Seth: Futuristic Spy Romance (Cyborgs: More Than Machines) (4 page)

“Ah, but it’s not just the military running this gig
, or weren’t you paying attention as we made our way down here?”

Actually
, she had. Despite its location, the installation they found themselves ensconced in had a high number of people dressed in lab coats over civvies. While the guarded checkpoints boasted military personnel, the few others they’d encountered with their coiffed hair, makeup, and lack of military bearing gave them away.

“So we’re in some kind of research installation.
It doesn’t mean they want a bunch of recruits escaping and running amok.”

“Then I guess you won’t care to join me.” Leaning against the wall, palm flat and fingers spread, he arched a brow as the section he touched lit up in the shape of his hand.
A panel slid open, just large enough to crawl in.

“How did you know that was there?”

“I think the better question is why. Shall we?” He gestured gallantly at the opening, offering her first crack.

She hesitated. Stay and obey
? Or take a chance he was right and move on to the next phase of testing?

“Tick tock,” he teased.

She scrabbled in first, the duct big enough to crawl comfortably in. She heard him rather than saw him as he followed after.

“Where do you think this goes?” she whispered.

“My guess would be somewhere.”

“Smartass.”

“Finally, a compliment. Although, I must say, most women tend to comment on my looks, not my intelligence.”

“You can add irritating to that list.”

“Aw, admit it, gorgeous. You find me intriguing.”

“If by intriguing you mean annoying enough that I’m distracted by the weirdness of the situation
instead of plotting ways to kill you, then yes.”

He laughed, which
, in the close confines, echoed around her. She would have retorted, but it was at that moment the portal slid shut, encasing them in darkness. Damn.

“Well that sucks,”
Seth complained. “Now how am I supposed to check out your ass?”

The Present.

The vessel Anastasia led Seth onto was a small cruiser, military in origin according to the insignia splashed on various consoles and painted on the outside, but the shape, material, and control panel to fly it was unlike anything he’d seen.

“Where did you get this baby?” Seth asked
, emitting a low whistle of admiration.

“I
told you, I borrowed it.”

“From
who?” he asked, despite having an inkling of the answer.

“T
he military.”

“And I’ll bet they want it back. How safe is this thing?” In other words, did this vessel bear one of those infamous untraceable tracking devices that would lead the human forces to the cyborg hideout
?

“
If you’re worried about anyone from the government following me here, don’t. Once the cloaking is enabled, even military ships equipped with the same technology can’t see a damned thing. Your cyborg planet is safe. For now.”

“
What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means if I managed to find you, then how long do you figure before someone else does?”

Plopping himself into the co-pilot seat, Seth propped his feet on the console while Anastasia fiddled with the dials. “I wondered about that. How did you find us? We’ve been extremely careful. We keep the coordinates in our heads. We never head here straight from a raid or supply run. Survey reports list this place as uninhabitable. So how did you find us?”

“I’m a cyborg.”

“And?”

“Another cyborg told me.”

A snitch? That caught his attention. “Who? Who betrayed our secret?”

Her fingers paused in midair, whatever command she was in the midst of taking a backseat as she turned to face him. “Betrayed? How is it betraying for one cyborg to tell another where to find sanctuary?”

Wife or not, he didn’t sugarcoat it. “No one, not even cyborgs we come across, are given that information until we’ve ascertained they don’t pose a danger to us or the colony. They go through strict checks, and when possible, we perform a BCI mind sweep to check for possible embedded sleeper viruses and programming.” Because, as they’d learned with Chloe, sometimes even the most benign beings could harbor secrets. And, sometimes, in spite of reclaiming their humanity, mental time bombs remained ticking within.

“You think I’m a spy?
” She batted her lashes in a tactic meant to look innocent.

“Ha. I know you are.”

“Maybe you do, but they don’t. I’ve been very careful about covering my trail. The humans would kill me if they knew what I was.”

“
Just because you’re hiding your identity doesn’t mean I can trust you. Inadvertently or not, you wouldn’t be the first cyber unit to betray our kind.”

“Glad to see you think so little of me,” she muttered
, turning back to her console.

“Says the woman who wouldn’t trust me.”
He couldn’t help but voice the accusation. It seemed he’d not quite gotten over the past.

“I
, at least, never left behind proof I was a lying, cheating whore.”

He couldn’t help but grit his teeth as he ground out,
“And I keep telling you. I was framed.”

“
To what purpose?” She spun around, eyes flashing. “Explain that to me. Why would our government or military frame you, knowing that to do so would split up their most effective spy couple? Between the two of us, we solved more mysteries, ferreted out more secrets, and took care of more problems than the rest of their department combined.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s your answer?” Both her brows arched.

“Yup. We were too good.
Too awesome. They feared us. Feared what we might find out, especially once their plans to rid themselves of the cyborgs began to circulate around. They got scared that, together, we’d become an unstoppable team who would sabotage their plans to turn all cyber units into mindless slaves.”

Her
lips thinned into a clamped line.

“What? No retort. No denial that maybe I’m right?”

“Even if what you said was true, and I misjudged you, what’s done is done. We can’t go back in time and change things. I’ve changed. You’ve changed. We’ve both moved on with our lives.”

Not exactly.
Yes, Seth lived and worked and even played, but the one thing missing from his existence was sitting right beside him, trying to pretend their reunion didn’t affect her.

He knew better. His se
nsors had no trouble tracking the way her heart hitched when the topic got too emotionally charged. His processor noted her core temperature rose when they accidentally brushed each other.
And I’ll bet if I kiss her, she kisses me back.

Screw running an analys
is and prognosis of possibilities. There was one quick way to find out.

Leaning over, he grabbed her by the ponytail, catching her off guard. When she opened her mouth to protest, he slanted his mouth over hers, swallowing her protest.

By all the metal parts in his brain, but most especially by the fleshy ones left to him, he’d forgotten the beauty of kissing the woman he loved. The way her warm breath fluttered against his mouth, how her tongue loved to twine around his, a sinuous dance before she sucked it.

And her scent.
Oh fuck, her scent. A musky aroma like no other, an outward sign of her arousal that she could never hide, and which made him hunger for more. He went to drag her onto his lap, all his senses turned on so he wouldn’t miss a single pleasurable sensation. It was that fact that made her chomp of his lip so painful. He recoiled with a “What the hell?”

“Keep your mouth and hands to yourself.”

“Why? You enjoyed it. I know you did.”

“The reaction of my body is not
the question. You have no right to take liberties with me.” Pertly said and totally at odds with the flush in her cheeks, a sure sign she’d lost control for a moment to the passion that had always existed between them.

“I’ll take whatever liberties I like. You
’re my wife.” How good it felt to say that aloud. “I’ll kiss you if I damn well like to.” And more …

“Almost
ex-wife, and one who has a boyfriend. So, if you don’t mind, keep your kissing to yourself, or I’ll dump your ass in space.”

He ignored the threat as the more important part of her statement filtered through.

A boyfriend? She had a boyfriend.
A BOYFRIEND!

Even if Seth was m
ore machine than man, it didn’t matter. He still growled like a beast. “Not for long.”

“What did you say?”

He shoved his jealousy into a ballroom-sized space in his BCI and slammed the door shut. Then hammered some boards over it. And then bricked it over. He smiled. “I said, I hope I get to meet the lucky guy before long.”

So I can tear him apart and ship his pieces back to Einstein to use as spare parts.
Illogical or not, no one touched his wife but him. No one.

Only a blind idiot would have missed Seth’s displeasure at her mention of a boyfriend. And only a complete liar would have denied to herself that she enjoyed his show of jealousy.

For a woman who’d moved on with her life and left her husband and past behind, she still took perverse pleasure in knowing it bothered him she’d taken up with another man. A human man. A nice man.
A boring idiot whose primary use is to help me keep my cover.
Not that she intended to reveal that to Seth. Let him suffer.

Besides, he’d soon have other things to worry about, such as her plans for him. Plans he surely wouldn’t like.

“Now that we’re out of reach of your cyborg friends, I guess it’s time I told you what the goal is and why I need you.”

“Given the fact you wanted to make sure I couldn’t call for a rescue, I’m guessing I’m going to hate it. Does it involve me playing the role of
an impotent arms dealer again?”

Anastasia couldn’t help but
chuckle. “Oh my god. I’d forgotten about that mission, and that barracuda of a woman.”

Baroness Von
Juger had dealt in illegal guns and collected pretty boys. In order to capture her attention, Seth dangled the most tempting bait ever, himself. Pretending he couldn’t maintain an erection because of the trauma of losing his one true love, he’d proven irresistible to the mature lady. That poor woman plied him with oysters and aphrodisiacs, determined to have him, their failed trysts paving the way for Seth’s so-called secretary, whom he dragged along everywhere, to snoop and gather the intel needed to convict the crooked cougar and net the US government a nice stash of goods.

A smile curved her lips in remembrance.
“I’m afraid your role is not going to be as giggle worthy as that one.”

“A shame. I rather enjoyed the party we had when we finished that
assignment.”

A party of two that involved champagne, a
Jacuzzi tub, and the two of them naked. Seth had spent a marathon amount of passion-filled hours getting her back for every snicker and comment she made during his enforced chastity.

“I’m afraid
your role is going to be more boring than that. You are going to become John Tweed, only survivor of a surveying duo sent to investigate a cluster of planets in this sector.”

“Only
survivor?”

“Your survey vessel crashed after entering the atmosphere
, and while you walked away, your partner didn’t. I just happened to find you on the planet due to a beacon signal when I did a sweep to see if the planet was viable for mining or stripping for resources.”

“Good cover, except for the sector.
To keep the cyborgs safe, we need to change it.”

“
Sorry, but we can’t. My flight plan is already logged.”

Seth didn’t quite lose it, but he was pissed, something only those who knew him well would have recognized. The ticking vein in his forehead never did disappear
, despite all his enhancements.

“You mean you logged a mission to this part of the galaxy knowing the cyborg planet was here
? Are you completely defective or just being a bitch?”

“Seth, such language. And here I thought you wanted us to reconcile
.” She batted her lashes and smirked when he ground his teeth.

“Anastasia, this is no joking matter. There are a few hundred cyborgs on that planet whose lives you’ve just put in jeopardy.”

“More like saved you mean. Or did it not occur to you that having your planet disappear from the annals and charts is more suspicious?”

“It occurred to us
but, given the lack of traffic this way, deemed more acceptable than the risk of someone coming out for a peek at the planet with no info.”

“Ah, but the planet now has info, thanks to John Tweed, who barely survived the savage jungle. Whom I nursed back to health after finding him dehydrated and practically starving. Oh, and your dissertation on the intelligent life you discovered, still in an early evolutionary phase
, has placed said planet into protected status, which means no visitors and no random drive-bys less we affect the development of this newly discovered alien nation.”

“
You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“You do realize that by placing the planet on a protected list you’ve ensured closer scrutiny on the comings and goings of that section of space. We already have a hard enough time getting supplies in. You’ve just made that job harder.”

“Not if you start using the cloaking technology.”

“Love to, but who’s going to give us the cloaking schematics? Like you said, it’s a closely guarded secret.” His reply was rife with sarcasm.

“Which I have access to. Help me, and I’ll give you everything you need to create your own cloaked vessels. Heck, I’m sure your friend Einstein can adapt it and use it to bubble your whole compound.”

Knowing Einstein, he could probably hide the entire planet if given the right tools. “Excuse me if I don’t say thank you yet. Because I’m sure there’s more to this than you’re telling me still.”

“Why, John, I’m hurt.”

“John.” Seth snorted. “You named me after our imaginary dog?”

Dear John, their toy poodle and part of their cover during another mission.
She couldn’t help a wicked grin. “I thought it was apt. Anyway, as I was saying,
John
, I’ve rescued you, nursed you back to health, and am now bringing you back to the mother ship.”

“Mother ship as in what? Science vessel?
Galaxy Federation exploration? Private enterprise?”

Here was
the part she couldn’t hide any longer. The tidbit she’d intentionally hid knowing how he’d react. Or didn’t. “A company research and experimentation vessel.” Among other things.

“Infiltrating the enemy. Awesome.”

“Awesome? That’s all you have to say? I’m taking you aboard a vessel that is actively seeking our kind to run tests on. That has actually captured a few and—”

“What do you mean captured a few?”

An old human habit of hers reared its head. She twirled the ends of her hair around a finger and avoided his gaze. “Not all cyborgs were liberated or found their way to your planet.”

“
Duh. But the sentient ones were at least smart enough to hide.”

“Those that escaped the military’s clutches
hid. Others were found, and not all of them were killed.”

“You mean they kept some alive?
Since when? I thought the military was exterminating all cyber units.”

“They were, initially. Then, when our side began winning one too many skirmishes, the military changed its mandate from kill to capture. Those they get their hands on are
shipped to the company and, there, under heavy guard, are used for experiments.”

“
Yeah, I’m aware of that. It happened to Joe a while back. They captured him during a raid and tried to torture him for info but didn’t get anywhere. But they made it seem like he was an anomaly. And none of our digging has shown any orders or instructions to the contrary. As far as the world is concerned, cyborgs are to be destroyed on sight.”

“
What the world is told and what is actually happening are two vastly different things. I might also note that what Joe went through was nothing compared to what some others are being subjected to.”

“We can’t allow it to continue.
We need to free the cyber units.” How gallant he sounded. Yet, in this case, his chivalry was woefully misguided.

“
Unfortunate as it is, they are not our primary objective.”

“They might not be yours, but I won’t stand by idly while one of my brothers is tortured.”

“There’s nothing you can do.”

“Like bloody fucking hell!” The bellow from the usually sedate Seth took her by surprise. “These are people we’re talking about, Anastasia. Our people. Worse than that, these poor soldiers didn’t volunteer like you and I to become
cyborgs.”

“And their current dilemma is sad, but we need to look at the bigger picture.”

“There is no bigger picture. They need our help. That should be our primary objective.”

“Saving them will probably blow my cover and yours. I can’t allow that. Not when I’m so close.”

“And I’m telling you right now that, unless we do something to help them, you can count me out.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“I can and do. If you’ve changed so much that you would rather sacrifice a few just for the sake of a mission, then I don’t want to work with you. Or be with you. What happened to the girl I used to know? Despite the fact you were always climbing the next ladder, the woman I fell in love with wouldn’t have let any job come between her and the right thing.”

For some reason, his words stung.
“That’s not fair. I’ve helped plenty of cyborgs in the last few years. Hell, the mission I’m sending your friends on should save the lives of a couple if they’re careful.”

“And what of where you’re taking me? How many cyborgs on board?”

“There are at least two in stasis.”

He prodded. “And?”

She sighed. “One being used as a test subject.”

“Testing what?”

“Ways to sedate us and get us back under control.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more?”

How well he knew her. She sighed. “They’re also looking for a way to shut our nanos off.”

His shocked expression said it all. Without the nanos coursing through their bod
ies, their metal parts and BCIs, even their reinforced skeletons, meant nothing. The nanos were what kept everything working. It was what healed them. What spoke to their various robotic components so that they worked as a natural extension of themselves. Without them … they were no better than humans.