The Bond That Consumes Us (2 page)

Kamran squeezed her hand. “Don’t even joke about that.”

Taber’s gaze went between the couple and he couldn’t stop the uncomfortable itch that pulled at his inner peace. These were his friends, as close to him as family, but he wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else but here.

“There’s not going to be any dying on my shift. Now,” Sara turned and pointed at her aid. “Rachael I’m going to need fifty micrograms of Tyraliam and a reading on the fetal heartbeat. Kamran, I need you to move over here, but don’t let go of Haylie’s hand.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.”

“We need to move her to the back room. Everyone set?”

Taber moved aside until his back was pressed flat against the wall. Assistants, doctors, and other med bay personnel rolled Haylie away on a large bed to the isolation room. The sudden quietness of the room was deafening. Seconds ticked into minutes as he stood there, silently at attention, waiting for any word on what was happening.

Waiting.

By the goddess he hated waiting.

With a soft
thunk
, Davin pushed the door to med bay open. He hesitated for only a moment when he saw Taber. “They in isolation?”

“Yes. I thought it best if I waited here.”

Davin’s lopsided grin told Taber the captain knew just how much he wanted to be here.

“I don’t think Kamran would mind if you waited in your quarters.”

“I’d rather be close. In case there’s a problem.”

Despite his own feelings, he knew if anything happened to Haylie or the baby, Kamran would need him here. He would need the strength of another Briel to save him from the abyss that losing a mate would create deep inside his heart. There wasn’t anyone else on the station but him who would understand.

“I’ll let him know you’re still here.” Davin nodded and disappeared into the back room.

Clearing his mind, Taber waited at his self-imposed post for over an hour. It was good practice, good discipline for him to stand like this, as he had when he was an initiate. One of the rules a Protectorate solider lived by—never get weak, never take things for granted. That was one law that had served him well his whole life. It had been one of the things that had saved him all those years ago.

After another twenty standard minutes, the door from the isolation room finally pushed open and Kamran walked slowly through. He looked exhausted, but the smile on his face and the small bundle in his arms sent a wave of relief through Taber.

9

“My friend,” Kamran said, his voice edged with heavy emotion. “I’d like you to meet my daughter.”

A girl.

Suddenly unable to move, he waited for Kamran to bring his little daughter over to him. The small pink face and bright blue eyes that looked up at him almost brought Taber to tears.

A tiny, little girl.

Somehow he found his voice. “You have been truly blessed, Administrator.”

Kamran looked up, his eyes also filled with unshed tears, and smiled. “By the goddess, call me Kamran. You are my friend, not my bodyguard. Especially today.”

Finding a chair, Kamran sat down and gently cradled his baby in the crook of his arms.

“Please sit with me.”

Sit? How could he? Friend or no, he wasn’t Kamran’s equal. This was a man who negotiated peace between countless words, had a mate, and now had given his people the blessing of a daughter. Taber wasn’t worthy to sit at his feet, let alone by his side.

Not when he’d let his mate die in disgrace.

“I thank you for the honor, but no. I hope Haylie is well?”

“Still swearing at Sara. That’s why I brought Orya out here. We don’t want your mother to teach you such words yet. Do we?”

Kamran bent down to place a kiss on Orya’s forehead, eliciting a soft mewling sound from her. Taber couldn’t take his eyes from the baby as she reached up and her tiny fingers batted at her father’s cheek. The feeling of restlessness uncoiled and began to spread through his chest, clamping down on his heart. He found it difficult to breathe, and he had to concentrate to make his lungs work with a slow, even rhythm.

He had to leave—needed to get as far away from here as possible. Somewhere where he could escape the perfection of his friend’s life.

“Taber?”

He looked up into Kamran’s concerned eyes. All his years of perfecting his mask, the look that kept his emotions tightly in check, threatened to crumble under the scrutiny of his friend’s gaze.

“I need to go.” His voice was soft, calm. The last thing he wanted was to disturb the baby.

“Go where?”

Images of Briel flashed before him, but he couldn’t return home. He would find no solace there. And while he didn’t want to leave Eurus, he needed time to regain his center, his calm before he could see Kamran, Haylie and their baby again. If he couldn’t sort through this, he’d be no good to them.

No good to anyone.

“Sean has been spending too much time in the mines again. I thought I would relieve his post for a while, give him an opportunity to rest and relax for a while.” A 10

quick glance at the computer display gave him the time. “He should be back from the mine by now. I will find him and share your good news. He will want to pay his respects.”

Not wanting to wait for Kamran to respond, Taber walked with long, sure strides out of med bay.

* * * * *

It took Taber longer than he expected to find Sean. The human had a way of making himself scarce when he wanted to be left alone. It hadn’t always been that way. But since the Ecada had invaded the colony, Sean had changed from the outgoing, charismatic man Taber had met ten years ago upon his arrival, to a withdrawn loner.

In a way, they had more in common now than they had back then.

Currently, they stood in Haylie’s office, Taber waiting for Sean to finish filling out an incident report. The young security office sitting behind the desk was still grinning, had been since Taber had announced the birth of Haylie’s child.

“The team has a present for her and the administrator. We’re going to stop by once she’s had a chance to rest,” the officer said, his voice almost cracking like a young child.

“I wouldn’t go too soon. She’s just as likely to shoot you as thank you right now,”

Taber said, keeping his voice as even as possible.

Sean turned his head and let a small smile slip. “She’s a damn good shot too.”

“Don’t I know it, sir. Thank you for the report. I’ll add it to the records.”

Sean nodded and walked out, Taber following close beside.

“Kamran must be happy,” Sean said after a minute of quiet. “Have you seen the baby?”

The image of her small pink nose and the inquisitive look in Orya’s eyes hadn’t left his mind for any of the past hour. The realization of how low he’d really gone, hit him like a slap to the face when he realized just how jealous he was of Kamran.

Jealous!
There was no excuse for that.

“Yes. They’ve named her Orya and she is quite lovely.”

“I take it Haylie is doing well. Not that a little thing like childbirth would slow her down for long,” Sean said as he nodded to a group of miners who passed them as they made their way to the bazaar.

“I expect we’ll see her back in her office next week.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. Sooner if she could somehow convince Kamran to agree to it.”

The coffee merchant had two large mugs ready for them, no charge, in celebration of the birth of the baby. Drinks in hand, they tried to leave the crowded area but were delayed with almost every step. The entire station was buzzing with excitement as people laughed, cheered and generally celebrated the birth of Eurus’ newest member.

Taber knew there was no place for him to escape the excitement, as people continued to 11

come up to him, wanting him to pass along congratulations to the new parents. Each time he nodded, occasionally trying to force a smile until he thought he would lose what little control he had left.

“I need to get out of here before I go insane.”

Taber was surprised when he realized it wasn’t he, but Sean, who had spoken.

“Would it be wrong of me to concur?”

The former administrator tried to fight the smile but failed, dissolving into a soft chuckle. “Too much happiness is bad for the head.”

It took them a while, but they finally managed to make their way to the corridor that led to the residential section of the station. With fewer people there, they were able to walk at a relatively fast pace. They were about to part ways, Sean escaping to his quarters and Taber on his way to the observation room, when a shout caused them both to turn.

Kamran was walking toward them at a steady pace, nodding and smiling to the people he passed. Taber felt his heart rate increase slightly and his lowered his gaze to the floor, no longer able to meet Kamran’s eyes directly. He’d sunk to a new low indeed.

“Just the two people I’ve been looking for.” Kamran sounded happier than he’d been in weeks. “I need your help.”

Taber’s head snapped up, his eyes locked on Kamran’s face, looking for any sign of a problem. “You know I will do anything to assist.” Especially if it would take his mind off current events.

Kamran reached out and squeezed Taber’s shoulder. “I know, my friend. And I think this little problem is best suited to your skills.”

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Sean turned and punched in the security code for his quarters.

“This requires your assistance as well. Can we discuss this inside?”

Sean looked from Taber to Kamran, before shrugging. “Come in.”

Taber was surprised at the contents of Sean’s home as they walked inside. He’d never had an occasion to be in here, not in the ten years he’d known the man, which was odd when he thought about it. An entire wall was covered with books. He’d only seen a few in his lifetime, mostly from Kamran. Paper had been outlawed on Earth decades ago, so he knew these were priceless. The administrator sat down on a wide chair, scratching his hand through his hair.

“We’ve received a communication from the
Damara
. It seems their head of security has been murdered.”

Sean frowned. “That’s the recreation ship, correct?”

“They’ve been in this sector for several months now,” Taber said with a single nod.

“Their captain has been giving us updates since their arrival. They were concerned 12

about attacks from pirates and the Ecada and wanted us to know where they were in case of any difficulties.”

“I fear their problem is far simpler than that. They have a murder on board and no trained investigators.”

“Surely they have enough security staff. A second in command should be able to run such an investigation.”

Taber wanted to ignore the request from the ship. The captain and his crew had been adamant they didn’t need their help when they’d first arrived, and were only interested in credits and the trading opportunities the Eurus colony could give them.

The humans in charge seemed competent if arrogant.

“The captain isn’t confident the second in command isn’t the murderer. He asked for me to send a delegation who can act as an impartial investigator to ensure the guilty party is caught. I would like it to be the two of you.”

Kamran locked his gaze on Taber, seemingly looking right into his very soul.

Despite his best efforts to conceal it, Kamran knew how Taber was feeling and this was his way of trying to help. He was giving him the space he needed while at the same time allowing him to save face by giving him an important task.

“I’m sure Taber can manage this on his own. I need to get back to the mines in the morning.”

“You, my friend, are under orders from Doctor Fergus to accompany him.” Kamran tossed a data pad at Sean and waited for him to read it before continuing. “She is concerned about your exposure to the silicate and wants you to have a break. I thought this would be better than sitting in your quarters. Though from the look of things, you could manage to keep yourself busy with reading material alone.”

The muscles in Sean’s jaw tightened for a moment as he ground his teeth together.

Taber waited for him to argue, but instead he simply nodded once.

“Good.” Kamran stood and made his way over to the door. “I’ll let the captain of the
Damara
know you’ll be on your way. They were heading back toward the colony, so you won’t be long in the shuttle. And if you solve this crime quickly, which I have no doubt that you will, don’t hurry back. You both deserve some time to yourselves.”

“I doubt I’ll stay—” Sean started.

“I can make it an order if you’d like.”

Sean stiffened before shaking his head. “Not necessary.”

“Good.”

Giving them a short bow, Kamran left them to return to Haylie and the baby. Taber was left standing, staring after Sean. He looked as lost as Taber felt right now. Perhaps this investigation would be the thing they both needed to get their lives back onto the right path.

“Do you need time to prepare?” Taber’s voice seemed loud in the densely furnished room.

13

“Just time for a shower. I’m still covered in dust from the mine.”