cami’s head and fluttered her long fingers to someone behind her. “Who’s the new guy?”

Glancing over her shoulder, Cami spotted Tariq and Sion a few feet away with their heads bent together in conversation. “Tariq’s friend, Sion Jabari. He showed up while we were getting ready to leave for dinner.”

“He’s cute.”

Cami pulled her bottom lip between her teeth while she watched him. Sion was easy on the eyes, but his evasiveness made her distrustful. “I’m still reserving judgment.” If he’d come to help Tariq as his thoughts suggested, he had an odd way of showing it. “Back to the elite. Are you sure you didn’t see anyone who stood out?”

“Well…” Scarlett’s eyebrows drew together in a shallow
V
. “There was a guy, maybe fifteen minutes ago? He went super nova on Antok, but I couldn’t hear what was said.”

“What did he look like?” Cami realized she shouldn’t be so excited about possibly confronting a murder, but she couldn’t help it. She finally had a lead.

“Big guy. Dark hair, around seven feet tall, give or take an inch.” Scarlett toyed with her wrist unit as she described the man she’d seen. “I didn’t recognize him, but I couldn’t really see him that well, either. I don’t think he was an elite, though.”

The wheels in her brain started turning, and Cami offered Scarlett a quick thanks for the information before darting off to join Tariq. “Scarlett saw a man arguing with Antok about fifteen minutes ago. That would have been right around the time I heard the voice in my head.”

“Are you sure?”

“Me? No.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Scarlett saw him, though.” It could be another dead end, but she felt obliged to follow the information to wherever it may lead. “I’m going to talk to Antok.”

Tariq nodded, stopped, nodded again, and then shook his head. “Wait. Who?”

Cami barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “He owns the Hat Trick.”

“Let me see if I understand this,” Sion interrupted. “You witnessed a murder when you arrived on the station, and instead of reporting it to the authorities, you’re trying to find the killer on your own?” That same wicked grin he’d given her when they’d first met graced his lips. “I like your style. I’m in.”

“No,” Cami and Tariq answered in unison.

“I mean, it’s not like that,” Cami hurried to explain. “I did report it, and General Whitmore is conducting his own investigation. There’s just not much to go on, so if I can be useful, I want to help.”

“Four women that we know of have been abducted from the station as well,” Tariq added. “We’re pretty sure it’s related to the murder.”

Cami picked up the story again. “The docking reports have been altered, and there’s no record of the ship that broke the airlock in Bay E.”

“A ship broke the airlock?” Sion whistled low. “Someone was in a big hurry to get off the station. What else?”

Cami shrugged. “Well, the killer speaks Tarin, but in a place like this, that’s not exactly useful information.”

She expected Sion to suggest they start questioning every Tarin on board, so his next questions surprised her.

“Did you recognize the dialect?”

Pleased by his response, Cami bounced up on her toes and nodded. “The syntax is too formal. Whoever we’re looking for could be Tarin or part Tarin, but my guess is that he wasn’t raised on Tartarus.”

“And you think your killer is the same person altering the logs?”

To that, Cami didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know, but if we find one, I figure we find the other.”

“Has it occurred to you that the man you’re looking for fled on that ship?”

Tariq shook his head. “Cami heard him while she was talking to Naira at Starscape. We know he’s on the station.”

“He’s here,” Cami agreed. “Now, I’m going to talk to Antok. Are you guys coming or not?”

“Go on, angel. I’m right behind you.”

Sion looked about a million miles away. “I’m going to go snoop around the docks.” His focus returned, and he dipped his head at Cami. “Good luck, Cami.” He turned to Tariq. “I’ll catch up with later.”

Watching him stride away, Cami rested her hands on her hips and bit down on her bottom lip. “Is he always like that?” she asked after a brief silence.

“Worse.” Laughing, Tariq bumped against her shoulder to get her moving. “Let’s go talk to Anton.”

“Antok,” she corrected. “You really should get out more.”

Tariq grunted. “I’m not a fan.”

“A fan of what?”

“People.”

“You talk to Scarlett.” Well, he growled at her a lot, which for him, was kind of the same thing.

“We understand each other. That doesn’t mean I like her.”

“You like me.” Maybe he hadn’t said as much in so many words, but Cami could read between the lines. “Do I not count as people?”

“No.” Tariq slid his hand up her spine to gently squeeze the back of her neck. “You are something much more special, angel.” Rubbing the side of her throat absently with his thumb, he slowed his pace as they neared the Hat Trick. “I have to know. What did you do for Antok to get free stuff from his shop?”

Cami smirked at the jealousy in his tone. “He and his best friend thought their mate was being unfaithful, so I had a quiet peek inside her head.”

“And?”

“Turns out, she’s actually pregnant, and she doesn’t want to have the baby on the station.” Cami had never seen a real live baby before, and she kind of wished they’d stay. “If they leave, they’ll have to sell the shop. She was afraid to tell them, so she’d been avoiding them.”

“That’s it? That’s all you did?”

“What? Did you think I blew him in the stock room?”

Tariq spun her around and growled. “Camille, don’t. Just…don’t.”

It was the first time he’d used her full name, and the pain mixed with his anger softened her tone when she replied. “Really, Tariq.” She laid her hand on the side of his face and caressed his cheek. “That’s all I did.”

“I know she was joking, but I can’t even think about her being with someone else.”

Cami understood, because she felt the same way. The thought of Tariq taking someone else to his bed made her nauseous, but worse, it filled her with a violent rage that scared the hell out of her. If he experienced even a fraction of that fury, she’d give him no reason to question her faithfulness.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, but you have nothing to worry about. I don’t want anyone else.”

Tariq stared at her with such intensity, she swore she could feel his gaze piercing her soul. “Say it,” he commanded. “I know what you mean, but I need to hear you say it.”

She’d made her decision, and she couldn’t turn back. “I want to be with you, Tariq.” Cami didn’t know if it was love, not yet, but it felt like it could be given a little more time. “I want to stay here with you, if you’ll have me.”

In the middle of the atrium, in full view of everyone, Tariq lifted her off the ground and attacked her mouth with enough heat to set the entire station on fire. The tips of his fangs grazed her bottom lip as he pillaged the depths of her mouth, caressing every inch with his skillful tongue.

“I take that as a yes,” she panted when he finally released her.

Tariq growled and nipped at her chin. “Did you really have to ask?”

No, but like him, she’d wanted to hear him say it, to know for sure he felt the same way she did. “We still need to talk to Antok.”

Groaning, he slid her down his body to the floor, taking care to ensure she felt every hard inch of him as he did so, including the swollen bulge behind his zipper. “You’re going to kill me.”

“Have a little patience.  Good things come to those who wait.”

“Mmm,” he purred as he bent to rub their cheeks together. “But better things come to those who don’t.”

Cami danced away from his searching hands, giggling when he growled at her. “Come on. We’ll be fast.”

“You need to eat.” He said this as though he’d just remembered her human frailties—or maybe he’d heard her stomach rumble. “You should eat more than you do.” Tariq straightened to his full height, and his stare hardened as he slipped into protector mode. “Hurry up and talk to this Krytos so I can feed you.”

“Deal.” Leading the way into the Hat Trick, Cami found the store owner behind the counter. “Hi, Antok.”

“Cami.” He looked up from his tablet, his eyes softening despite their darkness. “It’s always a pleasure to see you.” He lifted his gaze to Tariq. “Is this male bothering you? I would be happy to dispose of him.”

“He’s with me,” Cami hasted to say before things could turn ugly. “I mean, I’m with him.” That didn’t seem to diffuse the situation since both men continued to glower at each other. Of all the languages she knew, “male” apparently wasn’t one of them. “He’s mine.”

That seemed to do the trick. Antok visibly relaxed, and Tariq pressed closer to her back, ducking his head to brush a kiss against the side of her neck.

“I like the way you say that, angel.”

Cami shivered as she relaxed into his arms.
Focus.
“Antok, there was a man in here earlier.” She craned her neck back to stare up into his onyx eyes. “Scarlett said he got a little hostile. Do you remember him?”

“Yes.” Antok tensed once again. “It’s nothing to worry about, though. He won’t be taking her.”

“Her?” That sounded cryptically ominous. “What do you mean?”

“The man Miss Nikandros saw was my beloved’s brother. He heard about the pregnancy and came to take her to New Vega where her parents are waiting. She won’t be going with him.”

“Your mate’s brother,” Cami repeated slowly. “Thank you, Antok. I’m sorry for prying.” She forced a polite smile to hide her disappointment. “I’ll see you later. Good luck with the baby.”

“We knew it was a long shot,” Tariq told her when they left the shop. “Don’t worry, angel. We know he’s on the station, and we’ll find him.”

“You’re right.” She didn’t want to think about any of it right then, though. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow. I believe I promised you a night without distractions.”

Unfortunately, things never worked out how she planned, and distractions came in the form of Sion right as they were finishing up their meal. Pulling a chair up to their table in Starscape, he turned it backwards to straddle the seat while he folded his arms on top of the high back.

“How did your talk with the Krytos go?”

Placing her napkin on the tabletop, Cami folded her hands in her lap and sighed. “Dead end. It was Antok’s brother-in-law. Family drama.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Did you find anything in the docking bays?”

Sion shook his head. “I guess the commander is back, so everyone was running around panicked trying to get things in order.”

“The commander?” Tariq propped his elbows up on the table and leaned forward. “Commander Cain?”

Sion nodded. “I overheard one of the females telling some other dock workers that she’d seen Commander Cain leaving the med bay.”

“I thought he wasn’t supposed to be back until next week?” Cami looked from Sion to Tariq.

“He’s not,” Tariq answered slowly. “I have no record of his cruiser docking, either, or any Alliance ship for that matter.” His brow furrowed as he stared at some distant point behind her left shoulder. “Cami, what did you hear earlier?”