Desperate Measures (10 page)

can set a passcode if you‟d like so you don‟t have to carry the pass with you.”

“Thank you. Has there been a message left for me? My friends also have registrations

here and I don‟t know if I arrived before them.” Raine tilted her head and waited as the woman

checked.

“There‟s no message for you. Would you like to leave them a message?” The woman

looked at her and her hands remained poised over the keypad.

“Yes, for my friends Gianna Valent and Nara Lions. Tell them to come to my room as

soon as they arrive.” Raine waited as the woman read back the short message before she went up

to her room.

The room was as luxurious as she expected and was technically a suite. Her feet sank into

plush cream-colored carpet and she couldn‟t wait to get her shoes off. A sitting area with a

couch, chair and small end table had been grouped near a video screen and a door that led into

the bedroom part of the suite. At the other end of the rectangular room, she saw a table with a

vase filled with fresh flowers. It would be perfect for romantic dining, but Raine knew it

wouldn‟t get any use this time.

She went to the door and it opened with a soft whoosh. The huge bed captured her

attention when she stepped into the room. It was covered with a silky cream, gold and brown

blanket and looked soft and inviting. Someone could have a lot of fun on that and she could

easily picture rolling around on it with Connal.

Shaking her head, she forced the image out of her mind and continued with her tour. She

walked over and looked into the bathroom. A large tub big enough for three people drew her

eyes. She glanced at the gold-trimmed counter and the large mirror. She walked back out to the

sitting area and dropped into a chair to wait for her friends. She fished the clump of tape out of

her pocket and began to pry the case loose from the sticky wad.

She wasn‟t there long before the tone sounded at her door. She got up and disposed of the

adhesive on the way to answer it. She checked the screen and saw her friends standing out there.

Since they were only carrying her bag, she knew they‟d stopped by their own rooms first. She

opened the door and smiled as Gianna and Nara rushed into the room. They hugged her.

“I thought I was going to be pacing the floor for a while wondering if you were going to

make it back to us, but you‟re already here.” Gianna strolled over to one of the chairs and

dropped into it.

Nara tossed Raine her bag. Raine caught it and put it on the small table as Nara went to

the couch. She fished inside it and pulled out her small comp. She plucked the chip free of the

case and inserted it. A map came up and she stared at it. Krissa had fled to a wildlife preserve.

There wasn‟t any explanation about how she planned to get there, but Raine was sure she‟d made

it. Krissa was resourceful.

She handed the comp to Nara and Gianna. “If you‟ve got the supplies we need we can go

now.”

“We have what we need. It shouldn‟t take long to pick her up. Were they still at the

park?” Nara asked.

“They were still there. He saw me soon after I arrived.” Raine grinned as she

remembered how soon he‟d come over to question her. Coincidences didn‟t sit well with his type

of man.

“And?” Gianna leaned forward. “What happened when came over to you?”

“He asked what I was doing. I lied and eventually he got called away.” Raine smiled. “It

wasn‟t as hard as I expected.”

“So he was distracted by you. I bet he wanted to do more than talk. He could hardly keep

his hands off you on the ship.” Gianna raised her brows.

“Maybe. Now to more important stuff than him. Are you ready? I want to get Krissa off

this planet as soon as possible.” Raine frowned at Gianna, but she couldn‟t hold it. With a little

distance, it was a bit funny.

“Always ready. Let‟s go get our friend and get off this planet. We‟re not the only hunters

here you know.” Nara nodded and got to her feet.

“Too many hunters,” Raine muttered as she walked to the door.

She keyed in a code so that she didn‟t have to worry about losing that small chip. With

the
Feiral
, the fanatics and anyone else that might be hunting Krissa for some reason, she knew there could be a chance that the rescue mission could turn into a fight. She was certain that Nara

and Gianna would have gotten them some kind of weapons while they were shopping.

They left the hotel together. Raine followed them since she had no idea where they‟d left

whatever transport they‟d arranged. She expected some kind of cruiser shuttle that would get

them where they were going, but wouldn‟t stand out too much. They‟d hired a small air shuttle,

but it definitely screamed for attention. A sleek newer model in bright red, it wasn‟t the normal

rental vehicle. It would seat five and was suited for mid-distance planetary travel. It would do for

what they needed to accomplish. Raine just hoped they could get it back in one piece. If things

turned ugly, that nice color would be scorched at the very least.

Nara piloted the shuttle to the preserve. Vehicles could fly through but stopping and

wandering through the forest wasn‟t advised. Raine kept watch on the map Krissa had provided.

Her friend had specified a spot deep in the preserve. They finally found the spot and stopped the

shuttle. Gianna opened the door and stepped down onto the ground. Raine followed. She scanned

the trees and bushes along the path through the sanctuary.
Where was Krissa?
Even though

Krissa wouldn‟t know exactly when help would arrive, she‟d know it was coming. During the

day, she‟d stay close to the area she‟d marked as was their normal practice. Going hiking through

the forest would definitely draw notice and Raine was sure her friend would be watching from

somewhere close.

“Krissa, come on out. We‟re here for you.” She raised her voice loud enough to carry into

the trees. She walked out in front of the shuttle and looked from right to left.

A rustle of leaves and the sound of twigs breaking drew her attention to the back of the

shuttle. She saw a reddish brown streak barreling toward her. It stopped just steps away from her,

bushy tail swinging. She smiled and shook her head at her friend. In animal form, she reached

just under hip high.

“Well, get in the shuttle. We‟ve got clothes for you and some sterile wipes so you can

clean yourself up a bit.” Raine shook her head. She could see the enthusiasm in Krissa‟s body

language.

Krissa bounded into shuttle. As Raine climbed onboard, she saw Krissa change forms.

They closed the door and the shuttle rose from the road. Raine sat in the seat and turned back to

face Krissa. Her friend was just pulling on a shirt. She flipped her blonde hair out of the collar.

“There wasn‟t much detail in your message. What happened?” Raine tilted her head.

Krissa rubbed at her arms and legs with the sterile wipes. “One of my neighbors in the

apartment complex found out I wasn‟t human. I don‟t know how. The next thing I know he and

two other men are coming after me trying to kill me. I got the information we needed on the

company. I hope you received it.”

“We did and that‟s not important.” Raine shook her head. “Are you all right? Hurt in any

way?”

“No, the only injuries were bruises and scrapes. They‟ve faded, but do you have any food

with you?” Krissa asked. “It‟s been days since I‟ve had more than berries and other small

edibles.”

“Of course.” Nara reached behind her seat and came up with a loaded bag. She lifted it up

and set it beside Krissa.

“So when are we leaving?” Krissa pulled on a pair of pants and reached for the bag.

“As soon as we can get a place on a departing ship.” Raine turned in her seat. “I think

you were seen in your animal form around the park in the city. There‟s another group of
Feiral

in the city looking around the area.”

“It‟s possible. By the time that I had to place that chip, I couldn‟t risk being seen too

much. They seemed to be everywhere.” Krissa shook her head. “Where are we staying?”

“A very discreet hotel.” Nara laughed. “We arranged for a fourth room for you and we

got you a bag and some extra clothes.”

“After we get you off this planet, we‟ll meet up with Deanne and go on a long vacation.”

Raine slid a look to her other two friends.

“Why? All I want to do is go home and sleep in my own bed.” Krissa frowned as she

munched on fruit chips.”

“Well, we had to take a risk getting to you. Those
Feiral
we told you about. We came on

their ship and we stole the identity of one of their women to get you a safe passage off this

planet.” Gianna‟s voice was emotionless as she related what they‟d done, but a smile curved her

lips.

Raine knew Gianna and Nara were a little proud of pulling off that trick. She knew

because she felt the same thing.
Feiral
were tricksters and fooling them was a major coup.

“You three are fucking insane. All right, I see coming on their ship. I know that had to be

the only one available if you came on it, but taking one of their identities? Do you want them to

come after you?” Krissa looked from one of them to the other as if she couldn‟t understand their

thinking.

“We couldn‟t bring an extra identity with us, Krissa. We didn‟t know how suspicious

they would be and it‟s a good thing we didn‟t. They searched our room and knew there was

something strange about us.” Raine still didn‟t know why they hadn‟t bought the story from the

first. Every answer had been perfect. The only thing amiss had been their scent and that should

have been easily brushed off.

Krissa just looked at them. “So are they focused on you three yet as shifters and more

specifically as
Feiral
?”

“No, the captain‟s too involved with her body to put everything together.” Nara gestured

to Raine. “She definitely succeeded in distracting him.”

“We can‟t count on that lasting after we use that identity and stealing one from someone

on this planet comes with too many risks. They could be wanted or have their own enemies. We

don‟t have time to research any potential enough.” Raine wished there was some other option.

She would have liked to just walk out of the
Feiral
‟s life and leave nothing to cause them to question, but Krissa already had people after her. They couldn‟t stay on this planet any longer

than necessary.

“You‟re still insane, but I understand why you did it. So what kind of vacation and it

better not involve wilderness and roughing it, because I‟ve had enough of that.” Krissa looked at

the three of them.

“Well, I hadn‟t thought of that. When we get back into our own area and change

identities we‟ll look into what‟s available.” Raine shrugged. She wasn‟t going to count on

everything going smoothly even though they‟d had enough bad luck on this journey to deserve a

bit of good fortune.

A beep sounded from the device at his waist, drawing Connal‟s attention from his search

of the dirt near a group of trees. Connal lifted it free and clicked it on as he surveyed the tree line around the park. The description of the animal seen here had been too much like a
Feiral
to

dismiss. Connal was almost certain that it had been a
Feiral
and that the person was still here somewhere, but there wasn‟t any sign of a
Feiral
around the park. Connal had no idea where

they had gone or why.

“We have a problem, Captain,” Rennick‟s voice sounded with no preamble.

The words were short and chopped and Connal could hear the tension. Just the fact that

Rennick had called him Captain was enough to warn him that something was wrong.

“What‟s the problem?” Connal asked.

“We just got an alert. Sybil‟s identity has been used and she‟s still here on the ship.”

Rennick‟s voice hardened.

“Who? And what kind of use is it?” Connal paced over to a tree to make sure no one was

near and could overhear the conversation.

“Well, we don‟t have the video from the spaceport where it was used two days ago, but

someone accessed the identity information to get passage on a ship. There wasn‟t any attempt to

get into the money available in it or even a check on it. That‟s why it took so long to pop on the

alarms we set on it.” Rennick sounded angry, but Connal knew his second-in-command. Most of

that anger would be self-directed.

“Get that video. I want to see who it was and I want to know how they got her

information. She hasn‟t even left the ship. I‟ll be up shortly. We‟ve found no trace here. If there

was one of us here, he‟s left the area without being spotted again.” Connal grimaced.

He didn‟t want to think about the other option. If the
Feiral
had been fleeing from

something as his being spotted on three different occasions in this park implied, then he could

have been fleeing from someone. There were plenty of people who would kill a shifter simply

because of what they were. They didn‟t need a better reason.

Connal went up to the ship and straight to where Rennick was working in one of the

conference rooms they used to meet with potential clients. The light yellow walls gave the room

an open feel even if they were confined in it with four or five other men intent on haggling.

Rennick had a monitor on the dark brown table with an image frozen and was scowling at it.