Bianca D'Arc (4 page)

Lila set the cleaning bots to cycle through
the outer portion of the room once the last customer cleared out.
The bar area was mostly empty too, except for a few retirees who
usually stuck around to make sure Lila made it safely to the cart
that would be waiting just outside for her. They were such
gentlemen in that way. Always looking out for her safety.

But tonight, all it took was a nod and a
handshake from Chip to send them on their way. They said goodnight
quietly and marched out, leaving her alone with the King of
Clubs.

“You’ve got a securecart scheduled?” Chip
asked, pitching in to help her clean up behind the bar as if he’d
done so every night.

She nodded in answer to his question. “I have
a standing reservation with them.”

“Good. I’m sure you know that even though the
core is always manned, it’s not always the safest place for a woman
alone. For anyone alone, for that matter.”

“I figured that out the first night,” she
agreed. “There was a shady character shadowing me through the
transit tubes, but I managed to shake him somewhere around the
first ring. Still, I learned my lesson and started ordering
securecarts the very next day.”

“Good thinking. And good call on that other
matter too.”

His vague wording alerted her to the fact
that he didn’t want to talk openly about her suspicions in the bar
area. She understood. For all they knew, someone could have slid a
surveillance device in there during the past few hours. The bots
were programmed to search out and neutralize any such devices
during every cleaning cycle, but they hadn’t had a chance to make
the rounds yet tonight. Until they did, the bar wasn’t necessarily
secure.

She nodded again, meeting his gaze while they
worked at stacking glasses. “Thanks.”

Message received and understood.

“Why don’t you knock off if your cart is
here? I can take care of the rest of this. There’s not much to do
anyway.” Chip stepped away, heading around the bar, encouraging her
to follow.

“Are you sure?”

Fine lines crinkled around his eyes when he
smiled. His was a weathered face that had spent a lot of time on
the surface of planets with strong suns. At least that was her
romantic vision of why he had faint squint lines around his
sparkling blue eyes.

“You’ve already done more than anyone else
would have to keep this bar running. I can’t thank you enough. From
now on, you’ll draw a fair salary and I’ll pick up the tab for the
securecarts too.” He walked beside her through the maze of tables
and scurrying bots, ushering her politely to the door.

“That’s too much.” She tried to object, but
he shook his head as he opened the front door and let her precede
him outside into the station corridor.

“Don’t argue,” he replied gently. “It’s more
than fair and I’m glad to do it.”

She had expected him to leave her at the
door. He could watch her enter the cart a few yards away from
there. Instead, he escorted her right to the cart station and
waited while she palmed the ident screen and the hatch clicked
open. Once she sat down inside the cart and closed the door, it
would lock shut until it delivered her to her destination. It was
one of the safest conveyances on the station. And one of the most
expensive. The only thing more costly would be an armed guard.

Chip handed her into the cart and waited
while she buckled the harness that would keep her safe should there
be some unexpected problem on her journey across the station. The
way he watched the shoulder strap tighten between her breasts made
her breathless. His gaze shot to hers and he leaned in slowly. Was
he going to kiss her?

Oh, dear Lady, she thought as he leaned in
close, it sure felt like he was going to kiss her. And she wanted
it bad. Really bad.

But his hands went to her waist and tugged
the supplementary straps out from either side of the cart’s seat.
He buckled them across her lap and pulled them tight. Only then did
he move back, out of her personal space.

Damn. She was breathing hard and all he’d
done was tuck her in like a child in a safety seat.

“You can never be too careful,” he whispered
near her ear before he stood clear of the cart’s hatch. “We’ll talk
more in the morning, beautiful.”

She was speechless at the intimate tone of
his voice and the fact that he’d called her beautiful. Her husband
had called her that on rare occasions and she hadn’t heard it from
any man since he’d died. It did funny things to her heart—painful,
wistful, hopeful things.

All she could do was nod as Chip closed the
hatch and waited to hear it click locked. She could see him through
the transparent dome that could be set to opaque if the occupant
desired privacy. She held his gaze as the cart trundled away down
the wide corridor, and was touched by the fact that he watched her
cart until it turned out of sight.

Damn. The King of Clubs packed a wallop and
Lila wasn’t sure she’d survive with her heart intact.

Over the next few days, Chip insinuated
himself fully into the workings of the bar and the datastream of
the station itself. It was his own unique ability that most
operatives did not possess. Few were able to withstand the physical
and mental stresses of cybernetic implantation. For one thing, it
took a special mind to cope with the influx of data and most found
it difficult to acclimate. Chip certainly had, at first. But his
medical team had been the best and the lead surgeon had worked with
him long after the surgery was complete. The man had taken a
personal interest that had really helped Chip at a time when his
whole world had been in a state of serious flux.

But that had been years ago. He was fully in
tune with his implants now. They had opened up his mind to
abilities he’d never before considered. It was amazing, really,
what the human brain could do given half a chance. Chip had never
been good at science or math before implantation, as an example.
Now, he was a technical wiz, able to call on skills and data from
sources he never would have contemplated before.

They’d offered him the chance at cybernetic
augmentation after a career ending injury had left his skull
breached and his brain bruised. Before that, he’d been part of an
elite group of soldiers who had voluntarily undergone a genetic
procedure known simply as Enhancement. The details of that
procedure were accessible by only a select few within the
scientific and military communities. Even Chip’s codes wouldn’t get
him into that particular database, but he didn’t really mind.

Enhancement had given him abilities few
regular humans had. He’d been better, stronger, faster. All those
things a soldier strives for. He’d been an excellent operative, but
even the best get taken down every once in a while. It had taken an
out of control vehicle carrier to take Chip down.

A freak accident had left him permanently
changed. The cybernetics had returned his physical abilities and
augmented his mental processing to such a degree that he’d begun a
new chapter of his professional career. The battlefield had become
far too mundane for someone with his abilities and skills. Instead
of a front line assignment, he’d been tapped to work behind the
scenes, where he’d proven to be devastatingly effective.

He had a string of successes behind him and
had become something of a troubleshooter. There was nothing wrong
with Alex’s operation here at
The Rabbit Hole
, but the
station itself was another matter. Chip knew Alex reasonably well
and respected his abilities. If the other operative had been here,
Chip was fairly certain Alex would have spotted what Lila
had—mysterious conversations and a string of coincidences that left
Chip with little doubt something sinister was going on here.

Once more, he was glad he’d been coming off
an assignment when Alex had gone gallivanting across the galaxy
with another Senna woman. If Della was anything like her sister,
Chip could understand why. Lila was easy on the eyes and was a
comforting presence to be around. She was attractive in so many
ways.

Chip tortured himself with her nearness. He
tried not to be too obvious in his desire, but he couldn’t help his
reaction any time their duties in the bar brought them into close
proximity. And he couldn’t resist invading her personal space on
purpose at least once every night—when he tucked her into the
securecart that took her away and out of his reach. He both dreaded
and relished that moment each night, knowing the temptation to
tumble her back against the bar and fuck her blind would be removed
for a few hours.

During the bar’s open hours, Chip and Lila
both kept watch over their suspicious patrons in their own ways.
Lila kept doing what she had done before—monitoring and recording
any conversation from those she suspected. Chip used his cybernetic
implants to do more. He searched through the datastreams from the
entire station during his downtime and kept feelers out while he
had to keep up the pretense of work during the bar’s open
shifts.

He also got to know the routine of the club
and some of the regulars who were not part of his assigned network.
He checked in with the operatives he was running, alerting them to
the possibility of danger on the station and enlisting their aid in
surveillance. With the whole clandestine crew on the case, it
wouldn’t be long now before Chip started getting some actionable
data.

“It’s about that time.” Lila dragged him from
his thoughts, sidling up beside him at the bar to help stack the
last of the glasses. It was past closing time and her securecart
would be waiting outside. Time for the nightly torture of breathing
in her delicate scent and allowing the want inside him to smolder
up, close to the surface.

Goddess help him if it ever flared out of
control. Goddess help them both.

He’d dreamed of the ways he wanted to take
her. He’d spent hours imagining what she’d be like in his bed, or
on the bar, or bent over a barstool. He had all kinds of fantasies
about how he would claim her and make her forget any other man
she’d ever had. None would matter after he put his love marks on
her luscious pale skin and made her scream his name in pleasure.
She’d love every second of it. He’d make it his duty to be certain
she did.

“Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

Of course, he couldn’t let any of his
fantasies come to life. They’d both be screwed—and not in the good
way—if he ever lost control.

They’d fallen into a routine over the past
few nights. He’d walk her to the cart and tempt himself until he
got a grip on his responses, then lock her in and send her safely
on her way.

But there was something off tonight.
Something unexpected in the short-lived ritual.

The cart wasn’t there.

“Darnit.” Lila’s soft curse shook him out of
his thoughts. Damn. He should’ve been more aware of his
surroundings but as usual, when Lila was nearby, all he could see
was her.

Chip called on his implant and got his head
back in the game. Instantly, he was on alert and consulting the
datastream of the station on where exactly the cart reserved for
Lila had gone astray. It only took a split second to discover a
blockage in one of the corridors had delayed arrival of the
securecart.

“Guess it’s the transport tube for me
tonight,” Lila looked worried as she glanced toward the tube
station a few yards from the club’s entrance.

“Not alone, it’s not. Come back to the bar.
You can stay there for the night. Alex’s quarters have more than
enough room. You can have the bed.” He’d already made up his
mind.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I can use the tubes
like everyone else.” He didn’t need the probability calculations
his implant spit out to tell him she was very serious about wanting
to go home that night. She was polite, but he could see the firm
stance she was taking. She wouldn’t be dissuaded. Still, he had to
try.

“Come on, Lila. I promise to be a perfect
gentleman.”

She laughed and he was glad there would be no
hard feelings, no direct challenge standing between them. He might
not win this battle, but neither would he lose the war. Not in this
engagement, at least.

“I don’t even want to speculate on how many
times you’ve used that line over the years.” She started walking
toward the entry platform a short distance away. “Sorry. I’m going
home tonight. I’ll just be extra careful. In fact, I won’t take a
public pod. I’ll spring for a private one. Not as secure as a
securecart, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

“I don’t like it, Lila.” He shook his head,
making a show of resistance though he was pretty certain he
wouldn’t be able to persuade her.

Picking her up and throwing her over his
shoulder was an option he considered, but she’d hate him for it.
They weren’t at a stage in their budding friendship where he could
ride roughshod over her decisions. Not that he would ever do such a
thing easily—but he would keep her safe. And if she was in clear
danger, he wouldn’t think twice about using caveman tactics.

But this wasn’t the time. Not yet.

“You don’t have to like it, but you should
respect my wishes. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She turned away, but he
stopped her with a gentle hand on her elbow.

“I’ll see you home, Lila.” Chip knew his
duty. And damn his wayward thoughts, he was actually looking
forward to sharing a transport pod with her. He would’ve liked to
talk her into staying at the bar, but he’d take any time alone he
could get.

He flicked an inquiry out to the datastream
and called a two person pod. It would be sent to the nearby entry
station and she’d never know he’d interfered to have the small pod
waiting. There was usually an extra that hovered in the station
waiting for riders. He’d just make sure it was the small version,
so he could sit close to her, sneaky bastard that he was.