The Bond That Ties Us (23 page)

“No, I haven’t.”

She didn’t panic. There was something in his tone that was different. She knew it.

“Donaldson…Sean, Ray is the one who’s been behind everything. The attacks on the colony. Your nightmares. Everything.”

She watched Ray but listened for Donaldson. For his part, Ray didn’t move. The cocky bastard thought he’d won.

“Sean. I know he’s been using you. Controlling what you’ve thought, even the things you’ve said. But you’re stronger than that. Help me.”

Ray made a tsking noise. “Chief, I’m surprised. I would have thought you of all people would have realized that our friend here is weak. I would never have been able to keep control over him for as long as I have otherwise. What’s it been now, almost two years? No matter. Now you and your boyfriend here,” he gave Kamran’s leg a kick,

“proved to be quite challenging.”

Haylie cringed, but Kamran didn’t move. She reached out with her mind and while he wasn’t answering her, she knew he was alive.

“Isn’t that sweet. Checking to see how he’s doing. Too bad he’s not conscious to answer you.”

She fought to keep the shock from her face. “How can you know that?”

“I know everything both of you were thinking. How do you think it was possible for your bond to form in the first place?”

“Bastard. That’s not true. Briel mates are chosen by biology.” It couldn’t be.

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“Of course it’s true. And who better to trick biology than a doctor?” Ray began to laugh. “You didn’t really think that some mystical force chose
you
to be the mate of a highly distinguished Briel, did you? Stupid girl.”

Tears filled her eyes and Haylie tried to fight them off. “You’re under arrest for murder, attempted murder and treason. Hands up.”

Instead of complying, Ray knelt down and lifted Kamran’s lifeless head by his hair.

He withdrew a knife from his pocket and held it to Kamran’s neck.

“Now, now, Haylie. I know the drugs I gave you earlier aren’t out of your system yet. Your reflexes are slow and your vision is blurry. What do you think your chances are of actually hitting me? Hmm? And if your Briel boyfriend can’t slow me down, someone who’s stronger and faster than you, then you’re not going to be able to stop me. Sean, if you would please take the Chief’s firearm.”

Every instinct was screaming at her to shoot. When Ray pressed the knife hard against Kamran’s throat, she released her blaster and Donaldson took it quickly from her hands.

“Pathetic. Secure her.”

Donaldson jerked her arms hard behind her back, pressing her wrists together. She turned to glare at him as he slid a plastic handcuff around her left wrist but kept her right free.

“I hope I’ve made those tight enough. I wouldn’t want you to be comfortable,”

Donaldson said.

It was then that Haylie realized she hadn’t really looked at Donaldson. He’d changed. Somehow he was able to fight Ray, or Ray’s control had somehow slipped and he hadn’t noticed. Or no longer cared.

“Why are you doing this?” She kept the contempt in her voice but nodded her head slightly toward Donaldson. They might have a chance to get out of this after all.

“Because I’m sick of everything Earth has forced on us. They’ve been controlling this colony from across the galaxy for years. No more. Ray promised that when the Ecada are finished destroying all life on this planet, they have agreed to pay an obscene amount of gold for this place. Enough that I can retire anywhere in the galaxy and never be found again.”

Donaldson then pressed a cool plastic handle into her hand. It took Haylie a few seconds to recognize what she now held—a flare gun.

Ray dropped Kamran’s head, letting it fall back to the ground with a thud. Kamran moaned.

“Kamran?”

She couldn’t keep her voice steady. Thank god he was alive.

“Haylie?” He sounded stunned.

“Touching reunion. Bring her over here so she can be with her boyfriend one last time.”

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Donaldson yanked her arm and managed to keep himself between her and Ray, keeping the gun from sight.

“Kamran, are you hurt?” she asked. Before things went to hell, she had to know.

“I’m fine.”

Ray moved a short distance from Kamran. “Fine until the Ecada locate you. They won’t even bother to listen to your pleas for mercy, you know. They’ll simply rip your bodies apart. Too bad I won’t be here to watch the fun. Donaldson, when you’re done there, release the clamps so we can get out of here. Our friends will be along shortly.”

Kamran slowly rose to his feet, clearly in no condition to be able to help. She was going to have to move fast. But it was Donaldson who made the first move.

“I wouldn’t go with you if the entire Ecada horde were on me.” Donaldson sneered.

Ray spun to face him. “What?”

“If you think I’m going to get on that ship, knowing you have every intention of killing me before we even take off, you must think me a fool.”

Even Haylie was surprised at the hate in Donaldson’s voice.

“Of course I think you’re a fool. Why else do you think I targeted this colony? You were such an easy mark, I knew I’d have no problem getting what I wanted from you.”

Donaldson roared and leapt at Ray. The Briel sidestepped the attack easily and landed a punch on Donaldson’s head, sending him to the ground with a crash. It was the opening Haylie needed. She pointed the flare gun at Ray’s chest. It only took a heartbeat for him to recognize the danger. He lunged at Haylie but couldn’t move fast enough to prevent her attack.

The mini explosion from the hydrogen cartridge echoed in the hangar. Haylie fought through the hard recoil and hit her target. She saw the butt end of the flare was sparking from his stomach, a look of horror twisting into pain on Ray’s face. He didn’t speak, looking into her eyes briefly before falling to the floor. The smell of burning flesh hit her hard.

Kamran?
“Are you hurt? We need to get out of here.”

She reached him and they quickly hugged.

He pulled her to him. “I’m okay. Are you…”

She felt him stiffen. She pulled back to look into his eyes. She watched as they rolled back up into his head. Haylie tried to say something or at least she thought she did. But the words never left her mouth. The thoughts stopped as they were formed.

Pain sliced through her mind. Her hands flew to her head in an attempt to keep it from exploding. Screams surrounded her mind. If they were real or imagined, she was long past caring.

Right before she passed out, she realized that they came from her.

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Haylie woke slowly. Opening her eyes provided her with a blinding pain in her head so she quickly closed them again.

“I feel like I’ve been out partying all night.”

“Well, you don’t look much better.”

At the sound of Sara’s voice, Haylie braved another peek into the world.

“Thanks.”

“You have a concussion, some minor internal bleeding and dust from the planet’s surface stuck in your lungs. Other than that, you’re the picture of health.”

She felt Sara sit on the edge of the bed and then a piece of hair stuck to her cheek was moved away.

“You gave us quite a scare back there.”

Haylie’s brain finally kicked into full gear and she bolted upright. “Where’s Kamran? The Ecada? Oww.”

“Easy, hon. Take it easy or you’re going to end back up in isolation.”

“Sara.” God, she sounded desperate.

“Kamran is fine. He’s in isolation.”

“What’s wrong? Will he be okay?”

Haylie tried to reach out with her mind to find Kamran. There was nothing. Not the nothing she felt earlier when he was blocking her. Simply nothing. Her stomach soured.

They’d lost their connection.

Haylie watched as Sara’s face scrunched for a moment before realization dawned.

“Kamran’s not there as a patient. Taber was injured in the battle. Kamran’s visiting.”

“Will he be okay?” It then hit her where they were. “I’m assuming because we are having this conversation that we won?”

Sara stood and moved behind the bed. She began to fiddle with the monitoring computer. The steady blipping noise told her everything she needed to know. She was fine. Sara didn’t look as good.

“Sara?”

“We didn’t exactly win, more that they stopped fighting.”

Something in her tone didn’t gel. Haylie sat up to get a better look at her friend.

“What do you mean?”

When Sara looked at Haylie, tears were rolling down her cheeks.

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“I was there, you know. All the medical staff were. We tried to patch people back together as fast as we could to throw them back into battle. They just kept coming and coming. Walked through us like we were paper in a rainstorm.”

Haylie’s throat tightened. She blinked back her own tears and held her arms wide.

Sara returned to the bed and embraced her.

“So many people died and there was nothing I could do to stop them. A guard tried to fight them off when they made their way toward us. One of those things ran him through with its tail.”

Haylie swallowed hard, “I’m so sorry you had to see that.” The words were painful.

Sara had always been sensitive. Haylie knew this would eat at her for a long time to come.

“It’s okay,” Sara said. She stopped for a minute before continuing. “I thought I was next. They came so close. Then, all of a sudden, everything stopped.”

A multitude of explanations ran through her mind but Haylie could only figure one possibility. Somehow, Ray was controlling the Ecada the same way he’d controlled Donaldson. He was the power source that drove the horde forward. His death ended the attack.

“At first they seemed confused, like they didn’t really know what to do next. It gave us the chance we needed. The soldiers were able to push them back. Killed enough of them they were forced to retreat.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about them again.”

Haylie tried to explain what had happened in the hangar. Her memories were splintered. Whole slices of her mind seemed to be missing, as if someone else were holding the memories.

Sara sat up and dried her face with her hands. “That somehow makes sense. If Ray was tampering with Ecada telepathy, it would explain a lot of the weird behavior around here.”

“Things were spilling over from his mind and into the minds of those who favored telepathy? Like Donaldson?” Haylie asked.

“We humans only use a portion of our brains—we don’t know what our full capabilities are. It could be that with the Ecada’s help, Ray took advantage of Donaldson by gaining access to a small part of his latent abilities.”

That would mean she had this ability as well. But why hadn’t she felt this sort of thing before? Haylie wanted to explore this further. One look at her friend told her Sara didn’t need any more problems.

Sara was lost in thought but she began nodding her head. “It makes more sense now that I think of it. The miners who were randomly going out to the planet surface.

The fights in the lower levels. Increased incidences of violence. People were picking up Ray’s hate and Donaldson’s fear.”

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Haylie forgot what she was going to say next when the door to her room opened.

Kamran’s surprised expression told her he wasn’t aware she had regained consciousness.

“I’m sorry. I’ll come back later.” His voice sounded raw.

“Not at all, Ambassador. I have to do the rest of my rounds.” Sara stood and smiled a little too quickly at Haylie. “You’re going to be just fine. Have a good visit but then I want you to go back to sleep.”

“Yes, Dr. Fergus.” Haylie captured Sara’s hand and gave it a hard squeeze. “You take it easy today too.”

“Will do.”

* * * * *

Kamran took a step inside the room to allow Sara’s exit. It brought him face to face with the one thing he didn’t want to deal with. Looking at Haylie and not knowing how she was feeling was strange. He tried to open his mind, reaching out to find some thread of her. Silence greeted him. Was she doing this?

He hesitated. “Is Sara well?”

She looked at him, a strange expression on her face. “No. But she will be, given time.”

He laced his fingers behind his back. She must be mad at him for something. Maybe for blocking her earlier. But why, after all they had gone through today, would she be holding on to such petty anger?

“How’s Taber?” Haylie sounded unsure of the question, as if she didn’t know what else to say.

Kamran felt the same. “He’s doing well. The majority of his wounds were superficial. But he’d taken a nasty blow to the side from one of the Ecada. He’s recovering and should be on his feet soon.” And then after another awkward pause, “I didn’t know you were awake. I would have come sooner.” He stopped speaking, not knowing what to say.

“It’s okay. I just woke up a few minutes ago.” Haylie bit her lower lip and turned away from him. “Are you still blocking me?”

Panic raced through him with amazing speed, contracting his stomach, lungs and fists as it passed.

He tried to keep his voice steady but it didn’t come out as strong as he’d hoped.

“No. I thought you were blocking me.”

Kamran didn’t know how he felt. He’d never asked to be bonded to Haylie. The fact that a human and Briel had been able to form any type of connection was unbelievable.

He shouldn’t really be surprised that it didn’t last.

But he was.

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Haylie adjusted the tube that went from her arm to a plastic bag filled with some sort of clear liquid. Her fingers fidgeted with the tube. “I think whatever Ray was doing with the Ecada was the reason we bonded.”

With three steps, he was across the room and standing in front of her. “What?”

“Whatever telepathic connection he had with the Ecada, it was spilling over. The humans seemed to be mostly affected. But I imagine some Briel were as well.”

“What in the maker’s name are you talking about?”

Kamran listened to Haylie’s theory, slowing sinking to her bed as she talked. It did make sense. It fit everything he knew of the Ecada species. While independent beings, they preferred a symbiotic relationship. One that Ray was willing to provide by supplying them with the humans as a food source. Thank the goddess they’d stopped Ray in time. The Ecada would have killed everyone.

“Somehow, he was the catalyst that allowed our bond to form. When he died, it died too.”

Haylie’s words were flat and she spoke with her eyes closed. He watched her, trying to get a feel for what she was thinking. He hadn’t realized how much he’d begun to rely on their connection. There was no guesswork. Simply the steady hum of warmth in the back of his mind.

Haylie opened her eyes wide, her gaze pierced through him. “It’s so quiet now. In my head.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

He couldn’t move. At that moment, he would have given anything, everything, to be able to feel Haylie’s thoughts. He’d grown to love the connection. Kamran felt a chill roll through him at the realization. When did that happen?

Looking at Haylie, Kamran’s heart began to beat faster. His hands flexed and he had to fight back the urge to reach for her. He’d realized he loved her back in the hangar bay. But what if that love couldn’t last? With no bond, how could they be together?

He’d met many mated Briel who weren’t in love with their partners. Their bond made them close but never transcended the physiological connection. He reached out and brushed a finger down the side of her face. His heart ached, the feelings as strong as they were yesterday, last week even.

He loved her.

For once in his life, he didn’t care about what was expected, what was normal or natural. Only what he wanted. Biology and whatnot be damned. Kamran didn’t need the bond that had unexpectedly formed their relationship. He wasn’t going to give her up.

“Are you okay?” Haylie’s voice was a whisper.

For the first time in a while, he thought he was. He took her hands and brought them up to his lips. Slowly at first, he kissed the knuckles of each finger. Then with 161

greater speed, he turned her hands over and placed a single kiss on the insides of her wrists.

Haylie sighed and leaned into him, resting her forehead against his shoulder. Her weight felt odd without her thoughts guiding him, telling him what to do. Following his instincts, Kamran slid his hands up the soft skin of her arms. Her hospital gown granted him easy access to the parts of her he desperately wanted to touch.

Her breasts were heavy in his hands, the nipples hardening at his touch. Haylie sighed again, her breath more ragged than before.

“I know how much you like it when I do this.” Kamran spoke against her ear, getting a thrill of his own when she shivered.

“We shouldn’t.”

“We shouldn’t because you don’t want to?”

“We shouldn’t because Briel don’t have casual relationships and we’re not bonded.

You’d be giving up the chance of finding your true mate.”

“I don’t care.” He looked hard at her, willing her to understand. “I need
you
, Haylie. And you can’t tell me you don’t want this. I read your thoughts and feelings long enough to know better.”

Removing one of his hands from her breast, he tilted her head back. He was beyond thinking, beyond holding back his emotions. He crushed her lips with his own, plunging his tongue into her mouth. He poured every emotion he felt into that kiss. His loneliness, fear and every ounce of love he had inside.

When he pulled back, Haylie was gasping, her eyes wide. He wanted to tell her how he felt but he didn’t have the words.

“I want…I need to…I don’t quite know how to—”

The room door whooshed open, revealing a young Briel woman. She was dressed in the garb of an Elder Council woman, but she was far too young to hold such a post.

The Briel woman cocked an eyebrow at him. The maker be damned, Kamran would not be apologetic for his love. He felt Haylie stiffen, but he pulled her closer to his body.

He kept his tone formal. “May I help you?”

The young Briel straightened, pulling her hands deep inside the council robes.

“Ambassador, you have been summoned to appear before the Elder Council immediately.”

Two security officers stepped into the room, one human, one Briel and both clearly exhausted from battle. The last thing they wanted to be doing was escorting him about.

“Have the doctors examined you yet?” Haylie pushed away from him, sitting up.

The human soldier shook his head. “Not yet, Chief.”

Kamran smiled at Haylie and tucked an unruly strand of dark hair behind her ear.

Perhaps their bond was still there in a fashion.

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He softened his tone as he spoke, “Then you should stay and be seen. I will see the council now.”

The human officer began to protest when the Briel officer stopped him. “If the ambassador says he will go, then he will.”

“And I’ll go with him,” Haylie said.

She looked at Kamran, as if to gauge his reaction. He knew she was up to something but also knew better than to argue.

“You should stay and rest. I doubt Sara gave her approval for you to get out of bed.”

If he thought for a second that any consideration for her health would keep her away, she proved him wrong.

“Ordered me to go back to sleep, actually. But she’s not here and you need me. Give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll join you.”

The young councilwoman spoke up. “Ambassador, you know outsiders are not allowed before the council.”

Before he had a chance to speak, Haylie slid from the bed and pulled her IV along with her in search of her clothing. “Tell them I’m a witness in defense of the ambassador. I can prove that he is innocent of treason.”